A younger sister is someone to use as a guinea pig in trying sledges
and experimental go-carts.
Someone to send on messages to Mom.
But someone who needs you - who comes to you with bumped heads,
grazed knees, tales of persecution.
Someone who trusts you to defend her.
Someone who thinks you know the answers to almost everything
Brooke took a deep breath. "What did you just say?" She wanted to hear it again just to make sure she heard right. Haley looked at her with watery eyes and fiddled with her hands.
"You heard what I said," she whispered in a tone Brooke could hardly hear. Brooke closed her eyes and let it all sink in. Nathan Scott, her boyfriend's younger brother, her best friends ex-boyfriend, tried to rape her sister. This was something she never saw coming. Haley was harmless. She would never ever try to hurt anybody, and if she did, she would apologize over and over again until she believed she was really forgiven. Something about it wasn't right, sure Nathan was the big man on campus and probably dated half the girls in the school, but the situation wasn't sitting well with Brooke.
"Nathan Scott tried to rape you? Are, are you sure?" Brooke questioned, still not wanting to believe it.
"Yes I'm sure! Do you think I would make something up like that?" Haley spat a little hurt that her own sister wouldn't believe her. "I'm telling you the truth, Brooke. He tried to rape me. Twice. He tried to pull me in a classroom today."
Twice? Now Brooke was shaking from the fear. "Twice?" She repeated again to make sure she was hearing right.
Haley was getting frustrated. "Yes, Brooke! Twice, two times, he tried again after the first time. Twice!" She was a bit more elaborate this time so Brooke could understand.
"When did this all happen?" a now filled in Brooke asked, sitting down next to her sister, taking her hand in hers.
"The first time was a couple weeks ago. That night I had the.." Haley's voice trailed off leaving Brooke to finish the sentence for herself. Brooke sighed as she remembered the night of Haley's emotional breakdown. It was a hard night, something she hoped that would never again. But that night was a breeze compared to the nights her and her sister were going to face.
Brooke ran her hand through her tousled brown hair and sighed. She really had no clue what to do. But, Taylor might. "Taylor!" She yelled out loud enough for her older sister to hear her.
"What are you doing?" Haley asked in confusion. Taylor wasn't really her favorite person right now and she wasn't up for seeing her. "Don't call her!"
"Haley, I'm sorry but she deserves to know. Taylor!" She called once more, hoping her sister would hear this time.
"It's bad enough you know, she doesn't need to know. Please, Brooke." Haley tried to plead with her, but Brooke wasn't having any of it.
"Haley," she repeated once again, "we need to get you checked out by a doctor to see if he, if he you know."
"He didn't. Christian walked in before it went to far." Haley said, shuddering at the thought of Nathan on top of her.
"I don't care, I still want you to get checked out, just incase." Brooke rolled her eyes at her sister's stubbornness. When Haley had her mind set on something, it was hard to get her around it. "TAYLOR!" Brooke yelled once last time. Haley closed her eyes and wished for it to all go away.
Minutes later, a tired looking Taylor appeared in the room. It was obvious she had been sleeping and was very annoyed. "What do you want?" She asked, rubbing her eyes, her vision too blurred to see her sister's on the floor.
"Go on, Haley, tell her," Brooke whispered, nudging her sister with her shoulder. Haley glared at Brooke and shook her head.
"Tell me what?" Taylor was getting annoyed now. "Is there a pointas to whyyou woke me up?"
Brooke took a deep breath and just let it all out, much to Haley's dismay. "Someone tried to rape Haley."
"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Taylor had the same reaction Brooke did just a few minutes ago. "Did you just say someone tried to rape Haley?" Brooke nodded sadly and Haley looked away.
"Yeah," Brooke whispered getting up and walking over to her sister. "Will you please tell her she needs to go see a doctor."
"Haley, you really should go see a doctor. I'll take you right now, you don't need to tell anyone else if you don't want to."
"I don't need a doctor!" Haley yelled getting up from her position on the floor. "See, this is why I didn't want to tell you. You're making it a big deal and it's not."
"But it is a big deal, Haley. You were almost raped." Taylor said walking over to Haley. She put her hand on her shoulder and Haley immediately pulled back. Every time someone tried to touch her, it made her think of Nathan. Brooke stood in the corner unaware of what to do. Right now all she wanted to do was kill Nathan for hurting her sister. And that's what she was going to do.
"Taylor, can I talk to you for a second?" Brooke said, walking out of the room and into the hall. Taylor appeared in the hall a few seconds later.
"What?"
Brooke sighed. "I have to do something real quick, just keep an eye on her please."
Taylor held her hands up in protest. "Brooke, can't it wait? Haley needs you right now, I need you, and I can't do this alone. Besides, I'm not Haley's favorite person right now."
"I know, Taylor, but you just got to trust me. I'll be back in an hour tops. I promise." Brooke pleaded with her sister. Taylor didn't seem convinced but she reluctantly agreed.
"One hour and that's it. If you're not back in an hour I'm coming out to get you."
"I promise," Brooke said, giving Taylor a quick hug before walking to the stairs. "Just watch what you say to her, she's going through a lot right now, let her know you're there for her." Taylor nodded sadly and watched as Brooke darted down the stairs, slamming the front door behind her. She walked back into the room to find Haley staring at the window.
"Where's Brooke going?" She asked, not bothering to turn around to face Taylor.
"She had to take care of something real fast. She'll be back soon." She said, sitting on the bed. Haley whispered something incoherent and continued to stare at the window. "Look, Haley I'm really sorry for what I did. It was a shady thing to do and I promise I won't do it again. He's all yours."
Haley was reluctant to speak on the subject of Christian. It had suddenly donned on her that Taylor had helped her. "Actually you helped me, a lot." Taylor sat on the bed confused. How did kissing Christian help her?
"How?"
"Well, for one thing he's not the guy you think. He's a bit violent," Haley whispered, leaving Taylor to figure out what she was talking about. It took her a minute, but she soon figured it all out.
"Oh, Haley he didn't," Taylor said in disbelief. She watched as Haley turned around and nodded with watery eyes.
"I'm sorry," Haley sniffed, "but do you mind giving me some time to myself, to think."
"Yeah," Taylor nodded hesitantly. She wanted to give Haley one last hug before she left but she knew she would just pull back. "I'll be downstairs if you need anything," she said with a forced smile before leaving the room.
Brooke walked up the stairs to Nathan's apartment. She wanted to be calm and subtle but the thought of him on top of her sister made her want to rip him apart with her bare hands. She finally arrived to apartment 23 and gently tapped on the door. She put on a fake smile when Nathan opened the door.
"Uh, hi Brooke." Nathan said, scratching his head in confusion. Brooke never usually came over unless she was with Lucas. "Lucas isn't here if that's who you're looking for."
Brooke shook her head and placed her hands behind her back. "No, I was actually looking for you." Nathan looked surprised and nodded. "Mind if I come in?"
"Nope, come on in," He stepped aside with a smirk, shutting the door behind her and locking it. "What can I do for you?"
Brooke sat on the couch and crossed her legs. "Well see I have a little problem, and I was wondering if you could help me with it?" She raised her eyebrows at him and licked her lips.
Nathan was taken aback by her actions but wasn't going to let that stop him. "Couldn't deny your feelings for me? Your sister takes after you more then I thought."
Brooke let out a fake laugh and shrugged. "Is it that obvious?" She turned away shyly as Nathan joined her on the couch. He smiled and nodded.
"I can always tell when a girl likes me."
Brooke rolled her eyes at his pathetic attempt at a pickup line. She turned back around and forced another smile. She was trying to trap him into telling her about what he did to Haley. "So, Haley tells me she's tutoring you. That's cool."
"Yeah, I guess. She's a bit too innocent for me though. With the sisters she has, it's pretty hard to believe she comes from the same family as you two."
Brooke shrugged and flipped her hair. "Yeah well, she's a lot different then me. So, back to what you were saying about telling when a girl likes you. Where you ever wrong about that?"
"Couple times, but once we hit the sack it all changed."
And that pushed Brooke over the edge. "So you took them to bed against their own will?"
Nathan was confused. "What?"
"If they didn't want any you forced them to, right? No one ever said no to Nathan Scott, you couldn't handle the fact that she didn't want you!" Brooke yelled, getting up from the couch and staring Nathan straight into the eye.
"Brooke, what the hell are you talking about?"
"Haley said no to you but you couldn't accept the fact that for once in your life a girl had rejected you. And when she said no to sex too, you tried to force it upon her."
Nathan gulped and shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't play dumb with me Nathan!" Brooke roared at the top of her lungs, "Haley told me what you did to her, and all I can say is I hope you have a good lawyer when this is all over."
"Look, I don't know what the fuck your prude of a sister told you, I didn't lay a finger on her."
"Don't you ever call my sister a prude again, you hear me?" Brooke said, delivering a slap to Nathan's angry face. "So help me god if you ever try to hurt her again I will kill you with my bare hands."
Nathan laughed and got up from the couch, looking down at the tiny girl below him. "Yeah I'd like to see you try." He grabbed her right wrist and gripped it tightly. Brooke kneed him in the privates, possibly eliminating the future Scott generation. "You bitch," he muttered, falling to the floor in pain.
Brooke laughed bitterly and picked up the baseball bat that was in the corner. "Tell me something I don't know." She swung it around a few times, making Nathan cower into the corner. "Don't worry, Natey, I'm not going to hurt you with it. I'm just going to do this," And with one simple swing, Brooke knocked over and shattered the lamp that was on the coffee table.
"I never liked that thing anyways," Nathan muttered, regaining his composure and standing up.
"What about this?" Brooke said, bending down and picking up the play station 2. Nathan's eyes widened. "Play station? This seems like something you'd like." She sneered, placing the game console back down and raising the bat above her head.
"Don't you dare!" Nathan yelled from across the room. Brooke simply laughed and brought the bat back down, smashing it into the play station. Nathan watched as she repeatedly beat it until it fell apart.
"Oops," she said innocently while looking at Nathan. He was livid and ready to kill her. He started to walk over but she held the bat out towards him. "One more step and this will connect with your face." Nathan stepped back with his hands up and watched as Brooke walked over to the TV.
"No don't-" But before he could stop her, Brooke swung the bat right into the TV. His precious TV now had a big hole in it and was sparking from the sides. He ran his hands through his hair trying to think of what to do.
She swung the bat into the TV again and stared at him with extreme hatred in her eyes. "That was for me," she said while hitting it again, "that's for what you try to do to Peyton," she swung the bat into the TV one last time and watched as it started to smoke, "and that's for my sister."
"You're a psycho you know that?" Nathan fumed, pacing back and forth between the kitchen and living room.
"Let me explain something to you," Brooke said, throwing the bat down and walking over to him, "you hurt my baby sister, I hurt you. Simple as that."
Nathan snorted and rolled his eyes. "Since when did you start caring about your sister?"
"Since I realized bastards like you make her life a living hell. Now I'm telling you this one more time, if you ever think to come near her or even make eye contact with her, I'll have your ass thrown in jail." Brooke bitched, giving Nathan once last punch before leaving. Nathan sank to the floor in awe of the state of his apartment. He grabbed a cloth from the kitchen and pressed it against his bleeding nose.
Brooke quickly ran down the stairs and far away from the apartment complex as she could. She couldn't believe what she just did and was now scared for her life. She wouldn't be surprised if Nathan was right behind her. The sun began to go down and Brooke become more paranoid. She had at least a 10-minute walk to her house.
Suddenly realizing her brother's work was just the next street over, she quickly rushed over there before she scared herself to death. Opening the doors with trembling hands, Brooke ran into the law office, nearly scaring the secretary.
"Brooke is everything okay?" Louise asked a bit startled. Brooke smiled and shook it off.
"Yeah, sorry I didn't mean to scare you. Is my brother still here?" She was hoping she could catch her brother before he left.
Louise smiled and shook her head. "No sorry dear. Jen came by earlier and they went out to dinner. Was it important?"
Brooke simply shook her head. "Um, no I just wanted to say hi. Thanks Louise."
She forced a smile and walked out the door, looking out both sides to make sure it was safe.
Taylor made a face as the steam from the boiling water hit her face. She gently poured the macaroni in and watched as the water began to foam. She figured making Haley's favorite food would calm her down for a while and get her to open up more. It always worked when their mother did it, it should work for her.
A few minutes later Haley appeared from upstairs. Her slightly wet hair clung to her shoulders. Taylor noticed her standing there and smiled.
"Just in time," she said while draining the macaroni in the sink. Haley bit her bottom lip and sat at the table.
"Oh, that's okay. I'm not really hungry."
"I'm not going to eat this whole thing by myself." Taylor protested, adding the cheese sauce in and mixing it around until it was all ready. "Now eat," she commanded, placing a bowl right in front of Haley.
"Is this some sort of bribe?" Haley asked while moving the macaroni around with her fork, not bothering to look up at Taylor's face.
"It all depends. Is it working?" Taylor asked hopefully while Haley stuck a forkful in her mouth. She swallowed it and thought about it for a while. She smiled and nodded.
"It's pretty good I must admit, not as good as mine, but it's still good. Thanks, Tay." Haley said with a genuine smile. Taylor let out a sigh of relief and smiled. She was surprised when Haley got up from the table and gave her a hug.
"What was that for?" Taylor asked curiously. A couple days ago Haley hated her guts.
Haley shrugged shyly and smiled. "Just thanking you, I guess. Thanks for being you and thanks for coming back. I'm really sorry, I didn't mean it when I said I hated you."
Taylor smiled nodded. "That's okay, I deserved it. But let's forget about that. There's still half the pan left to eat." Haley smiled and gladly shoved another bite into her mouth. Taylor was too happy to even notice Brooke had been gone for more then an hour. But being alone with Haley wasn't as bad she thought it would be.
"So," Haley began while drying the pan Taylor had just washed, "what's new in your life?" She asked trying to make small talk. Taylor laughed and shut the water off and wiped her hands on the back of her pants.
"Not a damn thing. You?"
Haley shrugged and put the pan down. "Oh just the usual. Tutoring, school, work, did I tell you? I was almost raped by the star basketball player." She laughed bitterly and Taylor made a face.
"Haley," She started but Haley put up her hand.
"No, it's okay. I realize I'm going to be okay. If I let everything that happened bother me then I'll end up in a psych ward far away. So I'm fine, it's all okay." Haley smiled but Taylor didn't look convinced.
"Haley, are you sure?" Taylor had to smile at her sister's attempt to be brave. When their parent's died Haley tried to pretend to be okay but she just ended up bursting into tears. But this time she didn't. This time she was okay.
"Yes, I'm sure. There are millions of women who are going through this too, I'm not the only one. All I need is you and Brooke I'll be fine."
"Well, we'll be right here if you ever need us." Taylor said, she pulled Haley into a hug and was relieved when Haley didn't pull back.
"Speaking of Brooke, where is she?" Haley asked nervously, still in Taylor's embrace. Taylor sighed and gently let Haley go.
"To be honest, Hales I don't know. She said she had to go somewhere and that she'd be back. She's probably at Peyton's or something. Do you need her?"
"Um, no it's okay. I was just wondering." Taylor knew she was lying. Out of all of them, Haley was probably the worst liar next to Brooke.
"Is there something I can help you with?"
"Well, yeah actually you can." Haley said as Taylor nodded for her to go on. She tugged at her sleeves shyly and looked down. "Okay, it's going to sound really babyish and stuff, but Brooke usually, puts me to bed," she said in a quick whisper. Taylor couldn't help but laugh.
"Haley you're nearly 17," Haley shrugged again and smiled sadly.
"I know, I know, but it's something we've been doing for 10 years or so. Besides, it's the only way I'll be able to sleep."
"Well, okay." Taylor said, taking her sister by the hand and leading her upstairs. She watched as Haley climbed into bed. Taylor thought it was pretty weird that Haley was going to bed at 8:00, but she didn't bother bringing it up. She put the covers on her awkwardly and watched as Haley looked around the room. "Looking for something?"
Haley let out a small laugh. "Mr. Waffles," Taylor nodded and looked around the room. "I think I might of left him in Brooke's room."
"Okay, I'll be right back." Taylor said walking to the door.
"Please hurry," Haley whispered and watched as Taylor disappeared. Seconds later she returned with the old teddy bear in her hand. Haley smiled and took it graciously.
"Thanks." She snuggled further into the bed and got comfortable.
Taylor put her hands on her hips. "Anything else? Do you want me to look under the bed for anything? Check the closet for the boogie-man?"
"Okay, I'm not that big of a baby." Haley said with a laugh. "Thanks, Taylor. Night," she whispered before closing her eyes.
Taylor smiled and walked to the door shutting the light of behind her. She was halfway out the door when Haley called her name. "What?" She whispered, walking back over to the bed.
Although she couldn't see it, Haley was blushing a shade of magenta. Usually she didn't have to ask Brooke to stay, she automatically knew. But with Taylor it was different. "Will, will you just stay in here until I fall asleep? It will only be a few minutes."
Taylor let out a small groan. "Oh, Haley-"
"Please Taylor? I don't like to be alone when I'm trying to sleep."
"Okay, but only 5 minutes." Haley nodded and Taylor climbed over her and sat on the opposite side of the bed. Haley smiled and rolled over, shutting her eyes again.
Twenty minutes had passed and Haley was sound asleep. Taylor was dozing next to her but was quickly awaken by the sound of the front door slamming shut. She carefully got of the bed and walked down the stairs.
"Where the hell have you been!" She tried to keep it down but it was hard not to lose control.
Brooke smiled nervously and sat on the couch. "Is, is Mike home yet?"
"Brooke, don't change the subject! You said you would only be gone one hour, you've been gone for 3."
"I know, I know. I had to do something and then after I did it I went to think and I realized I just made the biggest mistake of my life."
Taylor sighed and joined her sister on the couch. "What did you do?" Brooke sniffled and leaned into her sister.
"I trashed Nathan Scott's house. He's the one that tried to rape Haley." Taylor couldn't help but smile.
"There's nothing wrong with that, Brooke. He deserved it."
"Yeah but I'm afraid he'll come after me and do what he tried to do to Haley." Brooke said, her tone laced with fear. Taylor pulled her closer and gently stroked her hair.
"No, don't say that. I won't let him I promise."
Brooke sat up and fiddled with her thumbs. "I just don't understand why he would try to hurt Haley. She never did anything to him."
Taylor shrugged and was silent for a minute. "Wait a minute," she said turning to face Brooke, "is this the same Nathan Scott you lost your virginity too?"
"How, how did you know that?" Brooke said, her cheeks turning pink.
Taylor smirked. "You drunkenly confessed it once." Brooke made a face and Taylor went on, "and unfortunately I de-flowered that kid when he was a freshman. Which can only mean one thing."
"He wanted to nail all three of us," Brooke said sadly, finishing the sentence. Taylor nodded and sighed.
"That he did, that he did."
Brooke felt disgusted. Nathan was nothing but a no good bastard who deserved to be thrown in jail. "I should probably go check on Haley." She said getting up from the couch.
"She's in bed already."
Brooke raised her eyebrow. "Really?"
Taylor nodded and laughed. "Yeah, I never knew she had to still be tucked in."
"That's my fault," Brooke said with a light laugh, "I guess I still baby her a little bit."
Taylor shook her head; that was a major understatement. "A little? Try a lot, Brooke. But I think after everything we've been through, it's okay. Now let's just hope she gets over it by the time she goes to college, then it might get a little weird."
"I'm gonna head upstairs. Thanks for filling in for me Tay."
"Well I am her sister too. Good night."
Brooke walked into her room and quietly shut the door behind her. She sat on the bed and began to cry. She wrapped her arms around her knees and gently rocked back and forth.
"Brooke?" Haley's concerned voice came from the door. She walked into the room and sat down next to her sister. "What's wrong?"
Brooke quickly wiped her tears and forced a smile. "Nothing, Hales. I'm fine." She noticed Haley looked like she had been sleeping. "I didn't wake you did I?"
"No, I couldn't sleep anyways."
"I'm sorry," Brooke said giving her sister a small hug. Haley smiled and wiped away the stray tear that fell down Brooke's face.
"I'm going to be okay you know. I can make it through it." Haley said, wrapping her arms around her sister and pulling her close.
"I know you can, baby. I'm just a little scared." Brooke whispered.
"I am too, but I will make it. That's a promise." Brooke looked up and smiled at her sister. After every thing she's been through she still managed to hold her head up high.
"So did you miss me?" Brooke asked with a laugh. Haley nodded her head and moved closer to her sister.
"I did," she said with a little smile, "Taylor made macaroni and cheese."
"Was it as good as mine?" Brooke asked cautiously. No one made a better mac 'n cheese then her.
Haley laughed. "Relax, Tigger, yours is still my favorite."
"You're lucky, it's the only thing I can cook."
"So where did you go tonight?" Haley asked timidly. She didn't know if Brooke was up for talking about it.
"I just went to clear my head, take care of a few things."
Haley raised her eyebrow in fear that she did something involving Nathan. "What kind of things?"
Brooke saw her sister's look and realized she couldn't tell her. "Nothing, I just went to Peyton's for a bit. We talked and then I came home." Lucky for her, Haley believed it. "Well you should probably get back to bed, you need some sleep."
Haley smiled and gave her sister one last hug. "Yeah."
Brooke looked at her sister and raised her eyebrow. "Unless you want to stay here tonight?"
Haley thought about it for a minute and shook her head. "No thanks, I think I'm going to try and sleep on my own tonight."
Brooke smiled and pretended to be sad. "Aw, my little Haley-bub is growing up so fast."
"I guess I am." Haley said with a laugh. She smiled and gently tapped Brooke on the head. "Don't miss me too much tonight."
"I'll try not to," Brooke said sarcastically and watched as Haley walked out of the room. She smiled and flopped down on the queen-sized bed. She had to admit it would be a little weird not to have Haley next to her, but it would be nice to have the whole bed to herself.
After she shut the light off, Brooke climbed into the big bed and got comfortable underneath the covers. She sighed; it was pretty lonely without Haley. Just as she was about to drift off she heard a voice.
"Okay, maybe I'll 'grow' up tomorrow," Haley said, climbing into the bed next to her sister. Brooke smiled and rolled over to make room for her.
Well psycho Brooke didn't come out the way I really wanted to, but i wanted to get an update in. And I do realize the whole Taylor/Haley thing was pretty cheesy, but I needed a way to have them make up fast. I know, I know I'm lacking on the Baleyness so I threw some corny things in at the end. I'll have more, I promise. Once again, thanks for the reviews, you guys are awesome.