The Scars Behind My Mask
Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from one tree hill.
Lucas voiceovers in this style of writing
Flash backs in this style of writing
Oliver Wendell Holmes once said: Many people die with their music still in them. Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out.
Rachel stood alone in the back yard when she heard someone come up behind her.
"What are you doing out here alone?" Nathan asked sighing as he approached her.
Rachel shrugged "Needed some air I guess…its getting a little crowded in there" She answered motioning back towards the house where people still gathered at for Cooper's wake.
"I miss him already" Nathan said sadly.
"Me too Nate" Rachel agreed
"He was too young to die, he had so much life inside of him and it wasn't fair that he was taken from us so soon; he was 21 years old, he still had his full life ahead of him"
"I know Nathan…life is so not fair"
"The reading of the will is tomorrow" Nathan said quietly
"Are you going?" Rachel asked softly.
Nathan nodded "His lawyer asked both me and Brooke to be there" Nathan said before adding "Will you come with me? I mean I would like the support" Nathan rambled "And I am sure Brooke would like you to be there too"
"Yes Nathan; of course I will be there" Rachel said giving him a small smile.
"Thanks Rachel…I don't know what I would do without you right now" Nathan said softly.
"I will always be here for you Nathan" Rachel said softly as she brought him in for a hug "Always" she whispered gently in his ear.
"Lucas…how was it?" Karen asked sadly as Lucas came into the kitchen where Karen and Keith were sitting with baby Jessica.
Lucas sighed sitting down and taking off his tie "Obviously not good…And Deb Lee has came back into town so it didn't exactly help matters"
"How are Brooke and Nathan taking it?" Keith asked.
"Nathan seems ok with it…I mean he is angry with her but I can tell that he isn't thinking about her right now. Brooke on the other hand…well she and Deb had a blow up at the wake and then she just disappeared; I tried calling her but her phone is switched off" Lucas said sadly "I just don't know how to help her"
"Give her time son; she is just trying to find a way to grieve" Karen said softly, patting Lucas's shoulder.
"I know Mom…but she is becoming a shell from her former self, and I just don't know how to stop it" Lucas sighed sadly.
"Give her time Lucas" Keith said repeating Karen's earlier words "I know this is hard right now for everyone including yourself but Brooke's head is going to be all over the place right now…she's not going to know how she is feeling never mind trying to deal with it" Keith said reassuringly.
"God I am such a selfish person!" Lucas stated in disbelieve with himself "I mean Brooke has just lost her brother!"
"You're not selfish Lucas" Karen said softly "You just care"
They were interrupted by a knock on the side door and soon Jake crept in.
"Hey guys…I am sorry to interrupt" Jake apologized
"No its ok" Keith smiled "Come on in"
"Thanks" Jake stated "Uh…Lucas do you think I would be able to talk to you please?" Jake asked hesitantly.
"Sure" Lucas nodded as they walked to his room.
"So, what's up?" Lucas asked.
"It is about Brooke actually" Jake sighed.
Suddenly a worried expression came across his face "Why? What's wrong? Is she ok?" Lucas asked worriedly.
"Nothing's wrong" Jake said as he saw Lucas sigh with relief "However…she's not coping with this well at all"
"Why? Did she say something to you?" Lucas asked, a little jealous that his girlfriend was opening up to his best friend more than himself.
"Sort of…I just saw her down at the beach earlier and she was upset, but she also told me that she didn't know how she was supposed to feel" Jake sighed
Lucas looked at him confused "What do you mean? Supposed?" he asked.
"Well…she is confused man, like really confused and now that her mom is back in town, that has just complicated things further" Jake explained "I don't know man…I just think she needs you right now"
Lucas frowned 'I just think she needs you right now'. What did he mean by that? That he wasn't being there for his girlfriend?
"Don't you think I already know that?" Lucas said a little too harshly than he intended on.
"I'm not saying that you don't" Jake defended "I am just trying to help man…I've known Brooke for a long time"
"So what? That makes you know her better than me? She is my girlfriend, I know her more than anyone" Lucas said coldly.
"Fine man…whatever" Jake sighed defeated "I was just trying to help" he said before leaving.
"Hello Danny" Deb said as she entered Dan's office at the dealership.
"Deb…what are you doing here?" Dan asked nervously.
"I was about to ask you the same thing…shouldn't you be at our sons funeral?" Deb asked.
"Shouldn't you?" Dan asked ignoring her question.
"I have already been there"
"Then what are you doing here Deb?" Dan asked coldly. She was the last person he wanted to see.
"I want to ask you something" Deb said sitting down "About Cooper"
Dan frowned nervously "Come on boozy, spit it out"
"I heard that you owed him money" Deb stated
"And how would you know that?"
"I have my sources" Deb commented "So did you give him the money before he died?"
"What's it to you?" Dan asked bitterly.
"He's my son…I am curious"
"Yeah well how about you just leave? I don't want you here Deb!" Dan said bitterly trying to usher her out of his office.
"What's wrong Dan? Hiding something?" Deb challenged
Dan's eyes widened "Get the hell out of here!" He shouted angrily before literally pushing her out of the door.
"Brooke" Lucas said giving her a small smile "Come in" he said as he led her into his room.
"Thanks" Brooke said quietly as she sat at the edge of his bed, Lucas joining next to her.
"I've been worried about you" Lucas said softly.
"Sorry" Brooke answered in just over a whisper.
"Don't be sorry" Lucas said reassuringly "I missed you"
Brooke nodded as the two formed into a small silence; something they have never had to deal with before.
"I'm here Brooke; you know that right?" Lucas asked hesitantly
"I know" Brooke whispered "I just…I'm scared Luke"
"Scared of what baby? Tell me what's wrong?" Lucas asked gently pleading with her.
"That's the thing" Brooke sighed "I don't even know what I'm scared of" she said letting a small laugh out at the end.
"Brooke…everything will get better baby; I promise" Lucas said reassuringly.
"Just takes time though right?" Brooke asked repeating Jake's earlier words; however she didn't really believe them.
"No" Lucas answered which surprised Brooke "It just takes reassurance and love; time will come by itself…but everything else takes effort and faith…you have to keep the faith that things will get better Brooke; because it will" Lucas finished softly
"But how?" Brooke asked desperately.
"I don't know" Lucas answered honestly "But it will happen…and I will be here right next to you when it does"
Brooke nodded "Thank you Lucas"
"Don't thank me Brooke" Lucas said giving her a small smile.
"Can I stay here tonight?" Brooke asked quietly.
"Of course" Lucas answered
"I just don't really want to be alone tonight"
"And you won't be…you will never be alone, I promise" Lucas said as he kissed her softly.
Brooke, Lucas, Nathan and Rachel sat with Cooper's lawyer the next day as he went through the will.
"Ok…Cooper has wished for Nathan and Brooke Lee to have a 50/50 percent share in Cooper Lee's Enterprises Inc racetrack. He also states that both Nathan and Brooke get another 50/50 percent share in his beach house and apartment" Mr. Lawson, Cooper's lawyer pronounced.
Nathan frowned confused "Uh. There must be some kind of mistake sir; Cooper was bankrupt" Nathan stated
Mr. Lawson shook his head "No he wasn't…everything he left in the will is still there"
"No…but Cooper came back to Tree Hill because he had nothing left; he told me himself!" Nathan said as confused as ever now.
"You must be mistaken Mr. Lee…Cooper isn't bankrupt" Mr. Lawson stated before standing up "I am sorry to rush off so early but I have a flight to catch…call me within the next few weeks to go into more details about the will. And once again I am sorry for your loss" Mr. Lawson apologized before leaving.
"I don't understand" Nathan said confused "Cooper told me he had nothing left"
"Maybe he was just exaggerating?" Brooke asked, just as confused.
"No…he was serious, that was one of the main reasons he even came to Tree Hill; to get money from Dan" Nathan said.
Dan sat alone at home with a bottle of vodka sitting in front of him; taunting him.
He had tried to hard earlier to act confused and innocent about the money around Deb.
The morning of the shooting.
"I have some information for you Mayor Lee" Dwain said.
Dwain was pretty much what you would call Dan's handy man; always on the look out for something that would benefit Dan…looking for the next scandal if you would call it that.
"I am all ears Dwain" Dan said curiously.
"It's about your wife…and your son"
"Carry on" Dan said clearly interested.
"Well as you already know…we have someone looking out for wife at the clinic and she has found out something very interesting" Dwain explained as he pulled out a tape.
"What's this?" Dan asked confused
"CCTV footage of your wife talking to your son a couple of weeks ago" Dwain said as he placed the video into the television.
"That's Cooper" Dan said clearly confused as he turned up the volume.
---
"Take a seat Cooper" Deb smiled as Cooper entered the private visiting room.
"I thought you weren't allowed visitors?" Cooper asked sitting down.
"Well being the Mayor of Tree Hill's wife sure has its perks" Deb smiled "So how have you been son?"
"Mom, you and I both know that I am not here for a catch up; let's just get down to business shall we?" Cooper asked impatiently.
"Fine" Deb agreed "$100,000" She said simply
"You're kidding right?" Cooper asked "There is no way Dan is going to give me that amount of money for free"
"Well then you will just have to find a way…besides, I have something that will help you" Deb smiled
"Oh yeah? What?" Cooper asked curiously.
"A black book" Deb stated
"Ok…?" Cooper said confused waiting for her to carry on.
"The book contains a list of all of Dan's illegal dealings, if you can get a hold of that then you can blackmail him with it for the money" Deb said
"That's it? That's all I need to do?" Cooper asked
"Yes" Deb answered "Then we can meet up somewhere in Charlotte and we can split the money 50/50"
"So you mean I have to do all the work for a 50 percent share of the money? That doesn't sound like a fair deal to me" Cooper said shaking his head.
"A fair deal? How fair was it having to live with that man for 21 years? That was not fair Cooper; but I still stuck it out…for you and the twins"
"Speaking of Nathan and Brooke; aren't they going to get a share in this money?" Cooper asked.
"That's up to you Cooper, but if they do its from your pocket not mine" Deb stated
Cooper shook his head "You are so selfish sometimes, Mom"
"You have to look after number 1 Cooper, I thought you out of all people would understand that" Deb stated
"Whatever Deb…so where is exactly is this black book I'm looking for?" Cooper asked.
"It will be in a safe either at the dealership or his mayor's office" Deb said
"Ok" Cooper nodded
"It's finally time to bring down the great Dan Lee" Deb smiled.
Cooper rolled his eyes "You are crazy Mom…I am only doing this for the money, I don't give a damn about Dan"
"Oh please Cooper…you can't tell me that you won't feel just an ounce of satisfaction from blackmailing him? Or taking his money from him?" Deb asked
Cooper didn't answer but instead stood up to leave.
"Oh Cooper!" Deb called after him, Cooper turned around waiting for her to continue. "Do you have a story? To tell Dan I mean?"
Cooper nodded "Yep, as far as he is concerned I am bankrupt"
"You need to tell the story good Cooper, I mean really good…it has to be believable, tell Nathan and Brooke if you have to" Deb said seriously "This needs to work"
"It will work Mom…and in a couple of weeks time we will both be $50,000 richer" Cooper smiled before leaving.
---
Dan watched the tape; anger clear on his face.
"Mr Lee?" Dwain asked hesitantly.
Dan however was to furious to answer…how could his son try and steal his money? Rip him off? Who the hell did he think he was? Well he is caught now! Nobody dares to bring down Dan Lee!
"Mr Mayor!" Dan's receptionist said running into the room.
"What?" Dan snapped "Cant you see that we are busy?" he asked coldly.
"I am sorry to interrupt but that was the police on the phone…some students are being held hostage at Tree Hill High School"
A/N: Well? I hope I answered a few questions there in why Dan killed Cooper! Please Review! And there will be more Brucas in the next chapter! Dont forget to review!
