I sat in the corner of the café drinking coffee. It was early but I still didn't want to risk anyone seeing me. Karen had been in the back when I came in and I was already sitting down by the time she came upfront. She hadn't noticed me yet and I was really hoping things stayed that way. My curls wouldn't give me away because I had used Brooke's straightener before I left.

I looked up as the bells above the door rang. I was relieved to see Brooke walk through the door. I'm not really sure relieved is that right word considering I'm not trying to draw any kind of attention to myself. But I am glad its her instead of someone else.

"Hey Karen" they smiled at each other before Brooke made her way towards me. "Morning Blondie…no sling today."

"No…I hate that thing" she shrugged her shoulders before grabbing a piece of my hair and then letting it fall back to my shoulders.

"I see you made use of my straightener." She sat down across from me and began picking at my muffin.

"Yeah…it's just"

"You don't want anyone to know that you're here" She raised one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows at me before rolling her eyes. "I get it…don't worry…I'm not telling. "

"Thanks" I whispered before the bells went off again. My back was facing the door and I when I glanced back to see who it was I immediately regretted it.

"Hey mom" I looked at Brooke to see a smile playing on her lips.

"I don't really anything funny" I hissed at her.

"That's okay…cuz I find it hilarious" she gaped at me with wide eyes before going back to eating my muffin. I was praying Lucas hadn't seen my face…praying with everything in me that he would get coffee and walk out. I must have the worst luck in the world.

"Hey Brooke"

"Hey Lucas" I looked towards her…my eyes pleading with her to not say anything and make him leave. She looked towards me and her smirk disappeared when we locked eyes…I could trust her to keep it a secret for now.

"I don't wanna interrupt, but I was just wondering how your trip went, how's Peyton" I turned my head away and was grateful that my hair was straight because it was now long enough to cover the cast I had hidden under the table.

"No it's fine." She choked on the laugh she was trying to hold back and Lucas looked at her oddly. "Sorry…the muffin's a little dry" she was good at composing herself. "Anyways…she's doing good"

"That's good...I'll catch up with you later" I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard the parting words leave his mouth.

"Bye Luke" Brooke responded calmly before breaking another piece of my muffin. I heard the bells above the door go off again signaling his departure.

"Thanks Brooke"

"No prob…listen I gotta get to work…I left the front door open and the key is sitting on the kitchen counter. So if you work up the nerve to go out later lock the door behind you." She stood up and grabbed her bag off the table.

"Alright" I whispered.

"Hey…don't feel bad Peyt. I'll see you later…I'll get more ice cream too." She smiled down at me but I couldn't smile back. "Bye..." she whispered as she looked at me sadly.

"Bye" I couldn't help it…I felt horrible about just sitting there and not saying anything to Luke…it felt like I had just lied to him and he didn't deserve that. I folded my good arm on the table and dropped my head in the nook of my arm. The tears came quickly and I buried my head deeper into my arm.

"I'm glad your back and all, but friendly visits usually don't involve changing your appearance to hide from people or not saying anything when a friend is standing right behind you." I looked up to see Lucas sitting in the chair Brooke had only a minute ago. "They also don't involve tears. What happened" his voice was gentle as he reached across the table and placed his hand on mine.

"Lucas…I…" I looked at him regretfully and he squeezed my hand gently.

"It's fine…we can talk later" he stood up, but didn't release my hand. I looked up at him…I didn't expect him to let go but it didn't make me feel any better. If I stood up he would see my wrist and I didn't want to explain that to him…but I didn't want to lie to him. "Are you planning to just sit there until I pull you up" he smiled down at me but his smile faded when he saw my arms shift down. "Hey…what's wrong" he knelt down in front of me…still not letting my hand go.

"Nothing" I forced a smile and shook my head. He put his free hand on my leg and looked at my sympathetically.

"Peyt…." His hand slipped under the table and gripped my wrist softly, pulling it from under the table. "This what you don't want me to see"

"It's stupid…I know" I closed my eyes to prevent more tears from falling.

"Come on…" he stood up and pulled me up with him this time. His arm wrapped around my shoulder as he tucked my body into his side. "So Miss New Yorker, how about them Yankees" I laughed lightly at his attempt to avoid anything serious as we walked down the sidewalk.

"I don't know…I'm not really a baseball fan" I admitted as I laughed again. He pulled me closer as he laughed with me.

"Okay…so Brooke is the only one of us who actually has to work on Sunday. I have all day to do nothing accept whatever your heart desires."

"Thanks Luke…but I'm not really in the mood to be out and about today" I whispered sadly.

"That's alright…I won't ruin your plan to avoid people. I'm here if you need me though"

"I know. I'm heading back to Brookes and I wouldn't mind some company" I looked up at him and he smiled at me.

"Let's go then" he rubbed my arm as I rested my head on his shoulder. I really did like spending time with Lucas…but in all honesty I wanted him to come with me because I was scared. I didn't want to be alone…by now Stan knew I was gone and he would be pissed. He's not stupid…he knows where I am and I can't help but think he's gunna come after me.

"Thanks" I whispered

"I'm just glad I get to spend some more time with you" I suddenly remembered why I loved being around him so much…he always knew when something was wrong…and he always knew what to say to make me feel better.

"So where's Sam today" I asked not only to take the conversation off me but also because I was curious.

"She's with Nathan and Haley…more specifically with their daughter Kristen…where she's been since Thursday actually. Since school ended we haven't been able to keep the kids apart. If she's not over there then they're staying with me. I don't think either of us mind…they're cousins so we're glad they're that close."

"If I were her age I'd be dying to come home because I missed my parents" I laughed at the thought.

"There's no need…I go over there every night. That's when one of them begs to stay at the other's house." I rolled my eyes and thought about the countless summers Brooke and I spent joined at the hip. "You do have a key to get in right" Lucas questioned as we approached the front door.

"It's inside at the moment but she left the front door open for me" I felt him nod. I turned the knob and pushed the door open.

"So how long are you here for" he asked as we walked into the house.

"Um…at the moment…I'm not really sure." I admitted as we sat on the couch.

"Just make sure you let me know when your leaving"

"Will do"

"So mind if I ask what happened to your wrist" he didn't look at me instead he reached over and grabbed the remote. He knows how much I hate being stared at and I'm glad he didn't do that. Just that made me want to tell him everything and I opened my mouth, ready to let everything come out.

"I…was coming home late one night and got mugged. Tried holding onto my favorite bag and wound up with a broken wrist" I had lied to him...I just couldn't make myself do it. I wanted to…I thought I was ready to but I was wrong.

"Why were you so adamant about hiding it from me before." He questioned as his eyes locked with mine.

"I just didn't want you to start worrying about me and going on about how New York isn't safe." It was disgusting how easily I formulated that excuse.

"Well in all honesty it isn't…and your wrist proves that…but I won't hassle you about it. Your okay…for the mot part anyway…so we'll leave it at that" he looked over at me and I caught the seriousness in his eyes. "I'm okay with a simple yes or no…even a nod or shake of the head will do…like I said before it's not that I'm not that I'm not glad you're here, but why?"

I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes as I shook my head. I wasn't ready to talk about it yet. "I'm sorry" I whispered while doing my best to fight back the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Come here" I looked over at him and closed my eyes in order to stop the tears. "Peyton…" water slipped from beneath my closed lids as I let myself fall into his arms. Before I knew it my world was slowly fading and I didn't try to fight it. If there was a way to make all the pain go away for even just a few hours I was willing to take it.

When I woke up I saw Brooke curled up in the other couch. Lucas was asleep, he still had his arm wrapped around my waist but our bodies had turned and I was now laying with my body facing his but my back against the couch as we lay side by side. "Hey" I whispered loud enough to get Brooke's attention but not enough to wake Luke.

"Well hello. I didn't have the heart to wake you two…you guys just looked so…disgustingly cute." She scuffed as she rolled her eyes and turned back to the TV. Lucas shifted slightly before opening his eyes.

"Hey" he whispered as he smiled at me.

"Hi" Brooke chirped and we both laughed as Lucas nearly fall off the couch in shock.

"Do you think you could warn me next time I wake up and you know I have no clue loud mouth is behind me."

"Ohh…well you can nicely get out of this loud mouth's house" Brooke stuck her tongue out before turning back to the TV.

"I have to go check on Sam anyway."

"We all know she's not going home, so why do you bother going over there night after night" Brooke questioned as Lucas got up off the couch.

"Because I'm her father and it's my job. Now if you don't mind we have somewhere to be." Lucas pulled me up off the couch.

"Hey…I didn't give you permission to kidnap her" Brooke whined as she stood up.

"See now that's the joy of kidnapping…I don't need your permission…or yours" Lucas smirked in my direction before pulling me towards the door.

"Doesn't she need clothes" Brooke screamed after us as we opened the door.

"I'm sure we can manage. Bye" he called over his shoulder before closing the door behind us.

"Lucas…" I looked at him with worried eyes.

"Don't worry…you can stay in the car when I go in to say hi. Sam is gunna wind up staying again so you don't have to worry about her telling someone you're here. I just wanna spend some time with you…and I don't mean the two of us falling asleep on Brooke's couch" he laughed and I joined in.

"Alright" I knew what he wanted…he was hoping he could get me to talk about what was going on. He was worried and the fact that I had just cried twice in one day gave him reason. It didn't take long for us to get to Haley's and I was glad when he didn't try to talk me into going inside. Ten minutes later he was back in the car and we were on our way to his place.

He had a nice sized house and when we walked inside I could tell he hadn't change the decorating since his wife passed. The place was very homey with a distinct women's touch.

"What do you think" he asked as he watched me look around.

"I like it" I informed him honestly. Something about the place was comforting.

"So before I order us something to eat let me show you the guest room and find you something to wear…that way if you wanna crash after dinner you can."

"Okay" I followed him upstairs and into one of the rooms. He left me in there for a minute and when he returned he was carrying clothes.

"There's a t-shirt and pants. There's also a pair of boxers…I figured I'd give you a choice incase the pants were too big or you didn't really want my boxers…which is understandable…"

"Thanks Luke" I said cutting off his rambling.

"Not a problem" He took a deep breath and started into the hall. I followed him and we ending up in the kitchen. "So what are you in the mood for…food wise I mean" I laughed at how uptight he was being. He was the same Luke I remembered from high school.

"Pizza works" I smiled as I leaned against the counter. He nodded as he picked up the phone and ordered a large pie. We made small talk until the pizza arrived and while we ate we didn't really speak at all. I was too busy getting scared again. I couldn't stop the what ifs from popping into my head.

"Hey..." I looked up at him as I was torn away from my thoughts. "Whatever it is…just let it go for now" I smiled over at him before looking down at the table. It was comforting being around him…at times it really felt like I didn't have anything to worry about.