((Hey! Remember me? It's been a month since I updated last, and I'm sorry about that. Busy summer. I hope you guys have stuck around. Thanks to everyone that added me to faves since last update, and a huge thanks to all the reviewers. You guys really are my main source of motivation, so keep it up and I'll keep updating! Hope you like this chapter, and that you forgive me for my absence ;))
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Brooke trudged downstairs, aimlessly shuffling from one barren room to another. An aura of disillusionment clung to her, and only intensified once she stopped in the newly televisionless-den. Unbelievable. They'd better have gotten AT LEAST two grand for that thing. The emptiness of Brooke's house complemented the void inside herself. Peyton left, and the light in her room seemed to dim. The open space, magnified. The sense of abandonment, unbearable. Brooke lay in the stifling dark air of her bedroom for three hours before wandering out to the rest of her world. She would've emerged earlier if she thought it'd be any easier out here, but she knew it wouldn't. Not with the world conspiring against her the way it had lately.
In fact, proof of this conspiracy theory lay out for her in the form of a letter. The brunette stepped over to the unfinished pine table and picked up the folded sheet of paper.
Dear Mr. Grant Davis:
This letter is to confirm our offer of employment as per our verbal agreement last week. Effective January 21, 2006, you will join Riveredge at an annual salary of 220,000. You are entitled to four (4) vacation weeks per year, and up to ten (10) paid sick days.
Welcome to our team, and I look forward to working with you.
Carey Westerhoff
It wasn't the message that unnerved Brooke. Alone, the message could have shot hope and excitement right through her. It could have represented a step back towards her normal life. But there at the foot of Carey Westerhoff's letter lay the company address – in Los Angeles, California.
Brooke's jaw dropped and her eyes scanned the last few lines once more. The job location didn't magically change, and she wasn't any more prepared for it the second time around. When the significance of the letter finally sunk in, she slammed the paper back on the side table. This is a new low, even for my so-called family. They SO did this on purpose! It's just a billion times easier to keep a sheet of paper lying out in the open than to have an actual serious conversation with their own daughter. Brooke swiftly side-stepped the table and dropped into the decade-old armchair next to it. If I hadn't found the damn thing, I probably wouldn't even know until I'm at the airport getting my tweezers and nail clippers taken away. And the worst part is, I can't even call my best friend and complain to her about all this! But… I guess the best part is, at least I have no one to leave behind.
The thought was meant to be consoling. And it was, for about two seconds before she fully realized the honesty in the statement. She had no one left to tie her to Tree Hill. There was absolutely no reason for her to stay. At least in California she'd be able to start over and maybe even be happy again one day. Stone-faced, she placed her head in her hands as she absorbed the cynical truthfulness of her thoughts. And then she cried. She cried harder than she ever remembered doing in her life. She cried because she was leaving the town she'd lived in forever. She cried because she was moving to an unknown place with unknown people. She cried because she had nothing to lose.
Brooke didn't know how long she stayed like that. Minutes? Hours? Time didn't exist in the place she was in. Somewhere in the distance she heard the bell ring, but it was barely audible over her tears. More than that, it had no meaning in this mental plane.
"Brooke?"
The sound of her name brought her a little closer to reality. But it wasn't enough to get her out of the chair, or to stop the tears. She'd fallen too far. All she saw was darkness.
"Brooke?"
This time the voice was louder. Closer. The brunette sat up straight and let her hands fall back into her lap. She had to squint to get used to the daylight again, and she willed her eyes not to burn.
"Hey. I didn't see you or Peyton at school today. I wanted to check in, make sure you're okay."
Brooke smiled a bitter smile, knowing that her visitor couldn't see it from his position behind her. "Peachy," she croaked. "Why are you here, Lucas? What makes you think you even have the right to come and 'check in' on us? We aren't friends. We were never friends."
Something about her voice must have given her away. Either that, or Lucas was just as intuitive as he'd been when they were dating. He always knew what she was feeling. He always wanted to fix it. That part of Lucas really annoyed her. Ugh! It makes it so much harder to hate him! And I really just want to hate him.
She heard him rush to her side. She didn't even have to turn her head; he kneeled right in front of her so they were eye-to-eye. "I know that," he said, his eyes begging forgiveness. "And I know that I hurt you, and that I'll have to work really hard to gain your trust back. But I want to be there for you, Brooke. I want more than anything for us to be friends. And I think that maybe you could use one right about now. Just tell me what's going on."
She wanted to yell at him. She wanted to scream for him to get out. But, even though she hated herself for admitting it, he was right. She really could use a friend right now. Since she couldn't bring herself to say the words, she simply glanced over at the Riveredge letter lying beside her. Her eyes stayed locked to the table even when Lucas removed the paper from her frame of sight.
"Brooke, this is great!" he said, after a moment had passed. "I don't get it. Aren't you thrilled?"
"Look at the address," Brooke grumbled.
"Oh."
Bingo.
"They didn't even think to tell me. I just found the letter now."
"This can't be it. There has to be a way for you to stay," Lucas said, bringing Brooke's gaze back to meet his. She searched his eyes for a moment. He said the words so earnestly. The idea of her leaving Tree Hill clearly unsettled him. Why?
"Why do you care?" she asked, unable to hold in the question.
Lucas winced, clearly taken aback by her response. "Because I do, Brooke. I care about you." The blonde boy shrugged, shooting a sheepish smile in response to Brooke's defensive glare. "And I don't want you to go."
Brooke maintained her icy demeanour for a moment longer, as if in stand-off with the boy in front of her. Finally, she let go. She let herself appear as small and weak as she felt. Not because she wanted Lucas to see her that way, but because she didn't have the strength to uphold her mask any longer. "Yeah well, I don't think I have much of a choice," she said, defeated.
"No," Lucas protested. "I don't buy it. There has got to be another option. And I'm going to find it for you."
This is too weird. "Don't bother, Lucas. Maybe this whole moving to LA thing isn't such a bad idea. Maybe I need to get away."
"Is that what you want?" Lucas asked, although his tone really told her that's not what you want.
"Yes." The word came out a lot less sure than she had hoped. "Maybe. I don't know," Brooke whined. "It's just… Tree Hill doesn't feel as safe as it used to."
Lucas rested his hand on her knee and rubbed it lightly. "I know," he said, and Brooke believed him. "But, I promise you, running away isn't the answer. That ache you feel, it doesn't leave when you leave Tree Hill. It stays with you, and eats away at you, and you realize that the only way to get rid of it is to restore the life you left behind because your new one can only take you so far."
Brooke heard a door slam. "Brooke!" This time, she recognised the voice immediately. Peyton. Just from hearing the single-syllable name come out of her friend's mouth, she could already detect Peyton's urgency.
"Oh my god," Brooke muttered, her eyes widening. She hadn't expected to see Peyton anytime within the next week, let alone mere hours after their heart-breaking conversation. "I'm sorry, Lucas. We'll talk later. I just… I really need to…"
Lucas held up his hands to let her know that she didn't have to explain. "It's okay. I'm glad you two are talking again." He smirked as he stood up straight. "The world just wasn't quite right when you weren't."
Brooke couldn't help but smile. My thoughts exactly.
"Brooke, I'm so sorry…" Peyton's eyes fell on Lucas and she cut her sentence short.
"I was just leaving," he said, still smirking.
Peyton didn't respond. Her gaze just followed him until he'd left the room, and then her attention snapped back to Brooke, now standing in the same spot Lucas had been moments before.
Suddenly afraid of how that situation might have appeared, Brooke took a step towards Peyton. "He noticed neither of us was in school. He just wanted to make sure we were okay."
"Doesn't matter," Peyton said, immediately returning to her former presence, as though Lucas never interrupted her.
Neither girl spoke for many painfully prolonged seconds. Brooke finally broke the silence, reaching to grab the piece of paper. "So my neglectful, absentee parents solved our problem for us," she said. "I'm moving to LA." A smile forced its way across her face. She didn't know what else to say. She didn't know why Peyton was here. She had an idea, but one that she tried hard not to let surface. Every time she got her hopes up, they ended up crushed.
"What? No!" A flood of emotions washed over Peyton's features. Surprise, then concern, and finally sadness. "You can't go, Brooke," she pleaded.
"Why shouldn't I?" Brooke countered. She raised her eyebrows, demanding a reason to stay.
"Because I love you." The blonde's voice cracked, her bottom lip quivered and she carefully stepped forward. As if the words were meaningless the first time, she repeated them in a sincere whisper.
Brooke had succeeded. She hadn't gotten her hopes up, and she knew only because Peyton's confession took her by such surprise that it took a full minute to register. Once it did, she collapsed into a heap on the ground. The tears from earlier returned. She didn't know whether they were happy tears, because Peyton loved her. Or sad tears, because now she really did have something to lose.
She cried with such force that her whole body shook. It wasn't long before she felt Peyton's arms wrap around her, and Brooke let herself melt into her best friend. She returned the embrace, and clung to her for dear life. She felt Peyton kiss her forehead, followed by her temple, and then she just returned to holding her until the tears stopped and her body calmed. Even then, Brooke couldn't find the strength to pull away. Her house may still be empty, but Peyton filled the void in her heart.
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((Okay, so I decided to end on a bittersweet-ish happy note this chapter. There are still some obstacles cough Lexxi, haha. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about her :P But I really just wanted to get myself restarted on positive ground before I worried about all that. If you're reading, please give feedback. I'm gonna need all the motivation I can get! ;))
