Fall Into Me
Chapter 3 - Silence
Brooke hit the volume button on her TV once again. She was trying to watch the latest episode of The Real World, but it was almost impossible for her to hear anything over the yelling match that was going on in the room across the hall.
She was used to the yelling, but normally they waited until Letterman before the real arguing started. However, when she got home from cheer practice two hours earlier, they were already going at it. She'd eaten and showered, but they had yet to emerge from their bedroom. If anyone ever wondered why she was always drinking and spending nights with random guys, all they had to do was stay one night in her house and they would understand. It wasn't because she enjoyed it, it was because it made her forget. The booze made her forget about what she was doing with the boy toy of the night and the boy was to make her forget about everything else. It gave her something to focus on and put her energy into. Cheerleading helped too, but she'd already mastered that.
"Screw it," she said turning off her television. She pulled her freshly shampooed her into a pony tail, grabbed a jacket and her keys and headed out for another night on the beach.
She pulled into the same parking spot she had the past few nights and went to the trunk. Another bottle of tequila was waiting for her, but when she reached for it something made her stop. She didn't really feel like getting drunk, which was a first. Instead, she grabbed the fleece blanket that was still in the back seat from her midnight meeting with Anthony a few days before.
She walked about half a mile before she settled on the sand. A light breeze blew across her face as she thought. She tried to think about what life would be like after Tree Hill. How she'd leave this wrotten town and find someone much better suited for her than Lucas ever could be. But the moment Lucas popped into her thoughts, she remembered why she had always had the tequila bottle with her. It made her feel less alone, because that's what she was now, completely and utterly alone.
It hurt that Lucas betrayed her, she'd never deny that, but that wasn't the worst part. Peyton had betrayed her and Peyton was her family. Peyton was the first person she ever really trusted with everything. She knew all of her awful secrets and the about the life she lived at home and she had been there. She had been her retreat and she had made Brooke feel worth something. Peyton had shown her love when no one else in her life did and that was gone now. She thought Lucas had cared too, but she was wrong again. And now she had no one.
Brooke felt the tears begin to form in her eyes and then slowly roll down her cheeks. She didn't even bother to wipe them away. She knew there were many more to follow.
She got up and headed down the beach, tears in her eyes and the blanket wrapped tightly around her. She looked at her feet the entire time, kicking the sand and watching the dampness that her tears created on it. When she looked up, she realized she had gone farther than she thought. The beach house stood just a few feet away and before she could even think about it, she was on her way to the door.
------
Nathan didn't even bother going home after practice. He called his mom, said he was staying at Tim's and he'd see her tomorrow. He hung up before she could object. But he didn't go to Tim's, he went to the beach house. His real home.
The place was completely stocked with food, clothes, and booze. If it were up to him, he'd never go home. He grabbed a frozen pizza from the freezer and put it in the oven while he went to take shower.
Practice had been even longer today than normal. Not to mention the fact that Whitey annouced today he was taking a leave of absense. And though Nathan would never admit it, Whitey was a great coach. He knew what he was doing, unlike the rest of the coaching staff. But if Whitey was gone, that just meant Nathan was going to have to work a little harder.
He stayed in the shower a little longer than normal. Letting the hot water flow freely down is body. Wiping away all the hours of sweat, the tenseness in his muscles, and the emptiness in his heart. He knew people cared about him, but not for the right reasons. Girls loved him because he was the star athlete, his dad because Nathan was his chance to conquer the world, and what hurt most was his mother's love. She'd been gone so long, seeming as though she didn't care, that her presence now made him think it was only because she felt guilty about leaving him, not because she really wanted him.
When he couldn't stand the heat against his skin any longer, he turned the faucet off and leaned his head against the shower wall. The water rolled off of him, the air-condtion causing the drops to evaporate quickly from his body. He didn't have the strength to do it himself.
He put on a pair of boxers and pajama pants before going downstairs. When he walked in the kitchen, there was smoke seeping from the oven doors. He cursed and threw the burnt pizza in the sink. He felt himself begin to lose control of his emotions.
"It's just a fucking pizza," he reminded himself. He opened the refrigerator, grabbed a Gatorade, and went into the living room.
He fell into the couch, hoping it would swallow him up and take away everything that was making him hurt. His game, his grades, his parent's pressure, Peyton. He sighed at the thought of her. Sure, he'd been a rotten boyfriend, but that didn't give her the right to do it with his bastard brother.
Just the image pissed him off. He could barely stand the sight of Lucas and thanked the stars everyday for the accident. At least it kept him off the court for awhile. Sure, it was selfish, but he couldn't play his best game whenever he saw Lucas standing next to him, waiting for the ball. Just like he had waited for Peyton. He lost the girl to his big brother, he wouldn't lose the game.
He picked up the remote and turned it to ESPN. Soon he was lost in the world of sports entertainment.
He was just about to fall asleep, when he heard a light tap. At first, he thought it was nothing, but then it came again, this time just a little louder. He reluctantly, got up and answered the door. The vision in front of him was the last he had expected. Her face was tear stained and she could see more filling in her eyes, just waiting to fall. She was wrapped tightly in a blanket, but still shivering in the cold air. He'd never seen her look so fragile and vulnerable. She looked how he felt.
She looked at him with pleading eyes and he opened the door further and she walked silently inside, giving him a faint smile, the best she could offer at the moment, as she entered. He closed the door and followed her into the living room silently.
She stopped in the middle of the room and looked back at him.
"Are you okay?" He questioned. She shook her head no. "Do you want to talk about it?" Same response again. "Can I do something?" She paused briefly.
"Tell me you weren't lying this afternoon," she whispered.
He took a few steps closer to her, removing any distance between them, "I wasn't," he answered honestly. Immediately the tears he had seen forming earlier began to fall and without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her.
A few minutes later, after she'd calmed down, she pulled away and looked at him. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I came, I just...I was out there and...you probably think I'm nuts," she said laughing slightly.
"I don't," he responded quietly and pulled her back into his embrace. Because for the few minutes she had been in his arms, he hadn't felt so empty.
Chapter 3 - Silence
Brooke hit the volume button on her TV once again. She was trying to watch the latest episode of The Real World, but it was almost impossible for her to hear anything over the yelling match that was going on in the room across the hall.
She was used to the yelling, but normally they waited until Letterman before the real arguing started. However, when she got home from cheer practice two hours earlier, they were already going at it. She'd eaten and showered, but they had yet to emerge from their bedroom. If anyone ever wondered why she was always drinking and spending nights with random guys, all they had to do was stay one night in her house and they would understand. It wasn't because she enjoyed it, it was because it made her forget. The booze made her forget about what she was doing with the boy toy of the night and the boy was to make her forget about everything else. It gave her something to focus on and put her energy into. Cheerleading helped too, but she'd already mastered that.
"Screw it," she said turning off her television. She pulled her freshly shampooed her into a pony tail, grabbed a jacket and her keys and headed out for another night on the beach.
She pulled into the same parking spot she had the past few nights and went to the trunk. Another bottle of tequila was waiting for her, but when she reached for it something made her stop. She didn't really feel like getting drunk, which was a first. Instead, she grabbed the fleece blanket that was still in the back seat from her midnight meeting with Anthony a few days before.
She walked about half a mile before she settled on the sand. A light breeze blew across her face as she thought. She tried to think about what life would be like after Tree Hill. How she'd leave this wrotten town and find someone much better suited for her than Lucas ever could be. But the moment Lucas popped into her thoughts, she remembered why she had always had the tequila bottle with her. It made her feel less alone, because that's what she was now, completely and utterly alone.
It hurt that Lucas betrayed her, she'd never deny that, but that wasn't the worst part. Peyton had betrayed her and Peyton was her family. Peyton was the first person she ever really trusted with everything. She knew all of her awful secrets and the about the life she lived at home and she had been there. She had been her retreat and she had made Brooke feel worth something. Peyton had shown her love when no one else in her life did and that was gone now. She thought Lucas had cared too, but she was wrong again. And now she had no one.
Brooke felt the tears begin to form in her eyes and then slowly roll down her cheeks. She didn't even bother to wipe them away. She knew there were many more to follow.
She got up and headed down the beach, tears in her eyes and the blanket wrapped tightly around her. She looked at her feet the entire time, kicking the sand and watching the dampness that her tears created on it. When she looked up, she realized she had gone farther than she thought. The beach house stood just a few feet away and before she could even think about it, she was on her way to the door.
------
Nathan didn't even bother going home after practice. He called his mom, said he was staying at Tim's and he'd see her tomorrow. He hung up before she could object. But he didn't go to Tim's, he went to the beach house. His real home.
The place was completely stocked with food, clothes, and booze. If it were up to him, he'd never go home. He grabbed a frozen pizza from the freezer and put it in the oven while he went to take shower.
Practice had been even longer today than normal. Not to mention the fact that Whitey annouced today he was taking a leave of absense. And though Nathan would never admit it, Whitey was a great coach. He knew what he was doing, unlike the rest of the coaching staff. But if Whitey was gone, that just meant Nathan was going to have to work a little harder.
He stayed in the shower a little longer than normal. Letting the hot water flow freely down is body. Wiping away all the hours of sweat, the tenseness in his muscles, and the emptiness in his heart. He knew people cared about him, but not for the right reasons. Girls loved him because he was the star athlete, his dad because Nathan was his chance to conquer the world, and what hurt most was his mother's love. She'd been gone so long, seeming as though she didn't care, that her presence now made him think it was only because she felt guilty about leaving him, not because she really wanted him.
When he couldn't stand the heat against his skin any longer, he turned the faucet off and leaned his head against the shower wall. The water rolled off of him, the air-condtion causing the drops to evaporate quickly from his body. He didn't have the strength to do it himself.
He put on a pair of boxers and pajama pants before going downstairs. When he walked in the kitchen, there was smoke seeping from the oven doors. He cursed and threw the burnt pizza in the sink. He felt himself begin to lose control of his emotions.
"It's just a fucking pizza," he reminded himself. He opened the refrigerator, grabbed a Gatorade, and went into the living room.
He fell into the couch, hoping it would swallow him up and take away everything that was making him hurt. His game, his grades, his parent's pressure, Peyton. He sighed at the thought of her. Sure, he'd been a rotten boyfriend, but that didn't give her the right to do it with his bastard brother.
Just the image pissed him off. He could barely stand the sight of Lucas and thanked the stars everyday for the accident. At least it kept him off the court for awhile. Sure, it was selfish, but he couldn't play his best game whenever he saw Lucas standing next to him, waiting for the ball. Just like he had waited for Peyton. He lost the girl to his big brother, he wouldn't lose the game.
He picked up the remote and turned it to ESPN. Soon he was lost in the world of sports entertainment.
He was just about to fall asleep, when he heard a light tap. At first, he thought it was nothing, but then it came again, this time just a little louder. He reluctantly, got up and answered the door. The vision in front of him was the last he had expected. Her face was tear stained and she could see more filling in her eyes, just waiting to fall. She was wrapped tightly in a blanket, but still shivering in the cold air. He'd never seen her look so fragile and vulnerable. She looked how he felt.
She looked at him with pleading eyes and he opened the door further and she walked silently inside, giving him a faint smile, the best she could offer at the moment, as she entered. He closed the door and followed her into the living room silently.
She stopped in the middle of the room and looked back at him.
"Are you okay?" He questioned. She shook her head no. "Do you want to talk about it?" Same response again. "Can I do something?" She paused briefly.
"Tell me you weren't lying this afternoon," she whispered.
He took a few steps closer to her, removing any distance between them, "I wasn't," he answered honestly. Immediately the tears he had seen forming earlier began to fall and without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her.
A few minutes later, after she'd calmed down, she pulled away and looked at him. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I came, I just...I was out there and...you probably think I'm nuts," she said laughing slightly.
"I don't," he responded quietly and pulled her back into his embrace. Because for the few minutes she had been in his arms, he hadn't felt so empty.