The Way We Were
AN- I'm starting to get over Chad and Sophia's divorce, so I am writing again, with the aid of one of my besties, Caroline. Flashbacks in italics….
Disclaimer- I don't own anything…
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"Are you three here for Brooke Davis?" They all nodded. "Are you immediate family?"
Jake nodded, "I'm her brother." The doctor signaled for Jake to follow him.
"I'm sorry, but, she's gone."
Jake broke down right there, and Peyton rushed over to him, with Karen following close behind. They all fell on the ground, into a heap of sobs, with Jake and Peyton holding onto each other and Karen trying to comfort both of them, as she too, mourned the loss of the girl that was like a daughter to her for so many years.
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After many hours of mourning and the arrival of Brooke's parents, Jake and Karen decided that it was best to go tell Lucas what had happened.
They both cautiously walked into the Lucas' room, receiving a mere nod as they sat down. Jake interrupted him, by turning off the TV, which made Lucas direct his attention to his mother and best friend.
Jake sighed, and started to talk, with tears welling up in his eyes. "Lucas, something happened today…"
Lucas turned to look at Jake and saw that he was about to fall apart in front of his eyes. "What is it?" Lucas asked, a little worried about his best friend's emotional state.
Tears were streaming down Jake's face as he started to speak again. "It… It's… Luke… It's Brooke." Jake finally got out.
Lucas' face contorted in pain, confusion, and worry. He felt a lump form in his throat. "What… What is it?"
"She's gone." Jake got it out of his mouth as sobs raked through his body. Lucas felt tears streaming down his face at the same moment. His mother sat on the side of his bed and leaned down to comfort him. For the first time in a few days, he let her comfort him. Lucas felt for Jake's hand squeezed it comfortingly and let Jake hug him. Lucas had loved Brooke with all his heart, and now she was gone. His remembered the one of the last things that he said to her," I hope you die, because I never want to see you again." He hadn't meant it, but he was so hurt that it just came out.
"I never told her that I still loved her…" Lucas said as his tears subsided.
His mother looked at him with sympathy in her eyes. "Lucas, you know that she knew that."
He shook his head in protest. "No, no she didn't. This is my fault isn't it? DAMNIT! I was so fucking angry at her, and I yelled at her and told her that I hated her… and… that I wanted her to die." He whispered the last part in shame. He broke down in tears once more. "But I didn't mean it… I didn't mean it. I loved her. She can't leave me! I NEED HER!" He screamed and cried at the same time.
"Lucas, this isn't your fault. She was angry and sad. That's why she did it." Karen finally spoke.
"Finally did what?" Lucas asked.
"She… She killed herself." Jake answered.
Lucas gasped. "No… no… Brooke wouldn't do that." He cried. "How?" He asked.
"She overdosed on pills." Karen answered this time.
"Because of me?" Lucas asked quietly. When he got no answer, he became agitated, "Just answer me, damnit, did she do it because of me?"
Jake nodded, yes. "She was upset, Lucas, and now… she's gone. She's really gone…"
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Jake awoke from his horrific dream, and looked over at his baby sister, to see her still asleep. The doctor had told him that they had tried their hardest to get all of the pills out of her system, but there were too many, they only got about a half to three fourths of the pills. The remaining pills were still in Brooke's body and caused her to go into a coma. They still hadn't told Lucas, although it had been more than twelve hours since they brought Brooke in. Karen said that they should wait until the following day. She had tried to give Jake a break, but he had not left Brooke's side since he had been allowed back into her room, so that if she did wake up, she wouldn't be alone.
Just then, Peyton walked into the room, carrying two cups of coffee. She offered Jake a smile and he weakly returned it. She handed him the cup of coffee and put her arm around him as she sat on the arm of his chair. "Karen was just in with Luke, and she thinks that it's time to tell him. I can stay with her." Jake nodded in response. As he got up out of his chair, he looked at Peyton and took her face in his hands and gave her a small peck on the lips, and whispered, "I love you."
"I love you, too," Peyton replied.
Jake left Peyton to stay with Brooke and walked to the hall to the elevator to get to Lucas' room. When he got there, he saw Karen sitting by Lucas' side. She was laughing with him. It saddened Jake to see Lucas laugh for the first time, knowing that what he had to say next would upset him so much. When Lucas saw Jake in the doorway he waved him inside the room.
"Hey Man." Lucas said as Jake sat down on the side of his bed.
"Hey." Jake said in a hushed tone. It was visible to Lucas, who had been Jake's best friend since they were three years old, that something was wrong.
"What's going on?" Lucas asked.
Karen jumped in, knowing that Jake would not be able to explain. "Something happened Lucas."
"What? What is it Mom, you guys are scaring me."
"Brooke..." was the only word that came out of Jake's mouth before he broke down crying.
Lucas' heart started to race. His bright blue eyes turned cold as he heard her name. He was genuinely worried about the girl that he had loved for so many years. "What… what happened to Brooke?" He asked as his voice cracked when he said her name.
"Lucas, honey, last night, Brooke tried to kill herself." Karen said, trying to put it as lightly as possible.
Lucas' mouth went dry. Tears sprung to his eyes. He shook his head, in denial about what his mother had just said. "No… I talked to her yesterday. She was fine, a little upset, but not about to kill herself."
"Do you know why she would have tried to do that?" Karen asked.
"I don't know." Lucas said quickly. He then remembered all of the terrible things that he had said to Brooke, and that he had told her that he wanted her to die. "Oh my God…" Lucas whispered to himself as he remembered.
"What?" Jake asked, wanting to get to the bottom of the situation.
Tears were flowing down Lucas' cheeks, and he tried to catch his breath. Once he did, he finally said, "This is all my fault."
"Lucas, honey, I'm sure…" Karen tried to say before Jake gruffly interrupted her.
"What do you mean it's your fault?" Jake asked.
"I… I was upset with Brooke, and she called me. I said some stuff that I shouldn't have…"
"What kind of stuff?" Jake asked tentatively.
"I…. I said that I didn't love her anymore and that I never wanted to see her again." Lucas finally said, changing his words a little to seem less hurtful.
Jake's mouth went dry as he stared Lucas down. It really was his fault. Lucas could seem the different array of emotions flash through Jake's brown eyes, and knew that their relationship would never be the same.
Finally, Lucas whispered, "But, I didn't mean it. I love her so much. I'm sorry, Jake; I'm so god damn sorry." Tears started to fall down his face as he silently pleaded with Jake to forgive him.
Jake just nodded, got up and left the room, leaving a very confused Lucas, wondering what was left of their friendship.
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Jake slowly walked back to Brooke's room in a daze. He couldn't believe that Lucas could hurt Brooke that much for her to try to kill herself. He didn't know if he would ever be able to forgive Lucas, but he knew that Luke was still in love with Brooke.
When he got back to Brooke's room, he saw Peyton right where he had left her. She turned around to look at him, as she felt his presence when he entered the room. She saw that he was about to break down and ran to him. He melted into her touch as she wrapped her arms around her. They walked back into Brooke's room and sat in the chair by her bed, with Peyton perched on Jake's lap. Their hands were entwined and Jake told Peyton about all that happened while he was in Lucas' room. As he finally finished his story, tears were falling down his face, and he could barely speak. Peyton turned around in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck, whispering sweet nothings into his ear. He laid his on her shoulder and they stayed like that until a noise behind them got their attention.
They both turned around to see Brooke sitting up looking around her room confused. They rushed to her side and Jake poured her a cup of water, putting it up to her lips to drink. Slowly, the liquid ran down her throat, making it easier for her to speak. She looked at both of them and asked, "What happened?" Jake and Peyton wrapped their arms around her and Jake replied, "It doesn't matter right now. All that matters is that you're awake."
Brooke shook her head and hugged both of them back. She lay back in her bed, as Peyton went to go get Brooke's parents and Karen. Jake sat beside Brooke and tried to explain what had happened the night before, but failed miserably as tears fell down his face. He tried to wipe them away, but more continued to fall. The last thing that Brooke remembered was her phone conversation with Lucas, and it was breaking her heart. Jake assured her that Lucas was still in love with her and he was beating himself up over what had happened. She was very confused about her feelings toward him, knowing how much his words could hurt her, but also knowing that he was beating himself up over her attempted suicide, and knowing most importantly, that he still loved her.
"Jake, will you do me a favor?" Brooke asked, once both of them had calmed down.
"Yeah, anything." He said, happy that she was speaking.
"Will you get the doctors to let me see him?"
Shock was evident on Jake's face, and Brooke could see that. "Brooke, I don't know if that's such a great idea."
"Jake, please, I need to see him. We need to talk about that the shit that happened between us. Please, do this for me. I know that you are pissed about what happened, but it's not his fault, it's mine. So if you need someone to be mad at, then be mad at me, don't blame him for my mistake."
Jake's mouth went dry, and he simply nodded in response and walked out of Brooke's room. She was left alone to wonder what she was thinking and how broken she must have been to try to kill herself. She needed to see Lucas, and let him know that none of this was his fault, and that was still in love with him, but she wasn't sure where their relationship would lead them.
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Jake walked back into Brooke's room after talking to the doctor's and his parents. He sat down on Brooke's bed next to her and shook her slightly to wake her up. She immediately woke when she saw that it was Jake.
"What did they say?" She asked quickly.
"They said that they would have to talk to Lucas before anything happened, but after what he said today, I think that he will be up for it. But, it will be you that will have to go there, since you are much more mobile than he is. The doctors are talking to him right now, so we should know pretty soon. Just, be careful, Brooke. Don't expect too much from him right now, I don't want you to get hurt again or worse…" Jake said, worried that he might lose his baby sister and one of his best friends again, and this time, possibly for good.
Brooke sat up and surprised Jake, by hugging him tight. He returned the hug, and heard her whisper, "I'll be fine, Jakie, but I love you for caring." He nodded, in response, and left to go see if the doctors had talked to Lucas.
He came back in about 10 minutes later, to a very excited Brooke, who was obviously trying her hardest to be patient and calm.
"Hey, so the doctors said that you could go to his room, for about 20 minutes. They are gonna come in here and help get you into a wheelchair. Someone will have to stay in there with you two, and if he says anything to piss you off, then you're getting out of there, got it?"
She nodded, understanding why Jake was being so over-protective, knowing that everyone was going to a lot more overprotective because of her recent actions. No one was going to trust her anymore, and she was going to have to deal with the consequences of her actions.
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About an hour later, Brooke was in her wheelchair, on her way to go see Lucas, with Jake, Peyton, and a nurse with her. They stopped in front of his door, so that Jake would open it, helping Brooke's entrance into the room. Lucas turned around immediately as he heard the door open. The nurse wheeled Brooke over to the side of Lucas' bed; she kept her head down looking at her hands. It was decided that Peyton would stay in the room with them, since she would not intrude on the conversation and also because Brooke would have told her everything that went on anyway. Jake kissed Brooke's forehead and sent Lucas a warning glance before leaving the room with the nurse.
Neither Brooke, nor Lucas knew how to react, and neither wanted to make the first move. Brooke finally looked up from her hands and they looked at each other, both noticing the unshed tears in the other's eyes.
Lucas made the first move by reaching his hand out to Brooke, palm up, she reached back for it. Lucas smiled, and she returned the gesture. Both let the tears come down freely.
"I'm so sorry, Brooke. You have to believe me, I didn't mean any of the terrible things that I said, and I never thought that…" Brooke squeezed his hand, signaling for him to stop and nodded her head, accepting his apology. For the remaining time, both sat there looking at each other, silently letting all the bad things go. When it was time for Brooke to leave, she leaned over and gave Lucas a peck on the cheek, for a moment, he stroked her face and gave her a charming smile, which took her back to a time, when that smile alone made her weak at the knees. She smiled back at him and spoke for the first time, "I'll see you later, Broody."
"Definitely, Cheery." He tapped her nose playfully before she left.
After their meeting, neither Brooke, nor Lucas knew what exactly their futures held for them, but both of them knew that in some way or another, they would be in each other's lives, whether if it was as friends or as a couple, and that was settling news for both of them.
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Wow, that took like 3 weeks to write, so I really hope that everyone liked it. I'm sorry that I am so bad about updating, but I have almost zero free time on my hands. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW and I will (hopefully) start updating sooner! Thanks Kids! xoxoxoxo