Chapter One
"What did I ever do to this Jerk?" Brooke Davis kicked at the dirt, then gave a heavy sigh. "Why's he after me?"
Lucas Scott glanced from the basketball he was dribbling to the woman standing on the side of the court. Even furious and a little scared, Brooke made quite the picture.
She was nine inches shorter than his own six feet two inches, but she had a lot of interest packed into her five foot-five frame. Her long, brown hair draped over her shoulder like a chocolate waterfall, and her sparkling green eyes snapped with intelligence and, at the moment, worry. She wore white summer slacks and a loose, pale green shirt with some white lacy thing over it. The boots she wore were ankle-high, pale cream and fit only for walking down city sidewalks.
"This Jerk," he said, "he …. Or she, for all we know," Lucas pointed out, "is after everybody, it seems. Guess it was your turn."
That 'jerk' had been creating turmoil in the media, for the last few months. Exposing private bombshells, taunting people with their innermost worries and fears, whoever it was not only knew secrets about these people, but didn't give a damn about them.
Somehow this person – whoever – uncovered people's darkest secrets and then published them. Lucas had no idea what this mysterious 'Jerk' was jetting out of all this – okay, there were some rumours that people had paid to keep their business private – but Lucas had the feeling the while point was simply to try to destroy people's reputations. If that was it, he was batting a thousand.
"Great," Brooke muttered. "Just great."
"What exactly did he say to get you running out here first thing in the morning?" Lucas gave her a long look.
Usually, Brooke wasn't up and moving until the crack of noon. She didn't go anywhere unless she was completely turned out from the top of her head to the toes of her stylish shoes.
She sighed, then reached into her shoulder bad for her cell phone. "Look at it for yourself," she said, handing it over.
Lucas took the phone and keyed it up.
"It's ready to go," she said, "Just push play."
Frowning, Lucas tapped the phone screen. Instantly, he saw what had Brook as jumpy as a spider on a hot plate.
For the last two years or so, Brooke had been building a fashion empire. She had made a name for herself, doing what she did best, looking good and helping other to look good. Brooke was proud of what she'd accomplished, and she had a right to be. She'd worked hard every day to build her reputation and brand.
He scowled at the screen as the video played. The 'Jerk' had turned what she did into a parody. He'd found an actress who resembled Brooke to star in it, and the woman was cooing and sighing over a rack of dresses like she was having an orgasm on camera. Then she stepped out from behind that rack and Lucas knew instantly what had really set Brooke off.
The actress looked about two years pregnant. She waddled across the stage, both hands supporting a belly so huge there might have been a baby elephant tucked inside.
"Oh, man…"
"Wait for it," Brooke ground out. "There's more."
A deep frown etched on his face, Lucas watched and listened as the actress began talking with a slow, over blow southern accent.
"And for the new summer collection," she said, simpering at the camera, "maternity wear just got more exciting! Our big ol' bellies won't keep us from looking stylish, ladies." She flipped her hair behind her shoulder, then rubbed both hands over that communally distended belly before slipping behind the rack of dresses again, still talking. "Remember accessorizing is key. Drape a pretty belt around that baby belly. Draw attention to it. Be proud. Show the world what a fashionable pregnant woman should look like."
Lucas' own temper was starting to spike for Brooke's sake.
She stepped out from behind the dress rack again to model and oversized tent dress with a gigantic black belt enveloping that belly. "Tell the world, Brooke," the woman said, smiling into the camera. "Do it fast, or we will do it for you."
Gritting his teeth, Lucas turned the phone off and handed it back to her. "Okay, I see what's got you all churned up."
She tucked her phone back into her purse and then reached out to grab the basketball. Her hands tightened on the ball until her knuckles went white.
"It's not just that he's threatening to tell everyone I'm pregnant, Lucas," she said, her voice tight but low enough that he had to lean in to her. "It's that he's making fun of me. He's turning my company into a joke. He's laughing at me."
Lucas laid his hand over hers and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. "Doesn't matter what he thinks of you, Brooke. You know that."
"Of course I know," she said, giving him a frim smile that was brave, if not honest. "But I watched that video and wondered if I really sound like that. All know-it-all and prissy. Am I prissy?"
One corner of Lucas' mouth quirked up, "I wouldn't say so, but you've had your moments…."
She looked at him for a long minute, then let her head fall back and a groan escaped her throat. "You're talking about high school, aren't you?"
He shrugged and went back to making free throws. Brooke had been his best friend for years. But that didn't make him blind to her faults either. Of course, nobody was perfect. Lucas knew Brooke better than anyone else, even Peyton and Haley, and he knew that she had spent a lifetime hiding tender heart beneath a self-protective layer of cool disdain.
"You have to admit you had a bit of a mean girl reputation."
"I wish I didn't have to," she muttered and dropped her head.
Shaking his head, Lucas let her be, knowing her thoughts were racing. So were his own. Brooke and he had been friends for years now, but at one point they had been much more than that. He knew her in a way not many people did, so Lucas also knew that Brooke was shaken right down to her expensive, useless boots.
"Things are different now," Brooke insisted a moment later. She straightened up, and Lucas was glad to see a fierce gleam in her eyes. "People change, you know."
"All the time," he said, nodding.
"Mouth and Rachel are together now – she's pregnant, too, for heaven's sake." She threw up both hands and let them fall to her sides. "It's a population explosion for Tree Hill. I'm not a mean girl anymore." She sighed. "I don't know what I am anymore."
"I do," Lucas said, watching her smile. "You're Brooke Davis, the girl behind the red door, the girl who will change the world someday."
She smiled, as he'd meant her to.
Starring directly into her eyes, he continued, "You're also the woman who started her own company from her living room, during high school, and made it a success."
"Thank you, Lucas." She smiled at him, and he felt a sharp tug inside in response.
"Okay," she said, nodding to herself. "You're right. I'm strong. I'm ready. I can do this."
"Yes, you can." Lucas breathed, tucking the ball under his arm.
"I don't know how to tell them," she said, all the air leaving her body in a rush. "The whole strong independent feminist thing goes right out the window when I know I have to face down Victoria and tell her I'm pregnant."
Lucas turned, braced his forearms on the top of the picnic table. "You could just tell her."
"This is so not the time for cool logic," she snapped.
Pacing back and forth along the court, she crossed her arms over her middle like she was hugging herself.
"What happened to Mr. Supportive?"
"I'm being supportive," he argued. "I'm just not patting your head, because you don't need it."
She muttered something he didn't quite catch and kept pacing. If she'd stop walking so damn fast, he'd give her a hug himself. But the minute he considered it, Lucas pushed the thought aside. Hell, he'd been burying his attraction for Brooke for the last four months. He was a damn expert. She'd come to the river court looking for a friend, so that was what he'd be for her. Which meant telling her what she didn't want to hear.
"Brooke," he said, "you knew you couldn't keep this a secret forever."
She stopped directly opposite him. A soft summer wind lifted the ends of her hair, and she squinted a bit into the sunlight, those beautiful green eyes of her narrowing. "I know, but…"
"But nothing," he said, running his hand over his hair. "Somebody else took the reins from you. You don't have a choice now in when to tell. Time's up."
"How did that jerk even find out?" She took a breath and exhaled on a heavy sigh. "You're the only one – or so I thought – besides me who knows about the baby."
That sounded like an accusations. His gaze snapped to hers. "I didn't tell anyone."
"I know that." She waved that away with such casualness he relaxed again. Lucas was a man of his word. Always. The one thing he always remembered Keith saying was, 'Without his honor, a man's got nothing.'
That had always stuck with him, to the point that Lucas never made a promise unless he was sue he could keep it. "You know, you're the only man in my life who's ever thought I was actually worth something, Lucas." She said softly. "The only man I can always count on."
He nodded but didn't say anything, because knowing Brooke, she had more to say.
"I tried to contact Owen again."
And there it was. Irritation spiked inside him, and Lucas didn't bother to hide it. Owen Morello, a one-night stand who had left Brooke pregnant and wasn't worth the mud on his shoes. But Brooke being Brooke, for the last couple of months she'd been trying to track the man down to tell him about the baby. Even if she did finally find him, though, Lucas was sure that Owen wouldn't give a damn.
"You've got to let that go," he ground out. "Just because the man fathered your child doesn't mean he's good enough to be a father. Trust me, I know."
"I know, but…"
"No buts," he said, interrupting her. "Damn it, Brooke, you told me yourself that sleeping with that sleaze was a mistake. You really want to make another one by bringing him back into your life?"
"Shouldn't he know that he has a child?"
"If he hadn't blown in and out of your life so fast, he would know," Lucas said, through in truth he was damned grateful that Owen hadn't been more than a blip on Brooke's radar. She deserved better. "I did some checking of my own when you first told me about this."
"You checked? Into Owen?"
"Who else?" He calmed himself, rubbing the back of his neck. "The man's a worthless loser. No to mention a drug addict."
She flushed, and he knew she didn't like hearing it, but true was true.
His voice low and soft, Lucas added, "He's never going to be good enough for you, Brooke."
She took a breath and huffed it out again. "I know that, too. And I don't want him anyway." Shaking her head, she started pacing again. One night of bad judgement doesn't make for a relationship. But I should tell him about the baby before it's published for the world to see." She stopped opposite him again and laid one hand against her belly. "Viral. People everywhere will see that awful video. People will be laughing at me. Feeling sorry for me. Or, worse, cheering, because like you said, I haven't always been the nicest person. Oh, God, my stomach is churning and it has nothing to do with the baby."
"You'll survive this," he said.
"Why should I have to survive? Who is this jerk? Why has nobody found him yet?"
"I don't know…to all those questions."
Shooting another speculative look at his friend, Lucas wondered exactly what she was thinking. With Brooke it was never easy to guess. She'd long since learned to school her features into a blank mask that could convince her disinterested parents that all was well. But usually with him, she was more forthcoming. Still, things were different now. She was more shaken than he'd ever seen her. It wasn't just the pregnancy – it was how her life seemed to be spinning out of control.
And Brooke like control.
"The video he sent me was just…." Her sentence trailed off as she shook her head. "If he puts that out on the internet like he threatened, everyone in town's going to know my secret in a few hours."
Lucas sighed, "Brooke, they were all going to know within another month or two anyway. It's not like you could hide it much longer."
He was repeating himself and he knew it, but sometimes it took a hammer to pound the truth into Brooke's mind when she didn't want to admit to something. That hard head of hers was one of the things he liked most about her. Which made him a damn fool, probably. But there was something about the look she got in her eyes when she was set on something that twisted his guts into knots. Knots he couldn't do a damn thing about, since he had already broken her heart once. Now they were just friends. But he did wonder from time to time if Brooke's insides ever twisted over him.
