She had it all, Brooke Davis-Scott; the big house, the nice car, the fantastic husband and the perfect little girl. She had it all, but then how did she get herself into the situation she was currently in?
She sat on the cold bathroom floor shaking violently. Lucas wasn't home yet, he left early that morning and was currently on his way home from picking their daughter up from day care.
She tried to control her breathing, she tried to close her eyes and be in a different place, she tried everything she could think of, but all that was happening was what she was trying to avoid, the walls seemed as if they were closing in on her, her chest felt like it was shrinking by the second and her heart, oh God, her heart ACHED.
She was Brooke Davis, Brooke Scott as of four years ago. She grouped up with her mother, Victoria mere months after high school ended and the two blew up her fashion line, Clothes over Bros. Brooke was technically the founder and owner of this business, but Victoria was the one who ran things, whether Brooke agreed or not.
As for the Scott part, Lucas had always been there for Brooke, no matter what, he always backed her up. Roughly four years ago Brooke split with her mother because she wanted her to have nothing to do with Lucas, while Brooke's heart yearned for him. It didn't take long for the two to get married and the wedding was held that spring. Around twelve months later Elizabeth Brittany was born and she looked just like her mother.
Now three years after their daughter was born, four years since Victoria and Brooke split up not only as business partners, but split from any connection they may have had as mother and daughter, Brooke needed her. She hated it, but she needed her. Victoria knew what she was doing and as much as Brooke knew she could do this on her own, she refused to be that absentee parent that her mother was to her for Lizzie. Brooke needed Victoria.
Four Months Ago:
Brooke typed vigorously on her computer, her pencil going as soon as she stopped typing for a second.
"Mommy!" Lizzie yelled running in through the big doors into Brooke's office.
Brooke looked up and smiled softly, "Hey Liz," she said removing the small glasses she had on and ran her hands threw her hair.
Lizzie stopped quickly in her tracks and looked up at her mom apologetic. "Am I allowed?" the three year old asked.
Brooke stood up and walked to her daughter, placing her on her hip. "How bout we go out back for a little bit?" she asked.
Lizzie nodded.
Brooke started to walk out, but paused when her phone began ringing.
Lizzie's whole body changed, the brown wavy haired girl with the very same hazel eyes that her mother had, completely shank. Any excitement she had… gone. Even at three, she knew what that phone ringing meant. She wiggled out of her mom's arms and walked away without saying a word.
That's when Brooke knew she needed to change the way her business was going. She swore to herself that she would not do this to Lizzie, so she picked up her cell phone and dialed the number that was burned into her memory and not so much in a good way.
Within the week Victoria had flown to New York and was currently staying in one of the spare rooms in the Scott household until they got the business under control, then she would move out… or that was the plan.
"No, there's nothing wrong with the way I run this, mother," Brooke said stubbornly.
"If there were no flaws in this Brooke, then why did you call me?"
"Because I just don't want to do it all. I know you are good at the business part of this, and to me, spending time with my daughter is more important than any of this,"
"Brooke, you're being ridiculous, she won't even remember this when she grows up,"
Brooke looked at her mother clearly upset, "Are you going to help or not?"
"Is that boy you call a husband going to be here?" Victoria asked coldly.
Brooke clenched her jaw, "Yes, Lucas is going to be here, considering he IS my husband. Lizzie will also be here and I'd prefer you not speak badly of her father in front of her,"
Victoria shrugged, "Why would I do that?"
Brooke rolled her eyes and sighed. She glanced out the doorway of her office and saw the young brunette peeking over the opposite wall. She caught Lizzie's eye and smiled at her.
Lizzie smiled back sheepishly and after Brooke held out her hand, she came into the room.
"Mom… this is Lizzie," Brooke said holding her daughter on her hip.
Lizzie laid her head down on Brooke's shoulder being shy around the strange woman she had never met.
Victoria glanced up momentarily then quickly got back to what she was doing.
Brooke placed Lizzie back on the ground, "Hey little girl, listen to me. Mommy's gonna be really busy for a little bit, but it's so I will be able to spend some more time with you, okay?"
Lizzie nodded, just hearing another excuse as to why she wasn't going to be taking her to day care or picking her up like the other kids' mommy's did.
Brooke kissed her forehead then patted her butt as she walked out.
"Are you sure that boy had anything to do with her?" Victoria asked not even looking away from her laptop.
"What?" Brooke asked in disbelief.
"She looks just like you, you know we could just play it off as a one night stand, Brooke…"
"Are you serious?!" She yelled. "Okay, we're not doing this! You cannot bash everything that I've done since you left, including and especially my family got it?"
Victoria rolled her eyes, "You are way too emotional, Brooke,"
Lucas was very skeptical about letting Brooke have her mother re-enter her life, knowing what kind of person she was. He also wasn't too keen on having her stay in their house.
Brooke convinced Lucas that she needed her mom right now, she told him that this is what their family needed or they would fall apart, and she believed that.
Fall apart they did. Lizzie, more nights than not, for the past four months wound up in Lucas and Brooke's bed, only to be enveloped by her father. She buried her head into his chest and often slept with one hand over her open ear, begging her dad to make it stop.
Brooke and Victoria were up almost every night arguing and yelling about one thing or another, whether it have to do with the company, Lucas or even Lizzie sometimes.
Last week Brooke came into her bedroom around two in the morning, Lizzie had fallen asleep in the big bed around nine and Lucas took her back to her room for the night, so when Brooke came in, Lucas was the only person there.
"I can't take it, Luke," she said fuming.
Lucas sat up ready to listen.
"I just - - ugh!" she screamed. "Luke, she makes me feel so stupid!" Brooke said her whole body shaking with anger.
"Baby, then you should tell her," Lucas said honestly.
"Tell her what, Luke?"
"Whatever is on your mind, just tell her." Lucas whispered groggily.
"Brooke Penelope Davis! Did you really find a way to screw this up already?!" Victoria yelled barging in through her bedroom doors.
"It's Scott, Mother! And would you please leave it alone for the night?"
"I would be able to do that if you weren't so horrible at it. You are about to single handedly run this company into the ground."
"Ugh! Leave me alone!!!" Brooke screamed losing it completely. She slammed her hand against the wall as her anger fumed. She shut her door with a slam leaving Victoria on the other side. Brooke went to the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. She opened one of her prescription bottles and as she was turning the water on to fill her cup, she heard Lizzie.
"Mommy!" she cried from her bedroom.
Brooke placed the pills in her pocket and the cup on the counter and went to Lizzie's room. "What's wrong, sweetie?" she whispered kneeling down so she was eye level with her daughter.
"You and your mommy woke me up…" Lizzie whimpered.
Brooke ran her hands through her daughter's hair, "I'm sorry,"
Lizzie looked up at her mother pitifully.
"It won't happen again, I promise."
At three years old this little girl already had the notion that promises meant nothing. Brooke promised her so much and she always had some excuse as to why she couldn't follow through.
"You can stay with me tonight?" Lizzie asked hopeful.
Brooke paused for a moment then nodded, "Yeah, scoot over," she said climbing into the big bed for a three year old.
"I love you mommy," Lizzie whispered.
"I love you too Liz,"
"No, Luke! I can't take her!" Brooke yelled.
"Why the hell not, Brooke?! I've got to be at the gym in half an hour!"
"I have to be here, now! She won't let me go,"
"Brooke, this is your company. She works for YOU, Lizzie is YOUR daughter…"
Brooke looked out into the hallway and saw their innocent daughter sitting on a chair her feet dangling. From the corner of her eye though, Brooke also saw her mother, and unlike her daughter, Victoria was shooting daggers at Brooke and tapping her foot impatiently.
"I've got to stay here, Luke…" Brooke told him, feeling her chest close in.
"Fine! You know what? Be like her Brooke, when Lizzie doesn't remember you when she grows up, you'll be the one that has to live with that!" Lucas yelled and stormed out.
Brooke inhaled shakily and held back her tears as her husband and daughter left.
Before it was even three o'clock that day Brooke and Victoria were getting into it.
"Ah! Why won't you just listen to me?!" Brooke yelled.
"I am," Victoria said with a smart-ass tone.
"You're not! You are blowing me off, mother!"
Victoria shrugged, "If that's what you need to think, Brookie, go right ahead," she said so calmly it drove Brooke even further up the wall.
"I hate you! Look what you do to me?!" Brooke yelled, her whole body shaking, "I can't handle this!" she screamed and stormed away
"Oh that's right, run away, Brooke. You are such a child!" Victoria continued following her daughter to her bedroom.
"You know what mom? You - - all of this beating me down… you make me want to kill myself! Okay, is that what you wanted to hear?" Brooke yelled crying so hard. Her tough girl persona she tried to maintain completely gone now, she was yelling things to her mother that even Lucas didn't know.
"Oh, Brooke, you've made me feel that way since you were two," Victoria said with such honesty it almost killed Brooke right there.
Brooke felt like she had just been hit in the gut or something, no air was getting to her lungs and her eyes were filling with tears. 'No! I won't let her see me like this!' Brooke told herself and she stepped back into her bedroom and shut the door.
She sat on the cold bathroom floor shaking violently. Lucas wasn't home yet, he left early that morning and was on his way home from picking their daughter up from day care. She tried to control her breathing, she tried to close her eyes and be in a different place, she tried everything she could think of, but all that was happening was what she was trying to avoid, the walls seemed as if they were closing in on her, her chest felt like it was shrinking by the second and her heart, oh God, her heart ACHED.
Brooke shakily stood up and opened their cabinet and grabbed the pills she had been given about two months ago. Anti-depressants. She was getting major headaches and to help with them, her doctor prescribed her anti-depressants… Lucas also had injured his shoulder not that long ago and in that same cabinet sat a mostly full bottle of Vicadon. Brooke poured more pills than she choose to count into her hand and in one swift motion followed by a big gulp of water, the pills were in her system. She slid back to the floor, and her shaking continued.
"Brooke?" Lucas asked walking into the house. "Brooke?" he repeated when he got no response.
"Mommy?" Lizzie tried.
Brooke's heart ached, she loved that little girl so much, but she was acting like the worst mother in history. She wanted to call out to her mini her, but she couldn't…
Lucas walked into his and Brooke's bedroom and again repeated, "Brooke?" he still got no answer and he opened the bathroom door and he swore his heart stopped beating when he saw his wife half laying on the bathroom floor. "Brooke!" he said panicked and placed her in his lap. He glanced around the room and saw his pill bottle sitting out, "God, Brooke, what did you do?"
"She said I've made her want to kill herself since I was two…" Brooke said beginning to lose her feelings of everything around her.
Lucas' heart broke for her, he knew Victoria was a bitch, but he never expected her to go this far. "Brooke, you know she didn't mean it,"
Brooke looked up into her husbands blue eyes. "You know she did," she said then slowly closed her eyes.
"Brooke?!" Lucas asked panicked feeling her body get heavier.
"Daddy…?" Lizzie asked looking up at her dad.
Lucas hurt to look at Lizzie because every time he did all he saw was Brooke. God he missed her. "Yeah?" he finally got out, his voice cracking.
"Grandma said I had to wear black today… but Aunt Haley said I didn't have to… do I?" the wise for her age three year old asked.
Lucas bent down to his daughter's level, "What do you want to wear?"
"My purple dress that mommy made for me…" Lizzie said looking down.
"Then that's what you can wear," Lucas told her kissing the top of her head.
Lizzie nodded, "Thanks daddy," she said and went back to her bedroom. "Aunt Haley, daddy said I could wear my purple dress that mommy made me," Lizzie said to her aunt that was patiently waiting to help the little girl get ready.
Lizzie had no idea what was going on. She knew everyone was getting together today. She knew everyone was dressing in fancy clothes today. And she knew everyone was sad today. The only thing she didn't know was why. Why was everyone here, and why did they all wear their fancy clothes and why was it all black… why was everyone sad?
"Aunt Haley, when's mommy gonna come home, do you think?" Lizzie asked as Haley helped her with her leggings.
Haley stopped and looked at her niece, "Liz, didn't daddy talk to you about mommy?"
Lizzie nodded. "And he said that she went to heaven,"
Haley let a few tears escape from her eyes but she too nodded.
"Heaven means you don't come back?" Lizzie asked, her demeanor completely changing.
Haley again nodded. "Yeah…" she whispered.
"Never?" Lizzie asked shaking her head.
Haley pulled the now upset brunette into her arms and held her tight as they both cried.
"I want my mommy," Lizzie bawled.
Lucas stood at the doorway to Lizzie's room, his heart ached for his daughter, and he had no idea what to do. "Lizzie Bee," he said using his nickname for her to get her attention.
Lizzie looked over at her dad then quickly ran to him. "Daddy!" she cried, "Heaven means she's not coming back! EVER!" she screamed flailing her arms and legs against her father's strong body.
Peyton who was in the living room heard the screams and came into the hallway to try and help. "Come here L. Scott," she said holding out her arms for Lizzie which she immediately collapsed into.
"I just want my mommy…" Lizzie cried softer now, into Peyton's shoulder.
Peyton rubbed Lizzie's back soothingly "shhh" she whispered trying to calm the young girl down. "I know sweetie, I know,"
Lucas followed Peyton and Lizzie into the living room, but stopped when he walked past a photo of the three of them. They all had on jeans and black shirts and Lizzie was sitting in Brooke's lap her head leaning one Brooke's chest looking up at her, both girls with a smile on their face. Brooke was sitting next to Lucas, leaning into him while he had his strong arm wrapped around her waist just watching to two with such love. Brooke's left hand was gracefully intertwined with Lucas', their elbows propped up on the side of the seat they were sitting in, her beautiful wedding and engagement ring sitting perfectly on her delicate hand.
Lucas stared at the picture until his eyes begged him to blink, this was his family, this picture…
She had it all, Brooke Davis-Scott; the big house, the nice car, the fantastic husband and the perfect little girl.
Brooke Scott HAD it all…
this is a really sensitive subject for me... it's based partially on something that really happened to me... clearly the ending wasn't the same, but i just felt like i needed to get this out... i really liked where it went... i hope you guys did too... let me know what you thought!
Manda