Peyton threw her sketchbook onto her bed and started pacing her room. What could Jake be hiding from her? Why would he be hiding something from her? Had she done something? Peyton made up her mind, grabbed her leather jacket, and started out the door. She was going to find out what was going on.

She was just turning the car keys in their lock when Lucas walked up her driveway. "Peyton."

"Lucas? What are you doing here?"

Lucas, too confused to be awkward, grabbed Peyton's arm and took her to her porch to sit down. "I need to ask you something."

"Look Lucas," Peyton started "I was just going-"

"How well do Brooke and Jake know each other?"

"What?"

"Brooke and Jake. You know, do they get along? Talk? Anything? What's the relationship between them?"

"Brooke and Jake?" Peyton repeated, confused "I don't think they really know each other that well... Acquaintances, at most. Why?"

"I just-"

"I see you two are just getting along beautifully, aren't you?" Brooke's voice interrupted Lucas' thought.

"Brooke." Peyton said.

"Yeah, Brooke."

"This isn't what it looks like." Lucas said, removing his hand from Peyton's arm.

Brooke looked from Peyton to Lucas and back again, her eyes were stinging from unshed tears. "You know what?" She asked angrily, trying to mask the hurt. "I don't even care anymore... just don't talk to me, okay? I don't want to deal with either of you. At all."

"Brooke." Lucas said rising from his seat on the porch. "I think you're overreacting a little bit-"

"Overreacting?" Brooke shouted, jabbing Lucas in the chest with a finger, her previous hurt forgotten. "Overreacting? You know what Lucas Scott? I think you should go to hell!"

"Brooke-" Peyton cut in, standing behind Lucas.

"No Peyton. You were supposed to be my best friend. Just follow Lucas to hell, you two belong together."

Neither Peyton nor Lucas caught sight of the tears streaming down Brooke's face as she whirled around and ran to her car. They were still standing in shock as Brooke's car pulled away from the curb and tore down the street.

Brooke wiped furiously at her tears, to no avail, as she drove out of Tree Hill. Past the high school, the river court, Karen's, far from everything she knew. She finally stopped several hours later, in a field, as her car ran out of gas. "Dammit!" she screamed as she slammed the door shut. She kicked at the front door of her car repeatedly until she collapsed into a pile of sobs. When she finally calmed down a little she heard her cell phone ringing. She picked it up tearfully and held it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Brooke!" Came Peyton's frantic voice "Where the hell are-"

Brooke forcefully ended the call. She swore as the phone rang again. "Listen Peyton, just leave me the hell alone! I don't want to talk to you-"

"Brooke?"

"Jake? What- how did you get my number?"

"I called Kara, you know, one of the cheerleaders... She's on the same squad as you."

"I know who Kara is." Brooke snapped.

"Okay." Jake said quietly "What happened, Brooke?" He asked her just as quietly when he heard her sniffling.

"Peyton and Lucas..." Brooke began her tears making her incoherent "They were- and I drove away- my car broke down..."

"Your car broke down?"

Brooke nodded tearfully before realizing he couldn't see her. "Yeah."

"Where are you?"

"I don't know." Brooke sobbed.

"Just calm down Brooke, it's okay. I'm going to drop Jenny off at my parents house and then I'm coming to get you, okay?"

Brooke nodded again. "Okay."

"Now," Jake asked again, as Brooke had calmed down a little "Do you have any idea where you are?"

Brooke looked around her in the waning light of the day. "I'm in a field about 2 hours north of Tree Hill."

"Okay." Jake answered. Brooke heard the crinkling of what must have been a map. "What's the last street name you remember?"

"I don't know, Cambridge... Chamber Bridge or something..."

"Chamberlain Ave. Okay, I'll be there in like 2 and a half hours okay?"

"Okay." Brooke hiccupped. "Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you hurry? Please?"

"Of course. Lock yourself in your car and wait for me okay?"

"Alright." Brooke agreed. She winced as she heard Jenny start crying. "I'm sorry, Jake."

"Hey, don't worry about it." Brooke could almost hear the smile in his voice. "How often do I get to be a knight in shining armor?" Brooke laughed in spite of the tears still falling from her eyes. "I'll see you soon."

"Okay."

Brooke woke with a little scream as she heard knocking on her car window. Slightly disoriented she started to roll down the window.

"Brooke?"

"Jake?" She unlocked her car door and threw herself into his arms. "Oh my God, Jake!" She sobbed. "Thank you so much..."

Jake, not knowing what else to do, wrapped his arms around Brooke tightly. "It's okay Brooke..." He soothed her. "It's okay... I'm here..."

"Jake?" Brooke asked softly, a few minutes later, after her tears subsided.

"Yeah?"

"Can you take me home?"

"Yeah."

Brooke grabbed her stuff and locked her car; she then slipped into the passenger seat of Jake's. She jumped as she heard a soft cry in the backseat of the car. "Jenny? What's she doing here Jake? I thought you were going to drop her off at your parent's place..."

"Yeah..." Jake said as he started the car "Well I was going to, but..."

"But," Brooke prompted.

"I forgot, 'cause I was in such a hurry..."

Brooke couldn't say anything around the lump that had formed in her throat; instead she turned in her seat and, somehow, un-strapped a now incredibly loud and upset Jenny from her car seat. She looked over at Jake as she cuddled his daughter. "Thank you Jake."

"It's not a problem." Jake insisted, though he was blushing.

"Seriously Jake, thank you. I don't know anyone else who would have done that for me."

Jake didn't say anything as he continued to drive.

"Brooke?" Jake asked as he tapped her on the shoulder. She looked different when she was sleeping, less dangerous. Her head was tipped back, her mouth open, with tiny snores emerging every once in a while. She was clutching a similarly sleeping Jenny against her breast. "Brooke, wake up."

"Huh?"

"I don't know where you live Brooke."

"What?"

"I don't know where you live."

"Oh, I live over there somewhere..." Brooke mumbled waving her hand in the general direction of the river.

"Yeah," Jake smirked "That's what I thought. Come on."

"Where are we going?" Brooke asked groggily as Jake took Jenny from her and led her by the hand up to his apartment.

"We're going to my apartment. You can take my room and I'll sleep on the couch."

"You don't have to sleep on the couch..." Brooke yawned.

"Don't worry about it Brooke." Jake smiled tiredly as he unlocked his door.

"But-"

"No, it's cool. It's not like I've never slept on a couch before." He led Brooke to his room and watched as she took off her shoes. He grabbed a pair of pajama pants and an old gray t-shirt and handed it to her before grabbing some clothes for himself. He bounced Jenny lightly in his arms when he felt her start to stir. "I'm going to put her down and then go crash on the couch, okay?" Brooke nodded slowly. "The bathroom's across the hall from Jenny's room, okay?"

Brooke nodded again as Jake started leaving the room. "Goodnight Jake."

"Night Brooke."