-1Author: Selene Romanov
Title: Surprises
Summary: Part of Haley's identity is shattered by a ghost from her past and Brooke meets a new person, friend or foe?
Disclaimer: Nick is my creation, take him however you want. He's Haley's half brother. See Chapter 1 for other disclaimer.
Chapter Two
Tapping him on the shoulder, Haley fluffed her hair and batted her eyes going for the dramatic flirtatious effect on the hottie she'd eyed from across the room.
He turned and her mouth dropped, "Nick, what are you doing here?" her jaw dropped in shock.
"Little sis, how you doing? About to do your skank thing and hit on me," Arching a sexy eyebrow at her, he patted her on the head and turned back around to grab a beer.
Pulling on his shoulder so he faced her, "What are you doing here?" her pleasant alcoholic state faded.
"Just seeing how the good live? So how is the good life, the rich and famous, the beautiful and slutty, oh wait that would describe you? So tell me how is it? What is it like to sleep on silk sheets and fuck a faceless guy, knowing that everyone knows what you're doing and no one cares." Nick taunted her.
Haley flashed back to a hazy memory in her past of her parents fighting over how Nick had lit one of Taylor's dolls on fire and decapitated her, she'd been five and he'd been nine and he had been a mean little boy, seemed like things hadn't changed.
"What are you doing here?" she asked again, steel in her tone.
"I'm here to deliver a bit of news and be the shoulder that you cry on," a glint of malice danced in his eyes.
"What?" Haley pulled him in the shadowy corner, away from curious eyes.
"Daddy's dead and so is Faye, Val and little Irish, they died in a house fire last week, sorry to be the bearer of bad news," his lower lip pouted out in cynical glee.
Haley felt her insides shake and crack into a thousand pieces, "They're dead, why are you here telling me this? Shouldn't you be dealing with the funeral details at home in Corvallis or wherever the hell you live."
"We moved to Cottage Grove last summer, the whole brood of us, one big happy family," Nick pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a puff, he blew it in Haley's face.
"Wait you said, Faye, Val, Irish and Daddy, where's Taylor?" Haley asked.
"Missing in action, she disappeared the night of the fire, had a terrible row with Daddy over her new boyfriend, seems he's not up to the perfect standards, we James's attain and Daddy wanted to fix her up with some one else, Taylor was pissed off and made that well known to most of the neighborhood before storming off in the woods," Nick sighed.
"Haven't seen her since, the police suspect her and me of course, since Dad had a huge life insurance policy and as his children we inherit it."
"What about me?" Haley asked, a tremor in her voice, a hint of fear and of curiosity.
"What about you? You were never part of the family, when Mom chose to have you, Dad divorced her and took us with him, since you weren't his daughter," Nick inhaled the sweet acrid smoke and exhaled over the balcony in little swirling puffs.
Poleaxed, "If he wasn't my father, then who was?" Haley slid down the cold cement of the wall to land on the floor on her silk covered ass.
"Someone in this town, Mom would never say and they never revealed an identity in all their fights," Haley looked up at him, shock in her eyes, tears streaking down her face.
"Oh yes, I heard them fighting over whether to keep you or not, she wanted to and he wanted her to have you aborted. But no, Mom just had to have her love-child, never mind that it tore us apart, all because of you, the bastard that tore us apart and I'll never forgive you for that." A hint of violence flashed in his eyes followed by grief quickly masked by a cynicism that no young man should have experience of at only twenty four years of age.
Fading back into the shadows from whence he'd come, Haley sat there shocked to the core, her life turned upside down. Her identity torn to shreds, she no longer knew who she was.
Her father's identity was a mystery and her mother was too involved in her own life to ever reveal it to her.
Feeling truly alone for the first time in a long time, she said there huddled in the dark, arms wrapped around herself, her red halter top glinting in the moonlight.
Brooke hunched on the floor, arms wrapped around herself, rocked back and forth, wondering what to do, where to go, anything to get away.
Her brown hair cascaded around her shoulders like chocolate, her reading glasses perched on the ridge of her nose delicately.
Her sweats were comfortable, loose affording no lines to discern a figure, otherwise skinny, fat, lush, athletic or otherwise.
The doorbell rang, a loud peal that shocked a squeal out of her. Pushing her glasses further up the bridge of her nose, she slowly got to her feet and walked to the door, opening it slowly, she saw a shock of curly blond hair disappearing around the corner.
"Hey," she called out.
A tall skinny blonde walked back around the corner. "Hey, I was wondering if you could tell me how to get back to Pine Street, I'm kind of lost, I was walking and then kind of got lost."
Brooke's eyes widened behind her glasses, "I -uh yeah- go down this road, take a left on Main walk two blocks over to Grouse and then down three to Pine," turning around, she walked back to her door.
"Wait, I'm new here, I was hoping to find a friend, so could we maybe be friends, see I've been home schooled for my whole life and my mom just died a year ago and my father moved us here and I miss her and I-" shocked that she'd rambled on that long, the girl blushed and turned to walk away.
"I'm sorry, you're probably wondering why psych ward I escaped from," her blue eyes glittered like icy sapphire diamonds in the glitter of the night.
"Um no, I don't have any friends, so actually it would be nice to have one," Brooke mumbled quietly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm Brooke Davis, I leave here, it's nice to meet you?"
"Peyton Sawyer, loner and weirdo, nice house," she shook Brooke's hand.
"Would you like to come in and hang out, I'm kind of bored and alone and could use some company," Brooke rambled on.
"Sure," Peyton dug her hands into the pockets on the rear of her jeans and followed Brooke into the quiet dark house. The red door shut behind the two girls. A brisk wind whispered through the trees. A hush settled over the night. All was quiet for now.
