"She sounded odd," Peyton remarked as she got off the phone with Brooke.
"Is she okay?" Lucas asked, kissing his fiancé on the cheek. He felt a small tug of worry, but pushed it away.
"I think so," Peyton said with a sigh. "I know she's hurting. She loved Angie."
"Angie was a special girl," Lucas agreed, admitting to himself that he was going to miss the baby too. He'd spent quite a bit of time with Brooke and Angie; some of the most peaceful moments of this last month. He decided that he'd call later and check on Brooke himself as Peyton started talking about something else. Once again he found himself wondering if he'd made the right choice…but he'd made up his mind. It was fate, right? He'd wait an hour, then call.
Back in Tree Hill Brooke was lying in the darkness of her bedroom, curled into a ball. Every part of her body ached, but none of it as much as her heart. She'd lost Angie, she was fairly certain that her mother had her attacked, and now she'd found out that Lucas was with Peyton in Vegas and that they were getting married. She'd faced hard times before, but nothing like this; she felt as if her heart had literally shattered into a million pieces.
She'd thought about calling the police after the attack, but quickly decided against it. She didn't want anyone to know what her mother had done to her, and she didn't want to appear weak. She'd almost called Haley, but Haley was dealing with her own issues right now and Brooke didn't want to burden her. Up until tonight she would have gone to Peyton or Lucas with this…but that wasn't an option right now. They were finally together and happy; she couldn't do anything to get in the way of that.
Her phone rang again and she again ignored it. Lucas had been calling her for a while, but she couldn't talk to him right now. If she answered the phone she'd just start crying. If she started crying he would pack Peyton up and come home. She didn't want to do that to them. She could handle this alone…she wasn't Peyton, and she didn't need saving.
Lucas paced his hotel bathroom, rubbing the back of his head. He'd sent Brooke several text messages and called her ten times. She wasn't responding to either. When Peyton had said she sounded odd, Lucas had assumed it was because of losing Angie…and maybe because he and Peyton were together. He was worried that he'd hurt her, and he'd promised to never do that again. But Brooke had gone out of her way lately to make sure he knew she wasn't interested. At least that's what he'd thought she was doing. When it came to Brooke, he never really knew what was going on.
Giving up, he dialed Nathan's number. "Hey," Nathan said, smiling into the phone. "A little bird told me that you're getting hitched in Vegas. To Peyton."
Lucas laughed a little. "Yeah, it seems that way," he said, sitting on the sink.
"You sound excited," Nathan joked. When he'd heard about Peyton and Lucas being together in Vegas, he'd been a little disappointed; he'd always thought Brooke was the one for Lucas. He wasn't sure if Lucas knew it or not, but from his tone it seemed that he was a little disappointed, too.
"No, man, I am," Lucas said. He could imagine Nathan rolling his eyes. "Hey, listen, I'm calling about Brooke."
"Changed your mind already?" Nathan teased, grinning.
Lucas smiled, shaking his head. "This is important, Nate."
"Okay, what about her?"
"I'm worried about her," Lucas told his brother. "She's not answering her phone and she's had a really bad day. She called Peyton earlier and sounded sort of odd."
"She lost Angie today," Nathan reminded him. He didn't mention the fact that she'd lost Lucas too, but they were both thinking it.
"I know, and that's one of the reasons I'm worried." Lucas cursed himself again for leaving town when Brooke needed him the most. Why would he do that?
"You want me to call her?"
"She's not answering for me but you could try," Lucas said. "Is there any way you could go by and check on her?"
Nathan sighed. He'd had a long day and was looking forward to getting home to be with Haley and Jamie. "Yeah," he said, thinking about the girl in question. He'd do anything for Brooke; they'd been friends for a long time.
Lucas breathed out a sound of relief. "Thanks," he told Nathan. "Call me after you've talked to her, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah," Nathan said, hanging up. He called Haley and let her know what was going on, then turned around and headed to Brooke's house. He saw her car in the driveway and figured she was home. The windows were dark, though, and she didn't answer when he knocked.
Worried but telling himself that everything was okay, Nathan pulled out the key Brooke had given him and Haley and opened the door. "Brooke?" he said, walking into the house. "Are you home?"
Brooke sat quietly on her bed, afraid to move. She knew that if she made noise he might come into the room and find her. No one could see her like this- that would be a disaster.
Nathan walked through the dark house, looking for any signs of a problem. He shrugged, turning. He'd made it back to the door when he heard her phone ring.
Brooke almost cried out. Dammit, Lucas! Why couldn't he just leave her alone? Why hadn't she reached over to turn the stupid phone off? Because it hurt to move, and because the fact that he kept calling her let her believe that he still cared. And because she'd had no idea Nathan would come over.
"Brooke?" Nathan said from the doorway of her bedroom. He saw her, curled into a ball in the center of the bed. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Brooke said quietly, praying he didn't turn on the light. "I'm just really tired."
"So tired that you can't answer your phone or me when I was calling out your name?"
"Yeah," she said, still not moving. "That tired."
Nathan looked at her still form for a moment. Something seemed off. "Do you need anything?" he asked her.
"No, thanks," she said.
He'd been dismissed but he didn't want to leave. He didn't know what to do; he thought that maybe he should call Haley. "I guess I'll go then."
"Okay," she said softly. "Thanks for checking on me." Tears leaked out of her eyes, and she was glad he couldn't see them. Nathan cared. Haley cared. Peyton and Lucas, they both cared. She wasn't worthless…she was loved. As he turned away she almost opened her mouth to call him back, but she couldn't.
Nathan walked towards the bathroom, still not wanting to leave. He shut the door and texted Lucas. Brooke is here, but something's wrong.
What is it? What's wrong? was Lucas's reply.
Nathan shook his head, unsure what to write. I'm not sure. The lights are all off and she didn't get out of bed when I called for her. She says she's just tired.
Lucas stared at his phone. So she was okay? Something still felt wrong. That's not like Brooke.
I know, man. Should I call Haley?
Lucas groaned. He should be there. It should be him in Brooke's house checking on her, not Nathan. If she says she's fine, she probably is. Are you leaving?
Nathan looked around the bathroom. I guess.
Both brothers frowned. Thanks, Nate, for checking on her.
No problem. Nathan put his phone up, going to the sink to wash his hands. He really didn't want to leave while Brooke was acting so strangely, but he didn't know what else to do. He reached for the towel she kept by the sink to dry his hands but it wasn't there. He looked on the floor by the sink and found it. Picking it up, he opened it to dry his hands and then dropped it, falling back against the door. It was covered with blood.
"Oh God," he said, breathing heavily. He pushed the towel over with his foot, picking up the shirt lying under it. "Brooke," he breathed, holding the ripped and bloody fabric up to the light. He flipped open his phone, dialing Lucas's number.
"Hey!" Peyton said cheerfully, picking up the phone Lucas had dropped on the bed.
"I need Luke, Peyton," Nathan said.
"Okay," Peyton said, frowning. She looked over to where Lucas was standing by the window, staring out into the darkness. "Lucas, it's Nathan. I think something's wrong."
Lucas walked quickly to the bed, taking the phone. "What happened?" he asked, fear making his voice hoarse. "Is she okay?"
"I don't know what happened, Luke, but you need to get here," Nathan said lowly, his voice shaking. "Get home."
"We're coming," Lucas said. "Tell her we're coming." Peyton jumped up from the bed, not sure what was going on but understanding the urgency in Lucas's voice. She started throwing their things into their bags. "Take care of her, Nate."
Nathan nodded, closing his phone. He honestly didn't know what to do. Steeling himself, he walked back into the hallway. "Brooke," he said, standing in the doorway and reaching for the light switch.
"Don't, Nathan," Brooke said.
The pain in her voice broke his heart. "I'm turning on the light," he told her.
"Please don't."
Nathan flipped the switch, blinking against the sudden flood of brightness. When his eyes had adjusted, he moaned. "No, Brooke," he said, walking to the bed. "Who did this to you?"
"I fell down the steps," she said, looking up at him through swollen eyes. "It was an accident."
He didn't believe that for a second. He could see fingerprints on her neck. He thought about picking her up and carrying her to his car, but he was afraid to move her. He'd never seen anyone so broken looking in his life. "I'm calling an ambulance," he told her.
"No!" Brooke cried. "I'm fine."
Nathan kneeled beside the bed, looking at her battered face. He realized that the whole time they'd been talking she hadn't moved. "Nothing about this is fine," he said, dialing 911.
"Please don't," Brooke pleaded, but he didn't listen.
When he'd been told that help was on the way he texted Haley and told her to meet him at the hospital. He opened the door for the emergency personnel when they arrived and followed them into her room. He flinched every time she cried out as they loaded her onto the gurney. "Nate," she cried, her hand searching for his as they started rolling her out of the house. He took it, following them. After they'd loaded her, he jumped into the back of the ambulance and took her hand again.
"You're going to be okay," he promised her. "Everything is going to be okay."
When they got to the hospital Haley was waiting. Nathan watched as Brooke was rolled into the emergency room, and then hugged his wife tightly. "What's going on?" Haley asked him, frightened.
"I don't know," he told her.
"Was that Brooke?"
"Yeah," he said, pulling back. "Someone attacked her, Hales."
Haley gasped, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. "Is she okay?"
"I hope so," he told her. "I talked to Lucas, told him to come back."
"I guess he was right to be worried," Haley said. "Who would hurt Brooke?" she asked, shaking her head in disbelief.
"It's bad," Nathan told her, rubbing his face with his hands. "I've never seen anything like it."
Haley looked up at his tear streaked face and disheveled hair. "Are you okay?"
"I don't know," he told her again. He looked around. "Where's Jamie?"
"With Deb," she told him. "He's fine."
Nathan wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her shoulder, picturing Brooke's bruised and broken body. He prayed that after this they could all be fine again…he just didn't know if it was possible.