To Mend a Broken Heart…
Chapter 1-Me and you, without you…
Brooke smiled at the dazzling blonde in front of her. He held her hand and motioned for the waiter with his free one. "Would you please get Ms. Davis another glass of champagne?" The waiter nodded and stalked off towards the kitchen. "So, baby, you ready for the big day tomorrow?"
"Sort of, I have major butterflies in my stomach."
"It could be gas." He smiled again and the butterflies started fluttering in her stomach again. "I'm really glad you said yes."
"Me, too. I'm ready for this. I'm ready to take the next step."
"I think we'll do great, Brooke. You'll never regret this." The champagne arrived and the man raised his glass. "Let's toast." Brooke smiled brightly and held her glass up.
"To good fortune…"
"…beautiful women…"
"…and to the gorgeous men who take care of them."
"Hear, hear." As the two adults sipped their glasses, Brooke couldn't help but feel that something was missing. Aside from the butterflies, she could feel the void in her heart.
One hour later…
"Oh, my God! Y-y-you're getting…Macy's!" Peyton grabbed Brooke's shoulders and shook her enthusiastically. Brooke joined in her best friend's happy bouncing. "It's so sudden."
"I know, but with Victoria out of the picture, I've decided to take the company global, and when you go global, you gotta go big…"
"…and Macy's is big."
"Exactly." Suddenly, Brooke's perkiness came to a halt and her green eyes dimmed.
"Brooke, you okay?" Peyton dropped her hands to her side and cocked her head to the right.
"Yeah…"
"Brooke?" Peyton probed. She knew when Brooke Davis was upset.
"When I was sitting with Nick today and he was…propositioning me, I was happy and I finally felt like I had reached my goal." Peyton nodded for her to continue. "But, then I realized that I'm only twenty-two years old. I'm still young and I have this super-accelerated lifestyle. However, now that I have mastered the art of a career. I want to do something else." Brooke sat on the couch and Peyton sat beside her.
"Like what?"
"I want to get--"
"You want to get married!" Brooke laughed as Peyton gasped and her hand fluttered to her chest.
"No, Peyton. I want to have a baby."
"With me?"
"No, Peyton. Listen. I went to the doctor's and…I can't have children. Just, like, a little problem, but anyway, I can't conceive. I can have sex, but--"
"Yeah, clearly you have got that one down." Peyton teased.
"Anyway, I want to get--uh, I want to adopt. I'm thinking a little girl…no, I've been dreaming of a little girl." Brooke twiddled her thumbs in her lap and smiled weakly at Peyton, waiting for her reaction.
"Well, Brooke…" Peyton stopped to think of the right words to say to the distraught brunette in front of her.
"Peyton, I want this so bad."
"…I think it's a great idea. I think you will be a great mother."
"Really? Oh, thanks, P. Sawyer." Brooke outstretched her arms to let the blonde reach in for a hug.
"I'm serious, Brooke. Even if you do it as a single mother, I think you'll be great."
"P. Sawyer, that means so much to me."
"I know…ooh, wait." Peyton reached into her back pocket and retrieved her vibrating phone. "Hello?"
"Hey, it's me…I'm at the airport and I've got two tickets to Vegas…let's get married."
Peyton said yes, hung up the phone and looked at her best friend. "I gotta go."
"What? Why?"
"Lucas and I are getting married…we're gonna elope."
Ten weeks later…
"So, Mrs. Scott, How was your day today?" The blonde giggled as she walked into the kitchen.
"Fine, Mrs. Scott, how was your day?" Haley laughed and joined her sister in law, Peyton's bit.
"It was fine. Listen, have you seen Brooke--"
"Scott?" Haley joked, shrugging her shoulders. Peyton laughed.
"Davis." Peyton turned serious. "She was going to the group home with her lawyer today."
"Well, maybe she's not back yet."
"Yeah, maybe."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: ALRIGHT, GUYS, YOU KNOW THE DRILL. STORY WILL BE TOLD FROM JESSE'S FIRST PERSON POINT OF VIEW, WITH OCCASSIONAL INDICATED SWITCHES TO BROOKE. BOLD IS INSIGHT DIALOGUE OVERVOICE AND ITALICS IS FLASHBACKS…
Brooke's POV
I entered the small building and slowly made my way towards the front desk. "Hi, I have an appointment with, um..." I looked down at the slip of paper in my hand. "...Mrs. Coulter." The pudgy woman looked up at me and motioned for me to sit down. As I sat waiting, I marveled at the poorly painted walls of the orphanage. There was a small foyer and then the living room. There were two small shelves on the wall. One held a television and the other held a small collection of books. Out of nowhere, a young girl appeared and removed a book from the shelf. She held it in her hands, presumably contemplating whether or not she would take it. Finally, she looked up and smiled in my direction. She had stunning blue eyes that complimented her tan, yet rosy complexion.
"Hey, Maria Louise?" She skipped over towards the desk and leaned over the counter. She was no more than five four, with honey brown hair that was long, but held in a loose ponytail behind her head. She was wearing black skinny jeans and a white t-shirt. She had brilliantly white teeth to go with her heart warming smile. "Can I borrow this book? I'll bring it back tomorrow...please." The teenager pleaded as the older lady shook her head.
"Where are your manners, Jess?" The teenager looked perplexed. She turned toward me and smiled.
"Oh. Hi." She gave a slight wave as I smiled back. She turned toward the lady behind the desk. "Happy?"
"Jesse Logan Rossdale, manners!" I couldn't help but laugh at her lack of enthusiasm.
"Relax. Keep it you pants, Marie." Marie shot her a semi-nasty look. "Sorry. Hello, I'm Jesse, as you heard. Pleased to meet you." She held out her hand and smiled warmly at me. I took her small hand in mine.
"Nice to meet you, Jess." I think I held on to her hand a lot longer than necessary, because she gave me a funny look. "Brooke Davis." I let go of her hand. Awkward. "That's me, Brooke Davis." She nodded her head slowly.
"Brooke Davis. Nice." Then, a black woman walked through the door of the agency. Jesse turned to see who it was and skipped off quickly. Marie nodded towards the lady and then shook her head in Jesse's direction.
"This is Mrs. Coulter. The one who just left is trouble." Mrs. Coulter smiled, but it wasn't very nice. She was giving me a vibe, like she didn't approve of me or didn't like me, but I smiled anyway.
"Hello. I understand you're interested in adopting today, correct?"
"Yeah. I really want a kid."
So, for the rest of the afternoon, Mrs. Coulter--Rosa--continued showing me around the home. There were tons of kids from, surprisingly, all over the world. I was able to interact with some of the toddlers, but there was one particular person that I was interested in seeing again. Rosa and I stood outside the observation room and watched the two year olds playing with each other. I didn't really want a baby, because they were pretty hard to handle, so I figured I'd just skip the nasty stuff and jump to the terrible two's. "What do you think? Anyone spark your interest?" Rosa said in an attempt to break the silence.
"Um, actually, yeah. There was one."
"Who?"
"Jesse Rossdale." She looked at me, somewhat appalled.
"I would have thought that Ms. Louise would have told you." I shook my head. "Ms. Davis, Jesse is a little bit of a handful. Normally, when young people come in here, we don't allow them to get involved with her."
What the hell does that mean? Is she some kind of criminal?
"Young people, like who?"
"Young adults, such as yourself." Rosa waved her hand in the air, as if to dismiss the conversation. "Your mother said that it would be best to give you a toddler, say a five year old, you know, a child who is old enough to recognize a lot more than an infant. Your mother said that you would be a…a less-than-great candidate…anyway, neither a teenager, nor a baby are suitable. Let alone, Jesse. She has…secrets."
"Hey, Rosa. You talkin' about me?" She turned to face the source. Jess. She stood firmly behind Rosa with her arms folded across her chest. "Anything interesting? I'm chock-full of funny, borderline inappropriate stories. How long you got? I mean, you might want to clear your schedule." I tried to stifle my laugh, but failed miserably. Rosa turned back to look at me with a look of pure annoyance and anger…or disgust.
"Excuse me, Rossdale, but I was having a private conversation with Ms. Davis." Jesse smirked.
"Private? Really? You're gonna throw that at me? There's nothing private in an orphanage. Let alone, the Tree Hill foster home." I was trying my damndest to control my laughter.
"Jesse Logan, you have horrible diction."
"You have horrible come backs." I think Jess was just enjoying her little sarcastic sparing match…well, that's what I thought. "I think you have a lot of nerve saying that bologna."
"What?"
"First of all, I'm not a handful. I just don't like you. Second of all, people don't get involved with me because…because…" It was as if someone had blown out her confident flame.
"Because what, Jess?"
"Because…I…"
"What, you are full of trouble?…or you have nothing short of a saint's tongue?…or could it be that--" Oh, no. Jesse was being attacked because of me. She stood up for me, and now, ugh, I hate Mrs. Coulter.
"Hey! For someone who claims to love children so much, you have a very crappy way of showing it!" Suddenly, I felt protective and I was angry…or something. My voice was loud.
"As you can see, Jesse is just as I said. Case closed. I think it's best that you stop concerning yourself with her. She's a teenager, Ms. Davis. I'm sure you know about the intricacies of the teenage mind."
"All I know, is that you're a bitch." Jess stood there, mouth agape. Rosa was shocked, too.
"Well, Ms. Davis, I'm sorry to hear that. Perhaps, you and Jess are a match made in Heaven."
"Why did you do that? You know she's with social services, right? She deals with all the adoptions within a thousand miles of Tree Hill." Great. Suddenly, my legs felt like jell-o. I leaned against the wall and then slumped to the floor. Jesse kneeled beside me and smiled apologetically.
"Oh, no. I had no idea. I just thought she was…I don't know."
"Well, listen, if this blows over, I know a kid that I think you'll really like." She nodded for affirmation.
"Well, what about you?" She scoffed.
"What about me?" I shrugged. "Look, Ms. Davis--"
"Brooke." I corrected.
"Whatever. Look, I am the oldest resident here. I've been here for ten years. Not even Maria Louise has been here that long. I've seen people like you come and go…"
"…People like me?"
"I'm not finished, Brooke. Hang on. As I was saying, I'm not your type. Ricky, my buddy, he's like six…anyway, he could really use someone like you. Young and rich."
"Is that all you think I am? Young and rich?"
"No, I'm sure you have a little more substance, but that's not the point."
"Look, Jesse Logan…" She winced when I said Logan. "…I can see right through your little façade."
"Huh?"
"Just because you've been here a long time, you think you know what life's all about. My mother was never around for me and when she was, it was hell anyway. She never thought I would make it this far and she said my shot was one in a million, well, guess what? I am that one. I am one in a million and I used to be just like you. You put on some badass brave face when people come around because you're afraid to get hurt and then when you meet someone you like, you're too afraid to let them in. Right?"
"No, you couldn't be more wrong."
"Liar. I'm here to stay, kid." I rose, but Jesse stayed seated. "I'll be back tomorrow, so why don't you go look for the keys to your heart and let someone in, for a change."
"You don't know me, Brooke Davis. I choose not to let people in…because they always trash the place."