Author's Note: Thank you to all of those who reviewed last time. You really made my day and helped me pump out this chapter. I hope you enjoy this as much as the last chapter. It kind of took an unexpected turn at the end so that's something I'm going to have to think about continuing.
Chapter 2: Adjusting
Lucas couldn't sleep. Though he was tired and exhausted, knowing Brooke was sleeping alone in his room kept him awake. He was still in disbelief that anybody could treat her like that and marvelled at the strength inside her.
He was genuinely worried about her. One thing he knew about Brooke Davis was that no matter how bitchy and strong she seemed on the inside, she was fragile and needed just as much support as other people.
Lucas tossed onto his side; at least Brooke wanted his help instead of shutting him out. He only wished it had been under different circumstances.
Loud knocking on the door and repeated doorbell rings caused Lucas to lose his balance on the couch and fall off, hitting his elbow on the coffee table.
"LUCAS!" someone yelled through the letterbox.It was followed by more knocking and doorbell rings. Lucas lifted himself off the floor and sighed, rubbing his elbow as he went to open the door.
"Felix, what are you doing here?" Lucas asked, his jaw tightening in anger at the man in front of him.
"Where is she?" Felix peered over Lucas' shoulder in order to get a better view of the house.
"Who?" Lucas played dumb, one hand holding the door, and the other making a fist, ready to strike.
"Brooke!" Felix cried. Lucas gritted his teeth in an attempt to refrain himself. He realised that punching Felix was not going to help Brooke and so swallowed his pride.
"Uh... have you tried her cell?" Lucas tried his best to 'help' Felix. Felix gave him a look.
"She's not answering. Look, I know she's here. She seems to be holding some sort of torch for you and I have no idea why, considering you're a cheating ass." Felix hit back, knowing full well it would irk Lucas.
It worked and Lucas shook his head.
"You know nothing about me and Brooke." Lucas told him.
"I know enough." Felix smirked.
"Is that why you be-" Lucas was about to step forward, but a hand stopped him from going any further.
"Lucas? What's going on?" his mother asked looking between the two men.
"I'm looking for Brooke. He's hiding her," Felix looked at Lucas accusingly.
"You're Felix, right?" Felix nodded in response, "I'm not sure what's gone on between you and Brooke, but she's not here. And I know that making a nuisance of yourself at 1.30 in the morning is certainly not going to help." Karen told Felix. Lucas smiled at Felix.
"Do you know where she could be?" Felix asked, not preparing to give up.
"She's probably at home asleep, like you should be at this time of night. Why don't you go on home and look for her in the morning. If she's avoiding you, then I guess she doesn't want to be found." Karen told him pointedly. She raised an eyebrow to show that she was serious.
"Okay, fine. But if I find out you're hiding her..." Felix began, focusing on Lucas again.
"I'm his mother. I'd know if there was a teenage girl in my house. Now I suggest you leave and get home before I call the police" Karen told him. Lucas couldn't help but give Felix a satisfied grin as he watched him retreat into his car and drive off.
Karen shut the door and sighed, "Honestly, you'd think some people could get some sleep around here" she smiled.
"Wow, mom. I never knew you had it in you. Thanks for protecting Brooke like that." Lucas said gratefully.
"No problem. You should get back to bed," Karen told her son, "You have school tomorrow."
"I'm just going to check on Brooke." Lucas informed her, Karen nodded, pleased that her son was taking responsibility for the wellbeing of a friend.
"Okay. Goodnight." She kissed him on the cheek and went back to bed, yawning as she did. Lucas waited until his mother had shut her bedroom door before wondering down the hall and gently knocking on his door.
There was no reply, just muted sobbing and hitched breaths that told Lucas Brooke knew Felix had visited.
"Brooke? Are you okay?" Lucas whispered as he entered. He sat down on the bed making out the silhouette of the girl from the dull moonlight that shone through the window. Brooke sniffed.
"I'm sorry. I just... I freaked out. I was scared he'd find me and then..." she raised a hand to cover her face.
"Shhh... it is okay," Lucas reassured, pulling down her hand, "He's gone, Brooke. I'm not going to let him hurt you." Brooke nodded slowly. "You okay now?" she nodded again and Lucas planted a small kiss on the top of her forehead. "You better get some sleep now," he told her, gently pulling the covers up to her chin.
Lucas got up off the bed and began to walk away until he heard Brooke's voice, heavy with tears, ask him "can you stay with me tonight, Lucas? I don't want to be left alone."
Lucas didn't need to think twice. Brooke was clearly still shaken from the encounter with Felix and the last thing he wanted was to leave her alone.
"Sure," he agreed as he climbed in next to Brooke. She shifted her body to accommodate him before taking his hand, pulling it across her body and holding it as she turned to sleep.
Lucas stared at her back for the longest time. As she was wearing a tank top, he could see the dark area of skin where her bruise lay. He moved closer to her and listened to the soft sounds of her sobs that gradually subsided with the presence of the man next to her.
Lucas stirred in the bed upon hearing a hushed "Psst... Lucas!" He frowned and slowly opened up his eyes, spying his mother at the door of his room, "come here!" she motioned in a whisper.
Lucas looked down at the woman next to him, still holding onto his arm. Reluctantly he pried it away and got out of bed, rubbing his eyes as he approached his mother."Good morning. How is she?" Karen asked, her first concern being Brooke, who was still sleeping soundly in Lucas' bed. Lucas looked at Brooke before answering.
"Oh, she didn't want to be left alone so I bunked with her last night," he said, hoping his mother would accept his excuse. He knew that since Brooke's pregnancy scare last year, Karen was wary of Lucas staying out all night or bringing girls home. To his relief, Karen just smiled and nodded.
"That's fine. Um... it's a school day and so I was wondering what the Brooke situation was," Karen questioned. She glanced at Brooke, who was starting to stir awake at the sound of their conversation. Lucas shut the door gently and continued the conversation in the hallway.
"I don't think she'd want to go to school. I only have a few classes with her and I don't think she wants everyone to know, yet. Plus, Felix will be there and I can't protect her from him," Lucas said. His mother nodded in agreement, "Hey, mom? Could I stay home with her?" Lucas asked, knowing full well his mother wouldn't want that but hoped, in the current situation, his request would be met.
"I'm not letting you miss school, Lucas. You have practice and you can't miss that!" Karen told him firmly.
"But Brooke-" Lucas began protesting.
"Can come to the cafe with me and help me out in the back. She doesn't need to be seen and at least she's not alone." Karen finished off, pleased with herself. Lucas grinned, happy that his mother was helping them.
"Thanks mom. I'll tell her that when she wakes up" Lucas promised. He put one hand on the doorknob, indicating that he wanted to go back in the room.
"I understand if she doesn't want to, but I thought it'd be easier that way." Karen told him, "I'll go make breakfast. You go take a shower and get ready for school. And you can tell Brooke she's welcome to anything in my closet," Karen told him as she went into the kitchen to make breakfast.
Lucas went back into his room. Brooke had moved onto his side of the bed now and so he realized that he had no way of getting back in for a few more minutes of sleep. Hesitantly, he grabbed his clothes for school and made his way into the bathroom as quickly as he could, hoping that Brooke wouldn't wake to find him gone.
After having the quickest shower in the history of time (and a cold one at that, seeing as he hadn't bothered to wait for the hot water to kick in), Lucas managed to change and do his hair before re-entering his bedroom, to find Brooke on the cusp of being wide-awake.
She gave him a sleepy grin when she saw him, "Hey. You're awake!" she said stretching out in a cat-like fashion.
"Yeah. Sleep well?" he asked slipping his watch on his wrist from the bedside table. She nodded.
"Eventually. I'm sorry for hogging your bed" she apologized pulling herself up into an upright position.
"Don't worry about it," Lucas smiled back. "Listen, I have to go to school and so my mom thought that if you wanted to, you could spend the day with her at the cafe. No one will see you and so you don't have to worry about that." Lucas informed her. Brooke thought about it for a minute.
"Are you sure she won't mind? I won't be in her way, right?" she looked nervous and concerned. Her relationship with Lucas' mother had gotten off to a rocky start at first, and though they'd made progress in Charlotte during the Cheerleading Classic; news of Brooke's pregnancy scare has caused Brooke to avoid stopping by the café for fear of facing the wrath of Miss Roe.
"She's the one who suggested it in the first place. She doesn't want you to be alone at a time like this" Lucas assured her. Brooke nodded, smiling slightly.
"Then sure, tell her I'll take her up on her offer" Lucaswaspleased that Brooke had agreed and gave her a grin.
"Cool. I'll check on you at lunch and bring you all your homework so you don't miss out."
"And here I was thinking I'd be safe from all things academic!" she said sarcastically, "Thank you," she added sincerely.
"No worries. The shower is free if you want it. My mom's cooking breakfast and you can raid either of our closets. I wasn't sure if you'd want to wear something of mine or my mom's."
Brooke nodded and Lucas gave her some privacy so she could start getting ready for the day. When Lucas left, Brooke sighed and got out of bed, making her way down the hall and into the bathroom. Locking the door, Brooke let out another sigh and slowly gathered her courage to look into the mirror.
She was shocked at the image staring back at her. Her hair was dishevelled, her eyes red and puffy – where the purple ring of her black eye wasn't. She could see the bruise on her shoulder still kept its deep purple color. It ached when she tried rolling her shoulders. Her lip had swollen up slightly and the blood had dried into a dark reddish brown color. She looked terrible, to say the least.
'Good thing I'm not going to school today,' Brooke said to herself as she opened up the bathroom cabinet. She rooted around for a spare toothbrush but finding none, she looked at two on the sink. 'Okay, Brooke. One of these is Karen's and other is Lucas'… which one is which?' she mused.
She opted for the red one with the basketball on it as she assumed Lucas wouldn't use the one with the purple flower. After brushing her teeth, Brooke stripped down and had a quick shower. Her lip stung as the hot water cascaded down her body and she winced in pain as she massaged the shower gel onto her body that was still aching from the bruises.
When she finished, she wrapped the nearby towel around her body and went back into Lucas' room. While she was in the shower, someone had washed her clothes from last night and put them on the bed. Grabbing the underwear, she pulled them on quickly and then searched through Lucas' wardrobe, desiring something soft and warm. Brooke smiled as she caught sight of the gray hoodie that Lucas favoured and she pulled it out, throwing it on the bed. Then she found a t-shirt of his and threw that down too. Deciding to wear her jeans from the previous night, she put it on and followed it with Lucas' t-shirt and hoodie. She looked at her reflection once again and after brushing a comb through her hair, she decided she was more or less presentable for breakfast.
Brooke could hear Lucas' laughter echoing down the hall from the kitchen and her stomach growled at the distant smell of pancakes and toast. 'Okay,' she thought 'just because I look like crap doesn't mean I have to act like it.'
With a final flick of her hair, she turned around and went on a quest to fill her stomach.
Felix stalked through the grounds of Tree Hill High, roughly pushing past people who were in his way and not apologizing when they stumbled or yelled an annoyed "hey!" at him. He'd realized Brooke hadn't returned home since he'd last seen her and he couldn't reach her on her cell. He doubted she'd be at school either but he had to try.
Felix had been sure she would have run into the arms of Lucas by now, but the attempt to claim her back from him had proved futile when Lucas' mother insisted there were no young girls hidden in her house and he had no reason not to trust her. 'Unless she's also protecting Brooke' he thought bitterly. Spying the familiar abundance of blonde curly locks from the distance, Felix ran faster and made his way towards Peyton.
She yelped in surprise as Felix jumped in front of her, slightly out of breath but still determined to find where his girlfriend was.
"Peyton! Have you seen Brooke?" he asked. Peyton took a moment to compose herself and get down from the shock of Felix's arrival.
"And a hello to you too," Peyton rolled her eyes when Felix didn't look amused, "No, I haven't. Tried calling?" she questioned.
"She's avoiding me." Felix narrowed his eyes at the blonde.
"Right," Peyton said realizing that Brooke and Felix obviously had a fight, "One thing I know about Brooke is that when she's pissed at you, she's really pissed at you. She'll find you when she wants to. But I will try and get in touch with her for you, if you want me too!" Peyton told Felix. He grunted.
"Let me know straight away, okay? I need to talk to her" he said to Peyton before stalking off again.
"Ass" Peyton muttered as she pulled out her phone and began punching in Brooke's number when she spotted Lucas making his way towards here. She immediately put her phone in her bag and walked up to meet him half-way.
"Hey Lucas. Have you seen Brooke? Felix was looking for her. It seems there's trouble in paradise," she winked playfully. She frowned when Lucas didn't return the gesture.
"I know. Brooke's been at mine all night." He told her simply, not looking at her but looking around her. Peyton dipped her head down and stuffed a hand in her pocket.
"Oh... I didn't know you were-" she began. Lucas noticed her change in mood and realized what she'd thought.
"It's not like that," he told her and making sure nobody was in earshot, he added "Felix has been hitting her." Peyton looked up in disbelief.
"Oh my god. Is she alright?" she questioned, wondering how in the world Brooke hadn't told her.
"Not really. She's at my mom's cafe, keeping away from here." Lucas scanned the school, noticing Felix talking to Anna in the car park.
"I don't blame her," Peyton muttered, "Oh my god…"
"I need a favor from you," Lucas told her, averting his gaze from the brother and sister in case the noticed him staring.
"Anything" Peyton responded quickly, wanting to do anything to help her friends.
"Could you go to Brooke's and pick up a bag of her things? I'd do it but I want to keep an eye on Felix and then I want to check on Brooke at lunch," he explained, telling her the plans he'd made on the way here.
"Of course I will, when do you want me to give it to you?" she asked.
"Anytime possible. You could drop it off at my house or the cafe. Or maybe I'll catch up with you later."
"Yeah, okay. Hey, um, when you see Brooke - tell her I'm here for her and if she ever needs to talk-" Peyton offered. Lucas nodded.
"I'll do that. But please don't tell anyone else, okay?" Peyton made a 'my lips are sealed' gesture and gave Lucas a tight smile as the bell rang.
"I need to go to homeroom so…"
"Yeah, same here. I'll speak to you soon," he said before running off to his class and leaving Peyton standing alone.
Peyton sighed. She thought that her friendship with Brooke was stronger than ever and now that this had happened; her best friend had chosen to turn to the one person who'd come between them. The second bell broke Peyton out of her reverie and with a deep sigh she went to class.
Brooke growled as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her black eye was nicely covered up but for some reason, she kept messing up with the mascara. Her lip was still slightly swollen and she knew that it would remain that way for a few more days. After attempting to try applying the mascara again Brooke threw the stick down in the sink in frustration, as it proved worthless. Breaking down, Brooke sobbed, wondering why it was so damn difficult for her to do something she'd become an expert in at the age of eleven.
Karen stopped at the doorway of the bathroom when she heard the quiet sobs. Checking that Deb had control of the café, she slowly made her way to the young girl.
"You okay, honey?" she asked. Brooke looked up at Karen and wiped away her tears in embarrassment. She tried to laugh as she explained.
"Yeah… it's stupid really. I just can't seem to get this eye right and… urgh!" she exclaimed showing the older woman the damage.
"Aw, sweetie. Let me help," Karen tore some toilet paper from one of the cubicles and applied water to it before gently wiping the mascara off. "You know, when I was in high school, Dan once hit me."
"Really?"
"Not on purpose. Although, he does seem the type to do that sort of thing,"
"What happened?" Brooke asked.
"He got angry after a bad game. His father was being really tough on him and he took it out on me. I was the straw that broke the camel's back. I know he didn't mean it, he… well, he spent the whole of the next week apologizing and buying me flowers and chocolate." Karen told her. Karen paused while she exchanged the wet tissue paper for the mascara tube.
"Are you telling me to go back to Felix?" Brooke questioned. Karen violently shook her head.
"Oh, honey, no. Dan was… different back then. I know he'd never touch me again, something in his eyes told me that. I know Felix hit you more than once and that shows it was not an accident. I was just telling you that because I learnt something."
"What was that?"
"Well, I spent the whole day in the bathrooms crying my eyes out and I found that it just made things worse. You can't hide from people."
"I have to hide. I look like something the cat dragged in."
"Well, your mascara is almost done, that black eye is concealed and you still have your dignity." Karen put away the mascara and Brooke looked at her reflection, pleased with the result.
"Thanks Karen, but I still have cut lip!" Brooke pointed at it.
"We can't do anything about that, but if you use that as a reason to hide away, you're letting Felix win. You have to show him you're stronger than that. I mean, the biggest step you took was not to stand for it and leaving him. You just have to carry that on." Brooke agreed with Karen's statement.
"I know and I will… I'm just afraid of what people will say. I hate being the subject of people's gossip."
"No one does. Seventeen years later, I'm still the girl who got knocked up by Dan Scott, and Lucas will probably bear the brunt of that but you've got to forget other people."
"I've missed this," Brooke mused. "This whole relationship between us. You're a very smart woman."
"And so are you. I missed this too," there was a pause, "Brooke, I hope you don't mind me asking… but why did you and Lucas break up?"
Brooke looked down at the floor nervously. "If you had asked me this question… two months ago or something, I could have told you exactly what your son did to me and how much we both hurt each other…"
"But..?" Karen implored. Brooke shrugged.
"The way he acted yesterday, protecting me and caring about me… it doesn't much matter any more. All the bad stuff is in the past now and he's been a really good friend. You raised a great son, you should be proud."
"Is that your way of avoiding the question?" Karen asked. Brooke grinned, "Okay, well Brooke, you and I have to get back and help Deb. Your lemon shortcake is a hit, you never told me you could cook!" Karen complimented. Brooke blushed slightly.
"Well… when you get bored you just feel like making stuff, especially when you're home alone. I could make some chocolate fudge shortcake too! They're my specialty!" she gave Karen a dimpled smile.
"In that case, Miss Davis, lead me to the kitchen!" Karen laughed.
Lucas tapped his foot on the ground impatiently as he waited for World History to end. He checked the clock on the wall and tracked the red hand as it slowly made its way to the 12. It was almost 12.15, which meant that if he ran, he could get to his mom's café by 12.22 to check on Brooke. She'd been on his mind since he'd left her in the morning and after losing sight of Felix sometime during the day, he'd been worried about her.
The bell finally rang and Lucas gathered his books and pushed through the crowds to reach the nearest exit. As he sprinted, he heard his name being called. He turned around to see Peyton running to catch up with him. He waited until she reached him and handed him a blue duffel bag.
"Here you go. I skipped 4th to get Brooke's stuff," she explained, out of breath.
"You didn't have to do that,"
"I wanted to. Brooke's my best friend and, well, I'm never going to need English in life anyway. Are you going to see Brooke now?" Lucas nodded, "Can I come with? I really want to see her."
"Sure, she'll be pleased to see you," Lucas said. Peyton nodded.
"Can I ask you a favor now?" Lucas nodded slowly, "Can we take my car? I really don't want to run."
Lucas smiled and followed Peyton to her car. "Lucas, I have to tell you something." Peyton told him once they sat down in the car.
"Can you tell me while we're driving?" Lucas asked, but seeing her serious expression he quickly added, "What is it?"
"Felix was at Brooke's house. He totally cornered me and demanded to know where she was."
"You tell me this now?" Lucas yelled, "Well… what did you say?"
"I told him I didn't know where she was and all I was doing was picking up a CD she'd borrowed." Peyton told him. Lucas didn't seem convinced.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! I would never betray you or Brooke like that. Anyway, he… well, I think he's really mad. He doesn't like to take no for an answer. I managed to convince him to go to the mall while I got her stuff. I don't think he suspects that she's with you. I was just warning you because when he finds her, he's going to be really pissed."
Lucas nodded, "He's going to have to get past me first. I'm not going to let anything else happen to her."
Peyton nodded silently as she turned on the engine. Brushing back tears, she drove Lucas to Karen's Café.
She was disappointed to learn that Brooke occupied Lucas' mind so much, and that he hadn't noticed the faint mark on her arm where Felix had held on tightly earlier in Brooke's room.
'Of course he wouldn't,' she told herself bitterly, 'it's always been Brooke'.
To Be Continued…
