Chapter Four- Secrets Untold
"Hey guys!" Lucas exclaimed walking up to Nathan and Haley.
"Hey Luke," Haley hugged her best friend.
"I haven't seen you guys in a while." Peyton cried walking up behind Lucas and taking Nathan in to a hug.
"Why don't we go and catch up, I'm sure Karen can handle tonight, there aren't many people here." Peyton told them looking around at the empty club.
Arriving at the brightly lit Karen's Cafe they took one of the vacated tables and ordered.
"So where have you two been?" Lucas questioned his brother and best friend inquisitively.
"Here and there."
"Here and there where?" Peyton raised and eyebrow.
"So whats up with you, still going strong." Haley said hurriedly changing the subject. As Peyton clutched on to Lucas's arm she winced remembering Brooke, lying in the hospital helpless.
"Yeah, it's perfect, you know being in love." Peyton sighed and snuggled in to Lucas's side.
When the two weren't looking Nathan mimed vomiting to his wife and she giggled.
"What's funny?" Peyton inquired.
"Inside joke." Haley told her.
"So now we can't even share jokes!" Lucas huffed and Haley's face showed alarm as she watched his temper rising.
"What's wrong Luke?"
"Whats wrong! What's wrong! I'll tell you what's wrong! Your always disappearing, you never hang out with us anymore and you keep secrets!" Lucas banged the table and Nathan leaned over, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Woah man, cool it." He said.
Lucas's face decreased in redness slightly but his temper remained.
"So do you have a reason for all of this." Lucas shouted, not caring if people stared at him.
"Luke, baby, calm down." Peyton's manicured hand squeezed his shoulder and she kissed his forehead trying to calm him down.
"Your meal." An unfamiliar waitress came up to the four, placing down their orders.
"Thanks." Nathan smiled at her and she winked before scurrying off. Haley scowled.
"Seriously!"
"What?" Nathan protested.
"Flirting with the waitress in front of me."
"I can't help it if I'm attractive!" He smirked at her she raised an eyebrow.
"My heart belongs to you, baby. Always and Forever." His forehead touched hers and his cool breath washed over her, sending her in to a total melt down.
"You, you!" Haley pointed at him once she had recovered.
He winked at her and she giggled.
"Ew!" Lucas looked at the two of them.
"What?" Haley asked.
"My brother and my sister flirting in front of me."
"You didn't mind the wedding." Haley pointed out.
"That's because I was distracted." Lucas muttered, Peyton tensed up.
"Hey!" Rachel placed a cool towel over Brooke.
"How long was I out for?"
"Five minutes, it sucks huh?"
"Totally, I go floppy and can't see but I can still hear, I am aware of my surroundings sort of." Brooke tried to describe it.
"I'd hate to be in your shoes."
"I hate to be in my shoes." Brooke murmured and Rachel looked away.
"So what are you going to do about that?"
"Nothing, my father is coming to pick me up today and I will go home and resume my job." Brooke explained.
"Brooke, you can't go home yet, you haven't even healed and even if you had your not going back there." Rachel shuddered and flicked a strand of hair out of her eyes.
"He won't take no for an answer." Brooke told Rachel.
"You have to tell the police."
"They're my parents Rache."
"No they're not, they are two pathetic excuses for biological breeders." Rachel scoffed.
"Don't tell, please...for me." Brooke pleaded.
"You already made me promise that." Rachel sighed feeling trapped.
"You don't get to have your parents attention on you a lot so you know how it feels, I have my parents undivided attention right now and it makes me feel wanted."
"I know how it feels but mine are better than you, they are respectable people not lowlife scum." Rachel spat.
"And as for being wanted, you are wanted but they don't want to love you Brooke they want you for money and you can't turn them in."
"Rache, that's not fair, what if it were you." Brooke asked.
"If it were me I would've told them to shove it and then if they pursued me I would have told the police, get them locked away and file a restraining order." Rachel said.
"You know you wouldn't Rache," Brooke tried to reason.
"You don't know what I would do Brooke, but I know what you should do." Rache looked her in the eye.
"God I feel another one coming on Rache." Brooke clutched her head as her eyes rolled back and she fell backwards on the bed.
Rachel held her hand stroking it softly.
"She's gone!" Nathan came rushing out of the changing rooms to find his wife.
"Who's gone?" Peyton queried as she leant against the door whilst Haley gasped.
"None of your business." Haley shot at Peyton as she picked up her bag and followed Nathan out of the door.
"Lucas!" Peyton shouted as her boyfriend appeared out of the same door Nathan had run out of.
"What?" He asked running his hand through his golden strands.
"They're going again." Peyton directed his gaze to where Haley and Nathan were waiting anxiously against the gate of the school.
"Let's see if they need a lift." Lucas suggested walking over to his friends.
"Hey guys!"
"Hey!" Haley replied as she tapped the gate frantically.
"Why so anxious?" Peyton questioned.
"Just some bad news." Nathan informed them casually.
"What type of bad news?"
"Er...the rent hasn't been paid because we had to pay the water bill and they're threatening to throw us out on the street. So we just wanted to go over there quickly and sort it out before we find ourselves out on the streets." Nathan lied and Haley looked up at him impressed.
Lucas nodded "So who's your ride?"
"Rachel." Haley told them seeing no reason to lie.
"Why that skanky hoe?" Peyton clutched on to her boyfriends hand tightly.
"Because she offered." Haley said coldly.
"Well we can give you a lift." Lucas offered.
"Nah it's cool man Rachel's nearly here."
"Just call her and tell her your coming with us." Peyton said wanting to get out of the cold.
"She's already here." Haley pointed to the big silver car driving towards them.
"Hey guys I have a feeling where she might have..." Rachel trailed off as she noticed the two blondes looking at her.
"Never mind, hop on up." She gestured to the car and they did so, Nathan climbing in to the front and Haley going to sit in the back.
"So we'll see you later." Lucas frowned as the car drove off.
"I don't think they're going home." He told Peyton who agreed.
"Should we follow them like super cool ninja spies?"
Lucas laughed, "Yeah super cool ninja spies."
They ran to his car and drove off in the same direction as Rachel had driven.
As they came to a halt outside the couple's apartment they noticed that there was no sign of life in the windows and after knocking on the door no-one in the apartment.
"So they lied." Lucas stated grimly as they headed back towards the car.
"Well seeing as that failed can we head to the hospital, I think Derek checked in there after his nasty fall."
Peyton said recalling her brothers bad fall down her stairs after they had hung up a new drawing of hers.
Peyton and her brother had reconciled after Ellie had informed her that she had a half brother. They looked very alike with both of them having blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Okay." Lucas set the car in to drive and followed the familiar route to the hospital.
Arriving in the hospital car-park Lucas noted a car very alike Rachel's parked near them.
"Peyton does that look like Rachel's car." He queried looking at his girlfriend for confirmation.
"It's a silver car." Peyton shrugged opening the door to jump out.
"They all look the same to me."
"I'm probably just making up theories for their sudden disappearances."
"Come on!" Peyton dragged Lucas in to reception where she asked the lady on duty where her brother might be.
Hearing that he was on the third floor they both set off for the elevators.
"Haley!"Luke exclaimed seeing his best friend in walking out of the elevator next to them.
"Luke!" Haley exclaimed startled, she was followed by Nathan and Rachel.
"What are you guys doing here?" Peyton asked suspiciously.
"What are you doing here." Haley questioned trying to distract the blondes.
"We came to visit Peyton's brother." Lucas replied getting over his shock.
"Skank has a brother." Rachel raised her eyebrows.
"He hot?" She looked to Peyton for an answer.
"Ew...you really are a slut aren't you?" Peyton exclaimed.
"I can see why your best friends with Brooke." She continued Haley's eyes narrowed.
"Brooke isn't a slut!" She told Peyton sternly.
"Seriously did you not see her for the most of sophomore and junior year, even now."
"And your not a slut, when you were sleeping around with Lucas behind Brooke's back." Nathan defended his cheery best friend.
"That was for-ever ago and anyways I had my eye on Lucas first." Peyton shrugged.
"Twice Peyton twice, and who cares if you called 'dibs'. Twice he was Brooke's boyfriend and twice you messed that up." Haley shouted.
"Peyton didn't mess it up the second time." Lucas stood in front of his girlfriend as if protecting her from harm.
"She kissed you Luke."
"Brooke said that had nothing to do with it, she simply stopped loving me."
"Brooke lies, or haven't you noticed how she pushes people away." Nathan stared his brother down.
"So why are you here?" Peyton repeated her question from before.
"We were visiting Brooke." Haley sighed finally revealing the truth.
"Brooke's in hospital." Lucas shouted.
"Well not anymore." Rachel said.
"Why was she here?" Peyton asked confused as to how she didn't know her ex-best friend was in hospital.
"It's a long story." Haley sighed, ignoring the nudge she received from Nathan and the glare from Rachel. It was time to tell the truth.
