Hey Guys. Sorry it took me a while to get this update on here. I started a new job, and I had some school stuff that had to be done, so I didn't have the chance to get this posted. But here it is! Because it took so long and because you guys have given me 100 great reviews, here's 3 chapters. : )
1/23- One Week Later
NEW YORK
Brooke, who was supposed to be studying for a test, was sitting at her desk, doodling on her math review sheet and watching TV. She sighed when she finally turned off the TV so she wouldn't be as distracted, and really began to focus on her math review. Not even five minutes after she got focused, her cell phone rang on the desk next to her math book.
"Does it never end?" Brooke laughed and picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Hey chick. What are you up to?"
"Tay! What's up?" Brooke said, excited to hear from her friend
"Not much. Calling to see how you were."
"I'm good! How are you doing? What have you been up to?"
"Working. I got a job at Dan Scott Motors."
"Damn. What are you doing there?" Brooke asked
"Fucking Dan." Taylor joked. "Nah, I'm a receptionist. It's not too horrible, just a little boring at times."
"I'm sure. Major props to you, because I would be afraid to work for Dan. He's a creepy old perv." Brooke laughed
"He's pretty easy to avoid though. So what have you been up to?"
"School, pretty much."
"Fun fun." Taylor said sarcastically
"Tell me about it. So how have you been? I haven't talked to you in so long! I miss you!"
"I'm good! Clean and loving it!" Taylor said with a smile in her voice
"I'm proud of you Taylor. Now if you could keep yourself and my girlfriend that way, I wouldn't have to worry about anything." Brooke joked
"Well I wouldn't worry about any of us down here. We're all doing pretty good."
"How is she?" Brooke asked softly. "We haven't talked all that much this week."
Taylor sighed. "Honestly Brooke, I don't know. Peyton doesn't come around much anymore. She avoids us for the most part. She's slipped into this depression, I think."
"That's weird that she doesn't come around anymore. It's not like she has anything else to do. She was close to you and Sydney, what happened?"
"I don't know. But she seems ok when I see her."
"Is she still using?" Brooke asked hesitantly, not knowing if she wanted to know the answer
"No, actually. She meant it when she said that she wanted to stay clean. Besides, she doesn't have any money for it even if she wanted it." Taylor said. "I thought she told you she was done with all that?"
"She did." Brooke sighed. "Would I be a horrible person if I said I had my doubts?"
"No. But she's really doing ok, Brooke. You should be proud of her."
"I am! And I'm proud of you too; a lot!" Brooke said sincerely
"Thanks. That means a lot to me." Taylor said happily. "So have you been staying sober?"
"I haven't touched a drink since New Years." Brooke said proudly
"Good for you. You know, it's really sad that we all have such huge issues when we are all so young still."
"So goes life." Brooke joked
"I guess." Taylor laughed. "Well hey, I hate to cut this short, but I have to get ready for work. I just wanted to say hi."
"Oh, ok. Hi!" Brooke laughed. "It was good talking to you Tay. Keep in touch."
"You too Brooke. Bye."
"Bye Taylor."
After Brooke hung up, she looked at her watch. Huh. Faith was supposed to be here 30 minutes ago. She wasn't at school today either. That's really weird. Brooke picked her phone back up and dialed Faith's number.
"Hey, it's Faith. Leave me a message, and if I want to talk to you, I'll call you back. If you don't hear from me, then I probably don't like you."
"Faith, it's me. I'm just wondering where you are, so call me back, ok?" Brooke left on Faith's voice mail
That's really weird. She always answers when I call. Brooke dialed another number.
"Yo." Brett answered
"Brett, its Brooke. Is Faith with you?"
"No, I haven's seen her all day, and she wont answer my calls."
"Me either. If you hear from her, let her know that I'm trying to get a hold of her ok?"
"Ditto."
Brooke hung up with Brett and dialed one more number.
"Hello?" A shy female voice answered
"Hi. Is Faith home?" Brooke asked hopefully
Brooke suddenly heard another voice, this one male, and then heard rustling on the other end of the phone.
"Who is this?" The man asked rudely
"This is Faith's friend Brooke. I was just trying to get a hold of her." Brooke said as politely as possible
"She's not home. But if you talk to her, tell that little bitch she better bring my car home now!" The man hung up
"Fuck." Brooke said to the dead phone. Shit. Where is she? Realization hit Brooke. Oh no. She made one more call.
"Brett, I need a favor."
"You promise you'll take good care of her?" Brett asked Brooke
"Duh." Brooke rolled her eyes
"Fine. But only because I want you to find Faith." Brett handed Brooke his car keys. "Why cant I just come with you?"
"Because this is a job for a best friend, not a boyfriend." Brooke hopped into Brett's car and rolled the window down. "I'll bring them both back home to you."
"Ok. Drive safe."
"Of course." Brooke smiled and screeched the tires as she pulled away
"Oh Lord." Brett muttered as he shook his head
"I thought I would find you here." Brooke said softly as she sat on the beach next to Faith
Faith turned to Brooke. "I was kind of hoping you wouldn't."
Brooke winced as she noticed the huge bruise on the side of Faith's face, and her black eye. "Faith." Brooke said breathlessly
"Please." Faith began to tear up. "Don't Brooke."
Brooke's own eyes began to water at the sight of the woman who had become her best friend. "Come here baby." Brooke whispered as she pulled Faith into a gentle hug, not knowing if there were any more bruises
Faith, in return, crushed Brooke in a tight hug and began to sob. Brooke tightened her arms around Faith, and ran her fingers through Faith's hair as she broke down.
"It's ok baby." Brooke whispered. "You're ok now; I've got you. You're ok."
They sat like that for hours, Faith finally being able to find comfort in someone who truly cared. After Faith had cried herself out, she pulled back to look at Brooke.
"Why did you drive all the way here?" Faith asked, her voice hoarse from crying
"Because I love you." Brooke said. "And I don't want you to be alone through this."
"How did you even know?"
"I called your house trying to find you, and your dad said something about the car. I knew that you would be here."
Faith smiled a little. "Thank you. It means a lot that you care so much."
"Come on. Let's get you taken care of." Brooke kissed Faith's forehead gently, and smiled at the girl
Faith smiled also. "Ok."
After leading Faith inside, Brooke brought her into the master bathroom. She started the water in the tub, and turned to Faith.
"Ok. Let's see how bad this is." Brooke said softly
Faith nodded as Brooke helped her pull her shirt off, and then her pants. Brooke cringed when she saw the bruises on Faith's shoulder, stomach, and back.
Faith, noticing Brooke's look, spoke up. "It looks worse than it feels."
Brooke slowly walked over behind Faith, and gingerly touched the bruises on the girl's shoulder. When Faith didn't flinch, Brooke slowly brought her lips to the bruises in light kisses. As Brooke continued to kiss Faith's shoulder, Faith's closed her eyes and took a deep breath, finally being able to feel some kind of peace and comfort. Brooke then came around from behind Faith, and lightly kissed the bruised on Faith's stomach as well. When she straightened up, Faith opened her eyes to look at Brooke.
Looking deep into each other's eyes, searching, Brooke slowly leaned forward to kiss the bruise on Faith's eye, and then moved down to kiss her cheek. Bringing her hands to Faith's face, Brooke brought her lips to Faith's in a tender kiss. Pulling back to look into Faith's eyes again, she saw no negative reaction. Letting go of Faith's face, Brooke reached behind the other girl to unhook Faith's bra, and pulled it gently from Faith's body. Brooke then reached down to help Faith out of her panties, not once breaking eye contact with the broken and bruised girl.
The two girls stood there, still looking into each other's eyes. Although one was completely naked and exposed physically, it didn't even begin to match up to how much they were both naked and exposed mentally and emotionally.
Brooke once again brought her lips to Faith's in a gentle kiss, and Faith brought her hand up to caress Brooke's cheek.
When the kiss broke, the two smiled, and without exchanging any words, Brooke turned and left the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Not once did she look at the naked girl that she left in there. Brooke leaned against the doorframe after she had completely closed the door, and took a deep breath to regain her composure.
"Hey." Faith said quietly when she walked into the kitchen
"Hey yourself." Brooke smiled. "How do you feel?"
"Like shit."
"Understandable." Brooke stood up from her chair, and motioned for Faith to sit there. "Sit."
Faith did as she was told, and Brooke walked into the kitchen. Opening the freezer, she pulled out a package of frozen peas.
"For your eye and your cheek." Brooke said as she handed the package to Faith
"Thanks B." Faith put the peas on her bruises, and flinched at how cold they were. "Do you find it weird that like everyone has a package of frozen peas in their freezer? What's up with that?"
"I have no clue." Brooke smiled, glad that her friend was feeling at least a little better if she was joking. "Do you want to talk about what happened?" Brooke said as she sat down next to Faith
"I got up early for my morning jog to find that my dad was in the living room. He asked me where I was going, and I told him that I was going out and that I would be right back. He was drunk, which means that there was probably a company meeting the night before and he went out for drinks with everyone after. He just flipped out on me. Next thing I know, he punched me. I fell to the ground, not expecting the punch at all, and he kicked me while I was down." Faith shrugged
"This has to stop Faith."
"It rarely happens." Faith said, trying to brush it off as no big deal. "I try to avoid him, and I usually manage to do just that."
"I am so sorry." Brooke said and put a hand over Faith's
"Me too." Faith yawned, and winced in pain. "I'm really tired though, so I think that I'm just going to crash here for the night."
"I'll stay with you if you want." Brooke offered
"No, it's ok. You have school tomorrow, and you don't have your stuff, and-"
"Faith, do you want me to stay with you?" Brooke broke into Faith's excuses
"Yeah. I really don't want to be alone."
Brooke stood up and reached for Faith's hand. "Well let's go get some sleep then."
When Brooke and Faith got to the bedroom, they both got into bed and pulled the covers over them.
"Hey B, would you do me a favor?" Faith asked quietly into the dark
"Anything."
"Would you just, umm…would you just hold me?" Faith asked shyly
Brooke answered by scooting close to Faith and wrapping her arms around Faith's waist.
Faith relaxed against Brooke, and spoke barely above a whisper. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Brooke whispered back and kissed Faith's hair
A/N- You sure you're ready for the next chapter after all that? ; )