Again, I'm so sorry. I got stuck with horrible writer's block and I finally managed to come up with something. I'm not too proud of it, but It's better then nothing.
Brooke tossed and turned in the bed trying to get comfortable. It had been at least an hour since she tried going to sleep, but thoughts of Nathan hurting her sister kept playing in her head. She rolled over and propped her elbow up on her pillow. She gazed at her sister sleeping beside her and sighed.
"How you manage to sleep after what happened to you is beyond me," She mumbled, gently running her hands through Haley's hair. "You didn't deserve any of this and I'm going to make sure Nathan gets punished for it."
Taylor wandered around the large house aimlessly looking for something to do. She wasn't ready to go to bed and she didn't feel like going out with her friends. She walked past Brooke's room and noticed Brooke was still awake. She walked into the room and sighed.
"Can't sleep either?" She whispered, not wanting to wake Haley up. Brooke shook her head and sat up. Taylor walked over to the bed and sat at the edge.
"What's going to happen to her, Tay?" Brooke asked in a frightful voice. Haley rolled over and gently grasped on to Brooke's right arm. "She can't even sleep in her own bed at night."
Taylor sighed and shrugged. "I don't know, Brooke. But we just have to take it slow." She glanced at Haley and scratched her head. How could someone so innocent fall victim to such a painful thing. "Any more things I should know about her?"
Brooke tried not to laugh and nodded. "Where do I begin? She can't sleep without that ugly ass teddy bear, you have to make sure she's all settled in bed before you can leave the room and she's a very light sleeper so I wouldn't be surprised if she woke up any minute, so we should probably move this down stairs."
"Good idea," Taylor agreed getting off the bed, "there's still some left over macaroni and cheese in the fridge."
Brooke swung her feet over the bed and tried to get up, but forgot Haley had a grip on her arm. "A little help, Taylor?" Taylor laughed and gently pulled Brooke's arm free from Haley's. They quietly walked out of the room and made their way into the kitchen.
"This sucks," Brooke said spitting out what once was macaroni and cheese. Taylor made a face and threw something at her.
"Haley said it was good."
Brooke laughed and pushed the bowl away from her. "That's because Haley's too nice. She would never tell you it sucked."
"Well at least she was being nice," Taylor pointed out before taking a bite. She too spit hers out. "Okay, maybe it does suck. I swear it tasted better before."
"I'll take your word for it," Brooke mumbled, dumping the rest of the food into the barrel. She was starting to get a little tried, but a part of her wasn't ready to go to sleep. She was about to say something but quickly stopped when the back door flung open and Mike and a bunch of his friends came bustling in.
"The Sox are going to kill the Yankees!" Mike exclaimed walking right past his sisters and into the living room. Brooke and Taylor rolled her eyes as they watched the 4 men gather round to watch the baseball game.
"I thought you went out to dinner with Jen?" Brooke asked, sitting on the side of the couch.
"Well, we were in the middle of it and the hospital called. They were short staffed so they needed her. So I called the guys and here we are. You remember Jeff, Tom, and Kyle right?"
Brooke shrugged. Sure, why not. "Hi," she waved to them. They all waved back, eyes glued to the TV screen. "Well you boys have a fun night, try to keep it down though, we do have someone sleeping upstairs."
"Brooke," Taylor groaned walking up the stairs, "I thought you were going to tell him?" They walked into Haley's room and sat on the bed.
"What was I suppose to say? Hey, by the way, Haley was almost raped enjoy the game? I'm not going to announce it in front of his friends."
Taylor sighed. "They're all lawyers down there, I'm sure they've heard cases like this before."
Brooke turned away and bit her lip. She knew Mike dealt with cases like this all the time, but none of them involved his youngest sister. "I know, but it gets kind of personal when it's your own sister." She leant back on the bed and rested her head on the headboard, running her hands over the smooth comforter. She never understood why Haley even bothered to have a bed; she rarely slept in it. Taylor wrinkled her nose.
"I understand that, Brooke, but if we keep prolonging it it's only going to get worse and worse." Brooke sighed and closed her eyes. She didn't want to deal with it right now, all she wanted to do was go to sleep and dream her problems away. But she couldn't do that with Haley right next to her. She knew Haley would wake up in the middle of the night with a bad dream and keep her up until she could fall back asleep.
"Whatever," Brooke muttered getting off the bed. Taylor sat her back down and looked deep into her eyes.
"If you don't tell him tonight, I will." She said crossing her arms. Brooke tried to open her mouth in protest but Taylor wasn't having any of it. "No, don't even try to get around this. He's her legal guardian and brother, he has a right to know."
"A right to know what?" A male voice came from behind the door. Brooke turned around in fear to see her brother standing there. Taylor gave Brooke a quick look and gestured for her to tell him.
"N-nothing," She stuttered trying to think of something else to say. "We were talking about Lucas." Taylor rolled her eyes and sat on the desk chair, biting her lip to stop herself from blurting it out.
Mike gave her a weird look and shook his head. "Brooke, I'm not stupid. What do I have a right to know?"
"I'm telling you, it's nothing." Brooke replied, getting off the bed and attempting to walk out the door. Mike didn't move and Taylor got up out of the chair.
"Brooke just tell him!" She yelled exasperated. Brooke felt her eyes begin to water but there was no way she was going to tell Mike about Haley.
"What the hell is going on?" He asked one more time. He was getting sick of their little games and wanted to know the truth. "Tell me the truth."
Brooke shot Taylor a glare before she turned back around to face her brother. "You might want to sit down for this." Taylor gave Brooke a quick hug before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.
"Wait a minute," he asked putting his hand up. "Why are we in Haley's room? And where is Haley."
Brooke shook her head sadly. Her brother hardly knew anything about her sister. "She's asleep in my room."
"Why?" He asked in confusion. He never knew about Haley's sleeping problems and was clueless about the rest of her life.
"It's a long story and it doesn't matter right now," Brooke replied curtly. She watched as Mike sighed and sat down on the bed and motioned for her to go on. "Before I start, I just want you to know, I did this because I had to."
"Brooke, I'm not going to have to defend you in court am I?" Mike asked worriedly. Brooke shrugged and paced around the room.
"Possibly," she whispered, shutting her eyes tight to avoid the look on his face. She opened them and saw that he had gotten off the bed. Mike ran his fingers through his dark brown hair and started to pace.
"What did you do?" He asked sternly, "tell me right now."
Brooke took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "I sort of trashed Nathan Scott's house. And sort of hit him and slapped him."
Mike scratched his head and continued to pace. Brooke sighed and sat down on the bed. "Nathan Scott? As in Dan Scott's son?" Brooke nodded as tears began to fall from her face. "Do you know what Dan Scott will do to you, Brooke?"
"I had to!" Brooke yelled through tears while getting off the bed.
"What do you mean had to!" Mike yelled back staring straight into his sister's watery eyes. Brooke refused to speak and shook her head.
"Why don't you ask Haley," She spat before walking out of the room and slamming the door shut behind her. She heard Mike say something but she didn't care.
"Brooke," Taylor called after her, getting up from the floor and chasing after her.
Brooke spun around and glared at her. "Are you happy now? He knows what I did to Nathan. But I am not telling him what he did to Haley. Unlike some people, I listen to people when they tell me to keep something secret."
Taylor pushed Brooke into her room and closed the door. "What the hell is that suppose to mean?"
Brooke got off Taylor's bed and shook her head. "I told you I didn't want to tell him!"
"HE HAS A RIGHT TO KNOW!" Taylor yelled at the top of her lungs. She was sick of Brooke trying to hide it. "You had your chance, Brooke. I'm going to tell him." She started walking towards the door but Brooke grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
"Don't you dare!" Brooke yelled in frustration. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. "Let Haley tell him, okay? If she doesn't tell him by Friday then I'll tell him."
Taylor crossed her arms. "No, Brooke. How long did it take for Haley to tell you? Huh? She won't tell him, I know her too damn well."
Brooke laughed bitterly and shook her head at Taylor. "You don't know Haley at all. That's complete bullshit." Taylor was about to say something but Brooke continued with her tirade. "No, don't you tell me you know her, because you don't. You don't know the first thing about her. No one does."
"Fine, Brooke then tell me everything about her. Seeing as you know her the best." Taylor said, throwing her arms up in frustration. Brooke made an annoyed face and sat back on the bed. She was trying to stop herself from blowing up at Taylor, but the way she was acting made it hard not to.
"God, Taylor, you think you really know her?" Brooke said with a sigh. Taylor nodded and gestured for her to continue. "Okay, fine then. What's her favorite T.V. show?"
"Will & Grace," Taylor answered with ease, "ask me another one."
"Wrong," Brooke said in a monotonous tone. "That's my favorite show. Hers is Friends." Taylor looked flustered but shook it off. She was going to prove to Brooke that she knew her sister. "What's her favorite movie?"
Taylor smiled triumphantly. She knew this one for sure. "The Princess Bride"
"Wrong," Brooke said in the same tone as before. "That was her favorite movie when she was 12, it's Now and Then." Taylor shook head in disapproval. She knew Brooke had to be lying.
"The hell it is, stop lying Brooke." Taylor said bitterly. Brooke was known to lie from time to time when it came to stupid games between the two.
"I'm not lying," Brooke said un-phased by Taylor's accusations. "You really know nothing about her. And that's just the small stuff. Do you have idea why she can't sleep on her own at night?"
"Look-"
Brooke ignored Taylor and continued. "Because every time she closes her eyes she has visions of Mom and Dad's accident over and over again. Their car crashing into the railing, the rain falling hard on the ground, the thunder booming loudly, everything. She remembers every little detail about their death. And when it rains it reminds her of the day they never came to pick her up from piano lessons."
"Brooke," Taylor groaned, as much as it was true, she wasn't ready to hear it all. Brooke shrugged and went on, even if it meant making Taylor feel guilty for her leaving.
"And do you think it's easy for me to listen to her when she cries herself to sleep night after night? Do you think I like going to bed knowing she is in the next room bawling her eyes out over two people who are never coming back, two people who will never be there to hold her and tell her that it's going to be okay? Two people who will never get to see what a beautiful girl she's grown up to be. Two people-"
"Brooke, stop it," Taylor finally cut in before Brooke could continue. Brooke got off the bed and walked right over to her, staring her straight in the eye.
"The next time you want to tell me that you know Haley, you better be sure of yourself. No one really knows Haley at all, and it's kind of pathetic that her own flesh and blood doesn't even know about her problems." Brooke opened the door and started to walk out of the room, but was pulled back by Taylor.
"Listen to me," Taylor snapped; angry and annoyed at Brooke, "do you think I'm proud of myself? Do you think I wanted to leave?"
Brooke released herself from Taylor's grip and shook her head. "I don't know, Taylor, why did you leave? What was so bad that you had to run away and leave us here all alone? No goodbye or anything." Taylor sighed and started to pace around the room.
"Well come on, Taylor. What was so bad in your life that you to just up and leave?" Brooke asked, her voice cocky and slightly arrogant. Taylor knew better then to give into her sister's taunts. She was about to tell her off when Haley's voice interrupted them.
"What the hell are you two fighting about? They can hear you in China!" Haley bellowed, walking into the room. Nothing made her angrier then being woken up by petty arguments.
"Sorry, Haley. I didn't mean to wake you up. We were just arguing about-"
"You!" Taylor cut in before Brooke could finish. She was sick of Brooke walking on eggshells every time Haleywalked into the room.
"Me?" Haley asked in confusion. She walked further into the room and gently leaned up against the wall. "Why are you arguing about me?"
Brooke glared at Taylor and walked over to Haley. "We weren't. Don't listen to her. Come on, I'll take you back to bed." Haley backed away from Brooke and found herself in a corner.
"No," Haley said firmly. "Were you two really arguing about me?" Brooke backed away slightly nodded. Haley bit her lip and shrugged. "What did I do?" She asked quietly, playing with the sleeves of her shirt. All Brooke wanted to do was smack Taylor for making her sister feel bad. This was in no way her fault.
"Haley," Brooke started calmly, gently walking back over to her. She knew Haley was probably a bit nervous about the situation. "It's nothing to worry about, I promise." She gave her a small smile, but Haley wasn't buying it.
"Listen, Haley," Taylor said, walking right up to her, inches away from her face. "Yes we were arguing about you."
"Taylor!" Brooke hissed, trying to pull her away from Haley, but Taylor wasn't budging.
"Brooke!" Taylor groaned frustration, throwing her arms up in the air. "You need to stop this right now, okay? She's a big girl, she can handle things on her own. You can't baby her for the rest of her life."
Haley exchanged a look with Brooke before running out of the room. Brooke looked at Taylor, stunned. "You've really done it now," she bitched as she heard the front door slam. "You better hope she didn't go far."
Taylor rolled her eyes as she watched Brooke run out of the room. "Brooke, wait," she called out after her but it was too late. Brooke had already gone out the door.
"Haley?" Brooke called out as she walked out onto the front porch. She looked down and saw Haley sitting on the front steps with her arms wrapped around her knees. She sat down beside her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Are you okay?"
Haley turned around to face her sister and shrugged. "Yeah, I'll be fine." She whispered, shifting away from her sister. Brooke looked confused and moved closer to her, which caused Haley to move further away. "Stop, please."
"Stop what?" Brooke asked in a small voice. She moved to her right and shivered from the cold. "Talk to me," She ran her hands over her arms in an effort to stop the goose bumps that were appearing on them.
Haley was silent for a minute, but soon shuffled back towards Brooke, allowing her to wrap her arms around her. "I'm just scared I'm going to lose her, Tigger."
"Lose who?" Brooke asked in confusion. She wasn't exactly sure who Haley was talking about.
"Taylor. I'm scared I'm going to lose her." Haley whispered, feeling Brooke's grip get tighter. Brooke closed her eyes, trying to think of something to say that would make the situation better. But there was nothing she could say about Taylor. She never stuck around for a while and if she did, she would end up leaving without a goodbye or even a note.
"You're not going to lose me, Hay," Taylor said from behind them. Brooke and Haley turned around to see Taylor standing in the doorway. Her eyes were a little red and her voice was nasal. She never liked to cry in front of people, especially her sisters. She was the strong one and she knew if she were upset, they would get upset. She joined the two teenagers on the steps and put her arms around them. "You're gonna be stuck with me for a while."
Brooke smiled and placed her hand on top of Taylor's. Any anger she had towards her sister had now subsided. She was relieved when Taylor said she was sticking around. Her smile soon turned into a frown when she saw a police car pull up.
The two officers got out of the car and made their way up the walk way, conferring with each other on the way. Brooke held on to Haley tighter and watched as Taylor got up, standing in front of them in a protective manner.
"Can I help you?" Taylor asked in a calm voice. One of the officers took out a notepad from his back pocket and began to scan the piece of paper.
"Uh, yes. My name is Officer Hanson and this is my partner Officer Young. We're looking for a Haley James. Is that you?" Taylor shook her head and looked at Haley, who stood up beside me.
"That, that's me," she said in a shaky voice. Brooke stood up beside her and grabbed her hand.
Officer Young sighed and scratched his head. He hated handling rape cases, especially when it happened to young teenagers. "We'd like to ask you a few questions about Nathan Scott, would you mind coming with us?" He gently placed his hand on her arm, trying to break her free from Brooke's grip.
"Okay," she stuttered, unwillingly letting go of Brooke's hand. She looked back at Brooke with scared eyes, hoping Brooke would follow her.
"Can we come with you?" Taylor asked, walking up besides Haley and the two police officers.
"Sorry, Miss, but we only have room for two people in the car." Officer Hanson said. Taylor nodded and motioned for Brooke to follow.
"You go, I'll stay here and wait for Mike. I'll see you soon," Taylor said, giving Brooke a hug. "Make sure she's okay, I know you'll do it anyways, but just incase." Brooke smiled and nodded while breaking out of the embrace.
"Brooke, what's gonna happen?" Haley asked while she followed Brooke into the squad car. Brooke pulled her towards her and gently kissed her on the head.
"We're gonna send Nathan to jail."