CHAPTER TEN: SECRETS REVEALED AND WARNING
"Wh---what?" Brooke asked. "I---I'm sorry. That was my hopeful ear. Could you repeat that?" Yes, she had thought that her parents getting a divorce was a good idea, but if her mom wanted to fight for the family…Brooke looked to her father, unsure of what to say.
"Are you serious, Victoria?" Chris questioned. If she wants to work on the marriage, I'm all for that, he thought to himself.
"Of course I'm serious," Victoria replied. "After all, let's be practical Chris. A divorce wouldn't be financially sound," she continued.
"Oh, my---you are unbelievable!" Brooke exclaimed.
"Brooke Penelope Davis, you listen---" Victoria started to scold.
"No, you listen! You don't want to fight for this family; you just don't want to lose any money! You make me sick," Brooke interrupted.
"Brookie, calm down," Chris soothed, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Fine. I'll give you your divorce, Chris. But Brooke's coming with me," Victoria commanded, stepping closer and grabbing her daughter's arm.
"I don't think so," Brooke responded, yanking herself free. The woman froze.
"Excuse me?" she asked.
"I don't want to live with you, I want to live with Daddy…in Tree Hill," Brooke answered.
"Brooke, honey, beautiful things wither and die in this place…that's why I want to get us out. So you can show the world your potential," Victoria told her. Brooke looked up at her father.
"Is she serious?"
"Kiddo, I think your mom's cracked." Victoria looked at the two.
"Brooke, I know you think you're doing the right thing, but you're just being overly emotional and immature," she stated. Her daughter scoffed.
"This coming from a woman who's only reason for not wanting to get divorced is the money involved? Yeah, that's real mature," she said sarcastically.
"Don't you take that tone with me, young lady. I am your mother and you will respect me," the woman said.
"You're right, Mother. That was rude," she agreed. Chris's grip on Brooke's shoulders gently tightened as he felt his daughter speak in rage through the respectful tone.
"Now then, that's better. Pack your bags," the woman commanded.
"No."
"What?"
"Respectfully, Mother, get out of our house." Victoria stared in surprise. Was she serious? Seeing the girl's steely gaze, the woman sighed and walked out. After the woman was gone, Brooke let out a heavy sigh.
"Oh, Brooke. You okay, Kiddo?" her father asked as he turned her around so that they were facing. She nodded.
"I'm sorry. I know I was rude," she apologized.
"No. It needed to be said. It sounded like you've been holding that in for a while," he commented. Meanwhile, Peyton stood in front of Jake's house nervously. She knocked on the door. The door opened to reveal Jake.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Hello to you too," she said.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that," he apologized.
"I miss you, Jake. I really, really miss you," Peyton confessed.
"I miss you too," Jake admitted.
"So why don't we just tell everyone the truth? That I'm Jenny's mother?" Peyton wondered.
"Because this is high school, Peyton. You know how our classmates are," Jake responded.
"So you're ashamed of me?" Peyton questioned.
"No! Of course not!" Jake exclaimed. How can she think that? I love her and Jenny more than life itself, he thought.
"Really? 'Cause from the way you're talking, it sounds like you are," Peyton pointed out. With a sigh, Jake stepped out of the house and closed the door.
"Peyton, you know how much I love Jenny…and you. And I would love to shout from the rooftop that you're her mother, but I don't want people looking down on you because we made the mistake of not waiting until we were married," he told her.
"But I want to help you raise her. I want to be a part of her life," she told him.
"And you are a part of her life. Jenny knows how much we both love her," he assured.
"But you've given up so much---the team, your free time, and I'm still at school after hours waving my pom-poms around like some airhead without a care in the world," she said. Jake sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
"I don't want you to have to give up cheerleading. It's one of the few things that you have that keeps you close to your mother," he said.
"Honey, I know you want to me to feel close to my mother, and I love you for that, I do. But do you think she would want me to ignore my responsibilities as a mother? Because I don't," she told him. He sighed again.
"You've sacrificed so much happiness in your life and---" he began to say.
"Pretending that you're a single father isn't fair to us!" she interrupted. "And frankly, it's not fair to her either!" Jake looked at Peyton and stroked her hair lovingly.
"Okay, we'll tell our friends…together," he agreed.
"Thank you," she said softly.
"You wanna come in?" She nodded and they stepped inside and walked up to the crib.
"Hi, Bunny. Mama's home." Jenny gurgled and reached up to grasp her mother's fingers. Two days later, Lucas was released from the hospital, and he and Julian went to the Scott house.
"Hey, uh, Nate, do you think I could still to the coach about playing?" Lucas asked nervously.
"You kiddin'? He'd love to hear from you. Rumor has it he's been holdin' out on finding a replacement for you," Nathan responded.
"How did you hear that?"
"I've got my ways." Lucas just chuckled.
"If you'd like, I can call him and have him come over now," Dan offered.
"That'd be great," Lucas grinned. With that, Dan went to the phone and dialed a number. He spoke into it and then hung up.
"He'll be here in a few minutes," the man stated. True to his word, the coach arrived after a few minutes.
"What's going on, Danny?" Coach Durham questioned.
"I've got someone here who wants to talk to you," Dan responded.
"Hi, Coach," Lucas greeted sheepishly.
"Mr. Mallone," Whitey noted.
"Could---could we talk?" Lucas asked nervously.
"Relax. I don't bite, son," Whitey told him.
"I---I know I told you I couldn't join the team, but---" the boy trailed off.
"You want to join," the coach realized. The boy nodded.
"Boy, if you think you can just arbitrarily decide not to join and then join the Ravens, you're sadly mistaken," the man told him. He turned away to hide the grin that lit up his face.
"Oh, come on, Whitey. Give him a break," Nathan stated.
"It's---it's okay, Nathan. We've should've expected this," Lucas assured. "That's okay, Coach. I understand." With that, he began to walk away.
"I want to see on practice Monday." Surprised, Lucas turned around.
"Are you serious?"
"Boy, I've been holding out for you." Lucas laughed.
"Whitey, one of these days…" Nathan's mock threat trailed off.
"See you boys Monday." Laughing, the man walked away. Deb laughed.
"Same old Whitey," she said fondly. Lucas just looked confused.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Don't worry, man. You'll get used to him," his brother assured. Lucas just shook his head. On Monday, both boys arrived at Tree Hill High together. Everyone stared and whispered to each other.
"They're all staring," Lucas said nervously.
"Don't worry 'bout it," Nathan responded.
"Easy for you to say. People like you," Lucas griped.
"Come on, man," Nathan said, gently touching his shoulder. Meanwhile, Brooke was telling Peyton what had happened between her, her dad, and her mother.
"It was so horrible, Peyton. It was like she didn't even care about me at all---just Daddy's money," Brooke moped.
"Oh, Brooke. I'm sorry," Peyton said sympathetically, wrapping an arm around her friend's shoulders.
"Me too," Brooke stated. "But, you know, on the upside, Daddy's been more attentive, and he's started calling me 'Brookie' again," she continued. They laughed as they walked up to Lucas and Nathan.
"What's so funny?" Lucas wondered.
"Oh, it's nothing," Peyton responded. "Have you guys seen Jake?" she asked.
"We just got here," Nathan replied.
"I think that's Nathan for 'No'," Brooke commented. The group laughed. Then, the dark-haired girl turned to the blonde-haired boy.
"Hey, Buddy. How you holdin' up?" she asked.
"Things are---good. Look, there's something I gotta tell you," Lucas stated.
"If it's what I think it is, Nathan already told me because he needed a sound board, so we're just going to leave you two alone," Peyton interjected.
"Yeah, good idea. Let's go, Peyton," Nathan agreed. They walked away.
"What was that all about?" Brooke wondered.
"Uh, Brooke, I really need to talk to you," Lucas emphasized.
"What's wrong?" Brooke questioned, immediately focusing on her friend.
"I'm not too sure how to say this---a little bit before I get hit by the car---like a week before or so---Nathan's dad came up to talk to me," Lucas told her.
"Why?" Brooke questioned.
"Apparently, he's my dad too," Luke said.
"Really?" Brooke asked in surprise.
"Yeah. My blood work matched Nathan's or something," Lucas responded.
"Wow. That's a lot to take in," Brooke sympathized.
"So, how 'bout you? It looked like you and Peyton were talking about something pretty serious," Lucas noted.
"It's nothing really important," Brooke dismissed.
"Come on, I'm always venting to you, and you've been here for me through everything, and I'd like to return the favor," he told her.
"That's sweet. And I thank you for it. But I don't want you to feel like---" she started to say.
"Hey, come on. You can talk to me," he told her.
"You sure?"
"Of course." Brooke nodded as if making a decision.
"My parents are getting divorced," she told him.
"Oh, man! I'm sorry," he said. She shook her head.
"Don't be. It's better."
"Who are you going to live with?"
"My dad. He's staying here. As they talked, they headed for the school's entrance. Then, they went into their class. Throughout the day, Brooke and Lucas kept tabs on each other. Then, at lunch, they headed for the same table. When they got there, Peyton and Jake were already there and holding hands.
"Oh, look. Jeyton got back together," Brooke commented.
"Brooke!" Peyton exclaimed as Jake laughed. Haley and Nathan came up.
"What's so funny?" Nathan wondered.
"Brooke's using nicknames again," Jake explained.
"What do you expect from CB?" Nathan joked. Brooke stuck her tongue out. Just then, one of the basketball players walked up to them.
"Hey, Mallone," he called harshly. Oh, man. Here we go, Lucas thought as he sighed and turned to face the boy.
"Can I help you?" he questioned.
"What makes you so special? Why would Whitey hold out for you? As soon as you said you weren't interested, he should've gone to the better player," the boy sneered.
"You're certainly full of yourself, aren't you, Mark?" Jake asked.
"Shut up, loser," Mark sneered.
"You better step away," Peyton snapped, jumping up.
"Easy, baby," Jake murmured, grabbing her hand.
"Face it, Jake. You had it all until you gave it up for that stupid baby. You should've just made the mother abort it. At least that way you wouldn't be tied down by some little brat," Mark continued. Before anyone knew what was happening, Peyton had leapt across the table and tackled Mark, knocking him to the ground, causing Lucas to tense up. It was just like dad. A nudge from Nathan broke him from his reverie. At this, everyone outside stopped what they were doing and stopped to stare at what was going on.
"Don't you talk about my daughter that way, you creep!" she shouted, punching him.
"Peyton! Peyton, stop it!" Brooke shouted, running to the two and pulling her friend off of the boy. The blonde-haired girl broke free from the grasp and lunged again, only to be intercepted by Nathan and Lucas.
"You should leave," Nathan told Mark. The boy just scoffed, but did so. Peyton huffed as Principal Turner walked up.
"Ms. Sawyer," he said.
"I know, I know---join you in your office," she commented, and then followed him.
"So, Peyton's Jenny's mother," Nathan said.
"Yeah," Jake confirmed hesitantly.
"When did it happen?" Nathan wondered.
"Jenny's only three months," Jake answered.
"So that means it was---" Nathan began.
"After you guys broke up for the millionth time," Jake finished.
"Why'd you keep it a secret?" Brooke wondered.
"I've been telling myself it was because I didn't want to lose Nathan as a friend and so that Peyton could have a normal life, but now I just don't know," Jake confessed. They fell silent. When lunch was over, they went to another class.
"So, what did Turner say?" Jake questioned.
"I'm suspended starting tomorrow," Peyton replied with a shrug. "Jake, I'm sorry. I know that's not how you wanted people to find out," she apologized.
"It's all right," he answered. They shared a quick kiss before the teacher started their lecture. After school came basketball practice. Lucas changed into a jersey with the number '3' and joined the scrimmage. Whitey watched as the team practiced. He grinned as Lucas across the court in a fluid movement. The kid was a natural. He was glad he had changed his mind about playing. Presently, he became aware of someone standing behind him and turned around.
"Oh, hey, Danny," he greeted.
"Hey, Coach," Dan acknowledged. "Lucas is pretty good, huh?" he questioned.
"Yes, he is. I'm glad his parents changed his mind about letting him play," the coach stated.
"Uh, coach, about that…" Whitey's eyes narrowed as Dan fidgeted.
"Danny, what did you do?" he demanded.
"Apparently, Lucas was taken to the hospital a few weeks back and due to his injuries they had to do a blood test as a part of a physical," the other man said.
"What?" the coach questioned. "He's playing injured?" he realized. He turned to call the boy back in, but his former player stopped him.
"Coach, Coach, he's fine now. Well, as much as he can be with what he's gone through," he said bitterly.
"What are you talking about, Danny?"
"Coach, Lucas is my son."
"The one that Karen---"
"Yeah." Whitey stared at Dan. He remembered how devastated the boy had been when he learned that his girlfriend had just given up their son without contacting him.
"He has Deb and my permission to play, but he's most likely going to have to go to court because of what his adopted parents put him through."
"We'll work around it."
"Thanks, Coach." When practice was finally over, the boys went into the locker room to change. Lucas ignored the chatter and like he had before the practice, hid behind a locker before taking off the jersey.
"Dude, what the heck?" Startled, Lucas turned around.
"Nathan," he said nervously.
"What happened?" the other boy asked, referring to the marks he had seen on his brother's back.
"They're---they're old. It's no big deal," came the response.
"Luke?" The boy sighed. "I was in the system before the Mallones. I---I didn't really have the best of luck when it came to homes. And the Mallones were no picnic."
"Dude, that sucks." Lucas shrugged.
"Look, I'll meet up with you, okay?"
"Yeah, sure." Nathan walked out and once he was alone, Lucas changed into his street clothes. Then, he headed out. He had just reached the parking lot when someone grabbed him from behind and threw him to the ground. He groaned and tried to get up, but was kicked in the face. As he tried to get his bearings, he felt someone sit on top of him. They reached for his shirt.
"No." He began to struggle, but was pinned down and his shirt was removed.
"Na---" his attacker muffled his cry by placing a hand over his mouth. The boy continued to fight as he felt the person caress his body. He wasn't going to let this happen again! He had gotten out! He heard the sound of two zippers being undone, and then searing pain coursed through his body.
"No," he whispered, increasing his fight. As he tried to escape, the person punched him as they continued their violation. The sound of faint footsteps caused the attacker to halt their actions. The person leaned in towards Lucas' ear.
"Daddy says, 'Hello'," they whispered. Then, they got up, and ran off. Lucas sobbed and covered his face with his hands.
"LUCAS! LUCAS!" Nathan skidded to a stop when he saw the boy.
"LUCAS!" Brooke exclaimed, running up and kneeling next to him. "What happened?" she asked. He just cried.
"Luke?" Peyton asked softly. She looked to Jake uncertainly. He just shrugged, just as confused as she was. What had happened to their friend?
"Luke, what happened?" Brooke asked again. He struggled to speak through gasping pants.
"He---he said---"
"What? What'd he say?"
"'Daddy says 'Hello'." With her own sob, Brooke cradled Lucas' head in her lap as Nathan's shock finally wore off and he used his cell phone to call the police.