Hey guys! Chapter 33! Dans number… hahaha I love it! Enjoy!
"Brooke! Haley! What are you doing here? Felix said…" Anna shrieked running over to Brooke and Haley. Brooke couldn't believe how different Anna looked. Where ever she had been had done wonders for her. Not to mention she looked happy…
"We know… we kind had him set this up for us"
"So… you and Felix? He said he had someone he wanted me to meet"
"What? Hell no… god ew! No… I only call apon him when I need him to be my bitch" Brooke laughed rolling her eyes at the thought of her and Felix…
"Right… sorry, but I'm guessing you're with someone?" Anna asked pointing at Brooke's growing stomach
"Right… yea, Lucas, which is part of the reason we have you here, being a father of almost 3 and all he"
"What?"
"Felix really told you nothing… These are Lucas and I's girls… Allie and Chloë. They're almost 2… and this is baby number 3" Brooke smiled pointing at her stomach. Anna seemed totally shocked… which she found funny.
"Wow…"
"Anyway… he's a little stressed right now and in high school you always made his stress level lower… not to mention the fact that you are pretty much the reason we are together in the first place. He'll be really happy to see you"
"I'm excited to see him too. And Haley… I'm guessing you and Nathan made it through all of the Chris drama?" Anna asked pointing to little James asleep against Haley's chest.
"Yea well what can I say… I have a thing for boys with the last name Scott… this is James"
"You guys! I can't believe how much you both have grown up! I mean ok well how much Haley has grown up… Brooke you pretty much look the same… other than the baby hump"
"Thank you! I knew I always liked you Anna… now for the main reason we drug you all the way here…" Brooke sighed. She figured it was best to tell her now instead of waiting until they got home…
"Not Lucas?"
"Peyton"
Lucas and Brandon finally got back to the house around 10. Peyton was still there as usual… seeing as she never really left the house anymore. Karen and Andy were out on the front porch talking along with none other than Whitey. Karen seemed to be babbling on about her misfortunes with adoption and Whitey mumbling something about him and Camilla. Lucas really hoped this party was going to be a little bit livelier than this. Inside Peyton was in front of the TV watching ER on TNT with the cats curled up at her feet. He hated seeing her like this… but there wasn't anything he could do.
"Hey…" Lucas sighed giving Peyton a quick wave. He wasn't sure why he even bothered anymore. It wasn't like she gave a damn.
"Hey"
"Is Brooke back yet?"
"Brooke left?" Peyton asked looking over at the door. She should have known though, the house was too quiet without Brooke and the girls running around playing hide and seek or some random loud game together.
"Ok then… Peyton, get up, get dressed"
"Why?"
"Because in 8 hours we are having a party and you are going to be there dressed and mingling" Lucas said deciding not to give her a choice. She was after all living in his house, eating his food and driving his family crazy.
"Why? So I can see Theresa and Bevin and listen to their boring tales of life in Tree Hill as preppy little stay at home wives who are worried about getting an ass? Or so I can watch you and Brooke show off your perfect little life and family… sorry… I'm not really in the mood"
"Peyton"
"Don't… Lucas seriously… don't. I'm not coming to the party… no one even needs to know I am here" Peyton smiled not taking her eyes off of the TV.
"So you're just going to sit upstairs and hide from the truth? You know you're little act was sad at first… so your boyfriend left you pregnant… and we all felt really bad for you Peyton… but whether you like it or not you are going to have a baby and you had better start facing the truth"
"You wanna talk about hiding things? Ask your wife what its like to hide from the truth. She's been doing it for long enough"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Lucas asked. He was starting to get really pissed off. Who the hell did she think she was? She didn't know anything about Brooke and his family… she didn't bother to get off the couch most of the time… much less spend any time talking to them.
"Are you really that dense Lucas? Or do you just trust her that much? Or I don't know… maybe you've decided to join Brooke's denial party too. Because I know as much as the 2 of you like sex, you've seen the lovely little bruises on the top of her legs. It doesn't take a genius to figure out she's sick Lucas. So maybe you need to stop spending your time and energy on worrying about me an my life… and focus on YOUR wife and baby"
Karen could hear Peyton and Lucas's yelling from the porch. The sound of it made her so thankful that Lucas and Peyton had never had to worry about being an actual real life couple… and that Lucas hadn't had to deal with that kind of drama yet. Until tonight that is… Everything was going to come to head tonight. Peyton was going to have to deal with everything. Brooke was going to have to confess to whatever she was hiding, Lucas was of course going to be pissed… Merry Christmas. What would a holiday around here be without drama and angst? She watched as Brooke and Haley pulled up into the driveway. It was only 10:30. Maybe they could resolve everything before the party.
"Hey… you guys are here early" Brooke said walking up the porch steps to find Karen, Andy, Brandon and Whitey all listening intently to Peyton and Lucas's yelling. Brooke wasn't sure what it was about but she hadn't heard yelling that loud since Peyton had been here trying to break up their marriage. This didn't sound good.
"I thought you guys might need some help setting up"
"Thanks… we brought back a present"
"Anna…" Karen smiled jumping up to give Anna a hug. She had always liked Anna. In fact she had sort of hoped Lucas and Anna could have worked things out in high school… that is if Lucas hadn't been in love with Brooke and Anna hadn't been gay. She was sweet, and obviously had cared about Lucas in high school.
"Hey Karen… Ok, who should I start with first"
"Say hi to Lucas… let him know you're here, Brooke… I wouldn't go in yet" Karen whispered not giving Brooke a chance to answer.
"Why…"
"I'd let him see Anna first, then you 2 can talk. I'll take the girls out back with Brandon and let them play in the snow"
"Nowa…" Chloë coughed clinging to Brooke's leg.
"Chloë go play with Yaya! You'll have fun"
"Nowa"
"I think she's getting a cold. I'm going to take them in and lay down with them for a while. Allie sweetie, is your nose runny too?" Brooke asked leaning down so she could be eye level with the girls. Both had runny noses and felt warm… and were way more clingy that usual.
"Yeahya"
"Ok… I'll be back"
"Get ready for the fire works" Karen sighed leaning back in her chair.
Anna and Brooke walked in the den with the girls where Peyton and Lucas were exchanging evil glares to one another. Somehow it felt like high school all over again… only this time Brooke couldn't worry about the Lucas and Peyton drama… she had too much on her mind as it was.
"Hey babe… I brought you your present" Brooke smiled giving Lucas a quick kiss.
"Hey Luke"
"Anna!" Lucas smiled hugging Anna. It was really good to see her, although for a split second he hadn't even known it was her she looked so different… so much happier than she had the last time he had seen her.
"Ok… well I'm going to go lay down with the girls for about an hour… you 2 talk, catch up, all that fun stuff"
"Actually… I need to talk to you, Anna do you mind?"
"Nope… I can talk to Peyton" Anna smiled joining Peyton on the couch to watch ER. She figured from the looks of things Peyton needed to talk to her more anyway.
"Lucas…"
"Brooke…"
"That's not a good look" Brooke sighed seeing the look in Lucas's eyes. She hated that look… somehow all in one look he could manage to look pissed, upset, and so in love with her. It made her feel like total crap.
"Bedroom?"
"Daddy…hol me" Allie whined. Obviously this wasn't going to be the easiest conversation to have with 2 sick toddlers wanting their mommy and daddy.
"Me twoo"
"What's wrong Luke?"
"You tell me" Lucas sighed brushing the hair out of Brooke's face. His look had changed now from pissed to just worried. Really worried…
"Maybe we should wait and do this… later, like after Christmas when the girls aren't here"
"Or we could do it now and you can stop avoiding it" Lucas whispered seeing the terrified look in Brooke's eyes. He wasn't sure exactly how to handle this… but he knew it had to be different from their last fight. He needed to be supportive, no matter how upset he was. Because the way he saw it no matter how upset he was… Brooke was just going to be 10 times more.
"Fine… Let me go turn Nip Tuck on for the girls… I'll be back"
Anna sat on the couch with Peyton watching ER. This definitely wasn't the Peyton Sawyer she remembered. She seemed so sad and depressed… way more than she had in high school… although Anna couldn't really blame her. With everything Brooke had told her she could see why…
"So… gotten kissed by any sexually confused teenage girls lately?" Anna asked flipping off the TV. ER was getting old, and if they were going to do this before Jake got there… they needed to start now.
"Go ahead Anna… spill. I know why you're here"
"Brooke's really really worried about you Peyton"
"I know" Peyton whispered closing her eyes. She didn't know what to say… she knew they were all worried but what was she supposed to do about it?
"And you helped me when I needed it the most… so I figured I could help you… or try too. If you'll let me"
"Thanks Anna… but right now I don't really want to talk about it"
"From the looks of things you don't have long. Have you thought about what you're doing to you're like here? The Peyton I knew in high school would have never acted like this. She was strong and caring and she would have kept fighting… for herself and her baby" Anna said raising her voice louder and louder as she spoke. It was like she was making some kind of statement. But that was just Anna… and Peyton had to admit it did make her feel better to have someone there like Anna, who wasn't going to give up on her no matter what.
"I don't want to fight anymore Anna. I want it all to go away. I sit here and I see what Brooke and Lucas have… no matter what they are there for one another, I almost had that… at least I thought I did, and I was excited about having a baby… raising it and being a family. Now I am just scared that every time I look at this kid I am going to hate it for what its father did to me"
"Does Jake hate Jenny for what Nikki did to him?"
"Jake's stronger than me… I can't do this Anna… I don't have money or a place to stay or a job!" Peyton yelled matching Anna's tone. She hated admitting that she didn't have anything. That wasn't how it was supposed to be. She was supposed to be married right now… with a house and a job and money!
"We're you're friends Peyton, we can help"
"Anna… I haven't even talked to you in years. I can't ask you for that… I can't keep living off Brooke and Lucas."
"Then don't" Anna said simply. She wasn't sugar coating anything. Peyton needed to hear the truth. She needed to fix things… and get better.
"I don't know what else to do. I do know I can't have a baby right now. It's not fair to me or it… but I also know if I give this baby to strangers I'll regret it for the rest of my life"
"See! You do know something… more than I thought you did. Don't give the baby to strangers… according to Brooke, there is a family who lives in Tree Hill who would do anything for a baby"
"Karen and Andy?" Peyton asked looking outside the screen door at the porch.
"Yea"
Lucas waited until Brooke came back into the bedroom and shut the door. She had tear marks down her cheeks. She looked so young… of course she looked young, she was young, but at that moment she looked really young, and scared. Way to young to look that scared and alone, and to be having to deal with all of this. It was like flash back from the pregnancy scare in high school. It made him wonder what the hell they were doing. All of this had happened so fast it wasn't until right then that it hit him… this was the real world, they were married, they were responsible for things other than themselves. They had kids and jobs and bills… and seeing her standing there like that all he wanted to do was hold her.
"I'm sorry" Brooke whispered finally after a long pause. With her words came the flow of tears and sobbing until Lucas stood up and pulled her into his chest.
"I know… babe, we've gotta talk"
"Ok…"
"You have to tell me what's wrong. And better yet why you didn't tell me in the first place, don't you think I deserve to hear it from you instead of Peyton?" Lucas asked wiping away Brooke's tears with his thumb.
"Yea… but I was hoping I could just save you the stress and not tell you at all. Its not that big of a deal Lucas…"
"If its not that big of a deal then why couldn't you just tell me?"
"Because it's the reason I didn't want to have the baby in the first place Lucas…After I had the girls they told me there was a good chance that was why they were so early. That they didn't know about the diabetes… at the time I was so upset and worried and drugged and I didn't want to hear it was my fault… that because of my body my babies were laying there struggling to live. Then they got better… and I didn't think about it again, I had totally forgotten about it until Erica mentioned it that night I found out I was pregnant. I hoped that if I just told you I didn't want the baby that could be the end of it…but you wanted him so bad, and then so did I and the more I thought about telling you the more real it became that we could relive this whole thing. Lucas I have never seen you as upset and stressed as you were when the girls were born and sick… We're supposed to be excited about this… not scared to death. So Erica said if I took the shots and was careful the baby and I would both be ok… and you'd get to stay excited, happy, care free Lucas" Brooke finished and looked up at Lucas. He didn't seem mad or upset or look like he was going to yell, maybe a little hurt. Instead he just sat there holding her hand
"You hate needles…" he finally said kissing the top of her head.
"I hate the thought loosing a baby more Luke, I'm sorry"
"God Brooke, you know how much I love you right? And that you have to tell me everything like this… no matter what you think it will do to me…"
"I know…" Brooke whispered laying her head on his shoulder. There was another long pause, no yelling or crying… just her with her head on his shoulder, while he rubbed her back
"I don't want you to ever feel like you have to do it alone again, because if you do something's not working here… and you and I… we have to work because you've seen what I'm like without you…"
"That bad huh?"
"Worse…" Lucas smiled. He was obviously upset, but not so much with the fact that Brooke hadn't told him… more the fact that she had felt like she shouldn't tell him.
"Worse than Peyton…"
"10 times worse… I think Tree Hill will actually be good for us this summer. Less stress… more us"
"Us is good…" Brooke smiled kissing Lucas.
"I thought so"
"I love us"
"Who doesn't?" Lucas asked making her laugh. It felt so good just to talk to him, tell him everything without worrying how he was going to react.
"So… I guess you don't really need Anna as a Christmas present now…"
"That was a really good present though, its good to see Anna… but, you could have just let me name the baby"
"God… are you ever going to give that one up?" Brooke laughed rolling her eyes at him. He was so impossible.
"Probably not"
"Fine… Lucas Scott, love of my life… Merry Christmas, you can name the baby…you had just better not name him anything like Oscar or Edgar and! The girls and I have already picked out his middle name, so his first name better go with Christian"
"You're naming him after that sex-addict, plastic surgeon?" Lucas whined looking down at her stomach. That figured… but he wasn't going to argue.
"Yes… in hopes he will to one day be an sex-addict plastic surgeon and support us in our old age"
"I'm sorry kid… you're mother is crazy, and you're sisters aren't far behind her"
"Ouch… speaking of… we should probably go get our purty chillins and give them some cold medicine before the party…" Brooke sighed remembering the girls and their runny noses and colds. She had left them watching Nip Tuck promising she would be back in just a second.
"You're so Southern…" Lucas laughed kissing her
"I try… ok so now that I have given you my present… your turn"
"Don't you want to wait until in the morning?"
"No… Lucas…" Brooke whined. This always happened… she always had to open her presents last and it sucked.
"Ok… here, open it"
"Oh my god"
"So I'm not so good at the building of play houses with red doors, and we are going to need somewhere to live while we are in Tree Hill" Lucas said taking the picture out of the box for her. He definitely got the desired effect he had been going for.
"Lucas…Thank you"
By 6:30 the Christmas party was definitely party… right down to the 2 kegs Tim and Mike had brought. Brooke and Lucas were inseparable, showing off their house and family… just as Peyton had predicted. Nathan and Haley were happy… showing off James. Bevin and Theresa were there, jealous as usual of Brooke, and gossiping about the fact that Anna was back. It was High School all over again…
"Brooke Davis!" Tim yelled from across the room. Great… that was just what she needed… Tim…
"Scott"
"Bun in the oven?"
"Uh huh…" Brooke smiled deciding to be nice… after all she hadn't seen him in forever, maybe he had changed.
"And It's Lucas's?"
"Dude… I'm right here…"
"The Tim man was just checking… I donated to one of those spermy tadpole banks… little Tims will be all over the world before you know it" Tim said pointing to his crotch. Brooke was now starting to believe the saying… people never really change was true…
"Oh god… that's enough to make me never let girls date"
"Tim… have you met Mike yet?"
"That weirdo who brought the other Keg? He better recognize that I am The Tim… and this is my turf… woah… I'm seeing double, hi there" Tim smiled at the girls… scaring them to death in Lucas's arms.
"Wow… ok, you know Tim why don't you go scare Nathan's kid?"
"Nathan had a baby? Damn! I always knew he had a vagina"
"Oh My God…" Brooke sighed rolling her eyes at him. There was so hope for that man… not unless he found someone equally as stupid… like Bevin.
"Hey… Jake's here…"
"Sorry Tim…we've gotta go, why don't you go find a tree to hump or something"
"Hey guys… where is she?" Jake asked making his way through people to get to Brooke and Lucas. He looked good Brooke thought… definitely Peyton's type.
"In her bedroom… she claims she is getting ready"
"Anything I should know before I see her"
"Well… she is like 26 weeks pregnant, and she isn't going to want to see you, she doesn't really want to see anyone." Brooke sighed. This wasn't going to be easy… Peyton was probably going to be super pissed… and there was no telling what she would so to get even… but they had to try something… anything.
"Did Anna talk to her?"
"Yea… she said she thinks she helped some… but Jake we all know its you, she needs"
"Then its me she'll have… whether she likes it or not. Jenny…" Jake started but Lucas cut in.
"Jenny… have you met Brandon yet? I'll take her and the girls to the playroom with Brandon… show him where Peyton is"
Brooke walked Jake up the stairs to Peyton's door and knocked a couple times. Of course she didn't answer. She was probably still in her bathrobe moping and watching some cheesy soap opera.
"Peyton… its me" Brooke yelled.
"Brooke… go away"
"Come on P. Sawyer… I wanna join the Peyton Sawyer pity party with you! And I never got to thank you for telling Lucas!"
"Sorry about that…" Peyton yelled back… not getting any closer to opening the door.
"Please…. I brought friends…"
"Come on Peyton… its me" Jake said knocking quietly on the door. He looked so worried… like he truly cared for her…
"Me who?"
"Me Jake?"
"My Jake?" Peyton asked. Brooke could hear footsteps coming towards the door.
"I guess that's a good sign"
"Hey…"
"So you'll open the door for him… great…" Brooke sighed rolling her eyes and shaking her head… that figured.
"Look at you! God I've missed you" Jake smiled giving Peyton a huge hug. He didn't seem taken back or anything… it was like old times.
"I've missed you too… where's Jenny…"
"Downstairs… You look so beautiful"
"Jake… I'm like 1000 pounds" Peyton laughed… she was smiling, and blushing. Something Brooke hadn't expected at all.
"No you're not…"
"I'm going to go now…" Brooke whispered leaving them. This way they could talk.
"So…"
"Wanna just talk?"
"Sure…"