Brooke was nervous. But then, she'd been nervous since opening the email with the subject line. 'Your Secret Is Out. She'd known the moment she saw the blasted thing in her inbox that the tabloids would turn their talons on her. For the last few months, she'd watched as people she knew and cared about had had their lives turned upside down by this malicious phantom. And somehow she'd managed to keep hoping he wouldn't turn on her. Now that he had, though, she was forced to tell her parents the truth and live through what she always thought of as the 'disappointment stare.' Again.

Her entire life, Brooke had known that she was continually letting her parents down. Oh, no one had actually said anything – that would have been distasteful. But parents had other was of letting their children know they didn't measure up, and the Davis' masters at silent disapproval.

No matter what Brooke had done in her life, her mother and father stood back and looked at her as if they didn't have a clue where she'd come from. Today was going to be no different.

Her mother was already furious that she'd left New York and brought a house here in Tree Hill. This news just might give her the final push over the edge.

Thank God Lucas was coming with her to face her parents. She glanced at his stoic profile as he drove down the road toward the only hotel in Tee Hill. He was the only one who knew her secret. The only one she had trusted enough to tell the truth about why she had come home. And didn't that say something? She hadn't even told Peyton and Haley, and the three of them had been close for years.

But when she was in trouble, she always had turned to Lucas. Even though telling him she was pregnant because of her own stupid decision to spend one night with the smooth-talking, too-handsome-for-his-own-good Owen made her feel like an even bigger idiot.

Brooke still couldn't believe that one night of bad judgment and too much champagne had brought her to this. Lucas was right, though. Even without a media leek, she wouldn't have been able to hide her pregnancy for much longer. Loose tops and a strategically held handbag weren't going to disguise reality forever.

She shuddered a little in her seat. Brooke hated being pushed around by some nameless bully.

"You okay? Lucas asked, shotting her a quick look before turning his gaze back on the road in front of him.

"Not really," she admitted. "What the hell am I going to say to them?"

"The truth, Brooke," he said, reaching out to cover her hand with his. "Just tell them you're pregnant."

She held on to his hand and felt the warm, solid strength of him. "And when they ask who the father is?"

His mouth worked as if he wanted to say plenty but wasn't letting the words out. She appreciated the effort. He couldn't say anything about Owen that she hadn't been feeling anyway.

When she told Lucas about the baby, he'd instantly proven to be a much better man than the one she'd slept with. Lucas offered to help in any way he could, which was just one of the things she loved most about him. He didn't judge. He was just there. Like the mountains. He was sturdy. And dependable. And everything she'd never known in her life until him. Now she needed him more than ever.

Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt when Lucas stopped at the valet. When he lowered his window to speak with the attendant, a wave of early summer heat invaded the car.

God, she couldn't remember a time when she'd felt at ease with her parents. It had always seemed as though she was putting on a production, playing the part of the perfect daughter. Only she never quite measured up. She wished things were different, but if wishes came true, she wouldn't be here in the first place, would she?

Brooke herself had been the one time anything unexpected had happened in her parents' lives. She was, she knew, an 'accident.' A late-in-life baby who had caused them nothing but embarrassment at first, followed by years of disappointment. Her mother had been horrified to find herself pregnant at the age of forty and had endured the pregnancy because to do otherwise would have been unthinkable for her. They employed the best nanny's to raise her and expected her not to make any further ripples in their life.

But Brooke had always caused ripples. Sometimes waves.

And today was going to be a tsunami.

"You're getting quiet," Lucas said with a flicker of a smile. "Never a good sign."

She had to smile back. "Too much to think about." Her mind was going off on tangents because she didn't want to think about her reason for being here.

"You've already made the hard decision," Lucas pointed out. "You decided to keep the baby."

She had. Not that she cared at all about the baby's father, Brooke though. But the baby was real to her. A person. Her child. How could she end the pregnancy? "I couldn't do anything else."

He reached out and took her hand for a quick squeeze. "I know. And I'll help however I can."

"I know you will," she said, holding on to his hand as she would a life line.

"You know," he said slowly, his deep voice rumbling through the car, "there's no reason for you to be worked up. You might want to consider that you're in your mid-twenties…."

"Hey!" She frowned at him. "Twenty four is hardly mid-twenties."

"My mistake," he said, mouth quirking, eyes shining. "But the point is, you've been on your own since you were seventeen, Brooke. You don't have to explain your life to your parents."

"Easy for you to say," she countered. "Your mom and sister are your own personal cheering squad."

"True," he said, nodding. "But, Brooke, sooner or later, you've got to take a stand and, instead of apologizing to them, just tell them what's what."

It sounded perfectly reasonable. And she knew he was right. But it didn't make the thought of actually doing in any easier to take. She dropped one hand to the slight mound of her belly and gave the child within a comforting pat. If there was ever a time to stand up to her parents, it was now. She was going to be a mother herself, for God's sake.

"You're right." She gave his hand another squeeze then let go to release her seat belt. "I'm going to tell them about the baby and that the father isn't in the picture and I'll be a single mother and…." She stopped. "Oh, God."

He chuckled. "For a second there, you were raring to go."

"I still am," she insisted, in spite of, or maybe because of, the flurries of butterflies in her stomach. "Let's just go get it over with, okay?"

"And after, we'll hit the diner for lunch."

"Sounds like a plan." She said.

Please leave a review. Good or bad, just so I know if it's worth continuing. I will try to keep updating daily.