"The worst lies are the lies we tell ourselves. We live in denial of what we do, even what we think. We do this because we're afraid. We fear we will not find love, and when we find it we fear we'll lose it. We fear that if we do not have love we will be unhappy."

We had been at the beach for an hour. It was me, Peyton, Jake, Nate and a few other random people who I had been introduced to. Although I was having fun, I kept thinking about Lucas. I had a thousand questions on my mind besides for what had happened earlier in the day. Were we together? Were we anything? What kept bothering me the most was what Jake and Nate were saying at the kitchen table.

"I think I'm gonna head home," I said suddenly. I needed to talk to Lucas and figure everything out.

"You want a ride?" Nathan offered.

"Yeah, that'd be great," I smiled.

We walked over to his car and got in. We drove home in silence. The ride was short and he left me in front of the house with a quick goodbye as he drove off, speeding down the block. I unlocked the door and walked in. I could hear muffled sounds coming from the den. I walked in the direction of the room the noise was coming from silently. I figured Lucas was watching TV or something. Maybe he had a friend over.

And as I made my way through the doorway, all my questions were answered. Lucas was on the couch, eyes closed, head cocked back in pleasure, shirtless, with Rachel straddling him. She had nothing on but a bra and underwear as she kissed his neck and made her way down his body. And that's when everything made sense. I was just another conquest, another game, just another girl to Lucas Scott. Lucas opened his eyes for a second to take in the scene surrounding when he saw me standing in the doorway, in shock and hurt.

He shot up. Rachel turned around and saw me. She smiled wickedly, victoriously. Like she had just won the ultimate prize. I wanted to slap her smile off her face. The only thing she had won was a first row seat to my heart breaking. But, maybe that was the real prize, to her and to Lucas.

"Brooke..." he said softly.

I choked back tears. "I-I'm gonna go," I stuttered as I made my way for the door briskly.

Lucas followed after me, leaving Rachel annoyed in the den. "Brooke, listen to me!" he said as he followed me out of the door. He grabbed my arm as he got closer to me.

Tears were streaming down my face as he pulled my body around to face him. "It's not a big deal Lucas, this is what you do right?" It was true. We were never a couple. He had the right to do whatever he wanted.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize..." he said realizing how hurt I truly was.

"There's nothing to realize. It was just fun, right?" I said as convincingly as I could. I figured that if I could convince him I didn't really care, then I could convince myself I didn't care, too.

Then it hit me, she was who had been on the phone. She was the reason he couldn't hang out tonight. Rachel was the big secret that he had been keeping all morning. This had been a plan. He had intentionally been with Rachel. Part of me wanted to believe it was her fault, that she just showed up at the house and seduced him and that being a guy, he couldn't resist. But he had planned this. He knew I was going out, so he had invited her over.

Lucas stood in front of me in silence. "She was the one on the phone this morning," I said matter-of-factly.

"Brooke, it's not like that," he said defensively.

"I must be so stupid!" I yelled. "You sit there, you open up to me late at night in my room, you take me to your barn... but this is what you do with every girl who doesn't immediately fall under your spell, isn't it?" He didn't answer. "Isn't it?" I repeated, louder, as tears began pouring faster and faster.

He put his head down in shame. "Your brother was right," I said. "I tried to give you benefit of the doubt, but he was right. I turned him down, I turned his charm and his kindness down, to give you a shot. And this is what I get. I must be such an idiot!" I began walking away.

"Brooke!" he called after me, finally lifting his head up.

I came to a halt and turned around. I put my hand on my hip and waited for him to say something.

"When it comes to affairs of love and hurt, you have to wait for your heart to learn what your head already knows, then you can break free"

"I'm sorry," he said softly.

"Yeah, well, that doesn't really matter now, does it? Go on in, Rachel's probably waiting." I walked toward the Corvette in the driveway. I took out my keys and got in. I started the ignition and drove off the fastest I've ever driven. Lucas stood in front of his house, watching me go as the dust trailed behind my speeding car. I drove for a few minutes until I reached an empty parking lot overlooking the bay. I turned the car off and finally let myself cry.

I folded my arms across the steering wheel and buried my head in it. I began to sob. I had known what kind of guy he was from the second I had walked into the white doors of the Scott's brick house, and yet I still let myself get hurt.

How could I be so stupid?

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Sorry to all my fellow Brucas fans! But I promiseee I'll make every Brucas/Brathan fan happy by the end of this fanfic. Give me lots of reviews and maybe I'll update tonight? Hehe :) Thanks for all the reviews on chapter 8/9! You guys are great! xoxoxox