Brooke sat down a few days later with a snack and her DVDs from Haley and Nathan, curled up in bed. She took a deep breath and pressed play.
"Hey Brookie Monster. I know I'm mostly supposed to be making the ones for Lucas, but I wanted to make one for you, too. You're totally different from who you used to be, you know that? And I know you must be thinking, why would they choose me to raise their son, I was always trouble, I'm a horrible role model. But I think you're the best kind of person to raise a child. You've made mistakes, sure. But you came back from it and you learned from it. You could always be understanding, and you could always say that you're proof that a mistake doesn't have to ruin your life. You're pretty awesome, Davis. And I don't tell you that enough. I know we've grown apart a little bit, in the last couple of years. We were really busy getting closer to everyone else, I guess. But I'll always remember you as my first kiss when were eleven, the girl who I got in my first fight for, the first girl to ever slap me, the first girl I ever cried in front of. You were a hell of a lot of my firsts, Brooke, and I'm really glad you were. You're a pretty good girl to have in your life. Definitely the kind of girl a guy can be proud of. And look, I know that Lucas keeps screwing things up with you, but go easy on him. Try to give him a break, because while you're great, you're also pretty damn hard to figure out, Bee. Your favorite color changes all the time, you never show when you're upset, you expect people to know what to do. And that's sort of fair, you always know what to do for other people. But Lucas isn't like that. The reason he runs to Peyton is because she tells him exactly what to do. She yells help and he comes running, but you've never yelled help in your life, Davis. Try it sometime, would ya?"
"This idiot is actually right," Haley said as she came in, ruffling her husband's hair and giving him an affectionate kiss on the cheek. "Don't be afraid to be vulnerable, Brooke. As one of the few people who have seen you that way, I can assure you that it's not something to be ashamed of."
"Just be who you are, Brooke," Nathan said seriously, his blue eyes piercing through the screen. "Because there's a lot of people who love you for it. You just have to let them."
"You're a brave girl," Haley smiled softly. "And I know you'll raise my kid to be just as brave. I want to make sure you know that. That I don't expect you to raise a mini Haley or Nathan. That I would be more than honored to look down on a mini Brooke or even a mini Lucas. Just try to keep him out of love triangles, please."
Nathan chuckled and squeezed Haley to his side. "She's right, Brooke. I'm sure if you're watching these, you're really confused. For all we know, we haven't spoken in ages or something."
Haley smacked him. "Don't even say that!"
Nathan laughed with a shake of his head. "Okay, fine. I'm sure you come over every night for family dinner."
"Better."
"They were really something, huh?" came a completely unexpected, quiet voice.
Brooke immediately clicked off the television, standing from her bed. "Peyton."
"I'm not here to fight with you," Peyton said, putting both hands up in surrender. "I don't want to attack you for anything. I just wanted to say goodbye before I leave for L.A. Just because Lucas and I broke up doesn't mean I don't want to still be in your life."
Brooke's eyes were wide as she nodded. "Of course, Peyt. Listen, I am so sorry. I never wanted him to find out, and I definitely didn't expect him to flip out like that-"
Peyton cut her off with a short shake of her curls. "I know. You hid it from him for me for a long time, Brooke. And I appreciate that. If it wasn't for you giving him up and stepping aside, I never would have had him at all."
Brooke looked at her in obvious disagreement. "He would have come to you eventually, P. Sawyer. He always did."
"If you really think about it," Peyton said, "he came to you."
"What?"
"Well, maybe not consciously or anything. But somehow it's always been the two of you getting thrown together, you know? I think this is a really good example of that. You two had barely spoken since your breakup and suddenly you're raising a baby together under the same roof."
"Peyton, I swear, this is not at all romantic."
"I know," Peyton agreed. "I'm just saying, sometimes I think that fate is more on your side than mine."
"I don't get why there's still sides," Brooke sighed. "And Peyton, maybe we've got to stop putting all of our faith in fate. I don't want to live in a world where Haley and Nathan were meant to die. I like to think that shit just happens. That some drunk asshole made the decision to get on the road and because of that, he took my friends' lives."
Peyton considered this before nodding. "I'm going to go back to L.A. and try to do what you did. I'm going to try to take a broken heart and become the best version of myself possible."
"It'll be a good experience for you," Brooke said, reaching out to squeeze the hand of her childhood friend. "But who knows, maybe you and Lucas aren't quite done yet."
Peyton shook her head. "I have to believe that we are, or I will never move on with my life. I've been wasting away in a tiny apartment in New York, waiting for phone calls and wishing for things to change. I've missed out on so many things holding onto things here. How can I move on if I'm still clinging so tightly to home?"
"I know what you mean," Brooke said softly, looking at the picture of Nathan and Haley on her nightstand.
"You don't have to be over it, you know," Peyton said, interrupting Brooke's thoughts. "No one expects you to be. You're doing an amazing job with Jamie."
"Thanks Peyt," Brooke said softly, biting her lip. "But I'll never be Haley."
"No one is asking you to," Peyton shrugged, wrapping an arm around Brooke's shoulders and gazing at their deceased friends' faces as well. "All anyone wants from you is to do your best."
"Thank you, Peyton. I'll miss you, you know."
"I'll miss you, too," Peyton said, pulling away to look her in the eyes. "And Brooke, I am so sorry for what I did to you in high school."
"Peyton, please don't."
"I'm just saying," Peyton insisted. "You have always been the most loyal, remarkable friend to me and I threw you under the bus a lot. I know that I have a tendency to be really, really selfish, but I promise that I'm going to make even more of an effort to put other people before me, especially you."
"That means a lot," Brooke smiled. "But believe it or not, I forgave you a long time ago. I'm not saying it was easy, because it wasn't. But I did. We're cool, Peyton."
"Good," Peyton grinned, pulling the brunette into a hug. "Thank you, Brooke. For everything."
"You're very welcome."
Brooke watched her friend slip out of the room with a slightly heavy heart. She wasn't sure when she would see Peyton again, if at all. And the worst part was, it didn't hurt the way it should. It was hard to hurt for anyone else when Nathan and Haley were never going to come back.
"Did I hear Peyton?" Lucas's bleary voice said as he stumbled into the hallway, rubbing at his blue eyes.
Brooke chuckled. "Fell asleep reading to Jamie again, did you?"
"No," Lucas said defensively. Brooke raised her eyebrows. "Okay. Maybe."
"You put yourself to sleep with your own book, Broody," Brooke laughed, poking him in the bare side.
Lucas felt his heart pause at her words and the familiar nickname. He grinned sleepily.
"I happen to know you like this version of my book, Cheery."
"Oh please," Brooke scoffed teasingly. "It's mediocre at best, Scott. Not enough of that Brooke Davis character."
Lucas squinted his face in thought. "I'll have to agree with you there. She's a pretty great one."
"Cute, too," Brooke winked. "I'm gonna go make some tea, do you want some?"
"Why not," Lucas shrugged. He followed her into the kitchen, plopping down into a chair as she began to busy herself with the kettle. "So was I right? Was Peyton here?"
"Um, yeah."
"What did she have to say?"
"Lucas, I know you're angry with her-"
She was cut off by Lucas's derisive snort. "That's the understatement of the year."
Brooke rolled her eyes. "When you're done acting like a twelve year old, I'll tell you why you need to give her a break."
Lucas pegged her with a stare. "Why's that?"
"Because it's just the three of us now," Brooke said seriously, leaning against the counter. "It's me, you, and her. Nathan and Haley are gone. Our little makeshift family is down to three, and I'm not going to lose her, too. Haven't we lost enough all ready?"
"I don't want to be with Peyton anymore."
"Contrary to popular belief, Scott, you don't have to be dating a girl to have her in your life."
"I know that, Brooke. But Peyton obviously doesn't take no for an answer when it comes to me."
"I get that," Brooke said, waving him off. "I'm not asking you to call her every day. I'm just saying that I'm going to continue speaking to her and if she comes to visit, I expect you to be civil."
"Okay, fine," Lucas grumbled. "I can do that."
"Thanks," Brooke chirped, setting a mug down in front of him. He sighed and gave her another tired smile.
"Anything for you, Brooke."
When I saw Brooke Davis on her hands and knees on my kitchen floor, I wasn't sure if I had just walked into some kind of fantasy or some sort of comedy. I watched her scrub at the floor with a sponge and couldn't help but chuckle.
To some, she might seem spoiled, but to me, she was quirky. Endearing. Charming. And I would give anything to keep that soft smile on her face that appeared when I uttered the words, "Anything for you, Brooke."
"Anything?" she said mischievously after her flashback had ended.
"What's that face?'
"I'm just saying," Brooke began, "there aren't any pictures of me, you, and Jamie."
"No!"
"Please!" Brooke pleaded. "I would absolutely love to have some portraits done of us while he's still a baby. You won't have to do it again for at least another year!"
He heaved another deep sigh and shrugged. "Fine, fine. I'll do it. But I'm not dressing up."
"They can be casual!" Brooke said excitedly, bouncing up and down in her chair slightly. "Thank you, Lucas!"
She leapt up, kissing him on the cheek and skipping out of the room, leaving Lucas beaming. He hated portraits, but he would sit through them a hundred times if it meant making Brooke that excited.
