A/N: Hey all & welcome to my new short story series of One Tree Hill. To be honest, short stories don't do my writing that much justice as my series "Matriarch" does but this tv series has captured my heart & so I decided to do three short stories featuring the girls of One Tree Hill. Now please note that this piece takes place during early season 5 with some jumps into future episodes so if you have not seen all of season 5 yet I'd advise you not to read the story. We start off with Brooke so I hope you all enjoy this one-shot.

Brooke

broken pieces of a designer life

Brooke Davis sat on the comfortable cream couch in her living room, a crimson blanket wrapped around her shoulders, her dark hair pulled back from her face to reveal her green eyes brimming with tears. She dug the large silver spoon into the ice cream container, scooped up a great helping of the chocolate fudge brownie delight and directed the spoon to her mouth. She did not care about the cold rush the ice cream sent through her body, her spirit was already like ice…cold…dead.

And this was all caused by the one woman who was supposed to support her, the woman who was supposed to encourage her to reach her true potential, her mother, Victoria Davis. The night's events had driven the young designer to drown her sorrows in a container of Ben and Jerry's. It was supposed to be a night of great success. Brooke couldn't have been prouder to finally open another store for Clothes Over Bros in her home town of Tree Hill. She was searching for something to fill a void in her life and the store seemed to be it, or so she thought.

Brooke Davis had everything she always wanted. She was rich, had a successful clothing line and fame, something the 21-year-old craved for back in her high school years. Yet during an interview on the red carpet at a high society event, she was asked a question that really hit home. He had asked her if she missed being just Brooke Davis, a normal 21-year-old girl. In that moment Brooke knew that her life wasn't as perfect as she thought it was. There was something missing, but what? She wasn't sure. She had everything she could ever dream of but yet something kept troubling her.

Brooke sadly dipped the spoon into the container once more, stifling back sobs while she brought the spoon up to her mouth. Her best friend and roommate, Peyton Sawyer had gone to bed an hour ago after sitting with Brooke and trying to cheer her up, but to no avail. Brooke knew it was not only the disappointing opening of the store and her mother's delight in seeing her fail that was upsetting her; it was the void, the void that needed an answer, a reason to be.

Brooke thought back on all the success she had accumulated over the years with Clothes Over Bros. She had the successful line of couture clothing, a popular magazine and string of clothing stores across the world. One would think that Brooke Davis would be the happiest girl in the world, but that was not the case, it wasn't even close to the truth.

She remembered the last time she truly felt happy. It was the night she met up with Lucas in New York after he had received a publishing deal for his novel "The Unkindness of Ravens" and after the devastating blow Peyton delivered by rejecting his proposal of marriage. That was the night Brooke tried on Peyton's engagement ring and inadvertently gave the employees of a restaurant the impression that she and Lucas had just become engaged. This little charade helped them obtain free drinks and even a romantic carriage ride through the city with them joking about an imaginary life together. The previous months had been hard on Brooke, with her trying to get a leg up on her fashion label and her mother placing strain on her, it was great to finally be able to have fun and laugh with her old friend.

An old friend. That is what Lucas Scott was. Or that's what Brooke had tried to convince herself. After their drinking escapade through the city, Brooke had escorted a heavily intoxicated Lucas back to his hotel room. She offered to help him get into bed when he pulled her closer to him, locking his lips with hers. In a brief moment of passion Brooke wanted to hold onto the kiss as her once dormant feelings came rushing back, stealing her breath away but she forced herself to pull back, her mind flashing to her best friend, knowing that she couldn't possibly betray Peyton this way.

As Brooke stepped back, she felt her heart break. She longed to rush back into Lucas' arms but she also knew he was searching for solace, for a way to mend his broken heart. After returning home that night Brooke finally came to the realization that she would have given up everything for Lucas, the boy she had always loved but Brooke had always known that she was not in Lucas' heart and probably would never be.

That was the night she finally agreed to a partnership with her mother; that was something that she now regretted as she continued to sob on the couch and drown her sorrows in her ice cream. Brooke took another helping of ice cream; she stopped and stared at the spoonful before dropping it back into the container and placing it on the table in front of her. Using the back of her hands, she wiped her tear-soaked cheeks as new determination rose within her.

Brooke Davis had always stood up for herself, she had always been determined and she wasn't going to let her once-absent mother destroy the confidence she had built up for the last six years. For most of her teenage years, Brooke had practically raised herself and somewhere deep down she always knew she didn't need anyone to validate her as a person or as a designer. Brooke started Clothes Over Bros without her mother and she now believed that she could make her new store a success on her own as well.

But what about Lucas? Lucas would never be hers; she knew that but having him as one of her best friends was better than not having in her life at all. Both Peyton and Haley understood the need to have someone like Lucas in your life.

At that moment Brooke knew that the void that had been breaking down her insides was love, but what kind of love? Did she crave love from her mother?

She had many friends who loved her dearly, even little Jamie adored his Godmother. Brooke's eyes began to twinkle and a smile began to form on her sweet features. She thought back to Jamie and the intense love she felt for the little boy who absolutely stole her heart the moment she laid her eyes upon him. Brooke was honored when Haley had asked her to be little Jamie's Godmother after he was born and even though her work had kept her away during the first few years of his life, she was willing to make up for lost time and every moment spent with him was bliss. This little boy gave her the kind of love that she wanted to give when she was young; she wanted someone who would look up to her and love her just like Jamie did...Brooke Davis wanted a family.

Brooke needed to talk to someone with a good head on their shoulders about what she wanted to do now. She needed advice and she knew exactly who to call. She hurried over to the kitchen and pulled her cellphone out of her purse that rested on the counter. She ran through her contacts before pressing the call button. She brought the phone up to her ear. The ringing tone continued for a few moments until the person picked up. Brooke took a breath before speaking.

"Hi, Luke...I need to talk to you."