Chapter Forty-Four

"Mommy! Door!" yelled Kylie from the ground floor. I moaned and sat up. It was about nine in the morning. Mouth hadn't woken me up-sometimes he did that, take care of Kylie in the morning so I had the chance to sleep in.

Slipping into my bath robe, I walked slowly downstairs as the doorbell sounded again.

"Callie! Hi!" I said awkwardly, embarrasses that she was seeing me with my limp, messy hair, my morning eyes. She smiled. I smiled back at her. Peyton's middle daughter really was beautiful, though she hadn't flaunted it as I had at her age. And she was different than me as well. In my teenage years I'd been gorgeous, pretty. But not the beauty that Callie possessed.

"Can I come in?" she asked after a moment.

"Sure honey," I said, leading her in to the living room.

"What's up?" I asked, five minutes later. She squirmed slightly, and Jake came out in her for a moment.

"Can I ask you a personal question Aunt Brooke?" she asked. Calista Brooklyn Jaigelski had my name-I regretted not being closer to her.

"Sure," I said easily.

"Do you recommend the pill or a diaphragm?" she asked. My eyes bulged out. Callie Jagielski, the queen of hookups that never went too far?

"What?" I asked weakly.

"Sorry, it's just that I can't ask my mom and I know it's not a good idea to trust guys with the whole condom thing so it's good to have a backup plan," she said, all in a rush.

"Well, I guess the pill is a hassle to take daily and can make you gain weight but the diaphragm can ruin the moment," I said, praying it never got back to my best friend.

"But they're how effective?"

"Well, I'm personally on the pill, and it's over 99 which I think is pretty good," I said, blushing.

"Okay, thanks. Can I go play with Kylie?" she asked breathlessly. I nodded and she almost ran out of the room.

I sat in the living room in confusion for a moment before rushing upstairs to groom so I could leave the house.

"Haley?" I called, letting myself into the house.

Sawyer came down the stairs, clearly having just woken up.

"I need to speak with your Mom," I said, slightly coldly. Stupid deflowerizer.

"Uh, she's busy in Dad's study," he said.

"Thanks," I responded, turning in to the small room.

Haley was astride Nathan on his desk chair, making out heavily.

"Guys! It's like ten in the morning! And I'd tell you to get a room, but you've been doing so for over seventeen years. Haley, I need to talk to you," I said.

"Remember when Peyton interrupted us with a frying pan?" asked Nathan, departing good naturedly.

"Yeah, pretending she didn't know what was going on," finished Haley.

"I think Callie and Sawyer are doing it," I said, as soon as Nathan had left the room, before she had a chance to ask me what I'd come about. She looked guiltily at me. "You knew?"

"Well yeah! I mean they lied to Pey so she still doesn't know, but I got it out of them. How do you know?" she asked curiously.

"Callie came over to my house and asked me to recommend birth control! And how can you be so calm about this?" I demanded.

"Birth control. She's not on it," said Haley, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, like you're one to talk. Haley?" I said in concern as she began to grow pale.

"Wait, Callie went to you about birth control and said she was too afraid to tell her mother? Brookie…" she said nervously.

"You don't think…"

"Well, her mother did pretty easily," said Haley, sinking into a chair.

"You think she's pregnant."

"With my son's baby!" she said weakly. I wrung my hands anxiously in front of my face.

"Peyton's going to kill her!"

"Jake's going to kill him!"

"Should we say something?" I asked.

"Maybe we're wrong," she said hopefully.

"All the signs point to it. I mean, they said they used rhythm as protection," she said.

"Kids."

"Why can't they be pure like you were?" she said, in the same fashion that she'd said "Brooke Davis-captain of the cheersluts!" sixteen years ago.

"Shut up. Unlike you…"

"Hey, come on! One pill! Not my fault that Nathan's… lusty," she said.

"Okay, gross. Anyway, back on topic. If she is pregnant, what are they going to do?"

"I don't know, get married?" she suggested.

"They're not you."

"But they're in love," she said.

"I was in love. It didn't save me," I said, looking away. I could feel her pitying stare upon me.

"Should I talk to her?" said Haley.

"Sure, if it means I don't have to," I said.