"Nathan? Honey, are you home?"
He frowned. Damn it, he should have left earlier.
"I just came by to pick up some stuff." His voice was flat. Void of any emotion.
She reached for him, but he backed away. "Why won't you come home? Is life with Dan really better?"
"If you could just stop lying to me, then maybe it wouldn't be like this, Mom."
"Nathan—"
"I'm going outside for some air."
He stepped out onto the deck, closing the glass doors behind him. He gulped in the fresh air, the feeling of suffocation, ebbing away.
With a heavy sigh, he sunk into a chair. Confrontations sucked.
Clink. Clink.
The sound of metal hitting against concrete caught his attention. What was making that noise?
He got up from his seat halfway, eager to get a glimpse of what was going on.
What he saw only made him fall back in his seat with laughter.
Brooke Davis was dragging a shovel, along with a big box back into the woods that were beyond both their backyards.
---
She dropped the shovel and the box upon reaching her destination. Deep in the woods, past her backyard, where a clubhouse stood.
Memories flashed before her, but she hastily pushed them away.
No use on dwelling on the past.
---
Nostalgia filled Nathan at the sight of the clubhouse.
It had been a long time since he had been there.
Maybe too long.
---
"Hey"
She turned around, startled. "What are you doing here?"
He quirked an eyebrow. "Question is, what are you doing here?" He peered down the hole she dug. "Burying Lucas's dead body, I presume?"
She smirked. "You wish."
"Okay, so what is it?"
She dropped her shovel. "None of your business."
"Alright, whatever."
Uncomfortable silence hung between them.
"Do you miss it?" He asked, nodding towards the clubhouse.
Yes. "No. Do you?"
---
He could lie and pretend that he didn't, like she did. Or he could just...
"Yeah, I do."
Tell the truth.
She looked at him, surprised. "Oh"
"I...I guess I should get going."
Hazel eyes locked into blue ones.
"Yeah, alright. Bye, Nathan."
"I'll see you around, Brooke."
---
She watched Nathan leave, her face, emotionless.
When it came to him, she didn't know what to feel anymore.
---
He stopped walking, and turned to face her. He needed to say this, because it was killing him...to see her...like this.
"I know that we haven't had much of a relationship lately, but I just want you to know that if you ever need anything, I'm here."
---
Her face softened at his sincerity, but her eyes remained cold and guarded. "Don't you think it's a bit too late to make up for the past 3 years?"
But he was already gone.
And you're tearing up photos,
'cause you wanna forget...it's over.
---
Credits:
Brand New - Soco Amaretto Lime