oth/o.c.fan213: Well, Rex and Brooke aren't together right now, but I don't really know what I've got in store for him in later chapters, so you never know!
Let me know what you guys want from the story and I'll do my best to write it!
Peyton was beginning to get frantic with worry. "She can't have walked this far in such a short amount of time Lucas! Something is wrong! What if she's been kidnapped or raped or both! Or worse, what if she's been killed? Oh God Lucas!"
"Calm down. Look, Brooke's strong, right? She's out there somewhere, laughing at us because she knows we're worrying our heads off." Lucas reassured her, placing one of his masculine hands over her pale quivering ones.
She looked up at him, tears in her eyes and he wondered just how close Brooke and Peyton were. "You're getting way scared over this Peyton and it's kinda freaking me out. What's wrong? Why are you this worried?"
Peyton exploded. "What do you mean, how am I this worried? How do you think!! My best friend is missing and it's because of us that she is! We're the reason she ran out of the café in that state! We're the reason she's sad. Hell, we're the reason she's broken." Tears cascaded down her cheeks. "I've broken my best friend." Peyton looked away, her gaze focused on the trees that passed by. "When we were little, we did everything together. Only a few days after we became friends we knew all each other's secrets. It was like we were meant to be friends. She told me.... "She glanced up at Lucas.
He was still looking at the road, but he urged her to continue, showing he was listening. Peyton sighed.
"She told me how her parents were never around and whenever they were they were mean to her. She said that she was used to being alone, but now she had me and she made me promise we'd be friends forever. I said that we would and... and that I'd never ever hurt her. I promised to keep her safe and now look! 7 years later and I've already broken my promise"
Lucas didn't know what to say, so he just looked at Peyton and used his thumb to wipe away a tear that was falling down her cheek, before looking back at the road. The further they got, the more he worried that they wouldn't find Brooke. It was beginning to get dark and Lucas stopped the car. Peyton looked at him shocked. "Lucas!"
"I don't think we're gonna find her Peyton, at least not in the dark. We should turn back and tell the police or something."
"We can't! What if she's hurt?"
"She's not! She's fine! I'm taking you home." He stubbornly turned the car around and drove back the way they'd came, back to Tree Hill. Peyton looked behind her at the road. She had a terrible feeling that she'd never see Brooke again.
It had been 3 years since Brooke ran away from Tree Hill. Rex was still her prince charming, and although they were nothing more than friends, the bond between them was unbreakable. And with a male best friend she knew that he'd never cheat on her with her own boyfriend. At least she hoped. She hardly ever thought of Tree Hill. Bridgewater was a peaceful place and turned out to be a lot further away from Tree Hill than Rex had made out. She had her own flat, a steady job as a waitress and a decent salary. If her friends from tree hill could see her now, they'd never believe it was true. The once slutty and sassy teenage girl was now a 20-year-old waitress in a dumpy, but nice diner, 120 miles away. She liked her life. More than when she was in Tree Hill anyway. She had friends, who knew nothing about 'the old Brooke' and she had her puppy. Life was going pretty good.
"Hey Mandy!" Brooke said to the owner of the diner, as she entered and took off her jacket. "Which tables am I having today?"
Amanda smiled. Brooke was a dedicated worker. "3, 8 and 4." She said, handing her a notepad to take the orders on.
"You got it!" The 20 year old said, smiling. It was a pretty easy job and she loved interacting with all the customers. Most of them were regulars and over the three years she'd seen all of their ups and downs. She'd seen people come and go. It was her way of seeing the world. Making her way over to table 8 she flipped open her pad and smiled. "Hey there, what can I get you?" she said.
"Ummmm... a slice of cherry pie and a cup of coffee please." Said the elderly woman, opening her purse and counting her change.
"It was your birthday yesterday, right?" said Brooke. This old lady was their most regular customer.
"Why yes, it was!" The old lady beamed."Then that cherry pie and coffee is on the house. I insist!" She grinned again at the old lady and went to give her order in at the desk.
The day was generally pretty quiet. Most of Brooke's time was spent mopping up the floors. She did everything she could to help Amanda with the diner. It was the least she could do. With a small smile she'd remembered the first time she'd met Amanda, just four days after she'd arrived at Bridgewater. Walking into the diner, Brooke had marched straight up the counter, slapped her hand on the counter and declared, "I need a job and I'll do anything."
The shock on Amanda's face wasn't easy to miss, as she stared at this small teenage girl, who had no experience, no qualifications and hadn't even finished school yet. Not being one to turn away people in need, Amanda had given Brooke a job. The rest, you could say, was history.
For a few weeks Brooke had stayed with Rex, until she had enough money to put a deposit on a flat. Rex still helped Brooke out with the rent but generally Brooke was doing it on her own and she couldn't be happier. It was a miracle she hadn't been found. As soon as she'd run away, missing posters were put up everywhere and the news was blaring out about a missing teenage girl whose parents were desperately awaiting her arrival home, but the people on the screen weren't the parents she'd known. Granted she didn't really know them very well at all, but they'd seemed so distraught that they might not see their child again. It was a joke really. Even as they sobbed their hearts out, they were in another country. Some people had recognised Brooke and she'd begged them to keep quiet. They had. Bridgewater may have been a new place, but it was a small town and the people were loyal. Brooke was safe.
Finishing up her work for the day, Brooke reached up to pull the elastic out of her hair, letting it fall loosely upon her shoulders. She flashed her dimpled smile at Amanda before leaving the diner. Rex was waiting for her outside and her smile grew bigger. "Hey, Prince Charming." She said, wrapping her arms around him.
"Hey." he laughed, hugging her back.
"What're you doing here?"
"I got out of work early and just thought I'd come down here and we could grab a bite to eat or go see a movie or something." He said, letting go of her and instead, hanging his arm lightly around her shoulders.
She lifted her hand up to her shoulder, taking his hand in hers and looked up at him. "That's so sweet""Anything for you." Rex and Brooke began walking slowly. Brooke adored Rex. For once she had a male in her life that didn't want anything from her. He wasn't with her for sex, or a relationship, he just enjoyed her company. Sometimes Brooke thought that this was too good to be true.As the pair neared their favourite eating place, Rex lifted his arm off her shoulder and dug around in his pocket for his wallet, pushed open the door of the restaurant and stepped inside. Brooke followed him in, looking around at the décor she knew so well. Suddenly she gasped. "My purse! I left it at the café, we have to go back!" She said.
"It's ok, I'll buy." Rex said, laughing, his blue eyes twinkling. "Amanda will keep your purse safe, we'll go pick it up later." Brooke grinned.
"What would I do without you?" She asked."Oh repeatedly fall over, snort and do many other embarrassing and disgusting things. Don't try to deny it Brooke, you'd be a nerd," He nodded slowly, a look of mock sympathy on his chiselled features.
Brooke said nothing. The truth was that without Rex she'd probably be dead. She owed him her life.