Disclaimer:

This is now from Lucas' point of view. It will be this way for the next few chapters.

I sat next to her lifeless body hoping she'd just move; give me some sign that she was going to be okay. The doctors had said that when she wakes up they'd be able to tell the extent of her injuries, but the longer she stayed unconscious the bleaker things looked. She'd been unconscious for 24 hours now, which wasn't a good sign.

Taking her here was our only option, after she'd stopped breathing I didn't know what to do. We managed to get a faint pulse by pushing on her chest, Brooke did all the work, I couldn't watch. I know that made me weak, but I couldn't bear the thought of the last time I touched her was when she was dying. I'd managed to hold myself together long enough to call an ambulance, I'd described the guy that had ran from the alleyway that night to the police.

I'd been by her side since then, not changing, or going home, or moving. Hayley had come in too many times to count, but I was too mad to talk to her. My hand held onto hers securely whilst my thumb rubbed across her hand. If I'd have made more of an effort with her maybe she wouldn't have gone to that stupid party, maybe that son of a bitch wouldn't have drugged her drink; maybe she wouldn't be here fighting for her life.

I looked at her face, pale; her blonde hair made it seem so lifeless, which may be due the fact that her curls were no longer there making her seem full of life. She a tube coming from her nose and was hooked up to machines around the room, at first I'd not been able to come near her, I'd sat as far away as I could. I couldn't bear to see her this way. If anything happened to her I would make it my aim in life to find that son of a bitch. Remembering back to the way the doctors had said that there was an abnormal amount of rohypnol in her system just made me fill with anger. Apparently we had got there just in time, a few minutes longer and she may have gone into shock and a coma from which she might not have awoken from.

"Peyton," I whispered "Please wake up. For me, and your dad, he's here you know? We all miss you. I love you Peyton, I really do." I placed a soft kiss on her forehead. I'd recited that same sentence to her yesterday, and I would everyday until she woke up. I knew this was my entire fault, if I'd of been there instead of leaving her because I was jealous of her relationship with Nathan. I cursed myself when Brooke walked in, looking just as pale as Peyton.

"Hey," she whispered and smiled faintly, almost as if it were too much effort to keep herself awake, let alone waste extra, needed, energy smiling.

"Hey Brooke," I replied looking back to Peyton, a new wave of hope flooding over me every time she managed to take another breath.

"Is she doing any better?"

"Not really. The Doctor just gave her some more fluids, she's really dehydrated." My eyes fell back onto Peyton's hand that I was holding, I could have sworn I felt it move.

"Luke, are you okay?" Brooke pressed. I sighed.

"Not really Brooke," I tried to say it without snapping "I just want her to wake up, you know?" Brooke nodded and walked from the door and to the other side of the hospital bed.

"Hey, P Sawyer," Brooke spoke looking at Peyton's broken body "You in there girl?" she pushed. "Listen," she said getting more comfortable in her seat. "If you get better we can go to a great gig together, I've got tickets to see Fall Out Boy, and one of them, I think he said he was called Pete, or something, said that if you're there we can meet them. So then…" Brooke carried on, trying to convince Peyton to wake up. I just looked at her beautiful but broken face.

I finally decided to leave the hospital that night as the nurse said she'd call me if there was any change in Peyton's condition. Plus I needed to shower before she woke up. I came out of the hospital for the first time in 36hours and the air hit me like a punch in the gut, I struggled to breath, the reality of this all sinking in. I stood up to see my mom and Keith stood outside the hospital by Keith's pickup truck. I smiled and ran to them, I hugged my mom letting lose the tears that I'd tried to hard to hold back. Keith patted my back as I held on to my mom for dear life. I could feel her body shake with the same despair as mine, only the reasoning's behind them differed slightly. Mine was for Peyton, and Peyton alone, my mom's was also for the lifeless girl in the hospital, but also for me, seeing me like this hurt her, it always had.

"How are you Luke?" Keith asked pushing my slightly with his fist. I shrugged, not wanting to get into a deep discussion at the moment. "She'll pull through." Keith added. He slung his arm around me and pulled me into the truck with him.

We rode home in silence; the only thing audible was the engine and my sniffing. When we pulled up outside the small home I resided in, I left my mom and Keith in the truck as I ran inside. I threw my shirt on the floor; I was going to burn that as soon as Peyton was better. I grabbed a towel and walked to the bathroom, turning the shower onto hot as I stepped in after slipping out of the rest of my attire.

To feel the hot water cascading down my body was a sensation that I did not think I was entitled to while the best thing that had ever happened to me was lying in a hospital bed. I washed quickly, running the wash and go shampoo/conditioner through my hair. Thankfully the water ran until it was all rinsed out, reminding me of a time that my mom had to rinse it out with a bucket of water over the kitchen sink. I brief smile flew across my face, and then disappeared. I jumped out of the shower, running the towel through my hair before pulling it around my waist, I stepped out of the bathroom the steam escaping after me, and walked emotionlessly into my bedroom. I quickly dried and pulled on some loose fitting tracksuit bottoms and my favorite grey hooded sweatshirt; it was from Keith's workshop.

I packed a bag of things to bring to hospital for Peyton, my IPod so that she could have something to listen to other than that awful beeping noise, some socks, as they had taken all her clothes from her and I knew how she was conscious of her feet and a blanket as she had shivered in previous nights when the heating was turned off. I loaded this few things into a drawstring bag and walked out of my room to see Keith, my mom and Brooke stood waiting for me. Brooke had tears down her face and my heart stopped beating. I ran over to her.

"What's happened Brooke?" I grabbed her arms.

"He's taken her Luke." I threw her a quizzical look, "her dad." She said in a duh tone. "Her dad took her to live with him in Seattle; he told me that it's too late and that by the time you get there he'll have taken her." Brooke started crying, my mom comforted her while Keith and I ran from the house, he got in the drivers seat of the pickup truck, I skidded to a halt.

"Keith…" I started sighing.

"Get in Luke, you're too upset to drive." I mentally agreed and jumped in the passenger's seat.

We drove at a fast enough speed to not get caught but fast enough that if Keith so much as sneezed his foot would have pushed the accelerator to the floor. We skidded to a halt outside of the hospital, I threw my seat belt off me and slammed open the door, not waiting around long enough to close it. I ran into the hospital, Keith closely behind me. We heard someone, probably a nurse, announcing that 'Visiting time's are over now.' Of course we ignored her and ran to the room that had held Peyton. I threw the door open and found the room completely empty. No sign that she had ever been here. My whole body felt weak and I fell to the floor on my knees, Keith knelt beside me. Tears cascaded down my face in a similar way the shower water had done a few minutes ago.

Would I ever see her again?