Somewhere I Belong
Some of you might recognize this story, I started posting it last year but due to timing was unable to finish posting it. So I decided to start over fresh this is a new and improved version of it. So please read and review and let me know what you think (:
Thanks to Leese for editing this! Your the best and I owe you big time (:
Chapter One: The Get Away
"How the fuck did I end up with a pathetic excuse of a son like you!" Dan yelled as he kicked Nathan for the final time that night. He then barked. "Clean up this fucking mess."
He marched out of the kitchen and left Nathan lying on the ground among bits of broken glass and wood. There went another dining room chair. Nathan was still for a few moments as he made sure Dan didn't come back to finish his angry rage. He heard his office door shut and he sighed in relief.
Nathan had finally had enough. These father son beatings had been going on for the last eight years and he was tired of it. He was tired of trying to hide the bruises. He was tired of not having any close friends. He was tired of not being able to have his girlfriend over whenever he wanted. Not that Peyton had noticed anything was wrong. She was only happy when she was getting some. But most of all he was tired of all the pain.
Nathan picked himself up off the floor. His sides were agonizing where Dan had kicked him repeatedly. He also felt like he'd broken his back after being slammed into the wall, the floor and having a chair broke against him. The rest of his body throbbed from the punches and kicks he had received. Even his crotch had been on the receiving end of several hard kicks. Only his face had been left unscathed. Dan didn't want his sick little secret getting out.
This had to be one of the worst beatings he had endured; all because he threw Lucas the ball and he made the closing shot before the buzzer rang, instead of making it himself. It didn't matter that the Ravens were winning by a long shot or the fact that Nathan had scored thirty four out of the fifty points they had. No that still wasn't enough for Dan. No matter how much he did it would never be enough. But this time, this time Nathan was done! He couldn't take it anymore.
He forced his battered and bruised body upstairs to his room where he threw on a pair jogging pants and a hoodie to hide the bruises. Then he pulled his duffel bag out of the closet and started filling it up with as many clothes as he could fit in. He was getting out tonight.
After he finished he quietly walked down the hallway to his parents' bedroom he would need money to get out. He took the family portrait off the wall to reveal his dad's wall safe. 23-3-33. Nathan put the combination in and it opened instantly. He grabbed every stack of hundred dollar bills that was in there and shoved them into his bag. That should be more than enough money to get him out and on his feet until he could find a job.
Nathan quickly put everything back to the way it was and quietly walked down stairs and left the house. He climbed into his mustang, shut the door and sped down the road. All he had to do was make it to the airport and he would be free. He was getting a one way ticket on the furthest non-stop flight they had.
Nathan flipped on the radio to drown out his thoughts; "Crawling" by Linkin Park was playing so he cranked it all the way up. He wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to where he was going. That's probably why he didn't notice the person in the middle of the road until it was almost too late. Nathan slammed on the brakes and swerved to avoid hitting the person.
"Watch where you're going!" he yelled as he got out of the car.
He stopped immediately when he realized who it was. There stood Brooke Davis in the middle of the road, her face was tear streaked and her eyes were puffy. It was obvious she'd been crying a lot. She looked completely distressed and Nathan was concerned. He wondered what had happened to her for her to be in such a state.
"Sorry." She muttered as she started heading back down the street.
"Brooke, are you okay?" Nathan asked suddenly.
"Not really." She laughed dryly, she kept on walking. Despite his better judgment Nathan jogged to catch up. He gently took hold of her arm and turned her around to look at him.
"Brooke what happened to you?" He asked softly. Brooke sighed. Her eyes filled with a fresh batch of tears as she walked over to the side walk and sat down.
"Lucas cheated on me." She said in barely a whisper.
"I'm so sorry." he said sitting down beside her and enveloped her into a hug. He winced as her body pressed against his sore points.
"Yeah, but what makes it so hard is who he did it with." Brooke pulled away to wipe her eyes. Nathan studied her face in confusion.
"Who was it?" he asked.
"Nate, I'm not sure how to tell you this, and I really don't want to be the one to do it, but I walked in on him and Peyton," Brooke told him sadly. "They were having sex and didn't even care that the door was still open, even though there was a party in full swing."
Figures, Peyton was a slut and Lucas was a dick. He honestly didn't care. He was getting the hell out of town. He looked back at Brooke. Her eyes welled up with tears again, and even though he didn't care, Brooke did. That surprised him. Brooke was the strongest girl he knew, and she didn't take shit from anyone.
"I'm sorry, Brooke," Nathan said hugging her again. And again he winced in pain. "Would you like me to drive you somewhere?" He asked sincerely.
"Can you get me out of this town?" She asked dryly as she sniffled.
"Actually," Nathan hesitated for a moment. "I was on my way to the airport if you're serious."
Nathan wasn't sure why he was offering, it just came out. Brooke looked at Nathan stunned.
"What?" She asked confused. She wondered if she had heard right and if so, why was Nathan leaving Tree Hill?
"I'm leaving town tonight." he told her.
"Why?" she asked him curiously.
"I just have to get out," he stopped for a moment. "So do you really want to leave?"
Brooke thought for a minute then the sadness on her face was replaced with determination. This was her chance to get away from the hell hole that was Tree Hill and begin afresh, where no-one would know where she was.
"Yes!" She said standing up, Nathan followed. "Are you sure you want me to come?"
"Yeah why not, no one likes to travel alone." Nathan said smiling.
"How much cash do you have?" Brooke asked walking to the car.
"I'm not sure of the exact amount; I'd say more than thirty grand. Why?" he asked her in response.
"Because if we stop at an ATM Machine before we stop by my apartment I can clean out my account." Brooke told him.
"Are you sure? I have a lot of money." Nathan said. He didn't know how much exactly, but there was currently a small fortune in his duffel bag, hidden safely in his spare sneakers.
"Yeah I'm positive, it's my money. Plus I don't want you to pay for everything," Brooke smiled. Besides, we might need it."
"Okay the ATM Machine it is." Nathan drove Brooke to the ATM Machine where she emptied her account, and then they drove to her apartment.
"So, how long is this going to take you?" Nathan asked sitting on Brooke's bed as she threw her clothes into a big Louis Vuitton suitcase.
"Not long, I'm not taking everything." Brooke laughed.
It was the first time she laughed since finding out about what had transpired between her boyfriend and her best friend and it felt great. From this point on Brooke was not going to dwell on the past, she was going to start over! With Nathan.
"How much exactly are you taking?" Nathan asked as he watched her pack what seemed to him to be a mountain of clothes.
"Well, a little bit of everything. We're not even sure where were going to be going, or staying. I just want to make sure I'm well prepared!" Brooke had a point; maybe Nathan should have packed more stuff.
"Good point," Nathan looked around the room. "Maybe I should have brought more than I did."
It was littered with photographs. Most of them were pictures of Brooke and Lucas, or Brooke and Peyton. But there sitting on her dresser was a picture of Brooke and Nathan. Nathan stood up and walked over to the picture. He picked it up and looked at it confused.
It was the two of them earlier that year; the whole gang had gone to Carowinds instead of school one Friday. In the picture Nathan had Brooke hoisted up in the air bridle style. He didn't even know the picture had been taken. Must have been Bevin's doing. She was known for taking pictures of randomness.
"That was a fun day." Brooke said as she walked out of her closet and saw him looking at the photo.
"Yeah it was. I didn't know you had this picture." Nathan said holding it up.
"Yeah Bevin took a lot of pictures that day and when I saw that one I had to frame it." Brooke said walking up and taking the picture and putting it in her bag. She then walked over to her desk and picked up her digital camera.
"How about we take a new picture? One to mark the start of our new journey?" Brooke suggested as she smiled.
"That sounds great." Nathan said managing a smile in response. His body was hurting him a lot at that moment. Brooke stood in front of Nathan her back to his chest. Her head barely came up to his chin; she reached her arm out and snapped the picture.
"Perfect!" She said looking at it on the review screen, "We'll have to frame it the second we get to where ever it is were going."
Nathan looked down at his watch; it was already quarter past twelve. "Speaking of where ever it is were going, are you almost done, it's already quarter after twelve."
"Yeah hold on one second." Brooke said walking into her bathroom.
"Brooke do you have any Tylenol in there?" he called after her. She emerged a few moments later with two other smaller bags and the Tylenol. She threw it over to him and he caught it and winced slightly as he did. He looked at her small bags curious. "What's that?"
"Make-up," Brooke held up her right hand. She lifted her left hand. "And hair stuff. What do you need the Tylenol for? You got a headache?"
"Actually no," he replied, "I got an elbow to the ribs during the game." Nathan lied.
"Oh my God! Do you want me to look at it?" Brooke asked him concerned.
"No, no it's ok," Nathan told her before he took two Tylenol out of the bottle and swallowed them with ease. "I took care of it when I got home it was just a little sore is all."
"Ok, well if you're sure." Brooke said as she zipped her second case closed.
"Yeah it's fine. Okay, is that everything?" Nathan asked picking up her suitcases.
"I guess." Brooke said looking around her room.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked her. He wanted to make sure it really was what she wanted and she wasn't just acting in the spur of the moment because of what she had seen Lucas and Peyton doing at the party.
"Positive!" Brooke grinned walking past him and down the hallway. In no time they were outside, in the car, down the highway, and sitting in front of the airport.
Nathan got out of his car and swung his duffel bag over his shoulder and winced in pain. He then grabbed both of Brooke's suitcases. She grabbed her purse, which now held the ridiculous amount of money, and her two travel bags. The two walked into the near empty airport and up to the boarding sign.
"So where do you want to go?" Nathan asked. Brooke scanned all of the locations then she stopped. She slowly turned to Nathan with a big grin on her face.
"How about sunny Orange County, California!" She was way excited. Nathan thought for a moment.
"Don't your parents live in California?" he asked her. "I thought we were trying to get away from everyone we know?"
"Lived in California," Brooke corrected. "The last time I talked to them was about five months ago and it was to let me know that they had relocated to New York. As far as I know or am concerned, they could be living in Antarctica freezing there asses off!"
"Oh," Nathan said. "So you really want to go to California?"
"Oh my God yes! It's my favorite place in the world, swimsuit season all year around!" Brooke was smiling from ear to ear.
"Okay Cali it is!" Nathan said smiling down at her.
"Are you serious?" Brooke started jumping up and down. All Nathan could do was laugh. He had a feeling it would turn out great having Brooke with him.
"I'm serious, now come on let's get some tickets," Nathan told her. "The plane boards in like five minutes."
"Okay!" Brooke said following him to the front desk.
"What can I help you with today?" the man at the front desk asked.
"We'd like two one way, first class tickets to Orange County, California" Nathan said smiling down at Brooke. It felt good to make her happy.
"Okay your total will be two thousand one hundred and eighty-five dollars." the man smirked like they couldn't afford that and would have to take coach. Brooke just smiled and rolled her eyes.
"No problem." She said pulling out her Channel wallet and pulling out twenty nine crisp one hundred dollar bills. She handed them to the man like they were nothing.
He gave her the change and she put it back in the wallet. The man printed off the tickets and handed them to Nathan. They then checked Brooke's cases into the hold, leaving them with a few items of hand luggage. Nathan had managed to squeeze his duffel bag into one of her cases.
"Have a great flight." The man said as the two walked off.
Nathan and Brooke made their way over to the terminal where there plane was boarding. The two handed the ticket collector their tickets then boarded the flight. First class was always so nice. Nathan put their hand luggage in the overhead compartments. They snuggled into the seats and waited for the flight to take off.
"So what are we going to do when we get to the O.C.?" Brooke asked turning to Nathan. He sat there for a moment as he thought.
"Well first we should get a hotel room, relax for a day or two, then find an apartment or condo, you know somewhere to live. After that find out what school were zoned for then register." he replied.
"Sounds like you've got everything figured out." Brooke smiled
"Yeah, I'm also going to have to look for a job. That money isn't going to last forever." He said
"True, I wonder who would hire me, I have no work experience." Brooke pondered looking out the window. The plane had just taken off and they were now in the air.
"Brooke you don't have to get a job, I'll get one." Nathan told her, he really didn't want her to have to work, and he felt like he could take care of it. He got a slight rush at the thought of providing for her.
"No, it's okay, it'll be good for me to get a job. I'll be living there so I should pay for some things. Plus you can't work and play basketball." she smiled at him.
"Well I wasn't really planning on playing ball anymore." Nathan had sadness in his eyes that Brooke imminently picked up.
"Why not Nate, you're the best ball player I know." Brooke said in soft voice.
"I don't know. That was a part of my past and I'm trying to get away from my past." he replied quietly.
"Yeah but basketball was also your passion! I say we go into our new school like we own the place! We'll leave everything about our past lives a mystery, except the fact that you're a star basketball player and I can cheer like no one's business. Hell, were so good they're going to be begging us to be team captains! We'll definitely throw the best parties because we'll be the only ones with our own place, it'll be great!" Brooke was practically bouncing out of her seat with excitement.
"You know I never thought of it that way but that's a pretty good plan there, Brookie." Nathan replied with a grin.
"Why thank you Natey, I do try," She laughed. "Wow I can't believe were really getting away from Tree Hill!" She yawned
"Me too," Nathan said. However he couldn't help but ask. "What if we have to tell someone something about our pasts?"
"Then we make something up." Brooke replied.
Brooke settled into the seat and rested her head on Nathan's shoulder as she fell asleep. Nathan stared down at her as she slept. Never in a million years did he think he'd escape from Tree Hill, let alone with Brooke Davis. But somehow here in this moment, her head resting on his shoulder it all felt right. Nathan's eyes started getting heavy and he finally let his exhaustion take over and feel asleep too.