Hi guys! As you can see- I'm really doing my best to give you more frequent updates lately, despite all of the exams I've been having, as your feedback has been simply amazing! I genuinely want to thank all of you for your wonderful support! This chapter certainly includes a fair amount of drama, so I hope you will like it. Hopefully the structure will be clear, as a lot is going on and I've tried my hardest to structure this chapter so that the reader goes back and forth through simultanious actions that Brooke and Lucas are undergoing separately. I know that I've left you with cliffhangers last time, so I won't say anything else other than enjoy, and please share your thoughts with me again! ;-)
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the OTH characters.
Chapter 36
Lucas' piercing eyes were wide-open, flashing sheer panic as he stared into the open, empty space before him, trying to catch his breath and straighten his thoughts. His heart was thumping in his chest like crazy, and considering his heart condition- he knew that this couldn't be healthy, but he could currently only think of one thing, which was not his own medical state- Brooke's terrified hazel eyes which pleadingly and fearfully stared at him as her car grew more and more distant. He simply couldn't believe it- his pretty girl was actually kidnapped and he hadn't managed to stop her abductor before she had taken her away from him who knows where.
"Fuck!" Lucas grabbed his head and exclaimed, feeling unbelievably helpless and angered that he hadn't been able to prevent this from happening and that someone dared to once again harm Brooke after all the trauma she had already been through. He kicked the ground as he realized that even if Brooke would be found safe and sound, this would probably be the last straw that would prevent her from being able to keep it together, as there was simply a limit as to how much a single person could take in such a short amount of time.
As Brooke's petrified gaze once again flashed in his mind, Lucas realized that despite the fact that he might have already been too late- he just had to do something in order to try and find Brooke. Therefore, he threw one last glance at the direction into which Brooke's car had gone and then turned around and began running back to Brooke's house, picking up his pace up to the point where it was getting hard for him to breathe.
Upon growing closer to the house, Lucas spotted Rachel angrily pacing in front of the house, muttering curses to herself over the fact that she had allowed Brooke to step out of the house on her own, and right behind her- standing by the front entrance to the house and looking genuinely concerned was Peyton.
"Damn it, Luke, don't tell me that she got away!" Rachel expressed her dismay, already knowing that this was exactly what happened due to the fact that Lucas was racing up to her on his own, but still refusing to believe that Brooke was once again at risk of being harmed. Lucas, however, didn't reply to her as an idea suddenly entered his mind as his eyes locked on the car-keys that Peyton was casually holding in her hand.
"Give me your keys" he urgently instructed, and before Peyton even had a chance to respond, he already took them from her hand and ran to the comet, hopping into it and turning on the engine. He would have taken his own car had he not wanted to waste time by going back into the house to retrieve his own keys, as he knew that currently, every second might count towards his ability to bring Brooke back home safely.
"Hey- what do you think you're doing, Lucas? Get out of my car!" Peyton protested, too shocked to follow Lucas' train of thought and only processing the fact that he was about to take her beloved car away from her.
"You'll get it right back" Lucas muttered to her as he hurriedly swung the car out of the driveway, "Rachel, call Bob and tell him what happened. Have him back me up on finding Brooke ASAP" he managed to tensely instruct before he zoomed away in the car in the direction in which Brooke's kidnapper had taken off, praying in his heart that he wouldn't be too late, that she wouldn't manage to harm Brooke before he could find them…
Brooke was pale as a ghost. As she silently sat in the passenger's seat and looked straight ahead, not daring to avert her gaze to the woman by her side, she could actually hear her heart beating frantically in her chest. Her eyes were wide open in fear, her entire body was trembling and all she could currently do was focus on taking and letting out sharp, small breaths so she won't faint due to lack of oxygen in her system. She was officially petrified and the saddest part in the entire situation was that the woman she was so scared of was actually her own mother, who was currently continuing to wordlessly drive her car to the unknown.
"Don't look so scared, Brooke. I already told you that I'm not going to hurt you" Victoria suddenly broke the silence and Brooke could feel shivers going up her spine as she noticed from the corner of her eye that Victoria was actually looking at her with what appeared to be real concern.
"What do you want?" Brooke managed to stiffly and fearfully question, her eyes still focused directly ahead.
"I already told you- I want to talk to you. I know that this was a drastic measure, but I can't seem to get past your army of bodyguards any other way these days…" Victoria simply said, the uncharacteristic traces of humor and apologetic tone in her voice alarming Brooke even more.
"I don't want to talk to you. I want you to take me back home" Brooke firmly insisted, the panicked edge to her voice making Victoria realize that her daughter wasn't being stubborn, but that she was actually scared out of her mind with the way she had abducted her from her house.
"Brooke, do you honestly believe that I could have hired someone to hurt you? I know that we had our share of differences, but you're still my daughter…" Victoria commented, her tone sounding as caring as her icy personality could allow, yet Brooke wasn't convinced.
"After you personally kidnapped me from my house like this I'm more convinced that it was you than I ever was…" Brooke honestly replied, and could actually notice a disheartened expression filling Victoria's face from the corner of her eye.
"I'll park the car if you promise to sit down for a talk and not run away. Would that convince you otherwise?" Victoria challenged, seeing her daughter's adamancy to budge from her opinion. When Brooke remained silent and didn't seem to be responding to the offer, Victoria simply shrugged, "Fine, we'll have it your way- I'll keep driving and you'll have no choice but to listen to me…" she said, causing Brooke's eyes to fill with tears as she frustratedly acknowledged the helpless position she was being put in.
"Why are you doing this?" Brooke asked in an crushed tone, her lips quivering as more tears filled her eyes and began spilling down her cheeks, "My life has been an absolute hell for the past few weeks because of the attacks and because you insisted on taking away my company- the one thing that could have kept me sane, and now that I'm finally stronger you're trying to break me apart all over again!" Brooke couldn't help but cry, furious that her mother had managed to get to her once again and put her in a situation in which she couldn't control her fate. "I just have one question for you- why do you hate me so much? You brought me into this world, so what have I done that was so bad for you to want to hurt me like this?" she asked in a wounded, pain-filled tone that soon cracked as an uncontrollable sob escaped her lips and rippled through the air.
"But I don't hate you, Brooke. I know that I may not have been the perfect motherly figure, but I would never want to see you hurt and I'm truly trying to understand what it is that I've done for you to believe otherwise and treat me with such distrust…" Victoria told her, sounding truly honest, yet only causing Brooke to scuff.
"How about the fact that you were never there for me in high school? I actually had a pregnancy scare back in junior year- did you know that? And in senior year- after Peyton and I were attacked by that psycho, I hadn't been able to sleep properly for about six months- but I don't remember receiving even one call from you to check if I was alright…" Brooke brokenheartedly said, finally being able to let out everything that had been burdening her for years regarding her relationship with her mother.
"Brooke…" Victoria began to say, truly sounding remorseful, yet Brooke cut into her speech, as she couldn't stop now, when the wounds from her past were finally opened up for her mother to see.
"I had called you back then one night, when I was too scared to sleep, just to talk to you, and you called me a baby. You said that I'll never make it in the real world if I couldn't learn to suck it up…" Brooke reminded her in a hurt tone, causing Victoria to swallow slowly, seemingly in shame. "And then, when I actually seemed to be making it in the real world on my own with my company- suddenly you were right there, interested in me for the first time in my life! I knew that it was wrong, but I wanted you to love me so much, that I didn't care… I thought that this was a chance for us to bond, but now I realize that this was simply an investment you were interested in, and I was just a part of the package" Brooke soberly said, causing Victoria to shake her head.
"That's not true, Brooke" she quietly told her, yet Brooke only shook her head in disbelief.
"Really- then why would you tell me that I was too stupid to run the company on my own? Huh?" Brooke heatedly questioned, getting truly worked up, "Why would you try to take away the company that I have built away from me? And why would you hire someone to physically harm me when nothing else worked out?" Brooke's voice cracked in the end, as her emotions got the best of her, choking her up and leaving her unable to hold her tears back.
As she struggled to control her pain, only to let out a few uncontrollable sobs in the process, Brooke was surprised to be met with silence from her mother's side. She briefly glanced over at Victoria, only to see her staring at the road with a stoic gaze, which once again implanted fear in her heart. Her feeling of terror only increased as Victoria signaled and went off the main road, starting to slow down her driving pace and making Brooke believe that this was going to be it- that now that she had uncovered the truth behind the attacks and showed Victoria that she had enough solid facts to indicate that she was to blame- Victoria might actually be planning to finish the job and to kill her.
As Victoria slowed down the car's speed upon driving into a neighborhood that Brooke didn't know, the younger brunette's heart once again began thumping in her chest wildly. She frantically looked around, trying to assess her surroundings and see whether she could spot any large men waiting for them anywhere in sight, as she knew that Victoria wouldn't dirty her own hands in attacking her and wanted to be prepared to be ambushed this time, if Victoria was indeed planning to have her hurt severely. When the car came to a complete stop and no potential attackers were in sight, Brooke rushed to unbuckle her seatbelt, knowing that she might have to act quickly if she wanted a chance to escape unharmed. Just as she was about to open the door, however, she could feel Victoria's hand gripping her wrist and turning her to her, causing her to gasp and freeze in her spot with terror. Even when she noticed how Victoria's hazel eyes seemed to be glazed over, the extreme fear that overtook her didn't subside, as she knew that this rare display of emotions might very well result from Victoria's sorrow about what she might be about to do to her only daughter before her eyes. Brooke's head was screaming at her to get up and run while she still could, but her body was simply paralyzed due to her fear, causing her to be unable to breathe properly, let alone move in any other way. With tears streaming down her face rapidly, Brooke could currently only reluctantly listen to Victoria, as she began talking, and pray in her heart that her mother would have mercy on her.
"For my entire life- I have been drawn to fashion. I've had a passion for it since I have been a little girl like to nothing else" Victoria began speaking, her shaky tone and tear-filled eyes making Brooke's body start trembling, as she knew that evoking such extreme emotions from her mother could only mean that something truly extreme was about to happen. Her eyes flew back to the houses around them and her heart began constricting in alarm as she noticed a tall figure stepping out of one of the houses farther away from them and beginning to advance their way. She frantically averted her gaze back to her mother, and upon spotting a tear rolling down Victoria's cheek, she just knew that this was it- that Victoria had already determined her fate and was currently giving her one last goodbye speech. Her eyes widened in panic as this realization dawned on her and as the man continued advancing towards them, but her body had seemingly gotten into a catatonic state, which prevented Brooke from doing anything about it, leaving her with the sole ability of listening to her mother's solemn words.
"When I was your age- I dreamed of building a fashion company- but then I met your father and before I knew it- I was pregnant with you…" Victoria told her, a sense of bitterness entering her voice as she spoke about her husband, causing Brooke to understand that she was about to be punished for something that was never her own fault, that she could have never had any control over. As her blurry vision, hazy from all of her tears, once again took in the manly figure that was getting closer and closer to them, she could feel herself starting to hyperventilate with panic and fear. With hysterical sobs wracking her body, Brooke began to rock herself back and forth, simply praying for a miracle to happen and save her, a miracle she believed could never happen as the man reached their car and knocked on her window- signaling to her that her luck might have just come to an end…
Lucas didn't know which feeling was consuming him more intensely right now- fear or fury. As he drove through the streets of Tree Hill and scanned them thoroughly for any trace of Brooke's car, the blood was beginning to boil in his veins. Numerous terrible scenarios as to what might be currently happening to Brooke filled his mind, making him absolutely furious, as Brooke simply didn't deserve any of this. She had been working so hard on getting back to herself and reinventing Clothes over Bros' and had already been through so much, that she just didn't deserve anything as awful as this to once again happen to her and completely put all the progress she had been making to waste. Moreover, Lucas wasn't quite sure of what Victoria was actually capable of, but the fact that her own daughter strongly believed that it was possible that she had arranged for her to be attacked twice was enough to instill fear inside his heart. As he crossed Brooke's boutique on his way, Lucas' heart constricted in his chest. This place symbolized Brooke's passion, pride and joy, but also the place where Brooke had been when all her dreams were taken away from her. He had watched her trying to rebuild herself and her company, so the store could once again be a source of happiness in her life and was infuriated with the thought that Victoria might have just added the last straw to the emotional load Brooke had been carrying, an act which he feared that could prevent Brooke from ever being able to bring herself to engage herself in fashion.
Lucas was deeply engaged in those troubling thoughts when his cell-phone suddenly rang, causing him to become once again completely alert. Without even glancing down to see who it was- Lucas brought the ringing device to his ear and answered it with a tense "Hello?"- praying in his heart that he would be answered by a safe and sound Brooke.
"Hi Lucas" when Bob's masculine voice was the one to reply to him, Lucas' body sagged in defeat and disappointment. However, when the policeman added- "I've got some news…" Lucas ears perked up again.
"What news? Did you find Brooke? Is she O.K.?" Lucas asked all in one breath, anxiously waiting for Bob to confirm that he no longer had any reason to worry. When Bob replied once again- Lucas learned that not all of his hopes have been fulfilled, but that he did indeed have a good reason to keep up those hopes.
"We don't know exactly how Brooke is doing yet, but we have managed to pinpoint the exact current location of her car. We are on our way to her as we speak, so I'm hoping I'll have some good news pretty soon…" Bob said, managing to lift some weight off of Lucas' chest.
"Tell me where she is. I'm coming too" Lucas demanded, his tone making it clear that he was not about to take no for an answer.
"23rd Bradley Ave." Bob obliged and tersely gave Lucas the information he was anxious to receive, afterwards bidding Lucas goodbye, so he could focus on his current duty to locate Brooke.
Understanding that the destination of his trip was opposite to his current driving direction, Lucas quickly made a u-turn and, upon realizing what a run-down part of town this location was in, Lucas pressed down harder on the gas pedal, praying with all his might that he was about to find Brooke all in one piece…
Uncontrollable, petrified sobs continued rolling freely out of Brooke's mouth as the rapping on her window grew louder and louder. She couldn't even bring herself to open her tightly shut eyes or control herself enough to snap out of the panicked state she was in to try to find a way out of the situation she was in. Therefore, when a few moments passed and the tapping continued, but nothing else happened, Brooke was starting to wonder what was going on, but was incapable of finding the answer to that on her own at the moment.
"Brooke…" when Victoria's hand lightly touched her shoulder, Brooke woundedly yelped and flinched away from her touch, her sobs only growing louder. As she rocked herself back and forth, trying to get some oxygen into her system in her hysterical state, Brooke could hear Victoria sighing and then shifting. Her heart began pounding even faster than before as Victoria suddenly opened the window on her side, where the man was still present. Her whole body tensed as she braced herself for what was about to come, causing her hyperventilating to worsen, yet she was more shocked than horrified to hear what Victoria had to say to the unknown man.
"Yes, can I help you?" Victoria edgily questioned, annoyance coating her voice and successfully disguising any trace of familiarity Victoria might have had with this person.
"I was just passing by and saw you two standing here. I thought I might check if you needed some help…" the man replied, sounding much older than Brooke thought he would be and certainly not as intimidating as she believed an attacker could possibly be. Even so, she still couldn't calm down enough to lift her eyes and take a good look at the man, for she still believed that he and Victoria might be trying to trick her and then catch her off guard.
"We're doing fine by ourselves, thank you" Victoria tersely and icily retorted, making Brooke suddenly realize that maybe Victoria wasn't familiar with this man, but actually waiting for someone else in this street and trying to drive this man away before he could witness what she wanted to do to her. Realizing that this man might be her last chance to escape unharmed, Brooke forced herself to look up at him, despite the panic that was weighting down her body. When her eyes were met with a creepy looking old man, Brooke's stream of tears only worsened. She knew for a fact that this man couldn't possibly be a hired attacker, due to his age, yet could also tell right away that this was the type of old sleaze that pestered young women in clubs and bars, and due to the fact that he was certainly much larger than she was- she was bound to be harassed if she would chose to leave the car and stay with him.
"What happened that made a gorgeous girl like you cry?" the man asked Brooke with a shady grin, causing her to avert her eyes from him and cry even louder as her suspicions regarding his dubious personality were confirmed, making her understand that she was trapped and that currently- she actually was better off staying in the car with Victoria, away from this pervert, at least until a real attacker would come along.
"That is none of your business, now please leave" Victoria was not asking kindly, but actually demanding, yet the man kept staring at Brooke suggestively, completely ignoring what she was saying. Sighing exasperatedly, Victoria closed Brooke's window with irritation and then turned the engine on and drove away, seeing as this man wasn't planning to stop bothering them if they would stay put.
Glancing at her daughter every now and then, Victoria could tell that Brooke was so panicked and crying so hard that she was barely breathing. "Brooke…" she once again tried talking to her, yet Brooke vigorously shook her head and cried.
"I… wa-nt… t-to… go… ho-me…" she sobbed, begging her mother to put an end to this nightmare and to finally leave her alone. Regardless of the fact that things were currently weird between Lucas and herself, all she wanted at that moment was to throw herself into his arms and feel him envelope her in his protective hug, where she had always felt safe and sheltered. The current uncertainty of the situation, which made her wonder whether she was ever going to see Lucas again, choked Brooke up even more, causing her to kick herself mentally for ever stepping out of her house on her own and allowing Victoria to put her through this nightmare.
"Nothing is going to happen to you…" Victoria told her, yet Brooke shook her head, obviously not believing a word that was coming out of her mother's mouth, thinking that if they would have stayed in that run-down street for a bit longer- all of her worst fears would have probably become a reality.
"Ta-ke… me… t-to… Lu-c-as!" Brooke pleaded with her, already feeling herself growing lightheaded due to the intense emotional state that she was in. When Victoria remained silent, seemingly contemplating what to say or do, Brooke realized that this might be her only chance to talk Victoria out of her plan. "Please!" she desperately begged, her body wracking with frightened sobs as she suddenly noticed how her mother's hands were trembling and how her eyes were once again uncharacteristically glazed over with tears. She understood that something big was indeed about to happen, but she just hoped that it was the fact that she had gotten through to Victoria for the first time in her life, and not that she was still sorrowful about what she was about to do. Closing her eyes, all Brooke could do was pray…
"I'm almost there, are you with Brooke yet?" Lucas didn't even bother saying hello to Bob when he once again phoned him and cut straight to the chase, too nervous to engage in pleasantries.
"Not exactly… I called to tell you that Brooke's car started moving. We have already passed the location in which the car was previously parked and Brooke is not there, so we're assuming she's still in the car" Bob explained, causing Lucas' anger to skyrocket.
"Damn it! I can't believe that this is happening…" he frustratedly exclaimed. He currently felt so foolish for feeling like everything was going wrong that morning, just because Brooke was angry at him, when now that was the least of his worries. As far as he was concerned at the moment- Brooke could continue being upset at him for another year if it meant that she was going to be alright…
"I know it's aggravating, but we know exactly where they're going, and if you can pull yourself together- you can help us right now…" Bob admitted, causing Lucas to become completely alert and focused in an instant.
"What can I do?" he intently questioned, willing to do everything he possibly could in order to help find Brooke.
"The car is heading back towards downtown Tree Hill. We are tailing behind it and since you are pretty close to them from the other direction, you could help us corner the car if you turn to Newton Road and keep going straight until you see it…" Bob instructed, causing Lucas to feel his heart filling with hope, "I wouldn't ask you to do this if-"
"No- thank you, Bob… I would be going crazy if I had to be left out of this…" Lucas genuinely expressed his gratitude, knowing that Bob was certainly bending the rules by allowing a civilian to assist in a police car chase, and truly appreciating the fact that he was given a chance to help. The two quickly hung up as Lucas turned into the street that Bob had instructed him to turn to. He truly couldn't believe his eyes when, only a couple of minutes later - he could already spot Brooke's car approaching him from the opposite direction, soon to be followed by a police car that was quickly trailing behind it. Not wanting to be too obvious, Lucas continued driving forward normally, waiting to get closer to Brooke's car so he could make his big move…
If Brooke wouldn't have been crying so hard, it would have been silent in the car, yet Brooke could see the turmoil of emotions written across her mother's face, and it simply terrified her. She had never seen her mother display anything close to this much emotion, and while the innocent, little girl inside of her hoped that this meant that her mother did care about her after all, she had just been burned by her mother too many times for this belief to seem possible to her. Therefore, when Victoria began speaking, Brooke was so nervous and scared that she immediately choked on her sobs and grew completely silent.
"I don't know when you became so scared of me, Brooke... As I already said- fashion has been a dream of mine for my entire life, but if pursuing this dream means that my own daughter is scared that I'm going to hurt her- it just isn't worth it anymore…" Victoria shakily said, and Brooke was so shocked and confused that she actually forgot to breathe. She knew that this was probably yet another stunt Victoria was trying to pull off in order to shake off her responsibility for the attacks, yet something in Victoria's voice just sounded so genuine, that Brooke had to wonder if there was even the slightest chance that she could be wrong about her mother.
This thought lingered in her mind when Victoria suddenly gasped and slammed on the breaks, but almost immediately- crashed the car into yet another vehicle, which had been driving in the opposite direction and suddenly dove into their lane out of nowhere. From the impact of the crash, the airbags instantly opened up, pushing Brooke and Victoria flush against their seats and knocking the air out of Brooke's lungs. Her neck and back pulsated with pain due to the force with which she was thrown against her seat, yet as she took in the scene she was forced to face, due to the fact that she was currently trapped between the airbag and her seat- her eyes widened in shock and filled with relief. She truly couldn't believe it, but the car that had slammed into her car was none other than Peyton's comet, and the person driving it was none other than Lucas, who was currently frantically running towards her, causing her to realize that this unexpected crash had actually been a blessing. As a car coming from behind them pulled over and turned on a siren- Brooke understood that the crash was actually planned, and she finally managed to breathe, even if the airbag was currently limiting her, as she realized that her nightmare had just come to an end.
It didn't take more than thirty seconds before Lucas was opening her car's door and releasing her from the inflating bag that was pressing against her. As the policemen came to Victoria's side of the car in order to help her out and immediately afterwards- handcuff her, Lucas pulled Brooke to her feet and practically yanked her into a hug, holding her as tightly to him as he could and embracing her with all his might. He realized how fortunate he was to be able to hold her, touch her and feel her breathe shakily against him, and it just made him feel like he never wanted to let her go again. When Brooke's nails dug into his shoulders, as if she was holding him for dear life, Lucas only tightened his grip on her trembling body.
"I've got you, baby, you're safe… I've got you now…" he mumbled into her ear over and over again as he held onto her with all of his strength, trying to calm both the disturbingly silent girl in his arms and himself as well. He could tell from the moment he had laid eyes on her that Brooke was definitely not alright- that she was not only overwhelmed due to the fact that she had just been in a car accident, but that she had been through something intense emotionally. His eyes glazed over as relief showered her due to the fact that Brooke was right there in the safety of his arms, but also due to the fact that he was beyond worried about the extent of the damage that had obviously been caused to Brooke's already battered soul.
While Lucas was worrying about how Brooke was going to bounce back from yet another traumatic event, Brooke was actually pondering over the same thing. She was officially overwhelmed and didn't even know what to think. All the intense emotions she had experienced truly drained her and now that she was safely tucked inside Lucas' arms, she could allow herself to give in to her drowsiness, lean into him and silently try to collect herself. She felt so many conflicting thoughts attacking her senses that she wondered how it would be possible for her to function in an acceptable manner in front of her board when she only had three days to get herself together. It then suddenly occurred to her that Victoria might have somehow found out about her secret presentation to the board and pulled this entire stunt just to mess with her head and make her fail. Suddenly feeling breathless, Brooke sucked in a sharp breath, immediately causing Lucas to loosen his grip on her body.
"Are you O.K.?" he softly asked her, still refusing to detach her body away from his in any way, even if only to look at her and see her face, as he was still worried that she would be unexpectedly taken away from him if he didn't keep her securely tucked in his embrace, like what happened just now. When Brooke failed to respond, however, and simply trembled in his arms, Lucas reluctantly pulled away from her slightly in order to look at her face, his arms still wrapped tightly around her body.
"Brooke, are you alright?" he questioned again, feeling his heart breaking as he took in how overwhelmed and troubled Brooke seemed to be. When Brooke simply shrugged, her eyes lost in space and her drained body sagging back into his chest, Lucas received an obvious answer to his question- Brooke was certainly not alright. She wasn't even close to being alright. Still, needing to know whether he had physically harmed her in any way with the car accident he had been forced to initiate for her sake- Lucas gently touched her cheek with one hand, maintaining a sturdy grip on her body with the other, and gently asked, "Baby girl, does your body hurt anywhere from the accident?", but Brooke just ambiguously shrugged, digging her small fingers into his back again and burying herself inside his chest, making him realize that he needed to help her settle down before he would receive any type of answer to his questions.
"It's alright, baby… It's all O.K. now…" he soothed, feeling tears pricking in his eyes with he could feel small droplets wetting his shirt. He kissed the top of Brooke's head twice as he once again embraced her with both arms, letting her silently try to deal with everything that she had just been through. After what seemed to him like a lifetime, though, Lucas was beginning to grow truly concerned about Brooke's lack of communicativeness. When he realized that it wasn't only that she had yet to utter a sound since he had found her, but that her breaths appeared to be too shallow for his liking, Lucas knew that something needed to be done. He glanced down at the small, traumatized brunette, who was clinging onto him desperately, and gave her head yet another peck. He knew that Brooke was liable to protest, but he was about to wave one of the policemen over and ask them for a ride to the hospital, seeing as all other cars present were somewhat wrecked, so Brooke could be properly checked out by both a doctor and a psychologist, seeing as she was obviously undergoing some sort of breakdown. Before he could initiate anything, however, Bob was already coming their way on his own account, enabling Lucas to keep both of his arms wrapped tightly around Brooke.
"Hey…" Bob quietly greeted them, exchanging concerned gazes with Lucas, who simply nodded at him. "I'm going to wait out here with you two for a few more minutes before another patrol unit will arrive" he simply said, glancing towards the one police car that was present, into which Victoria was being led, clarifying to Lucas why they needed to stay put, as Brooke certainly couldn't sit in the same car with Victoria again after what happened.
"That's definitely a good idea" Lucas agreed, starting to rub Brooke's back with one hand, while holding onto her frail form with the other, as he felt more tears wetting his shirt. Trying to avert his thoughts from the state of the girl, who was currently breaking apart in his arms, so he could stay strong for her, Lucas glanced at Bob and noticed a securely-shut, transparent police bag in his hand, which had a single small item inside.
"What's that?" he curiously asked, nodding his head towards the bag and causing Bob to suddenly look slightly embarrassed.
"Oh… I don't know why I didn't leave this inside the patrol unit…" he admitted, "I was going to talk to Brooke about this, but it's nothing urgent. We can definitely do this on another day…" he calmingly said, not knowing how much of what was going on around her Brooke was actually processing, and not wanting her to grow concerned, if she was actually more alert than she appeared to be. Proving to him that she was indeed at least somewhat attentive towards her surroundings, Brooke weakly turned around in Lucas' arms and tried to focus her spacey gaze on him. Her dull hazel eyes immediately found the bag in question, and much to Lucas and Bob's surprise, as her eyes locked on the small object in the bag- they considerably widened and filled with horror. She stumbled forwards, leaving Lucas' arms for the first time since he had found her, and took a closer look at the object, her eyes widening even more.
"Brooke?" Lucas curiously looked at her, wondering what that seemingly harmless object was and even more than that- why it seemed to capture Brooke's attention so much and elicit such an emotional response out of her. Before he could receive any kind of response to his inquiry, however, Brooke's feet suddenly buckled from underneath her. Acting upon instinct, Lucas quickly reached out and grabbed her, completely horrified to find out that she was passed out and taking comfort only in the fact that from far away, he could already hear the siren of the nearing patrol vehicle, which would be taking Brooke to receive all the help she obviously needed…
AN: I honestly hope that this came across as exciting and not as messy with everything that had been going on. I know that I still left some matters hanging in the air, but I promise that things will get clearer as the chapters advance. I would really love it if you would tell me what you thought about this chapter! ;-)