"Nathan, it's Brooke." Her normally soft voice was even softer. "Can you come over?"
He'd gotten the call 15 minutes earlier and quickly told his wife where he was going. They'd both been worried about Brooke since her 'accident', and neither of them believed the story she'd told them. A flight of stairs doesn't leave hand prints on your arms. Haley, of course, understood that Nathan had to go, and loved the idea of the man she loved consoling the girl she loved. He'd told his wife that he'd gone to see Brooke a few days earlier, and how he hoped his honest words would resonate with her enough to let them in - to let them help her.
He got to Brooke's house and gently tapped on the door. The last thing he wanted to do was startle her. His best effort didn't do much good - it seemed she jumped at even the slightest noises these days.
"Brooke, it's Nathan," he called through the locked door. He heard the locks turning and the door opened slightly. She peered through the opening, confirming it was him, then opened the door fully to let him in. Once inside, she locked the door again.
"Hi," he said, standing across the room from her.
"Hi," she echoed, not making eye contact.
"Brooke?" he asked, taking a step closer to her. "Brooke, you gotta talk to me." He stood in front of her and placed a hand gently on her shoulder.
His touch comforted her instantly, but the gesture made her cry. All she'd wanted to do was keep this a secret from everyone, but she couldn't do it any more. She thought of telling Peyton, but knew she had too much going on already. Then when Quentin died, everyone's emotions were thrown off balance, and hers even more so than they already were. She knew that none of her friends believed her story - maybe there was a part of her that hoped they wouldn't. She just wanted all of this to be over, but knew it wouldn't be until she talked about it.
Nathan grabbed her into a hug and the two stood like that for at least 10 minutes, with her just crying into him. Being here, with her like this, just about broke his heart. With everything that had happened lately, his heart was already in a fragile place, but this was the last straw.
She gently pulled away from him and they sat on the couch. He kept her hand in his, offering comfort and understanding.
"Nathan," she managed to choke out. She tried again to compose herself enough to talk. He didn't press her. He let her take her time. "I have to tell you about my accident."
"OK," he knew he had to be strong and reserve judgement. He knew already that she hadn't fallen, but that still didn't prepare him for what she might say. He just needed to keep it together for her. She'd come to him for a reason, and he had to make sure she wouldn't regret that.
"I didn't fall," she looked up at him finally, and his face showed comfort, which she drew strength from. "Someone came into the store the other night and..." she broke down again.
"Brooke, it's OK. You can tell me." He was rubbing her hand with his. He knew she needed it. He knew she needed the release of crying and letting go completely.
"It just happened so fast. I tried to defend myself, but I couldn't, Nathan. He took money and my sketches." She was sobbing now, and he took her in his arms again and ran his hand in circles on her back. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to find words to say to comfort her. There were none.
"I couldn't stop him. I tried to cover my face, but he was too strong." She pulled away and looked at him, and the bruises that had been so prominent now looked completely different to him. He felt a wave of anger come over him. How could someone do this to a woman? How could someone do this to his friend?
"Did you tell the police?" he asked softly.
"No." She shook her head violently.
"Brooke, you have to tell someone."
"I don't want the media to know." She looked at her hand in his. "And I'm telling you. And I told Deb."
"You told my mom?" He tried to hide the anger in his voice. It seemed his mother was just full of secrets these days.
"I told her not to tell anyone. I knew she'd understand. She was married to Dan."
"Yeah, she took her fair share of abuse," he said. She smiled weakly.
"Brooke, if you don't tell the police, how are they going to find who did this?" He didn't want to pressure her, but he wanted her to know how important it was that she report the incident.
"I think it was my mom."
The statement caught him completely off guard. Her mom?
"But you said it was a man..." Nathan shot her a look of complete confusion.
"You don't think she'd hire someone?" She tried to raise an eyebrow, but it hurt too much to do it.
"Why would she do that?" Nathan shook his head as he spoke.
"Because she wants my company. Thieves don't steal design sketches, Nathan." She was right and he knew it. He knew her mother was a bitch, for lack of a better word, but he had no clue she was this ruthless. Hire someone to hurt her own daughter? What kind of mother would do that? He couldn't even fathom that train of thought.
"So what are you going to do now?" he asked. He would have loved to give her advice or guide her in the right direction, but he couldn't. Her suspicions were completely unexpected.
"I'm going to lean on you." The statement made him smile weakly, and with concern. "And I'm going to come up with new designs. If she wants the company that badly, she can have it. She can't take my talent."
There was the strength he knew she had. Brooke Davis wasn't about to let anyone keep her down. He could almost see the relief spread across her face as she spoke the words. It was as if she was convincing herself as she said them.
"I'm glad you told me, but I don't know what to do with this information," he said. "What am I supposed to tell Haley? She knew I was coming here."
"You can't lie to her," she said adamantly.
"I wasn't planning on it!" he laughed.
"So tell her."
"Are you sure?" He didn't want to betray either of them.
"Yes," she said.
"She's going to be pissed that you didn't tell her," Nathan laughed.
"Probably," Brooke smiled. "Nathan, thank you."
"Hey, don't worry about it." He rubbed her shoulder with his hand.
"No, you didn't have to come here the other day and talk to me. It meant everything."
"Brooke, we're all here for you. I don't want you to ever feel like you can't talk to us."
"I know. But, thank you." She stood from the couch.
"No problem," he said, getting up from his place.
"And look, don't be mad at your mom, OK?" she pleaded. "I made her promise not to say anything."
"I get it," he said, walking towards the door. "Call me if you need anything, Brooke. I mean it. I don't care what time it is, or what you need. You call me."
"You're on my speed dial." Brooke opened the door to let him out. "Thanks again."
He hugged her again, and noticed a smile on her face. In light of everything that had happened, he was glad to see her like this.
Nathan drove home thinking about what he'd just been told. One of his closest friends - his wife's best friend - had been viciously attacked. He tried to wrap his head around it, and the more he did, the angrier he got. When he pulled up to his house, he sat in his SUV for a few moments, trying to calm himself before going inside.
He told Haley everything, from Brooke's demeanor, to her account of the attack, to her theory on who was behind it. Haley's eyes were wide with surprise and a hand covered her mouth. He grabbed her in his arms, partially to console her, and partially to console himself. He couldn't imagine anything like this ever happening to her, and inwardly swore that he'd always protect her. He'd promised her of that when they were 17, and vowed it again.
"So what are you going to do now?" she asked him.
"I'm going to New York." He said the words just as he came up with the idea.
"What?!" she asked. "Nathan..."
"No. She's not getting away with that. I'm taking Brooke and we're getting it back." He picked up the phone and began dialing Brooke's number.
"Getting what back?" Haley asked desperately.
"Everything," he stated. "Brooke, it's me," he spoke into the phone. "Pack a bag, OK? We're going to New York."
--
Nathan had filled Brooke in on his plan while Haley drove them to the airport. She was skeptical of everything, but she agreed anyway. Haley sat silently behind the wheel while the two talked. Brooke reached from the back seat and placed a hand on Haley's shoulder, apologizing for lying and for stealing Nathan away. Haley, of course, understood. She just tried to hide a tear - she was scared for her friend, and remorseful that she hadn't been there for her. She was also afraid of where Nathan's temper would lead him.
Brooke and Nathan got to the Clothes Over Bro's head office just before 3:00. "You ready for this?" he asked.
"I think so." The elevator doors opened and she walked out ahead of him. He straightened his posture and walked behind her, admiring her confidence in the face of recent events. Her employees stopped and stared. They hadn't seen their boss in months, and she was beaten and bruised.
Victoria was standing in the design room and turned around to face her daughter. "Well, well. About time you showed up for work. You're a few months late, though, dear."
Nathan inwardly cursed her for not bothering to notice or mention Brooke's battled appearance. Brooke, however, remained composed. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a dress on a mannequin, with a seamstress adding finishing touches to the neckline. It was one of the stolen designs. She looked back at Victoria.
"So what is he? Your bodyguard?" the older woman asked, looking at Nathan, before Brooke could say a word.
"No." Nathan said in an angry tone. "I'm the guy who finally realized what a bitch Brooke's mother is, and came here to tell her to back the hell off."
"You Scotts do have tempers. How's your father?" she asked, callously.
Nathan took a deep breath and tried to regain his self-control. Brooke took note and began speaking.
"Nice dress," Brooke said, gesturing to the red fabric draped on the mannequin. "I didn't think I'd sent those designs yet."
"Really? You must have." Victoria looked at the dress, then turned back to her daughter.
"No. I didn't."
"Well, dear, we have the originals, so you must have forgotten. I know how easy that is for you."
"Really? Well, I have the copies I made as soon as the sketches were finished." Brooke said, reaching into her bag and producing a file full of colour copies. "See the date, there? That's the day someone attacked me and stole the originals. And why would I have sent them to you anyway? You were fired."
The 'f' word caught the attention of everyone within ear shot. Clearly they had no clue.
"Well, you can't just fire a CEO," Victoria spat the words back at her daughter.
"The thing is, mother, that I'm not as stupid as you think. And the so-called 'partnership' we had was just full of loopholes." Victoria narrowed her eyes. "I hired a lawyer. Seems you're the stupid one, not me."
Nathan smiled at his friend's confidence. This was the Brooke he knew.
"You don't know what you're talking about," Victoria walked past Brooke.
Brooke turned and calmly said to the woman's back, "security will see you out."
The older woman spun around and walked to within a foot of her daughter's face. "You will regret this," she said in a low whisper.
"The only thing I regret is ever going into business with you in the first place." Brooke's tone matched her mother's, and only Nathan could hear the conversation. "I know you did this," she said, pointing to her face. "I know you stole my designs. How does it feel to be unemployed and childless?"
Victoria adjusted her jacket and looked to the ground, then her eyes met Brooke's. "You can fire me, and you can say what you like. I'm always going to be your mother."
"You are not a mother." Nathan's words surprised both women, and Brooke turned her head to look at him. "You're barely a human. If you ask me, you're just like my father. You're a heartless, manipulative bitch, with no sense of right or wrong."
For once in her life, Victoria Davis showed some sign of human emotion when Nathan said those words. It looked like remorse, though none of them could be sure.
Two security guards walked towards where they were standing, and a police officer followed.
"He'll have some questions for you about the theft." Brooke said with a smile, causing Victoria to widen her eyes. "They've already taken my statement."
The guards led Victoria to the elevator and out of the office, with everyone staring in shock at what had just happened. Once the elevator doors closed, Brooke wrapped her arms around Nathan in a tight hug.
"Nathan! You said you were just going to be there for me! I didn't expect that!" she said pulling away
"Me neither. But it felt damn good to tell her off." The both laughed. "How do you feel?"
"Like me again," Brooke said with a smile.