Author's Note: I was surprised that anybody was still reading this, so a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who read and reviewed chapter 11 after such a long time! I honestly appreciate it so much! Now that might be the reason why I was able to write another chapter less than 24 hours later. Not much action, again, except for the ending, which will move things forward quite a bit, I assume. ;) Anyway, enjoy the new chapter and please bear with me as I'm still easing back into the whole thing.
Title is from yet another beautiful Sam Smith song, as always I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING except for the fictional part aaand reviews are - as always - greatly appreciated. Also, if you have any wished, suggestions or whatever on how this fic should go, leave it in the review, maybe I can incoporate some of it or get some form of creative muse kick in, haha. :D
Make It To Me
When Brooke had composed herself enough, she left her car and went in. She walked into the kitchen, where Julian was standing by the sink, doing the dishes. He truly was the perfect guy. He was good looking, funny, charming, considerate, a gentleman, understanding, caring. Was there anything else a girl could wish for? And he wanted her, he wanted Brooke Davis, a fact that Brooke herself sometimes couldn't wrap her head around. How was it that a guy this amazing wanted to be with her? The real Brooke, not some glammed up fake version of her, but the vulnerable girl with the big heart.
Suddenly he turned around a big smile appeared on his face. "Babe, I didn't hear you come in" he said, walked towards her and gave her a kiss. A sweet and gentle one; Brooke liked his kisses, but she knew that they were lacking something: Passion. Desire. Hunger. There was no hair tousling, no breathlesness, no flushed cheeks. But maybe that was a good thing, maybe it didn't always have to be that way. It was just so annoying to her that sometimes, when she was daydreaming, or sometimes, when she lay awake at night, or sometimes, when she lay dreaming at night, all she saw and felt was that one kiss from Lucas. The way their bodies had merged into one, the way he had breathed for her, the way Brooke had felt at peace for a few sweet moments. Maybe that was part of the problem: How could she ever rely on someone as stupid as Lucas Scott to be the air she needs?
"I have a Skype date tonight with Brooke!" Peyton exclaimed happily and grinned from ear to ear. There wasn't much these days to make Peyton smile like that - she still vomited every morning, her feet were swollen, her back hurt and she felt horribly bloated - but Brooke Davis was one of those things.
All of a sudden, Lucas' heartbeat increased. "Yeah? That's great" he said and tried to smile, his gaze fixed at a photograph Peyton had pinned on the fridge: It was a picture of Brooke at the beach, smiling from ear to wear, wearing a strapless red bikini top and matching bikini bottoms. She had sent it to Peyton's phone, who had printed it out and somehow thought it wouldn't be weird if she pinned a bikini photo of her husband's ex-girlfriend on the fridge. Sometimes Lucas wondered if Peyton even realized how strange some of her behavior was and how inappropriate some things were. What was even more inappropriate, though, was the fact that Lucas caught himself staring at the photograph several times a day.
"You're gonna be here then, right?" Peyton asked and shook Lucas out of his trance-like state. In the three months since Brooke had left, she had only talked to Brooke on her own.
Lucas shook his head, maybe a bit too suddenly and fiercely. "Uhm, no, sorry, I'm heading over to Haley's and Nathan's. I haven't hung out with them in ages." Lie. Well, not a real lie, he hadn't hung out with them in ages, but he hadn't planned on seeing them tonight - until now. He would have to text Haley later and ask her for a meeting, maybe at the River Court. He needed to talk.
Peyton frowned. "Seriously? Again? She's gonna start wondering if you're avoiding her and honestly, I'm starting to feel the same."
Lucas laughed and shook his head. The laugh didn't reach his eyes, but she wouldn't notice, probably. "Don't be silly, babe, I'm not avoiding her. It's just not a good time, tonight, is all. Besides, isn't it better if you girls can talk alone about... whatever girls talk about when they're alone?"
The blonde laughed and nodded eventually. "Whatever, Luke. Come here!" She took his hands and pulled him towards her, placing her lips on his gently.
He didn't feel like a wonderful tornado hit his body and at the same time there was a great sense of comfort when he kissed Peyton. There was just... comfort. Nothing more, nothing less. It was weird, he hadn't noticed it until a couple of weeks ago and now he couldn't stop his mind from wandering places where kisses felt like the greatest calm and an immense rush at the same time...
"Sorry Haley couldn't make it, but I'm the next best thing, right?" Nathan laughed and gave his brother a hug. "You look bad man. Like, seriously. What's wrong? You've been weird for months now!"
Lucas sighed. She had wanted Haley's advice on ... well, he didn't really know. Now he had to talk to Nathan and as much as he loved his little brother and as much of a trust figure he had become, Lucas couldn't imagine him helping in this situation. Which is why his head shot around almost in shock when Nathan asked "Is it because of Brooke?"
"How... ?" was all Lucas could manage to get out.
Nathan laughed. "Man, I'm not an idiot. It's kinda obvious that you've been all broody since she's left. You know, Lucas-Scott-in-high-school-broody." He sighed and looked at Lucas. "Now tell me - what's wrong?"
Lucas bit his lower lip, inhaled and exhaled deeply, swallowed hard. He couldn't bring himself to just say it. He had thought it many times, uttered the words themselves only once, into his phone, on a voicemail to Brooke. But never to anybody else; not to Peyton, not to Haley, not to Nathan. Until now. "I miss her, Nathan. I really miss her. I can't stop thinking about her and about how much I hurt her. It's eating me up." He sighed. "I'm the worst person on the planet. I have a beautiful pregnant wife at home and all I'm doing is sitting here talking about my ex-girlfriend. The ex-girlfriend I left for my wife."
"You're not the worst person on the planet. I mean, you're not a saint, either, you've been an asshole man, like, REALLY, and I know what I'm talking about, I used to be an asshole extraordinaire." Nathan smiled. "But this time around, you'v realized what you've done wrong. I mean it's not like you want Brooke back, right?"
Lucas looked up and there it was, the fake smile he had perfected in the past three months. "Right."
When Lucas entered his home about an hour later that same night, he was greeted by a beaming Peyton. "SHE'S COMING HOME FOR THE BIRTH!" was all he could hear at first. She slung her arms around him and gave him a couple of kisses on his face.
"Hey" Lucas laughed. "Who's coming home for the birth?" he asked and later he would facepalm himself for not realizing what she was talking about.
"Brooke! It took me a while to convince her, but she's coming next week to be here for the birth of the baby! Brooke's coming back!"
Lucas' heart sank and beat wildly at the same time. Brooke Davis was coming back.
