Freaky Mirror Images
Gravel crunched beneath the tires as the white car pulled up in front of the overly large house. An uptight looking woman stepped out of the driver's seat and walked to the back, pulling the door open.
"I can get it myself thanks," a voice grumbled from within. A Converse clad foot swung out of the back seat and planted itself on the ground. Soon a petite brunette unfolded herself from the backseat. She blinked her blue eyes up at the house. "Damn," she commented in awe. The front door of the house opened. Someone had been waiting for the teenager's arrival. Another brunette appeared on the front door step. Quickly, she strode across the lawn to face the teenager.
"Sofia," she whispered. Her face broke out into a smile at the sight of the teen. Dime sized dimples appeared in both of her cheeks. Sofia recognized the dimples. She saw them every morning in the mirror.
"You must be Brooke," Sofia surmised. The older brunette looked taken aback but nodded nonetheless. Tears made their appearance in Brooke's eyes. She opened her arms and stepped towards the girl. Sofia skillfully ducked the open arms and wandered to the trunk of the car. The uptight woman handed her a few bags. Sofia struggled a bit under the weight. "It's been nice getting to know you," Sofia said sarcastically. The woman nodded and turned to address Brooke.
"My office will call you on Monday to discuss the transfer of her records." Brooke nodded. The uptight woman got in the car and was gone.
"What transfer of records?" Sofia asked alarmed.
"Medical and school," Brooke informed her as she took a bag from Sofia's hand. "Now let's get you settled." Then she was off, walking into the house.
"Wait, why? You certainly don't think I'm moving here do you?" Sofia called after Brooke. Either Brooke didn't hear or didn't care for she did not turn back as she made her way towards the house. Since half of her clothes were currently in possession of the woman who had already disappeared into the house, Sofia had no choice but to follow.
"This is the dining room but I hardly ever eat in there. Here's the kitchen. The living room." Sofia was following Brooke through the house and getting the tour. "Now up here…" the two began to climb the stairs. "My room. Bathroom. And here's your room." Brooke threw open a door to reveal a dismal looking room. "I wasn't sure what color you wanted so I figured you could sleep in the guest bedroom for now and tomorrow we can go and pick out paint and furniture."
"This is fine by me. Truthfully, I don't think I'll be here for very long." Brooke dropped the bag she was carrying onto the carpet with a thud.
"Look Sofia I don't know what they explained to you…"
"They explained it all. I know the story." Sofia paced around the extra large room.
"Good. Well then we'll go out for dinner to celebrate tonight." Simultaneously, the two tucked a strand of brown hair behind their ears. Sofia walked to the bed and sat down on it facing the window, her back to Brooke. "So I'll let you get settled a little." Brooke walked out the door and turned. "Welcome home."
"This isn't home," Sofia mumbled.
"Excuse me?" A sigh emitted from Sofia as she turned.
"This isn't my home. I have a home with a mother and a father."
"I thought that you said they told you. Sofia I'm your mother."
"No I mean my real mom." Her words hit Brooke like sharp knives. Blinking rapidly, Brooke walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. She tried to walk down the hallway, but couldn't see through the tears. Relenting, she leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor.
A nervous Brooke stepped up the front stairs. It had been a while since she had been to this house. About two months she figured. She never thought she'd come back, but she had to. Her stomach churned. She clutched it. Here goes nothing she thought to herself as she raised a fist and knocked twice. A blonde answered the door, but not the blonde she wanted.
"Can I speak with Lucas please?" Brooke coolly asked of Peyton.
"Brooke I…"
"Save it ok. I really don't care I just need to talk to Lucas."
"But Brooke…"
"Peyton as far as I'm concerned this friendship is over. It was over the minute you decided to sleep with my fiancée." Peyton looked as if she was about to say something, but instead she just stepped aside, allowing Brooke to enter.
"He's in his office writing."
"Thank you." Without another look at her former best friend Brooke walked down the hallway and pushed open the door at the end.
"Just a second Peyton," Lucas spoke without looking up.
"I guess it's hard to keep the women you sleep with straight," Brooke spoke sardonically. "Maybe we should all wear name tags." Lucas looked up.
"Brooke."
"Oh so you do remember my name."
"Brooke can we talk?"
"Lucas I really don't need to hear your excuse. You slept with my best friend while we were engaged end of story. I don't think that any more talking on that topic needs to be done. But I do have something else we need to discuss." Brooke decided to dive right in. " I'm pregnant." She sat down as Lucas's jaw dropped.
"Mine?" he asked willing it to not be.
"Yes. See unlike you I actually believed that the engagement ring symbolized a monogamous relationship. Now frankly I don't care to see your face ever again, but I thought you should know. That's all I came to say." Brooke picked up her bag and was almost out the door when Lucas called to her.
"Brooke." She stopped and turned. "I want to be there. For this baby. I know what it's like to have a father that doesn't want you and I don't think that I could force that on another human being. I want to…no I need to be there." Brooke inhaled deeply. Moments ticked by as she weighed options in her head.
"I just want you to know that there's no way I'm ever going to forgive you. But I don't want my kid to ever feel rejected." Lucas smiled. "I'll call you when I go to the doctor." And with that Brooke moved down the hallway praying that she wouldn't regret what she had just agreed to. Peyton was standing at the front door. The two girls stared at one another and it was then that Brooke noticed something. A ray of light glinted off of Peyton's finger. Lucas walked into the foyer and stood behind Peyton. "I hope you two will be very happy." She smiled and then opened the door, but before she left she leaned in and whispered to Peyton. "By the way it's the same ring he gave me." Satisfied, Brooke left.
Silence filled the kitchen. Because of Sofia's lack of enthusiasm at the prospect of getting out of the house Brooke had settled on ordering pizza. Now the two sat at opposite ends of the table without a word. "I hope you like pepperoni. I didn't really know what kind of pizza you would like so I went with a basic," Brooke finally spoke.
"Pepperoni's fine." Sofia stared down at her plate.
"What's your favorite kind of pizza?" Brooke prodded.
"Whatever," Sofia grumbled.
"Come on you have to have a favorite." Sofia sighed.
"Sausage and mushroom." Brooke nodded. Why hadn't she just thought to ask the girl what kind of pizza she wanted? Then maybe she would have seen it as a gesture of peace. And maybe they would actually be speaking now.
"So I was thinking that tomorrow we could go shopping for some furniture for your room. And you can pick out a color."
"Whatever." Sofia picked off a slice of pepperoni.
"Then we could paint your room ourselves or I could hire someone whichever you prefer."
"Fine by me." Sofia put the pepperoni in her mouth.
"And then maybe we could head down to the high school, check it out a bit. Of course you won't be expected to start there until next week."
"Joy," she muttered contemptuously.
"Oh come on it won't be that bad."
"When was the last time you were in high school? It's always bad. And I'm going to have that whole new kid aspect about me. I won't know anyone. All my friends are at my old school."
"Well maybe you could have them over sometime," Brooke suggested.
"Yeah because I bet their parents would let them fly across country to visit me for a weekend. No I think it would be easier if I just moved home."
"Sofia I know this transition is going to be hard but…"
"May I be excused?" But Sofia didn't wait for a response. "Thanks." She stood, picking up her dishes.
"Sofia this situation is what it is and I think that we should just make the best of it."
"Sorry to pull you out of rainbows and sunshine land, but I live here on planet earth where nothing ever works out for the best. Each moment I think I've finally got something figured out the universe screws it up in an attempt to keep me guessing." Sofia scrubbed her plate clean. As she set it in the drying rack, and idea came to her. "But you know what would be the best thing to do?"
"What's that?" Brooke asked excitedly.
"Send me home. That would be the best thing for me and you."
"Sofia." Brooke put her hand to her head.
"What? I mean all my friend's are at home. My room. My parents. My life is in Boston. Hell the majority of my wardrobe is obsolete here in sunny LA."
"We could go shopping for new clothes," Brooke suggested.
"Send me home. We tried, but clearly this isn't working out. I want to go home. To my own bed."
"We are not having this conversation."
"Fine." Sofia stormed out of the kitchen and headed for the stairs.
"Where are you going?" No response. "Sofia? Would you at least look at me?" Brooke begged of the teenager. Sofia whirled around. To stare into the older brunette's eyes. Brooke looked back. It was like looking into a mirror of her former self. Their face shape was the same. Their hair, the same wavy dark brown. Dimples marked both of their cheeks. They had the same button nose. The same little ears. They were eye to eye with one another. It seemed that the only difference between the two was the eyes. Brooke's were hazel while Sofia's were a bright blue. A bright blue that pained Brooke to look into. "I'm not the bad guy here. I deserve to be treated better. I'm your mother."
"No you're not! I have a mother and her name is Peyton Scott!"
"No," Brooke spoke composed. "I am your mother," she repeated."
"If you're my mother then where have you been for the past sixteen years? Do you know where I got this scar?" She held out her arm. "Why I can't watch movies with clowns. What my favorite food is?"
"Where have I been for the past sixteen years? Where have I been." She seemed to be speaking more to herself than to Sofia.
Brooke rocked baby Sofia begging her to be quiet. "Come on Sweetie. Mommy's got to get some sleep. She's got a job interview in the morning. And unless you're willing to give up those nice luxuries known as food and shelter, I need the job." But Sofia continued to scream. Brooke sat down on the floor. When Brooke had told her parents that she was pregnant they cut her off without a dime to her name. After scraping together a bit of cash that she had saved, Brooke had bought the crappy apartment she now sat in. She had sold almost all of her furniture to buy Sofia the things she needed. Now without a job and barely two dimes to rub together Brooke was at her wit's end. A knock resounded on her door. Brooke shifted Sofia to her hip and eased the door open. "Yes?" she asked of the woman.
"Hi I'm Lucas Scott's lawyer." She extended a hand but Brooke did not shake it. "I'm here to request your presence at court tomorrow."
"I can't I've got to go to a job interview," Brooke said wondering what it was that Lucas wanted.
"Unfortunately, your presence is mandatory. If you're not there I'll be forced to take legal action."
"Fine I'll see what I can do."
"Excellent. Well goodbye then." As the lawyer turned Brooke's thoughts raced.
"May I ask what this is about?"
"Well my client, Lucas Scott, he's suing for full custody of his daughter, Sofia Rose." With that the lawyer was gone leaving a shocked Brooke behind.
Lucas's lawyer played dirty. She used Brooke's past to slander Brooke's name and character. Then she brought out pictures of the apartment where Brooke was currently residing and discussed her financial situation. In the end the judge seemed dead set against giving Brooke any access to her daughter, but Brooke's tears persuaded him to grant her joint custody. Lucas avoided eye contact with Brooke as he led his new wife out of the courtroom and into their waiting car. The two had dressed exceptionally well for the occasion. In fact Brooke was amazed she had been given joint custody. Lucas had a well paying job, a stable relationship with his wife, and a house big enough for a child with a backyard. Brooke had none of that.
Every time she dropped Sofia off with her father, she felt envy searing inside her. About a month after the trial, Brooke arrived at Lucas's house to pick up her daughter but when she rang the bell there was no answer. Perhaps they had gone out for ice cream. Brooke sat down on the front porch and waited fifteen minutes. No one arrived home. She beat on the door until her fists were bloody. She stayed at that house until the moon hung overhead, but still no one was home. Lucas, it seemed, had packed up his pretty little wife and a few things for his daughter and then waited until Sofia was dropped off by her naïve mother and the three had fled. To where Brooke had no idea. Brooke went back to the courthouse, but she had no money for a lawyer and it seemed that no one thought she should have had any custody in the first place. She got no help from the law so she took manners into her own hands. For four months she traveled the country looking for any sign of Lucas and Peyton. She visited their families and friends, but none of them seemed to know where the two had taken Sofia. Or at least they weren't telling Brooke. After four months of searching in vain Brooke had run out of money. She had to settle down and get a job.
Fifteen years later, Brooke was living in LA with more money than she could ask for. She was a successful designer and had almost everything she could ever want. Knowing that she was now a better suited mother and had the money, Brooke hired a private detective. After months and months of searching he had a lead. He had found Sofia Rose Scott living in Boston. After a comparison of Brooke with Lucas and Peyton it was apparent that she had more resources to invest in a child. She hired a lawyer and sued Lucas and Peyton for full custody of her daughter. This time she won. Sofia Rose was packed up and driven by a social worker across the country to move in with Brooke. Brooke had her daughter back.
Thinking about the events of her past forced Brooke to realize just what she had been through. And then it all cracked within her. She sank to the floor. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry ok. I know I was a terrible mother. You were such a good baby. Hardly ever made a fuss. You deserved better than me. Here I was a poor party girl trying to repress her past and raise a baby. All I could give to you was love. But apparently that wasn't enough. I had to be punished, so you were taken from me." Brooke sniffled. "Now I know you'd be happier with Lucas and Peyton, but I've been looking for you for sixteen years. Sixteen years my heart has been empty and then when I found you it felt like I could be whole again. But you don't even want me. Story of my life. Head cheerleader, student body president, social butterfly, but still all alone." The tears rolled down Brooke's cheeks. And as Sofia stared at the bawling woman, she saw herself. The desperation. The vulnerability. The attempt to do it all with a strong face while it kills you slowly from the inside.
"I always wondered why I had dark hair."
"What?" Brooke blinked up at Sofia.
Sofia sat down next to Brooke. "My hair. I always wondered why it was so dark. After all the two people I thought were my biological parents both had blonde hair, but when I asked them they just told me that it was a fluke. But it made me angry and I felt so alone. My family was composed of blondes. Every girl on the cheerleading squad has blonde hair. But me, this dark wavy stuff." She touched her head. "So you're not the only cheerleader who feels alone. I guess we have more in common that just the freaky mirror image thing." Brooke laughed. "How about we start over? I'm Sofia and you must be my mother." Brooke smiled. It was the first time that Sofia had referred to her as her mother. "You have to promise me one thing though. Since I'll be the new kid at school I won't really know that many people, so you have to come to pick me up one day in a limo. Then I can tell kids 'This is my mom, Brooke Davis. Yes the fashion designer to the stars'. I'll definitely get some clout. Make lots of friends. What do you say, mom?" Brooke's eyes welled as a dimpled smile broke out across her face. It was the magic word that she had been waiting to hear.
"I think I can handle that." Sofia's dimpled grin mirrored her mother's. The two embraced. After a bit they pulled back and there was silence.
"So you were really head cheerleader?" Brooke nodded. "Tell me about that."
"Well we could talk about me for years, and believe me we will, but right now I want to hear about you. Starting with where you got that scar, why you can't watch movies with clowns, and what your favorite food is."
"About the scar. Well I was in the first grade and there was this boy in my class. He kept teasing me so one day I just punched him in the jaw. And then we just start going at it. Kids and teachers are screaming all around us."
"Tell me you kicked his butt."
"I did but you're missing the best part of the story. So then I take his head in my hands and…" Brooke smiled and nodded as her daughter continued to regale in the story of her first fight. Brooke hoped that she was there for every future story first hand. She hoped that the day would come when she would know where every bump and bruise had come from. But for now she was content to sit on the floor relishing in the company of her daughter. She was whole again and for once she didn't feel so alone.