Hello readers and reviewers. Sorry for the very late update. I've had a lot going on recently, not to mention a tiny hospitalization. But I'm so thankful for reviews that this story is one of my highest priorities, next to taking care of some other important things. I'm leaving for Wilmington on the 28th (YAY!) So I can't guarantee that I can update as often. But of course I'll try. Anyway, the song for this chapter is one that I heard a while back and that's "Skyscraper" by the gorgeous, and talented Demi Lovato. This song is so beautiful and inspiring and breathtaking, and when I heard it, the Brooke Davis that I created in this story was the first thing that came to mind. I really hope that you've enjoyed reading so far, and if you have I can promise you that you'll love watching Brooke grow back into the wonderfully crazy person she used to be. Julian will be in chapter 8, I PROMISE. Don't worry, I wanna get to him too. Anyway, please enjoy this chapter. It takes place 6 months after Haley, Lucas and Peyton placed her in a rehabilitation clinic. :] Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
Disregarding the pounding heat and harsh sunlight beaming down, Haley stood outside of the Brightside Rehabilition Clinic, waiting for someone very important. Haley leaned against the side of her car while constantly checking her watch. She could hardly believe that it'd been six months since she had seen her friend. Every day since, she felt glad that Brooke was getting the help she deserved but still felt guilty for letting her condition get as far as it did. She hoped that the time she spent in the clinic would do her some good and that she would never try something so reckless again. Haley stood at attention when the front door opened. A young girl stepped outside, but it wasn't Brooke Davis. A man ran up to the girl and hugged her tight. He kissed her a few times before whispering in her ear. The two walked away together and Haley frowned. At that moment, she felt bad that she had that relationship with someone, even though Brooke didn't. Haley and Nathan had each other and Lucas and Peyton had each other. Haley realized that even though Brooke was still pining over Lucas, they would never get back together because Lucas and Peyton were finally getting married. Haley knew that even with whatever help Brooke had gotten in the past six months, she still needed love and someone who was willing to commit themselves to her other than Haley. When the door had opened again, a new Brooke Penelope Davis had emerged. Her hair had been entirely redone. Instead of her short brown hair that she used to have, she had long black hair with subtle bangs. She wore velvet red heels and a grey dress that covered her arms. She had makeup on and had looked as beautiful as she used to, but something was still off. She still refused to wear a smile on her face. She grinned a little when she saw Haley waiting for her. Haley smiled wide, pleased with the improvement she had seen, and ran up to her friend to hug her. Brooke set her bags down and hugged Haley tightly. She breathed a sigh of relief; glad that she could finally see her friend again.
"I'm so glad to see you, Brooke. Oh, I missed you so much. Nothing was the same without you." Haley said while releasing the hug.
"I know what you mean." Brooke said in a shallow tone. "I missed you too." She said sincerely. Haley picked up Brooke's bags and started loading them into her car.
"So... are you doing okay, Brooke? How are you?"
"I'm sober."
"Yeah, but are you okay?"
"...I'm sober..." Brooke trailed off. Haley understood that Brooke didn't want to talk about it anymore. Haley swept Brooke's bangs out of her eyes and smiled.
"You look beautiful, Brooke." She smiled. Brooke grinned a little and played with her hair a bit.
"It's part of the 'self-loving' process."
"Is it working?"
"I don't know yet..."
"Well... let's go get you home Brooke Davis." Haley smiled wide and opened the door for Brooke. They drove home quietly the whole ride home.
;
Haley unlocked the front door to Brooke's house and flung it open. "Ta-da!" Haley said while being her dorky self. "I house sat every day while you were gone; I hope I did a good job." Brooke walked inside and looked around. She was practically speechless. The last time that she had seen her house was after that horrible night with Fletcher. But that was the last thing she wanted to think about. She grinned and looked at Haley.
"It's perfect." She hugged Haley tightly. "Thank you. Thank you for all of it, Haley."
"It's not a problem. Is there anything I can do for you now that you're home again?"
"Well, it's been a while since I've washed my hair, so-"
"No problem... Brooke Davis, I am at your beck and call." Haley chuckled. Brooke tried to smile back at Haley but she just couldn't do it. Haley grabbed Brooke's arm and walked with her into the bathroom. "If you wanna change into something more comfortable, that's fine; most of your clothes are still in your closet." Brooke nodded and walked into the bedroom to change. Haley stood in the bathroom and walked over to the sink. She opened up the medicine cabinet and looked at the dozens of bottles of pills that were still there. Haley frowned and turned around to see Brooke standing in the doorway. Haley was happy to see her at that moment. Brooke was wearing a short nightgown that showed her legs. The bruises that she used to have all over were completely gone now, and Haley was glad to see that. But she still wasn't glad to see the pills in her bathroom. Brooke sighed and took the pill bottle from Haley. She, quickly, opened the cap and poured the pills into the garbage bin. Brooke grabbed the rest of the bottles and threw them all into the bin as well.
"They should've cleared all this out, a long time ago." Brooke frowned.
"Brooke...?"
"No, don't worry, Haley... I'm... I'd like to think I'm past all that now." Brooke said, looking down. Haley looked down at Brooke's arms and was stunned to find two, long, very cleanly cut scars on her wrists. Haley took Brooke's hands and held up the scars. She looked at Brooke with a tear in her eye.
"Are you?"
"... Well... the beginning of rehab wasn't exactly the best time of my life." She frowned. Haley suddenly felt bad. Brooke had hurt herself because of where Haley put her, and she felt guilty about that.
"Brooke, I'm sorry..."
"No... Stop apologizing Haley... you did what you needed to do... what you had to do... Thank you for helping me." Brooke hugged Haley and sighed, trying not to cry.
;
Haley sat in a chair next to the tub, holding a large cup filled with water. Brooke leaned back in a chair with her long hair in the bath. Haley turned the knob of the tub to the right until the water stopped running. "Sorry, if it's a little cold." She said, warning Brooke before pouring the water on her hair.
"How have you been, Haley?" Brooke asked, ignoring the freezing cold water that she had just made contact with.
"I-I've been fine." Haley lied.
"Really?" Brooke asked, not believing her.
"...Yeah?"
"Come on, Haley... out with it."
Haley sighed. "I've been better... are you sure you want to know, Brooke?"
"Haley, I've been by myself for six months... I think it's about time I heard a little gossip." Haley continued to wash Brooke's hair.
"...Nathan and I were... having some problems earlier, but we've gotten over it recently."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. It's nothing really. Uh... Nathan hired this... nanny." Haley scoffed. "She, uh, she caused us some problems, but I'd rather not talk about it."
"...Nathan still in his wheelchair?"
"No." Haley smiled. "He's... actually playing basketball again."
"Wow... sounds like quite a comeback."
"Yeah... one of my students was helping him out with that."
"'Was'?"
"...Yeah... he-he died a while ago."
"Oh... Oh, I'm sorry Haley."
"It's okay."
"What about Lucas? Did he get Lindsey pregnant yet?" Brooke joked.
"Actually, he got Peyton pregnant."
"What?" Brooke asked, sitting up in shock.
"It's okay, It's okay... they're getting married." Haley laughed.
"What?" She asked, even more shocked.
"Yeah, he and Lindsey didn't work out and... I guess Lucas proposed and Peyton said 'yes'... We just found out she's pregnant." Haley smiled.
"Oh... I'm happy for them, I really am." Brooke said, laying back again. "How's Jamie?" Brooke asked, closing her eyes.
"Oh, he's been just fine. He... bounces back quick... He misses you, you know."
"Yeah, I miss him too... He's five now, right?"
"Yep." Haley smiled. "He was really bummed that you missed his birthday."
"... Sounds like everyone's lives are coming together." Brooke frowned.
"Well, then, you must be next on the list, aren't you?" Haley said, trying to make her feel better. The two remained quiet for a few minutes until Brooke broke the silence.
"You're still looking at my wrists, aren't you?" She said, knowing she was right.
"No."
"Haley."
"I'm sorry, Brooke."
"Don't be sorry..." Brooke sat up. "I can just tell you what happened."
"No, that's fine."
"Haley... I'd rather just come out with it so you're not all filled with questions. I know you want to know what happened." Haley did want to know, but felt it was rude to ask her to tell the story, so she simply said:
"Okay..." Haley sighed. Brooke sat up and wrapped her hair in a towel. "Let me just say it."
;
Brooke thrashed about, hitting the walls, throwing chairs around, and screaming. A male nurse was standing in the doorway so Brooke couldn't leave. Her 'roommate' was sitting at her bed just a few feet away from Brooke who was throwing her temper tantrum.
"She's not with me, is she?" She asked, pointing at Brooke.
"Yes, she is." The male nurse groaned.
"Great..." She said sarcastically, while spinning her finger around and rolling her eyes.
"Let me out of here!" Brooke demanded.
"Can't." The nurse replied.
"Yes you can! You can't keep me here! Not legally anyway!" She said, getting close to his face.
"Well, sure I can. Your friend Kaylee says you're a danger to yourself, so legally we can keep you here." He said, crossing his arms.
"It's Haley." Brooke corrected, angrily. "You can't do this to me. I'm not a danger to myself."
"So you didn't try to kill yourself?" He said, raising his eyebrow. "I've seen your type here all the time. Trust me, you'll be gone soon... not soon enough, though."
"My type? What the hell does that mean?"
"A bitch?" Her roommate butted in.
"A bitch?" Brooke was offended and approached her. "You'd be a bitch if you were with someone who didn't give a damn about you! You'd be a bitch if you were with someone who liked to kick you around and watch you squirm just for the fun of it! You'd be a bitch if you were with someone who's never home and takes advantage of you in every way possible! And you'd be a bitch if the man that you love is marrying some other woman! So walk a minute in my shoes before you call me a bitch, bitch!" Brooke said, pushing her.
"You don't know me." The girl responded.
"And you don't know me." Brooke said with a fire in her eyes. Brooke turned her attention to the nurse. "I want out of here right now." She demanded.
"I can't let you out, unfortunately." He responded.
"Fine... well if you're keeping me here, I might as well do something to stay." Brooke turned back to her roommate and slapped her clean across her face. The girl jumped up and started lashing out at Brooke. Brooke fought back. The nurse was hesitant to step in, but eventually pulled Brooke off of the other girl. Brooke resisted the man's grip and reached for his eyes that were belted to his pants. She grabbed on and gave one good pull before she had the keys in her hands. Brooke fought her way back over to the other girl and started attacking her with the keys. The girl grabbed Brooke's wrists to stop her from hitting her and eventually grabbed the keys from Brooke's grasp. The girl jumped at Brooke and took two quick slices at Brooke's wrists. Brooke immediately fell to the ground, clutching her left wrist. Both were bleeding quite heavily, but the left one was bleeding more profusely. Brooke screamed out in pain and cried. The nurse peered his head out the doorway.
"Can I get some help in here?" He asked, lazily.
"I was wrong..." The other girl said, while setting the keys down. "You're not a bitch... you're a crazy bitch." She laughed.
"...Fuck you." Brooke cried. Two more nurses came in and the three of them pulled her off the ground and dragged her away while her roommate lied down in bed and laughed.
;
"To be honest, I probably shouldn't have slapped her, but she kinda deserved it." Brooke chuckled, finishing up her story.
"Oh, Brooke, I'm sorry."
"Haley, please... stop apologizing." Brooke stood up and put her hands on Haley's arms. "I stayed there to prove that I was worth saving... and now I know I am. You shouldn't be apologizing... I should be thanking you for saving me." Haley smiled with a tear in her eye and hugged Brooke.
"You clean up real well, Brooke Davis..." A tear fell from Haley's eye. "Welcome back." Haley smiled wide and wiped her tear away.
"It's good to be back." Brooke said, almost forcing a smile on her face. For the first time in a long time, Brooke felt happy again. And she realized that her best friend was the one who got her there. And she was more than thankful to have Haley James Scott in her life. She knew that they were sticking together for a very long time.
That's the end of chapter 7, let me know what you think. ;D
