"You comfortable over there?" Lucas asked.

Brooke made a face.

"My butt is asleep."

"Mine too."

"Other than that, I'm okay. This is nice."

"It is", he smiled.

It was a clear, late night and Brooke and Lucas were lying flat on their backs on the River Court looking up at the stars.

"I've never done this before. Before coming to Tree Hill, I guess I never took the time to appreciate stuff like this."

Lucas sighed.

"I started coming here in high school, right around the time Nathan and I started hanging out. There's just something about this place. It's good to come every once in a while and drink a beer, watch the stars…gather your thoughts."

"You two still not speaking?"

He shook his head.

"He's not ready to talk yet."

"He'll come around soon, babe."

"Maybe. Maybe not. I mean, we've had our moments over the years where shit would happen and we'd go for weeks or months without talking. Mostly it was my fault. I'd get mad, get in his face and there'd be some big blowup. I'd calm down and apologize and he'd be cool with it and life would go on. Not this time, I guess."

Brooke rubbed his arm.

"Nathan will come around."

"At least I know he's okay and he and Haley seem to be happy."

"They are. They are happy. And so are we, right? You are happy with me, aren't you, Lucas?"

"Yeah, I am happy. Probably for the first time in my life."

"The first time? You mean like ever? I don't believe that. You can't tell me you were never happy before."

"Not really."

"Okay, what about when you were a little kid."

Lucas shrugged.

"I was a little kid. See, that's the cool thing about kids, it doesn't take a lot to make them happy. An ice cream cone, a comic book, a balloon…kids are innocent. So yeah, when I was little I guess I was happy because I didn't know any better."

"Well, when did you know better? I mean, when did life change?"

"I don't know exactly when, I just know that it did. I guess it had a lot to do with my family."

"Because your dad really pushed the whole basketball thing?"

"Basketball is his life. He was great at it but I think he got scared. There was a lot of pressure, a lot he had to live up to. My grandfather had some high expectations. I think the dream itself, the idea of making it big was a real turn on for Dad but the reality it took to get there was just too much."

"He was so young. God, he must have been so scared when your mom got pregnant."

"Scared enough to run away and then knock Deb up, too."

Brooke shook her head.

"I can't imagine it. He had two babies by two different women and he was just a kid. He literally had to choose between two worlds but how do you do that. It must have been so tough…"

"He chose Mom for love, or at least that's how the folk legend goes. But so much for that crap."

"Do they not get along now?"

"She has a personality that seemed to grow stronger over the years while Dad's only got weaker. Work is important to her. It's like she lives for it. She opened one café and it did really well so my dad's folks made a couple of investments and she created a chain all over southeastern North Carolina. She works really hard though. I mean, she's involved with everything from picking the locations to the accounting stuff, down to the menus. She's like a Tree Hill version of Martha Stewart or something. Anyway, the more successful she became in her business life, I think she realized she wanted more out of her personal life."

"What do you mean by that?"

"People change, Brooke. I think she fell out of love with Dad a long time ago. He just wasn't the same man she married. And being that young with a kid cramped her style. They grew apart a long time ago and my dad put all his energy on coaching. He spends his life trying to prove to the world that he isn't some inferior failure."

"And your mom?"

"Oh, she spends her days in the office…and banging my uncle Keith."

"Wow", Brooke said. "What a regular Brady Bunch."

"Aren't we though?" he chuckled sarcastically.

Brooke looked over at Lucas.

"So at what point did you find out you had a brother?"

"I always knew. So did everyone else. It was the dirty little secret I heard my grandparent's whispering about or my parents arguing about. I'd see him in school and in town. I knew who he was and he knew who I was but we never talked to each other."

"Why not? He's your brother."

"I didn't see it that way then. I didn't care about him. I only cared about basketball. Then when High Flyers came up, I was all set to go but the coach wanted Nathan and since only one student from Tree Hill High could go, we had to play for it."

"And Nathan won. That must have been a tough pill to swallow. I know you were pissed…"

"At first. Like the first ten seconds, I was enraged but after that…I don't know. It just became okay. Relief set in. I could finally admit that I wanted out from the game and my dad and just everything. That was my easy out."

"So you got two important things…you got your life back and you got a brother out of the deal as well."

"We got to know each other. Nathan's a cool guy. Then I met Deb and you know how great she is. It made me so mad."

"Mad?"

"Yeah. It reminded me of how screwed up my life was. All along I was supposed to be the lucky one, Brooke. I was the one that grew up with a father. I was the one that grew up with the money and the opportunity. Deb and Nathan had nothing yet they had everything. He was a far better man than I'd ever be, that's for sure. It just made me hate them."

"Who is them?"

"Them. All of them…Mom, Dad, Uncle Keith, Grandpa. It made me jealous of Nate. It made me wish that Deb was my mom or even that Dad had married her and just left Mom and me alone. My dad is such a pitiful, pathetic excuse for a human being. Sometimes it actually turns my stomach to even look at him. And my mother…don't get me started. She is a selfish, unapproachable bitch. And Keith is nothing more than a cunning, conniving slime bucket."

"What about your grandparents?"

"I don't really deal too much with my mom's side of the family but my Grandma Mae, my dad's mother, is a doll. She's great, like the sweetest person ever. You'd love her. I adore her."

"And your grandfather?"

Lucas shuddered involuntarily.

"There are no words to describe Royal Scott. Sometimes it's like he's not even human. He's this force, this entity that's just always been apart of my life. He's a real character, though. Powerful, ruthless, relentless, sinister, brilliant…the list goes on. He is definitely a man to be respected. Grandpa was the first man I ever feared and I'm not talking about phobias or simply being scared of something. I'm talking about real fear, like how you'd fear God or something."

"Did you want to be like him?"

"I don't want to be like any of them", he said quietly.

He was being as honest with her as he'd ever been with anyone. Brooke rolled over and used her fingers to play with the material of his shirt.

"Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me?" he asked.

"For sharing."

"There it is. I'm just me, Brooke. I'm a regular guy. I have problems and faults just like everybody else, probably more than most. But I've learned running away doesn't solve anything. It only makes it worse. You have to face your past and all your problems because if you don't, eventually they just catch up to you anyway. I just want to be honest with you always."

"I'm glad."

"But you have to be honest with me, too."

"I am."

"Not entirely. If you were, I'd know more about you. I'd know the real Brooke instead of just the beautiful stranger who showed up one night out of the clear blue."

Brooke sighed.

"You do know the real Brooke. This is me, Lucas. I like who I am now. That other person wasn't very likeable and I'm glad I've changed. Who I am now is who I want to be. I haven't been that other girl for some time now."

"I know. It would just be nice to know something. You have your reasons and I respect that but it feels like you're hiding stuff from me."

"It's not like that."

"Do you trust me?"

She looked right in his eyes.

"I'm learning to and that has been very hard for me. But this isn't about trust and it isn't about you. It's about me. I'm just not ready yet, Luke. I know that's hard for you to hear but it is the truth. I'm sorry."

Lucas kissed her forehead.

"Don't apologize. I'm here for you and I'm happy…and we're falling in love. What more could anyone ask for?"

Brooke smiled as they kissed deeply.

"Thank you so much for opening up to me. It means a lot because I know that isn't easy for you. And one day, I promise Luke, I'll be able to tell you everything as well."

"I'm here for you now and I'll continue to be. That's my promise to you. Getting everything off my chest like that feels good. I trust you, Brooke."

She stroked his face.

"One more thing…"

"What's that?"

"Before when we were talking, you said that your grandfather, Royal, was the first man you'd ever feared. I don't know why but that is so interesting to me. Who were the others?"

"There was only one other."

"Who is he?"

Lucas closed his eyes.

"Me", he whispered.

Brooke sat upright.

"Oh Lucas…"

He looked right at her.

"Does that make any sense?"

Tears filled her eyes.

"Yes", she nodded. "It makes all the sense in the world."