A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! You guys are amazing! I don't think anyone one really needs this explained, but I thought I'd let you know that everything in italics is a flashback.
Chapter 3
Lucas was sleeping now, still on her couch, his shoes thrown off and his feet hanging off the too short couch. She watched him silently from the chair wondering what would happen now. Three months ago things seemed to finally be going both Lucas and Peyton's way. Now, though, everything seemed so messed up.
She had been happy for them, although at first she was slightly aggravated about the whole thing. Actually, she had been nothing short of a mess. The whole thing, along with the robbery of her store, had been a bit too much for her. She remembered the first time she saw Lucas after he and Peyton had come back to Vegas. She had not been too happy with him then.
"Hey, Brooke," he said, smiling as he greeted her behind the clothes rack, his hands in his pockets in a carefree way.
"Oh, you're back," she said flatly, turning away from him and walking towards the cashier. It was noon and no one else was in the store, so she didn't feel too bad for acting rudely around him. She had already seen Peyton and their reunion hadn't gone too well. She had a feeling this one wouldn't either. "Have a nice trip?" she asked. The sarcasm in her voice was more than clear and she hoped he would get the picture that he wasn't welcome.
"Yeah," he said, and she could hear the guilt in his voice.
"Hmm, how wonderful. Well, as you can see, I'm busy, so I'll have to talk to you later."
"Brooke..." he said, following her as she went into the backroom.
"I said I'm busy, Lucas," she said in frustration as she turned to glare at him.
"Wait," he said quietly, his voice etched with concern, "what happened to your eye?"
"You would know if you had been here."
She turned away, not wanting him to see the hurt in her face, and began to fold clothes. She couldn't help but be angry with him for being gone when he needed her most. Angie had just left and the same night her mother had returned to Tree Hill demanding her job back, and the night after that her store was robbed. Altogether, it had been a horrible few days and she had needed them both. And they had both just left with only a vague text message telling everyone else they were okay. And, no matter how selfish it was, it pissed her off.
"I'm sorry," he said simply. He was sincere, Brooke knew that, but she still couldn't hold back her anger with him. "I really am. But what happened exactly? Haley told me that you were robbed, but she didn't say you'd been hurt."
Brooke shrugged. "Yeah, well that's what happens when you try to defend yourself," she said and she couldn't help the sarcastic edge to her voice.
She could feel Lucas' eyes on her, but she didn't look at him because she knew that if she looked into his pleading blue eyes and saw the sincerity behind them she would crumble.
"You're right," he said quietly, "I should have been here. I should have saved you."
The moment those words came out of his mouth she fell apart. She looked at him with tears in her eyes and knew that she couldn't be angry with him anymore. He was staring back at her with an anguished look on his face and, when he saw the tears sliding down her cheek, he immediately rushed towards her, pulling her close to him.
"I'm so sorry, Brooke," he murmured into her hair.
She clung to him, suddenly feeling very guilty for the way she had been acting, and rested her head on his chest.
"You have nothing to be sorry for," she said after a few moments. "It's not your job to save me anymore."
He was rubbing slow circles on her back and it was all she could do not to pull away, to be free of the terrible feelings he gave her when he touched her-- things she should definitely not be feeling,.
"Maybe you think it isn't," he said firmly, "but I want to save you and I promised you along time ago that I would. That promise still stands. I hate seeing you like this, Brooke… in so much pain. I'd do anything to take that away."
She was struggling to choke back a sob now. She hated how he made her feel. So safe, so warm, so loved. But right now she needed him more than anything.
"It's okay, Lucas. Really, I should be apologizing for acting so selfish."
"You're not being selfish, Brooke," he said, looking down at her with his piercing blue eyes. "You needed me and I wasn't there for you. You had just lost Angie, and you had been robbed and I had just left without any warning, taking your best friend along with me, who you also needed more than anyone. If anything I was the selfish one."
Brooke shook her head and smiled lightly against his chest. "You're never selfish. You're amazing and I'm lucky to have you as a friend."
"I'm lucky to have you too," he murmured. "I don't deserve you, I really don't…"
"Brooke…" His soft voice interrupted her thoughts. He slowly sat up, squinting at her as he ran a hand through his short messy hair. "How long have I been out?"
"It's about half past one, so just about an hour," she said softly, trying her best to shake off the memory. She regretted how she treated both him and Peyton when they returned. It had been wrong and selfish and if she could have taken that day back, she would have. Although she was more ashamed for how she had acted towards Peyton than Lucas—she had basically asked for Peyton's key to the house and sent her on her way, completely ignoring her for the next few days. For some reason it had been a lot easier to forgive Lucas.
Lucas sighed and laid his head back on the pillow. "I know that I should probably go home, but I just don't think I'm ready."
"You can stay here as long as you like." And she meant that. She loved having him here with her, never having to worry about holding anything back. She could just be herself with him. He made her feel special, like she was the only girl in the room, which in this case she was, but still he had that way about him that just made her feel good about herself.
"Thanks," he said, smiling in her direction. "You're the best, Brooke Davis."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," she said smirking. "Now get some sleep."
"Alright, but you should probably get some sleep too. Have you been awake this whole time?"
"I was just finishing up some sketches," she said, holding up one them to show him. "But I'm pretty much done now so I'm gonna head up to bed."
"Good night then," he said as she stood up and headed towards the stairs. "And thanks for everything."
Brooke simply nodded, sending him a weak smile as she trudged up the stairs. So many thoughts ran through her head… Were Peyton and Lucas really not meant to be? How long has Lucas been feeling this way? Did he love someone else? Lindsay maybe? Would he really break it off with Peyton or would he realize that he was just nervous?
And most importantly, why in the world was he making her feel those feelings—the feelings she thought she hadn't felt for years now— for him again?
"Sleep well?" Brooke asked the next morning as she greeted Lucas in her kitchen.
"Yup," he said, smiling as he poured her a cup of coffee. "You've got quite a comfy couch." He handed her the coffee and gently kissed her forehead, sending a shiver through her spine that she fitfully tried to ignore. Just because he was breaking up with Peyton didn't mean she could have feelings for him, she wouldn't allow it. "Thanks for letting me stay here, Brooke. I really appreciate it."
"No problem," she replied, turning away from him and trying to stop those forbidden feelings. They both sat down at the counter, sipping their coffees in a comfortable silence. There were a million things she wanted to ask him, but instead she settled on just one question.
"Are you really gonna do it, Lucas?"
He looked down at his coffee cup and sighed. "Yeah," was all he said.
She inhaled sharply, not exactly surprised by the answer, but just by the reality of it all.
"Are you completely sure?"
He nodded, looking straight into her eyes. "I've never been more sure in my life."
"Okay," Brooke muttered, taking a sip of her coffee. "So…when should I expect Peyton home, then?" She couldn't help the bitter tone in her voice. She just hated that in a small matter of time Peyton's whole life would be shattered.
He was silent for a moment before answering. "I don't know," he said quietly. "Tonight probably."
"That soon?" Brooke asked, raising an eyebrow in disapproval.
"This isn't something I can put off, Brooke. I need to do it as soon as possible."
"But what if you change your mind?"
"I won't."
"But how can you know that for sure?"
He sighed. "I've been sure for almost a month now. I'm not gonna change my mind. You just gotta trust me, okay?"
She remained silent for a moment, considering his words. He sounded so sure of himself despite the fact that he was making such a huge, life changing decision. But then again, she had no idea what was going on in that head of his, so she would just have to do as he said—trust him.
"Okay," she finally said.
He nodded and took a last gulp of his coffee before turning to leave. "So I'm probably not going to be coming over here again anytime soon after tonight… but I love hanging out with you, Brooke, so you can come to my place anytime you want. I mean, not that you don't do that now, but still…I just wanted you to know." He said this last part all very quickly and Brooke couldn't help but grin.
"Thanks, Luke. I'll probably take you up on that."
"Good," he said grinning, "well I'm gonna head out. I'll see you later."
She nodded slowly. "Yeah." She didn't know what else to say. Lucas smiled weakly at her as he left and shut the door quickly behind him.
So this was it. He was going to break up with Peyton and sometime very soon she would be picking up the pieces of Peyton's broken heart. Peyton had said she was unhappy, but Brooke knew that more than anything she was just worried that Lucas was pulling away from her, that he'd call the whole thing off.
And now her very worst fear was coming true. And she would be absolutely devastated.
Brooke stared down at her almost full coffee cup and sighed. This was going to be a very long day.
A/N: I hope you liked this chapter! I hope the flashback didn't seem too out of place, I just kind of wanted to show a little bit of what it was like for Brooke when Lucas and Peyton returned and that the anger she felt for them might be more than just being angry with them for leaving when she needed them most. Anyway, next chapter is where things start to get interesting.
Thanks for reading and remember to review!
