Brooke returned to the dorm a little after eleven that night. As soon as she walked through the door, her roommate bombarded her. "Where have you been? I've been calling your phone for the past two hours and you didn't answer! Why didn't you answer? I was just about ready to call the cops! Are you okay? Did anything happen? Why were you out so late?"
"Ash, take a chill pill, 'kay?" Brooke sighed. "I'm fine."
"Where have you been?"
She shrugged. "I just needed some alone time. I didn't answer your calls because I didn't feel like talking to anyone."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just needed some time to think." Think about how screwed up her life had become.
"You sure you're okay?" Ashley asked.
Brooke forced a smile. "Really, I'm fine. But thanks for caring." Twenty minutes later, she crawled into her bed, turned off her lamp, closed her eyes and waited to be attacked. When she opened her eyes, the mist swirled around her. By now, she wasn't afraid. She'd gotten used to what happened in her dreams, as bad as that was. Sighing, she crossed her arms.
"Clearly you're not going to help me."
Turning, she glared at him. "Took you long enough to figure that out."
Chase smirked. "I must say, you've been very entertaining these past two weeks, but all good things must come to an end."
Brooke frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, if you're not going to help me, then I need to move on to plan B. But unfortunately, you've become somewhat of a liability. You know too much for your own good." He walked toward her, his eyes fading to onyx. "So I'm going to have to kill you."
Brooke inhaled sharply and stepped back. "Stay away from me."
His smirk grew. "Aw, Brooklyn. Don't be so difficult. I promise that if you cooperate, I'll make it as painless as possible." He lunged forward and tackled her to the ground. She ducked out of the way of a punch and brought the heel of her palm up hard, shoving it against his nose. A sickening crack sounded and Chase rolled off her as blood dripped from his nose. His black eyes narrowed. Swallowing, she jumped up and began running, not caring where she was going, as long as it was away from him. His footsteps echoed behind her, and she increased her pace.
* * * * * * *
Brooke sat up fast and hissed in pain before laying back down. With every breath, the throbbing pain in her side intensified, making her want to double over. Tenderly, she touched her side, gently pressing along her ribs until her fingers connected with one spot. Tears pressed into her eyes as she clenched her teeth and inhaled shaky painful breath. Each movement sent a new stab of pain into her side, and each breath had to be short and brief.
"Oh my god." Ashley appeared beside her, her eyes wide. "What happened to you?"
Oh, shit. She wasn't wearing cover up, which meant Ashley could see the bruises. Damn! "I'm fine."
"That's bullshit," Ashley stated. "You're covered in black and blues!"
"Ash, I'm fine," Brooke growled. "Do me a favor and take notes in class."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not going today."
"Brooke, what's going on?" Ashley asked quietly.
"Nothing." Wow, she'd sure been lying a lot over the past couple weeks. Advil would be really helpful right about now.
"Stop lying!" her friend snapped. "What the hell is going on?"
"Stop pushing into my business!" Brooke said angrily. "If I want you to know what's going on, I'll tell you, okay? Just leave it alone."
"Are you doing drugs?"
"What? No!"
"Do you have some scumball boyfriend I don't know about?"
"No!"
"Then what happened?"
"Nothing! It's my business, stay out of it!"
Ashley's eyes narrowed into a glare before she turned and stormed out of the dorm, slamming the door behind her. Letting out an annoyed, and painful, sigh, Brooke stared up at the ceiling. Ever since Chase had started haunting her dreams, she'd become a real bitch, and she knew it. But pushing people away was the only way she could think of to protect them. Yes, she was sad and angry that Reid had ended things, but that didn't mean that she wanted him to suffer. Honestly, a part of her had wondered when he'd do it. If he had suddenly become distant and wouldn't talk about why, she might have ended things as well. Well, maybe. It really depended. She let out a sigh and winced, her hand instantly going to her side. Damn, life really sucked.
The door opened again and Ashley stomped into the dorm, this time followed by four people. Brooke quickly pulled the covers over herself, hissing in pain. "What the hell, Ash?"
"Well, I want to know what's going on with you. And seeing as how all this weird stuff started when you began hanging out with these four, I figured they'd know."
"Ashley, we told you. We don't know anything," Tyler sighed.
"See? They don't know anything. Now you all can leave," Brooke said.
"B, pull the covers down," Ashley ordered.
"No."
"B."
"Ash."
"Pull. The covers. Down. Or I will."
"Ashley, I told you to leave it alone."
"And you know me better than that. Now last chance."
Pushing her lips into an unhappy pout, Brooke yanked the covers back. "There! Happy now?" The four boys stared at her, their mouths slightly agape. Brooke glared at each of them before turning her gaze to her roommate. "Will you just go to class and get me the notes?"
"Brooke, look at yourself! You need medical attention!"
"Ash, how many times do I have to tell you! I'm fine!" Ow, pain in the side! She winced, realizing too late that that was a mistake.
"Why are you wincing?" Ashley demanded.
"It's nothing."
"Brooke!"
"My side hurts when I breath. That's all," Brooke snapped.
"How did you get the bruises?" Caleb asked.
"I fell," Brooke growled. Yeah, she fell into Chase's fists... a lot.
"You fell," Reid repeated skeptically, arching an eyebrow.
"Yes."
"That's bull," Ash stated, folding her arms. "You've been with at least one of us for the past couple weeks, and none of us have seen you trip." The four boys nodded in agreement.
"Brooke, what's going on?" Pogue asked.
Clenching her teeth, Brooke pulled herself out of the bed, trying her best not to wince as pain shot through her side. She stood in front of the five of them. "Nothing is going on. See? I'm fine." But as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she doubled over and winced. Something was wrong with her ribs.
Someone's hand closed around her upper arm. "Sit," Caleb commanded. She did, and he knelt in front of her. "What other bruises do you have?"
"Just a few," she mumbled, looking away from their gazes.
"Mind if I look?" When she shrugged, Caleb tenderly lifted the bottom of her shirt up to just under her breasts, and muffled gasps of shock passed through the room. "Brooke...."
Glancing down, she saw black and blues all across her stomach, and a lump at her ribs pushing out of her side. Chase really knew how to beat a person.
"I... I think your rib is broken," Caleb said, quickly removing his hand when she hissed.
"Whoop-de-freaking-do," Brooke growled.
"Broken?" Ashley repeated, stepping forward. "Brooke, what the hell did you do?"
"I didn't do anything!" And that was the truth. Chase beat her exactly because she didn't do or say anything.
"What were you dreaming about last night?" Ashley asked suddenly.
"I... what?"
"For the past week you've been moving around a lot more in your sleep. A few times last night you were rolling around in bed and mumbling. Something about someone named... Chase or something."
Her stomach dropped as her body chilled. Everyone in the room was silent. Brooke's eyes widened of their own accord and it took a lot of restraint to keep her jaw from dropping.
"Chase?" Pogue repeated hoarsely.
Ashley nodded, looking slightly confused. "Do you guys... know what's going on?"
"Is Chase back?" Caleb asked, his voice steady. His eyes bore into hers and she glanced away. "Brooke. Is. He. Back?"
"Yeah," Brooke answered quietly.
"Tyler, take Ashley to your dorm. Fill her in."
"Caleb, are you sure?"
"He's back, baby boy. He's already proved that he's going to use the people who are close to us against us. We need to be prepared for anything."
Tyler nodded and took the girl's hand.
"Hey Ash," Brooke began. "Just remember that he's the same guy you've been going to school with and getting closer to. Now the only difference is that you know a secret."
Ashley nodded and let Tyler lead her out of the room. As soon as the door closed behind them, Caleb stood and turned to the other two boys. "Pogue, go find Sarah and Kate. Don't let them out of your sight." The long haired Son nodded and left. The tall brunette and the blond shared a look before turning their attention to the girl on the bed. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"Because I didn't want you guys to get hurt," Brooke confessed, unable to meet their penetrating gazes.
"So you risked allowing him to walk around and hurt other people?" Caleb asked angrily.
"He hasn't hurt anyone else, okay?" Brooke snapped, allowing her eyes to glare at him.
"Anyone else?" Reid said. "Is he the reason why you have so many bruises?"
"No. I'm the reason why I have so many bruises," Brooke corrected. "I didn't do what Chase wanted; he thought he could make me; finally realized he couldn't."
"What are you talking about?" Caleb asked.
"Nothing," Brooke sighed, hissing in pain right after.
"Lay back," Reid ordered, walking over to the side of her bed.
"What?"
"Lay. Back," he repeated. "And pull your shirt up."
"Uh, no."
"It's easier to heal the bruises if we can see them," Reid explained, sounding slightly peeved.
"Oh," she said lamely before laying back and pulling her shirt up to reveal her stomach.
"Doing it together will use less of our Power," Reid stated, looking at the other boy. He nodded, and both boys' eyes turned onyx.
Brooke watched as the black and blues faded from her skin, and gasped when one of her ribs moved back into place. The throbbing pain she'd been feeling for the past week ebbed away, and she couldn't help but smile. She bounced up and rushed to the bathroom to look in the mirror. All the bruises had disappeared.
"Back to business. Did Chase do that to you?" Reid asked firmly.
"Yeah."
Reid's face darkened as his hands turned into fists. "I'll kill him." He turned and stormed toward the door.
"Reid, wait!" Brooke said, grabbing his arm.
"You can't fight him alone," Caleb added. "He's strong, remember? I only beat him because my dad willed me his Power. And even with that boost, the fact that I won the fight was just luck."
"Then the four of us will kick his ass," Reid growled, his eyes still black.
"I don't know if you'll be able to do that." Everyone spun around, and Brooke took an involuntary step back. Chase stood by her bed, smirking. "If you attack me, the girls will die."
A gust of wind swept around her and she was yanked into darkness.