The Transition
After saying good bye to Peyton, Brooke walked to the door of the Cafe. She stood at the door and began to rethink her idea to have a conversation with Karen. It wasn't that she didn't value her opinion, Karen had been the closest thing she had to a mother since Peyton's mom died, but talking to her about Lucas was going to be a bit strange. How do you talk to the love of your life's mother. The other thing that made her nervous is that Luke could be there or come at any time. She wasn't scared to talk to Luke, he should have calmed down by now, but she just couldn't face him, or let alone talk to him, until she figured some stuff out. And that is what it came down to, she needed to figure things out, and Karen was the best candidate. Taking a deep breath, she looked through the window, and was happy to see Karen, and even happier to not see Luke. Slowly exhaling, Brooke pushed open the door, and entered.
"Brooke, what happened?" Karen asked, as soon as Brooke opened the door. Brooke had been somewhat of a daughter to Karen since they had talked the day Lucas came home from the accident. When she learned that Brooke's own parents were never there for her, Brooke had taken a special place in Karen's heart. Although it was strange for them to talk about some things, Lucas being those things, Karen was always there for Brooke.
"It's a long story. Is there any way we can talk in private?" Brooke asked, in a barely audible whisper.
"Yeah, Deb will watch the cafe, Brooke and I are going to talk." She ushered Brooke into the back room, to a secluded table, usually reserved for meetings. "Now, tell me what happened."
Brooke told Karen everything that had happened throughout the day, and the day before. After recounting the events, she told Karen the way she had been feeling.
"I know I love Luke, but when he didn't even see if I was ok, it was frightening. I've never seen him like that, and the look in his eyes didn't help. Have you ever seen him like that?" Brooke felt slightly better after telling someone other than Peyton. Sure Peyton was there for her, but it was still strange talking to her about Luke.
"Only once. He was defending me. Someone had said something about Dan leaving me to be with someone better, and he got really angry. I was barely able to hold him back, I knew if I let him go, he might do something he'd regret."
"I've been trying to think about it, and I don't think I've ever seen him that way. The only time that he has come close is when that guy drugged Peyton, but it wasn't as bad. I just want to know why he got that way, then maybe I can understand it."
"I think he gets that way when someone attacks people he is close to. He did it for me, Peyton and you. Your case seems to be the worse, which could be because of the way he feels about you. I'm not saying that is the definite reason he gets that way, but it could be. I think you need to put yourself in his place, what would you do if someone was hurting him?"
That really made Brooke think. 'What would I feel? How would I react? Does he really have that strong of feeling towards me?'
"I think I need to talk to him. Thanks Karen, you've really helped me." Brooke got up and hugged Karen, which she returned. Brooke left, not knowing where to go, but knowing she needed to talk to Luke before she made up her mind about him.
