Chapter 28

"Give Me the Truth Even if it Hurts"

Donna led Lucas into a room that looked like a police interrogation room. It was brightly lit and had a big table in the center with four chairs around it. "Have a seat, Lucas, and I'll be right back," Donna instructed.

Lucas watched Donna leave the room, and he tried to make himself comfortable, but the chairs were really hard. Lucas knew that Donna was watching him from the two way mirror that was behind him. She was probably taking notes on his behavior. She probably had the social worker with her and they were just trying to make him nervous. He wasn't stupid; he could see right through them.

Donna stood outside of the interrogation room with Janet Ross, the social worker who would be interviewing Lucas. They were watching him through the two way mirror, and he seemed pretty calm. "So what's your first impression of him?" Donna asked.

"I agree that he's a troubled young man," Janet responded. "We have to get him to admit that he has a problem. That's going to be the hard part."

Donna nodded her head in agreement. "He refuses to admit it right now."

"Let's go confront him," Janet suggested.

Janet entered the room first, followed by Donna. Lucas didn't even look up when he saw the two women enter. He was not happy to see either one of them. He just wanted to get out of there and go home.

"Lucas, this is Janet Ross," Donna said. "She's the social worker that I told you about."

Janet extended her hand to Lucas. "It's nice to meet you, Lucas."

Lucas refused to shake her hand, and he didn't offer her any greetings either. Instead he turned to Donna. "Can we get on with this?"

Donna and Janet both sat down across from Lucas. Janet looked through some of her files before speaking. "I need you tell me what happened, Lucas," she stated.

"What do you want to hear?" Lucas asked.

"I want to know why you tried to kill yourself."

"If that's what you think I did, then you got it all wrong," Lucas replied coldly. "I never tried to kill myself."

"Then why did you take all of the pills?" Janet asked.

"I was upset and I wanted to feel numb," Lucas responded.

"What made you upset, Lucas?"

"I was upset that my friends found out my secret."

"What was your secret, Lucas?"

"I was addicted to pills and I didn't want anyone to find out," Lucas admitted as he looked down at the table. He was ashamed of what he had done.

Janet wrote down some notes and then continued her interrogation. "How did you become addicted to the pills?"

Lucas hesitated before speaking. He wasn't sure if he should tell her; she could use it against Dan. Then again, if he didn't tell her, she would know that he was protecting Dan. "I was hurting after my mother died. No matter what I did, the pain just wouldn't go away. That's when I turned to the pills. I took a couple to help ease my pain, and I slowly became addicted. I hid it from everybody."

"Were you able to talk to Dan about your problems?"

"I could've, but I didn't trust him."

"Why not?"

"Because I didn't know him," Lucas whispered.

Janet stared at Lucas for a few seconds before writing down some more notes. "So you thought suicide was the only way out?"

Lucas was becoming angry. "I already told you…I didn't try to kill myself. I just made a stupid mistake." Lucas watched Janet nod her head and then write down something else. "I know what you're doing," he drawled.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Janet asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You're trying to make Dan out to be the bad guy so that you can keep me from living with him."

Haley and Nathan decided to grab something to eat at the café. It was a way of avoiding Nathan's house. The two of the, along with Brooke, had decorated the house for Lucas. They were planning on having a welcome home party for him. Nathan felt that going home would be painful reminder of what could have been.

"Do you think you're parents are having any luck with the lawyer?" Haley asked.

"I hope so," Nathan responded. "Lucas belongs home, not in some group home. That place is for delinquents, and Lucas didn't commit any crimes."

"It's so sad what's happened to his life," Haley commented. "Last year at this time he was so happy. He had his mother and their life was great. I'm still trying to figure out why all of this is happening to him."

Nathan took hold of her hand. "I don't think we'll ever know."

Brooke was always a cheerful person, but the past week had put a damper on her mood. She knew Lucas was dealing with a lot of pain and heartache, and that was causing her heartache. She and Lucas shared a connection; a connection that she had never felt with any of the other guys she dated. Lucas was special and she knew it.

Brooke was lying on her bed when she heard a knock on her door. She wiped away the few tears that were falling before saying, "Come in."

The door opened up and Peyton appeared. "I thought you'd be with Lucas today. Didn't he come home?"

"They took him away," Brooke mumbled.

Peyton sat down next to her on the bed. "Who took him away? What are you talking about?"

"Some lady from the state showed up and said Lucas had to come with her. She threatened to have Dan arrested if he objected. They sent Lucas to a group home." It hurt Brooke to say those words. It was making it all a reality.

Peyton pulled her friend into a comforting hug. "I'm so sorry, Brooke. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I just need you to be my friend," Brooke whispered.

"I can do that," Peyton said with a smile.

Lucas was interrogated by Janet for over an hour. She kept trying to make Dan look bad, but he refused to let her. He defended his father, and it even shocked him how loyal he was being to Dan. When she was done with the interrogation Janet had a guard escort Lucas back to his room. Lucas felt like he was in prison and he hated it. When he got to his room he was shocked to see who his roommate was.

"Hello Scott," Benny drawled with an evil smirk on his face.

This chapter is titled after the song "The Truth," by Good Charlotte.