CHAPTER 12

"Will my teacher be nice to me?" Sophie Scott raised her arms to allow her mother to pull off her pyjama top and put on her yellow SpongeBob T-shirt.

"She's very nice, but you have to be a good girl and do all your work and learn lots of things." Haley finished dressing her daughter for her first day of school and turned her around so she could brush the child's unruly dark hair, pulling it into a tight ponytail.

"Daddy already taught me the alphabet, what else do I have to learn? Do they let you paint in school? Will they let me play basketball?" Haley laughed. Sophie was a typical Scott, always wanted a basketball in her hands.

"I'm sure you can play basketball during play time and yes they do lots of painting in kindegarten so you can paint Daddy and I lots of pictures." This pleased Sophie to no end and aside from some whining about what shoes she wanted to wear, she chatted away happily about what and who she intended to paint.

"Sophie Scott's special first day of school breakfast is served!" Nathan poked his head around the doorway of his daughter's bedroom, spatula in hand and a big smile for his girls. Sophie ran down to the kitchen followed by Haley and both marvelled at the feast before them. "Ok, we've got cereal, fruit, wholemeal toast and orange juice on this side..." Sophie frowned and made a face. "...They're for Mommy." Nathan quickly assured his child. "Over here just for you and me my fellow cholesterol junkie, we have bacon, eggs (scrambled and fried), waffles and sausage. Ladies, tuck in and enjoy!" Nathan tossed the spatula towards the sink and whooped when it landed perfectly before taking his seat at the table.

"I can't believe you did all this, Nathan. We'll never eat all of this food." Haley chuckled as she bit into a slice of wholemeal toast.

"Well, our daughter only has one first day at school breakfast, isn't that right Sophizzle?" Sophie high-fived her Dad, her mouth full of bacon.

Since Nathan had taken the job with Deb, his time at home was dwindling. The job was extremely demanding but they were certainly reaping the financial benefits and just a short time after starting the job, he and Haley had put a down payment on a modest 3 bedroom house in the suburbs, closer to the high school where Haley had just begun teaching. Life had changed dramatically for the young family, most of it for the better but Nathan still worried about the amount of time he was spending away from his family. In the 6 or 7 months that he had been with the company, he was being pulled in all sorts of directions; meetings with architects, contractors, city officials and vendors took him all over the East coast but he had to admit, he was loving every minute of it. He never imagined that he would be the corporate type, let alone actually enjoy it, but he guessed he was more his mother's son than he realised. Who would have thought two high school dropouts who ran away from home and had a baby before they turned 20 would actually succeed the way he and Haley had? Nathan certainly thanked whatever higher power was looking down on them every day. Both he and Haley had worked to the bone ever since they arrived in Hartford, working minimum wage jobs, going to school at night to get their GED's and then Haley going to night college to get her degree. It had been a very trying few years for them but Nathan was confident they had finally come out the other side and the grass sure was greener over here. For those years, Nathan had felt like a dark cloud was constantly hanging over him, the only sunshine being Haley and Sophie. Now that he was free from their previous worries, such as where they would get the following months rent after paying hundreds of dollars to replace their broken down heater, Nathan felt as if he could finally breathe again.

Almost 6 years later and here they were, about to drive their daughter to her first day of school. They were a long way from their days in Tree Hill although Nathan often found himself missing his home town. He hadn't been back there since driving away in the middle of the night with Haley at his side but lately he felt as if he owed it to himself to pay a visit. It wasn't as if there was anything there for him, Karen and Keith often visited Hartford as they knew that Nathan and Haley couldn't afford to take the long trip to North Carolina. Yet still he needed to see the place again.

"Daddy, when I'm 5 can I have a bike like Kara's?" Sophie batted her eyelashes at her father, quite used to being able to manipulate him despite her young age.

Haley smiled knowingly at Nathan. Sophie's 5th birthday party had been planned for weeks and the bike that she had been begging for for months was safely stashed away at Nathan's office. "We'll have to see won't we? Are you going to be the best girl in school? And the best girl at home?" Nathan winked at Haley.

"Of course, Daddy. I'm always good!" Sophie said it so innocently that both Nathan and Haley burst out laughing.

"Oh really? So that wasn't you last night who cried and whined for a whole hour last night because you weren't allowed to eat a candy bar before bedtime?"

Sophie giggled and tried to hide her mischevious smile. "Nope. That definatley wasn't me. For shizzle, Daddy!"

An hour later and the couple were driving back to their house after dropping Sophie to school. Haley clenched her balled up tissue and willed herself not to cry again. Nathan stared straight ahead and drove in stony silence. Both were traumatised by the fact that their baby was growing up and no longer needed them. Ok, well of course she needed them, but it seemed they were more upset by Sophie's introduction to pre school than she was. Haley had expected tears and tantrums, but her daughter had merely waved at them and yelled back 'See ya later!' Their baby was no longer that and both were feeling a little sensitive that their child was growing up.

"Did you get enough pictures?" Nathan broke the silence, his voice overly cheerful.

"Yeah, I think I took enough. I don't think Miss Archer was too happy that I kept taking pictures of her and almost every other kid in the class. I'll have to email them to your Mom and Karen as soon as we get back. They keep texting me to find out how it went."

"Don't forget to send them to Lucas and Rachel." Nathan reminded.

Haley made a face. She knew how excited Lucas was about today and couldn't wait for Sophie to call him later to tell him all about it, but Rachel just couldn't care less. Lucas had spent half an hour on the phone last night asking Sophie all sorts of questions but the entire time Rachel was in the background whining that they were going to miss their reservations. But, of course, Haley had to make nice whenever she saw Rachel, after all she was Lucas's wife. God she hated saying that in her head almost as much as she hated saying it out loud. After a month long engagement that no-one could seem to talk Lucas out of (not even his mother), he and Rachel had eloped to Mexico and got married on a beach with 2 strangers as their witnesses. It seemed Lucas had known all too well just how many problems he would have caused amongst his friends and family had he married at home, so an elopement was the easier option. They would both be at Sophie's birthday party in a few weeks so Haley would have to mentally prepare herself days in advance for Rachel's arrival. Each visit from her was an ordeal that Haley spent days getting over. She would arrive into her and Nathan's home and instantly criticize everything in her condescending yet subtle way (so subtle that Lucas and Nathan were oblivious) and would complain about the food, the lack of space, too many toys, not enough light to apply her makeup, the kid who makes too much noise, the kid who wipes her sticky hands on her expensive clothes (Haley was secretly proud of that one) and uncomfortable bed in the guest bedroom. Everytime Rachel left, Haley was usually fit to drop from exhaustion and although Lucas constantly apologised, he always made excuses for his wife.

What worried Haley most about Sophie's birthday party was that ALL her friends would be there, including Peyton and Brooke and she wasn't sure how all of them would cope in the same room together after almost a year of not talking. Nathan was confident that everyone would put aside their differences for Sophie's sake, but Haley wasn't so sure. There was a lot of bottled up emotions between the three and Haley was more than a little apprehensive, especially where Lucas was concerned. He had been playing the happy husband for months now but Haley knew her friend well enough to know when things were getting on top of him. Haley had brought Sophie to New York for a visit a few weeks previously and she wasn't afraid to tell him that he looked awful. He had lost weight from his already slight frame and looked as if he hadn't slept in days. Concerned for her friend, she had try to talk to him about what was obviously troubling him, but as usual, Lucas was stubborn and insisted that he was just under pressure with studying and the coming academic year. Haley didn't buy it of course and would use the party as an excuse to get him away from Rachel and get him to open up to her, something he hadn't done since Rachel had come into his life and she hoped she could reach him before it was too late.

Rachel Gattina Scott padded down the hallway of her cramped one bedroom apartment in to the small kitchen, dressed only in a tiny tank top and a pair of 'Aussie Bums' boxers, the only souvenir from her last relationship. She pulled open the fridge and stared aimlessly inside until her eyes began to blur. Lucas, who was sitting at the breakfast counter quietly sipping his coffee and reading the newspaper, smiled at his wife's hungover state. He couldn't quite sympathise though.

"Good night last night?" he enquired softly, sensitive to her fragile head.

"It wasn't bad. We went to a new club in SoHo, Jay-Z was there. You should have come with us."

"Sorry I missed that, I had to get an early start this morning though." Lucas reached behind him and tried to pull Rachel towards him but she shrugged him off and gave him an irritated sigh.

"Lucas, I have morning breath. And you know I hate being crowded..."

"I don't care about your breath" Lucas laughed and rolled his eyes. Rachel was obviously in another one of her moods.

"Well I do." she pouted back as she took a sip of his lukewarm coffee. She grimaced when she realised that Lucas had heaped his usual 2 spoonfuls of sugar into the cup so instead grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and began to peel and slice.

"Is that all you're going to have for breakfast?" Lucas raised his eyebrow, wondering how on earth his wife survived on such little sustenance.

"Yes. Why?" Rachel turned and glared him, readying herself for their habitual argument about her diet but Lucas quickly sensed her hostility and dropped the subject. Rachel's appetite or lack of, was one of the many things they fought about lately. Every conversation became a dispute about money, or Rachel's partying, Lucas's absence from the party scene or his not spending enough time with her (that was only when she wasn't accusing him of overcrowding her). He couldn't seem to win with her these days and it was exhausting him. When she was out with her friends, Lucas would be kept awake most of the night worrying who she was with, whether she would go home with another guy and then when he had convinced himself that Rachel was cheating on him, he would blame himself for not being a good enough husband. He would understand why she would want to cheat on him, because he was simply not good enough.

"So, it's Sunday and neither of us have to work, so what do you think about taking a drive to Hartford to visit Nathan, Haley and Sophie? We could take Sophie out, to the zoo or something..."

Rachel rolled her eyes at the suggestion. "Lucas, didn't you spend forever on the phone to Sophie and Haley last night? Jeez, if I wasn't such an understanding wife, I might be jealous of the attention you pay to another woman. Anyway, I made plans today. I'm going to a yoga class and then to lunch with the girls. We'll probably shop for awhile after that."

"I thought we were going to hang out today?" Lucas knew he sounded like a baby but he couldn't help it. Rachel had whined at him all week that he wasn't paying any attention to her so he had suggested that they would spend all day Sunday together, yet now she was ditching him for her friends. Again.

"Baby, my life doesn't go on hold just because you decide to take a day off from studying. You can go to Hartford if you like or hang out with one of you law school buddies. Do whatever you want... I'm going for a shower!" With that Rachel turned on her heel and bounced out of the room.

Lucas gritted his teeth and shook his head. Why the hell did marriage have to be such hard work? Or maybe it was just his marriage... He used to be attracted to Rachel's carefree, ruthless attitude but now it just drove him nuts. She blew so hot and cold that Lucas never knew where he stood with her, never knew what to expect and it was beginning to take it's toll on his health, both physical and mental. He had paid a visit to his doctor recently and he had actually suggested anti-depressants to help with the pressure that was building everyday and felt like it would explode at any given moment. Lucas had assured the doc that he didn't need pills to cope and promised to start relaxing a little more. Now here he was on a Sunday morning, the ideal day for relaxing and he had nothing to do. Picking up the phone, he dialled his brother's number.

Hi, you've reached Nathan, Haley and Sophie...

He hung up and took a deep breath. He would call back later just to chat with Haley if he didn't make it down there. So much of his time was spent studying, taking classes and working as a clerk in a large law firm in the city that when he finally did have a day off to chill out, he usually had no one to hang out with. It was days like these that he used to be able to rely on Peyton to drag him to some of the most obscure places in New York city and they would spend all day laughing and acting like children. Lucas still saw Jake every Wednesday night when they met to play basketball at a gym in Luke's neighbourhood but it was sometimes awkward because, despite Jake's attempts to reconcile the two, both he and Peyton refused to talk about each other.

A short time later, Rachel returned to the kitchen fully made up wearing black skinny jeans and a figure hugging silver-grey sweater. She looked gorgeous of course.

"Baby, are you mad at me?" she asked sweetly, sliding onto her husband's lap and wrapping her arms around his neck. Lucas pulled away from her and shook his head no.

"You are..." Rachel pulled him back to her and tightened her grip, but Lucas wasn't in the mood for her games.

"I'm not mad, go hang out with your friends. Have fun. I have alot to do today anyway..."

"Ok" Rachel was appeased and hopped up, grabbed her purse and gave Lucas a quick kiss on the lips before leaving the apartment. Lucas sighed and stretched out his arms behind his head. Now he had to find something to do for the day.

In a studio across town, Brooke was putting the final touches to a red silk bustier that was the last piece of a collection she was presenting to her boss the following morning. It wasn't rare to find Brooke in the studio on a Sunday morning, in fact, for the past year she had completely thrown herself into her work and it was finally paying off as the powers that be were beginning to take notice of her designs.

"Hey gorgeous..." A deep male voice from behind her made her jump. Recognising the voice, Brooke turned around and her eyes met those of the tall, dimpled blond who's voice sent ripples of pleasure all through her body.

"Hey yourself. What are you doing here? I thought you were in California?" Brooke sashayed towards him and allowed him to pull her into his arms for a passionate kiss.

"I missed you of course. Did you miss me?"

"Maybe, how did you know where I was?"

"Are you ever anywhere else?"

"Logan Sawyer, are you saying I work too much?" Brooke teased as she stroked the back of his neck, curling her fingers into his thick blond hair which had grown a little since she last saw him.

"Would I ever dare say that?" Logan teased back. "How do you feel about me stealing away to get some lunch by the park? My treat..."

Brooke contemplated the offer for a moment before accepting. She quickly finished up and grabbed her coat as Logan grasped her hand and pulled her out of the studio and into the elevator, kissing and nuzzling her neck all the way to the ground floor. They were laughing and fondling as they left the building, unaware that another tall handsome blond was watching them.

Lucas suddenly felt as if he couldn't breathe, his knees became weak and the constant knot in his stomach became tighter. He quickly found a bench to sit on and watched as Brooke, HIS Brooke, walked hand in hand with Logan Sawyer, Peyton's older brother. Lucas wasn't quite sure how he had gotten to this part of town - he had left his apartment with the intention of taking a long walk to clear his mind of the uneasiness that had settled there over the last few weeks and then somehow found himself standing across the street from the building where Brooke worked. He had almost convinced himself to go inside and see if she was there and maybe say hello but was stopped in his tracks when the petite brunette emerged laughing, nestled in the arms of another man.

He wondered briefly about the pairing, torturing himself as to when the affair could have began. In the time he and Brooke had been together, they had met Logan Sawyer only once during a trip to Tree Hill when Logan had also returned for a brief respite from his travels. Logan was the complete opposite to Brooke, he was the love them and leave them type and according to Peyton, left a string of broken hearts in cities all over the world. He was an adventurer, not content on living in one place for any length of time and often sent emails to his sister with tales of his bold lifestyle from skydiving to camping in the Australian bush. Last Lucas heard, he was somewhere in Africa working for an aid agency.

For the past year, Lucas had tried not to torment himself with thoughts of Brooke, especially with another man, but of course, glutton for punishment that he was, often he could think of little else. He would try to imagine that she was happy, single, but still happy and seeing her as he just seen her, he silently cursed himself for being here to witness a scene that ripped his heart out all over again. At that moment as she disappeared from view, Lucas would have given anything to be the one who was making her laugh, his arms wrapped around her waist and kissing that gorgeous silky hair.

Outside Peyton and Jake's apartment, Lucas paid the taxi driver and looked up to the window of their apartment, searching for a sign that someone was home. He pressed the buzzer and sighed with relief when Peyton's voice answered.

"It's Luke." Silence followed but the door unlocked and he made his way upstairs and found the front door had been left open for him. He had a strange sense of deja vu as he entered, but he hoped that this conversation would go down better than the last one they had.

Peyton was standing by the window looking out onto the street below when he entered her living room. She turned and leaned against the ledge, her arms folded across her chest. She noticed the wedding band on his left hand and grimaced. Of course she knew that he had married but it was still a jarring reminder of the reason this was the first time she had seen him in so many months.

"Hi" Lucas was the first to speak, his voice deeper than she remembered. It was amazing how a person could spend 15 years of their life listening to a voice that became as familiar to them as their own, but just a few short months without it and it sounded foreign and strange.

"What are you doing here?" Peyton wasn't going to bother with the pleasantries, it was obvious from Lucas's eager expression that he was here to find out something.

"Nice to see you too, Peyton..." Lucas laughed bitterly and looked as if he was going to change his mind and leave.

"Wait, I'm sorry... but can you blame me for wanting to know why you're here? You haven't exactly dropped in for a coffee and a chat now have you?" Peyton half smiled but avoided his intense gaze.

"I spent the whole taxi ride trying to talk myself out of coming here because when you know my reason for being here you'll laugh in my face and kick me out."

"I don't think I've ever laughed in anybody's face before so I don't think i'm going to start today. So, tell me. Why are you here?"

"Brooke." Lucas shrugged as if it was obvious.

Confusion invaded Peyton's pretty features and she shook her head, obviously not understanding. "What about her?"

"I saw her today. With your brother. And i'm sorry for coming here to ask you about it but I couldn't exactly walk up to her and ask her but it's something I need to know and I can't explain why." Lucas paused and took a deep breath. He was dreading the answer, one way or another. "Is it serious between them? Does she love him?"

"That's why you're here? You want to know if Brooke loves Logan? Are you serious?" Peyton almost laughed but she could see Lucas's discomfort in asking her this.

"I'm here aren't I? I don't know why I need to know Peyton but I just do..."

"What if she is? Why should it bother you that they're together? Are you going to do something about it?"

"Of course not! I'm married!" Lucas began to argue but Peyton cut him off.

"I don't need a reminder thanks. I can't believe you come here after, what, 7 months, and this is what you ask me?" she had to admit that it hurt her a little that Lucas was here to talk about Brooke and not to try to salvage what was left of their relationship.

"I'm sorry. Really I am, I wish things could be different for us, I wish we were still friends Peyton, but you handed me an ultimatum and I did what I needed to do but you punished me for that! I came here because even though you don't want anything to do with me you're the only one who'll tell me the truth."

"How do you know I don't want anything to do with you? Have you asked me since that day you walked out of here? Have you bothered to call and see how I was doing?"

"That's a 2 way street, Peyton, you didn't call me either... And don't act like it was all me, that I was the one who walked out on this friendship. You kept pushing..."

"I didn't want this Luke! Do you think I like not being able to call my best friend because I'm afraid he'll hang up on me or that his wife will answer and make me feel worse? I'm terrified that you and Rachel will prove me wrong and I'll never get you back!"

Lucas shook his head and bit his lip to stop him saying anything further. "I didn't want this either. But it happened and now here we are..."

"Ok, so you want the answer to your question? The answer is no, she doesn't love him. He's been in town for about 6 weeks and I can tell he's already getting itchy feet. It's only a matter of time before he takes off again, the only reason he hasn't yet is because he actually really likes Brooke. From what I can tell, she likes him too but she's not ready for anything serious. Do what you want with that information, but don't ever ask me again." Peyton turned away and faced the window again, not wanting Lucas to see her cry.

"Thank you. I'm sorry for everything Peyton. While we're being honest with each other - I haven't proved you wrong. Probably won't either. I hope that gives you some sort of comfort." Lucas turned to leave as Peyton looked back at him.

"It doesn't. It actually makes me wish I could've protected you better."

Lucas nodded "I guess I'll see you at the party." he said before leaving the apartment. He wasn't sure what he would do with that information but it made the knot in his stomach loosen just a little.

Rachel was in a foul mood when Lucas came in from work late on the Friday evening before Sophie's birthday party. "Where have you been?" she demanded before he had even taken off his coat. "I have been waiting for over an hour, I was supposed to meet Lauren and Steph for drinks but I actually waited around because you wanted to talk!"

Lucas sighed and walked past her to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee, he was exhausted. It was after 9 and he had a really long day which had started with a really tough exam that morning before he then had to race across town to go to work. He had made Rachel promise to be there when he got home so they could talk a few things over but all he wanted to do now was crawl into bed and not wake up. "I'm sorry, things were crazy at the office. That new client I was telling you about is giving us so much grief, we had to get a whole bunch of contracts drawn up for a meeting first thing Monday."

"Lucas! I don't care about your client... I've got someplace to be so you have 5 minutes to say what you have to say." Rachel tapped her foot impatiently, her hands on her slender hips.

"Rachel, why are you going out? We have to leave here at 6 in the morning to drive to Hartford tomorrow..."

"Lucas, I'm not going to Hartford so it doesn't matter if I go out or not."

Lucas slammed his coffee mug onto the counter and clenched his jaw, willing himself not to completely lose it. "When did you decide that you weren't going? Before or after I came home late?"

Rachel glared back at him, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "I don't feel like spending my weekend with screaming children running around me and trying to be polite to your relatives when it is so painfully obvious that they don't want me there and the feeling is mutual."

"Rachel, you've known about this for weeks. It's just a weekend. We hardly ever go to Hartford anymore anyway, why does this have to be such a big deal?"

"If it were my choice, we wouldn't go there at all! And besides, I never promised you I would go, there are much better ways I would rather spend my Saturday than listening to Haley prattle away about some 'hilarious' thing that happened at her school and Nathan's boring devotion to his family. My god, the guy is hot but when he opens his mouth I just want to go to sleep! Oh and by the way, Haley left a message on the answering machine to let you know that Brooke and Peyton would be there. Well wouldn't that just be a mountain of laughs for me?"

Lucas couldn't believe what he was hearing. He so rarely asked anything of his wife, especially when it came to spending time with his family, but this one time when he really needed her support she was flaking on him. "Rachel, it's just one weekend..." he repeated.

"I don't care! I'm sick of it! You talk to them all of the time! If you're not texting Nathan, you're calling Haley and Sophie. Are they more important than me, Lucas?"

"You're never here! It's not like I have a tonne of other friends to call or text, you've made sure of that! I spend most of my nights waiting up for you, worrying about you! I'm sick of that! When you say jump, I jump and i'm sick of that too. You are so unbelievably selfish, Rachel. Do you even love me? Do you care that I don't want to wake up in the morning? That some days when I go to work, I think about jumping in front of the train? I can't do this anymore Rachel!"

"Don't be so dramatic Lucas! Oh my god, I can't believe you would say that to me. What happened to you? When we met, you were by my side when I went out partying, you were always the last to leave the club. You would beg to go out, desperate to shake off the old Lucas. Or should I say, desperate to shake off Brooke. You wanted what I offered, Lucas, you begged for it and correct me if i'm wrong, you loved every minute of it. So what now? I'm not who you thought you married? Ditto, hubby. There's just one difference, i'm not the one who changed. You did."

"I guess I can't argue with that. I have changed, i'm not who I was when I met you and I sure as hell am not the person I was before I met you. I don't know who I am anymore..."

"Do you feel better now? You got it all out... Can we move on? I might be convinced to stay at home if you make it worth my while..." Rachel moved towards him and began to unbutton his shirt. Lucas looked down at her and for the first time since he met her, she had absolutely no affect on him. She kissed his neck and moved her hand towards his belt buckle but he grabbed it tightly and pulled away from her.

"I don't love you." Lucas searched her eyes for her reaction but she just glared back at him. The revelation was a relief to him, he could feel a small piece of his old self seep back into him.

"Lucas" Rachel sighed, already bored with his emotional drama. "Can we just forget this? Let's do something for the 2 of us, let's go to Atlantic City this weekend, gamble, drink, have sex all day. It will be fun. You remember what that is?"

"No, Rachel. I'm going to Hartford tomorrow to my niece's birthday party. I'm going to pack."

"You packed your overnight bag this morning..."

"I'm packing all my stuff. At least what I can take with me now anyway. I'll pick up the rest of my stuff on Monday."

Rachel had the good grace to look shocked and met his eyes. "You're leaving me?"

"We both know this isn't working. This is best for both of us. This marriage is killing me, and I don't think it's roses for you either."

"This is ridiculous, all this because I won't go to a stupid children's birthday party? You're not leaving me Lucas!"

"Rachel, shut up! This whole thing was a huge mistake! I'm sorry, I'm not blaming you, I blame myself. I lost myself, Rachel and now I don't know who I am."

Lucas laid a hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off and stared at him in disgust.

"You bastard." she growled. " You're a loser, Lucas. I thought you could have been someone important, WE could have been important. When I agreed to marry you it was because you led me to believe that we wanted the same things, and then all you would do was talk about starting a family and moving out of the city! Did you ever think that would be enough for me, Lucas?" Rachel hated to admit it but this hurt more than she thought it would. Lucas had been her chance to make something of her life and now he was walking out on her.

"I can't be who you want me to be. Maybe in the beginning I went along for the ride, partying with you, meeting the people you wanted me to meet, but that just wasn't me, Rachel. I'm sorry."

"You're small town, Lucas, you always were. Get out. I'll send your stuff to Nathan and Haley's. Don't come here ever again, you'll hear from my lawyer." Rachel shoved him towards the door, her anger building. "Go back to your precious family!"

Nathan answered the door warily, the baseball bat hidden behind his back. It was after 2am and he and Haley weren't accustomed to late night visitors. He relaxed when he saw Lucas peering back at him, soaking wet from the heavy rain that had been falling all week.

"Lucas, what's wrong?" he opened the door wider to let his brother in, taking his coat and bag and throwing them into the nearest closet. Haley appeared at the top of the stairs and seeing Lucas, she rushed down, her mind whirling frantically at the possible reasons for Lucas's late night appearance.

"Luke, what happened?" she grabbed her friends hand, noticing his dishevelled state.

"I left Rachel. My marriage is over." Lucas took a step back so he was leaning against the wall and he slumped to the floor. Haley kneeled beside him and looked up at Nathan, her expression sorrowful and worried at the same time. Nathan disappeared as Haley pulled Lucas into a hug.

"Lucas, i'm so sorry." She could hear Nathan enter the living room behind her from the kitchen, she looked around and saw him place two glasses on the coffee table along with a bottle of whiskey. Haley smiled at Nathan's way of helping to comfort his brother. She helped her friend and led him to her living room which had been decorated earlier that evening with pink and silver balloons and 'Happy Birthday' banners across the walls in preparation for their daughters party the following afternoon.

Lucas lowered himself onto the couch and sagged with despair. He managed to pull off his black NYU hoodie which Haley took from him and tossed onto the single seater sofa on the other side of the room. Nathan sat at the opposite end of the couch and poured two generous shots of Jameson's into the glasses in front of him, handing one to Lucas who immediately downed it in one go, wincing as the drink burned the back of his throat. Haley hovered around him nervously but when Nathan winked at her, she quietly went upstairs and prepared the guest room, that is, if Lucas didn't end up passing out on the couch. Upstairs, Haley allowed herself a small smile of relief. She had prayed that Lucas would come to his senses and finally see Rachel for what she was; a selfish, over-indulged user. Her only hope now was that Lucas would get through this in one peace and one day be happy again. Haley decided to go to bed and let Nathan help his brother to figure things out.

Downstairs, Lucas was lowering back his third shot. Nathan joined him, also wincing at the effect of the fiery liquid. "You need a place to stay?" Nathan asked, pouring more shots.

"Yeah. Thanks." Lucas leaned his head back against the couch and allowed the alcohol to take affect. His muscles began to loosen, the earlier tension melting away. His mind began to cloud over and he smiled at the release.

"Is it over for good?" Nathan sipped his next shot a little more slowly. He had 12 five year olds running around his house tomorrow, a hangover was the last thing he needed.

"Yup." Lucas opened his eyes and took another drink. "I'll talk to a lawyer next week."

"You sure about this?"

Lucas nodded and again closed his eyes. He was so damn tired, had been for months. For the first time in his life, Lucas Scott had no idea who he was or what he wanted. He knew one thing for certain though. He'd been a fool. He'd let go the best thing to ever happen to him and he had wasted 5 years studying something he had no interest in. On Monday he would drop out of Law school and move away from New York.

"Mi Casa, Su Casa, brother." Nathan clinked his glass against his brother's empty one and swallowed the rest of his drink.