Ok to clear something up this takes place before the four year jump. The characters are still in high school. What happened to Brooke will be revealed in bits and pieces through flashback throughout the story. Also I'm going to keep these chapters pretty short, just so that I can update pretty regularly.
Brooke blinked a few times and opened her eyes to the bright white around her. Faces leaned over her. "Hey B. Davis," her blonde curly headed best friend smiled at her but behind the smile was pain. The smile was only a charade so as not to upset Brooke.
"Thank god you're awake," Haley chirped from Brooke's left. "I don't know if I could deal with being the perky one much longer."
"She's only been out for a few hours," Nathan grumbled.
"But still being peppy is hard work." Haley flopped down in a chair at the foot of the bed, Nathan standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders. Brooke looked around and noted that the only one who hadn't spoken was a broody blonde standing mere inches from her bed. She caught his eye and he opened his mouth as if to say something but closed it immediately.
"So you guys been here long?" Brooke struggled to sit up, but flinched as she put weight on her arms. She glanced down; two long lines of stitches wound their way among her veins along her left arm. She clutched her left arm with her right one, only to note that it too carried scars.
"Not too long, originally the nurses said only family could visit, but then she met your ice queen of a mother and I guess she figured that we were better family than Victoria could ever be. And much better for the healing process," Haley spoke quickly. At that exact moment a woman in scrubs appeared at the doorway.
"Ok I know I said that you kids could visit her, but that's where I stop bending the rules. Only one visitor at a time. Out!" Brooke willed Lucas to be the one to stay, but clearly Peyton had other plans. She settled herself into a chair next to Brooke's bed as the other three gathered themselves to leave. Lucas again looked as if he wanted to say something, but he settled for taking Brooke's hand and giving it a slight squeeze before following Haley and Nathan out the door. The room fell silent as the nurse bustled about then with a sniff she was gone and the silence became deafening. Brooke looked to Peyton, but the blonde didn't say anything, merely looked at her like a frightened deer.
"What's with the big sad puppy dog eyes P. Sawyer?" Brooke finally shattered the stillness. "You're acting like someone died." Those words broke Peyton. She blinked at her friend in stunned silence before she opened her mouth.
"Brooke you almost did," she whimpered. The tears fell from her eyes.
"Oh Peyton, come here." Quickly, Peyton moved from the chair to the bed, laying her head on Brooke's shoulder. Brooke wrapped her arms around her best friend and kissed the top of her head. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise. And these things," she spoke of her wounds, "they look a lot worse than they actually are." Brooke's shoulder dampened as Peyton sobbed into it.
"Brooke what happened?" Peyton croaked between sobs, lifting her head so that she could face the brunette. Brooke wiped a tear from her friend's cheek as she thought. Then she sank back into the uncomfortable stiffness of her hospital bed, letting out a long breath.
The wind caught Brooke's hair and whipped it around her. Angry thoughts raced through her head. She turned down a new street. Her feet were ire driven further and further away from where she had left him. Again the wind roared through the fall air bringing with it a chill that pulled Brooke from her thoughts. She blinked through darkness surrounding her. The only illumination came from the full moon overhead. Brooke's heels tapped a little more rapidly on the pavement as she picked up the pace. She shouldn't have taken this road late at night, but he left her with no choice. She had to put as much space between them as she could. Something rustled in the bushes beside her. She closed her eyes, it's just the wind, she promised herself. But just to be safe she sped up a little more. The rustling continued, following her along the edge of the sidewalk. She turned to the bushes. "Be brave, be brave," she chanted to herself. With a sigh she moved towards the bush squatting down, nervously reaching to push a branch aside. She stared into the depths. An object shot out at her. As she fell back on the pavement, shocked, the black cat ran across the road. "Great just what I need bad luck," she murmured aloud. She stood up, brushing herself off. She felt something grab her shoulder and she spun around, gasping.
"What's a pretty girl like you doing out alone so late at night?" the man grinned at her showing his yellowing teeth. His grimy hand reached out to brush her cheek and she shrunk back from it. She tried to keep walking, to ignore him, but he stood in her path. She sidestepped to the left, but again he blocked her. "I asked you a question!" He grabbed her upper arms so hard that Brooke could feel the bruises forming.
"I…I…" she stammered, unsure if screaming would help.
"Hey back off," a voice called. A deep, reassuring kind of voice. Brooke turned towards the sound as the man tightened his grip.
"This is none of your business," he snarled to the new voice.
"Not exactly, but I'm sure the police would consider it their business." The men locked gazes for a moment, before the grimy man released her and began to walk down the sidewalk, mumbling to himself.
"Thank you so much," Brooke spoke to her rescuer.
"No problem, I'm always happy to help a damsel in distress. I'm Jack by the way." The man extended a hand. Brooke hesitated, a teenage girl alone in the dark meeting a stranger was the beginning of every horror movie. But this man had just saved her and the way his dark hair fell casually and attractively across his eyes drove Brooke to place her hand in his.
"Brooke." They shook. "Thanks again." She turned to go, but he spoke again.
"Actually, if you don't mind, I'm a little bit lost. Do you think you could direct me towards the middle of town?"
"Umm sure you just go straight up this road and then take a left and then a right where that dead ends and you'll end up near Karen's Café."
"Great thanks." He took a few steps down the road. Brooke hesitated a little bit, that was the way she was going. Though this man had rescued her she wasn't sure that she was up for fulfilling every horror movie cliché. She shrugged her fears aside, this man seemed harmless enough and besides they would only be walking together for a few feet and then he would go his way and she would go hers.
"Actually I'm going this way too."
"Great we'll walk together." He smiled at her and her stomach lurched a little bit. A bell pinged in her head; there was something off about his smile. Brooke shook it away, she was just being silly. The two fell into stride. "So you go to Tree Hill High?" he asked.
"Excuse me?" Brooke snapped. How did he know that?
"Well you look like high school age and since you're headed this way I assumed…" Of course, it was a natural assumption. An innocent assumption. He was merely trying to strike up a conversation.
"Oh yeah, and you?" He looked too old for high school. "Do you go to college around here?"
"No I graduated last year." He smiled at her again and this time the ping of the bell seemed a bit more urgent. Luckily, they had come to the point where their paths diverged.
"Well thanks again for saving me." She gave a weak smile.
"No problem." He smiled again and the bell turned into a siren in her head, wailing at her to walk away. She turned to go. "Oh and Brooke..." The siren screamed at her not to turn but she did. "It was nice meeting you." The syringe glinted a bit in the moonlight before it sunk into her skin. She felt a liquid enter her blood seeking refuge in her veins. The siren wailed one more time and she finally realized what was wrong with his smile. It wasn't a smile at all but a menacing leer. And then as if a switch had been flicked, Brooke passed out in the man's arms.
Hope you enjoyed, please review.