I have to say that I was once again amazed by the feedback you guys gave me for the last chapter! I just read your reviews and couldn't bring myself to stop writing until this chapter was ready! It truly motivated me to continue writing, so thanks again to everyone who has reviewed!
I seriously can't wait for tonight's episode, and for all of you who are with me- I hope that this chapter will be a good enough alternative, just until we see what happens tonight! ;-)
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the OTH characters.
Chapter 3
The sun was starting to light up the sky, introducing a new day to the world, but Brooke's fate was still hazy to her friends. All the worrying and crying had taken their tolls on Haley and Jamie, who had fallen asleep several hours earlier, holding onto each other tightly, yet Nathan was far too concerned to be able to rest. Sitting in the emergency room's waiting area, he looked at his wife and child, who were peacefully sleeping in each other's embrace.
Nathan sent his hand towards Jamie and set it on his back protectively, needing to reassure himself that his little boy was fine, that his little boy was safe. He just couldn't get the images of Brooke's injured body from the ambulance ride out of his head. He felt a brotherly protectiveness over her and seeing her so banged up filled him up with guilt and fear. He felt guilty for not being about to save her from the bastard who beat her up so mercilessly, and he was afraid that the damage done to his beloved friend was beyond repair. As Brooke's bruised face flashed in his mind again, Nathan winced and admitted to himself that he was also afraid that something like that would ever happen to Haley or Jamie, which was something he simply couldn't bear. His heart sank as he realized that while he had a family to look after him, Brooke didn't really have anyone to protect her, like he could protect Jamie and Haley.
Nathan suddenly heard footsteps heading towards the waiting room, which he had been occupying for the past few hours. As he looked into the corridor, his heart began to race upon seeing the doctor that had taken care of Brooke in the ambulance and taken her into the emergency room emerge from its doors.
"How is she?!", as soon as the doctor entered the waiting room, Nathan shot up and tensely questioned him.
"She'll be fine", the doctor sighed exhaustedly, obviously worn out from the long operation he had just finished. "Brooke suffered some internal bleeding, which we have managed to stop, and a minor concussion. Her wrist is fractured and her ribs are badly bruised. Other than that she has shallow stab wounds in various parts of her body and is overall pretty banged up", the doctor explained the condition in which Brooke currently was, caused Nathan's eyes to widen with horror and fill with anger. As the doctor observed that Nathan was simply speechless, he continued, "We will need to keep her here at least until tomorrow, to complete the treatment we are giving her and to simply monitor her condition", he said.
"Is she awake?", Nathan finally found his voice and asked, still feeling his head spinning from the severity of Brooke's condition.
"Brooke was in a lot of pain, so we gave her some sedatives to prevent her from suffering", the doctor replied. As he saw the fallen expression on Nathan's face, he quickly added, "You can go and see her if you would like, though. She keeps regaining and loosing consciousness due to the tranquilizer, and having a friend by her side could help calm her down when she's more alert", he truthfully said.
Nathan casted Haley and Jamie a quick look and then turned back to the doctor, "Just give me a minute", he asked, and the doctor understandingly nodded and took a step back.
Nathan walked up to Haley and, careful not to wake Jamie up, gently shook her shoulder, "Hales… Haley, wake up, baby", he quietly whispered into her ear.
"What's going on?", Haley stirred and asked Nathan, disoriented, slowly opening her eyes.
"You and Jamie should go home, babe. Brooke will only be released tomorrow and you both should get some proper sleep", he caringly said to her, gently caressing Haley's cheek as she slowly regained awareness of where she was and what had happened the previous night. When she fully remembered the events that had brought them to the emergency room, her eyes filled with concern in an instant.
"What did the doctor say?", Haley anxiously asked, tightening her grip on Jamie unconsciously.
"He said that she's awake now and that I can go in and see her", Nathan replied, purposely remaining from telling Haley what the doctor had said about the gravity of Brooke's injuries, knowing that she would be heartbroken and horrified to hear how badly her friend was hurt. "I'm gonna stay here with Brooke, but I want the two of you to go back home", Nathan repeated, looking deeply into Haley's eyes as he spoke. Haley nodded in agreement, bearing Jamie in mind. She knew that the longer she kept her son in the hospital, the more traumatized he would be by the whole situation.
"Take good care of her, Nate", Haley quietly and sadly asked Nathan, rising to her feet carefully with her sleeping son in her arms.
"Drive safely, Hales", he said in response, not wanting to be separated from her and Jamie, but knowing that it was for the best. He pulled Haley to him and kissed her forehead, afterwards giving Jamie's head a quick, gentle stroke. After he watched the two of them walk away, he finally joined the doctor, who quickly led him to Brooke's room, where Nathan would get his heart completely broken…
"Oh my god…", Nathan gasped as he entered Brooke's hospital room, feeling his throat completely dry in an instant.
"I'll leave you two alone…", the doctor awkwardly said, even though he knew that only one of those present could hear him for sure. He quickly glanced at the machines to which Brooke was connected and then walked out of the room, leaving Nathan just with Brooke.
Nathan remained frozen in the entrance of the room, simply taking in the sight before him. The girl that lay in the hospital bed before him did not resemble Brooke at all, and only now, in the bright room, he could see just how heartlessly the attacker had hurt her. Her face was completely swollen up and covered with colorful bruises and cuts. Her neck was vandalized by stab wounds, which were ruthlessly carved into her pale, delicate skin. Nathan couldn't really see the rest of her body from under the sheet that covered her, but all the tubes snaking out of it suggested that the rest of her body was harmed just as badly. Sighing heavily, Nathan took a seat by Brooke's side and looked at her with sad eyes.
"What has this bastard done to you?", he sorrowfully mumbled as he watched Brooke flinch in her agonized rest. She continued stirring slightly and uttering soft pained moans, which tore Nathan's heart into pieces, until she finally opened her eyes slightly and with great effort, looked at Nathan.
"Hi there…", Nathan tried to force a small, reassuring smile for Brooke's sake. He saw the confusion that was evident on Brooke's features and carefully took her small, bruised hand in his larger, stronger one, squeezing it supportively.
"What happened?", Brooke looked at Nathan with questioning, perplexed eyes and asked, her voice sounding like nothing but a soft whisper.
"You were robbed and attacked in your store, Brooke", he patiently reminded her, watching her frown in confusion as he shared that fact with her. "You don't remember?", he softly asked her, watching her blink as she tried to recall the events of the previous night.
"I don't know…", she slowly replied, sounding more lost with every passing moment. "I just remember giving Angie back to the social worker at the airport and Lucas taking me back home…", she said to Nathan, who sighed in relief as he understood that she only lost a day's worth of memory and not more than that. It was actually better that way, Nathan thought to himself, as he realized that this way Brooke wouldn't remember the brutal way in which she was hurt and beaten up. "How long ago was that?", Brooke suddenly asked nervously and it was only then that Nathan noticed how shaky her soft voice had become and how her bruised lip began to involuntarily quiver. He then understood just how upset and troubled she must be by the whole situation.
"You're only missing a day, Brooke, it's O.K….", he was quick to tell her, and immediately saw some of the fear in her eyes disappear and make way for great exhaustion, which Brooke was now battling to overcome. A single tear managed to slip out of the corner of her eye and slide down her cheek until Nathan gently brushed it away, careful not to apply too much pressure to the bruises that his fingers brushed against.
"Get some rest, Brooke", Nathan gently instructed her, watching her continue to fight her eyelids, which were persistently drooping over her eyes. "It's alright… I'll be here when you'll wake up", he promised her, watching her exhaustion finally win the battle and force her to close her eyes and grow silent.
"I'm gonna keep you safe now, Brooke, I promise…", Nathan swore to Brooke, just as an older brother would swear to protect his younger sister. He didn't know that it would only be a matter of days before he would break that promise and be too busy to notice that Brooke's world was falling apart even more…
A day had past by. Nathan hadn't moved away from Brooke's side, but even though she woke up a few more times, mostly agitated from the pain, she hadn't spoken another word to him. Nathan could see that she was either too disoriented or simply too caught up in her so-far failing attempts of remembering the events of the day of the attack, and decided against pushing her into talking to him forcefully. Her silence did seem more and more disturbing to Nathan, but he reminded himself that she probably needed some time to overcome the shock of what had happened to her, and therefore just patiently sat by her bed and watched over her.
When the doctor came in to check on Brooke, he told Nathan that she was ready to go home and be on bed-rest, if someone would be able to watch over her and take care of her. Nathan, who had already called Haley up the day before and asked her to set up the guestroom for Brooke, immediately told the doctor that Brooke would be staying with them. The doctor approvingly nodded, signed Brooke's release papers and left them, allowing Nathan to help Brooke get ready to go.
Brooke didn't say a word or protest as Nathan carefully picked up her fragile, damaged body from the bed and sat her down on the hospital's wheelchair. She remained completely silent as he slowly wheeled her through the hospital's corridors over to the parking lot. As they reached Nathan's car, he opened the door to the passenger's side for her and Brooke tried to rise to her feet, finally breaking her silence as she let out a cry of pain and collapsed back into the wheelchair. Nathan felt his body tense in fury as he saw tears of pain forming in her eyes and soon falling down her cheeks. Without saying a word, Nathan gently lifted Brooke from the wheelchair and placed her inside the car. He simply wanted to kill whoever was responsible for Brooke's condition at that moment.
"Are you O.K.?", he knelt down so he could be eye-leveled with Brooke and softly put his hand on top of her shoulder. Her tears didn't cease to fall out of her eyes and he could see how forcefully she was biting her lip, so she won't start to sob, but Brooke finally nodded, her eyes facing away from Nathan's. "I'll be back in one minute, O.K.?", he told Brooke as he placed her bag next to her feet in the passenger's seat, closed her door and rushed to return the wheelchair. He practically ran back to the car, not wanting to leave her alone, in pain, inside his car, but by the time he came back, Brooke was already wearing her oversized sunglasses over her eyes and didn't seem to be crying anymore.
"Brooke?", he looked at her as he seated himself in the driver's seat, but Brooke just limply sat there and didn't reply. Nathan didn't know whether she had fallen asleep or was simply ignoring him, but, not wanting to push her, simply started the engine and started driving towards his house.
Throughout the ride, Nathan glanced at Brooke every few minutes and felt his heart twitch as he noted how lost and lifeless she looked. As breathing was the sole distinct movement he saw her making, she just looked to him like a lump, like an object that had no will or ability to do anything by itself. It was simply the saddest sight he had ever seen. Nathan shook his head as he realized how badly Brooke, the queen of cheerfulness, had to be hurt for her to be so somber and quiet. He really hoped that Haley would be able to get through to her and help her more than him, as he felt completely helpless with her disturbing silence and fragile condition.
Upon finally reaching his house, Nathan rushed over to the passenger's side as he saw Brooke trying, yet again, to rise to her feet on her own.
"Hey… What are you doing?", Nathan asked Brooke softly as he grabbed onto her, seeing her face contort with pain, "Let me help you", he offered. Nathan was about to pick Brooke up in his arms when she shied away from his touch and finally spoke.
"I don't want to scare Jamie…", she quietly said, her voice raspier than usual, yet Nathan fully understood her every word.
"He's at school right now", Nathan reassured Brooke, seeing her body ease some of its tension. "Come on, Brooke- please let me help", he pleaded with Brooke. When she said nothing, yet remained slightly bent-over from the pain, Nathan simply approached her again. Seeing that she didn't object this time, he carefully lifted her up and carried her into the house. Even though her huge sunglasses covered up half of her face, Nathan could still see how her face was contorted in pain, and sighed sadly, wishing he could take away all the hurt that his broken friend was feeling.
As they entered the house, Haley rushed to the door to greet them and became completely speechless as she saw the condition that Brooke was in. She was so shocked, she couldn't find her voice and simply watched Nathan carry Brooke up the stairs over to the guest bedroom. Only when Brooke could no longer see her, Haley let her tears fall, horrified by the violence that Brooke evidently was forced to endure.
A minute later, when Haley finally pulled herself together, she wiped her tears and walked up the stairs as well, wanting to see if she could help Brooke in any way. She found Nathan standing in the entrance to the room, simply looking at Brooke, who was motionlessly lying on the bed. She still had her shades on, so neither one of them could really tell whether her eyes were open or not, but they both decided to let her rest and check on her later.
Seeing Brooke's fragile condition brought tears to Haley's eyes for the second time that day. She forcefully bit her lip and only allowed a sob to slip out of her mouth when she was downstairs, far from Brooke's hearing range. Nathan quickly rushed to take his wife in his arms and held her to him tightly. He hugged her in his strong arms as she cried for Brooke, and knew exactly how she felt. Had he not felt the need to be the strong one in this situation, he would have already let his tears fall a long time ago…
It was the late afternoon already, and Brooke still hadn't come out of her room. Haley decided to check on her yet again and maybe try to convince her to eat something, as she just lay in bed all day and ate nothing at all. As she reached the guestroom, she found Nathan standing behind the half-closed door and peeking into the room. Haley followed his gaze with her eyes and was met with Brooke, who was now sitting on the windowsill with her back to them and looking at the sun that was setting. She held her cell-phone in her hand, and every few moments would redial a number and bring the phone back up to her ear, clearly never receiving an answer.
"She's been like that for a while now…", Nathan quietly told his wife with concern. Brooke looked so fragile to him that he was simply afraid to enter the room and cause her ever more harm.
Haley took a deep breath and entered the room quietly, feeling Nathan follow closely behind her. "Hey sweetie…", she said to Brooke softly, causing Brooke to jump in surprise and slight panic. She turned to look at Haley, whose eyes widened as she now saw Brooke's face, now uncovered by sunglasses, and noted how horribly beaten up it was. Her left eye was so black and swollen, that Brooke couldn't even open it all the way, her cheekbone and forehead were extremely swollen and bruised as well and her entire facial skin was covered with cuts and black-and-blue marks. Brooke noticed the way that Haley was staring at her and self-consciously lifted her sunglasses from her lap and up to her face. Haley sadly looked at Brooke as she covered herself back behind her shades. It simply broke her heart.
"How do you feel, honey?", Haley caringly asked Brooke as she pulled a chair up to the windowsill and sat down, facing her.
"Like a monster", Brooke replied under her breath, but Haley and Nathan heard what she said and were shocked and infuriated that Brooke would feel that way.
"You're not a monster, Brooke", Nathan assertively told her, but his words only caused Brooke to look away from him and turn her head back towards the window. She knew that he was lying. She felt terrible, and knew that she must also look terrible with how swollen and aching her body felt. She was unable to carry her body over to the mirror in the bathroom, but she knew that she looked like a monster with the swollen eye she had and all the marks, bruises and cuts that filled her body.
"Sweetie, you don't look anything like a monster", Haley put her hand on Brooke's shoulder, but Brooke didn't reply. Sighing, Haley tried a new tactic, "Maybe you'll feel better if you ate something. Jamie has been waiting for you to wake up so he could eat dinner with you", Haley told Brooke, hoping that the thought of the little boy Brooke loved so dearly could cheer Brooke up a little, but Brooke just shook her head in response.
"I don't want him to see me like this", Brooke quietly replied, the pain evident in her hoarse voice.
Haley just looked at Brooke worriedly, thinking of a way to somehow get through to her. Finally, she placed her hand over Brooke's hand and asked her, "Who are you trying to call?".
"Peyton and Lucas. Neither one of them will answer my calls", Brooke replied softly, and Haley and Nathan's hearts simply broke for her. Haley understood that she had to remind her of their revelation from the previous day, that Peyton and Lucas might have left Tree Hill together, and Nathan realized that even though Brooke needed someone to be there for her, it wasn't him, but either her best friend or his own brother, who had been through so much with her.
"Sweetie… The other day you and I got identical messages from both of them, don't you remember?", she gently asked Brooke, seeing Brooke's body tense up in an instant as she finally did remember everything that had happened on the day of the attack. She remembered saying goodbye to Mouth and sending Millicent to go along with him, she remembered faking her enthusiasm while her heart was actually breaking as she and Haley discovered that Lucas and Peyton must have gone away together, she remembered confronting her mother about Clothes over Bros' and bracing herself for the fight she was about to have against her regarding the ownership of her company, and finally, she remembered feeling her world falling apart as a stranger entered her store and violently hit her until she lost consciousness. Once again, Brooke felt like she was all alone in the world, and wished she would have never woken up…
AN: I hope you guys enjoyed this! Next time you will see why Lucas and Peyton didn't answer Brooke and how she's dealing with everything in her life. I would truly love to hear what you guys thought about this chapter! ;-)
