Chapter 20

"Don't Go and Break this Fragile Heart"

Lucas stared at Deb like a deer caught in the headlights. He was caught red handed. "It's not a hard question, Lucas," Deb said. She seemed to be getting impatient with him.

"I was just counting the money in the safe," Lucas responded. "I wanted to make sure the books balanced out."

Deb's anger melted. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to sound accusing. I had no right to question you. After all, this is your café."

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I did kind of look suspicious." He put the money back in the safe. "The good news is that everything seems to balance out."

Deb nodded her head. "I'll be in the office working on some paperwork."

Lucas let out the breath that he'd been holding. In a way he was glad that he'd been caught; it stopped him from stealing, but now he had to find another way to pay Benny. The bruise on his ribs was a painful reminder of what would happen if he didn't. He went back out front and was surprised to see Tim and the rest of the basketball team standing there. Lucas approached cautiously; he still wasn't too comfortable around the team.

"Hey broody…what took you so long?" Brooke asked when he sat down next to her.

"I was talking to Deb."

"Anything exciting?" Brooke asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Just some business stuff," Lucas replied. He looked at the guys from the team. "What's going on?"

"Tim wants to have a welcome back party for Nathan," Brooke stated.

"Sounds like fun," Lucas responded. "Where's it going to be at?"

"My house…Saturday night," Tim answered.

"You're forgetting one thing," Brooke stated.

"What?" Tim asked with a confused look on his face.

"Your parents are having a dinner party at your house on Saturday night," Brooke said.

"How do you know?" Tim asked.

"Because my parents were invited, and they plan on going."

"I'll have it at our beach house," Tim stated.

Brooke had a shocked expression on her face, and Tim gave her a quizzical look. "I can't believe you just came up with a plan that actually is going to work."

Tim had a confused look on his face again, and everyone began to laugh. "Are you making fun of me?" he asked.

Brooke grabbed Lucas by the hand as she rose to her feet. "We better get going," she said.

"Where are we going?" Lucas asked.

"We have to go shopping for the party."

"But we still have a week before the party."

"It's never too early to start shopping for a party."

Haley leaned over Lucas' shoulder and said, "She has a point."

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. "I guess we're going shopping." The he turned to Haley. "See you later, Hales."

"Whipped cream and condoms?" Lucas asked with a confused look on his face when Brooke rejoined him in the car after coming out of a mini-mart. "I thought we were shopping for the party?"

"I never said we were shopping for that party," Brooke replied with a wicked grin on her face. "I thought maybe we could have our own private party tonight."

Lucas sat in silence as he held the condoms in his hands. He really liked Brooke, but he wasn't sure he could give himself to her like that yet. He was still reeling from what Peyton had done to him, was therefore hesitant to give himself to Brooke. He was afraid of getting his heart broke again.

Brooke noticed the hesitancy in his eyes and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Lucas…it's okay; we don't have to do anything if you're not ready."

"I'm sorry, Brooke…it's just that seeing Peyton and Jake together really hurt me, and it made me afraid to open up my heart. I want to take things slow…I have to; it's the only way I can protect my heart."

Brooke turned his head so that he was looking in her eyes. "I understand, Lucas. I've had my heart broken before, and I can tell you that it takes time before you're able to open it up again, but I promise to be with you every step of the way, and I promise that I'll never hurt you."

Lucas pulled her closer to him and kissed the top of her head. "You're amazing, Brooke, and I always wonder how I got to be so lucky to be with you."

Dan yawned as he walked down the stairs and headed into the kitchen for a midnight snack. The house was completely dark, but he'd done this numerous times, so he didn't need to turn on any lights to walk to the kitchen. When he entered the kitchen he opened the refrigerator and looked around for something to eat; he decided to make a sandwich. He grabbed the things he needed and set them on the counter. Then he turned on the light so that he could see while he made his sandwich. He jumped a mile when he saw Lucas sitting at the kitchen table and eating a bowl of cereal.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Dan asked rudely.

"I'm sorry," Lucas whispered, "I was hungry."

Dan shrugged his shoulders as he finished making his sandwich. "You're entitled to eat." He sat down across from Lucas. "Do you always sit in the dark?"

"The moon was shining bright so I decided not to turn on any lights."

Dan looked out the window. "It's a nice night tonight."

Lucas nodded his head. "I think so."

There was a moment of awkward silence before Dan spoke again. "You and Brooke seem really happy. She's a good girl, Lucas; you two are good together."

Lucas was surprised that Dan was making conversation with him, and being nice, but he liked it. He liked that his father was paying attention to him. "Brooke's the best," he said with a smile. Then he rose to his feet to put his dish in the dish washer. He was only wearing a pair of flannel pants, so Dan saw the bruise on his ribs.

"What happened to you?" Dan asked with concern in his voice.

"I fell down the stairs," Lucas replied in a nervous tone.

Dan knew that he was lying. "Why don't you tell me the truth," he suggested.

Lucas was beginning to get angry because Dan didn't believe him. "I am telling the truth," he practically shouted.

"Who did it to you?" Dan asked in a calm tone.

"No one did anything to me." Now Lucas was yelling. "I said I fell down the stairs!"

"I don't believe you, Lucas."

Lucas threw his arms up in frustration. "Of course you don't! Why would you believe me…it's not like you care about me!"

Dan watched as Lucas stormed out of the room and up the stairs. He shook his head in defeat; that boy had a long way to go before he trusted him. He had caused a lot of damage to his son, and he wanted to make things right.

Lucas slammed his door shut hard when he entered his room. Dan had no right to question him. He was all wound up and had to calm down, so he popped a pill before collapsing on his bed.

Dan felt terrible as he finished cleaning up the kitchen. He wished that Lucas would just tell him the truth about what happened. When he finished with the kitchen he went upstairs to bed. As he passed by Lucas' room he saw that he had fallen asleep with the light on. He went in to turn off the light, and looked down at Lucas; he looked just like Karen. There was so much of her in Lucas, but he still missed her like crazy. He would always regret abandoning her. Before turning off the light he whispered, "Goodnight, son."

This chapter title is a lyric from the song "Fragile Heart" by Westlife.