Chapter 2 Don't Wait
Sunday Evening
Brooke's hands began shaking as she tried to dial the numbers on her phone. Who knew calling Rachel would be this nerve wracking?
Brooke put the phone to her ear and almost prayed that Rachel wouldn't answer. She knew that since they'd had a blowout the last time they'd talked Rachel wouldn't be so forgiving about it. One out of the many things Rachel was good at was keeping a grudge. It wasn't really Brooke's fault that they'd had a fight. It all started that last day of summer. After that Rachel hadn't tried to talk to her which was about 5 years ago…
"Hello?" Rachel's voice echoed in the phone.
And suddenly it was like Brooke's voice was ripped out from her. All her life Brooke was the one that talked constantly. Whenever there was an uncomfortable silence Brooke was the first to break the barrier. Whenever there was a fight Brooke was the one to be in it and whenever a friend needed help or anything at all Brooke was there to talk them through all of it. Needless to say Brooke's raspy, sexy voice was her trademark.
"He-hello," Brooke finally choked out. There was silence on the other end and for a moment Brooke doubted herself.
"This is Rachel right?" Brooke asked, almost pleading with the person on the other end just to pretend it's Rachel even if it isn't.
"Maybe," the person replied. "It depends if you're Brooke Davis."
Brooke cleared her throat. "Yes Rachel it's me, Brooke. I have to talk to you."
"Oh really? Well why don't you just accuse me of being a bad friend again like you did 5 years ago!"
"I'm sorry…" Brooke began, but was cut off by Rachel's harsh voice.
"You're just sorry? That's it? That's all you have to say? Do you even know what I've been going through for the past 5 years? No, you wouldn't because you didn't care! Ever since that night you shut everyone out! And then you decided to ditch us all again at the Rivercourt! So I'm sorry if I'm not making you posters and putting your names on billboards because you called me." Rachel sighed.
"Isn't it just important that I called you now?" Brooke asked, begging her to just let it go. Somehow she knew that wasn't going to happen.
"Well." Rachel paused. "Not really."
Brooke cursed Rachel for being so damn stubborn. Couldn't she just forgive Brooke this one time? They'd had a great friendship before all of this crap happened so she couldn't understand why they couldn't just pick up where they'd left off.
"Rachel, I've been going through a lot these past 5 years too and did you ever think that I had a reason for not going to the Rivercourt? I bet you didn't! So you can say that you had so much going on with you in the past, but I did too and now all I'm trying to do is try and salvage our old friendship and maybe talk about your model mishap!" Brooke yelled, exhausted with this whole conversation. She definitely didn't think it would be this hard to start talking to Rachel again.
A long pause was on the other end and honestly Brooke was thinking about just hanging it up. She was about the click it off when she heard a tiny voice on the other end.
"You know about that?"
Brooke sighed, happy she got somewhere with her. "Yeah, considering you wore my designs."
Brooke could tell Rachel was going back and forth in her mind and she figured Rachel would just end up changing her mind and hanging up the phone.
"Coffee, tomorrow, on 54th. I'll be there at 5:00, not a second later and not a minute earlier," Rachel said in a businesslike tone. "I'll see you."
The last part actually sounded like she wanted to go, but Brooke couldn't read her these days.
"I'll be there," was the last thing Brooke said before she hung up the phone and began walking out of her office, desperately in need of a nap.
She would just have to find out a way to bring up their terrible night another time.
"Okay, I'm going to head out! Just call me if you guys are in trouble or if you need anything!" Brooke called to her office staff before she headed out the door. She was leaving the office early today to rush home and see Marcus. She couldn't wait to marry him.
She passed by the clothes store and saw a beautiful wedding gown on the mannequin in the front. She had always planned on making her own dress, but with the way things were going and how busy she was getting she was beginning to not be so sure. The dress was so beautiful and Brooke already knew it would look fabulous on her. Everyone would be jealous for two reasons that day. One: she was getting married and two: she still looked amazing in white and a wedding dress.
She smiled to herself as she passed the store, making a mental note go back and check it out again. She looked at the store again and noticed a bookstore right next to it with a big sign that says "Quick! Grab second book by the new aspiring writer Lucas Scott book called 'The Secrets Behind My Red Door!' "
Brooke's smile immediately turned into a frown. So it was true. Marcus talking to Lucas, Lucas being back in town. It was all true. She'd hoped that it was some kind of dream and that Marcus had never talked to Lucas and never planned on talking to Lucas again.
Brooke read over the title one more time and gasped. 'The Secrets Behind My Red Door' was not just any old title. It was a title about the two of them. The whole 'red door' has been a symbol and even a remembrance for what they used to be and what they both were. And now Lucas putting it in his title for his new book just didn't make sense. Since when did Lucas publish his first book? All Brooke knew was that it was written. And what about this second book? When did he have time to write it?
She tried to shake it off by continuing walking home and thinking of how Marcus would be there when she arrived. She walked up the street, turned into her penthouse, greeted the doorman and sprinted to the elevator. Once she was there she ran into someone. Someone that she thought she would never see again.
"Mouth?" she asked when she saw a man standing beside her that looked awfully familiar. She would never in a million years think that she would see Marvin McFadden again in her life. They had lost such touch in the past 5 years that she didn't blame him for not calling or even asking about her to any of their friends. They'd also kind of had a falling out all those years ago. As with other people.
5 years ago
After the group had started to fade out and everyone was starting to go home Brooke stayed at the Rivercourt, sitting on the picnic table. She figured everyone else was gone and that she would be alone tonight, like always, but was surprised when a figure stood in front of her.
"How are you?" Mouth McFadden asked her in almost a whisper. His three little words made her feel so much better, like she wasn't alone in this world and like she finally was a part of something other then just being alone.
"I could be better," Brooke chuckled softly and Mouth sat down next to her.
"I saw your face in the circle, it didn't look too happy," he commented.
"Yeah well how else are you supposed to feel when all of your friends are moving away and you still have no idea what you're going to do?"
"You have that Victoria Secret contract I thought. Aren't you going to pursue that dream?" he urged.
"I was," Brooke began"But now I'm not so sure. I mean I love fashion but it's kind of useless if you don't get recognized."
Mouth sighed, "This isn't Brooke Davis talking. The real Brooke Davis would say 'to hell with everyone I'm going to be a fashion designer.'"
"I haven't been the 'real' Brooke Davis for a while now Mouth."
"I know, and I hate it," he said. "What's wrong?"
"You know what's wrong."
"You can't let her take away everything you've built and everything you've worked for. Just because Lucas is taken by your best friend doesn't mean you get to throw away your world,"he said getting frustrated.
"Mouth, I can do what I want. And why are you getting so upset about this?" she asked.
"Because you make me so mad at Lucas," Mouth whispered and Brooke wasn't even sure if she heard him.
"Mouth…"
"No, I just-" He sighed."Like Lucas said in his book you'regoing to change the world someday and you know what? He's right because you really don't know it. And I'm not giving you this speech because we're all leaving. I'm giving this to you because you need it. You need to know that you're still special even though some of your friends betrayed you. They still love you above all of it."
"I know. I just wish I could feel it."
"You will Brooke, you will." He put his arm around her and she laid her head on his chest. She wanted to just forget the world and everything that happened. She knew Mouth was right. She wasn't going to get anywhere if she was just sulking half the time.
"You know what? I don't think I will," Brooke said, a smile now forming on her face like she had a bright new idea.
"Brooke…"Mouth began, "You can't keep thinking like this! It's going to destroy you maybe even more then it already has!"
Brooke's smile turned into a frown. What?
"That really wasn't necessary Mouth," she said in a monotone, not bothering to show him any emotion. "Have a nice life."
"Brooke?" he asked in astonishment.
"How are you?" She asked, putting on a bright smile.
"Great," he said just as enthusiastically. "I can't go now, but I would really like to go out for coffee sometime. I'd love to hear about your business."
"How did you…"
"It's all over," he said as the elevator doors opened and he began to step out. "You're completely world wide Brooke Davis. I'll be in touch!"
Brooke felt herself smile at the mention of how she was world wide. These were the little moments when she loved her life and loved to be Brooke Davis.
-
She walked into her penthouse and saw Marcus on the couch relaxing. She sauntered over to him and sat on his lap, resting her head on his shoulder.
"You're home early," he noticed as he dropped a kiss on her forehead.
"Work can be so stressful, I just needed to get away and come home to you."
"This is how it will always be once we get married," Marcus whispered in her ear. "Won't it be nice?"
She smiled at the vision until a certain blonde haired boy appeared in the picture. She could literally see it now…
Lucas and Brooke are snuggling on the couch in their little apartment that they had just bought together. It is two months after their wedding and they were still in the 'newlywed' stage.
"This is nice," Lucas said while wrapping one arm around her and his other hand holding a book.
She sighed. "Yeah, it really is."
Just then there is a knock on the door and Nathan, Haley, Jamie, Peyton, Jake, Rachel and Mouth burst through the door all claiming they wanted a party.
"But not a really wild one because Jamie has a bed time and…"
"Don't worry about it Hales, everything will be taken care of," Nathan reassured.
"Uh guys, this is our apartment and we were just enjoying it in peace," Lucas told them.
Brooke nodded her head. "Yeah, I mean don't get me wrong. You know I love parties, but this time…this time I just want to be with Lucas in our new apartment."
Lucas kissed her quickly on the lips before jumping off the couch.
"Out!" he exclaimed happily and after many grumbles they left.
Lucas claimed his seat back on the couch with Brooke. She leaned her head on his shoulder and they resumed in their position.
"Much better," Lucas whispered in her hair and Brooke nodded, snuggling closer into his chest.
She shook her head and slapped a smile on in front of Marcus, making it look like she loved the vision she saw and that she didn't just see a vision of Lucas and her friends instead of him.
"I can't wait," she whispered back.
Why was this happening? More importantly, why was this happening now? What was going on?
She needed to get a hold of her past again if she wanted to stop the visions. She needed to stop this guilt and regret she figured she was feeling and stop the ghosts that she had in her closet that were now walking the earth. She needed to find out what everyone was doing and she also needed to know why she was seeing Lucas and her friends in visions that weren't even real.
And she only had 7 days to do it.
Don't wait.
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