Hey everyone, I'm writing this oneshot for the Tubealicious911 challenge "Five Years Gone"! I just want to give a little warning that this story is rated M for language and sensitive subjects. I hope you like the story
Oh and I almost forgot: I don't own One Tree Hill or the characters, only the plot!
Flashbacks are bold, and flashbacks WITHIN A FLASHBACK are also italicized!
Also, you may be a little confused as to how Brooke is telling all of this, but all will be revealed!
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"5 years ago my life seemed like it was perfect, but I've learned that you can't believe anything based on a quick glance. 5 years ago my whole world came crashing down around me and I'm still not quite over the events of that fateful day…"
5 years earlier:
"Hey pretty girl, how is my son or daughter doing?!"
"Hey Luke, the baby is doing great, it's me that isn't feeling so good."
"What's wrong Brooke; do you need me to take you to the doctors?"
"Oh no Luke everything is fine with me and the baby, the exhaustion and aches are just getting to me lately… I've lost my appetite but I know I need to eat more to make sure I maintain a healthy weight for the baby."
"I'm sorry pretty girl, I know it's been rough for you lately, you really are a strong woman Brooke Davis, and I wouldn't blame you if you just put down the protective shield and let you're feelings out…"
"Luke… I told you, I'm fine ok? Sure, it hurts me that after everything we've been through, Peyton cant understand that I just wanted you to father my child instead of some random sperm donor I've never even met. But I'm not going to dwell on it."
"I don't get why she's so upset with you in the first place, you've always been supportive of her, hell you put aside you're feelings and let go of you're anger over our relationship because you wanted her to be happy. Besides, it's not like I'm even in a relationship with her…"
Brooke debated on how to respond to this. Should she just say, "Come on Lucas, she's still in love with you! She doesn't tend to think rationally when it comes to you…" Or should she just feign stupidity?
"She's Peyton; sometimes you just can't figure out what she's thinking Lucas…"
"Well it's not her place to be mad at you Brooke! For god's sake, Lindsay had no problem agreeing with it, she said I shouldn't think twice about doing it!"
"And I love Lindsay for being so understanding! But I just, I don't want to talk about it anymore ok?"
Lucas just sat there in silence, here she was, this beautiful woman who he had watched transform from a wild party girl to a smart and successful fashion designer, and yet she still wouldn't tell him what was really bothering her. He often wondered how someone who had so passionately begged him to "let me all the way in" could keep parts of herself so closed off to him. But Lucas had learned the hard way that some things just had to remain a mystery to him…
Flashback to a few weeks earlier:
"For the last time Lucas, leave me alone!" A tearful Brooke Davis shouted as she tried to push her way past him to get to her bedroom.
But Lucas wasn't having it; he grabbed her hand and turned her so she was facing him.
"What is wrong with…"
SLAP!
He was cut off by Brooke slapping him across the face before storming away.
It was 20 minutes later when she came walking into the kitchen and glared at him with her infamous pout gracing her lips.
"Luke…"
He jumped back a bit when he realized she was standing there.
"Please don't hit me again Brooke! I was just trying to find out what was wrong but I can clearly see I was wrong for doing that…"
"I'm sorry Luke, I just…. I feel like I'm humongous and I'm embarrassed." She mumbled the last part so quietly that he didn't hear it.
"What?"
"I said, I FEEL LIKE I'M HUMONGOUS AND I'M EMBARRASSED FOR YOU TO SEE ME THIS WAY!"
She screamed at him, hormones in full swing. If Lucas hadn't been freaked out before, he definitely was now. Hormones we're a complete mystery to him, his mother had never been this hormonal when she was pregnant with Lily, and Haley had her moments with Nathan but Brooke… Brooke was crazy when she got hormonal.
End flashback.
"Don't worry Brooke; I learned after that slap that when you don't want to talk about something, we won't be talking about it!"
"Oh god Luke, you're never going to let that go are you!" She huffed playfully.
"I don't know Brooke… you slapped me pretty hard. It might take years of therapy to get over that kind of abuse!"
'Knock Knock'
"Oh you are just hilarious Lucas but there's someone at the door so I've got to go!"
"Alright pretty girl, I'll give you a call later."
"KNOCK, KNOCK" there was a knock again, louder then before this time.
"I'll be there in just a second!" Brooke called out to whoever was knocking.
When she opened the door she was surprised to see Peyton standing in front of her.
"Peyton… What are you doing here?"
"I came to get some stuff I forgot about in the attic if that's ok with you." She tried to walk in but Brooke wasn't moving.
"Now isn't a good time Peyton. You can come back later when Lucas is here…"
"And why exactly would I do that Brooke? So I can watch you whore it up with the man I love?"
"What is you're problem Peyton? I don't want to be with Lucas, I just wanted him to father my child so I didn't have to go to some random sperm donor… I never wanted to upset you Peyton, but I don't understand why you are being such a bitch to me about this."
"I'm being a bitch because you are a lying whore Brooke! You know you still love Lucas, and this is the perfect way for you to steal him from me."
Brooke couldn't believe the words she was hearing. Was this the same girl that she had called her best friend for 15 years?
"Are you hearing yourself right now Peyton? You sound ridiculous sweetie…"
Peyton's eyes widened, and now the girl that usually appeared to be so beautiful, she looked like nothing more then a crazy person.
"What's ridiculous is me believing that you changed! You will never be anything more than a selfish whore Brooke Davis, and you're bastard child won't be any better."
"Get out of my house now! After everything we've been through, everything I've done for you, I was you're shoulder to cry on when both you're mothers died, I forgave you for stabbing me in the back, TWICE! I helped you get rid of that psycho bitch Nikki in the hopes that you would finally find happiness with Jake… God, I even came back to Tree Hill for you Peyton! And this is how you thank me? Stay the fuck away from me bitch!"
Brooke went to shove the door closed but Peyton was too quick, she shoved Brooke, hard. And that's when it happened…
People say that when something tragic is about to happen they can feel time slow down. Brooke had never really believed in that before, but as her ankle twisted, and she started to fall, she could feel something in the air. It was like she already knew before she even hit the ground; this wasn't going to have a happy ending… Her head slammed against the stairs and she could feel the blood trickling down from her forehead, but that wasn't what concerned her… No, what had Brooke terrified was the horrible pain she felt in her stomach.
Peyton stood there in shock, the words "no, no, no" just kept trembling out. It wasn't until she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket that she came out of the trance she was in. She looked down to see that Haley was calling her.
"Haley, Haley you've got to call an ambulance! I need an ambulance at Brooke's house NOW! We got into an argument and I shoved her… god Haley this is all my fault."
"Slow down Peyton, I can't understand a word you're saying. Why do you need an ambulance?"
"I shoved her Haley… I shoved Brooke and she's lying on the floor surrounded by blood Haley."
"NATHAN CALL AN AMBULANCE NOW! Tell them to get to Brooke's house right away…" Her words got choked up in her throat, "She may have lost the baby..."
"Haley… I'm so sorry Haley, I didn't… I never meant to hurt her. I was just angry and…"
"I can't deal with you right now Peyton. You better pray to god that she doesn't lose the baby Peyton."
Haley hung up the phone and called Lucas. If it was at all possible to hear a person's heart break, she heard his break when she delivered the news.
The ride to the hospital was pretty much a blur; Jamie started to cry when Haley tried to explain that Brooke was hurt pretty bad and that's why they we're going to the hospital.
"Aunt Brooke fell down sweetie; she might be hurt pretty bad."
"What about the baby, is the baby going to be ok momma?"
"We don't know yet Jamie, we hope the baby will be ok, but there's a chance it won't be…" Nathan answered for Haley seeing the tears falling down her face. He didn't want to upset Jamie by telling him things he probably couldn't comprehend, but he didn't want to lie to him and promise that everything would be alright.
But Jamie was far too smart for his age, he could tell by the tone in his father's voice, and the tears his mother was crying, he could just tell that everything wasn't going to be ok. And that's when he started to cry…
Present Day:
It had been 5 years ago this very day, and Brooke still hadn't quite recovered from the loss of her child. Why did she have to lose her baby? A baby girl, that's what the doctor said it was… Melody Davis Scott, that's what they had decided on for a girl name. She still dreamt about that day all the time. Her recurring nightmare had her and Lucas happily playing with their beautiful daughter, laughing and cooing over every little thing she did. But then Peyton would show up… And all of the sudden she was back in that hospital room, watching Lucas drop to his knees and scream as the doctor told him what she already knew, their baby girl hadn't survived. She always woke up in tears, shaking at the memory of that horrible day.
Flashback:
Everyone had voiced their opinions, had a piece of advice to give… She didn't really want to hear anyone give her their sympathies, but what could she do, tell them to go the hell away?
Her mother had called her from some foreign country, "It's for the best Brooke, you weren't prepared to raise a child in the first place."
Rachel rushed back into town and begged Brooke to let her kill Peyton.
"Come on Brooke, I can easily say I went to ask her what happened and she attacked me. I'm sure the court would believe me!"
"Rachel, no just let it go…" Brooke sighed. She knew that Rachel was just trying to make her feel better; hell she wished somebody could go and knock Peyton around! But she knew it wouldn't make anything better. Melody was gone and Peyton getting her ass kicked wouldn't bring her back.
"I'm sorry Brooke; I just can't stand the thought of her getting away with this…"
Brooke just gave her a look that said, 'just stop talking already.' So that's what she did, she didn't say anything else; instead she curled up on the bed next to her and held the sobbing girl while she mourned the loss of her baby girl.
When Karen heard Brooke had lost the baby she flew back to Tree Hill immediately. If anybody could comfort Brooke, it was Karen. She still remembered the way Karen just stood in front of her, arms wide open, waiting for Brooke to let it all out.
"Karen…" The small sob was all Brooke could muster before hurling herself into Karen's waiting arms.
"I know sweetie, I know… Life just isn't fair sometimes."
"I was so excited to be a mom Karen. I already made a bunch of baby clothing, and I was working on this baby blanket…" She stopped to wipe at her tears but they just kept falling. How was she ever going to get through this?
When Haley found out she was pregnant 4 months later, she worried for weeks about telling Brooke. How would Brooke take it? She constantly debated with Nathan over when and how to tell her. Nathan thought she should be careful about how she told her, but that she shouldn't keep waiting.
Haley was nervous to say the least, but when Haley finally chose to tell her, it seemed Brooke already knew.
"Oh Hales, sweetie you were obvious!" Brooke told her with a laugh.
"What, how was I obvious?!"
"Well for starters, you turned down you're favorite drink when you and Nathan dragged me out to dinner to celebrate my birthday, you don't drink coffee anymore, and you've been feeling sick lately, but the giveaway was when I heard you telling Nathan you hope it's a girl this time!"
Haley gave her a playful smack on the arm before laughing at the smirk Brooke gave her.
"It's good to see you looking happy again Brooke."
"It feels good to finally feel better… For a while I didn't think I was ever going to get over losing Melody."
"I know Brooke, I was terrified when I thought I was going to lose Jamie, so I cant even imagine what I would have felt if I actually lost him… But enough about that, you know, you still never told me what happened with you and Peyton when she came to see you."
Brooke thinks back to 3 ½ months earlier.
It took 3 days, but on the day Brooke was released from the hospital she got a visit from the one person she never wanted to see again.
"Brooke… I'm so sorry Brooke; I never wanted to hurt you or the baby." Peyton tried to reach out to her but the look on Brooke's face made her pull back. Maybe it was just the guilt of what she had caused, but suddenly Peyton felt slightly afraid of what Brooke would do to her.
"You, you have no right to be here Peyton." Brooke replied as calmly as she could.
"Please leave or I'm going to call the cops."
She tried to close the door but Peyton's scream stopped her.
"Brooke, PLEASE! Please just wait."
Brooke turned and saw tears streaming down Peyton's face. She hated the girl standing in front of her, how could she have the nerve to stand and cry like she was the victim?
"You really do have a lot of nerve Peyton Sawyer… You accused me of being a whore, and a selfish bitch; you called my child a bastard, the child that I miscarried because of you… And now you're actually standing here crying like I should feel sorry for you! Why should I even be talking to you right now?"
"Brooke please, you've got to understand…"
"I understand perfectly Peyton, you're feeling guilty over what you did, and you're mad that no one will have anything to do with you now. You should be thanking god that the only thing they are doing is ignoring you! Rachel wanted to kill you but I told her you weren't worth it. Lucas agreed with the doctors and said I should press charges… But I know that going to jail would be what you want. You want to be able to say that you're paying for the crime you committed."
"Brooke, come on…"
"No, you listen to me Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer! I didn't press charges because I know the guilt of what you did will be a far greater punishment then jail could ever be. I hope one day, one day when you and the poor fool you end up with decide to have a child, I hope you think about me and remember all the pain you caused me. And then I want you to think about all the times we used to plan to have our babies at the same time, think about how we should be going on play dates and watching our kids become best friends like we were…"
Peyton was sobbing at this point; the realization that she would never be able to fix this had finally hit her. All the memories of her and Brooke that was all she had now. This wouldn't be like any other time; they wouldn't work things out in a few months, and that realization is what practically killed her.
"I'm so sorry Brooke." She whispered quietly. "I'll leave you alone now, but I just want to say something first…"
She looked up at Brooke waiting for her to give the okay.
"Say whatever you need to say and get it over with Peyton…"
Brooke didn't want to hear anymore excuses, but it seemed like getting to speak her mind would get Peyton to go away so she figured she should just let her speak.
"You were my best friend for more than half of my life Brooke, and I know, god do I know, things will never be the same for us. I know this is all my fault, I was jealous that you were going to have a child with Lucas when all I've wanted for so long was to be with him… I love him so much Brooke! It hurts me to not be with him, but I would never purposely hurt you because of him. I still don't know what was going through my head the other day when I said all of those things… I was angry and hurt, but I never intended on shoving you like that Brooke."
"Then why did you Peyton?" She said it so quietly that Peyton wasn't sure she had actually said anything.
"Why did you take my baby girl away from me Peyton?" Brooke yelled it this time, not being able to contain the hurt she felt. "Why did you take away my whole entire world?"
She couldn't take it anymore, seeing the tears stream down Brooke's face, the pain so clearly eating away at her… Peyton knew what she needed to do. She needed to leave Tree Hill, leave the town that held so many bad memories for her. 'Maybe in a few years Brooke will at least be able to look at me without wanting to cry.' She thought to herself.
She mumbled a goodbye and ran as fast as she could from the house, from all the memories that were taunting her, and she went back to the hotel she had been staying in, and she packed her bags and left Tree Hill without a word to anyone.
"And that was it, she just disappeared."
"Wow, that's pretty… intense!"
"Yeah it was, but id rather we not talk about her anymore if you don't mind."
"Of course, I'm sorry if I upset you Brooke." Haley said sounding worried.
"No, no its ok Hales, I just don't want to talk about Peyton anymore. It just makes me think about things I have no interest in anymore."
Haley nodded in understanding, she knew how hard it was for Brooke to hate Peyton for what she did, but at the same time miss all the years they spent being best friends.
For the rest of the day they forgot about all of their worries and just enjoyed each others company. Haley told Brooke how badly she was hoping she had a girl, Brooke rambled about some new pair of shoes she loved, and for once everything seemed like it was back on track.
End flashback.
"And now here it is, 5 years later. Jamie, my adorable godson, is 9 years old now! He prides himself on being 'the best big brother ever' to his little sister, Ella Brooke Scott. She is almost 5 years old and is just full of energy. I didn't hesitate to take on the role of 'the fun godmother' for a second time. Only this time I get to play dress up and do all sorts of girly things with Ella that I wasn't able to do with Jamie. Nathan and Haley are doing great; they had twins, Dean and Samantha, just over a year ago and recently celebrated their 12th anniversary! Life is certainly never boring at the Scott house!"
Brooke paused to think for a moment before continuing with her writing.
"I guess you could say that my life has turned out surprisingly well considering what happened to me 5 years ago…"
She stopped once again when she felt someone standing behind her. She turned and saw Ella watching her curiously.
"Hey girly, what are you doing just standing there?"
"Uncle Luke said to tell you that Alex is finally asleep."
"Well then I guess I'll have to finish my writing later because I promised you that we'd play a game once he fell asleep!"
"Can Uncle Luke play too?" Ella asked her excitedly.
"Of course he can sweetheart! Let's go sneak up on him!"
They crept out to the living room as quietly as possible but we're surprised to find that he wasn't there.
"Where did he go Aunt Brooke?"
"I don't know sweetheart, maybe he…"
"Boo!" Lucas jumped out from behind the couch and grabbed Brooke's waist.
"Lucas Eugene Scott! You know I don't like to be scared like that!" She squealed and smacked at his chest while trying to wiggle out of his grasp.
But Lucas wasn't letting her get away. He winked at Ella and proceeded to start tickling Brooke, knowing every spot that drove her wild.
"Let go of me Lucas!!" She shrieked, her arms were flailing but he just kept tickling her.
"Oh I don't think so babe, you smacked me pretty hard just now! I think I might really need therapy this time." He said with a smirk.
"Will you let me go if I do…. This!" She said before kissing him sweetly on the lips.
"Hmmm, maybe if you give me one more kiss."
"How about if I kiss you like this…" Brooke began to kiss along his jaw before moving to his neck.
"Ewww, that's gross Aunt Brooke!" Ella said covering her eyes.
Brooke and Lucas laughed before separating from each other.
"Sorry sweetie, I started to forget you we're in the room."
A few hours later, Ella was back at home, and Lucas was fast asleep. With her 6 month old son Alex fast asleep in his crib, Brooke sat down to finish her book.
"So as I said before, you can't believe anything based solely on a quick glance. Nobody would have believed you 5 years ago, not even me, if you said that Lucas and I would learn to overcome the loss of Melody and find our way back to each other. But a reassurance that I gave to Lucas over 10 years ago has proven itself to be true…"
"People that are meant to be together ALWAYS find their way in the end!"
The End!