A/N : I must be out of my mind to be updating 3 days before my A level exams begin! SO I hope you all appreciate and enjoy it!

Chapter 33 part 2

"Are you ok?" I asked Brooke as I felt her tense in my arms. She put both hands on my chest and gently pushed me away.

"Is there something you need to tell me?" she asked looking queasy.

There were many things I could tell her but none that she needed to know. There was no sense in hurting her and ruining what we had just fixed over something like sleeping with Rachel if that was all over now. I never thought Dee would find her way back to me so quickly and I didn't want to screw things up again. I had no idea what was wrong with her but there was no way she could know about what happened while she was away. I was lucky she had decided to come over now, any earlier and she would have gotten a front row seat at the show itself.

"Are you ok?" I said brushing the hair out of her eyes. She took a step away from me, putting a gap that felt like miles between us.

"What is Rachel's necklace doing here?" she said, her voice wavering. I automatically flipped around to see what she was looking at and sure enough sitting on my bedside table was a diamond rose necklace Rachel usually wore. I felt my blood run cold at the sight. It killed me that something so menial like a necklace could hold all the relevance in the world.

"She was over here and she took it off?" I said trying my luck but my own voice went against me as it came out sounding more like a question.

"Don't bullshit me Nathan, just tell me the truth!" she said in a detached manner . She sounded angry and upset at the same time and I instantly felt like crap for being the one to make her feel that way.

"Did you sleep with her?" she asked, crossing her arms defensively.

"Brooke—" I started, not wanting to voice the inevitable. I did not want to have to stand here and tell her I had sex with Rachel.

"Did. You. Have. Sex. With. Rachel?" she asked again, enunciating like I didn't understand her question before.

I must have hesitated a second too long in giving her my answer because she sighed as I saw her eyes gloss over.

She let out a sob and I took a step toward her as she took another step back, not wanting to be anywhere near me, not that I blamed her. I felt just as bad for doing the action that she did finding out about it.

"Dee-"

"What? What can you possibly say to defend yourself?"

"I thought I lost you—"

"That is not an excuse! If you really loved me like you say you did then at the thought of losing me you wouldn't want to jump into bed with someone else, let alone Rachel Gatina! Who by the way I thought you said you had no feelings for whatsoever!"

"I just panicked! After I spoke to Peyton I was just looking for someone, it made no difference to me whether it was Rachel or not. I swear I do not feel anything for her, she was just something familiar and easy."

"Easy? That's just great, you were bored and she was available and that was it right? I made you wait a while but I bet you thought I was easy too right?" she said sarcastically. I tried to stop her talking but she ignored me and carried on. "So I guess sex means nothing to you at all right? You could just easily sleep with someone else less than forty eight fricking hours after we—" she stopped unable to finish her sentence, and leant on the wall behind her to support herself.

"No! It does mean a lot to me," I said trying to reassure her then realising it sounded wrong. "Sex with you not with her!"

I knew how much trust she had to have in a person before she could even think of sleeping with them, and I knew how much it all meant to her, and the contrast of knowing I had just done the same thing with someone I didn't care about romantically made me feel like terrible enough as it was. I felt sick at the thought of comparing what I did with Dee to what I did with Rachel. It was completely different. With Dee is was romantic and soft and magical, and filled with a million thoughts running through our heads at 100 miles per hour. But with Rachel it was emotionless and my mind was running blank on zero thoughts until it was over.

"After she left that here today I broke it all off with her realising it was wrong being with her when it was you I wanted."

"Oh that makes me feel so much better, it was me you wan—hold on did you just say this morning? You said you went to her after you spoke to Peyton, which means it wasn't a one-time thing and it's been going on the whole time I was gone! You just left her TODAY! Meaning she was here a couple of hours ago! " she got up to walk out like she couldn't be in the same room anymore, but she started walking toward the exit from my balcony obviously not wanting to encounter my family on her way out.

"Brooke , please hear me out," I pleaded following her.

She paused on the stairs and spun around. " In all of those weeks you seriously didn't see the wrong in what you were doing until now?"

I saw the hurt in her eyes and just wanted to hold her and reassure her everything would be ok, but I knew she wouldn't appreciate my touch right now.

"You really cared about me just as much as you cared about the bet didn't you? I was naïve to think otherwise. I was right from the start, this could never work out. " she said in a calm but sad voice.

"Please don't say that! That's not true! I'm so sorry! She never meant anything to me, please just—" I stopped talking when she decided she didn't want to listen anymore and promptly turned around to continue down the stairs and leave.

"Brooke!" I called after her. "Stop!"

"Why?" she yelled up at me standing on the balcony.

"Because I love you," I said, stating the truth. I didn't know what else I could say to begin to fix this. God, what was wrong with me? Why did I always have to ruin anything good in my life, and hurt the people I cared about most?

"Yeah well, I don't know what I'm supposed to do with that anymore." She said walking away and I literally felt my heart break into two. I think I would have preferred her to yell, or get angry, but the silence , and calmness was what scared me the most. If she had gotten mad at me, at least then I knew she still cared. She just shook her head and turned away.

X x x x x x x x

Lucas POV

"Lucas dear? Could you tell Brooke that dinner's ready?" Ada asked me as I walked into the house after coming home from dinner with Peyton and Chase.

"Umm…" I started trying to figure out a viable excuse to why I didn't want to go and talk to Brooke.

Ada frowned at my expression. "Don't tell me you two are still fighting," she said disapprovingly. "Now I don't know what happened but I do know this is the longest you two have gone without talking, and it's not right."

"Ada, you don't know what she-" I started, sounding like it was five years ago again when me and Brooke would go telling on each other to Ada.

"I don't want to know. There are no excuses. You two have been joint at the hip since you were little and it's silly to throw that all away now over something so menial."

I didn't want to start arguing about how it wasn't menial because I didn't want to volunteer information on what happened.

"Look honey, even though you two are cousins, you're like brother and sister, and let's face it you're the closest thing to family to each other either of you has got," she said in a quieter voice, realising for the first time she was implying something negative about my Aunt and Uncle.

"I know Ada, it's just more complicated than you think," I said smiling weakly. At least she was making an effort to get us to talk again, hell at least she even noticed we weren't on friendly terms, which is more than I can say for my Aunt and Uncle.

"I'm sure it is, but you have to take a step back and ask yourself if it's really worth it," she said and I took a minute inside my own head to think about what she was saying. "Now, be a grown up and go and tell her dinner's ready," she said walking back into the kitchen.

When I got upstairs I was about to knock on Brooke's door, when my previous thoughts were confirmed and I realised that Ada was right and I did agree with her, but I knew I was nowhere near ready to forget what happened, and I didn't want to talk to her either.

After deciding I would just have Michel use the intercom to tell her about dinner, I walked into my room. I was about to lie down on my bed when I heard a noise coming from somewhere in my room. I sat up abruptly and tried to follow where the sound had come from. I picked up one of my golf clubs from my cupboard and headed toward the closet door, ready to get rid of any intruders. It was a wonder anybody even got in here with all the security around our house.

I flung open the closet door to see Brooke sitting on the floor, behind my railing of clothes. She had red rimmed puffy eyes and tear tracks all over her cheeks. She jumped in surprise at the door being opened and quickly wiped the tears off her face, getting up.

"Sorry, I thought you were out," she mumbled, picking up a tissue that she had dropped.

"What the hell are you doing?" I said annoyed, setting the golf club down. I let out the breath I had been holding in anticipation to opening the door.

"Sorry, I just um… needed …some comfort," she said looking down at the floor.

"From my closet?"

"Yes...Well no, from you but you're not talking to me and…"

"Yeah the hell I'm not talking to you. You made it clear earlier you didn't need any of us, if you had your little boyfriend, so what changed," I said defensively.

"I just…I…." she stopped not knowing how to finish her sentence. I looked to my watch in irritation, even though I had nowhere else to be.

She started walking toward the door. "I guess I'm just going to go," she murmured weakly. I had never seen her looking so broken in my life.

"Brooke?"

"Hmmn?"

"What happened?" I asked unable to stop myself. Her attitude now was a complete change from earlier today and although I didn't want to admit it I was slightly worried about her.

"You were right," she as she broke down in tears. Not gentle tears, but hard heart wrenching sobs. I held it together for precisely three seconds but couldn't stand by and watch her in that state any longer; no matter how much I wanted to say 'I told you so'. I silently walked up to her and just held her. She tightly wrapped her hands around my waist like she was scared I was going to disappear any second, and cried into my t-shirt.

I rubbed her back and she seemed to have calmed down and was now crying just regular tears. I didn't say anything but just let her cry them out, even though I was dying to know what happened. If he had hurt her again, I would kill him.

After about fifteen minutes she had stopped crying but was still holding onto me.

"So, are you going to tell me what's going on?" I asked her.

"You were right all along. I was wrong. I'm sorry Lucas; I should have listened to you from the start."

Damn right she should have listened to me from the start, but I sensed she didn't need a lecture right now. That could wait until tomorrow.

Earlier today she was adamant she was right about her feelings on Nathan and he was a good guy, but something must have happened to make her change her mind.

"What did he do?" I said in a protective voice, getting straight to the point.

"He…he…he's been sleeping with Rachel while I've been away," she said and I tensed. "I mean it's not like we were together because he never got my message I sent with Peyton but I just can't believe he could turn to her so quickly. It just shows she never cared about me as much as I thought he did. God, I can't believe I was so stupid to think someone like him could like someone like me."

"What? First of all, 'someone like him', what makes him so special? And secondly, don't ever say anything like that again B. You're smart and beautiful, and definitely not stupid, and any guy would be lucky to have you. So don't for one second think you're not worthy enough! If anything he doesn't deserve you!"

"Thanks," she said pulling away from me and trying to smile.

I couldn't help for a minute feel like this was my fault. He never got her message because of me and Peyton interfering even if it were for the better. And him sleeping with Rachel so quickly just proved we were right about him.

"Now you go down to dinner, I ate already, and plus I have some things I have to take care of," I told her, picking up my jacket again and heading out the door.

"No, Lucas just leave it," she said knowing me too well, panic evident in her voice. "I don't want you to get hurt again!"

"I'll be fine I promise, me and Mr Scott have a few things to talk about," I said swivelling my car keys on my finger.

X x x x x

Brooke POV

Lucas walked out the room and I sighed, hoping he stuck to his word and they really did just talk. The last thing I wanted was for Lucas to get hurt because of me. I was thrilled to have Lucas back. After coming home from Nathan's the first person I always took comfort in was Lucas, and since he was unavailable, his closet was the next best thing. I felt at ease taking in the familiar 'Lucas' smell.

Even though I hated Nathan right now, it was impossible to just stop loving someone so quickly and I didn't want him to get hurt either.

Sleeping with Nathan had meant a lot to me. Sex wasn't a casual thing for me and I couldn't understand how it could be for anyone. I couldn't imagine doing it with anybody else, and it killed me to see how easily he was able to just turn to Rachel as soon as he thought I was out the picture.

As mad as I was at Peyton for not giving him my message because all this could have been avoided, part of me was thankful she didn't pass on that I wanted to be with him, because I got to see how little our relationship really meant to him.

I sighed, and picked up Lucas's landline phone on his desk and dialled.

"Luke?"

"No, it's me."

"Oh, hey. What's up?"

"Is your offer still open?"

"Well sure, but is that what you really want?"

"Yes."

"What happened? What about Na—"

"It's what I want. You'd better tell your parents. I'll call you later."

"Okaaay…If you're sure."

"I am."

Xxxxxxxx

Did anyone else notice the new review button? Let's give it a try and click on it! Pretty please….and I will try and get you the next one in no more than 2 weeks I swear! (my exams finish in 2 and half weeks…)

Also please do let me know any predictions, AND things you want to happen….

And yes I am aware of the really mean cliff hanger!