Take a breath
I pull myself together
Just another step till I reach the door
You'll never know the way it tears me up inside to see you
I wish that I could tell you something
To take it all away

A few days had passed since Victoria's big return to Tree Hill and things had been going great. She and Brooke had spent some time bonding and Victoria was actually acting like a mother. It was weird at first but Brooke was starting to get used to it. Letting people in was still hard for her. She kept her heart guarded and talking to people about her condition was not a topic she liked to address.

"Okay, goodbye Brooke. Yes I'll call you later I promise," Nathan spoke into the phone as the doorbell rang. "Someone's at the door so I really have to go this time. Goodbye."

Hanging up the phone he pulled the door open, revealing his ex-wife Haley James. She gave him a timid smile as she stood awkwardly on the doorstep, shifting her feet.

"Haley. What are you doing here?" he hissed, sort of upset that she had come to his house. Of course he still loved Haley but he wasn't sure if things could ever be the same between them again, especially with Brooke in the picture now.

"I'm sorry. If you don't want me here I'll just go," she mumbled sadly, turning her back on him and retreating down the steps.

Nathan sighed. "Haley wait!"

When she turned around he offered her a small smile. "Come in."

"Can I get you anything to drink?" he asked, trying his best to be polite.

"I'll just have water," she smiled settling down on the Scott's couch.

"One water coming up," he grinned retreating into the kitchen to grab her beverage.

When he returned he sat on the chair opposite the couch and handed Haley her water. "So what did you come here for?"

"It's Brooke. I'm worried about her," Haley replied, sipping her water.

"Alright but why did you come to me? I mean why not Lucas or Rachel?" he asked curiously, his eyes meeting her worried brown ones.

"Because you and Brooke seem close and I know that you get through to her better than anyone else," Haley shrugged.

Nathan nodded, "Fair enough but what's got you so worried about her?"

"I had lunch with her the other day and she seemed so upset with herself and how her life is. I just feel bad for her. This isn't the Brooke we know and love. I was hoping you could talk to her and try to lighten her up a bit."

"I've tried Haley but I don't think she's going to change anytime soon. She's a completely different person now. I wish it was that easy but it's not," Nathan replied sadly, putting a comforting hand on Haley's knee.

"I just wish there was something we could do for her," Haley responded thoughtfully, racking her brain for ideas.

"There is one thing," Nathan grinned. "We could stage an intervention."

"No offense Nathan but didn't you and Rachel already do that?" Haley chuckled lightly and Nathan nodded his head.

"We did and it resulted in Rachel almost getting a broken nose but I think if we get Victoria to help us it might work this time."

"I guess so. I'm not really good at intervening with people though. I think just you, Rachel, and Victoria should do it. Just let me know how it turns out," Haley smiled, glad that Nathan was willing to at least do something helpful for Brooke.

Nathan nodded. "Of course I will keep you posted. Thanks for talking to me Hales."

"No problem. You're such a great friend to Brooke."

"I could be a great friend to you too Haley," Nathan whispered quietly, his gaze meeting hers.

But I don't wanna be your friend Haley thought. I wanna be more. "I'd like that," she smiled pulling him in for a hug. Being his friend would have to be good enough for now.

"Nathan," Victoria smiled as she spotted Rachel and the brunette boy walk into the living room.

"Hey Mrs. Davis," Nathan offered her a small smile, trying to be polite when really he wanted to smack the woman upside the head.

"It's Miss. Richard and I are divorced now. Besides you can call me Victoria."

"Right," he replied awkwardly, trying to get comfortable in the chair he was now occupying.

"So why are you two here?" Victoria asked eyeing the two teenagers suspiciously.

"It's about Brooke," Nathan responded, looking to Rachel for support.

"We feel that Brooke needs a little family intervention. Nathan and I want you to team up with us to give Brooke a little pep talk," Rachel finished for him.

"Sure. I suppose I can do that but why do you want my help?" Victoria asked curiously, knowing that neither Rachel nor Nathan were very fond of her.

"Because you understand what she is going through and as much as I object to it you are a part of her life now," Nathan answered.

"Sure. I am more than willing to help," Victoria grinned as the 3 began to plan their intervention.

"Mother, I need to talk to you!" Lucas hollered as he shut the front door behind him.

"In the kitchen honey!" Karen's voice called.

Karen dropped her dishrag in the sink when she heard Lucas enter the kitchen. "What's wrong?" she asked sincerely, sitting down next to Lucas at the kitchen table.

"It's Brooke mom. I'm worried about her," Lucas sighed. Karen knew about Brooke's little suicide attempt but she did not know about her major relapse, Lucas still being in love with her, or Nathan deciding he loved her as well.

"Why? I thought she was making great progress."

"She was but some things happened and it's bad mom. Really bad. I don't feel like it's my place to tell you but I was hoping maybe you could talk to her and she might open up to you."

"How about you Luke? How are you dealing with all of this?" Karen asked quietly.

"I don't know mom. I still love her obviously but I don't think she'll ever forgive me. I screwed it up pretty bad."

"If you still love her Luke you need to tell her!" Karen exclaimed shaking her head at her son.

"I did. She just turned away from me. She needs a friend right now and that's what I need to be. Besides I might have some competition now," Lucas replied, looking down at his feet.

"Competition?"

"Yeah my brother."

Karen nearly choked on her coffee. "Nathan?"

"Well I think Nathan's my only brother," Lucas teased. "But yeah, Nathan is the competition."

"How? What about him and Haley? God my head hurts this is so confusing," Karen laughed lightly, her eyes demanding an answer from Lucas.

"He's over Haley now. Or so he says anyways. He told me somewhere along the way he fell in love with Brooke."

"So that's why you 2 have been so distant lately," Karen concluded, shaking her head at the craziness of the situation.

Lucas nodded. "Yeah he barely talks to me anymore."

"Does Brooke know about Nathan being in love with her?" Karen asked curiously and Lucas shook his head.

"No."

"Well I'd say you've gotten yourself into one messy situation son. But I'm sure it'll work itself out," Karen smiled getting up from her seat.

"I've got to get to the Café but I'll see you later tonight," Karen told Lucas as she grabbed her coat and purse from the chair.

"Don't worry Lucas, just give it some time. I'll talk to Brooke tomorrow and see how things go," Karen smiled, resting her hand on her sons shoulder.

"Thanks Ma."

"No problem," the older brunette smiled, giving her son a kiss on the cheek before leaving for her Café.

Sometimes I wish I could save you
And there're so many things that I want you to know
I won't give up till it's over
If it takes you forever I want you to know

Staring at herself in the mirror was almost painful. Brooke saw a mere shadow of the person she used to be. Her eyes were dark and cold, and a smile did not grace her lips, she looked dead. The cheery dimples, the glowing hazel eyes, both of which resembled a happy healthy girl, were still there underneath the pain. A single slipped from the lifeless eyes, more of them threatening to fall. Why had she chosen this life? Why was it so hard to turn around? Millions of questions raced through the brunette's mind as she gripped the edge of the bathroom sink, trying to hold on with everything that she had left of her. The basin of the sink caught the fresh tears as they poured from her eyes in a rapid pace, bleeding chunks of mascara. As she let go, her body sunk onto the floor, slouching against the bathroom counter. Her body trembled violently as the sobs took over her body. It was too late now nobody could hear her cry for help.

"Brookie," a soft voice called, breaking the brunette from her tremor. Shit, she'd forgotten that Nathan was coming over today. Nathan poked his brunette head in the bathroom and nearly broke down when he saw Brooke slouched against the bathroom counter with her head in her hands, her body shaking like crazy. Brooke looked up and her dead eyes met Nathan's teary blue ones. "Brooke," he whispered slowly, not being able to tear his gaze off the broken brunette in front of him. Rachel and Victoria stood behind Nathan, both of their faces painted with shock.

Nathan crouched down next to Brooke and gathered her in his arms, stroking her back as she cried painfully, soaking his shirt. Using his hands he motioned for Brooke and Victoria to come. Rachel nodded and took a step forward, bending down to collect both Brooke and Nathan in her arms as well. Victoria followed suit, wrapping her arms around the 3 teenagers. Together the 4 of them let the tears they had been longing to hold back pour from their eyes as they held onto one another.

After a few moments Nathan broke the silence as he pulled away from the group embrace. "What happened?" his voice croaked as he stared Brooke in the eyes.

"I don't know," she mumbled. "I was trying to hold on and eventually I just let go."

Rachel gave her a funny look. "What do you mean you let go?"

"Of life!" Brooke cried out, a fresh batch of tears sliding down her pale cheeks.

"Brooke it's okay. We're here for you. All three of us and we're not going to let you down," Victoria whispered softly, pulling Brooke into her arms. "We want to save you but you have to let us."

"How can I let you save me if I can't even save myself?" she whispered quietly, looking down at her feet.

"Brooke. Listen to me." Nathan stated seriously, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him. "You are trying to do this all by yourself but it is not something that you can do alone. You're running in endless circles and you need us to help you get through this. You are incredibly strong Brooke Davis but there is no way in hell that you can do this by yourself. It's just not possible."

"Brooke. Do Lucas and Peyton have anything to do with this? With you struggling to get better?" Rachel asked suddenly, startling the brunette.

"Yes. They do," she whispered quietly. "But not together."

Rachel gave her a skeptical look. "What do you mean not together?"

"I mean it doesn't have to do with them together. It has to do with them separately."

"How so?" Victoria cut in this time.

Brooke sighed. "I'm so confused about my feelings for Lucas. He tells me that he still loves me and wants to be with me but I have no clue how I feel about him anymore. In all honesty I don't think I'll ever stop loving Lucas but I gave him my everything and he ripped my entire world apart. I can forgive him for what he's done but I will never forget and I don't know if I will ever trust him again. As for Peyton, she is nothing more than a backstabbing bitch. She cares more about herself and trying to win Lucas's heart than she does about me. I mean at least Lucas has been here for me through all of this but where has Peyton been? She's been chasing after Lucas, trying to win a battle that she is never going to."

"So you don't think that Lucas is in love with Peyton and that he loves you with all of his heart?" Rachel questioned, still trying to process all of what Brooke had just said.

"I have no doubt in my mind that Lucas still loves me. He has made it very clear that he is over Peyton but I don't know if I can trust him. He has fought for me like I always wanted but he's too late this time."

Nathan smiled at the last part. Maybe there was still hope for him and Brooke after all. But did he really want to be second best? Did he really want to be just Brooke's rebound? He wasn't sure if he could handle being with someone knowing that they were still in love with someone else.

"I need some space," Brooke mumbled, getting up from the bathroom floor.

Three curious faces looked at her. "What?" Victoria questioned, also pulling herself up from the floor.

"This talk has opened up a lot of things for me and I need some time to think about them," she responded shrugging her shoulders.

Nathan nodded his head. "Sure but if you need to talk with anyone, you know that the three of us are here and we're all willing to help you."

"Thanks guys. I don't know what I would do without you," Brooke smiled lightly, throwing her arms around her 2 best friends and her mother.

As he exited Brooke's room Nathan let out a defeated sigh. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this secret from Brooke. He was pretty sure that things were only going to get messier if he kept it bottled up inside for any longer. She deserved to know.

AN: I'm so sorry for the long update but my computer is finally up and running! The poll is finished and the results are up! I'm not going to give away the endgame yet because that would ruin the story but Brooke is going to choose soon. And I will add that the poll was very close! The winner only won by one vote. Anyways the song is Save You by Simple Plan and next chapter is going to be Karen/Brooke having a talk and some Breyton and Brucas scenes as well. The story is about half over so I'm hoping the next few updates will be quick. Please review and let me know what you think!