I just wanted to say thank you to Jessica for her novel-length amazing comment. Just a little note: I am actually going to finish this story, like, no hiatuses nothing. The only reason it took awhile to post the last chapter was because I was away for a week and a half and then had so much make-up work to do for school plus a huuuuge research project. But now that I'm back, I'll be updating regularly! Thanks for all the amazing comments! Keep it up!
-------------------------------
"So, now I don't know what to do," Brooke sighed into the Blackberry. "I mean, he hurt me, Hales. I don't even know why I care so much… What did I expect out of this, a relationship?"
"It sounds like you really care about him. I haven't heard you talk about, much less get upset about, a boy like this since Ad---…"
"Don't mention him," Brooke interjected. "I feel like I'm in that position all over again and I don't wanna feel that way."
"The difference this time is that Lucas cares about you, too… It just took a mistake for him to realize it," there was shuffling and a mumbled conversation in the background before Haley continued. "Brooke? Rachel wants to talk to you. I love you. Give him another chance, okay?"
Brooke nodded to herself and mumbled an, "I love you too," as she heard the cell phone being passed from girl to girl in Tree Hill.
"Hey hoe," Rachel said into the phone. "What's going on with blondie over there? Do I need to kick his ass?"
Brooke let out a light chuckle. "I don't know!" she burst. "I don't know what to do. He has a girlfriend, Rach."
"Well, that's never stopped me," she replied with a smirk.
Brooke sighed again. "Trust me, slut, I know… But… I don't know. If he cares, or cared, about me, he shouldn't have lied."
"Or maybe he lied so that he had the chance to care about you," Rachel stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Well, once again, I let someone in and I got hurt because of it…"
"You see, that's your problem. You don't like to let people in, and when you do, you expect them to never make the kind of mistakes that are gonna hurt you. And when someone you care about does make a mistake, you think they've completely fucked you over and you're rarely willing to let them back into your life."
"That's not true!" Brooke defended.
"Oh, really? Then why did you completely shut Adam out of your life after he begged you to have some kind of friendship? The boy called you every weekend to see you, not even to fuck you, but you completely shut him out."
"It hurt too much to know he didn't want me back," Brooke replied meekly.
"But now you'll never know if friendship could turn into something more because you didn't give him a chance."
"Rachel…"
"No, Brooke, you listen to me," Rachel started, her tone becoming even more serious. "You can't keep doing this. You are my best friend, but you need to learn that people make mistakes. You sure as hell have. If no one ever got a second chance, everyone in this world would be alone, don't you understand that?"
Brooke felt the tears welling in her eyes. Rachel was right. She never gave people time for explanations nor did she dole out second chances when it came to her heart.
"You're right," she admitted, a tear rolling down her cheek. "You're completely right."
"Don't cry, Brookie," Rachel said softly. "I'm not telling you to forgive him immediately. I'm just telling you not to completely write him off. Let him fight for you, but make sure you give him a chance, okay?"
"I only have three days though," she sobbed softly, the tears streaming faster now.
"Aren't you the one who said that, 'people who are meant to be together always find their way in the end'?"
------------------------------------
"I'm so happy you're here, baby," Lindsey purred as she kissed Lucas softly.
"Hi Linds… listen, we have to talk," he said as he lowered herself onto her bed.
"Talk?" she questioned as she placed one knee on each side of his body, straddling him. "Why talk when we can…" she difted. She nuzzled his neck affectionately and kissed the spot behind his ear that she knew drove him crazy.
He cocked his head back and allowed himself to close his eyes for just a moment to savor the sensation that formed wherever her lips touched. How could he let go of this girl? God only knew how long it'd be before Brooke even kissed him, much less slept with him. He may have liked her, a lot, but that didn't make him any less of the horny eighteen year old boy that he was.
"Lindsey," he said, shaking himself back into reality just as her lips grazed his own. "We gotta talk. I'm serious."
She pulled back and retracted her hands from his body, her face becoming serious. "What's going on, Lucas?" she said with furrowed eyebrows.
He slowly removed himself from under her body, lifting her legs gingerly from his lap.
He sighed heavily. Was he making the right decision? "I… I think we should start seeing other people…"
Her face immediately dropped. "Wh-what?"
"Yeah," he said, bringing his hand up to his neck and rubbing it sheepishly. "I'm sorry."
"But… but why?" she choked, tears forming in her green eyes. "I haven't cheated on you sin--…"
"I don't wanna talk about that, Linds," he stated, his anger rising at the mention of the topic.
"Lucas, it was four months ago. I think it's time to move on…" she said with a dry, sarcastic laugh. "Is that why you're breaking up with me? Because guys think I'm hot? Because if that's the reason, Lucas, you are absolutely ridiculous."
Lucas stood up, his temper flaring. "Are you kidding me? You think that you cheating on me with Nathan four months ago is why I'm breaking up with you now? You must be kidding."
"So what's the problem Lucas?!" she burst. "Two days ago you were being overly nice to me. While I was away, your phone calls were short except for the one night that you called me back at two in the morning. I came home early for you, to be with you, and now you're breaking up with me."
Tears were now flowing down his face, and his heart ached momentarily, noting that this was the second girl that he cared about that he had made cry today.
"Something happened while you were away…" he gulped. "I wasn't sure if I was gonna tell you, but you should know."
"What happened, Lucas?" she sobbed softly. "We can fix it. Breaking up isn't the only answer."
He sighed. "For this, it is. You know the family I work for?"
She nodded solemnly.
"They have a daughter. Brooke. You haven't met her. She came out here for vacation. She lives in North Carolina. I've been… I've kind of been seeing her."
"Define seeing her," she asked, her eyes crinkling in the corners as she tried to make sense of the situation.
"Lindsey…"
"Define seeing her," she repeated, raising her voice slightly.
He put his head down shamefully, knowing what it was like to be cheated on.
"You've been sleeping with her?"
"No," he defended. "We haven't slept together, I swear!"
"So, you've been kissing her? And that's it?"
"Yeah…"
"Okay," she gulped. "But, we can work past that. I cheated on you and we both got through it, so we can do it again."
"Lindsey… you don't understand."
"What am I not understanding?" she burst. "Breaking up doesn't have to be the answer! I love you Lucas, does that mean nothing? Just because you've been seeing that whore doesn't mean you have to put all the time and effort we've put into this relationship to the side. We can make it work!"
"Don't talk about her like that!" he yelled. "I care about her. A lot. I didn't expect to cheat on you, much less to fall for her, but I did. And if she's a whore, God only knows what you are because you were the one who cheated on me last time, if you don't recall. Brooke, that's her name, Brooke, didn't even know about you. I lied to her about having a girlfriend. So if you're gonna blame anyone blame it on me."
"You didn't even mention me?" she asked meekly.
"Lindsey…" he said softly. "I never meant to hurt you."
"Well, it doesn't really matter now Lucas, because in the end, it all hurts just the same."
