A/N: Alright everyone! Here is the next chapter! I'm just going to warn you, this one is really long...like its pretty much two chapters in one, but i really didn't want to break it up so I hope you are okay with reading an extra long chapter! A lot of stuff happens in this chapter, and I just needed to get it all out so that I can jump forward in the next chapter! Thank you all for being so supportive and patient with me! You really are awesome! The song in this chapter is called 'In Another Life' and is by the Veronicas! I hope you like this chapter, make sure and let me know what you thought! If you have any questions PM me! Enjoy!!
You know I love you, I really do
But I can't fight anymore for you
And I don't know, maybe we'll be together again
Sometime, in another life
Chapter Twenty-Nine- Holding On, Letting Go
Brooke was sitting on the couch with a very cranky Averie. It was still pretty early and Lucas and Chae were both still sleeping. Averie hadn't slept much the night before, and Brooke was just glad that Lucas was there to help her. He had gotten up with her every time she cried and had held her for hours, only handing her over to Brooke when Averie needed to be fed. Brooke kissed Averie's forehead, leaving her lips against the baby's soft skin and thinking that she felt a little warm. Brooke laid Averie down on the couch and frowned as she watched Averie's face scrunch up before she let out tiny cries.
"It's okay baby" Brooke said in a hushed voice as she quickly took off Averie's pajamas, leaving her in only a onesie. She picked Averie back up and stood, bouncing her until her cries slowly subsided. "Where's that thermometer" Brooke asked herself as she dug around in the bathroom drawers. When she couldn't find it, she went into her bedroom and found it in a drawer under Averie's changing table. She looked over at Lucas who was still sleeping soundly in her bed and she decided to let him sleep. As soon as she found his jeans, she took his cell phone out of his pocket and left the room.
After taking Averie's temperature and noting that it was higher than it should be she decided to call Karen. She scrolled through the phone and dialed Lucas' house number, hoping that she wouldn't wake anyone up.
"Hello?" Karen asked, answering the phone and sounding very awake to Brooke's surprise.
"Hey, Karen. It's Brooke..."
"Brooke! How are you?" Karen asked sweetly, sounding genuinely happy to hear from her.
"I'm okay" Brooke said anxiously, slowly rocking Averie to try and keep her from crying. "I just have a question."
"What's going on?" Karen asked, now sounding a little nervous.
"Averie has just been really cranky this morning and she didn't sleep at all last night" Brooke explained fretfully, "She has a fever and I just…I don't know what to do."
"It's okay" Karen said comfortingly. "Do you have some infant Tylenol?"
"Yeah, I think so" Brooke said, biting on her lip and watching as Averie's eyes squeezed shut and she started to whimper.
"Just read the directions and give her how much it says…she should be fine. Try not to worry sweetie."
"Okay, thanks Karen" Brooke sighed, not liking the idea of having a sick baby. She just wanted Averie to be okay.
"Call me if you need anything and we'll talk to you later" Karen told Brooke. They said their goodbyes and Brooke hung up the phone.
Brooke finally found the infant Tylenol and hesitantly gave Averie how much the bottle told her too. She then fed the baby seeing as that usually comforted the little girl. Brooke lightly ran her fingers along Averie's face as she fed her. Brooke smiled as she watched Averie's eyes slowly start to flutter and finally close. She hated seeing her precious baby in distress, and she would do anything she could to keep her from pain. After she fed Averie she propped the baby on her shoulder and patted her back until she was finally asleep.
"Hey, you guys are up early" Chae said as she walked into the living room and noticed Brooke and Averie curled up in a chair.
"Yeah, she's not feeling so good" Brooke said in a whisper tilting her head toward Averie. Chae nodded her head in understanding and went back into her bedroom. She came back out a few minutes later with her already packed suitcase and wheeled it towards the door. "Are you going to the airport like that?" Brooke asked as Chae took a seat on the couch.
"Yeah, why?" Chae asked, running her hands through her hair that was pulled in a pony tail. She looked down and was confused, she was wearing cute sweats and her shirt matched. "I wanna be comfy" Chae told Brooke with a nod.
"If you say so" Brooke said with a smirk, raising an eyebrow at Chae. "Do you want Luke to give you a ride to the airport?"
Chae squinted her eyes and shook her head, "No, I called a cab, it should be here in a few minutes actually." Chae leaned back into the couch and looked over at Brooke with a questioning look and a spark in her eyes. "So…what are you and Lucas gonna do?"
"With a sick baby?" Brooke said, raising her eyebrows, "Probably not much" she said with a laugh.
"True" Chae laughed with a nod. "Well I hope she feels better and that you guys can have some alone time." Chae stood from the couch and walked over to Brooke. She leaned down and gently kissed Averie's head and lightly hugged Brooke with one arm. "Be good."
"You too" Brooke said with a laugh. "I'll miss ya Roomie" Brooke smiled at Chae and watched as she left the room.
"I'll call you later" Chae hollered to Brooke before she left the apartment.
Brooke leaned back into the chair, rubbing Averie's back when she started to stir. She really hoped that things went well with Chae and Jake this weekend. The distance had been really hard on them and she just hoped they could work through it. Brooke just knew that they were perfect for each other and that if Chae would let down some of her walls then things could be great between them. She sat up and looked towards the hallway when she heard a door open. She watched as Lucas walked into the living room, in only his boxers and looking very sleepy not to mention sexy as he rubbed his eyes and his hair stuck out in all different directions.
"Hey babe" he said, the words coming out in a yawn as he walked towards her. He rested his hand on the arm of her chair and leaned down, quickly kissing her lips.
"Good morning sleepy head" Brooke smiled her eyes following him as he took a seat on the couch.
"How is she?" Lucas asked, propping his feet up on the coffee table.
"She has a fever" Brooke frowned.
"Did you give her some baby Tylenol?" Lucas asked, trying not to smile as he watched Brooke pout. He had been around Lily enough to know that a fever was normally no big deal.
"Yeah, I called your mom…she told me Ave would be fine, but it still freaks me out" Brooke said, biting on her lip nervously as she looked down at her sleeping baby that suddenly seemed so tiny.
"Hey" Lucas said softly, waving his arms and motioning for Brooke to come sit by him. "She'll be fine" He told her as she sat down and leaned into his body, careful not to disturb the finally sleeping baby. Brooke shrugged, obviously not totally convinced by Lucas' comforting words. "Do you wanna go hang out with my family today for a while? They are moving everything out tomorrow and then leaving on Monday."
Brooke sat up and looked over at Lucas, "They are leaving in two days? That's kind of soon isn't it? They've only been home for a week." Brooke was a little surprised they were already leaving. She was actually kind of sad about it. Lucas' parents seemed to finally like her and she loved spending time with Lily. It was kind of nice to have some sort of family that she felt like she could count on and she didn't really want to let that go yet.
"I guess they just want to spend this summer getting settled in their new home before Lily starts school in the fall" Lucas said with a shrug, "But you know, this is actually a good thing" Lucas said, raising his eyebrows at Brooke as he smiled seductively.
"And why is that?" Brooke questioned, narrowing her eyes towards the blonde.
"Well" Lucas said, his fingers dancing along the bare skin that was exposed between her sweats and shirt, "It's good because I get my house back…I don't have any nosey roommates…and we can spend quality time there" he smiled.
"Mmm" Brooke responded with a nod, "You make a good point there Broody…"
"Oh, yes I do, Cheery" Lucas agreed, lifting his hand to her cheek. "Speaking of roommates…where is yours?"
"She already went to the airport" Brooke explained, readjusting Averie as she began to squirm. When her tiny cries were heard Brooke stood from the couch, cradling the tiny girl in her arms. Lucas left the room and quickly returned with a pink pacifier, handing it to a grateful Brooke. "I feel so bad for her" Brooke said softly as she looked down at her tiny daughter.
Lucas stepped behind Brooke, wrapping an arm around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. "She'll be okay, I promise. Let me take her for awhile and you can go take a hot shower and then we'll go see my family. How does that sound?"
Brooke turned around so she was now facing Lucas, "Thanks Luke" she said sincerely. She kissed Averie softly and then passed the baby to Lucas who handled her like a pro. "You really have been great" Brooke told him with a small smile before she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him softly.
"We're in this together" Lucas reminded her as she stared up at him.
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"Lucas I hate this" Brooke whined, her forehead crinkled and her lip quivering as she was on the verge of tears. They were driving over to Lucas' house and Brooke was sitting in the backseat with Averie who had been screaming ever since she was laid in her car seat.
Lucas looked back at Brooke in the rear view mirror and felt horrible for her. He hated hearing his baby cry and knowing that he couldn't help her, so he understood why Brooke was upset. But he knew he had to be the calm one in this situation, and if he wasn't then both of the girls he loved would be in tears. "Its okay Babe, we'll be there soon just try and stay calm for Ave."
Brooke nodded her head, knowing that Lucas was right. She stared into the car seat and saw her tiny little baby whose face was pink from crying. Brooke reached for the binky that was lying next to Averie and breathed a sigh of relief when the baby successfully took it this time. Brooke was unbuckling Averie from her car seat as soon as they started up Lucas' driveway. They both couldn't be happier to finally be there, and Averie was starting to relax now that she was in her mommy's arms.
"That was the worst car ride of my life" Brooke groaned as Lucas helped her out of the truck. She leaned into him as he wrapped an arm around her.
"I'm sure it won't be the last" he said with a laugh, receiving a glare from the brunette.
When they walked into the house they were immediately met by Karen who quickly hugged Brooke and then stepped back to examine Averie. "How is she doing? You look stressed."
"The ride over here was a nightmare, but her temperature has gone down" Brooke explained, handing Averie to Karen.
"Have you guys started packing?" Lucas asked, looking around the house and noting that nothing had changed.
"Not yet, stop being so antsy to get us out of here" Karen told him with a smirk, she turned away from them and started to walk towards the back door. "Your dad's barbequing out here, come get some food."
Lucas looked down at Brooke who still seemed to be pretty frazzled from their trip in the car. "We'll be out in a minute" he called to his mom who was already halfway out the door. He stepped towards Brooke and wrapped his large arms around her, and smiled as she immediately fell into him. He held her for a few minutes and waited for her to finally relax a little bit. "You okay?" he finally asked, lowering his face down next to her ear.
She nodded in response and pulled back so she could look at him. "Never leave me" she said hesitantly as she looked into his deep blue eyes. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she needed Lucas. He had been so strong these past couple months, and she wasn't sure what she would've done without him. It was weird to think that she was actually falling in love with her daughters' dad.
"Never" he said, smiling softly. He wrapped his arms tighter around her and lowered his lips onto hers. The kiss started out slow, but slowly progressed as their want and need for each other grew. If it wasn't for Lily calling Brooke from outside, they wouldn't have ever parted. Lucas reluctantly released Brooke's lips from his own and followed her into the backyard.
The rest of the day was nice and relaxing. Karen and Keith took care of Averie, giving Lucas and Brooke a much needed break. Brooke smiled as she watched Lucas play basketball in the backyard with Lily, and she even joined in for a while. Lucas teased Brooke, laughing when she had no idea how to even begin to make a basket. Lily giggled as she watched Lucas try and teach a frustrated Brooke and by the end of the night they were all extremely tired. Lily fell asleep quickly, and Averie was even sleeping soundly in Karen's arms. Lucas and Brooke were happy just lying in the hammock together in the back yard, talking about anything and everything. It was weird to them that they had a baby but were still getting to know each other. They didn't mind though, everything was still new and exciting to them and the thought of being apart from each other was not a good one. They finally decided that they should be heading back to Brooke's apartment, much to Karen's dismay.
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Brooke came out of her bedroom where she was feeding Averie and found Lucas sitting on the couch. They were both worn out from their long day playing and visiting with his family. Not to mention the sick baby that was quite the handful. Brooke walked towards Lucas, sitting down next to him on the couch. "She's finally out" Brooke said triumphantly, happy that the medicine seemed to be working and hoping that Averie would sleep more tonight.
"Good" Lucas grinned, playfully pulling on the drawstrings on Brooke's pajama pants. "Want to watch a movie? I'll make popcorn…"
Brooke's eyes grew wide and her lips formed into a dimpled smile, "Yeah!" She agreed excitedly, "You go get the popcorn started, I'll pick a movie!"
Lucas nodded and made his way into the kitchen as Brooke sat in front of her and Chae's collection of DVD's. She decided on a romantic comedy, knowing that she deserved it after the stressful day she had. She put it in the DVD player and got comfortable on the couch with mounds of blankets and pillows. She grinned as Lucas walked back into the room holding a large bowl of buttery popcorn and two tall glasses of soda.
He got comfortable next to Brooke on the couch and handed her the popcorn. He wrapped an arm around her and she snuggled into his side, immediately growing quiet as the movie started. They made it halfway through the movie before Brooke got utterly and completely bored.
She looked over at Lucas and smiled when she saw that he was totally into the movie. He had his broody face on and was concentrating; she couldn't help but find it totally sexy. She kicked the blankets off of her and then continued by pulling them off of Lucas as well.
"Hey" he said defensively as she took his blanket away, looking over at her with confusion. "What are you-" He stopped talking when Brooke sat up, swinging her leg over his lap so she was sitting on his legs. "Doing."
Brooke grinned mischievously before trailing her fingers down his chest to find the hem of his shirt. She started to slowly push the shirt up, revealing small amounts of his toned body with each movement. "Were you watching that?" She questioned, her voice was raspy as she narrowed her eyebrows and moved her face closer to his.
"Uh...no" Lucas gulped, his hands making their way to her hips.
"I didn't think so" she said, her devious smile returning. She kept pushing and pulling on his shirt, waiting as he lifted his arms so she could pull it over his head. After she discarded the piece of unnecessary fabric she ran her fingers along his warm upper body. She leaned her face down by his ear, "I think we should take advantage of this…you know, while Ave is sleeping…"
Lucas nodded happily in agreement and subconsciously ran his fingers along the skin underneath her tank top. He turned his head, and began kissing Brooke's jaw, causing her to tilt her head back. When his lips met her chin, she tipped her head forward again, greedily capturing his lips with hers.
They hungrily kissed each other, while Brooke ran her hands through Lucas' now messy hair. Lucas pushed Brooke's shirt up, his fingers roaming over her finally back to normal tummy. Lucas smiled against Brooke's lips as he heard her moan, and he was surprised when Brooke removed one of her hands from his hair to help him remove her shirt. They broke apart as her shirt was lifted over her head, and Brooke smiled at him as her chest heaved up and down quickly. His ragged breath matched hers and he immediately brought his lips to her collarbone. Brooke caught her breath while Lucas' lips roamed her neck freely. When she couldn't handle it any longer she brought her hands to his face, bringing his lips back onto hers with force.
Lucas arms tightened around her waist and he quickly stood up from the couch, lifting her with him. "Lucas!" Brooke giggled against his mouth as he swiftly laid her on the couch and lifted himself on top of her.
Lucas removed his lips from hers and just stared at the brunette beauty that was lying below him. Her lips were red and swollen, and her face was flushed. She was breathing heavily and he couldn't help but smile, knowing that he did that to her.
"Luke?" Brooke questioned, her voice heavy and raspy. She was obviously confused of why he had stopped their make-out session, and it was starting to worry her to see him just staring down at her like that.
His lips slowly curved into a smile as he brought a hand to her face, running a finger along her swollen lips before resting it on her flushed cheek. "I love you" he finally said, and watched as her eyes sparkled and swollen lips smiled. He watched as a dimple formed on each cheek, and he knew this was it for him. She was it for him.
Brooke smiled as she bit her lip, and couldn't help but feel happy. She reached a hand up to his face and lifted her head, meeting him in the middle for a kiss. Her free hand roamed to the waistband of his sweats and began tugging at them, cursing them in her head for being on him in the first place. Lucas broke the kiss and lifted his lower body off of her as much as he could and together they finally removed his worn grey sweats. Lucas sat up and Brooke set each of her feet in his lap. They kept eye contact as he tugged at the bottom of her pants, slowly pulling them off of her, leaving her only in her bra and panties. He slowly climbed back on top of her and burning skin met skin. Lucas fumbled with her bra, and smiled against her lips as he finally removed it. Before long his boxers were on the floor along with her black panties.
Lucas and Brooke fell back into the rhythm of being together quickly. It was as if they had never been apart in the first place. They made up for lost time, spending hours together thanks to a very tired baby that slept soundly. They made love on the small couch, laughing when Lucas hit his foot against the armrest and tangled his fingers in Brooke's messy hair. They made their way to the floor, deciding to take advantage of all of the free space there. Brooke and Lucas rediscovered each others bodies, fulfilling each others wants and needs.
Brooke lay in Lucas' arms, her head resting against his bare chest and he talked to her until she finally fell asleep. When Averie woke up, they got up together, finding their pajamas and making their way into Brooke's bedroom. Lucas stayed up with Brooke while she fed the baby, and the three eventually fell asleep together in Brooke's bed.
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Brooke woke up the next morning and couldn't help but smile. Her night with Lucas was nothing short of astounding, and she felt like she had everything she wanted. When she finally opened her eyes she looked over to find crumpled up sheets and an empty bed. She finally made herself get out of bed, and after finding Averie's crib empty she made her way into the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and then hair, pulling it into a messy bun. As she walked into the hallway she could smell cinnamon and syrup. She made her way into the kitchen and found Lucas in front of the stove, wearing only his grey pajamas. Averie was contently lying in her bouncy chair which was conveniently placed on the kitchen counter across from Lucas.
Brooke snuck up behind Lucas, thankful for tile floors that didn't creak. She slowly snaked her arms around his waist, her chin pressed against his back. "That smells amazing."
"And how are you this morning?" Lucas asked, his voice low as he smiled, turning around to face Brooke.
She kept her arms around his waist and her eyes lit up. "I'm pretty good" she said plainly, "starving actually."
"Well," Lucas started, smiling down at her, "That's perfect, because I made you French toast."
Brooke's smile grew and she couldn't help but squeeze Lucas and lean towards him to kiss him. "You are the best" she said clearly, releasing Lucas and walking towards the barstools. She unbuckled Averie from her seat and lifted the baby into her arms, kissing her cheek.
"I hope you are ready to be amazed" Lucas said smugly as he piled French toast onto a plate. After he smothered it with butter and maple syrup he grabbed two forks and walked towards Brooke, sitting down next to her.
"Oh I'm ready" Brooke said with a nod. She watched as Lucas used the side of his fork to cut the French toast into bite size pieces.
He stabbed one of the small pieces with his fork and slowly lifted it towards Brooke's mouth, "Open" he demanded, and she obliged, opening her mouth as he brought the food into it.
Brooke chewed and swallowed the bite, a permanent smile on her face, "That's really good" she grinned, taking the extra fork Lucas had brought over and the two began eating together, Lucas feeding her a bite every once in a while.
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Lucas' parents were moving today so after they finished eating breakfast Lucas headed over to his house to help. He had brought Lily over to Brooke's apartment because the little girl kept getting in the way of the movers. Lily was more than happy to be babysat by Brooke, and she thought it was neat she got to go over to Brooke's house to play.
"Hey Lil?" Brooke called, walking into the living room holding Averie who seemed to be feeling a lot better. Lily looked up from the floor where there were Barbie's everywhere, "Will you watch Ave for a minute, I gotta make a super fast phone call."
"Then will you play with me?" Lily asked as she held a Barbie in each hand.
"Of course" Brooke smiled. She placed Averie in her swing and turned it on so that it would rock the baby slowly. "I'll be in my room kay?"
"Okay Brookie, I'll watch her…I'm really good with babies" Lily said happily, looking up at Brooke with a big, proud smile.
Brooke laughed at how cute Lily was and then grabbed her phone and went into her bedroom. She sat on the bed and dialed her best friends' number, excited when she picked up after only one ring. "Hey tutor mom!"
"Tigger! How are you doing? Guess who's over here?" Haley questioned, not giving Brooke time to answer before she told her, "Chae and Jake."
"I'm jealous" Brooke pouted, wishing she could be in Tree Hill with all of her friends too.
"I wish you were here too B, we miss you" Haley sighed into the phone. "Everyone says hi…"
"Tell them I say hi back" Brooke said, her cheery voice returning.
"So what's going on?" Haley asked, she could always tell when Brooke had something to tell her, and this was definitely one of those times.
Brooke decided to cut straight to the point, "I think I love him Hale's" she smiled, her voice cheery and bubbly.
"You…what?" Haley asked, confused by what was going on. She knew that Brooke and Lucas had been spending a lot of time together, and Chae had told her that she thought things were getting serious….but she still couldn't help but be a little surprised by Brooke's sudden confession.
"He's just been so great" Brooke grinned, she couldn't help but feel happy with everything that was happening. "I just can't help it."
"I'm happy for you Brooke" Haley said after a few moments of silence. She could tell that her friend was really happy, and even though she still had her reservations about Lucas she knew that Brooke deserved this. She just really hoped that Lucas didn't screw up again, because she hated the thought of seeing her best friend hurting.
"Thanks Haley" Brooke smiled, "that means a lot." Brooke flopped down on her bed, hugging one of her pillows against her. She was more than relieved that Haley didn't freak out at her, because this was definitely something she wanted to share with her best friend.
"Hold on, Chae is freaking out and wants to talk to you" Haley said with an annoyed sigh.
"Hey…" Chae said happily, taking the phone from Haley, "So how was your night alone with Lucas last night?"
"We weren't alone, Averie was here" Brooke said, her voice sounding a little too nervous and anxious.
"You guys totally hooked up" Chae said with a laugh. She could tell that something had gone on by the tone in Brooke's voice, "You did, didn't you?"
"Maybe" Brooke said with a sly grin.
"It's about time! I'll be home tomorrow, and I want details" Chae said with a smile.
Brooke got off the phone and walked into the living room. She found Lily playing on the floor with her Barbie's, and noticed that there was even a Barbie resting in Averie's swing next to her. "Hey Lil, how about we make some cookies for your brother?" Brooke asked, kneeling down on the floor next to the little girl. Lily nodded eagerly and ran towards the kitchen. Brooke stood up and walked towards the swing, unhooking Averie and picking her up, "Should we make Daddy some cookies?"
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Brooke Lily and Averie were sitting on the couch watching a movie when they heard a knock on the door. Lily sat up and looked at Brooke, "I can answer the door now cause I'm 5" She said with a smile and a nod, obviously trying to get away with something she wasn't normally allowed to do.
"I'm sure ya can, how about I come with you though?" Brooke asked. Lily jumped up from the couch, and Brooke followed her with Averie. When they reached the door Brooke leaned down and looked through the peephole, she unlocked the door, "okay you can answer it Lily" Brooke said, standing back as she watched the five year old struggle with the doorknob before finally pulling it open.
"Lucas!" Lily grinned, throwing herself onto her brother who immediately picked her up. "We made you something today!"
"You did?" Lucas asked, hugging his little sister. "Did you have fun with Brooke and Ave today?" He asked Lily as he looked over at Brooke who was leaning against the wall while she held Averie.
"Yeah we had lots of fun" Lily said, her eyes lighting up. She started to squirm so Lucas set her back down on the ground, "I made you a picture! I'll go get it, stay right there!" She demanded, pointing her little finger at Lucas before she ran off.
"How are you?" Lucas asked, walking towards Brooke and taking Averie from her. After situating Averie on his shoulder he leaned down and kissed Brooke. His lips lingered on hers, not wanting to let go. When they heard Lily's tiny feet coming closer he reluctantly pulled away, leaving Brooke smiling.
"Here!" Lily smiled, pushing the paper into Lucas' free hand. "Its you and Brooke and Averie" Lily explained with a proud smile as her brother examined the round, colorful figures on the paper.
"I love it Lil" Lucas smiled, ruffling the little girls brown curl locks.
"Come on, we made you cookies" Lily smiled grabbing Lucas' hand and pulling him towards the kitchen.
Lucas turned to look at Brooke while his baby sister drug him into the kitchen. He raised his eyebrows, "You guys made cookies?" He questioned wearily as they entered the kitchen.
"Yeah, they are really good" Brooke smiled, picking Lily up and setting her on the counter next to a plate of chocolate chip cookies.
"Are you sure they are safe to eat? I mean they look harmless, but looks can be deceiving" Lucas asked nervously as he surveyed the plate of cookies. He watched Lily happily pick a cookie up and start to eat it.
Brooke smacked Lucas' arm, "Yeah they are safe to eat!" Brooke glared at him, and waited as he bit into a cookie. "Good right?"
"Surprisingly yes" Lucas said with a satisfied smile.
"It was so cool Lucas" Lily smiled, her eyes wide. "These cookies aren't like mommies, all you have to do is take them out of the fridge and you put them on the pan and into the oven! You don't even have to use the mixer!" Lily explained, excited about the new cookies Brooke had introduced her to.
"Oh" Lucas said with a laugh. "That explains it. They came pre-made…"
"Lily! That was supposed to be our secret" Brooke sighed, tickling the little girl.
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Lucas and Brooke sat on the floor of her bedroom later that night. Averie and Lily were both asleep on Brooke's bed, leaving Brooke and Lucas up by themselves. They were both happy to finally have some time alone, they had barely seen each other all day.
"How did the moving go?" Brooke asked, looking up at Lucas who looked very tired.
"It went good, it was a lot of work though" he said, his hand resting on her knee. "Thanks for watching Lily, it would have been a nightmare with her there."
"It was fun" Brooke said with a smile and a shrug. She rested her hand on top of Lucas and looked over at him, "I hope Averie is as great as she is."
"She will be…you are her mom after all" Lucas said seriously. Brooke nervously bit on her lip, and Lucas reached a hand to her cheek. She looked up at him, and he slowly leaned in to kiss her.
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The next day Brooke, Lucas and Averie went back over to Lucas' house. They had to take Lily home and say goodbye to his family before they left for Boston. Lily was excited to leave, she couldn't wait to see her grandma, but she didn't want to leave her brother, niece or new friend Brooke. They were all sitting around in the living room after Keith had finished loading the car. Lily was sitting on the ground with Averie, playing with the small baby and keeping her occupied while the adults sat on couches and chairs, just talking.
"I can't believe we are actually leaving" Karen said sadly as she looked around the home she had loved. "I'm going to miss this place." Keith wrapped an arm around his wife, pulling her close as he sensed her sadness.
"You guys have already been gone for a year" Lucas said confusedly. He didn't know why his mom was getting so upset about leaving now.
"Lucas!" Brooke shrieked, smacking his arm. He was such a guy and could be insensitive sometimes, it drove her crazy. She turned her attention back to Karen, frowning slightly, "I bet its hard to leave."
Karen nodded sadly, "I've loved this place." She paused for a second, looking down at her daughter and granddaughter that were playing on the ground. "But I'm glad Lucas will be able to live here now and maybe raise his family here."
Brooke nodded and smiled softly, Lucas looked over at her, smiling as he lightly squeezed her hand.
"Well," Keith said, standing from the couch, "We better get going. We have a four hour drive ahead of us and I want to get there before its dark."
Karen immediately walked towards Lily and Averie, and picked the baby up, hugging her tightly against her. "Grandma loves you" She whispered to Averie, before handing her over to Keith who was holding his arms out impatiently. Karen then walked over to Brooke and pulled her in a tight hug. "Thanks for letting me get to know you. You are a great girl, and Lucas is lucky. Keep in touch okay?"
"I will. Thanks for everything Karen" Brooke smiled, both her and Karen trying not to cry as they released each other.
Keith walked towards Brooke, wrapping his free arm around her shoulder, "Keep my son in line okay?" Brooke laughed and nodded as she leaned into Keith. He kissed his granddaughter and then looked back at Brooke, "She's great."
Lucas pulled his mom into a hug, "You guys be safe" he told her as she buried her head into his shoulder.
"We will" she said, her voice shaky. "You hold on to this one Lucas" Karen said as they pulled away and looked over at Keith and Brooke who were smiling and talking.
Lucas nodded, smiling as he watched Brooke and his dad who had warmed up to her quickly. "I will" he said confidently.
Karen wrapped her arms around her son once more, "I'll miss you" she said sadly, not ready to leave him again so soon.
"I'll miss you too Ma" Lucas said, smiling sadly at his mom. "We'll come visit though" he promised.
"Ready to go Lily?" Keith asked, handing Averie back to Brooke as they all walked towards the door.
"Do I get to watch a movie in the car?" Lily questioned, scrunching up her face in wonder.
"Yeah, lets go get you in the car" Lucas answered, picking up his little sister who happily wrapped her arms around his neck. Brooke walked beside Lucas and they took Lily out to the car while Karen and Keith gathered their remaining bags. Lucas put Lily in the car, and fastened her seatbelt. He leaned in and hugged the little girl and then moved back so Brooke could give her a hug.
"Thanks for playing with me Lily" Brooke said to the little girl. "I'm gonna miss you, and so is Averie" Brooke said with a smile, tapping the little girls nose.
"Will you come play with me at my new house?" Lily asked, not really understanding that she was leaving and wouldn't get to see her brother or Brooke very much anymore.
"Of course we will" Brooke said with a smile. She hugged Lily once more and then let Lily kiss Averie's cheek.
After saying goodbye to everyone again, Lucas and Brooke watched as they drove away. Lucas wrapped an arm around Brooke as they stood in the front yard. After Karen and Keith's car was out of view they went back into the house. Brooke fed Averie and then handed her off to Lucas so he could change her and get her to sleep. He came out of Averie's nursery after she was finally sleeping and found Brooke in the living room looking through his old family albums.
"You were such a dork" She laughed as she looked up and saw Lucas entering the room. She looked back down at the book where there was a picture of a small Lucas who was missing a couple teeth. He had a huge smile on his face and his blonde hair was messy. There was a paper next to the picture that was written on in messy children's handwriting. Lucas shook his head as he sat down next to Brooke and noticed what she was looking at. "And I quote, 'when I grow up I want to be a fire truck'…" Brooke looked over at Lucas and started to laugh uncontrollably, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth.
"What's wrong with that?" Lucas asked, looking down at the paper and thinking his answer was fine.
"A fire truck Lucas" Brooke got out before erupting in giggles again. "I guess that didn't work out so good did it?" she laughed.
"I was seven!" Lucas said in defense, pulling the book away from Brooke and closing it. Brooke kept laughing at Lucas, and luckily her cell phone started to ring.
"I'll be right back…don't drive away to fight fires now" Brooke said, still laughing as she walked into the kitchen to find her phone. Brooke picked up the phone, answering it without checking the caller I.D. "Hello?"
"Where the hell are you?" Chae half whined, half yelled into the phone. "We just got here and you aren't even home!"
"I'm at Luke's house" Brooke explained, her voice still lined in laughter.
"Well, get home!" Chae demanded.
"Averie just fell asleep" Brooke sighed into the phone. Brooke thought for a second, "Wait a minute, you said we just got here?"
"Uh, yeah…I brought Jake back with me" Chae said in a 'duh' voice, as if Brooke should have known.
"Really? Well, maybe Averie will stay asleep if we put her in the car seat…" Brooke decided, "Yeah, we'll see you soon!" Brooke exclaimed, excited to get home to see her friends. She hung up the phone and noticed Lucas had come into the room and was now standing behind her.
"Brooke I just got her to sleep" Lucas complained, slowly wrapping his arms around her waist, "Plus, do we really want to go back to your apartment, Chae is back and if we stay here we will be alone." He leaned his mouth down to her neck and slowly started to place light kisses all over it, leading up to her ear and then along her jaw.
Brooke melted in his arms, closing her eyes and smiling. She then brought herself back to reality and lifted a hand to Lucas, pushing him off, "God, you always do this to me" She groaned, glaring at Lucas when he started to smile.
"So we're staying?" he questioned, lowering his lips onto Brooke's and pulling her closer towards him as he deepened the kiss.
"Mmm" Brooke moaned against his lips before once again pushing him away, "You really need to stop" she pouted. She wiggled out of his arms and walked away from him before he tried anything else. She started to gather up Averie's things and then her own.
"Brooke, she's been gone for like two days, I know you don't miss her that much" Lucas complained, really wishing that Brooke would just agree to stay there for the night. "We can go over there first thing in the morning."
"I know, but first of all she brought Jake home with her, and we haven't seen him for like a month" Brooke told him, holding up a pink pacifier as she moved her hands around to emphasize her point. She dropped it into her bag before continuing, "And second of all, they planned some sort of surprise for me and I'm dying to see what it is" Brooke smiled, wiggling her eyebrows at Lucas.
Lucas rolled his eyes, smiling at Brooke, only because he couldn't help it. "I'll go get Ave" he mumbled, deciding it would be best to stay on the brunettes good side anyways. She grinned at him, her dimpled smile, and he grabbed his daughters car seat, heading towards the nursery that he had just left.
OTHbrucasOTHbrucasOTHbrucasOTH
Brooke had been texting Chae throughout the whole drive back to her apartment. It was starting to drive Lucas crazy, but at least Averie had stayed asleep. Brooke looked over at Lucas and could tell he was irritated, she set her phone down and reached a hand over to him, resting it on his thigh and giving him a small smile. He looked over at her for only a second before returning his attention back to the road.
"What's wrong?" Brooke asked, biting on her lip nervously.
"Nothing" he said, shaking his head and keeping his eyes on the road.
"Lucas, stop making a big deal out of this, I just want to see my friends" Brooke said, her voice growing as annoyed as Lucas was acting. She removed her hand from his leg, bringing it back to her own lap.
"Yeah, that's fine" Lucas said, annoyance in his voice.
Brooke just rolled her eyes and they sat in silence for the rest of the car ride. Brooke stared out the window the entire time, refusing to even look over at Lucas. He was being such a baby, and she knew that she shouldn't feel bad for wanting to see her friends. They pulled out of the sunlight and into the dark parking garage and Brooke couldn't wait to get out of the truck.
Lucas pulled into a parking spot and Brooke immediately reached for the door handle, but was stopped by Lucas' hand on her arm. She released the door handle and looked over at him, raising her eyebrows and waiting for what he wanted to say.
"Brooke, I'm sorry" He said, exhaling deeply. She relaxed in the seat and Lucas took this as a good sign. "I know I'm being selfish because I just want you all to myself. But I know your friends are important to you and maybe I overreacted." He smiled at her softly, his hand now rubbing her arm lightly.
"It's okay" Brooke shrugged, when she really wanted to say 'yeah, you are being a selfish ass'. She grabbed her phone and dialed Chae's number. She told Chae that they were there, and Chae told her they would be down and to stay in the truck. Brooke groaned, leaning back into the seat.
"What's going on? Why do we have to wait out here?" Lucas asked once Brooke got off of the phone.
"Who knows with those two" Brooke said, rolling her eyes. "They probably just want to go out to dinner or something."
A few minutes later Brooke saw Chae pretty much skipping over to the truck and Jake following behind her. Brooke opened the door and practically jumped out of the truck, running towards Chae and Jake. Lucas got out of the truck as well, grabbing Brooke's purse and getting Averie's car seat from the back seat. By the time he had everything out of the truck Brooke, Chae and Jake had made their way over to him.
"Hey Lukey" Chae smiled, giving him a hug. "I knew ya had it in ya" She said with a wink, receiving a confused look back from Lucas.
Jake and Lucas said hi and started to make small talk before Chae started to get impatient. "Come on!" She whined, pulling on Brooke, "We have something to show you!"
"Surprise time?" Brooke questioned, looking up at Jake. When he laughed and nodded she started clapping her hands together.
Chae led them through the parking garage and they kept getting farther and farther away from the exit, making Brooke and Lucas even more confused.
"Alright, close your eyes" Chae instructed, and Brooke immediately began to shake her head no. "Just do it…I'll lead you to your surprise!" Chae sang, smiling at Brooke.
"Okay fine…Just please don't run me into anything…I have a baby to take care of ya know" Brooke said, reluctantly closing her eyes to be lead by Chae. After they walked a little farther Chae finally stopped, causing Brooke to stumble. "Okay, open!"
Brooke opened her eyes, blinking a few times. She then noticed her light blue VW bug parked in a spot right in front of her. "You guys drove my car down here?" She asked with a huge smile.
"Yeah, I just thought you might need it" Jake shrugged, opening his arms as Brooke threw hers around his neck. "I just don't want you to have to drive Averie around in cabs."
"Thanks so much Jake" Brooke said into his neck. She couldn't believe that they had driven her car all the way up there for her. She had been missing her tiny, cute car and was so excited that they had driven it here for her. She was pretty surprised, and decided it was a good one.
OTHbrucasOTHbrucasOTHbrucasOTH
Brooke was so excited about her car being in New York that she had forgotten all about her argument with Lucas. She was sitting on his lap in the big chair in the living room. Chae and Jake were sitting on the couch, admiring Averie. They had all been hanging out and talking all evening, and it was starting to get later. After ordering pizza for dinner, were all way too full and lazy from eating way too much.
Brooke leaned back into Lucas' chest and turned her face towards him, "Are they being weird?" She asked, motioning towards Chae and Jake who were only paying attention to Averie.
"I was thinking the same thing" Lucas said with a nod, tightening his hold around Brooke.
Jake suddenly stood from the couch, stretching his arms. "Well, I'm gonna go to sleep. I'm worn out from all of the driving" he announced, his voice tight and strained. He looked down at Chae who was still staring at Averie.
"Goodnight" Brooke told him, confused with why he was going to bed when everyone was up talking and catching up. She hadn't seen him for awhile, and she thought he might want to actually hang out. Brooke and Lucas noticed that Chae didn't say anything when Jake left the room, she didn't even acknowledge it really. Brooke sat up in the chair, "Chae, what's going on?"
"I don't know what you're talking about" Chae shrugged, keeping her focus on Averie. "Isn't that right? I missed you so much" She told Averie in baby talk.
"Jake is being really quiet, he hasn't hardly said anything since you got here, and you do too know what I'm talking about" Brooke said to Chae, refusing to give up until she got some answers.
Chae looked up at Brooke, glaring daggers at her. Lucas looked between the two feisty brunettes, and took this as his time to leave the room. He placed his hands on Brooke's hips lifting her up so he could stand. "I'm just gonna go give Ave a bath, get her ready for bed" He explained, walking towards Chae and picking up Averie. As he turned to walk away he mouthed 'good luck' to Brooke, hurrying into her bedroom.
Brooke walked over to the couch and sat down next to Chae, who was averting her eyes anywhere but at Brooke. "Spill" Brooke demanded, leaning back into the couch and pulling her feet up under her.
Chae breathed in deeply, following Brooke's lead and leaning back into the couch. "Well, when I got there everything was good, really good. We spend a lot of time alone at his house, and we hung out with Haley and Nathan and Max, who is like huge by the way. And your friends are just really great." Chae shrugged, pausing and looking over at Brooke.
"Okay, so I have a feeling there is a little more to the story than this…" Brooke said slowly, narrowing her eyes at Chae. "Wait, before you start again are we going to need ice cream?" Brooke asked, and watched as Chae nodded sadly. "Right." Brooke said, nodding her head as she jumped off of the couch and ran into the kitchen. She came back with a tub of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and two spoons. She handed Chae a spoon, "It's chocolate therapy" Brooke said with a wide grin, her eyes widening in excitement. Brooke took a spoonful of the ice cream and watched happily as Chae did the same.
"So everything was fine" Chae told Brooke after she swallowed her ice cream. "We were having a great time. We got up early this morning to drive back here and we were excited for the time just to talk…But then he started saying how we need to decide where we are going with 'this'…" Chae told Brooke, rolling her eyes and using finger quotes. "He said he's sick of waiting around and we either need to make things official or be done."
"So what did you do?" Brooke asked, sitting up straight. "Please tell me you are officially his girlfriend."
Chae squinted her eyes, shaking her head. "Not exactly. I got kinda mad and told him that while we are living so far away I don't think we should have that title. It wouldn't do us any good, it wouldn't make things better and it sure as hell wouldn't make things easier."
"Chae" Brooke frowned, wrapping an arm around her friends shoulder.
Chae leaned her head into Brooke's shoulder as soon as she felt her eyes welling up with tears. "It's just too hard Brooke" Chae choked out, crying softly.
Brooke set the ice cream down on the coffee table along with her and Chae's spoon. She then wrapped both of her arms around her friend, letting Chae cry as she hugged her. "It's okay, you two will get through this" Brooke said comfortingly into Chae's hair as she cried.
Chae pulled away from Brooke, roughly wiping at her eyes. "I don't know Brooke. It's just been too much…I think I'm just gonna sleep out here though, I'm pretty tired."
"You're sleeping on the couch?" Brooke questioned, raising her eyebrows. "I think you need to be in there" Brooke said, pointing towards Chae's bedroom, "And once you are in there you need to be making up with your not-boyfriend!"
Chae laughed lightly, wishing that it was that easy. But it just wasn't. She couldn't even look at Jake, especially after he asked her to move there and be with him. It was just to hard and way too much. She was so overwhelmed that she just needed her space, and if that meant sleeping on the couch, then that's where she would be.
"I think I'll just stay out here" Chae said with a shrug. "But I think you need to tell me about your 'not-boyfriend'?"
Brooke bit on her lip, and looked down at her lap as a smile formed on her face and her cheeks blushed.
"So was he as good as you remembered?" Chae asked, trying not to laugh.
"Better" Brooke mumbled, still looking down until they both erupted in fits of giggles.
Lucas walked into the living room, holding a clean and squirmy baby in his arms. "Hey, I think she's ready to be fed" He said nervously, hating that he had to interrupt Chae and Brooke's girl talk.
"Will you just bring her-"
Chae cut Brooke off, shaking her head and stopping her laughter, "You can just feed her in there, I'm ready to go to sleep anyways."
"Are you sure?" Brooke asked, looking at Chae still a little worried. Lucas walked back into Brooke's bedroom to wait for Brooke.
"Yeah," Chae said, forcing out a smile. "Lucas was undressing you with his eyes" Chae whispered, leaning into Brooke, "And he has been all night…I think you better get in there" she winked, "But thanks for talking…"
Brooke smiled softly at her friend, hugging her quickly, "Your welcome. And just hang in there kay Chae-bay?" Chae nodded and Brooke reached for the ice cream so she could put it away.
"You can just leave that" Chae said with a small smile. Brooke gave her a knowing nod and set the ice cream back on the coffee table before heading to her room where her relationship with Lucas was actually pretty great. She felt bad for Chae and Jake, and she really hoped that they could work through whatever was causing them so much grief.
OTHbrucasOTHbrucasOTHbrucasOTH
Brooke rolled over in bed, waking up after a long, sleepless night thanks to a cranky baby. Lucas was sleeping peacefully and even though he looked so cute sleeping, she just couldn't let him. She leaned up on her elbows, scooting over towards him on her stomach. She placed her hands on his chest and lowered her lips onto his, she lightly pecked his lips over and over until he starred to stir and his eyes slowly opened. He wrapped his arms around Brooke and when she lowered her lips onto his this time, she left them there.
"Mmm good morning" Brooke grinned against his lips as her hands ran along his naked chest.
"Morning baby" Lucas said sleepily, before reattaching his lips to Brookes. He quickly rolled her over so that he was now hovering over at her. He tickled her sides as he kissed her, and she couldn't help but giggle. "Shh" Lucas said against her lips, he pulled away momentarily only to say, "We don't want to wake up Averie."
She smiled and nodded before his lips crashed onto hers again, this time with more force. He kissed her hard and couldn't help but slowly edge her tank top up to expose her stomach. He ran his fingers along her bare skin as the kiss grew more intense. Brooke ran her fingers along the elastic of his boxers, feeling him pressing against her.
"God, that is not what I'm saying!" They heard Chae yell from outside of Brooke's bedroom door. The yelling cause Brooke and Lucas to stop dead in their tracks. Lucas slowly peeled his lips away from Brookes and he sat up slowly, sitting next to Brooke who was now sitting up as well.
"What is going on with them?" Lucas asked quietly just in case there was another fit of yelling from outside the bedroom.
"I don't know" Brooke shrugged, she slowly climbed out of bed, entranced by what was going on outside of her room. She crept towards the door, and sat down, leaning her ear against it.
"Didn't you guys talk about it last night?" Lucas asked, getting out of bed and walking towards Brooke, sitting down by her on the floor.
"Well yeah, but I didn't know it was this bad…I thought it was just a stupid argument" She told him in a whisper voice.
"You just don't…committed….trying…damn hard" Brooke and Lucas heard Jake yell, only catching a few words here and there.
"That really does not sound good" Brooke said, shaking her head.
"Do you think we should go out there?" Lucas asked wearily, his ear still pressed against the door.
"No way" Brooke said with wide eyes. She sure as hell wasn't going to be caught in the middle of that argument.
"You never listen to me!" Chae's shrill voice sounded through the door.
"Ooo" Brooke groaned, biting on her lip.
"You don't want to try? I'm done" they heard Jake yell. It was quiet for a few seconds before they felt and heard Chae's bedroom door slam shut next door to Brooke's room. They stayed on the floor, quietly listening for anymore sounds or movements from outside.
When they didn't hear anything Brooke and Lucas both cautiously stood from the floor, looking at each other with no idea what to do next.
"I'm gonna go out there" Brooke decided. She didn't like what was happening, and she figured maybe she should try and be a voice of reason in this one.
"I'll come with you" Lucas told her, not wanting her to walk out into the crossfire alone.
"Babe, you're practically naked" Brooke said, tilting her head and smiling at him. "Not that I mind…but you should probably be clothed…" Lucas nodded in agreement and Brooke slowly turned the doorknob, "Get dressed and meet me out here in a minute…I'm gonna test the waters."
Brooke walked out into the hallway, closing her bedroom door behind her. She walked into the living room and found Jake sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. Slowly, she stepped towards him, taking a seat next to him on the couch. He looked up at her, and she could tell that he felt bad for all of the yelling by the way he was looking at her. She felt a little bad too though, considering she basically eavesdropped on his and Chae's entire argument.
"How ya doing buddy?" Brooke asked, realizing that it was a stupid question right after it left her mouth.
"I'm sorry this trip sucked so much Brooke" Jake said regretfully. "I know we didn't have much time to talk, its just a lot has been going on and my mind has been somewhere else completely."
Brooke nodded, knowing that Jake was obviously preoccupied with everything that had gone on with Chae. "It's okay."
"I'm gonna get going, but we'll talk soon okay?" Jake told Brooke, standing from the couch. He had originally planned to stay for a few more days, but he figured he'd just change his plane ticket when he got to the airport today. "You need to come down to Tree Hill, Haley misses you ya know?"
Brooke nodded again sadly, standing to hug her friend. Her and Jake had always been great friends, and she felt horribly for him. She pulled out of the hug, and had no idea what to even say to Jake. She walked with him to the door where his duffel bag was already packed and waiting. He unlocked the deadbolt, and opened the door.
"Tell Lucas to be good to you or I'll beat his ass" Jake said with a slight smile, trying to lighten the tense mood that had built up for good reason.
"I will" Brooke said, smiling softly up at him. They stood in the doorway for a few more seconds, Jake in the hall, and Brooke inside the apartment. "Are you guys really done?" Brooke asked, her voice quiet and timid.
Jake nodded sadly, gripping onto his bag tightly. "Yeah, we are." he looked down, and then looked back up at Brooke. "I better get going. Sorry again."
"Don't worry about it Jake" Brooke told him sadly.
"I love you Penelope" Jake told her as he walked away from the apartment. Leaving one of his best friends, and his now ex girlfriend, if Chae had ever been that to begin with. He really didn't expect this trip to turn out in this way, and leaving that apartment he felt lost.
Brooke closed the door and locked it. She walked back into the apartment, still in shock. Lucas was standing in the living room and she immediately walked into his arms, holding on to him tightly as she pressed her face hard into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and leaned down to kiss her silky hair. "They had no problems" She said quietly into his chest, her fingers holding onto the cotton of his shirt tightly.
"Maybe they did, maybe they just didn't tell you" Lucas told her. He knew it wasn't what she wanted to hear, but it was the truth.
Brooke didn't say anything back to him, just kept her face hidden in his chest and her hands tight on his back. She didn't want to let go of him in fear of losing him all together.
"It's okay" he said softly, bringing a hand up to her cheek.
She pulled back lightly, only enough so that she could see his face, "But what if that happens to us Lucas?"
Lucas shook his head, his blue eyes locking onto her hazel ones, "It won't." He told her. She found comfort in his confident and reassuring voice.
"I should probably go talk to Chae" Brooke said, slowly releasing Lucas and walking towards Chae's bedroom. Averie started to cry, as if on cue, and Brooke looked torn, not knowing which room to enter.
"I'll get her" Lucas told Brooke, giving her a light push towards Chae's bedroom.
Brooke knocked on Chae's door lightly, and when she didn't get a response she crossed her fingers and slowly opened the door. She saw Chae laying on her bed, holding a pillow to her chest as tears ran down her face.
"I just…can't…do it" Chae sobbed, her words coming out barely audible in between cries.
"It's okay honey" Brooke soothed, quickly climbing onto the bed and pulling her broken friend into her arms. "It's gonna be okay."
Chae hid her face in Brooke's shoulder, her wet tears soaking her friend. "It's too…it was…too hard" Chae cried.
Brooke stayed with Chae, trying to comfort her as she cried. She whispered all of the soothing words she could think of, but nothing seemed to help. This just wasn't how it was supposed to be. Her and Lucas were so happy right now, she felt like she had everything she ever wanted. After listening to Chae and Jake yell at each other, it made her lose hope for love all together. Seeing Chae so upset and broken brought back all of her fears about trust and commitment. Maybe it really wasn't worth it, in the end all you got was hurt anyways. For the majority of the time Chae and Jake were happy. It made Brooke wonder how long her and Lucas would be able to be happy before tragedy struck and they both ended up more broken than before. As Chae shook and cried in her arms, she wasn't sure if any of this was worth it.
The way you're holding on to me
Makes me feel like I can't breathe
Just let me go, just let me go
OTHbrucasOTHbrucasOTHbrucasOTH
A/N: Okay, wow! I hope you guys liked this looong chapter! The next one will be jumping ahead about 6 months...so thats exciting! I want to just thank everyone who reviewed again! You guys are the best! Don't forget to review and i'll try and update on sunday...i hope you all have a great weekend! I love you all! xoxox Lindsay!
…:Thank You's:…
Onetreehillgirl066- way to go being the first reviewer…I'm glad you liked the song in the last chapter! I hope you liked this extra long one as well! Thanks for reviewing!
Dolcegrazia- I'm glad you really liked the last chapter, and the date! I was happy to hear that! I'm glad that you are excited for the story to jump ahead, because I am to! Thanks for always reviewing J
Allie (Othfan326)- I always love your reviews! I'm happy that you loved the last chapter! I'm glad you liked the brucas date, and I actually am thinking about bringing brooke's mom into the story for maybe a chapter or something in the future! So thank you for that suggestion! I'm glad you liked the purple monkey part, haha I couldn't help but add that in there! I hope you liked this extra long chapter! Thanks for reviewing, I always love them! And yay, I'm officially done with school! That's a bummer that you have a whole nother month..we got out like way early, but I'm not complaining!
Lin (LoveLin)- Aww, thank you for reviewing! I always love to hear from new reviewers. Your review was so sweet, I seriously loved it. Thank you so much! Reviews like yours are exactly what I need to hear…so thank you very much J I'm glad you are liking the whole story and everything! I'm glad you liked how the brucas date went! Thank you for writing a review even though your wrist is broken, I can imagine that could be pretty difficult! I broke my wrists when I was little, I remember it was hard to carry my lunch tray at school lol. Anyways, thank you for your review, it was amazing!
Cass (CheerandBrood323)- Hashanah, I love the movie Blue Crush, I just watched it the other day too! Yay for the purple monkey! I just had to add that in, I really couldn't help it lol. Brucas are so cute lately…they are restoring my Brucas faith! I love them! Hahah you are so funny, it was like being in maine without the overralls. Hahah. I like laughed my head off. I love you! Thanks for always reviewing! I hope you liked this freakishly long chapter!
Katie (BrOoKe DaViS23)- Hey bif! You are so sweet! I always love your reviews! I still don't get why you love my story so much, but I'm so happy that you do! I really hope you liked this crazy loooong chapter! It seriously is outta control! It'll be amazing if I ever get these reviews finished, I cant stop watching the brucas clips lol. Anyways, I will be talking to you soon I'm sure J ILY!!
Sydney (LoVeBrucas)- Look who it is! Hahaaha. I almost started by playing the bleeping game, but then I remembered it doesn't bleep out here, I'm not gonna lie…I got a little bit sad hahha. Hoe. Hahaah. I'm glad you loved the brucas date! I didn't know if people would since they didn't really do anything, but people seemed to like it anyways! And yaay he loves her! Duh. How couldn't he? So it would take me like years to comment on your whole review, so I think I'm just gonna stop now. I hope you dressed up like a construction worker last night haha. And I also hope you didn't lose anything in your hair…..ahahahhaa. Thanks for always reviewing, you know you are like the shit right? Dang it…no bleeping. Hahaha. I love you!
Jem (flipflopgal)- I'm glad that you liked brucas' first date! That's awesome! Thank you for always reviewing, I love to hear from you!! I hope you liked this chapter!!
Amy (brucas2008)- I'm glad you are hooked to this story hahaha. That really is a good thing! And you are right, brooke does always let her guard down to Lucas! Its just so cute! I hope you liked this chapter, even though it was like super long! Thanks for always reviewing!!
SarahF- I seriously loved your review! It was very nice! I'm glad you liked their first date and how open they were with each other. Especially how open Brooke was! And you are totally welcome for writing this story! Reviews like yours just make me want to continue with it! That's awesome that you did a dance of joy when you saw I had updated, hahaha I hope you did it again cuz that's pretty awesome! I hope you liked this chapter, and thanks again for reviewing, I really love them!
Tanya (tanya2byour21)- Thank you so much for your review! I love seeing new reviewers! I'm glad you like how Brooke acts with Averie, and I'm also glad you liked how their first date went! I hope you liked this chapter!
Katherine- I am so glad you are feeling better J being sick seriously is not fun! Thanks for being concerned about me, I was actually surprised when I didn't get emails lol. I hated taking so long to update, but luckily things are starting to calm down now and life is slowly returning to normal so that is good J I love how you notice like every little detail in the story…well you just notice more than a lot of people do and I love it! Like the guy in the restaurant…and the brucas family having the apartment to themselves… I'm glad that you liked their conversation and the way they opened up to each other and reacted… I just love your reviews! I wish I could comment on like every comment you make but that would take forever. Your reviews are my favorite though… I really like love them haha. I hope you liked this chapter… and I know you will let me know what you though, so I'll be waiting! Everytime I get a review I'm like 'I hope its katherine!' hahaha. I get excited! Anyways, thanks so much for reviewing, they are always like the best things ever!
Onetreefan- I'm glad you are enjoying the story! And I'm also glad that you like how I wrote both of their pasts! It was kind of difficult, so I'm glad that it worked! I like your ideas about how the future can go for Brooke and Lucas…but you'll just have to wait and see ;) Thanks for your review and I hope you like this chapter!
Natalie (iluvmedou)- I'm glad that I cheered you up with the last chapter if it was only for a few minutes J I'm glad you liked how the brucas date went! Ooohhh and the purple monkey J I just couldn't help it, and you are right, that is pure brucas love! Ahh! I love it! Thank you so much for your review!! I hope you like this extra long chapter!
Jen (courtneylovejason)- Hey buddy! Well, I'm not gonna lie…I was kinda sad when you decided to not review while you write…then I didn't get to hear any of your crazy thoughts! And I love your crazy thoughts lol. But I can understand that it can be kind of time consuming to do that! It sounds like you were pretty busy anyways lol. So its cool, I forgive you J I'm so glad you weren't mad at me at all in the last chapter! Yay! That's like total improvement. I have a feeling you are gonna hate me after this chapter! But whatev! So I'm glad you loved everything about the last chapter J and I hope you like this one as well! Thanks for always reviewing! Looove you!!
Lilohb- I'm glad you loved the whole chapter! And thanks so much for being so supportive even when it takes me so long to review! You are the best! Thanks for always reviewing, I hope you liked this chapter!
BRUCAS EQUALS LOVE- I'm glad you loved brucas' first date! And you are right, lucas spending the night is like the perfect ending hehehe. Thank you for reviewing! I hope you liked this chapter too!
Austingirl76- I'm glad that you are ready for the time jump…I am too lol. That's pretty cool that this is like the only story you are interested in ahhaha. That like makes my day! Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter, and thanks sooo much for reviewing!
Brucas333- hhahaha yes I am the new ashton! that's awesome, except I get punk'd like all day long lol. I lose my phone…and I'm pretty sure its just me getting punk'd ahhaha. I'm glad you loved the last chapter, and also excited that you don't mind if I jump ahead J thanks for reviewing!!
Erika- I hope your mom is okay, I was sad to hear she was in the hospital L hahaha you are right, brucas did get to know each other. I seriously laughed my head off at your review when you were like 'nice to meet you, wanna have sex?' hahaha that is totally how their relationship was! So funny! Yay for the purple monkey! And don't worry, Jakes feelings for brooke are only platonic! Hahaha. Thank you for reviewing, as always I loved reading it! I hope you liked this chapter!
IamCaroline- I'm glad you liked the brucas date! And yay for the purple monkey! I just had to put that in there somewhere, cuz its so brucas! Haha. I'm glad you are happy that I'm jumping ahead, I am really excited to do so! I hope you liked this chapter, and thank you for always reviewing! I love them!
TutorGrrl- Thank you so much for your review! I seriously loved it! And I'm glad you liked the brucas date, and Brooke's insecurities and how they shared everything! Thank you for being so supportive of this story! I really hope you like this chapter!
Chasitybsp- I'm glad you loved the chapter! And you are right they are slowly getting back on track! I'm glad you like Chae! She is funny, I always have fun writing her! I hope you like this chapter! And it was good to know you were missing this fic after that long week break hahha. Thanks for always reviewing!!
Brucas3Naley23- I'm glad you loved the brucas date! Thank you so much for reviewing, and I'm glad you liked the last chapter..I hope you like this one as well J
Bella- I'm glad you liked when Brucas talked about their past! Hahah I'm glad you liked the purple monkey too..I was pretty excited for that part! Thank you so much for reviewing! I hope you liked this chapter!
Eunice101- I'm glad you loved the last chapter! I hope you love this one too J thank you so much for reviewing!
Reina123- Thank you for always loving this story and for always reviewing! Really, I appreciate it! I hope you liked this chapter!!
Chebelle- hahaha I'm glad I had you grinning like a goofy idiot…I think that is a good sign! Haha. I'm glad you liked the brucas date, and the part where they were talking in Brooke's room J The end of the school year is always stressful, so I understand! I am happy that I am officially done with school for right now! It's pretty exciting! It is kind of hard to find time to write, I usually do it like really late at night lol. But I love it, so its worth losing sleep over hahaha. I'm glad you are excited for the time jump..I think its time for it to happen! I hope you liked this chapter, and thank you for your review! I loved it!
Brucas224- I'm glad you are loving it! And of course, there is always more brucas J thanks for reviewing!
Brucasfan23- I'm glad you love this story! And don't die cuz the next update is here and its really long! Haha. Thanks for reviewing, I hope you like this chapter!
OH and Sara! I hope life starts to not be so crazy for you! Just know that I am thinking about you! If you can't review I totally understand! You are the best! I love you BRF!!
