Soon Enough

A/N: Here's another update. Yes, it's been awhile, but I've been dealing with some things, so please forgive me. I hope you all like this chapter. It's kind-of a shocker.

Enjoy!


Chapter 6

She Looks to Me

It's Saturday afternoon and Brooke is already late. In essence it's not her fault. She likes to pretend that she had no choice in spending five hours in conference calls this morning, when in reality, she could have just told her mom to handle it. But that would have required Brooke to get on the phone with her mother – something she neverenjoyed doing.

She pulls up to Nathan and Haley's house and sees that a short line of cars are already parked along the driveway. Opening her trunk and gathering in her arms the numerous packages, she walks along the side of the house to get to the backyard.

She emerges in the back and the first thing she's met with is a whirlwind of a small boy, flinging himself into her arms.

"Aunt Brooke!" Jamie has catapulted himself at her, and Brooke is out of breath, laughing as she almost drops the presents.

Nathan is walking over now. "Jamie! Don't attack your Aunt Brooke," he says, gathering up the boy and throwing him over his shoulder. Jamie begins to emit screams of mirth and pound his father on the back with his fists. With a smirk, Nathan takes the packages from Brooke.

"Thanks," she says with a smile, following him to the table where an assortment of food is set up.

"So where is everyone?" asks Brooke, looking around the seemingly deserted yard. "I thought I was late."

"Karen and Lily are icing the cake. And Peyton and Haley are blowing up more balloons in the living room. Luke should be here by now," he adds, checking his watch. "I'm sure he'll be here soon."

Leaving father and son to run around the yard, Brooke ventures into the kitchen where she finds a women standing around a bowl, and a little girl laughing hysterically on the counter.

Karen sees her first. "Brooke!" she exclaims, walking around the counter to hug the brunette.

Brooke squeals, enveloping Karen in a warm embrace. "Karen! How have you been?"

Karen opens her mouth to speak, but there is a small tugging on the bottom of Brooke's dress and she looks down to see a four year old Lily smiling shyly up at her.

"Hey, Lily." Brooke crouches down so she is level with the small girl. Karen's daughter has long brown hair and dark chocolate eyes. She's wearing the dress that Brooke sent to her on her last birthday.

"You're Brooke," says Lily solemnly, enamored by the adult in front of her.

Brooke looks up to Karen who's smiling softly. "Lucas has told her about you."

Brooke looks back to Lily and for an instant is giddy by Karen's last statement.

"I've heard a lot about you Lily. You know, the last time I saw you, you were 'this big,'" she says, holding her arm about two feet off the ground."

Lily's eyes widen. "Did you bring me a present?"

Brooke laughs. "Come on, sweetie, she says, holding out her hand for the small girl. "Let me show you.


It's about 5:00 and finally Lucas has arrived. He's apologizing to Nathan and Haley, and depositing his presents for the two children on the table. He looks briefly over to the lawn, and that's when he sees her, sitting on the grass, letting Lily and James draw on her hands.

He tries to pretend his heart doesn't skip a beat when he sees her, and that he's not secretly glad he wore his black button down shirt that he had been wearing on that night (the shirt she had told him he looked sexy in), and that he's not completely taken aback by how breathtaking she looks.

She's wearing a green flowered summer dress that extends to her knees and ties in a halter behind her shoulders. Her hair is set in soft waves to her shoulder, the red tint in it ever so present in the evening sun. Her feet are tucked under her, the edges of her sandals peeking out from her dress.

"Lucas!" He reluctantly tears his eyes away from Brooke to be met by Peyton's expectant expression.

He realizes that she's been calling for him for the past few seconds, beckoning him over to the chairs that line the patio. Looking to Brooke one last time, her eyes meet his and she gives him a soft smile, before returning her attention to Lily and James.

"Hey Peyt," he says, sinking into a chair next to her.

"Brooke looks nice, doesn't she," says Peyton somewhat absentmindedly, looking at her best friend.

Lucas looks at Brooke, and then at Peyton, wondering if it's a trick question. "Yeah, she does. So do you," he adds after a minute.

Peyton smiles, but only slightly. There's a short silence before she speaks again. "Things are never going to be how they used to, are they?"

"With what?"

Peyton opens her mouth once more, and then steals one last look at her best friend. She places her eyes back on Lucas, and responds in almost a sad voice. "Nevermind."

Before he can ask her again, she stands and retreats to the table to talk with Haley.

So he puts his eyes back on Brooke.


The barbecue is lit, and Nathan and Lucas are attempting to cook burgers. Brooke is sitting on the patio chairs, peeling the label off her bottle of pier, when Karen comes to sit next to her.

"How's your life Brooke?"

Brooke smiles, always comfortable with her conversations. "It's good," she says, faltering slightly. "I mean, this is the first vacation I've had since I graduated high school, and yet I'm still on the phone 24/7. It doesn't really feel like a vacation. Except on days like this," she finishes.

Karen nods.

"How was traveling the world?"

"It was actually really amazing. I wanted to go with Lily before she had to start kindergarten, and we had an incredible time. I'm glad to be home now, though."

There is a short silence as the two women look out over the lawn where Jamie and Lily are pushing each other on the swings. "So Lucas told me you're looking for a place to open a boutique."

Brooke blushes only slightly, wondering how much Lucas talks to his mom and sister about her. "Yeah, well, I'm trying. I haven't seen anywhere decent."

"Well, you know, since I've been home, I've been toying with the idea of buying the space next to Tric and turning it into a restaurant."

"Wow, Karen, I think that's a great idea. You've really got a good head for business."

"The thing is, I can't manage 3 businesses at once. I'm thinking of selling the café and using that money to get started on the restaurant." Karen looks at Brooke with a smile. "How do you like the idea of buying the café from me, and turning it into your boutique?"

Brooke is shocked for a minute, and then immediately excited. "That is an amazingidea, Karen. Thank you!"

"Don't thank me," laughs Karen. She nods to her son at the barbeque. "It was his idea."


Dinner is over, presents have been opened, and Lucas is putting Jamie to bed. Karen has left with a sleeping Lily over her shoulder, and Peyton and Nathan are cleaning up the kitchen.

It's nearly 9 and the night has turned chilly. There is still the tiniest bit of light left in the sky, but the porch lights are turned on, and Nathan has started a fire in the outside fireplace. Haley and Brooke are curled up on the patio chairs under blankets, sipping red wine and talking quietly.

The serenity of the evening has settled Brooke and she never really wants to leave from where she sits right now. Her conversation with Haley has lapsed into a comfortable silence until Brooke speaks up.

"Hales, do you ever imagine your life without Jamie? Like, if you had never gotten pregnant."

Haley considers the question. "Sometimes, yeah. Would Nathan and I fought so hard through the rough times, or would we have given up? Would we be as happy? Would I be teaching, or would I be singing, or would I have a completely different life?" She pauses. "But then Jamie wakes me up from my thoughts, screaming for me that he fell down or that he wants some ice cream, and that all kind-of fades away. I can't imagine life without him."

All of a sudden Haley realizes what Brooke is thinking, and steals a glance at her best friend. Darkness has now fallen all the way, but Brooke's face is lit up by the crackling flames of the fire, and Haley can see a lone tear slip down her face.

Haley is Brooke's strongest confidant. Haley hadn't really realized it until Brooke had come knocking on her door after the renewal of the vows, and the accident. And how in a matter of seconds, Brooke's biggest secret had come spilling out – one she couldn't tell Peyton, one she didn't have the heart to tell Lucas.

In that moment, Brooke became more important to Haley than Lucas was. In that moment, Brooke made Haley swear to never tell Lucas.

Haley kept the promise.

She still wishes she had told Lucas.

"Brooke," is all Haley can say as she places a hand on Brooke's knee.

"Hey, look, I know it's really late and it's been a long day, but I need to talk to you."

"I just…it's just…sometimes I wonder, you know?" Her voice is a breathless ragged whisper. "If I hadn't ever lost the baby, would I have had the strength to keep it? To stay with Lucas?"

There are more tears streaming down her face now, and Haley doesn't really know what to say. They've never really talked about this before – not since it happened. Brooke never wanted to. But as she opens her mouth to say something, anything, another voice is heard.

"Brooke?"

"It's just, I'm stressed out about the wedding, and Haley's dress, and I'm late…I'm late to get ready, and I'm sorry."

It's strangled, shocked, hurt. And the two girls look up to see Lucas standing in the doorway to the patio, staring straight at Brooke, begging her with his eyes to tell him it wasn't true. It can't be true.

"I'm not pregnant, okay? I promise."

Haley knows this isn't a moment she should witness, so she untangles herself from Brooke and quickly brushes past Lucas into the kitchen. Brooke stares straight into the fire, unable to let herself look at him.

He doesn't know what to do at first, so he walks over to her, and sits down on the coffee table. He places a hand on her knee but she pushes it away, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Brooke," he says, for the second time. "What…"

"It happened at Rachel's cabin, I mean, if I calculated right. I found out the night before the wedding. The same night that Peyton told me she was still in love with you."

Lucas isn't even quite sure of what he's hearing, and he doesn't know if her even wants to.

She's crying for real now, those silent tears that broke his heart. "And I didn't know what to do, so I waited. And then after we broke up I was gonna' tell you, but I didn't know how."

She stops for a minute.

"And then I lost it. And all I had to do was pretend like it never happened. And keep lying."

"Luke, I told you I wasn't pregnant, okay. Do you think I would lie to you?"

He is dumbfounded, lost somewhere between shocked and upset. So he just sits there, unable to form words.

Neither of them notices Peyton in the doorway.