Best Of Both Worlds (Brooke Davis / OC)

Chapter 17

Everyone looks at him weirdly before he falls on the ground looking like a dead man.

"Let me go there." I push the crowd and run to Nathan. "Nate, do you hear me?"

"Tay..." He whispers. "I'm so sorry."

"Coach!" I yell to Whitey. "Coach! Call 911 or something!"

"What is it, T?" Lucas kneels down to me.

"Dan, Lucas... it's all his fault." I whisper and sit on the floor looking at Nathan leaving with the meds.

I sit there for some long minutes before Peyton comes to me.

"Are you okay?" She sits next to me.

"Nope." I simply state.

"Want to tell me about it?" She nudges me softly.

"I don't know..." I whisper. "Can you take me to the hospital?"

"Sure. Let's go." Peyton helps me stand up and drives me to the emergency. "Call me when you have news."

"Thanks, Peyton. It means more than you know." I smile and she drives away.

As I walk to the entrance, I see Nathan getting out or more sneaking out. When he sees me, he takes me by the arm and leads me to the street.

"What are you doing, Nate? Shouldn't you stay in the hospital?" I worry.

"I need to see Haley, come with me, please." He pleads.

"Let's go." I start walking.

"You're the best." He smiles and follows me.

"So, what happened?" I ask.

"Dehydration... and pills." He looks at the ground. "I'm sorry, Tay, I shouldn't have done this."

"As long as you stop, we're good." I sadly smile. "You reminded me of her, you know?"

"Your mom?" Nathan asks concerned.

"Yeah... Pills got that power to make people angry, the look on your face was the same as hers before she stopped."

"Do you think she could forgive me?" Nathan worries.

"Who?"

"Haley... I've been quite awful to her recently."

"I've heard and I think it's going to be okay. She was worried, she just wants you to be fine and happy. You should let her try, Nathan." I advise.

"I am scared, Tay... I'm scared to let her ruin me. I'm scared to lose her too; I'm scared I'm not good enough for her..." He almost cries as we stop in front of Haley's house.

"Nate...." I put my hands on his shoulders and make him look at me. "It's okay to be scared, you can't be tough your entire life. But I promise Haley is a good girl and she would make a fabulous wife. She is caring, sweet, smart, she knows how to handle a business, she has the guts to follow what she thinks is right... She is one of the kind so, let her in, as slowly as you need to get comfortable with it. But don't push her away, you'll be good enough because she is going to show you how great you are. Believe me Nate, go to her room and tell her how you're feeling, she will love that."

"Thanks for the pep talk, best friend." Nate hugs me tight. "She'll only second you as the best person in my life."

"Don't be silly..." I chuckle.

"I mean it, Tay. I would not be the same without you so, thank you for being who you are." He kisses my forehead and walks to Haley's front door.

I smile at him when he enters the house and I start walking on my own. My thoughts are all over the place. I have flashbacks of my mother collapsing like Nathan did tonight. It reminds me of the countless nights in the hospital waiting for her to wake up. All of this only to never recognize the person who will leave the hospital's room later in the month. Pills made a monster of my mom and they nearly killed my best friend tonight.

As I walk on the road, I see Peyton's car coming behind, so I just wait for her to stop. Once she does, I acknowledge her crying state right away.

"Hey, P. Sawyer." I walk to her driver side. "What is going on?"

"Can you drive me home?" She asks clearly being upset.

"Move to the passenger seat and I'll drive, of course." I nod and enter the car. "So, what's up?"

"Did you ever take a tough decision only to realize it's too late for you?" She wonders.

"It happened yes. What is it all about?"

"Lucas." She admits and cries more. "I told him I wasn't ready to be with him only because I was scared. And tonight, I went to his house, told him I want to be with him, but he was with Brooke."

"They're official, aren't they?" My heart skips a beat.

"After tonight, I think so." Peyton puts her head on my shoulder.

"Then, it's just you and me, P. Sawyer." I sigh and drive to her house.

Once I park in front of her house, she invites me to stay for the night and I do so. We go to her room upstairs and I sit heavily on the bed.

"Hard night, huh?" She says with a clear voice now she stopped crying.

"I guess so." I sigh.

"Want to finally talk about it?" She sits next to me.

"Seeing Nathan collapse like that, it reminded me of my mom." I say and lay down on the bed.

"Why?" She looks at me weirdly.

"When I was ten years old, my mom had that big opportunity, her big shot at being recruited by a Congress man. She was working so hard, every day, every night. She was always working, she forgot to pick me up at school a couple of times, she was always gone and when she was there, she was really angry. My dad tried to take care of her and of me, but he had to work too, so it was hard, and I was alone very often. One day, we went to a Soccer game with my Dad and Mom stayed home to work. When we went back, she was in a weird state, she was shaking angrily, she was throwing papers in the air like a crazy bitch, and when she saw me standing in the living room, she stopped. She looked at me with a crazy smirk and she collapsed on the floor hitting her head on the stairs."

"Ouch..." Peyton comments.

"Yeah... she stayed in the hospital for three weeks. I was there every day, every night. The nurses had named the hallway the "Taylor area" because I was spending my time there. But when she woke up, my mother had changed, she was cold and harsh. She didn't want me around her, no more cuddle, no more affection. It broke my heart. Since then, she has stooped the pills, but started the bitchiness."

"I don't think it's way better." Peyton frowns.

"Nope, it's way worse, trust me." I sadly state. "Anyway, back to you. Lucas is a jerk if he doesn't admit he loves you. It shows, and don't get me wrong, I love Brooke, but she is making a mistake. She knows your feelings for Lucas and his for you, this can't work out..."

"Let's not think about it, shall we?" Peyton asks.

"What do you want to do then?" I wonder.

"Well, normally, with someone so smoking hot in my bed I would have had an idea, but for the sake of our friendship, I'll say cuddles could sound nice." Peyton chuckles and I laugh.

"It does sound good, even if a little make out would have done the trick." I smirk.

"Jerk." She hits my shoulder softly and we start cuddling. "I'm glad to have you with me, tonight.

"So I am, P. Sawyer." I whisper and kiss her temple. "Good night, love."

"Good night, saver."