"You know…smoking is a real nasty habit…" I turned my neck to see Lucas smirking down at me. He rounded the bench and took a seat next to me. I watched as his hand moved towards my face and pulled the cigarette from my lips. I raised a brow at him causing him to laugh. "I think you should quit…this…" he dropped my cigarette on the ground and rubbed it out with his foot. "…is step one."
"Ha ha…you are soo funny" I rolled my eyes as I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled the rest of the pack out. Before I could open it Lucas snatched it from my hands. "Hey…give that back." Is hot him a glare as I watched him examine the package.
"Ready for step two…" he had that cocky grin on his face and it took everything for me not to laugh at him. I didn't wanna laugh however when he chucked my entire pack of cigarettes into the river.
"Lucas…" I looked at him wide-eyed before hitting him in the arm. "Those are expensive now I'm gunna have to go buy at least another pack while I'm here" I crossed my arms over my chest and watched as he just shrugged.
"There are gunna be a lot of unused cigarettes in that river…"
"You wouldn't"
"If I catch you I will. No smoking." He stated firmly like I was a 18 instead of 28…then he broke out into a smile. "I know Haley and Brooke don't know you smoke…cuz they would've been going off the entire night."
"No they don't know but if I wanna smoke none of you are gunna stop me." I was being defiant just for the hell of it.
"Fine" he stood up from the bench and for a second I really thought he was pissed off at me. "Come on" he grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet before pulling my behind him towards his car.
"Where are we going?" I asked as I trailed behind him.
"I'm going to pick up Sam and your coming with me because I want you to meet her and I wanna know what you've been up to for the past 10 years Miss Sawyer." Something about his tone had changed when he grabbed my hand. Something about him just seemed more tense. I got into the passenger seat and in a few seconds we were leaving River Court. It was just a little past 7 and the sun was blinding as it rose. That wasn't what was bothering me though…Luke had gotten quiet all of a sudden and the silence was anything but comforting.
"Is everything okay" I looked over at him and waited.
"Yeah it's fine." He smiled in my direction before focusing back on the road. "So…what's going on in your life" I looked out the window and thought about the last ten years of life…a life that didn't involve him or anyone else here for that matter.
"Nothing really…" I didn't know what to say…how do you sum up the last ten years of your life.
"I find that hard to believe. I don't know anything about you anymore Peyton…its been ten years since I last saw you. You can tell me something…you don't have to be personal…your job, what you do for fun, do you still draw, where'd you go to school, do you like your life…anything…where you live would be a nice thing to know." He laughed as he glanced in my direction. I returned the smile and shook my head.
"Umm…well I went to New York when I first left and I got into NYU. It was kinda shocking but the art department said they like my work and I got a scholarship and everything. Plus I had cheerleading and my grades didn't suck." I laughed as I thought about what else there was. "I stayed there and did two years of grad school. Right now I'm the editor of a magazine in New York City…hence where I live…I still get to do a strip but I don't have to worry about what I draw because I'm editor." I smiled and he laughed at me.
"That's good…what else"
"I don't know…in all honesty most of my time is spent on the magazine" I shook my head…I really didn't know what else to say.
"Who's the lucky guy." I looked at him oddly until he grabbed my hand and my ring glistened in the sun. I had almost forgotten about Stan. I had spent the night being a carefree teen and I enjoyed it. I can't say I'm thrilled that Lucas just brought me to reality. It suddenly occurred to me why Lucas had gotten quiet. He had felt my ring on my finger…I'm not sure what to make of that though. "Peyt…" I had gotten lost in thought and he laughed at the lost look on my face.
"Sorry…umm…his name is Stan. We've been dating for the past two years and we got engaged a little over two weeks ago. I guess I got caught up in feeling like a teenager and being engaged isn't' associated with that age." I laughed and he joined in.
"Very true." I wanted to ask about his life but I felt somewhat guilty about making him talk about his deceased wife. I had no intention of causing him pain by bringing up what had to be a sore subject. "You're not asking so am I safe to assume that someone told you"
"Brooke did…I'm sorry Luke." I smiled sympathetically at him but he shook his head.
"Don't be…it wasn't you fault… and you know what those kind of apologies feel like" I nodded my head because I used to hate when people said sorry about my mom. Sorry has no meaning when it comes to death…its just another form of unwanted sympathy.
"So how is Samantha holding up?"
"She misses her mom but in general she's okay…too young to really understand ya know" his entire demeanor had changed now…the perkiness had been replaced with sorrow and I hated it.
"Yeah" I whispered…I'm not sure he even heard me. "So…" I hate uncomfortable silence…especially in cars because you can't exactly just get up and leave. "You live in Tree Hill…what do you do"
"I'm a pediatrician. I was also an assistant coach for Whitey on the weekends."
"It's kinda strange that he's gone…" I said sadly as Lucas pulled into his mom's driveway. The house was the same on the outside…exactly the same.
"Yeah it is." I stepped out the car and followed him to the front door. I walked into the house behind him and could immediately smell the food cooking in the kitchen. This was definitely Karen's house still. Throughout senior year Karen and I formed a stronger bond and she helped me with a lot of the problems I encountered. All the things I would normally turn to my mom for I went to her and she welcomed me with open arms. I had also made a habit out of stopping by to get Brooke in the mornings and to eat breakfast. The house had always smelt this way in the morning and it was comforting to smell the same foods again. "Don't worry…you can eat before we leave." I rolled my eyes at Luke before we started towards the kitchen. I stuck my foot out to far and watched as he tripped and nearly fell. I giggled as I threw my hand over my mouth. He balanced himself and turned to face me. I held my hands up and shrugged innocently.
"Opps" he glared at me as I held the same small smile.
"Opps…yeah okay…I'll get you and you know I will. I'd watch it if I were you." I laughed lightly as he turned back around. I went to stick my foot out again but this time he caught my heel between him feet and I fell on my ass. I frowned as he looked down at me but couldn't help but laugh as I laid on my back in the middle of the hallway. "Ohh…now that was priceless."
"Priceless my foot…that was painful." I stated despite my laughter.
"Funny"
"But painful" we both stated at the same time. We laughed as we reminisced. I had been in this position countless times in high school. It had become a habit for me to trip him whenever I was behind him in this hallway. Sometimes he fell and sometimes the scene from a minute ago occurred. He bent over and stretched out his hand towards me to help me up. I grabbed his hand and began to pull myself before another idea popped into my head. I was halfway up when I locked my arm and threw my body back. "Oh no" he stated as he began to regain his balance. My foot hit his ankle and I watched as he fell and hit the floor right next to me.
"Oh yes…" we both broke into a fit of laugher.
"Lucas…what in the world is going on in…" Karen rounded the corner and stepped from the kitchen into the hall. She stopped speaking when she saw us on the floor…more specifically when she saw me on the floor. "Peyton…" she looked down at me in shook. Lucas lifted himself from the floor before grabbing my arm and pulling me to my feet.
"Hey Karen." I smiled towards the older women…she was another person that I never told I was leaving. She stepped closer to me…the shock still showing in her features.
"Oh my God…" she whispered before wrapping me in her arms. I gladly returned the hug.
"I missed you" I whispered as we pulled apart.
"How have you been…none of us have heard from you since you left." Karen held me back at arms length just as Luke had.
"I'm good…" I stated as she looked over me and then released my shoulders.
"I'm glad…I have to admit…I found myself thinking about you the other day…more like worrying about you actually. It's good to see you again"
"Same here" I hugged her again because it was comforting.
"I hope you know she walked in the house and started drooling…she's now expecting food." Lucas quickly moved past me knowing that I would have hit upside the head if I had the chance.
"You are just so hilarious Lucas Scott" I shot back at him as I glared after him.
"Memories" was all Karen said as she laughed and walked towards the kitchen with me trailing behind her.
"See…she's following you…she can't wait to be fed" I would've thrown something at him if he wasn't holding a small blonde in his hands. "Sam this is Peyton." I watched as the little girl waved at me while she yawned. She rested her small head on Lucas's shoulder and she blinked her eyes and stared at me.
"Hi" I said quietly as I smiled at her. She returned the smile but stayed in the same position. She yawned again before closing her eyes. I laughed lightly. Something about the picture in front of me made my heart melt with a mixture of happiness and longing.
It didn't take but a few minutes for Sam to fall asleep and I watched a Lucas laid her down on the bed in the adjacent room. "Ready to eat" he asked as he walked back into the kitchen.
"As much as I miss your food Karen, I really need to get back to the hotel." I gave a sympathetic smile as she nodded in understanding.
"Just make sure you come and say goodbye before you take off this time."
"I definitely will" I smiled as I walked over and hugged the older women
"Let me give you a ride over there and then I can come back and grab Sam." Lucas grabbed his keys from the kitchen table and started towards the door. I was about to tell him I could walk but he cut me off before I opened my mouth. "I'm driving you so don't waste your breathe." I couldn't help but laugh and neither could he. "One…where are you staying and two…when are you leaving" Lucas asked as we pulled out of the driveway.
"I'm at the only Marriot in Tree Hill and I leave in two days…technically three cuz this day just started."
"Why so soon?"
"Stan and I both have to get back…work and things…" I know he picked up on the unnatural evenness of my voice because he looked at me funny.
"and things…" he inquired as he turned back to face the road.
"Well mostly work…but we both do have lives to get back to and things in our lives to get back to."
"Oh I see" he had a smirk on his face as he gazed at me through the corner of his eye.
"What do you see…" I looked at him and waited.
"Its okay I understand…sex in hotels isn't that great…its overrated really" I grew wide eyes and hit him in the arm.
"Excuse you…I can't believe you just said that" I hit him again as I stared at him in disbelief.
"I'm joking…the Marriot's gotta have great beds."
"Oh…My…God…your unbelievable" I shook my head and stared straight ahead.
"Calm down Peyt…you just got so serious on me before. Not to get into your personal life or anything…but is everything okay." He pulled up at the front entrance of the hotel and looked over at me.
"Yeah…I'm fine…I think I'm just a little thrown off by everything going on…you know with Whitey and all" He accepted my answer but I get the feeling he knew there was more to it. Sure Whitey's death was upsetting but in truth I didn't like talking about my personal life. There was also the issue that Stan might have seen me pull up in a car with Lucas, who bluntly is another guy and therefore equals jealousy.
"Alright…just making sure your good. Just know I'm here if you need someone to talk to." He wrote on a piece of paper quickly and then handed to me. I looked down to see his name and his work, cell, and house number written. "Anytime for anything at all okay?" I nodded as I reached over and hugged him tightly. Luke had always been able to read my eyes in high school and just proved he could still do it. He knew something was wrong. He may not know what it is…but he knows there's something. He leaned in and kissed my forehead before completely pulling away.
"Thanks Luke" I smiled at him as I got out the car and closed the door. I looked at him through the open window, a genuine smile still on my face.
"Just remember what I said…I'm here if you need me for anything. Even if you're up in New York…I'm just a phone call away." I nodded before turning around and walking into the hotel. The seriousness in his eyes tells me that he knows I'm definitely hiding something, something big.
