One month later…
Lucas looked at the Playboy spread of Brooke Davis and his brows rose. That certainly wasn't the way he remembered her! He hadn't even known she had it in her. Everywhere he went now had pictures of Brooke, rather on posters of her and her band or magazines, or on TV doing interviews with Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel and Colin Letterman—and such shows. And each time she looked hot beyond compare.
But the woman he knew was barely that! The woman he remembered was a little on the mousy side—certainly not a video vixen. He licked his suddenly dry lips. In this picture she looked like she was enjoying herself immensely; the way her sexy hazel green eyes shone with desire, the way her plump lips shone as if she just got through licking them—or something else, the way her small hands caressed herself. Lucas wished he'd put that look on her face, wished he were there with her—as did every other man in the world who saw these photos of her.
He looked at his watch aware that if he didn't get moving he'd be late picking up his son and then Peyton would be bitching at him again. He paid for the magazine, the milk, eggs and tons of red meat and exited the store. Placing the bags in the backseat, he sighed, thinking of the new Brooke—the one who looked more like a model than a mousy housewife. Why didn't anyone know she had any sort of talent beyond the kitchen? He certainly didn't know about it. He shook his head and got into his car and drove to his ex's new residence.
Lucas rolled his eyes as he drove up the long driveway. Why did she feel the need to buy a new house every nine months—he had no clue. He got out and saw Julian playing baseball with his son in the expansive yard. He didn't like the sight. He was Alex's father—not Julian. He exhaled trying to tamper down his temper.
"Dad," Alex called to him, a bright smile on his adorable face as he ran toward him, abandoning the game he was playing with Julian.
"What's goin' on champ?" He said affectionately as he hugged his son to him tightly. "I missed you."
"I know… I missed you too daddy." He said as he hugged him equally tight.
"Do you have your stuff ready?"
He smiled up at him and nodded eagerly, "Yep… mommy made sure that I didn't forget anything."
"That's good because guess where we're going?" he said picking up his son.
Alex's eyes lit up with anticipation, "Where?"
"But don't tell mommy— in fact don't tell anybody—but we're going to…" then he purposely paused, wanting to delay the news. "Disney World…"
"We are?!" He said enthusiastically.
Lucas loved seeing his son this happy; he rarely had been since the divorce. "Yes we are. Now go upstairs and get your suitcase."
"Yes sir!" He ran toward the house, hurrying to go with his father.
Peyton walked across the lawn, probably to torture him with her humongous mouth. "What's Alex so excited about?" she asked, her hands on her hips.
"Our father-son time—meaning it's only between me and Alex." He said, wanting to get as far away from her as possible. "Thank you for letting me have him for the last month of summer Peyton. This is uncharacteristically nice of you."
"Well he missed his father. What could I do?"
"You could have done a number of other things…" he trailed off as he spotted his son coming back from the house, struggling with his huge suitcase. "Holy shit Peyton—what did you pack in there?"
"All his clothes—everything he owns."
"For one month?" he asked, confusion written on his face. "That's entirely too much!"
"No… you're going to have him for longer than a month—you're going to have him for half the year."
Before he could say another thing he was interrupted by his eager son. Lucas smiled at his son and told him to go to the car. "Don't worry about your bags—I'll get them."
"Ok daddy." He said and ran to the car, not even looking back to say goodbye to his mother and future step-father.
"What the hell do you mean by the rest of the year?" he asked after Alex was out of sight. "What's going on Peyton?"
She shrugged, her blue-blue eyes shadowed with exhaustion. "It was either get rid of him or send Jason away… we chose Alex. I am exhausted Lucas—I barely had help with two kids, I just need an extended break. And Jason needs to adjust to me being in his life as his new mother so—"
He sighed and nodded, "Fine… that's just fine with me." Lucas would have to find a way to explain this new change to Alex. Once he was inside the car he sent one more scathing look to Julian and Peyton and drove away with his son.
"Are we really going to Disney World daddy?" he asked, looking to his father.
"Of course we are champ! In fact we're also going to Universal Studios—all the Florida Parks."
Alex's eyes grew to the size of quarters as he let out a loud yelp of pleasure, "Wait until I tell Jason!"
"Hold on—didn't I tell you, you couldn't tell anybody?"
"But Jason and I tell each other everything!"
Lucas sighed, well aware of his son's relationship with Julian's son, "Well just this once you have to keep it a secret. I mean you wouldn't want Jason to feel bad about not going too would you?"
Alex looked down at his slightly chubby hands, "I guess not. But he bragged to me about going places that I didn't get to go—like the zoo or—"
"Well you are different. You have better sense than that." He said directing his car toward downtown, where he lived. "Julian should have taught the boy manners. It's not polite to brag. Plus it's not attractive to girls."
"Ew, why would I want to attract girls?" He asked innocently and full of disgust.
"You'll see soon." He remarked with a smile, driving up his driveway and then put his car in park. He grabbed his son's suitcase while Alex grabbed the grocery bag.
"So when are we going?" He asked as soon as they entered the house.
"Next week's my vacation. I've been planning this for months." He said dropping the suitcase in the backroom.
"Daddy," he asked his voice faint in the kitchen. Lucas didn't like the tone of his voice so he left the room and went to see what was wrong when he saw clearly what was wrong. "What's Jason's mom wearing? And why is she on the cover of this magazine?"
He actually blushed when he took the magazine from him, "Uh, why don't I take that and put that in my room and you put up the groceries. Is that ok with you?"
"Sure… but you didn't answer my question about Mrs. Baker. Why?"
Lucas shrugged, "Well son… I can't answer something I don't know myself."
Seeming to except that non-answer, he busied himself with putting the grocery away. Lucas was glad that he dropped the subject and started cleaning the somewhat messy kitchen. "So what are we eating for dinner tonight?" Alex asked once he was finished putting everything away.
"What do you want for dinner?"
"What about a humongous sub—or better yet a humongous pizza from Guiana's Pizzeria?" he asked enthusiastically, his mouth already tasting the gooeyness of hot melted cheese, with plenty of peppers, olives, different meats and mushrooms. His stomach growled at the very vision.
Lucas smiled and dialed up the number, then teased him, "Alright, alright I'm dialing. Hold your horses!"
His son chuckled sheepishly and climbed on the tall stool, next to where his father stood. "Well what do you expect? I haven't eaten since lunch and I'm a growing boy!"
He ruffled his dark brown curly hair, "So I see. You must have grown at least 10 inches the last time you've been here."
"Only 10 inches?!" he grumbled lowly, staring at him with those huge blue eyes that he inherited from his mother. "I thought I grew more than that!"
"Hey! 10 inches is a lot!" he looked down at his son and asked, "What do you want on your pizza?"
"I want extra cheese, with plenty of peppers, olives, different kinds of meats and mushrooms…" his stomach joined in the conversation at the mention of food.
Lucas laughed, "Alright, so be it." He said then ordered two pizzas once the woman finally came to the phone.
Thirty minutes later, they sat in the kitchen table, eating their favorite pizzas, sharing a few pieces with each other out of their private boxes. After dinner they laughed and played board games then watched TV until finally they both tuckered out for the night.
The next morning Alex was jumping on the couch, waking him from a dreamless sleep. He blinked rapidly against the light of the room and grinned. "Morning scamp—how was your night?"
"It was awesome! I like being here Daddy." He said as he plopped down beside him, looking at him adoringly. "It's so much fun…"
A small smile graced his features. "I like having you here." He then ruffled his hair again. "You know what's on today's agenda?"
Alex shook his head, looking adorably clueless. "No what?"
"We're going to the zoo… and then we're going…" he then gasped for effect, "To Nana's house—where you can eat all the cookies and hot fudge sundaes until your heart's content."
His blue eyes grew wide, "Nana?! Whoopee—but wait are you going to be there?"
"I'm sorry champ but I got to train for the next fight…"
Alex smiled and put his small hand in Lucas's bigger hand, "I believe that you already are the World's Greatest Fighter. I also believe that you'll win the title…"
"Thanks for the vote of confidence Alex. I love you," he said as he pulled his son to him and held him. "And don't you ever forget that."
He looked up at him, his eyes open and honest, and said, "I won't. I love you too Daddy. And I'm proud that you're my dad."
He smiled, his heart aching at that, "I'm proud to have you as my son."
-x-
Two Months Later…
Brooke looked out at the humongous crowd that had gathered for her and she put on a satisfied smile. She would've never guessed that she would have so many fans out there. Amy looked at her as Brooke drank her mineral water, wondering how they managed to be so successful. Their music was awesome; of course, but it took more than awesome lyrics and powerful voices to gain momentum. Whatever it was that they had it was all due to—Brooke Davis.
"Do you think that 13 Killers is talented?" Amy asked, sitting down on the chair in the backstage.
Brooke shrugged with a bright smile, "I think they're awesome. I like them a lot. Plus, the lead singer's kinda cute."
Amy rolled her eyes at the comment, "Please. Justin Gilberto is not cute!"
"Sure he is… with those gorgeous jade eyes of his, that pouty mouth that you could just kiss!"
"Hold on—are you and Justin—you know—doing the wild thing?"
Brooke just shrugged a wicked grin on her face, "We've been touring for months now… plus there's a bunch of sexual tension between us—I thought that we should release ourselves from the… er… tension."
Amy's eyes bulged in shock, "You had sex!"
"Yes… three times a day—while you and the twins napped."
"I can't believe this," she exclaimed as she paced, watching the man in question rocking out on stage, "you and him? How did this happen?"
"What's so complicated about two willing adults indulging in some carnal fun?" she then winked a wicked smile on her face; as if remembering what had transpired between her and Justin Gilberto, "And how willing we both were! Oh!" she said fanning her heated cheeks.
"I don't wanna know." she said as she put on her guitar strap, adjusting it so that they could go out.
"What? It's not like you've been celibate during the tour. In fact I know for a fact that you and Michael—have a certain meeting everyday at 3:00 in the closet room on the tour bus."
"Y-you know about that?"
Brooke just shrugged, her eyes now on her lover, "Everybody knows about you two Amy. I mean you two weren't exactly discreet about it."
Amy looked horrified at the thought of the band of 13 Killers knowing her business with Michael. Then Brooke laughed and simply said, "Gotcha!"
"You're a total bitch!" Amy exclaimed as she punched her arm, and then climbed on top of her, punching her playfully. "I can't believe you tricked me like that!"
"Don't blame me… you shouldn't have meetings with Mike in the closet—"
Just as Amy was about to punch her again, Brooke laughed and countered Amy's attack by pushing her off her then surprised her by tackling her. When the people from 13 Killers were through with the stage, the girls were not as perfectly coiffed as they were before. Twenty minutes and a whole bunch of make-up later, they were on the stage rocking out, the fans screaming out to them as they played Wasting Away, and were even rowdier when they performed Betrayal, Questions, Forever, and Savage Renegade…
When the concert ended, Brooke dressing room and had changed from her stage outfit into something less Goth and into something that was feminine. When she was through dressing, she began looking at her reflection, wondering if she really was happy without the people that had once meant everything to her. Sure, her life right now is awesome but; did she have to be without her kids? Does she have to live with the ache of not having her boys in her life at all?
Just as she was drifting into the melancholy of her thoughts, a knock jarred her from them. She sighed and grumbled and opened the door with a harsh; "Yes?!"
"Still the bitch huh Brooke?" Lucas said with a smile, a bouquet of flowers in his arms.
A slow but cautious smile graced her features, "Lucas? What the hell are you doing here?"
"Well I just wanted to check out your show is all… which was quite exciting—especially when you jumped into the crowd… classic."
She narrowed her eyes, and leaned on the doorpost. "What are you doing here Lucas? I know for a fact you're more into punk rock than metal."
"You don't know that. I may have changed over the years…"
Brooke arched her well-plucked eyebrows, "I don't believe you."
"Well it's true… are you even going to take the flowers?"
She smiled and took them, "Thanks… how you got a backstage pass anyway?"
He shrugged, "A friend of a friend gave them to me…" he then smiled that incredible charming smile of his and asked, "Aren't you going to invite me in?"
Brooke looked at him with uncertainty then cocked her head, holding the door wider. "Sure… come on in."
He came into the roomy dressing room and whistled, "You're doing pretty well for yourself aren't you?"
She smiled shakily, nodding her head at his comment, "Can't keep a good woman down for long…"
"You are a good woman…"
She scoffed at the comment, "Forgive me if I'm wrong but didn't you tell Julian not to marry me because I was—quote unquote—a bitch and that I would swallow his soul whole if he did marry me?"
He shrugged helplessly, "I thought I was watching out for my best friend at the time… I didn't think I would be protecting you if he took my advice and hadn't married you."
"Then that would have left your wife open season for him…" she said looking down at her feet, "Then where would we be? I wouldn't have my sons and your son wouldn't exist either." she then sighed, "God, I miss my kids Lucas… I think of them nearly twenty times a day…"
He took a seat next to her and looked into her eyes, "He shouldn't have pinned your sons against you like that… hell he shouldn't have fucked my wife—if we want to go that far…" he then shook his head, forcing himself to get back on track. "But he knew that you were fragile when he pressed for the custody suit—"
"I know… but I could've fought more… I should've fought more…" she said, chastising herself fiercely.
"It's not your fault! You were numb with shock… the husband—whom you trusted everything to… and your supposed best friend—stabbed you in the back with a double edge knife… nearly killing you! How could you have fought him?"
"I don't know." She sighed and looked over at him and asked, "Do you believe in destiny Lucas?"
He blinked at the sudden change of topic then was pensive about how to reply until he finally replied, "I believe you can make your own destiny."
"Hmm… My destiny has already been written… all I have to do is follow it."
He looked at her, his amber eyes intense, "You sound resigned."
She shrugged, her eyes sad, "Maybe I am."
He sighed and took her hands in his, "You deserve much better than what you were dished Brooke."
"I don't want to talk about it anymore… that's all I've been doing lately… either I'm singing about it or I'm being interviewed about the nasty break up of my marriage… I'm just sick of discussing it."
"I know… I'm sorry…"
She then sighed, "But that's all we can talk about isn't it? Because we don't have anything in common—there wouldn't be anything to talk about."
"You do know that they're getting married don't you?"
"Yes, I know about it. I also know that Joshua got married two months after the divorce was final and that they had Jason's Birthday party at a local theme park where the mascot sang to him—his tenth birthday and I missed it…"
"I know… Alex told me about it. Said it was the most awesome birthday party he'd ever been to."
She smiled slightly, "Really? Well Julian always was for the flashiest approach of those kinds of celebrations." She then looked at him, "What about Joshua's wedding were you there for that?"
Lucas sighed, "Yes… it was a beautiful ceremony… the bride—her name is Pamela—was beautiful and your son couldn't have looked happier or prouder. It was a moving day."
"Let me guess—Peyton was the one to do the mother-son dance?" Brooke asked, looking depressed at the thought of her best-friend-turned-homewrecker dance with her eldest son.
Lucas nodded slowly, seeing the hurt flash in her hazel green eyes. "Yes… but he really wanted you there to dance with him…"
"I'm sure he did." She said acidly. "I'm sure he thought of his unwanted mother on the happiest day of his life—"
"Hey stop that!" he scolded fiercely, "I was there to see how disappointed your kid was when he found out that you weren't well enough to come."
"I would have come if I had known about it! I had no clue that he was getting married! If I had known I would've made my way there—bleeding and all!"
"Bleeding—" he asked; his eyes wide with shock.
She nodded, "I used to cut my wrists, my arms, and legs to ease the numbness I felt… to ease the pain I had felt inside… to focus on something other than the turmoil that was going on inside of me…the turmoil inside of my head…"
"Oh my God…" he said softly, now seeing the healed scars on her arms, "That explains so much…"
Her dark brows wrinkled at his soft comment. "Explains what?"
"For one the blood you had spilt everywhere—wait that reminds me…" He looked at her with uncontained awe, "… why did you trash the place? It was your home—"
She shrugged her shoulders bashfully, "Because… it became too painful for me to live in… all the memories became too much for me…"
He arched a brow and asked humorously, "Did you have to trash it? Why couldn't you have sold it like a normal person?"
Brooke looked at him with those dangerous hazel eyes of hers, and then replied, "Because I had mixed feelings about it… I hated the house but I didn't want anyone else to have it… I spent over fifteen years in that house… it just—it just became too much. When I looked around… everything so neat and well placed…I just lost my mind… I had to trash it—to let go of all the anger and the agony that had built up inside of me… I needed the release—that I felt after I did it—desperately. I felt light and free… that was when I decided to chase my long forgotten dream; to be a singer."
"What about the note written in your blood on the master bedroom wall?" he asked, leaning in, studying her face as he tried to figure her out.
Brooke laughed and nodded, "That was for Julian… in case he would ever bring the kids by to visit me… I wanted him to realize what he did to me… how badly he hurt me and betrayed me. So I just dipped my finger in my blood on my arm and wrote it. By the end of it I was really drained so I had to sit a while… after that I packed my stuff and was out of there."
"You really did go insane for awhile… that wasn't just gossip?" he asked with amazement.
"Oh no… it wasn't just gossip. What Julian did to me was… unforgivable… and traumatic… I just went insane. But I'm back now and better than ever."
"What was it like at that time?"
She shrugged her shoulders, "It was nothing but darkness… I felt nothing but numbness and when the numbness would end I would feel… pain—indescribable pain…unimaginable sorrow…" she shuddered at the memory of it all.
He nodded, "I escaped the empty hollow feeling by fighting everyday… using my anger in a useful healthy way… my ambition is what saved me… I wanted to show her that she would regret leaving me… she hasn't yet. But that's ok. I don't want her back anymore."
"Is that right? Why don't you want her back?"
"Must you ask?" he laughed with a wince, "Well let's just say that I have my eye on a much better opportunity." He then licked his sensuous looking lips and smiled, "So are you dating anyone?"
"Actually…" she then thought about Justin and knew he was fucking around with one of his female fans after the show and shook her head, "Nope, I'm still single."
"Why is that? As hot as you are now you should be dating at least twenty men at a time now."
She smiled and cocked her head to the side and teased, "I'm not your ex…"
"Ooh that was cold!" he laughed, although agreeing with her assessment.
"All kidding aside… you'd be surprised how many times I don't get asked out. Oh don't get me wrong I do get propositioned—but as for no fucking on the first date kind of dates—none of those. I mean do I have a 'do not respect me' mark written on my forehead?"
He pretended to observe her forehead then said, "No… But you do have an 'I'll kick your ass if you try me' mark on it." he then took her hand and looked solemnly into her eyes, "How about you go out with me and Alex… I can invite Jason if you want?"
Her eyes lit up with pure unadulterated joy, "Of course… when can we hook up?"
Lucas smiled wickedly, "I thought we weren't going to do that."
Brooke rolled her eyes, "We aren't. And you know precisely what I meant." She said, pushing him slightly, a playful grin on her lush lips.
"I did… and I was just joking."
"I know…" she said as he stood to his feet to leave.
He cleared his throat and gave her a date to meet him and told her he would arrange Jason to spend the night with him. "I really did like the show Brooke. You did great and you put on a really great production." He said as he looked down at her beautiful face, his arm resting above her, his face near hers in an intimate way that made her heart flutter.
"Thank you… I appreciate you coming to see me." She said huskily, her eyes on his sexy mouth.
"Look here's my number," he said writing his number down on her hand with his black marker, "I'll catch you later." He said, then lowered his mouth on hers and pressed a kiss there then left her standing there shocked and weak-kneed.
"I can hardly wait." She said softly as she watched him leave, her heart pounding from his sweet kiss. She smiled wickedly; she hadn't felt that sort of zing over a simple innocent kiss in years.
Amy watched her friend secretly; seeing the satisfied smile on Brooke's face made her curious about the man that just left her. Who was that man? He sure as hell wasn't Justin Gilberto! And why did she let him in her dressing room? Looks like Brooke had some fessing up to do! And Amy couldn't wait to hear about him. And they wouldn't leave the room until she told her everything about Mr. Hottie who had just left.
