Chapter 28
This was kind of a weird day for Brooke.
Two of her best friends were moving out—which did not make her very happy—and her fiancé was moving in—which of course made her ecstatic. It was a very bittersweet day, now that she had the chance to think about, but it was necessary.
As Rachel and Peyton loaded their things into the back of Brooke's big SUV, Lucas was loading his stuff out and it caused a bit of chaos on everyone's part. Add that to the fact that Lucas ordered her to specifically not help with the packing and unpacking except with extremely light objects, she wasn't a help at all.
Luckily Jake was in town and Josh had stopped by earlier to help out. This had been kind of awkward. Josh understood that Peyton and Jake had a history, but Brooke was pretty sure he had had his heart set on getting Peyton. But Rachel did a god job of distracting him as they got everything settled and Josh had left a while ago for band practice.
Since Rachel and Peyton didn't really have any of their own furniture at Brooke's house, they were mostly dealing with clothes and other small items, but Lucas insisted on moving his favorite black leather sofa with him. She wasn't really sure how expected this to fit into the living room, but Lucas didn't seem to mind.
She watched in amusement as he, Nathan, and Jake maneuvered around the living room trying to find the perfect spot. Jamie stood with her, calling out orders to the guys, which they seemed to find rather annoying, although they hid it well.
"Dude," Nathan said exasperatingly after nearly five minutes of moving around things that got them virtually no where, "this isn't gonna work."
Lucas stood there, a deep look of concentration on his face, and she held back a smile. He was so cute when he was determined. But as he eyed her own couch with a mischievous look on his face she immediately stepped through the messy and crowded room and over to him.
"We're not getting rid of my couch, Lucas, and don't tell me that you aren't considering that because I know you are."
"No," Lucas defended, a cocky smile on his face, "I was only thinking of getting rid of your armchair."
She glared at him. "No, that chair is there for a reason. Seriously, you're ugly couch is already going to ruin the décor in here, do not take away the decent looking furniture."
Behind her, Jake and Nathan were laughing but she ignored them. Lucas looked at her in defeat.
"What am I supposed to do then?"
"Get rid of it. It's ugly anyway."
"This couch was expensive and it's really comfortable."
She looked at him pointedly. "These," she pointed to the furniture, "were ten times more expensive and they look good. I win."
"Brooke, they came with the house."
"Which was extremely expensive. Once again, I win. Now, find some way to arrange these couches while Haley and I go help Peyton and Rachel unpack at their apartment." She turned to her godson. "Make sure they don't ruin anything, okay buddy?"
He saluted. "You got it."
With that, she headed outside where Haley was waiting for her in her car.
"I swear," Brooke said as she pulled out of the driveway and headed towards Peyton and Rachel's new place, "if those guys make a mess of my house I will kill them."
Haley laughed. "Oh, they will, Brooke. That's what guys do. But you'll get used to it eventually."
This didn't make her feel any better.
Lucas looked proudly around the room. Finally everything was situated perfectly.
"Looks good," Jake said, coming up behind him.
He grinned. "Yup and the best part is Brooke should actually like it."
"I don't know man," Nathan said, sitting down on Lucas' couch and pulling Jamie along with him, "Brooke's been kind of unpredictably lately. She'll probably hate it."
Lucas sighed and sat down next to him. "With my luck, she probably will."
"It's not that bad," Jake said, looking around. "I mean you're kind of squared in, but at least you don't have a lack of seating."
"I think it's cool!" Jamie said excitedly. "It's like a cage."
"Yeah," Nathan laughed, "it's kind of like a blockade. Brooke's gonna love that."
Lucas shoved him tiredly and sighed. "Yeah, she'll probably hate it but I'm not moving anything else tonight."
"Now that I've really spent some time in this house I've realized how small it is," Nathan said. "Have you two thought of getting a bigger place?"
He shook his head, relaxing against the couch. "I think it's going to be awhile before that happens. Besides, it's big enough for three and Brooke is kind of attached to this place." Lucas looked over at Jake and smiled. "Hey, Jake, thanks for everything today. I know you're moving to Raleigh in a couple of weeks and you can count on me to help out."
"No problem, Luke. And thanks." He paused, sending a wide grin their way. "I've got a ton more things to move in, but somehow I have a feeling it's going to easier than what we went through today."
Nathan laughed. "I think you're right. Leave it to Lucas to make everything more complicated then it needs to be."
Lucas just glared playfully at them before letting his head fall against the couch and closing his eyes. Today had been a good day, a bit stressful, but good. And it was made even better by having all his friends here with him. He had a feeling that this was the way it would start to feel for the rest of life and he definitely liked that idea.
Because with all of these people by his side, he was content.
Brooke looked around the apartment distastefully. Now that everything was moved in and she had a good look at the place, she didn't like what she saw. It was a nice apartment just a few blocks down from the beach and it had a gorgeous view, but the walls were all painted a monotonous white and the living room was the size of her kitchen at home, which wasn't big at all. It reminded her a little bit of Haley and Nathan's old apartment back in high school except smaller. It had two bedrooms, but otherwise it was a bit of a rip off as far as she was concerned.
But Peyton and Rachel were pretty happy with it and she decided that was all that mattered.
"Well," Haley said, wiping the sweat off her brow, "I think everything is in. Are we done?"
Rachel looked around the room, a content smile on her face, and nodded. "Yup, I think we are."
Brooke looked at Peyton, who had just collapsed on the couch. "I know that you're not supposed to paint the walls when you're renting a place, but this place is in serious need of a P. Sawyer paint job."
Peyton lazily nodded. "I agree."
"Me too," Haley said, moving Peyton's legs and sitting on the couch. Rachel poked Peyton and forced her to sit up so that she too could sit on the couch.
"Okay," Peyton said, glaring at them, "I'm not sure how much I like the idea of having only one couch."
"You can have Lucas' ugly one," Brooke said, rolling her eyes as she took a seat on the floor. Peyton scurried off and sat down next to her, putting her head in Brooke's lap.
"That couch isn't that bad," Haley said rationally.
Brooke sighed and played with Peyton's hair. "I know, but it really doesn't match my stuff."
Peyton laughed. "Of course you would think that. To be honest, I don't think it looks bad. It might crowd things but it should be okay."
"Okay enough about this couch situation," Rachel interrupted, rolling her eyes. "I mean, seriously, if this couch drama is the only interesting things in your life right now than you're more boring then I thought."
"Yeah, because our lives have been so boring lately," Peyton said, cocking an eyebrow and Rachel threw a pillow at her.
"No fighting," Haley said, laughing. Then she looked at them all with a distant smile on her face. "You know what this reminds me of?"
"What?" Brooke asked curiously.
"Our slumber party, junior year."
Brooke smiled giddily at the memory. Life had been a bit crazy back then and it still was, but it had been one of those nights that she'll remember the rest of her life. She'd grown even closer to Peyton then she already had been and she and Haley had bonded more too. Not to mention all of the crazy stuff that had happened.
Peyton sat up. "Aw, the infamous slumber party! That was an interesting night."
Haley shook her head, smiling as she remembered the events that had taken place. "Our wonderful little fight and bonding session…that was great."
Brooke smiled. "Our pillow fight and the delicious brownies that I ate most of…The whole Haley slash Chris Keller incident and learning about Peyton's little tryst with drugs…"
Peyton grinned. "Felix."
She playfully hit Peyton's shoulder, but cringed at the memory. "Oh, God, that boy was such an idiot."
Haley winced. "Yeah, walking in on him in my shower was definitely not something I like to remember."
"Try walking in on him and Brooke having sex!"
"In my bed!"
They broke into laughter and Rachel spoke up. "Good going, Brooke!"
"Hey, it wasn't my fault my mom sold my bed."
"Oh, shut up, Brooke," Peyton said, holding back a laugh, "that's a horrible excuse and you know it."
Haley shook her head quickly, as if trying to rid her brain of the memory. "You'd think after over five years I could look back it this and laugh, but no, the thought of you and Felix having sex in my own bed still makes me want to puke."
"Yeah," Brooke said, smiling ear to ear, "then you might not want to hear about how many times Lucas and I did it on your bed back in senior year."
Haley's eyes widened and it almost looked like she was about to pass out. "Brooke, are you serious?"
She just smiled. "Yup."
Of course she was partially lying, but she was getting a kick out of teasing Haley right now. She and Lucas had only did it once in Haley's bed and that was because she had been washing her sheets from the night before. But she wasn't going to let Haley know that.
"Oh, God," Haley said, and Brooke was pretty sure her eye was visibly twitching. "Please get these images out of my head, please…"
Peyton was doubled over in laughter and Rachel, who looked a bit confused, was shaking her head in amusement. Brooke just shrugged and leaned casually against the wall, placing her hands on her stomach.
Once the laughter had finally subsided and Haley had caught her cool, Peyton's head fell back into Brooke's lap and she sighed.
"Good times."
"Yeah," they all agreed.
They all lapsed into a comfortable silence and Brooke was pretty sure everyone was reminiscing about high school. She definitely was. Sometimes she missed it—the carefree nights when the only thing she had to worry about was getting the perfect outfit for the party after the basketball game. Life really hadn't been much simpler, though. Actually her life during the last two years of high school was probably more complicated than the past five years combined. But now she could look back at everything – the whole love triangle and her mistakes—and actually be happy about the way things turned out.
Because now everything was finally the way it was supposed to be.
A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts and she twisted her head around to see Jake poking his head inside. Peyton sat up, a big smile on her face, and Brooke was glad to see how happy seeing Jake made her.
"Sorry to interrupt," he said, grinning as he stepped inside. Peyton stood up to meet him.
"Did they screw up my house?" Brooke asked, kinking an eyebrow.
He laughed. "I personally don't think so, but you'll just have to see."
She wasn't really sure she wanted to leave just now. As she rested against the wall, she realized just how tired she was. Today had been stressful and now she just wanted to lie here and sleep. The good thing about this apartment, she noted, was that its carpet was extremely comfortable.
"Anyway," Jake said, looking at Peyton, "is it still okay for me to crash here?"
"Of course," Peyton replied. "We still have to set up the beds, but you can take the mattress in my room."
He smiled gratefully and headed down the hall towards Peyton's new room. Peyton remained standing where she was, watching his retreating form.
"You two are totally gonna do it tonight," Rachel said and this got Peyton's attention.
"No, we definitely won't. You wanna know why? Because we're not together and unlike you I'm not a slut."
"Hey!" Rachel said, pretending to be offended. "Only Brooke's allowed to call me a slut."
Brooke grinned. "No, only you are allowed to call me a slut. Anyone can call you a slut because it's true."
Rachel glared at her for a second before shrugging. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Well," Haley said, standing up and stretching, "as much as I'm enjoying this love fest, I'm gonna get going. And since Brooke drove me here, she's got to go too. I'm sure you're dying to see the new setup in your living room."
Brooke groaned, but took Haley's hand as she helped pull her up from the floor. "Yeah, I can't wait." She straightened herself out and looked at Rachel and then at Peyton. "Are you two going to be alright without me?" she asked, a bit jokingly but at the same time serious.
"We'll be fine, mom," Rachel replied, looking at her pointedly.
"Don't worry, Brooke," Peyton said, pulling her into a short hug, "we'll be okay on our own."
Brooke sighed; it was going to be so weird to live without them, especially Peyton, who she'd been living with the past year. And it was going to be even weirder living with Lucas. She'd never really lived with a guy before and she was pretty sure this whole thing was going to be a learning experience.
"I'll miss you," she said, waving sadly as she and Haley headed to the door.
"I'll miss you too, B. Davis."
"Yeah, slut, it'll be a little weird without you. Although we're like two minutes away so I really think it's gonna be okay."
Brooke just rolled her eyes at Rachel's comment and then followed Haley outside. Linking her arms through Haley's, she turned to look at her.
"Long day."
Haley just grinned. "Long, but fun."
He woke to the light being flipped on and immediately shielded his eyes.
"Turn it off," Lucas mumbled, digging his face into his pillow.
"My living room looks like some sort of fort. How am I supposed to move around in there?"
He groaned into the pillow and slowly looked up at his fiancée, who was currently standing at the door, her hands on her hips. He winced at the force of the light.
"I'll fix it tomorrow," he said simply.
To his surprise she just smiled, turned off the light, and joined him on the bed. "It's okay, it's not that bad. Sorry for waking you, though, I didn't think you would be asleep yet."
"It's okay," he murmured, his head falling back onto the pillow. She ran her fingers through his hair and he closed his eyes. "Good night?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah," she said and her other hand ran down his bare arm, "we did a lot of reminiscing."
"Mmm…"
She didn't say anything else; instead she just lay down next to him, his body spooning hers. His arms snaked around her and she relaxed against him. Nothing felt more perfect to him.
A few minutes later he heard her soft, slow breathes and knew she was asleep. They'd had a long day and tomorrow she had to get up early and do inventory at her store so he knew she was probably in for an even longer one tomorrow. She needed rest and he was glad that she was finally getting some.
He slowly began to drift off and, with Brooke in his arms, the last thing he thought of as sleep overcame him was that this was how it was always supposed to be.
Brooke rubbed the exhaustion from her eyes, trying to concentrate on making sure everything was in its proper place. She was the last one here now and after spending the whole day doing what she hated most—inventory—she was ready to go home.
Lucas had been calling her constantly telling her that she was overworking and that she needed to be careful, but she kept telling him that she really wasn't, unless you call staring at a piece of paper the whole day overworking. He wasn't pleased, though, and she supposed he had a right; she'd been here since eight in the morning and now it was almost six. She'd assured him that she had taken plenty of breaks, but he still wasn't convinced. But now she was finally done and she felt very pleased with all the work accomplished today.
As she placed the final checkmarks on her clipboard, she heard the clinking of the door.
"Sorry, we're closed," she said, not bothering to look up.
"Hello, Brooke."
Brooke flinched at the voice, her eyes darting to the figure standing a few feet in front of her. Victoria was the last person she wanted to see right now. She was really getting tired of the games her mother was playing and after a long day like this one, she was in no hurry to deal with her mother's conniving ways.
"What do you want this time?" she asked tiredly, putting the clipboard onto the desk and walking to the backroom. Her mother's clicking heels told her she had followed her.
"What, I can't just simply want to visit my daughter?"
She rolled her eyes. "Cut the crap, Victoria," she said, turning to look at her mother, who was looking at her with a smug smile on her face.
"Really, Brooke, that's no way to speak to your mother."
"Seriously, mother, what do you want?"
Victoria took a seat on a stool, her expression turning more businesslike. "I was in the area and I thought I'd come see how this place was working out."
"It's fine," Brooke said, crossing her arms as she stared at her mother indifferently.
"I suppose it is."
There was something about the way her mother was staring at her that made her uneasy. And, as Victoria's eyes narrowed, Brooke realized that her mother still didn't know about her pregnancy, let alone Lucas. She knew that Victoria would have to learn sooner or later, but she really wasn't looking forward to telling her now. Although the thought of seeing how Victoria would react at the idea of being a grandmother was sort of amusing…
"You look different," Victoria stated.
"Um, thanks?" She decided she wasn't going to tell Victoria anything tonight unless she explicitly mentioned it, but at the rate her mother was going, she was pretty sure she'd find out anyway.
Victoria's eyes narrowed even more. "Is that an engagement ring?" she asked, her voice now incredulous.
Brooke held back a groan, instead choosing to smile confidently at her mother. If she was going to find out about everything, Brooke wasn't going to let her tear her down.
"Yes, it is."
The look on her mother's face was priceless; she went from glaring at Brooke to her eyes practically bulging out of her sockets. Her mouth was half open, as if she wanted to say something but nothing would come out. There was an uncomfortable bout of silence before her mother's face contorted into a more accusing expression.
"You're pregnant, aren't you?"
Brooke was pretty sure Victoria didn't actually think she was pregnant—it was just the type of question someone like her mother would ask in this situation. So, when she slowly nodded, Victoria looked more surprised then she really should have been.
"Yes, I am." And, although she didn't need to explain herself to her mother, she decided to anyway. "But we're not getting married because of the baby—we actually love each other— so please refrain from calling me a slut or some other offensive title. I'm really not in the mood."
Victoria stood there incredulously, her expressions changing from second to second, before smiling arrogantly and letting out a little laugh.
"You really messed up big time, Brooke. Do you know how insane this is? You can't be having a baby at your age—how can you even run a business? Before you know it, Clothes Over Bros will be a bigger mess then it already is and you'll have to give it up. Don't you see, you're giving up everything for nothing!"
Brooke shook her head, not even believing the words that were coming out of her mother's mouth. "You have no right to walk in here and criticize me for my own decisions. I've wanted to be a mother for awhile now and you sure as hell know that—you did everything in your power to stop it—and I won't let you try to make me feel bad about this. I'm happy and I'm finally getting what I've been wanting all these years. And I know running a business is going to be hard, but I can deal with it. I'm not giving up anything, I'm gaining everything."
Victoria just laughed. "I'll let you think that, but you and I both know that isn't true. Wait until the press gets a hold of this, Brooke. You'll be a horrible example, you know. I mean, who's even the father? You haven't had a boyfriend in years. And please don't tell me it's that insufferable blonde boy who you went crazy over in high school."
Brooke glared at her mother dangerously. "Yes, Lucas is the father and I'd appreciate if you didn't talk about him like that; he's a great guy and I love him."
"This is just great," Victoria said, turning around and walking outside, "way to ruin your life. You're doing the same thing I did your age and one day you're going to wake up and regret it. Face it, Brooke, you and I are one of the same."
It was hard to pretend that Victoria's words didn't scare her a little, but she knew that it wasn't true; she and her mother were complete opposites and she could never be like her.
"I'll let you think that," Brooke said, repeating her mother's words from earlier, "but you and I both know that isn't true."
With that, Brooke slammed the door in her mother's face.
That felt good.
She took a deep breath, not looking back as she made her way into the backroom. Tonight had definitely not gone the way she thought it would. Her cell phone rang and she saw that it was Lucas. She picked it up, telling him that she'd be home in a few minutes, and then gathered all her things, preparing to leave.
Sometimes she really hated her mother. It was like Victoria's main goal in life was to rattle her and berate her for living her life the way she wanted to live it. Why could her mother realize that she was happier now than she ever had been? And why couldn't Victoria realize that she actually knew what she was doing and that she had everything under control? It was sad that after twenty-two years, her own mother didn't even know her.
And with that thought she left her shop, trying to rid her mind of the one person in her life that she disappointed her more times than she could count.
A/N: Alright, so there's Chapter 28. Hope you enjoyed it! I've created a pretty detailed outline for the rest of the story and it looks like there will be a total of 44 chapters, give or take one or two. I'm super excited about some of the stuff I've got planned, although I think most of the major drama is pretty much dealt with.
Anyway, I'm off to watch the latest episode of OTH, so please leave me a review to cheer me up after I'm finished! ;D
