"Lucas? Luke! Dude, wake up man."

The voice was his brother's. Lucas knew that much. He just didn't understand why it was in his room so early in the morning. He also didn't understand why he felt like complete shit.

His head was pounding and he distinctly remembered feeling this way the morning after he'd cried himself to sleep a few nights after loosing Keith. His head felt full, as though there were tons more tears left in his head to cry and they were just waiting for a signal to come. Why do I feel like crying? He thought to himself. His mind was grappling with something and he knew whatever it was, it was important and painful to think of.

God he felt sick.

"Luke!"

"Nate? Dude what the hell are you doing here?"

Nathan furrowed his brows and stared with worry at his older brother. "Um, I was about to ask you the same question. Fergie just called me to say you were passed out upstairs and his parents are gonna be home-"

"Fergie?" Lucas cut off his brother, sitting up abruptly. It was a horrible idea. He instantly lay back down moaning, hands pressing against his head.

Nathan watched him get a hold of himself, wincing. That had to be one hell of a hangover he thought. But Lucas never got wasted at these things. He was usually the one driving other kids too smashed to drive home, which was why when Fergie had called him this morning to come collect the wayward Scott, he'd thought Fergie had had it wrong. But this situation didn't seem so farfetched considering the time his brother had been having these past few months. If he and Haley were in the situation Lucas and Peyton were in, he would drink himself stupid too.

"Nathan how did I get here?" Lucas asked opening his eyes and looking around the room.

"I was hoping you could tell me. Apparently you passed out up here last night. You don't remember?"

Lucas shook his head gingerly, no. He didn't remember much after talking to Peyton outside. He remembered that rather vividly. That pain was all too familiar.

"Um, I think I was talking to Rachel," Lucas offered, unsurely. He had had far more to drink than he usually did at these things, but he hadn't had that much had he? Certainly not enough to make him feel the way he was feeling at that moment.

Nathan took in Lucas's decidedly disheveled appearance and shook his head. "Um, considering the looks of you, lets hope not. Come on. As amusing as it will be to watch Fergie explain the mess downstairs to his parents, I think we should get you home."

Lucas nodded his head slowly and stood even slower. He was hit by a wave of dizziness and nausea, but fought them down.

"You okay man? Can you walk?" Nathan asked. He didn't wait for a reply, taking his brother's arm and hooking it over his shoulder to help him walk. "How much did you have man?"

"I-I dunno. I can't remember Nate," Lucas replied, lowly. His throat felt like sand paper and not being able to remember the events of the night before was starting to nag at him. "Why can't I remember?"

Nathan looked at his brother again with worry. He had wanted to ask him if he knew anything about Peyton last night and why she had taken off the way she had. Seeing the curly haired blonde in such a state frightened him. He had called her cell numerous times and had even gone out looking for her to no avail.

He knew only one person could put that look on Peyton's face, but the man standing beside him couldn't have done anything to make her that upset. Especially not as messed up as he had to have been to be like this, this morning.

Nathan poured Lucas into his car and shut the door swinging around to the driver's side and getting in. He sighed. Maybe he shouldn't have promised Haley that everything would be okay last night. Looking at his brother gave him a sinking feeling.

"Don't throw up in my car man," Nathan wouldn't be Nathan or a brother if he didn't throw that out there.

He expected Lucas to either tell him to shut up or give him a look, at least a raised eyebrow. When Nathan glanced over at him, his eyes held fear and worry. Not the kind of fear one would expect considering they were graduating the next day. No, this was a life altering, soul shaking fear. He was as lost as he'd ever seen him before. And that alone scared him.

He sighed and started up the car then pulled out of Fergie's driveway, knowing his brother was not in the car with him.

The morning after Peyton's mother passed away, she remembered with clarity the way she felt after she woke up. She could barely open her eyes with them being so swollen and puffy and her head felt too heavy for her small frame. Her head felt as though someone had filled it with sand and her body was limp and weak from the sobs that had racked her little body for most of the night. It was the strangest feeling. Her head felt full and her body felt hollow, like she had been doing headstands for too long.

She remembered lying quiet in the still of her room, wondering why she had awoken in such a state. And then she had remembered that her mother was gone and never coming back and the tears that had replenished in her sleep had begun to squeeze from her body once more. And so it was once again this morning.

She remembered and she wished with all her soul that she could burn the image from her memory. Lucas and Brooke had made love. Lucas had betrayed her. Everything he had said to her had been a lie. How could he tell her he loved her and in the same night sleep with his ex girlfriend and her ex-best friend?

Peyton moaned and covered her face with her hands. She couldn't believe it. She didn't want to believe it, but it had happened and she didn't know what to do with herself now.

A small part of herself wondered if she was surprised at all. This was Lucas Scott's MO, right? Things with her got hard, he hopped into bed with the first easy girl he could find. He had done it before. Twice in fact. First with Brooke and then with Nikki.

"This is what he does Peyton and this is what you get." She told herself the lie so she would have the will to rebuild the wall around her heart. She let out a few sobs, whimpering when they rattled her already pounding head. She should never have taken it down to begin with. All her heart ever did was hurt her. Every brick of that rebuilt wall was bathed in tears.

Sniffling she managed to turn her head and slowly began to become aware of her surroundings. Her eyebrows furrowed and she sat up a bit.

She was in her room. But how did she get here? She didn't remember where exactly she had collapsed, but she knew it had not been anywhere near her room.

She sat up slowly, mindful of her pounding head. She looked down and her stared in confusion. She was still wearing her clothes from the night before. She felt mild panic, for a moment wondering if it was her stalker who had come back to claim her, but he was in jail. She'd gone to his arraignment with Derek and watched the man named Ian get sentenced herself.

She sat for a moment longer and listened. There were sounds coming from her kitchen. She wondered if maybe her father had come home or even Derek, although she knew that wasn't possible. He'd only deployed to Iraq a few short months ago. She forced herself to calm down, part of her not caring if it was some crazed killer come to murder her.

"Peyton?"

Her eyes snapped to the doorway and landed on Haley. Haley took in the sight of her friend pale, with red splotches all over her face and made a sympathetic sound in her throat and walked over to sit on the bed beside Peyton. She offered her the glass of water she held and asked, "How you feeling?"

From the looks of her, the answer probably wouldn't be good.

Peyton downed half the water and looked at Haley with bleary eyes, shaking her head. "Not good, Hales."

"Um," After coming upstairs Haley wasn't sure where to begin. She had a million questions, but decided to start with the easiest one. "So what happened last night? Nathan saw you run out of there like you'd seen a ghost and we looked for you, but-"

"I don't want to talk about it, Hales," Peyton replied shaking her head slowly. If she said it out loud she would burst into tears and her head couldn't take it.

"Was it Lucas? Because-"

"I said I don't want to talk about it," Peyton said with finality. She gave Haley a small smile to soften the harshness of her tone. "I'm sorry. I just-I can't." She broke off into a sob before getting a hold of herself and shook her head.

"I'm sorry Haley. I just can't talk about it now."

"It's okay, Peyt. Take your time," Haley said resting a comforting hand on top of Peyton's. She regarded the girl with worry. Nathan was right. Peyton looked like she'd been through the ringer last night. Something had happened to her because this was not a hangover. This was heartache in its rawest form.

She wasn't sure if she should broach the subject of the man in her kitchen either. His presence worried her, but right now what was important was that Peyton took care of herself. She smiled warmly at her friend.

"I'm here if you need to talk." She said squeezing her hand. "Um, I guess I'll go know then since you're-uh taken care of." Haley got up to go.

"Thanks Hales. And tell Nathan I said thank you for getting me home last night."

At this Haley stopped and turned with confusion painted on her face. "Nathan? Peyton, you remember how you got home last night, right?"

Peyton furrowed her brows and shook her head no. Haley looked surprised for a moment and then very worried. "Haley?"

"Oh-"

Peyton sat up straighter and pinned Haley with a stare. "Haley, how-how did I get here?"

Haley fidgeted with her hands, too busy panicking to answer Peyton's question. This couldn't be good at all.

"Haley?" Peyton didn't like the look on her face. If Nathan didn't bring her home than who did?

"Hey Peyton."

Haley sighed and stepped out of the way, looking behind her and then back at Peyton, unsure of what this meant for both Peyton and Lucas. Peyton couldn't believe her eyes.

"Jake?"