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Chapter Three
Brooke stared at her clock, the red digits flipped over to 3:23. The moon hung low over the hills of Los Angeles. Wrinkling the sheet worriedly between her fingers, she looked at the phone on her beside table. She'd called Lucas's cellphone three times and left messages on his voicemail. Her mind raced with the possibilities of what could've happened.
Her parents were still out at a work party. Her phone rang, she picked it up, "Lucas?"
"No, it's Peyton, Brooke's what going on, it's 3:30 there, shouldn't you be asleep?"
"I can't sleep, I miss Lucas, how is he?" confusion echoed stiffly on the line between the two girls.
"He's sleeping right now, I saw that you'd phoned his cell three times during the night, is something wrong?" Peyton looked down, lightly stroking his hair.
"Are you at his house?" Brooke asked.
"No, we're at my house," Peyton absently remarked.
"What's he doing there?" Brooke asked, fingers picking through her hair, her tone changed from concern to jealousy.
"He just lost his father and I lost my boyfriend, we're just comforting each other. We're just friends, Brooke. You know that." Peyton exclaimed.
Dead air drifted on the line for a minute, while Brooke processed what she'd just heard.
"What happened between you and Jake? I thought you were like happily ever after now." Brooke asked.
"He had to leave to find Jenny, Nikki stole her and left town with her." Peyton struggled not to break down in tears. She felt so torn up inside.
"Ok sorry about the paranoia about Lucas, you know how I am," Brooke told her.
"Well I gotta go, someone's ringing the doorbell at this ungodly hour, so I'll tell Lucas you called." Peyton disconnected the call.
Running down the stairs, Peyton opened the door, Haley stood there, a duffel bag slung over one shoulder, her hair a matted mess and her face streaked with tears and caked on mascara.
"Haley's what wrong?" Peyton asked, one hand on her hip, the other on the doorknob.
"I came back to see Nathan and…" she broke off in tears.
"Come in," Peyton helped her in, grabbing the duffel bag and dumping it on the floor. "What happened?"
"Nathan told me to go away that our marriage was over." Falling to the floor, she rocked back and forth, hands wrapped around her knees, mumbling incoherently to herself.
The bathroom upstairs flushed, Haley looked up, her cheeks flushed red, "Why didn't you tell me, you were busy." Standing up, she attempted to wipe her face, "Go back upstairs and be with Jake, I'm sorry for intruding." Haley turned to leave.
"Haley?" a soft masculine whisper stopped her.
Haley turned in surprise at Luke's voice, her jaw dropped when she saw him shirtless. She glanced over at Peyton, her mind adding two and two together and coming up with five. "Oh my god, you guys are together, but I thought that you wanted Brooke at least in New York you said you did and…" Haley trailed off.
Lucas glared at her from the top of the stairs and Peyton looked at Lucas with a weird look in her eyes.
"Why are you here Hales?" Luke asked, moving down the stairs like a sleek predator.
"I came to see Nathan and he told me that it was over and to go away." Haley sniffled and wiped her nose on her sleeve. "Hey maybe you could talk to Nathan for me?" a hopeful gleam shone in her eyes.
"Sorry Hales, but Nathan likes me about as much as he likes you, we're back to being enemies again," patting her on the shoulder, he glanced at Peyton. "Whatcha ya cooking me for breakfast woman?" arching his eyebrows at her lasciviously.
"Do I look like a domestic housewife to you?" Peyton razzed him, smacking him lightly on the back, she pushed him to the kitchen, "Why don't you make me some breakfast?"
"Whatever," Luke tossed over his shoulder, disappearing into the kitchen.
"I should go, I'm in the way," Haley said quietly.
"Oh no you should stay, you're tired and you don't look so hot, so why don't you go upstairs to the last room on the right and fix yourself up," Peyton offered.
"Ok thanks," Haley trudged up the stairs with her bag and disappeared.
Peyton moved into the kitchen and caught Lucas looking in the fridge for food. "So whatcha ya making me?"
"Well how about deviled eggs and burnt toast?" he asked in a sarcastic tone.
"Sure, or I could make my famous French toast?" Peyton suggested.
"Sounds good and since you are the girl, you should do the cooking and leave the manly things to the men, how about I take out the trash?" Luke winked at her suggestively.
"Really, you're so kind sir?" Peyton drawled in a fake southern accent.
"My pleasure, ma'am." Luke mock bowed and saluted her.
The phone rang then, "I'll get it," Luke beat Peyton to the phone.
"Hello, Sawyer Service Station, how may I direct your call?" Lucas said in a girlish tone.
"Lucas is that you?" Karen asked.
"Oh hey mom, how are you?" Lucas mouthed "mom" to Peyton and walked out of the kitchen to talk to her.
Peyton was left standing at the sink, staring out the window at the sunny day.
"Hey Peyton, is it okay if I just hit the sack for a few hours, I'm dead tired from last night and I think I'd sleep better now, knowing that I'm not alone," Haley said.
"Sure, go ahead, if I'm not here when you wake up, call my cell," Peyton said.
"Thanks." Haley walked up the stairs and went back to sleep.
Luke walked back into the kitchen a few minutes later. "Well my mom arrived safe and sound in New Zealand, she's heading to Andy's place now and said she'd call back in a couple days."
"Back to breakfast," Peyton said.
"Let's go to the café," Luke yawned and stretched his arms over his head.
"Sure, you should grab a shirt though," Peyton laughed at him.
"No problem." Luke turned and bounded up the stairs.
Peyton followed him up to her room, grabbed her purse and told him that Haley was sleeping her tiredness off.
"Let's go," Luke stuck out his hand and Peyton took it. Smiling at each other, they left for the café.
Brooke heard the soft hum of the limo as it dropped her parents off, her clock now read 4:34, she'd hadn't been able to go back to sleep after talking to Peyton. Getting out of bed, she walked down the hall to her parent's room.
Pushing open the door, she walked into the room. Her mother was in the process of removing her jewelry and her father was loosening his tie.
"Brooke, what are you doing?" her father asked.
"I need to back to Tree Hill now," she stated.
"Why?" her mother asked, placing her silver necklace in its black velvet case.
"Because Lucas needs me," she said.
"How does he need you?" her mom asked, exchanging expectant looks with her husband.
"His father was murdered and he's all alone, he needs me," Brooke stomped her foot on the plush rug.
"Well I'm sorry, but you're here now and here is where you're staying," her mother said.
"Why can't I go?" Brooke whined.
"Because this summer is about us bonding together as a family and we can't do that if you're not here," her dad replied.
"Why do we have to bond now, you two had no problem ignoring me for the last 6 years, throwing money at me and being out of my life and never seeing me, why now?"
"Because it's time we knew our daughter," he dad plainly said.
"That's not fair, how can you move me away from my home, my friends, everything I've known for the last 17 years of my life and expect me to adjust," Brooke screamed at them.
"Would it be so hard for you to think of someone else besides yourself for once?" her mother complained.
"You never cared for me, why should I even stay to listen to you now," Brooke yelled, hands on her hips.
"Because you're still legally under 18 and until you turn 18, you're not allowed to live on your own," her father said quietly.
"Why can't I go back to Tree Hill, I want to, I miss it there, please?" Brooke begged, tears shining in her eyes.
Her father softened slightly, "Well maybe for a few days," was cut off by his wife. "No, you're here to be us now."
"Daddy?" Brooke pleaded.
"Sorry honey, what your mother says sticks."
"No," Brooke cried out.
"I'll make you a deal, you can go back to Tree Hill for your senior year," Brooke's eyes lit up, "on one condition, you have to stay in L.A. for the entire summer, if your father or I find out that you skipped town at all, then the deal is broken and you're stuck here till you turn 18 in April," her mother said strictly.
"Deal," Brooke wiped the tears out of her eyes.
"Thanks you guys are the best," Running over to hug her parents, she shrieked with happiness.
Lucas left Peyton in the café and walked outside to phone Brooke on his cellphone, seeing that she'd phoned three times last night and having listened to her messages, hearing how frantic she was, he dialed her LA number.
"Davis Residence?" a thick Spanish accent greeted him.
"Is Brooke Davis there?" Luke asked, hopping from one foot to another.
"May I ask who's calling?"
"Lucas Scott," he replied.
"One moment," her hand covered the phone, he could hear muffled voices, then silence.
"I'm sorry, she's out of town on her parent's yacht and won't be back till June 24th," the voice told him.
"But it's only June 9th, could you give me another number to contact her at?" he asked.
"I'm sorry, please try again after the 24th," the line went dead.
"That was weird," he mumbled to himself.
"Talking to yourself is a sure sign of insanity," a sexy voice commented from behind him.
Turning Luke saw Peyton striding towards him, "Hey, didn't you say you talked to Brooke today?"
"Yeah, why?" Peyton shaded her eyes under the powerful glare of the sun.
"Because I just called her house and a maid or someone said that she was out of town on her parent's yacht till the 24th of June?" confusion crossed his face.
"She didn't say anything about a cruise, I'll email her when I get home?" Peyton said, shrugging her shoulders.
Luke opened the passenger door of Peyton's car and got in, putting his sunglasses on, he glanced at his cellphone, "It's only 10:30, let's go do something."
"Like what?" Peyton squinted at him.
"I don't know, let's go buy you some sunglasses," Luke suggested.
"Okay," Peyton fired her engine and drove away from the café.
Brooke swept back into her house at about 4:00 pm with a huge load of shopping bags. Seeing the new maid her parents had hired to do housework and whatever.
"Paloma, any calls for me?" she asked, holding her breath, hoping Lucas had called.
"No sorry Brooke, hey do you know where the solarium is? Your mom told me to clean it and I can't seem to find it."
"Yeah, I think you go to the kitchen, go up the back stairs, take a right, go to the end of the hallway, there's a set of stairs behind the last door on the left, go up them halfway then there's another hallway to your left, follow that and turn right and I think it's the second door on the right."
"Thanks, do you need help with your bags?" Paloma asked.
"No, do you know where my parents are?" Brooke asked.
"They're at the Agoura Hills Country Club and said you're supposed to join them for dinner at 7," Paloma said.
"Oh really," Brooke wondered about that as she carried her shopping up to her room.
Sorting through her purchases, she found a sexy slither of a dress in a baby blue and dark violent purple that would look gorgeous on her. Laying it out on her bed, she put the rest of her stuff away.
Next chapter will feature different characters. Each chapter will focus on a different set of people and their problems.