So here goes nothing, first of all I want to thank you guys so much for all of your wonderful reviews if you didn't know it yet then you do now they mean the world to me.
stefybboh: Thanks for the pm and for your review it meant a lot to me, and you did not bother me at all. You must be proud that I updated this fast, I mean for me this is very fast! Anyways I'm very glad you're enjoying this story this much it means a lot to me.
othfan326: Much thanks for your review, I know I couldn't exactly make Ayden go through something life altering or something...he's too cute for that. I'm hoping you will like this chapter enjoy the read.
missdenmark: I love your reviews for some reason that goes beyond me they make me really happy. Much thanks for the time you took to review.
toddntan: I'm glad you liked the previous chapter and didn't think it was fake or very uncharacter like. The Lucas we now know would never stand by Brooke, while the Lucas we knew would. I think you're going to understand Haley's reaction, I did understand but hey I also wrote it. Keep reviewing and have a good read!
CheeryFan: Hey Gia, glad to see your still alive…and still reading, that does me a lot of good. I saw that you had to catch up on everything and I was very happy with your reviews. So the doctor did them a favour huh? Gehehe he probably did, and I am so happy to hear that you loved how Lucas kept holding on to Brooke, I wanted to get that reaction out of my readers and it seems that I did. And you are mean, poor Peyton...wait what did I just say poor Peyton...okay pretend you never heard that. Let's grow some dirt over it...like really fast. Thanks for your flattering review! Enjoy.
Also a huge thanks to: Loub, BrOoKe DaViS23, Brucasfan23, BRUCAS123, brucas3, BRUCAS EQUALS LOVE, 23KT23 & onetreehillgirl066.
BIG THANKS TO Lindsay(broodyprettygirl) my beta who put time and energy in this chapter. Couldn't have done it without you Lindz.
Now without further ado...here it is. Review when you've read it.
Chapter 11: My legs are pleading to leap
"Ayden" her voice echoed through the noiseless hospital room. She stopped mid stride and watched her stunning baby lie in the bed that was too big for his small body. Ayden's eyes met hers. He beamed up at her, and she can't help but take in his exterior. A cast accompanies his small arm, and he has some bruises on his face, but it's nothing that won't heal with time. The arm around her waist tightens and when she looks up to see its owner; she is suddenly reassured.
"Momma…daddy." Ayden speaks and within a swift movement both parents are by his side, aiding him to great lengths. The tears were inevitable. Both parents had been holding them in for too long; the shock of the events of the night finally catching up to them.
"Oh, gosh peanut, you scared your daddy and mommy so much." She told him while holding him in her arms. She relished in his scent and the feel of him in her arms. "Don't ever leave me okay…" she whispers; to which Ayden quickly nods. He doesn't catch the quiver in his mother's voice, or the extreme anxiety that its laced with. Unbeknownst to Brooke; Lucas does.
"I'm sorry," he tells them apologetically and they smile sadly. Both parents kiss their son, each taking their own time to feel close to him. They reassure him and tell him he has got nothing to be sorry about.
----
The time has come. He knows it as he walks through the hall. He knows he cannot put it off any longer; for it's been put off four years too long. Lucas pushed open the door, turned the corner, inhaled deeply through his mouth, and tried to shake the appalling feeling out of his system. As he bypassed the nurses' station, he saw her. Haley James Scott. She was waiting for him in the (ironically enough) waiting room. She looked broken, and Lucas loathed seeing her like this. As he stepped into the waiting room, her poignant gaze fell upon his figure.
"Peyton couldn't deal with this. Karen being the woman she is went after her. She wanted to make sure Peyton would do something she'd regret. They went back to Tree Hill." She told him in a detached tone. Her eyes never met his as Lucas merely nodded. His hand scraped the back of his neck, something both knew was his one and only vice for when he was nervous.
"Where is Nate?" She snorted in response. A snort that was soon followed by a distressing sob. He felt horrible. All he wanted to do was lean in and hug his best friend. He wanted to tell her that everything would be okay and take all of her pain away. Yet, he knew he had no right to do that now. He was the reason why they were in this ungodly situation to begin with.
"Yeah. He went back to the hotel, because I could not deal with him right now."
"Hales…" he began. He was silenced by the look she gave him. When their eyes met, she dared him to go on. Lucas however kept quiet.
"Don't you dare! You are not in a position to stick up for anyone right now." The tears were once again falling down her face. She just didn't understand. She tried to, Lord knows she tried, but it didn't seem to match.
"I want…no I need to know everything."
He sat back in his chair and started to tell her everything. She did deserve that much. He told her about the time Brooke and he met up during a party. How he was miserable, because Peyton and he were on one of their notorious 'breaks'. Then he went into the details how his life changed when Brooke called him while she was crying and sobbing hysterically, telling him she was pregnant. He saw Haley's eyes avert, yet that didn't stop him. So he continued. As he told her about how Brooke ordered him to not tell Peyton anything, Haley stood up, furiously.
"That's a load of B.S., Luke, and you know it!" She bellowed at him, gaining the unwanted attention of some spectators. She closed her eyes willing the tears, that were begging her to let go, back. Willing herself to not show him her weakness and profound sadness. Anger and rage were the only emotions she wanted to be engaged in.
"Do you feel better about yourself? Because you get to tell yourself that you did all of this for Brooke? Do you feel less like a complete ass and less guilty, because you did it for Brooke?" He kept silent, knowing that this was not a question he was supposed to answer, better yet he didn't even know how he could answer if it were a real question. "Lucas Scott, what the hell have you become?" She seethed and saw him look down at his lap, nodding his head knowingly. Much like he had done when Brooke had accused him of not letting her in all the way all those years ago.
"I can't believe the man you've become Luke, better yet I'm ashamed of him and of your actions."
"Well…I'm not." He spoke up immediately, cutting her of in the process. "Look Haley, I know I disappointed you. I'm not saying that what I did was acceptable, but there is one thing I am not and that is ashamed for my actions. If I was, then I'd lost my way. Because of my actions, whether they were good or bad, I was blessed with a beautiful son. If I would have lost sight of that, then I would have lost my way, Hales."
"I cannot believe what I am hearing right now, Luke. What happened to my bestfriend, the one who told me everything? You were supposed to marry Peyton. Lucas, I was going to be her maid of honor, you were in love. Was every day you told her you loved her, was that a lie Lucas? Gosh, I can't even comprehend all this…For years we hear nothing of Brooke, and then suddenly today, we don't only find out she's been up and living, no she's been nurturing your child while doing so. Is this like an after school special? Am I being Punk'd?" Her tone was beyond baffled. She shook her head despite herself, and sunk back in the plastic chair.
"Hales, I do apologize for hurting you, and keeping Ayden from you, but I'm not going to apologize for the fact that he exists." With that he got up, gave her a sympathetic lop sided smile, and walked off, but not without giving her small shoulder a squeeze. He disappeared into the hospital room, where he had once come from, . He went back to his family.
Within minutes, Haley was standing in front of him again, begging for an explanation. After the argument she endured with his older brother, she wanted it to be over. However, she couldn't keep her emotions in tact. They were all over the place. Any sane person would be driven nearly insane if they just found out their best friend was having an affair with your other best friend, while cheating on your other best friend. Not only just finding that out, but that he also fathered a child with said best friend, without you ever knowing about it.
Haley just wanted it to stop; for herself and Peyton, but mostly for Karen. She deserved better. "Why didn't you tell me?" Haley asked Nathan with her hands on her waist, demanding an answer while Nathan tried to not lock his eyes with those of his wife in the hopes of delaying an answer.
"I don't know, Hales."
"That's crap and you know it! You kept it a secret because you didn't want to betray your only brother. Did it occur to you though, that by protecting your brother, you were actually betraying your wife?" She was on a roll.
"Hales, you've got to understand the circumstances. Gosh, what did you expect me to do? I was cornered, Haley." He told her, his own voice rising with every word that pushed itself out of his mouth. Haley kept her gaze fiercely locked on him. She couldn't believe how much she was being let down with every passing minute.
"Nathan, I get that you have some sort of undying faith in your heart for Brooke and Lucas and for them finding their way, but I didn't think you would approve of this. And despite the fact I salute you for your loyalty towards Lucas I want to kill you for your lack of loyalty towards me!"
"Okay Hales, let's set some things straight shall we! First of all, you were the one rooting for Brooke and Lucas, so don't turn that shit on me, okay? Secondly, I never said I approved of what they did, and just so you know, I found out about their fling and my nephew only two weeks ago. For the record, this is not the Haley I know. Where is the one who gives everyone second chances and sees the best in people? You're accusing them of everything they did wrong, but really Hales, has either of us been there long enough for Lucas or Brooke to even know how they were doing? I mean really doing?" Nathan asked her.
"That's not fair, Nate… We didn't know where she was. She just decided one day to leave and…"
"Hales, the phone goes both ways. We're just as much to blame for our lack of contact as she is." Nathan stopped a second to look at his wife. Her vision was clouded due to the unshed tears, but just as he reached out for her, they fell. "Are you ready to meet your nephew?" He asked her and when he heard her excruciating cry, his heart broke for her.
"I just don't understand. Why didn't they trust us enough? God, when I found out I was pregnant, Brooke was the only one I could trust."
"Haley…it was a different situation," was the only thing Nathan could think of to say. Haley nodded against his chest and held onto him for dear life, hoping she could stay like this forever. She didn't know how to take everything in; it all seemed so soon. It was as if she was looking at her life from outside her body. Everything seemed utterly surreal.
"Not tonight…maybe tomorrow though," Haley answered Nathan's previous question about her being ready to meet her nephew.
"Okay then."
--x—
Everything was still, eerily quiet, and she found it comforting. Sure she was left with her thoughts and worries to haunt her, but that didn't mean she would let them. Right now Brooke Penelope Davis was perfectly content with everything being soundless.
Her boys were lying next to each other in the hospital bed, and that was all that mattered. Brooke shook her head at herself. Did she just think of Lucas as her boy…she shook her head once again to remove those absurd thoughts from her mind. Must be the nostalgia she reasoned.
"Pretty girl, you awake?" Lucas asked her from his spot on the bed. She watched him through the dark room and found his figure due to the streetlights, which seemed to illuminate the room to a certain amount. She nodded her head and got out of the chair to sit down on the bed, currently occupied by her toddler and her ex-boyfriend. Funny how you could describe people with just words people used everyday to describe one another, yet with every person it differed.
Like when Brooke said or thought about a toddler she'd immediately think of Ayden and her undying love for him, while a nanny would maybe think of the agitating toddler she'd have to baby-sit. In turn, when Brooke mentioned her ex-boyfriend, it would always be Lucas Eugene Scott, who once swooned his way into her heart and even though she didn't want to admit it, hadn't left it yet.
"Couldn't sleep," she replied as to which he nodded and stared at her. The mention of her nickname still rang loudly in her ears. He hadn't called her that for years.
"What are we going to do Brooke?" he asked her. They had yet to talk about tonight's events and Lucas probably thought now was the right time.
"It's more about what you're going to do, Luke. They are your family, not mine." You're getting married, I'm not, she had wanted to add, but decided against it.
"What are you talking about? They are your family as well." He opined while looking at her as if she was acting preposterous.
"No, Luke. They are your family. Karen is your mother, Nathan is your brother, and Haley is your best friend and sister in law," she stopped briefly, gaining the courage from whatever higher force there was to continue, "And Peyton is going to be your wife."
"She's not." He was quick to answer any question going on in either of their heads. Brooke's head turned around to face him with so much speed he was wondering why she wasn't screaming in pain.
"She's not," he repeated much more forcefully and determined than he did the first time. Brooke wanted to say something; to tell him he belonged with Peyton and all that stuff she did not believe herself, but did tell him for the sanity of everyone. However, she was at a loss of what to say.
"I love Peyton, I just…I don't love her enough." A look of understanding was exchanged between the parents, and Brooke and Lucas were both wondering why she was not criticizing him right now or telling him he was being stupid.
"Took you long enough." Almost immediately, one of the five stages fought its way through her whole body, and she was gone, shaking her head as she walked through the hall.
--x—
"Peyton, you need to eat something, honey," Karen told her as they were sitting in the sanctuary of the café.
"I'm not hungry," she dismissed Karen's caring nature as fast as it was thrust upon her.
"Maybe we read into it too much. Maybe it was a mistake…maybe…"
"Karen, please stop kidding yourself. We both saw it. Your son is a cheating bastard who has been cheating behind my back with my former cheating best friend. Both created a illegitimate love child, and this story gives the Bold and the Beautiful a run for its money," Peyton scolded, her head still perfectly in place between her trembling hands, making every sound she made seem muffled. She knew she was being rude and hard on Karen, who was only trying to help her, but right now she had a right to be mad and sad and everything she wanted to be.
"Look Peyton, I know you're going through a lot right now, but we all feel betrayed…My son has kept my grandchild away from me…that hurts Peyton. Nathan and Haley are also hurting. We are all hurting Peyton, not just you," Karen told the blonde in front of her. Peyton had a tendency of making things revolve around her. She had gotten to know that over the last couple of years of knowing the brooding blonde. Today, however, she was not having any of it.
"I know…I know, I'm sorry." She got up and hugged the woman she had come to love more than she had thought possible. They held each other a little tighter than usual before releasing one another. "I'm just going to go home, sketch, brood, and listen to emo music. You know, just the usual." A sad chuckle erupted from the two women's mouths, and before they knew it, they were laughing like there was no tomorrow. The laughing soon died, and both shared an agonizing look; one that could break the coldest of hearts.
"Take care of yourself Peyt," Karen told the younger woman in her normal motherly tone to which Peyton nodded appreciatively.
"See you Karen."
--x—
Ayden was finally able to go home. An entire night and day in a hospital really was no fun. He always thought it would be cool to end up in the hospital and have everyone worry about you. Now that he had experienced it first hand, it really wasn't all that cool. In fact, it was quite boring and scary.
"Come on little man," Lucas said. He reached out to his son and placed him on his shoulder, but not before Brooke got to steal a kiss from him.
"Let's get you home." Lucas walked away, his eyes on his son as he looked up at the younger version of him and Brooke. While Lucas walked towards the exit of the hospital, Brooke gathered all of Ayden's stuff from the nurses' station and discharged him. Unbeknownst to her, Haley was standing behind her, and when she turned around their eyes met.
"He is a perfect match of you two," she said, her eyes never locking with Brooke's. Instead they were staring a hole into her forehead, which made Brooke feel very uncomfortable.
"Thanks…I guess," her response was short, yet genuine, but also distant, something Haley was not used to receiving from Brooke.
"Brooke, why didn't you tell me?" Haley asked her desperately. Her tone was not what it had been hours before; it was not filled with fury and desperation. Now, it was merely laced with utter heartache and fatigue.
"We were supposed to be best friends…I cried everyday when you left. I mean, I couldn't believe my best friend would leave me without saying goodbye."
"I know, and I'm sorry Hales. I am, and I am so sorry I didn't have enough strength to confide in you, but if it is any consolation, I have to deal with the repentance and disgrace every single moment of the day."
"That doesn't really matter, Brooke, because what you did can't be undone. You can't take it back anymore...it all hurts the same right?" she jabbed back, knowing this was going to get through to the brunette. With one last look at the person she once leaned on and expected to catch her when she fell, she walked away.
"Haley…hales…tutor-girl, please!" Brooke tried to yell at her, but to not avail. The clouds in her eyes were already pouring down her face. "I don't want to lose you again," she said to no one but herself, and anyone who was willing to hear. Once again, Brooke felt as if she was back at square one, having traveled back five years in time, where everything seemed so ominous, and she was all-alone except now she was not alone. She had Ayden, and she had to remind herself of that every single day.
She had Ayden; she had him, but was that really enough?
Now it's time for you lovely readers to tell me what you thought! xoxo