Love Unrequited

An OTH FanFic

By AlexB

3

Brooke could feel herself shaking on the inside, but she refused to let it show. "Seems like your white powder experience seriously screwed your mind." She quipped. "Or maybe it's because you're 'blonde'." She laughed humorlessly. "Blondes do not have more fun. They're stupid and too gullible to know the difference."

'Derek' clenched the knife in his fist. He was tired of Brooke Davis and her big mouth. He was so going to enjoy shutting her up.

"Being a tramp doesn't take genius work either. You're at the top of your field."

"You're one to talk." Brooke shot. "You're a user, Peyton Sawyer. No wonder Jake Jagielski sent you-" She didn't get to finish her words. Peyton had snatched the knife from 'Derek's' hand as she stood. Her hand cracked across Brooke's face to hard Brooke's head snapped back.

"You shut your mouth about Jake." Peyton warned her in a low voice. "He's a good man. He's a good person. Don't you dare say his name."

"Who's Jake Jagielski?"

"My past."

Brooke glared at her.

Peyton glared right back.

"Hit me again, bitch," Brooke taunted. "Tough shit while I'm tied to this chair. You're rocking a Michael Myers's mini tool and you have a toad for backup."

"Move," she told 'Derek'. "I'm about to slap her lips off her face." Peyton moved to untie Brooke, but 'Derek' wouldn't have it. He grabbed Peyton's shoulder to whirl her around. She went with it. Raising her knife in her and swung down with everything she had, sinking the knife into 'Derek's' shoulder all the way to its handle.

His howls of pain made her want to cover her ears and hide. But Peyton wouldn't let herself. She moved to untie Brooke.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" Peyton replied. "You're a bitch, but I don't want you dead."

"Sure about that? You hit me hard enough."

"You've got a big mouth."

"Bitch."

"Tramp."

Brooke saw 'Derek' move. "Get the hell out of here, Peyton." She told her. "Run! Call the police."

By then Peyton had seen 'Derek' move too, she ran past him just as he got to his knees.

"No!" He got slowly to his feet chasing after her. "You lying bitch!"

Peyton had only successfully gotten Brooke's feet untied. She tired to stand, but the chair wouldn't allow it. So she rocked until the chair fell over. The sound of the old wood splintering had Brooke shouting in triumph. She was able to free her hands.

Rat bastard, son of a bitch, she thought, looking down at her dress. She was going to kick him in the balls for that one, and make him sew her dress with his stalker teeth. "Fucker," she swore.

Brooke started up the basement steps, picking up papa Peyton's crowbar along the way.

-

Lucas pushed himself up the door until he was standing. He was getting the hell out of the closet.

"Peyton, you fucking bitch," he heard 'Derek' yell. "You're going to have to be punished for that one. And I'm going to enjoy it."

Like hell.

Lucas threw himself harder against the closet door. His head hurt worse and worse each time he threw himself against it. He would pay for it later. He had to get out now.

"Good things come to those who wait, Scott." Lucas stopped moving, his rapid breathing was loud around him. 'Derek' was right outside the door.

"And I have waited for Peyton long enough." He went on. "She's mine and you can't have her. If you're a good boy I'll make it quick and you'll never have to see me with her, or anyone, else again."

Lucas threw him body against the door again and again. 'Derek's' laughing only made him work harder to get free. He was going to kick that bastard's head in. He was going to make 'Derek' feel every bit of what he was feeling now, and then some. He was going to make sure that that crazy bastard never touched Peyton again.

-

'Derek's' arm hung.

That lying bitch. That deceitful little whore. That tease. Looked like he was going to do more to make Peyton see.

He didn't want to hurt her. But love hurt. His was in pain he loved her so much.

He loved her to death.

He took the steps three at a time. Blood steadily seeped from his wound soaking one whole side of his shirt. Her door was shut. He twisted the knob.

It was locked.

"We've been through this, Peyton." He spoke to the door. "Open the door before I take it down. And you know that I can do it." When he tested the knob again, the door came open. He smiled and stepped into the room. The light was on in her closet.

"Come out," he slammed the door hard into the wall behind it, making sure that she wasn't behind it. "I hate it when you hide from me."

"You left something." His eyes went wide at the sound of Peyton's voice behind him. He whirled. Her arm came out of the shadows. 'Derek' was moving in slow motion it seemed. He saw the blue electric of the taser before he was shocked with it.

His body seemed to have a mind of its own. It jerked as the currents through him.

"How does it feel?" She wanted to know. Pulling back, she shocked him over and over again. When she pulled back the last time, 'Derek' made his move. He swung out to hit her.

Peyton dodged her fist snaking out. It was instinct, she had no control. Her first shot split his chin. Her second broke his nose. 'Derek's' face was a mess.

He was through playing with her. She had called him. She had told him to come be with her because no one else cared enough to stay. Peyton Sawyer was just like every other girl. So he was going to treat her like one.

He back handed her hard enough to throw her body away from him. 'Derek' shoved her on to the bed.

The last time he'd had her like this flashed through Peyton's mind.

He'll have to kill me first, she thought. She fought. Peyton fought, pushing her at his face with her hand. She dug her thumb into his eye.

Brooke swung the crowbar like a Jose Conseco rookies bat, hitting 'Derek' between his shoulders. He froze in pain for only an instant before whirling on Brooke. She started to hit him again, but 'Derek' caught her swing pulling the weapon from her hands. Peyton jumped on his back trying to choke him from behind. He threw her off then grabbed her by the hair.

Brooke threw her leg out kicking 'Derek' in the side. He howled in outrage letting Peyton go. They ran with him close on their heels. 'Derek' shoved Peyton in the back throwing her into Brooke. Brooke fell forward into the wall next to the steps. Peyton whirled before 'Derek' could grab her again. She swung wildly hitting him in the face. 'Derek' stumbled back and kept stumbling.

"Peyton!" Brooke yelled, but she was already there thinking the exact same thing. Brooke was on her hands and knees at the stop of the steps. 'Derek' was already falling in the direction. Peyton didn't have a problem with helping him the rest of the way.

She shoved him, throwing his body backward over Brooke's body and down the stairs. There was a snap and a sickening crack when 'Derek's' head met with the wall at the landing.

It was over and she wasn't afraid anymore. She refused to be. Peyton moved down the steps slowly but with a purpose. When she got to an unconscious 'Derek', she planted her bare foot in his chest. Peyton kept kicking him over and over again calling him every name her mind could think of while Brooke watched on with satisfaction.

The sound of splintering wood made the both of them jump.

"Peyton," the weak call was sounded after by a soft thud.

"Lucas?" Peyton spoke his name softly. She left 'Derek' where he lay, where he deserved to be, on the ground bleeding, and hurried in the direction of her boyfriend's voice.

The wall held up Lucas's limp body as he moved. His arms were tied behind his back, fresh blood shone at the side of his head like he had been hit again. It stained dark red on his shirt. His blue eyes were glazed with pain.

"God," she swore.

"Peyton," she caught Lucas he fell and lowered the both of them to the floor as softly as she could

"Lucas," she barely got his name out around the tears that clogged her throat.

Brooke came from the kitchen, phone in hand. "Help's coming," she said. Peyton nodded absently taking the scissors Brooke held out to her.

She cut Lucas's ties and sobbed when he let out a groan of obvious pain. His arms fell limply to his sides.

"I'm so sorry, baby, I now it hurts. Help is coming."

They sat there on the floor, Lucas cradled in Peyton's arms while the sirens wailed in the distance.

-

Doctors had checked them out. They had wanted to keep both girls overnight for observation, but they refused. Whatever 'Derek' gave them wasn't enough to cause them any lasting harm and it seemed to be out of their system.

Brooke watched, from her seat next to Dan, as Karen was in with her son, Peyton who stood on the other side of the waiting room. Her dress, once pretty Brooke was sure, was ruined.

Ruined like their friendship?

She had her arms crossed under her breasts like she was cold. And she started into nothing.

She had told Peyton that they could never be friends the way that the used to be and she had been right. Brooke never wanted to go back there again, hurting each other the way that they had. She didn't like the person she had been.

And she wanted her friend back.

Peyton was startled to see Brooke standing next to her. She frowned because she didn't know where she had come from.

"Can we talk?"

She looked the girl over and in the eye for several second before she finally nodded. They moved farther down the hallway away from listening ears and prying eyes. They had been getting looks since they got here.

"Talk."

Brooke didn't know what to say. She had always had Peyton until they grew up and life got in the way. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Peyton replied. "You are. For what?"

"What I said about your moms. It was uncalled for-"

"You're damned right it was." Peyton cut in. "It was more than uncalled for. And of all of this mess between us, it's the one thing that I won't, I cannot, forgive you for. You knew my mother, but you couldn't even begin to know Ellie. They were great women, good women and they loved me. I was lucky to have them. The both of them. Even if it was for just a blink of an eye"

Brooke nodded accepting it. "Does that mean you can forgive me everything else?"

Peyton lifted a shoulder. "You slept with Nathan. That was just you being he best bitch you could be back when you didn't care about anything or anyone, including yourself. So whatever.

"I apologized over and over for what happed with Lucas and I when the two of you were together. I won't apologize, not one more time, for it. I won't say that I'm sorry for loving him because I'm not."

Brooke nodded again.

"You didn't have to come for me tonight, Brooke," Peyton told her. "You didn't have to come when you did. You saved me, Davis. You saved me from the worst night of my life. Thank you."

"You could have let that fucker cut me. You didn't. So you saved me too. Son of a bitch ruined my dress. You think they'd let me in to kick him in the head? Just once?" They shared a soft laugh at that.

"Did you mean it?" She asked.

"What?"

"When you said that you wouldn't care when I was gone," Brooke replied. "Did you mean it?"

"What do you think?"

A nervous breath huffed from Brooke and for a moment she looked away and then back. "I honestly don't know, Peyton. So much has happened. Maybe too much."

"Maybe." Peyton spoke quietly. "I didn't mean it, Brooke." She told her. "I didn't mean it, but damned if I didn't want to. I'm so sick of this."

"Don't you think that I am too?" Brooke shook her head. This was not the way that she wanted this to go. Why did it always have to be so damn complicated. "What now?"

"I don't know, Brooke." Peyton answered honestly. "I just don't know."

-

When Lucas's eyes shot open he was in a dark room. And for a moment he panicked. He panicked before everything set in. It took his mind a second, but his body knew that he wasn't in the closet.

His body hurt, but it wasn't because his arms were bound so tight behind his back.

He knew the smell. He'd been in the hospital enough to know the place with his eyes closed. Lucas's eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room. Moonlight shown in from the open blinds that hung in the window. He heard breathing in the room and knew it was his mom sleeping. She should be at home, but he knew damn well that she wouldn't leave him here.

He reached over to turn on the lamp that sat beside his bed but his arm wouldn't move.

"Try not to move it," Peyton's voice whispered in the dark. "You dislocated your shoulder and broke your collar bone breaking out of that closet." The light flipped on next to him.

Lucas looked own and sure enough, his arm was in a left arm was in a sling. But that didn't explain why he couldn't move his other one. He could feel it, but it was like a ton of weight was sitting on it. "I can't move my other arm. I broke out of the closet?" He didn't remember that. "That why my head hurts?"

"'Derek' got you really good when you first came in the house. I'm so sorry, Lucas."

"You didn't hit me, Peyton." His eyes couldn't stop looking at her, taking in everything they could. Her mouth looked at if it had been bleeding there earlier. Someone had hit her. She had a bruise on her cheek and she had been crying. Her hazel eyes were so bright now; it looked like he was on the verge of doing it again. He needed to touch her, but he couldn't move.

"Come here."

"What?"

"I can't move my arms, so you'll have to come to me."

Peyton's smile was soft as she leaned over him. Lucas kissed the bruise on her cheek, then the one that sat at the corner of her mouth.

She rested her head against his. "I was so scared."

So was he. He never wanted to go through that again for as long as he lived. But that didn't me that he wouldn't love to go toe to toe with that bastard who had hurt them.

"It's over now," Lucas told her. "Let me hold you, Peyton." She nodded crawling up in the next to him making sure that she didn't hurt him.

"You cut you hair," she smiled, running her fingers through it. "I like it."

"I was starting to look like wolf man."

She laughed. "A little bit."

"Thanks," he snickered. "You were coming." He said softly.

"I was." Peyton let out a breath. "When you walked away-"

"I wish I could have seen you in your dress."

Peyton smiled again. "I wish you could have too." She told him. "I was hot."

Lucas laughed. "I don't doubt it."

"I'm sorry prom was ruined."

"It's just a dance."

"It's not just a dance. I'll make it up to you."

"You don't have to do that, Peyton."

"I do," she told him. "I want to. Let me."

"Okay." Lucas pressed a kiss into her hair. He hated to bring it up, but he knew it was on Peyton's mind. "You and Brooke?"

"I don't know, Luke." She admitted. "I guess we'll see."

"There's been something I've wanted to tell you all night long. You want to hear it?

"If you want to tell me."

"I'm in love with you, Peyton Sawyer."

"That's good," she kissed his chin. "Because I'm in love with you, too."