"Brooke?" Lucas called out, slightly concerned, as he knocked on the glass door at the back of her house. He didn't see her anywhere so he called her name again. His slight concern increased. Her voice had sounded strange over the phone. He didn't know what was wrong but he was sure that something was up.

Finally, Brooke's small form appeared in the kitchen. Even though it was quite warm outside, she was wearing a long sleeves and long pants, which was quite unlike her. Brooke knew what she had and she liked to flaunt it. She also had sunglasses on. Inside. Brooke hated when people wore sunglasses inside. Why was she wearing sunglasses inside?
Lucas knew something was seriously wrong and he was anxious for her to tell him. Brooke unlocked the door and slid it open.

She kept her face down and didn't touch him as she greeted her friend. "Hey, Luke." Her voice was quiet and raspier than usual, as if her throat was hurting.
"Brooke?" his voice lilted up at the end, wordlessly asking about her appearance and strange greeting. She turned away from him and walked towards the kitchen island.
"Brooke." His voice a little more forceful now. "Brooke, what is wrong?"
Still facing away from him, she moved to take her sunglasses off. "Please don't freak out…" her voice trailed off and she slowly turned so she was looking at him.

Instantly, Lucas was filled with shock, anger, and concern. Her face was a mess. Both eyes were surrounded by large black and purple bruises and one was swollen shut. Her lip was split and there were bruises littering her face and neck. There was a trail of blue and purple that disappeared under the collar of her uncharacteristic long-sleeved cardigan.
Although he wanted to control his reaction so as not to scare her, he couldn't contain the breath that hissed out between his teeth or the clenching of his hands into fists.

"Jesus, Brooke. What the hell happened?!" He moved towards her, intending to put his hand on her arm in comfort but she jerked backwards. He stopped abruptly. "Brooke…"
She laughed humorlessly, something she did when she was uncomfortable. "Sorry, I'm just really sore. It's nothing, I just fell down the stairs. Face first." She laughed again and crossed her arms over her chest, pulling her sweater tighter against her. "I'm in a lot of pain, but I'll be alright. It was just stupid."
Lucas looked at her intently, trying to decipher her expression. "Brooke, your bruises look like a little more than the damage from a fall down the stairs.
She looked away from his questioning eyes. "I mean, it was a bad fall…" She pushed her hair behind her ear, another nervous tic of hers. She looked up at Lucas, catching his piercing eyes again. She quickly looked away again and busied herself with making some tea.
She offered some to Lucas, who refused. His eyes were glued to every move.

As she stood on her toes and reached up to grab a mug, her sweater slipped from her shoulders, revealing a large bruise that looked suspiciously like a hand print.
"Brooke!" Lucas gasped.
She whipped her head around, realizing what he had seen. She pulled her sweater tight around her body again and feigned a smile. "Pretty bad bruise, huh? I really took a tumble."
She turned back to her tea-making.
Lucas moved toward her and reached to pull her sweater from her shoulder. She jerked away from him as soon as his hand came in contact with her.
"Brooke." His voice was soft. She sighed and let him move the sweater away gently. She heard his sharp intake of breath.
"Oh my god…" She couldn't decipher what emotion Lucas' voice was filled with.
She jumped when she felt his hand on her shoulder, his fingers lining up with the bruise.
"Brooke! This is a handprint!" His voice bore thinly veiled anger.
She pulled her sweater over her shoulders and quickly moved away from her irate friend.
"No it's not, it's just a coincidence."
"Brooke, this is not a coincidence. Stairs don't leave handprint-shaped bruises. What actually happened?"
She angrily stirred her tea.
"I told you, Luke, I fell down the stairs. It's not a handprint."
"You did not fall down the stairs!" He practically stalked toward her, noticing her withdrawing.
"You've been acting weird. You won't let me touch you, you're jumpy, you have handprint bruises, you're not acting normal. I know you, Brooke Davis. You didn't fall down the stairs so what the hell happened? Tell me!" He practically shouted at her. She flinched.

He instantly quieted his voice. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, but I need to know what happened." He slowly approached her and she let him. He gently placed his hands on her arms and looked into her beautiful brown eyes. "Brooke, what happened?"
She looked down. "I told you, I fell down the stairs. That's all."
"No it isn't!" Lucas threw his hands up in anger. She flinched again.

He paced the room, angry and confused. Why wouldn't Brooke tell him what had really happened? They had been getting so much closer lately. He thought she trusted him, but apparently not. Why wouldn't she let him in?
"Tell me the truth, Brooke!" He was yelling now.
"That is the truth, Lucas!" she spit back. She was yelling now too.
"No it is not! You know it and I know it. Tell me the truth!"
"THAT IS THE TRUTH!" She yelled, angry now. Tears were forming at the corners of her eyes. She hated that she cried when she was angry. She tried to hold them back. "I fell down the stairs!"
Luke's eyes narrowed and he stared her down. "I don't believe you."

His words hit her hard. She lost the words she was going to throw back at him and took a step back. She knew she wasn't being convincing and Lucas only wanted to know the truth because he cared about her, but none of that mattered at the moment. She just needed him to stop asking questions so he could hold her and tell her it was okay. She needed him but he refused to let it go and she couldn't tell him what had happened. Why couldn't he just believe her? She was angry now.
"Fine!" She yelled. She marched over to the door and flung it open.
"If you don't believe me, you don't trust me. If you don't trust me, then GET OUT!"
She pointed out the door.
"FINE!" He yelled. He stormed out the door.
"I HATE YOU!" She screamed after him. She slammed the door behind him and wasted no time in sinking to the floor.

The sobs came quickly. She knew Lucas was just looking out for her but she couldn't say anything. She couldn't tell him what had happened. She just couldn't. And if she lost him, so be it. A strangled noise tore out of her. She didn't want to lose Lucas, but she couldn't tell him. She just couldn't. She curled around herself, on the ground in front of the door. She let her sobs overtake her and succumbed to her fear.