chapter.3...brooke

June 13, 2005

Everyone told me that I had been acting weird. Then again, I had reason to. Therefore, everyone was right. Nothing was the same after that day in September, but how could it have been. Did they just expect me to shake it off and say, "No big deal"? If they were truly my friends they would have known better. I never went down with out a fight.

Seeing Lucas and Peyton at school everyday would have been more difficult had they been together. Two weeks after the drama, people seemed to have forgotten it even happened, Peyton included. She began seeing Jake, leaving Lucas single and without a homecoming date. He tried to get me to go with him. Hailey even tried persuading me to go with Lucas. I politely declined giving him the infamous excuse, "I have to wash my hair".

Time after time after time, Lucas tried to win me back. Sending me flowers, chocolates, and even sending me dinner from Besso, the restaurant we ate at on our first date. It was going to take a lot more than brown nosing to win back my trust.

Rosa was crazy about Lucas. On occasion she would ask about him, saying, "Luca hasn't been over in a while. Why don't you invite him for dinner? I will cook grilled chicken, that's his favorite." Sometimes I thought she missed him more than me.

I never knew you could miss someone who you saw everyday. There was so much I missed about him. His eyes, his laugh, his hand in mine, being in his arms. When I started to get upset or angry at myself for not taking him back, I just thought of how mad I would have been if I had taken him back after what he did to me.

If he had only known the truth, then he would have felt even worse. Hailey knew ad Nathan might have known, but whenever either of them were confronted by underclassmen or fellow seniors about the rumor about me, they denied them. No one ever asked me about the rumor. I was glad too, because I might just confess the truth.

I started to feel sick at my stomach every time I remembered the feeling I got when I received the news that changed my life.

End of July BEFORE Senior Year

Hailey and I sat alone at out favorite table in Karen's Cafe. My head rested on the table. The cold table top on my sweating head felt perfect.

"What's wrong with you, sweetheart?" Karen, Lucas' mom, asked me as she sat down next to Hailey. She set two glasses of water on to the table.

"Brooke hasn't been feeling so hot." Hailey said, handing me two Aleve from her purse.

I threw the pills into my mouth, took a sip of the water, and then slowly laid my head back onto the table. Karen ran her hands over my head. "Well, doll, if you need anything, you just call me."

Trying to smile, I managed to say, "Thanks, Karen. I really appreciate it." Once she was gone, I leaned in close to Hailey and said, "I'm late."

She looked at her watch, "For what? It's Sunday."

I shook my head. "No." I paused. "I mean...I'm late." I said, emphasizing the latter part of the sentence.

"Oh," Hailey replied, "Well, have you and Lucas... ya know, in the past few weeks?"

"Yeah." I moved from my side of the table to her side. "But, we are always so careful. I mean, I have been on BC since I was a freshman."

Hailey looked like she was in shock. Not because of the fact of the pregnancy possibility, but because I had been on birth control for so long. She was the smart one. Waiting was the ticket.

"But you don't know for sure right?" She slowly took a sip of water and watched the entrance. Nathan walked in, alone. He was dripping in sweat. "Hey." Hailey said as Nathan sat down across from her.

"Hey babe." He reached for Hailey's water and took one long drink. He looked up from the water and at me. "Hey Brooke." He slid the glass back to Hailey. "You look like hell."

"Nathan!" Hailey screeched, disgusted.

"You don't look so bad yourself hot stuff." Nathan and I had a similar sense of self. We didn't take anything from anyone. Especially each other.

Karen came over to the table carrying another glass of water. "Hard practice, Nathan?"

"Yeah," He replied, "Even harder when you mouth off. Especially in my case." He paused and took a drink. "I should probably work on that considering we practice all year long."

"Karen took out lunch orders and left the table. "So what's the deal Brooke? You have a rough night last night? Obviously not with Lucas, because he was perfectly rested at practice." Nathan said.

"What are you getting at?" I asked him, chewing on a piece of ice.

"Nothing. I just thought maybe you and Daniel Howard..."

Hailey slapped him on the arm. "Why are you acting like this?"

Nathan shrugged his shoulders. "I am just looking out for my big brother."

"You call him your brother when you are starting trouble, but let's just say I have some stuff on my mind."

Karen came over with our lunch. I took an onion ring from one of Nathan's four plates. Hailey did the same. With a full mouth, Nathan said, "So Hales, what are we doing tonight?"

She looked at me, "I am going out with Brooke tonight."

"Oh a Sunday night?" He asked.

"Yeah. I said, "We are out of school and I told Hales I would take her to this killer club like thirty minutes away." Hailey nodded as a nervous look crept across Nathan's face.

"Oh, okay." He crammed four onion rings into his mouth, "Don't drink anything I wouldn't drink."

I laughed, "And what would that be?"

He sat silent for a moment and finally said, "Piss."

Hailey and I both looked at each other and then to Nathan. Hailey choked on her grilled cheese. "Was that really necessary?"

"Brooke asked."

"Then it is my fault?"

"Yes." The both said, very serious. Hailey eventually began laughing.

Later That Night

Hailey came over around seven that night. I had been craving pizza so once she got their, I ordered it. After we ate the whole pizza, Hailey had an idea. "Brooke, I don't want you to be mad at me but... maybe, we should... go to the drugstore."

I rolled my eyes and threw myself onto our leather couch. "Oh Hales." She sat down next to me. "What would I do with out you?"

"Come on Brooke. I am serious. Maybe we should go get a test."

"Ugh." I quickly laid my head onto a pillow that was on the couch. "You are really ruining my night. I just wanted to hang out." I walked up to the TV and pulled out some DVDs. I held them up to her. "Steele Magnolias, How to Lose a Guy, or... um, Clueless?"

"Clueless... but don't change the subject Brooke. I am going to go get you a test, now if you want to come with me then do but if you don't I am going by myself anyways."

"Fine," I said, getting off of the couch, "I will go. But only because I love you."

"And Brooke I am only doing this because I love you."

I threw a tie dyed sweatshirt over my white tank top and followed Hailey out the door. She stood outside the passenger door of the Beemer waiting on me. "Come on." She said.

I unlocked the doors and got in. On the way to the drugstore so many things were running through my head. It was like a race and "This could ruin my life" was winning. "How am I going to tell Lucas" was a close second and in dead last was, "Oh wow a baby, how exciting."

We pulled into the parking lot and Hailey got out. I couldn't get out of the car. In twenty minutes my life could change for ever. Hailey walked around to my side of the car, opened the door and pulled me out. "Brooke, come on." She said yanking on my arm as hard as she could.

I finally gave in and walked into Walgreen's with her, arm in arm. I walked to the isle where the condoms where. Right above them were the pregnancy tests. "Isn't that ironic?" I said pointing to the condoms. "You should use that, to not have to use that," Now pointing to the pregnancy tests. I took two and Hailey did the same.

She looked at me and said, "You can't even be too careful. Four tests are better than one." I nodded in agreement.

We headed up to the cashier. I prayed that it was not someone we knew and thankfully, I had know clue who this person was. "Well that sure is nice." A woman said with a very southern twang. "Havin' someone to take this with." She said, referring to the tests. I am sure this made Hailey very uncomfortable, but she still didn't say anything.

After we checked out, we went back to my car. I was more nervous than ever now, knowing that moment from now. I could be a mother. As we pulled into the driveway of my house, Hailey said, "You know whatever happens Nate and I will be there for you. I mean we will be the baby's aunt and uncle. And Lucas... if I wasn't married to Nathan, then I would want Lucas to be my baby's father." She paused and I looked at her. "You know..."

"I know what you mean." I got out of the car and she did the same. "But, I mean, I don't even know if I am... yet."

Once inside the house we raced up to the bathroom. Hailey got out all four of the tests. I peed in a cup so that I could take all the tests at once. I used an eyedropper and dropped the urine on to all three of the tests. Hailey put each box above the tests on my bathroom sink. "Okay, the first one is positive if there is a plus mark." She pointed to the next one, "This one is positive if it says yes." She continued down the line. "This one is positive if it is blue." And to the last one, "This one is positive if it says pregnant."

I looked at her. "That's high tech."

"That one was the most expensive." She said pointing to the last one.

We both walked out of the bathroom and into my room. I sat down on the floor. Hailey sat down on my bed. "It could be worse." She said. "At least you and Lucas are together, ya know. And I mean, I am not trying to jinx it but... I bet you all will get married."

"Hailey," I said, "I don't want to talk about getting married right now." I turned on my flat screen TV and flipped through the channel. I looked at Hailey and asked, "How long has it been?"

She looked at her watch and replied, "Ten minutes. The should be ready." She stood up and I followed her into the bathroom.

The next twenty seconds changed my life forever. Hailey read the results. "Plus, positive, blue." She paused and looked up at me. "Pregnant."