The Truth

One Tree Hill Lucas/Peyton w/ mention of Naley/Brooke&?/Lucas&Lindsay

Chapter 7: Over The Hills And Far Away

The day I saw Lucas for the first time since that day in the hotel room was the first time since we got to Tree Hill that Brooke would let me go anywhere but the house by myself. I still had the sling on my arm, but other than that most of my wounds had healed. Physical wounds aside, there was still something that was fatally broken: my heart. It broke that day in the hotel room. . . and until this moment as I write it I never thought it would heal again . . .

~*~

Peyton stood on the Rivercourt, staring at the names of her and all her friends from the night of graduation. Her arm gently rested on her still-in-a-sling shoulder as she remembered how great that night was. High school had just ended . . . and they were all hopeful of the future . . .

She loved her children, she really did, but sometimes she just wished she could go back to high school . . . to the span of time between after the “Psycho Derek” Banks attack and when she left for Los Angeles. Back to when her biggest decision of the day was whether she'd listen to the Cure or Elvis Costello . . . to when it was Brooke & Peyton against the world . . . when it was just her and—

She turned as she heard the bouncing of a ball. Her eyes widened as Lucas appeared on the court, a basketball in his hands. His eyes were dark and his mouth contorted into something that resembled a snarl. She attempted a smile. “Luke! How long has it been?”

The snarl grew deeper. “Two years.” Peyton had never heard that dark tone in his voice in all the time she'd known him.

Her smile became sad, “It's been longer than that . . .” She started to move forward toward him. He jumped back. Peyton stopped, confused. He looked different from the last time she'd seen him. Older, sharper . . . colder.

“I have someone,” Those were the last words Peyton wanted to hear. The smile fell and she started to step backward. Images of Anna and Justin since they were born flashed in her mind as well as moments she'd shared with Lucas over the years . . .

. . . but she pushed them back into her mind and fought back the tears. “That's great, Luke.”

He seemed uneffected by her words. Within moments, he was gone. He hadn't given her any chances to say anything about Justin and Anna. Who was this someone who'd stolen his heart? Were they serious? How long have they been dating?

Peyton's head began to spin . . . everything was lost. “Peyton!” Brooke's suburban stopped just before the court and the brunette yelled out the window. “What are you doing, P. Sawyer? Trying to pass out again?”

The blonde sighed, retreating, and sulked over to the car. As she got in, she retorted, “I haven't passed out for two days, thank you very much.”

“Yeah . . . and let's keep it that way,” Brooke pulled out of the lot and down the street. Peyton stared out the window as they drove. Brooke glanced over at her sad friend. “Penny for your thoughts?”

A brief smile graced Peyton's cheeks, remembering when they were in Honey Grove senior year getting ready for the prom. “Don't know if they're worth that much.”

Brooke smiled too. “Seriously, Momma Sawyer . . . what's on your mind?”

Peyton hesitated . . . but only for a moment. She took a deep breath, preparing herself to say this out loud. “Um . . . I saw Lucas.”

Brooke took a deep breath, cautious of her next words. “Is that so?”

Peyton nodded, gulping, “Yeah.” She released the air in her lungs, tears brimming in her eyes. “H-He's seeing someone.”

Brooke nodded, stopping the car on the side of the road. The brunette unlatched her seatbelt and turned her body so she faced Peyton. “You okay?”

Peyton sniffled, tears falling from her eyes. “N-no . . .”

“Oh, Peyton . . .” Brooke's heart broke for her best friend. Peyton scrambled out of her seatbelt and lay her head on the seat. The tears just burst out. Brooke reached over and moved the blonde's hair from her face. The tears continued and didn't stop.

~*~

It had never occurred to me in all the time I was in Los Angeles that Lucas would move on. It never even crossed my mind. I just thought that when I finally worked up the courage to come back to Tree Hill and tell Lucas about the twins . . . we would be a family. But . . . he found someone and . . . he moved on—

You know that old song that goes “it's the end of the world as we know it”? Well . . . lets just say that the news of Lucas's new significant other hurt far worse than the car crash by a long shot. All my hopes and dreams of Lucas, Justin, Anna, and I as a family were gone. It would always be just me and the kids.

Anyway . . . since Lucas knew that I was in town, Brooke and I agreed it wasn't long before he told Haley and Nathan. So we decided to go visit the other Scott family—minus the kids—before they figured out about Justin and Anna themselves. I wasn't exactly ready to tell them yet anyway.

~*~

“I'm actually nervous,” Brooke confessed to Peyton as they walked through the gate in the backyard of Nathan and Haley's house (one they've never been too yet.)

“Me too,” Peyton agreed, holding her injured arm close to her.

“It's been four years . . .” Brooke said, “Jamie was be so big!”

They closed the gate behind them, looking around as they did. There was a huge pool right in front of their faces. And the house . . . the house was huge!

A glass sliding door opened and Haley appeared, her eyes down to the ground as she came out of the house. She glanced up,stopping where she stood. She stared at them for a second before bolting into action and catching both Brooke and Peyton in a hug. “Ow . . .” Peyton pulled back.

Haley noticed the sling. Peyton noticed that Haley noticed.

Brooke and Peyton glanced at each other. “Um . . . long story.” Peyton told her. “Short of it . . . I was in a car crash.” Haley's eyes were wide. “I'm fine, Haley. It's all good.”

The two noticed a boy wearing shorts, a t-shirt, and bright red cape saunter out of the house. They raised their eyebrows. Haley turned around. “Jamie, come here sweetie. There's some people I want you to meet.” Brooke and Peyton both noticed how alike Justin looked to Jamie. The boy hid behind his mother, who put her hands on his shoulders. “Jamie, this is your aunt Brooke and aunt Peyton. They're your mommy and daddy's friends.”

Brooke bent down, holding her arms out. “Hey buddy! I haven't seen you since you were a tiny baby! Now you're so big!”

The boy was still leaning into his mother. “It's okay, Jamie.” The boy gingerly gave both his aunts a hug and ran off into the house. Brooke, Peyton, and Haley laughed. “He's usually not that shy . . .”

“He's really a cute kid, Hales,” Peyton said. “You and Nathan did good.”
The three of them sat on the concrete edge of the pool. “He's had it rough lately. We all have . . .” Haley sighed.

“We heard about the accident,” Brooke said. The three of them were quiet for a minute. “How are you holding up, tutorgirl?”

Haley took a deep breath, smiling ever so slightly at the use of her old nickname. “I'm trying the best I can.”

“We're here now,” Peyton said, “We'll help.”

“Yeah . . .” Brooke nodded. “We'll help.”

Neither Brooke nor Peyon mentioned that they had a lot on their own plates at the moment with Justin and Anna and Clothes Over Bros and Victoria and Lucas . . .but they didn't say that because it wasn't the right time.

“Nathan and I try to keep things normal . . . for Jamie. We don't fight or talk about the accident in front of him . . . He knows, though. He's always giving us hugs or telling us how much he loves us. He knows.

“Sounds familiar,” Brooke mused.

“He is a lot like Lucas,” Haley said, “He's just this sweet, caring, considerate little boy. It's like he's four times his age sometimes.”

Peyton looked at Brooke, knowing the brunette was talking about Anna and not Lucas. She debated then and there whether or not she should tell Haley . . .

. . . but in the next second she realized that when she finally tells, it should be Lucas first. Even though he had a girlfriend and he broke her heart he deserved to know about his own children.

Peyton stood up, “I've gotta go. I'll see you at home, Brooke.”

“Okay, P. Sawyer I'll see ya later.” Brooke seemed confused but went with it.

“Goodbye, Peyton. Don't be a stranger,” Haley called after the blonde as she walked away.

Peyton knew what her next move had to be.

To Be Continued . . .

A.N. So . . . what'd you think? Haley and Lucas know that the girls are back in town . . . but they don't know about the twins yet. What will their reaction be? How will Peyton first see Lindsay? And . . . what exactly is Peyton's next move?