Lucas bounced the ball and from mid court took off running before jumping and literally sailing through the air to dunk it into the waiting hoop. The adrenaline fueled shot was intensified by the rage he was feeling inside. Giving out a loud and angry grunt, he tossed the ball behind his head without even looking back.

"Wow. Nice dunk. That was a move even Michael Jordan would be scared of."

Lucas turned around.

"Brooke…"

"Hey", she gave him a weak smile.

His heart pounded and his eyes stung with pent up tears. There she was. Brooke hadn't left Tree Hill after all.

"What are you doing here?"

"Would you believe it if I told you that I just liked watching you play?"

"Something tells me you didn't come down here to talk basketball."

She took a seat on the River Court's bleachers and he followed.

"No, I didn't. Busted, huh? Actually, um, I…I've been avoiding you for a few days now and that really isn't fair. I'm sorry. I know I promised to talk sooner and we should have but I was afraid and I really didn't know what to say to you."

He nervously kicked at the pavement.

"And now?"

"I wasn't completely honest and it all blew up in my face. A lot of innocent people needlessly got hurt because of me and my actions. You know, it's funny how I used to lecture you about repeating the same old insincere, tired sounding apologies…the shoe is on the other foot now. Now who's the broken record?"

"Brooke…"

"I love you, Lucas", she blurted out.

He just looked at her. He couldn't believe he'd heard that almost as much as she couldn't believe she'd said it.

"You what?"

"You heard me", she said softly. "I said I love you. I'm in love with you, Lucas."

Lucas couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face.

"Then it's okay", he hugged her. "I knew it, Brooke. I knew it all along. So you made some stupid choices…who cares? We all do at some time or another, hell, I'm a walking poster child for it. But I don't care about that anymore. I've been doing a lot of thinking and it doesn't matter who you used to be or what you did before we met. All I care about is now and us and how you make me feel. I want to be together."

"Lucas…"

"We can work this one out. Brooke, it'll be tough but we'll figure everything out together. It's gonna be alright…"

"I'm leaving, Lucas."

Brooke closed her eyes. She was on one hell of a roll going two for two when it came to speaking without thinking.

"What?" his eyes narrowed.

She took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry but I am. I wanted you to hear the news from me and I wanted to say good bye."

"So this is it, huh?"

"Luke…"

"He got to you, didn't he?"

Yes. Yes, Killian had. And so had Peyton and Bevin and her parents. They all had.

"It's just what I have to do for right now…"

"That's bullshit and you know it."

"Please don't make this any harder than it already has to be", Brooke begged.

"Make it harder? Are you serious? Hell, Brooke, you did this. You did all of this. You lived your life the way you wanted to, you up and left your friends and family and fiancé and you made the decision not to let them know where you were and even that you were okay. You came to Tree Hill and you assumed this whole new life. All of this, this whole thing, was your plan on your own terms so if all of a sudden this disaster that is now your life is not what you had in mind, congratulations, Baby Girl…you have only yourself to thank for it."

Lucas was near livid.

"I knew you'd be mad and I guess you have every right to feel that way."

"Mad? Well, what did you expect? How the hell am I supposed to feel after you show up out of nowhere, completely steal my heart, then rip it out after we all find out just exactly what you had been hiding all this time."

"You're right, Luke. I mean, I can't even answer that."

He shook his head.

"It's happening again."

"What are you talking about?"

"You left because you were unhappy. You hated your life. It was suffocating you. It built up and built up until you couldn't take it anymore and you snapped. Don't you see, Brooke? Don't you get it? If you go back, you'll just be pretending again. You'll be miserable and it will eat away at you. What happens next time? Are you gonna run away again? Are you going to kill yourself next time? What?"

"Look, you can't possibly make me feel any worse than I already do. Please. Don't do this to me."

"I'm not doing anything except telling you the truth. You're doing this to yourself."

"Lucas…"

"You're a liar."

Brooke wiped a tear away.

"Don't say that."

"Why not? You lied before. Once a liar, always a liar, right? It takes one to know one and let's face it, I should know. I've lied to a lot of people just like you lied to your parents and your friends. You lied to Killian…"

"Stop it! I didn't call them but I never lied!"

"Oh I get it. I guess concealing the truth isn't a lie. How convenient for you. All those times you accused me of playing around with people's emotions and feelings, all the while you were the one running a game. You did it to your people back home and you did it to Nate and Hales and Deb and me."

"I was scared out of my mind and I didn't know how to tell you guys everything. So I just kept quiet. I didn't make up some elaborate story. Hell, I didn't even try to cover my own tracks. Did you ever see me cut or dye my hair? No. Did I change my name? No."

"And that makes it better? It's supposed to make things right?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Why are you? You just sat here and told me you love me yet you're about to hop on a plane and leave. That doesn't make sense, Brooke. You don't love me."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't. You can't. What do you plan on doing, loving me all the way from Killian's bed?"

"That's not fair. It's not like that."

"Then what is it like?"

Brooke put her head in her hands.

"I don't know", she whispered.

"You should get that phrase trademarked as much as you've been using it lately. Look, just do me a favor and get out of here. Just go. You've said your peace and obviously your mind is made up."

"Luke, I don't want to leave things like this."

"Do you want me to throw you a party? Am I supposed to just be okay with all this? Well, I'm not, Brooke and at least one of us has the balls to be honest about that. If you leave, it'll be a big mistake. Huge. You're gonna ruin your life and you're gonna be unhappy. Know why? Because you're a phony. That's right. You're a fake and a fraud."

"Lucas!"

"And if you leave, I will not be okay with and I sure as hell don't want to be your friend so don't even go there! You hear me? In fact, I never want to hear from your ass again."

Brooke closed her eyes.

"How could you be so mean? Why are you saying these things to me?"

"What's the matter, Brooke? Can't handle it? Well, neither am I. I can't handle it because I am in love with you and I want you and us more than anything and I know you want that, too."

"Don't do this."

"Everything we've ever shared…the race, dancing in the rain, the fireworks…all that, every detail meant something special to me. You mean something to me. And every time we ever made love…that wasn't just sex to me."

"I know that. It wasn't to me either."

"I trusted you, Brooke. I let down my guard with you. I shared more with you than I ever did my wife or my own flesh and blood. I told you things I never told anybody."

She nervously reached out for his hand.

"I never meant to hurt you, Lucas. I didn't want any of this to end this way. You have been through so much in your life and then to finally change and let the real you come through…that's incredible. You deserve something good, something better than me. You deserve a nice girl to love you back, someone without all this baggage who is ready to be with you. One day all that will happen for you, I can just feel it. Until then, promise me that you'll be okay and that you'll take care of yourself. And promise me you won't go back to the 'old' Lucas because you are so much better than that and we both know it."

Lucas laughed bitterly.

"Like you give a damn."

"Of course I do. That's why I came. You deserve so much…"

Lucas pushed her hand away.

"What about what you deserve? Don't you want to be happy?"

"I do but…"

"You're happy here with me, Brooke. You said so yourself. Why would you give that up? You told me the pressure to be perfect and being surrounded by superficial people obsessed with superficial things nearly drove you insane. It was enough to make you run away…why the hell would you go back?"

"I…"

"You're making a mistake. And I hope you are miserable for it. Every damn single day I want you to wake up and think about what you walked away from. I want you to hurt and I want you to cry."

"Luke…"

"Don't do it now. Save those tears, Brooke. I have a feeling you're going to need them. You did me wrong, so wrong. Until you fix this and do right by me and by us, everything in your life is going to fall apart. I don't want to hear how much you care about me or what you want for my life. That's none of your business anymore. You don't have to worry about me. In fact, don't even speak my name. Just know that I love you and you love me, too but we won't be together because you're too chicken shit. You're a coward, Brooke, and you know it. What happened to that bold, feisty girl who stood up for her friends and what was right and wasn't afraid of anything? Once again, you're letting your family and your friends decide your whole life. That's pathetic and it's a shame and you're the one that's better than that. So don't worry about me. I'm gonna be okay, Brooke. You need to worry about yourself."

"People do what they have to do to survive, Lucas. Yes, I was a coward before when I ran away without saying good bye. I wanted it to be different this time. I was trying to do the right thing. I knew you'd be hurt and angry but I decided to face you anyway and to be honest, that's one of the bravest things I've ever done. You might be too made to hear what I have to say but I'm gonna say it anyway. Our time together was wonderful and special and I will never forget or regret it. Despite all the bad, you are like the strongest, best person I know. I am glad we met because you totally changed my life and I'm a better person because of it, because of you. I know you're hurting and right now you don't understand, but believe me, my leaving will be best in the long run for everybody involved. I am sorry that I hurt you and I'm gonna miss you and I'll think about you all the time. But what I really want to say is, no matter what happens or even if God forbid, you end up totally hating me, I will always, always love you no matter what."

Lucas felt like he was going to lose it right then and there.

"I love you, too, Brooke", his normally strong voice gave way to emotion. "Why can't you just stay with me? Please. Please, baby. I love you."

He was pouring out his heart, breaking hers at the same time. Brooke could match every ounce of his pain with her own. She couldn't take it anymore. She stood. It was time to leave while the nerve to go was still in her.

"I'm sorry. I love you, Lucas but sometimes love just isn't enough."