Chapter 27- Always With You

Nathan drove around frantically to all of the spots he thought Brooke might have run off too. She was so new to the area that he knew there weren't too many different places she could be. He was worried about her getting lost, he knew she wouldn't call him for help, not right now, she was too angry.

Brooke had a right to be angry, Nathan knew that, he just thought that she had maybe taken it a little overboard. He hadn't meant to offend her or diminish the importance of her problems with her mother, he had just been trying to calm her down. But then she jumped all over him and he couldn't take it.

Nathan hadn't always been so good with the relationship stuff. Truth be told, back in the day he had been down right terrible at it. Thankfully, Haley had taught him some things. But with Brooke, a lot of that didn't matter. Brooke was different than anyone else he knew, but that was what he loved about her most. She was this beautiful and amazing woman with the soul of a saint. She want wild and crazy at times, other times she was quiet and romantic. Nathan loved all the different sides of her. Everyday was different than the one before.

This one was really different than any day before it, this was their first real fight. Sure, they had argued about small things before, but she hadn't ever left like that. Nathan had known that she had issues with her parents, but he really didn't know that much about them. She had just never really wanted to talk about it that much so when she brought up mention of it he had no idea that she would react the way she did.

Nathan drove up and down streets, all over town, searching for her car. He thought that he might be out of luck until he finally spotted it in a parking lot right near the beach. Of course, he thought to himself, he had totally forgotten that back in high school whenever Brooke was upset over something or needed to think about something she headed to the beach.

Nathan walked towards the beach and spotted her almost immediately. She was sitting there in the sand staring out at the water, she looked so small and helpless, with her knees pulled up to her chest.

"Fancy meeting you here."

Brooke looked over at Nathan, he saw that she had been crying and wiped a tear from her cheek. "Hi boyfriend."

"So I think we need to talk, if you don't hate me too much."

"You know I love you Nathan, I just don't like you very much right now." Brooke looked over at Nathan she could see in his eyes how terrible he felt.

"That sounds fair." Nathan paused and took in a deep breath, he had never been good at sucking up his pride, but for Brooke, he would do almost anything. "I'm sorry babe, I handled that all wrong. I was trying to be sympathetic and let you know that I understand, but I know it didn't come off like that."

"No, it definitely didn't. I just wanted you to listen Nathan. I know that I haven't talked much about my relationship with my parents though, so I know that you couldn't have had any idea how something like this would effect me."

Nathan scooted in closer to Brooke and wrapped an arm around her, she leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm listening Brooke, tell me now."

"Okay, well, I don't really know where to start with it all. I guess it all started back when I was a little girl. My mom always wanted me to be the prettiest and the best dressed all the time. She wasn't home a lot so the only attention I got was when she took me shopping or took me to get my hair or nails done, stuff like that. Then as I got older my mother was around less and less, nothing that I did was good enough to earn her attention. I didn't even have those times where we went shopping together because my parents just handed me some credit cards and I was on my own. I guess that was then that I started screwing up, you know partying and stuff, doing poorly in school, because if I was getting in trouble she had to notice me. I was wrong though, because that was back when my parents moved to California, and they let me stay in Tree Hill. I mean obviously I wanted to stay with my friends, but I wanted my parents to want me with them. It was a fight at first, staying in Tree Hill, but then when we started our senior year and I left California for the summer, they were all too happy to let me go. That was when I wanted to start doing it on my own. Obviously I couldn't , because my parents paid for my apartment, but I swore to myself then that I would make a good life for myself, on my own, as soon as I could. So while I was in college I stopped asking for money. My parents paid for tuition and room and board, but anything else I covered. I worked to pay for my cell phone and car. I bought really cheap, and extremely ugly furniture, but still it was my own. I was pretty proud of all that I had done." Brooke paused for a minute and looked to Nathan, she was surprised to see that he was still totally engaged in what she was saying. "So a few months after school started my mother came to visit me at school. The second she saw my apartment she criticized it, she thought the furniture was horrendous and the second hand pots and pans horrified her. She kept saying how none of this was good enough, how could I live like that? The thing of it was though, I loved all of it because it was mine, really mine. I have made the money to have those things."

"That must have been tough." Nathan said after Brooke took a pause, he wanted her to know that he was listening.

"It was. It got worse though, when I moved to Tampa after college I sent my mother pictures of my house. My adorable little house that I had to save and save for the down payment, that wasn't good enough for my mother. Nothing has ever been good enough for her. Whenever she calls me she asks me about my 'quaint' little house, and my job. God Nathan, she even says job with disdain. She doesn't think that a woman should work, especially me. She always told me that I was pretty enough to have a rich man want to take care of me. That takes me up to now, that is why I am so scared. I worry that she will walk in here and see this house and see all of your nice stuff and she will really let me have it. Rub it in my face that all I ever wanted to do was do it on my own and here I was living off of a man. That is why it was so important for me to contribute to things. I don't want to be like her Nathan. And I especially don't want her to think that I am like her."

"You aren't like her, not at all Brooke, you never will be. The woman you are describing to me doesn't sound like she is one bit as loving and caring as you. She will certainly never be as independent as you. You didn't move here to live off me, you came here to live with me." Nathan spoke carefully, he didn't want to upset Brooke again but he wanted her to know that he understood her. He wanted to try to give her insight.

"That isn't how she will see it though."

"Does it really matter what she thinks? As long as you and I know that we are in this together, that is all that matters. It is our house, our life, not hers. You have to just let it not bother you. I know that that is easier said that done, but you have to find a way to do that."

"I know you're right Nathan. And I do know that we are in this together. It is still going to be hard on me, I need you to be there for me." Brooke looked towards Nathan, he solemnly nodded.

"I will be. I only have one game Saturday night, the rest of the weekend I will be there, I promise. Realize though that I am always with you Brooke, even when I am not right by your side." Nathan leaned in and kissed her lightly on her fore head.

"I know you are, and I love you for that. Hey, I am even starting to like you again." Brooke giggled a little.

"Starting too? Jeez, what does a guy have to do around here for a little love?" Nathan teased.

"Oh, I will give you love, just wait till we get home, it's a little cold out here."

Brooke laid down in the sand and looked up at the stars. "God, what a beautiful night. Despite how we got here I am glad that we are here, together, enjoying this gorgeous night. I always did love the beach at night."

Nathan laid down beside Brooke, she rested her head on her chest and Nathan wrapped his arm firmly around her. He smiled to himself, "I know you do baby, I know."