I tried my best to update fast! I hope you enjoy this chapter and as promised it'll reveal a bit about Penny's life! I hope I did not disappoint you with chapter 3 because some of you were not reviewing - maybe you did not receive an email from fanfiction (I don't receive any!) ? I hope you'll receive one now...hmmm...I do not want to wait to update because of that error! Maybe you could tell me what you liked/didn't about both chapters :)! That'll be awesome! SO...here comes chapter 4. I hope y'all have a great weekend! Thank you Leeese, for looking through it that fast!
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Brooke was sitting in the living room, listening to music, drinking coffee as she tried to sketch a little. The front door opened and Haley came inside. Brooke looked over to see who it was.
"Tutor mom!" Brooke greeted as she smiled happily at her and opened her arms to receive a hug. She was glad that her body was getting better with every day. She still looked like a war victim but Haley was glad that Brooke seemed to be in a good mood.
"Hey, Tigger," Haley replied as she hugged her carefully. She then sat down beside her on the couch. "You're in a happy mood, huh?"
"Yup," Brooke replied as she nodded. Haley smiled at her answer. "I have so many ideas on how to make Penny's dress. But I have a huge problem and you have to help me. Right now!"
"Okay, spill it." Haley told her as she raised an eyebrow.
"Well, you know my right arm is broken." Brooke began as she lifted up her arm to show Haley the cast that was painted in every color by her boys. Haley nodded confused and then shook her head as she realized what Brooke was asking her to do.
"No, Brooke. I can't sketch and I can't help you sew anything. I'm the worst person in the world to ask to help you with this."
"Pleeeeease. I have an image in my mind of how it should look like but I can't sketch with my left hand. It looks like a baby drew it," Brooke told her as she held up a sketch. Haley burst into laughter as she saw it and realized that Brooke was right. Brooke sighed as she said. "Not helping, Hales."
"Fine, gimme the pen and tell me what you want." Haley said as she gave in. Brooke jumped up in joy and then moaned in pain. She had forgotten that her ribs were still hurting her a lot. Haley just rolled her eyes and then tried to sketch exactly how Brooke wanted the dress to be. However, in the end Brooke looked unsatisfied at it.
"Now that looks exactly like mine with my left hand." Brooke told her with a sigh.
"Well, now you know why I'm a singer and teacher and not a fashion designer," Haley told her as she laughed loudly. She then walked to the fridge. "So, Julian and the boys will be gone for a while. Did you already eat anything?"
"Haley, I don't need a babysitter." Brooke told her. Since the attack nobody wanted Brooke to be alone. Julian was very worried because her nightmares hadn't stopped and he knew that Brooke hated to be alone right now.
"Well, did you eat or not?" Haley asked in a motherly tone.
"No, but…" Brooke began to answer, but Haley cut her off.
"See!" Haley replied as she looked into the fridge to find some ingredients "Julian told me you met the little girl again."
Brooke nodded happily as Haley glanced over at her. She had the pencil in her mouth as she looked at her sketch. It frustrated her that she couldn't use her right hand. She finally she gave up and lay down on the couch again.
"It was so good to see her. She was playing with her dog at the river court and we talked a little but I'm a little worried. She was alone again and told me that she was waiting for her big brother but somehow it felt like she was lying. But she told me where she lives." Brooke told her.
"Oh, is it nearby?" Haley asked in response.
"Well, if she told the truth, then she is living close to the river court in a big house. I wanted to walk over but I'm still exhausted from my last walk. Julian and I will drive over when the boys are back from kindergarten." Brooke told her.
"Brooke! There's nothing in the fridge! I'll go to the store when Jamie comes by." Haley said as she closed the refrigerator and turned to look at Brooke.
"Oh, Jamie is coming over?" Brooke asked excited. She had missed spending some time alone with her godson. Sometimes she couldn't believe that he was so grown up already. It only seemed a short while ago that he had been a baby.
"Yup, I'm coming over." Jamie said as he hugged Brooke from behind. He then sat down on the couch as Haley left them to grab some food.
"Don't you have school today?" Brooke asked him as she frowned slightly.
"My teacher is sick, so I thought I could spend some time with my favorite godmother." Jamie replied with a smile.
"You only have one, but whatever. Give me a kiss," Brooke told him. She laughed when Jamie rolled his eyes in response. "I know, you're not five anymore but you're still the Jamie that peed on me when I had to change the first diaper in my whole life and…"
"Aunt Brooke!" Jamie yelled shocked as he rolled his eyes again.
"Tell me. What is happening in your life? How is school?" Brooke asked. Jamie immediately blushed and got a smile on his face.
"It's okay." He whispered.
"Oh, you won't get away with that sentence. I want to know it all. Every detail!" Brooke told him as she lay back. She enjoyed having him beside her. It was great talking to a twelve year old one and it always showed her how young her boys still were. Jamie took a deep breath and then started. He loved talking to Brooke.
"Um…I…well…" he stuttered out.
"Oh my god! Did you kiss?" Brooke asked as she looked at him in shock. His blush revealed the answer.
"We were playing spin the bottle and… then Madison and I had to kiss for ten seconds." Jamie confessed.
"Wow, that's long." Brooke answered honestly and Jamie agreed.
"But don't tell mom. I think… we're together now. We changed shoe laces again," He said as he showed Brooke his shoe proudly. "And… and… we held hands on our way home."
"Wow. That's huge Jamie. You really like her, huh?" Brooke asked as she smiled happily at him.
"She's kinda… cool." Jamie confessed.
"Who is cool?" Haley asked when she came inside again because she had forgotten her car keys.
"No one!" Jamie immediately answered.
Haley looked at Brooke. Although Jamie didn't tell his mother about his new crush, Haley was well aware that Jamie liked Madison a lot. She was glad that Brooke and Jamie shared such a special relationship.
~X~
Brooke, Julian, Davis and Jude parked in front of the huge house. In the trunk they had lots of presents for Penny and hoped that she would like them.
"That's the house?" Davis asked curiously.
"Yes honey, that's where Penny lives." Brooke answered excited as she carefully got out of the car.
"Wow. They must be pretty wealthy." Julian said as he too climbed out of the car. He was astonished when he saw the large villa with a huge garden at the front. He could only imagine how the garden in the back would look like.
"I want a slide too like that too!" Davis said as he pointed at a huge slide and Jude immediately agreed.
"Yeah, in our garden. And a pool." Jude added before he ran to the front of the house.
"Boys. Help me with the presents," Julian told them when he opened the trunk and looked inside "Honey, don't you think that's a little too much?"
"I don't think there can be too much when it comes to the girl that saved me." Brooke told him as she kissed his lips and raised her eyebrow.
"Will we get presents too?" Jude asked sounding a little jealous. Davis laughed in response.
"I don't want dolls or any of that. It's for girls." He told his brother. Together they walked up to the house and knocked on the door. It didn't take long before a woman opened the front door.
"Can I help you?" she asked in a friendly tone.
"Yes, we are looking for Penny. We wanted to thank her with some presents and…" Brooke began. The woman frowned in confusion.
"I'm sorry but I don't know any Penny." the woman answered honestly as she cut Brooke off. Brooke looked confused at her.
"She's a four-year-old girl." Brooke told her.
"Maybe you have the wrong house. My husband and I have lived here for years and we don't know of any Penny in this neighborhood." She told them. Brooke and Julian looked at each other in confusion. They then thanked the woman for her time and headed back to their car.
"Mommy. Mommy." Davis said as they approached.
"Yes, Davey?" Brooke asked as she put her good arm around him.
"Where is Penny?" he asked.
"We don't know but we will find out!" Brooke answered in a worried voice as she kissed his chubby cheek. They then piled back into the car and after making sure they were all safely strapped in, Julian drove away. Brooke was deep in thought while Julian drove the car.
Why had Penny lied to me? Brooke thought to herself as she frowned. She just hoped that Penny was okay.
~X~
Some days later, Brooke was at the river court. She was with Nathan and she watched him as he shot some hoops. Julian hadn't stopped worrying about his wife once. He had become even more worried as his work for a new movie had begun and he didn't want her to be alone. So, Nathan had stepped in and had told her that he would spend some time with Brooke. He had then taken her to the river court.
"It's so good to be free again." Nathan told her. He ran around the court before he would stop and throw the ball at the basket. It went in every time.
"I can imagine that it is," Brooke replied. Nathan then pulled her into an embrace. Brooke grimaced when he hugged her as he was all sweaty. She playfully pushed him away as she said. "I never liked that when you guys did this."
"Come on Brooke! You had the hots for the whole team." He joked in response. He burst out laughing when Brooke gave him a shocked look.
"Excuse me! That's so not true. I only had a crush on one specific basketball player. I did not touch any other one." Brooke told him.
"Videotape!" Nathan mumbled as he raised an eyebrow.
"Nathan! Don't remind me of that." Brooke said as she blushed and he burst out laughing again.
"I can't believe how much older we are now. Soon our children will be the ones with all the drama in their lives," Nathan said as he got his laughter under control. "Jamie's almost a teenager and I can tell that girls are starting to become real interesting for him."
"I'm glad that my boys are only five. I don't want them to grow up." Brooke said as smiled and leaned closer to Nathan. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders in response. They remembered the time when they had been five year olds and in kindergarten.
"Was there a point where you gave up during the attack?" Nathan suddenly asked. Brooke moved her head and looked up at him in surprise.
"Nathan!" she replied in a sigh. She didn't want to talk about it and hated that everyone tried to make her open up.
"Brooke, when I… was kidnapped, I… there was a moment that I gave up. I knew that sooner or later I would be murdered and would never see my family again. I was just sitting there, handcuffed and taped and thought about the past. About my whole life," Nathan confessed. He took a deep breath and continued. "I… you know what I thought?"
Brooke listened to him intently. At his question she shook her head. Her eyes were brimming with tears. She knew exactly how he felt.
"I knew that my family would be okay in the end. Well, not okay… but I knew that you would've been there for them. For Haley, Jamie and Lydia. And somehow I was relieved," Nathan paused as he looked down at her. Brooke saw that his own eyes were full of tears. Her own then escaped and fell down her cheeks. "I don't think I have thanked you enough. You were always there in my life and like my baby sis. We grew up together, we have the same history. And because of your stubbornness I even got my first real date with my wife and never split up. And now… now your husband saved my life. Thank you, Brooke!"
There were a few moments of silence after Nathan had finished talking. All that could be heard were their sniffles and the river. Nathan held Brooke tighter against his chest while she wiped her tears. She didn't even mind that he was all sweaty from playing on the court. Brooke then took a deep breath before she began to speak.
"I… I… gave up too. I… didn't know what to do and he was… so much stronger and had so much anger inside of him," Nathan listened carefully to her words and nodded to tell her to continue. He continued to hold her as she sobbed into his chest. "And… I hoped that he… he would just kill me instead of raping me. Isn't that selfish?"
"That's not selfish. There was a point when I wished that it would just be over too. I guess that's normal," Nathan replied softly. He moved and took her chin in his hands. He tilted her head up and gently wiped a tear away with his thumb. "But in the end it doesn't matter. It's over and both of us survived."
Brooke knew that he was right. It didn't matter that they had both given up during their ordeals. She was glad that she had someone close to her who knew what she was going through and how she felt about what she had been through. She closed her eyes before she began to speak again.
"Do you remember when you pushed me down the slide and I fell all the way down and split my lip open and needed stitches?" Brooke asked as she smiled at the memory. Nathan burst out laughing in response.
"How could I forget? You turned me into your personal slave for a whole month. I even had to play with your dolls." Nathan replied. Brooke nodded and enjoyed this memory. She wanted to say something but they both heard someone laughing under the bench. Both of them looked down to see who it was.
"Penny?" Brooke asked shocked.
"I'm back from Africa!" Penny said shyly as Bruno immediately jumped onto the bench.
"Woaaaaw. This dog is huge!" Nathan said in an alarmed tone as he jumped up and pointed at Bruno. He looked at the dog with a scared look on his face.
"Since when are you afraid of dogs? He's a very nice one." Brooke answered as she stroked Bruno. She then turned her attention to Penny. She knew that Penny wasn't telling the truth about Africa. "How was it in Africa?"
"Good. I swam with whales and a monkey ate out of my hand. You're that man from TV. You were kidnapped by bad guys," Penny as she looked up at Nathan. Nathan immediately knew that Penny was lying about Africa. He nodded in response to what she had said about him as he sat down beside the huge dog again. "I can't stay that long because my sister will be mad."
"Oh you have a sister too?" Brooke asked curiously.
"Um… yes, I got lot of siblings. They are all cool," Penny said before she quickly jumped up. She was about to say goodbye when Brooke stopped her. "No, they… they… don't want me to talk to strangers."
"Honey, we're no strangers and you can't walk around alone here." Brooke told her gently.
"I'm not alone. Bruno is with me and my brother waits," Penny insisted. Brooke and Nathan immediately looked at each other. Suddenly it was a brother and not a sister. Something wasn't right. Penny then blurted. "I have to pee."
"Come on. We can go to the bathroom in there." Brooke took her hand and headed to the restroom with her. She wanted to help her but in contrast to her boys she protested immediately, so she waited outside. "She's lying, Nate. Something is not right."
Nathan nodded in agreement as he frowned. After a long while, there was still no sign of Penny emerging from the restroom. Brooke had a hunch and ran into the restroom. She found that it was empty but a small window was open. Brooke headed back outside to where Nathan was still waiting. She then noticed that there was no Bruno in sight either.
"She ran away Nate." Brooke told him. They looked around but there was no dog and no little girl to be found.
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Penny came home with lots of food in her bag. It was that full that she almost fell backwards. Bruno carried a bad in his mouth as well.
"Penny-girl," a teenager said. Smoke was blown into her face as the teenager bent down and kissed her cheek. "Penny got us food."
Around ten people walked over to her. Each of them took something out of the bag.
"They got a lot of money." Penny said as she showed them Brooke and Nathan's wallets. She then threw them to her mother.
"Don't tell me that you talked to them?" Her mother asked. Penny stiffened up immediately and Bruno moved closer towards her.
"Only a little bit. I wanted their wallets." Penny whispered scared.
"Penny. Those people will take you away from here. Do you understand me?" Her mother told her.
"But…" Penny began as tears appeared in her eyes.
"No but. You never listen to your mom. Come with me." A man said as he took her by her sleeve and shoved her into a room. Penny crossed her arms in front of her chest as the tears rolled down her cheeks. She shivered as she did.
"I only wanted the money." She said as she cried helplessly.
"Lay down. Now!" the man demanded as he took off his belt. Penny's shivering became worse. She didn't move an inch as she knew what was going to happen.
"She's the devil. She's the devil!" Penny's mother yelled in a strange voice as she came into the room. She pointed at her daughter as she did.
It was obvious that they were all high from whatever they had taken while Penny had been out. Penny heard how Bruno barked from outside. Her mother took hold of Penny's arms and placed her over her knees. She then took off Penny's shirt. Penny then screamed when the belt hit her back and she started to cry heavily. The man continued hitting her until she bled. Then her mom turned her around and the man began to hit her stomach.
"Get out of my daughter, you devil! Get out!" her mother screamed. She held Penny's head tightly as she then walked into the bathroom. She began to fill the bathtub with water.
"No…. noooo…" Penny cried as she tried to escape.
However, her mother lifted her and placed her into the tub. She then started to put her under the water again and again. The water was already red with the blood from the wounds the belt had caused and Penny tried in vain to get out of it.
"Moooommmyyy….stop." Penny begged. But her mother just continued her actions. After what seemed a lifetime, her mother finally stopped. She lifted Penny from the water and sat her on her lap.
"Oh Penny. I got you back. The devil is out. The devil is out." She said as she kissed her daughter.
Penny was too exhausted and scared to cry. Almost like she was coming out of a fog, Penny's mother finally saw all of Penny's bruises and just how much the small one was shivering. She led her daughter down and began to tend to the wounds. Penny didn't even move. The pain and exhaustion was too much.
"Is the devil gone, mommy?" Penny asked in a whisper. The pain was overpowering her right then.
"Yes, it's gone for now," her mother told her as she nodded. "I love you."
"I love you too." Penny answered and closed her eyes as she let the exhaustion take over her completely. Her mother turned on the music and turned it up loudly. She danced happily through the room with Penny in her arms. She did not even realize that this was hurting her daughter as well.
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Hope you liked it!
Your Caseyjr!
