"Haley." He said. "You need to tell me what happened."

He'd pulled off to the side of the road, something he only did when he was angry and he wanted to be alone with her.

"How should I know?" Haley replied, staring out the window. "Peyton didn't tell me any more than she told you."

It was worse than they'd hoped. Two broken ribs, a mild concussion, two black eyes, a bruised cheek. Peyton had given her doctor the same story she'd given Nathan: she'd fallen, and her boyfriend was just helping her up.

"Damn it, Haley!" Nathan hit the steering wheel. She jumped. "You're lying! Just tell me what you know!"

"I don't know anything, Nathan!"

He caught her hand, his eyes darkening.

"Don't lie to me, Haley." Nathan begged. "The only thing you're doing is protecting the monster who's hurting one of your best friends!"

Haley yanked her hand back, and before he could stop her, she threw the door open and bolted from the car.

"Haley!" He yelled, reaching for the passenger's side door handle. "Haley James-Scott! Get back here!"

Nathan hit the gas, going past the speed limit in search of his wife.

"Haley!"

Haley didn't stop running until she saw Peyton's house. They'd dropped the two girls off there on their way back to the apartment.

She pounded on the door.

"Haley?" Brooke looked surprised as she swung the door open. "Hey... What are you doing back here? Are you okay?"

"Can I stay here tonight?" Haley asked breathlessly. Brooke ushered her inside. "Nathan and I got into a fight... He just keeps asking all these questions... And I don't know what we're gonna do, or what's gonna happen, and I just wanna be with Peyton right now..."

Brooke tried to smile, slipping her arm around her friend's shoulders. "Sure... C'mon, we can take turns waking her up every few hours. You know, she probably wouldn't admit it, but she needs us right now too."

"Is she okay?" Nathan demanded, when Brooke finally answered her phone. He'd been calling both of the girls for over an hour.

"Haley?" She replied. "Or Peyton? Cause honestly, I'm not sure which one I should be more concerned about right now."

He sighed. "Haley, Brooke, but I'm worried about Peyton too."

"She's asleep." Brooke told him. "Actually, they both are, but I have to wake Peyton up in about thirty seconds. We'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Wait, Brooke-"

She'd hung up.

"Damn it!" Nathan could have thrown his phone at the wall. Instead, he took a deep breath and hit #2 on his speed dial.

"Nate?" Lucas answered on the first ring. "What the hell are we gonna do, man? I know Peyton didn't just fall. There's got to be more to it than that."

He sighed again. "You're right, Lucas. I think there's a lot more to it than that."

"What do you mean?"

Was everyone really that stupid? Or were they just playing dumb because they thought they were protecting Peyton?

"Ricky hit her." Nathan said, his tone dark. "And I don't think this was the first time. I also think Haley and Brooke know about it, but for whatever reason, they're both playing dumb."

Most hero's are dead, Nate.

He remained silent for a few minutes, listening to his older brother's heavy breathing and waiting for a reaction.

"Luke?"

"We need to do something." Lucas hissed. He punched the wall. How could he not have seen what was going on? Peyton was his friend, he should have noticed the signs! "I swear to god, Nate. We need to do something before I become like Dan and murder Ricky in cold blood."

Nathan laughed bitterly. "Luke, even if you did kill him, you'd never end up like Dan. I promise, we'll take care of this prick, alright? I just need to hear Haley say it first."

"I've got a plan." He offered