Thank you to my loyal reviewers AND some new names i saw YAY! Thanks to arubagirl0926, katie, emily, maddie, caroline, mackenzie, sophia, annemarie, hailey, kelly, whitney, lola, sarah, jacque, ashleigh, damsam, and stagediva23. I love you all.
NEW OTH TOMORROW! 8x12 FINALLY! YAY :)
I wanted to wait to put this chapter up since i hate putting a chapter up without an idea as to what the next one will include or without writing most of the next one already. And i still havent done that :/ But i couldn't wait ANY longer, it was killing me to keep you waiting lol. So here you go. Enjoy my loves.
Chapter 38
Three weeks later
"DADDY NO!"
Julian and Brooke stirred awake from their sleep when they heard the scream. They heard the loud pitter patter of feet heading towards their door and bursting into the room.
"Jeremy, baby. What's wrong?" Brooke sat up and squinted at her son through the darkness.
"The doctor's gunna saw Daddy's arm off!" Jeremy told them as he jumped up onto the bed and scrambled towards his Mom's embrace.
Tomorrow, well today actually... Julian's red cast would be no more. They had tried to explain how the doctor would get it off to the kids but the triplets were having a hard time understanding how a cast saw didn't hurt or cut skin. Aparently it had led to Jeremy's nightmare.
"No honey. This kind of saw can't hurt daddy. I told you that."
"I'll be alright, buddy I promise."
"Are you sure?" Jeremy's ability to be frightened and curious at the same time made Brooke's heart swell. Jeremy was all sensitive like his Dad.
"I'll pinky swear ya. And those promises can never be broken." Julian held up his pinky, which stuck out of his cast, and linked it with Jeremy's tiny one.
"Okay good."
Brooke was about to offer to let the little guy stay in their bed for the remainder of the night, but the boy scurried away to his own bed without having to be asked. Brooke frowned and Julian noticed. Brooke had gone through some really tough nights since she'd been admitted to the hospital. She had to stay overnight and most of the next day but convinced doctors she would feel better and rest at home.
"They don't need me anymore..." She said.
"Brooke, that's rediculous. Who's gunna cut the crust off their toast in the morning and make sure they brush their teeth well?" He joked.
"But they're not my little tiny babies anymore and everyday they just grow bigger and bigger."
Julian knew what she meant but wanted to lighten her mood.
"Well that's good, otherwise they'd be the short kids in the class that have to line up first at graduations and stand in the front rowsof pictures and stuff...like Haley and Jamie."
Brooke smiled but stayed quiet. Unfortunately her godson got his love of basketball from his Dad but his stature from his Mom. Julian was even taller than Nathan, so her boys had a pretty good chance of being tall.
"You thinking about the baby?" Julian asked.
"Yeah. It still hurts.I think it always will." Brooke nodded. Julian took his wife in his arms and she nestled in close to him when they laid back down. She tried to think happy thoughts that had to do with her amazing life and family, not the tiny life lost.
;
Julian opened and clenched his fist several times as he drove home that afternoon. His three boys went with him to the doctors and left the girls at home. He saw Bentley and Jeremy playing with the two halves of his cast in the backseat. They insisted they take the cast home as a souvenir. They pulled up to the house and the four boys made their way inside.
Inside Brooke was watching TV with Sienna. She was still feeling depressed and sad, but she tried to hide it from the family. Still... Julian could read her like a book.
Sienna bounded over and jumped at her father, who scooped her up and showed her his newly-bare arm.
"Hello my perfectly healthy husband" she chimed. Her smile turned to disgust when she saw her youngest boys. "You did NOT bring that thing home!"
It was a statement, not a question. Brooke was glad to be rid of the smelly cast in her bed and attached to the love-of-her-life, but it had managed to find its way back home.
"They wanted it, how can I deny my own flesh and blood..." Julian tried to cover his butt as he placed Sienna back on the ground; he knew Brooke hated that thing.
Brooke wasn't having it. "That goes in the trash right now guys" she insisted.
"Aww man" Bentley frowned as he walked into the kitchen towards the trash with his brother and sister, "I wanted to hang it on my wall..."
Brooke turned to Julian and held his right hand up to inspect it. The hand was shriveled and pale and smelly, but it was healed. That's all she cared about.
"I'm gunna go show the girls."
Julian apporached the girls' room but stalled when he heard them talking.
"Do do you or don't you?" Jordan was asking her older sister.
Nolan paused and smiled. "I do. I love him. I love Reid Tucker."
Julian was taken aback but Jordan squealed with delight.
"So are you two gunna do it?" Jordan ventured to ask further, knowing she'd probably not get an answer.
And Jordan didn't get an answer. But only because Julian barged in, freaking about about his young daughter's talking about sex.
"You don't know anything about real love Nolan."
Nolan stood and got angry quick. "Were you evesdropping?"
Julian ignored her question. "You're way too young to be talking about loving some boy."
"He's not just some boy Dad! He's my boyfriend and I do love him! I thought you weren't gunna jump to conclusions anymore!"
"Well that was before wyou were talking about love... You don't understand what real love is, honey. You can't be getting all serious with this boy. I won't allow it."
"You're a hypocrite!" Nolan screamed.
"I'm not. I'm trying to prevent you from making similar mistakes. I thought I loved Melanie, but I know what real love is now, and at fifteen... that wasn't it."
"So my whole existence is an inconvenience?"
"I never said that."
"You didn't have to!"
"Hey hey hey, what's going on here?" Brooke came into the room when she heard the argument. Jordan just sat quietly and watched the whole thing.
"Dad's an asshole, that's what's going on.." Nolan barged past Julian and Brooke, who was in the doorway.
"Nolan wait." Julian grabbed her shoulder before she could get too far.
"WHAT?"
"I'm sorry."
Nolan didn't expect him to apologize. That made her soften some.
"I never should have overreacted...again. I just don't want you to make the same mistakes I made."
"Saying I love Reid is not a mistake. And it won't make me do something stupid."
"I know. I just don't want to see you get hurt. Becoming attached could turn out badly."
"I can't help it. I love him. I do. And no matter what, I won't regrey the way I feel right now. You can't expect me to stop loving him just like that-just because you say so, because I won't."
Julian nodded. He didn't want to argue anymore. So he pretended to be okay with it so she wouldn't be mad. But to tell the truth, he would never stop worrying that her heart would get broken out there in the big, bad world. He didn't trust teenage boys as far as he could throw them.
;
Brooke pulled her dress up over her torso and zipped it. She pulled it up as much as she could, fearing she'd be showing too much cleavage in the strapless number.
"You look stunning."
Brooke smiled. She turned around and saw Julian staring at her from the other side of the bed, where he was buttoning his shirt.
They were going out tonight. Brooke said she wasn't really feeling up to it, but Julian thought it would be good for her to get out of the house. He had been quick to try and convince her it was in celebration of his de-casting but really it was mostly a celebration of Nathan's birthday. A triple date with the perfect Naley couple and Quinn/Clay was in store for Brulian this evening.
They met the two James' sisters and their husbands at a fancy restaurant just outside Tree Hill and had a wonderful meal together with wine and cocktails but without kid interruptions, just the parents. Afterwards they decided to go out to a club where they could drink more. Somewhere where the girls could dance and the men could watch. Well, Nathan and Julian would watch, Clay would dance...
The place was crowded and Clay found a big table in the back for everyone to put their stuff down at. The guys sat and drank their beers and talked sports when Quinn pulled Brooke and Haley away to the dance floor. Julian wasn't the greatest sports fan but he wanted to fit in with 'sports-is-our-job' Nathan and Clay.
After about an hour of talking and drinking, Julian noticed that he hadn't checked in with Brooke for awhile. He'd lost track of time, and her as well. He excused himself from the Nathan/Clay bromance and went to the dance floor. He saw Quinn and Haley, but no Brooke.
"Hales?" Julian touched her arm and yelled over the crowd. "Where'd Brooke go?"
"She said she needed another drink but she was going to the bathroom first."
Great.
Julian scanned the room, thanking himself for being tall enough to see over most people, looking for his wife. He finally saw her leaning against the bar talking to the bar tender. He approached and put his hand on the small of her back, causing her to flinch.
"HEY!" She yelled at Julian and turned back to the bar tender. "This is him Marty, I told you he was sexy, right?"
Julian gave a funny look to the bar tender and he got the same back.
"Hey Marty, what do I owe you?" Julian asked as he pulled out his walet, refering to the drink Brooke clutched.
"Uhh sixty-five. And my name's not Marty. She apparently didn't like that my name is Matthew."
Julian was confused. He knew Brooke was an expensive date, but a 65 dollar drink?
"Excuse me? How much?"
"Her tab comes to sixty five dollars. She's been shootin' them back pretty fast this past hour."
"Shots?"
"That and a lot of other stuff mixed in between."
Julian looked down at Brooke who was quite interested in the ice in her drink. Julian paid the guy and apologized. Brooke finished that drink and slammed it down on the bar.
"Let's do vodka shots now, Julian! You can drink them from here..." Brooke picked up an empty shot glass and placed it in her cleavage. She gave him a sexy smile.
"Maybe later." He regretted not taking the offer right away but didn't want to take advantage of her intoxication. But it didn't matter much anyways because suddenly Brooke's thoughts jumped to something else.
"Come on Julian! Dance with me" she begged as she pulled on his arm.
"I don't know Brooke. Maybe we should head home."
"No way! We're just getting started."
She led him back to the dance floor and spotted Haley.
"Tutor Mom!" Brooke wrapped her arms around Haley's neck like she hadn't seen her in years.
"Hey... Brooke" Haley shot a look to Julian saying 'wow she's gotten pretty drunk since I saw her last'. Julian nodded and rolled his eyes in agreement.
"I'm gunna dance with my husband now."
"You go have fun with that, hun. And be careful, okay?" Motherly Haley was worried about her friend, who was reminding her much of 'high school Brooke' tonight.
Brooke grabbed onto Julian and grabbed at his body. The only word he could use to describe it was... grinding. Also, he didn't know if he liked the fact that her strapless dress was so low, well... he didn't have to use his imagination at all. He liked it, but didn't like that other people could see what he saw as well.
He'd never seen her like this before, this wild and drunk version of his wife. He'd heard about it, don't get him wrong. He'd read all about it in Lucas's book, but he hadn't lived it, so he always doubted it's accuracy.
But he didn't doubt it anymore.
Brooke stumbled all over the place, screaming the lyrics of the songs, laying sloppy kisses on Julian's face and neck, grabbing random people to dance with, trying to get more drinks out of 'Marty'. Brooke was in rare form. Before long Julian couldn't take it anymore. He told Nathan 'happy birthday' and said goodbye to everyone before rounding up Brooke.
Julian held her upper arm as he guided her to the door, with her purse slung over his own wrist.
"But I don't wanna leave yet" she fought.
"Honey, you're about to fall down..." Julian motioned to her that he was literally holding her up.
"I wanna stay. I'll be good."
She got away from him for a second and headed towards the bar. She grabbed a random person's beer and was about to drink it, when Julian stopped her. He grabbed it out of her hand and put it back down on the bar.
"Brooke, really? I think you've done enough partying tonight."
"WHAT THE HELL!" Brooke suddenly got angry. "It's not like I'm pregnant or anything! Geez."
Brooke then got quiet. Julian frowned. He understood now. She was drowning her sorrows...
He led her to the car and when they got inside she surprised him again. Before he could get the key in the ignition, she was on top of him, kissing his neck, trying to untuck his shirt. She grabbed for his belt and slipped a hand down his pants. He surely liked it, but knew she had only thought of this plan in her drunken mind.
"Brooke...uh I have to drive, okay?"
Brooke looked bummed but willingly settled back down in her own passenger seat. Julian reached across her for the seatbelt and she laughed more. He was thrown by how her emotions were varying so quickly; one minute she was happy and wild, the next she was angry, the next she was horny, then happy again. He hoped she wasn't headed for devastation when she started to come down from this buzz. By the time they made it home she was leaning against the cold glass of the window. Julian saw her eyes trying to shake their dizziness. He went around and helped her out of the car, practically carrying her inside.
Thank god all the kids were asleep; Nolan had done her babysitting job well this time.
Julian's keys dropped to the floor when they got inside. Brooke giggled and then shushed him, like he was the one that needed to be shushed. She got away from him and walked down the dark hallway to their bedroom.
"AHH!" Brooke yelled and Julian cursed the fact that she had probably woken up all the kids. He caught up to her and saw she was half staggering, half jumping.
"What happened?"
"My foot" she whined. She had hit it on the corner of the wall and it now throbbed.
"I gotcha.." Julian guided her into their room, closed the door and turned on the light. Brooke blinked at the brightness.
Brooke sat on the bed and Julian left her for a second so he could pee. He came back and her happy-drunk-ness was gone.
"You okay babe?"
Brooke nodded sloppily.
"Let's get you out of that dress, okay?"
Brooke looked up as he knelt down beside her and hugged her as he felt for a zipper in the back.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for the zipper."
"It's on the side, silly."
"Oh. Julian unzipped it and Brooke stood, allowing it to slide down her body, leaving her only in underwear. Julian turned away to grab her a shirt and when he turned back, she attacked his lips. Her own hands guided his to her exposed breasts. Julian didn't pull away, but after a minute he came up for air.
"I think you should get some rest, okay?"
He put the shirt over her head and she sat down. Brooke now sat there looking defeated and denied. Julian hated making her feel like this; he hated leaving her hanging when she looked so sexy and beautiful when almost completely naked, but he had to be responsible and not take advantage of her, whether or not they were married or if she consented. He went and turned the light off so they could go to sleep.
"I love you Brooke." He knelt down and kissed her cheek. She didn't say anything, but when he got into bed himself, she snuggled into him after a few minutes.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Julian asked.
Silence set in and Julian thought she fell asleep. But then her heard her soft sobs.
He was right. She was getting sad now.
"I'm not pregnant, Julian." she muttered.
Julian shut his eyes, he felt the same pain she felt. She just didn't have the best way of dealing with that pain... drowning her grief in alcohol wasn't the answer.
"I know."
He felt that an 'I'm sorry' wouldn't be good enough, so he pulled her close and rubbed her back as she grabbed a fist full of his t-shirt. He hoped she would fall asleep soon so she wouldn't cry anymore. He hated seeing her cry. He hated that she was still in pain.
I know I skipped over the initial grief of the miscarriage, but I wasn't quite sure how far to go with it. And since I'd done a chapter in Unexpected Life about a Brulian miscarriage, I didn't want to overdue that subject. As you can tell, I move pretty fast through storylines and don't like too much fluff. If you haven't read this story's prequel, I suggest you do that RIGHT NOW! :) Just go to my profile page to find it!
I'd love some ideas of what you'd like to see! I love reviews and they motivate my writing.
~ Haley :)