I was meant to post this yesterday, but considering what happened in London that morning, I had to delay it. I live in London, and the day previously, I was near some of the places that were bombed. My dad also works less than two minutes away from where the first bomb was set off and I spent most of Thursday trying to get hold of him. Fortunately, he's okay, but needless to say, the event hit way too close to home.However we must move on and not let those responsible stop us going about our daily lives. My thoughts and prayers are with all those with loved ones in and around London, and whose lives were affected.
Chapter Twenty Eight: And We Tumble To The Ground
As the morning of Brooke's birthday dawned, Lucas spent the early morning hours watching Brooke sleep and thinking about what he was going to do.
She seemed peaceful and happy as she lay sleeping, a small smile resting on her lips, as Lucas softly ran his finger across her cheek.
The more Lucas watched Brooke, the more he realized that he didn't want to lose her. But he knew that the guilt of what he'd done was something he couldn't bear to carry around with him any longer.
He was definitely in a dilemma.
But it was Brooke's birthday and he was determined to make it special for her and try to forget about the mistakes he'd made.
He absent-mindedly drew circles with his finger on her back, slowly waking her up. She yawned slightly and her eyes fluttered open, her lips growing into a smile as she looked at her boyfriend.
"Hey," she whispered.
"Hey," he replied, "Happy birthday," he greeted. Her smile became wider.
"Thank you," she told him, "I think I've got my present already," she said.
"Oh really?" he raised an eyebrow. She nodded.
"Yup, waking up next to you is the best way to start my life as a seventeen year old," she said edging closer to him and planting a kiss on his lips, "It's the best way to start every morning… we'll almost every morning," she told him.
Since they lived with Dan and Karen, spending the night together was difficult and against Karen's 'ground rules' that she'd enforced when she'd discovered that they were dating. However, you couldn't keep two horny teenagers, who lived under the same roof, apart every night so they managed to find some time to spend together.
"I like waking up next to you too," Lucas told her. "So, you want to get up and open your presents?" he questioned. She thought about it for a moment.
"No," she sighed, "I just want to stay here for a while. It's still early"
Lucas chuckled, "I would have thought you'd jump at the chance of opening presents."
She shrugged, "It sounds silly but… it just feels like it's been too long since we just stayed like this," she told him. Lucas nodded.
"Okay, it's your birthday. We'll just stay here then," he kissed the top of her head and the two cuddled against each other as the time slowly ticked by.
-----
Brooke walked into the kitchen to see a table full of presents waiting for her. She gasped in surprise and excitement as she rushed towards them.
"Are these all for me?" she asked Karen who gave her a warm smile.
"Well, I don't think anybody else is seventeen," Karen told her as she kissed Brooke's cheek, "Happy birthday, sweetheart," she said sincerely. "Dan has already gone to work, but he wishes you a happy birthday too. We'll celebrate a little later on tonight," Karen informed her.
"Can I open them?" she asked hopefully.
"Of course, I have the camcorder right here," Karen said picking up the device. "Are you not going to wait for Lucas?" she asked.
"I'm here," Lucas called as he too entered the kitchen with a gift-wrapped present in his hand. He handed it to Brooke with a kiss on her cheek.
"I guess I'll open this first," Brooke said as she unwrapped it carefully to reveal a lovely red dress. She pulled it out and both she and Karen looked at it in awe. "Lucas, this is gorgeous," she said. "Thank you."
"It's for you to wear tonight," he told her as she gave him a chaste kiss on the lips.
"I'll definitely wear it," she promised as Lucas reached out and pulled out another present from the pile.
"This is from me too," he told her. Brooke frowned slightly.
"Okay," she said as she began to undo the extravagant bow that decorated the front. As she opened the box, Lucas watched her eyes widen in surprise. She slammed the box shut.
"Lucas, this is jewelry," she told him.
"I know," he said.
"No, Lucas, this is diamond jewelry. And not just a pair of earrings, but the whole nine yards. Earrings, a necklace, a bracelet, a ring… this is too much," she told him. It took a lot to humble Brooke Davis but this took the biscuit.
Lucas nervously looked at his mother who was also surprised by the gift.
"You didn't have to buy me such an expensive present, and you got me the dress too," Brooke told him. He shrugged.
"Well, you deserve it," he told her, "I just wanted you to have a nice birthday," he said, suddenly feeling a little put out that she didn't appreciate it.
Fortunately, she gave him another kiss and sighed, "Thank you, Lucas. I appreciate it. It just surprised me, that's all," she said.
Brooke then turned her attention on opening the other presents. Lucas sighed in relief. The truth was that his guilt over Tim's party and not telling her the truth had resulted in him trying to compensate it by splurging on expensive gifts. Not that she wasn't worth it – he just thought that by punishing his bank balance and treating her like a princess would be enough to relieve his guilt.
But it didn't seem to do anything but make him feel even guiltier. He saw his mother looking at him questioningly.
She'd seen something like this before. Years ago, Dan had cheated on her with someone he'd met in college, Deb Lee, and for months afterwards he kept buying Karen lavish presents to mask his guilt and try and make it up to her.
The scene between Brooke and Lucas moments earlier had caused Karen to have an eerily familiar sensation, and though she tried to shake it off, it wouldn't leave her.
She caught Brooke looking at all the gift tags on the presents.
"Oh, uh, Brooke. Your parents haven't sent anything yet. But I'm sure it's on its way," Karen tried to reassure.
"Oh, don't worry, Karen. I know they haven't sent me anything and I don't want them too. I wasn't expecting anything from them anyway," she said, "I was just looking for…"
"-this?" Karen pulled out an envelope and handed it to Brooke, "Nana Davis, right?" she asked. Brooke nodded and accepted the envelope, looking at the numbers on the check.
"Good ol' Nana Davis," Brooke said, "She always comes up with the goods."
Out of everything that she could possibly receive for her birthday, Brooke's favorite and most valuable was always the gift from Nana Davis. Though she'd been dead for five years already, her lawyers always sent Brooke the allocated amount of money each year for her birthday, plus a family heirloom.
This was Nana Davis' way of ensuring that her only grandchild could lead a comfortable life without needing to rely on her negligent parents.
It took Brooke a further half an hour to open all the presents that were left for her, before Lucas dragged her off to drive them both to school.
There, they were greeted by a barrage of balloons and presents from the cheerleading squad.
It took Brooke a while to get through them all, and thank the various members. Once they'd dispersed, Brooke barely had time to breathe before Nathan, Haley, Peyton and Jake ambushed her.
"Happy birthday!" they all cried as they rushed towards Brooke with hugs and presents. Haley held a chocolate cake in her hand.
"Oooh, cake!" Tim said as he approached them all and tried to swipe some icing until Haley slapped his hand. "Ow," he complained nursing his hand.
"This cake is for Brooke and lunchtime. I've already had to keep Nathan away from it three times this morning." Haley said.
"You guys, this is awesome. I've never had anyone go to all this trouble just for me. It's too much," Broke said.
"Well if it's too much…" Nathan began to walk away with the presents until Brooke stopped him.
"I didn't say I couldn't open more presents," Brooke said making a grab for the one wrapped in pink paper and a white bow. "Okay, this is heavy!" she exclaimed as Lucas helped her hold it.
"That's from Nathan and me," Haley informed her as she opened it carefully. It was a bowling ball with the word 'Tigger' written over it.
"This is amazing!" Brooke said.
"Well, for some reason Nathan said you would love it," Haley explained. Brooke grinned and hugged them both.
"Okay," Peyton interrupted, "It's mine and Jake's turn," she said as she handed Brooke an envelope.
"Ooh, a day out at the spa!" Brooke squealed in delight, "Just what I need!" she said as she thanked them both with a hug.
"So, what did Lucas buy you?" Tim asked Brooke.
"Well, Broody here bought me a dress and some diamond jewelry – of which you'll see tonight," Brooke told them. Lucas shifted uncomfortably as all attention was forced on to him.
"It was nothing," Lucas dismissed, "Uh, Brooke, why don't I help you put all those presents in your locker," he suggested as Brooke handed him some of the gifts and balloons.
He gave the group a quick glance before following his girlfriend into the school building.
"Diamond jewelry?" Haley said, "Is anyone else thinking it's a little bit…" she trailed off as she tried to find the words.
"Guilt-ridden?" Peyton suggested, "Oh, yeah. I guess this means Lucas is going to keep his mouth shut – and his wallet open."
"We need to tell her," Haley said, "I can't keep watching Lucas dig himself into a bigger hole. I hate having to lie to her all the time."
"I agree," Peyton said, "But it's her birthday. Let her be happy for a little while longer. The last thing she deserves is to have a bombshell dropped on her today."
-----
Later that night, Brooke Davis was having the time of her life. She and her best friends were in one of the most expensive restaurants in their small town, and she was feeling a million dollars.
She had loved the way people turned their heads as she walked into the restaurant. Dripping with diamond jewelry and dressed in a fantastic red dress that hugged every curve of her body, Brooke looked nothing short of amazing.
And she was loving every minute of it.
Brooke giggled at something Nathan and Haley were joking about and champagne threatened to spill out of her mouth. The whole table was in hysterics and Brooke stole a glance at her boyfriend, who seemed a lot more subdued.
She reached out and touched his hand, leaning close to him; "Are you okay?" she questioned.
Lucas forced a smile on his face, "I'm fine. I was just… thinking."
"Is it the restaurant? I know it's expensive and we could totally go some place else. Haley told me you picked it out and-"
Lucas placed a hand over Brooke's, "It's not the money, Brooke. You're worth every penny. It's nothing, really. I was just thinking about you and how lucky I am to have you in my life." Brooke smiled.
"Me too. I never thought I could be this happy. I love you so much," Brooke told him.
"Me too," he said as he gave her a quick kiss.
"What are you two whispering about?" Jake asked the conspiring couple opposite him. Brooke and Lucas glanced up at him.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" she winked as she returned to the group at the table, still resting her hand comfortably on Lucas'.
Throughout the night, everyone seemed to be having a good time, especially Brooke. Lucas, however, still couldn't shake off the guilt that kept coming back to him every time he looked at Brooke, the dress she was wearing or the jewelry that adorned her body.
He also tried to ignore the looked Haley and Peyton kept giving him through out the night.
If looks could kill; he would be six feet under by now.
And he half-hoped he was.
-----
As the night wore on, Jake and Peyton apologetically left after Jake received a phone call about Jenny's temperature rising, leaving Lucas and Brooke with Nathan and Haley.
However, less than twenty minutes later, Haley complained of a headache and under Brooke's insistence that she should, agreed to let Nathan take her home.
Once they'd left, Brooke took a sip of her drink and smiled over the top of it at Lucas. He forced a smile back at her.
"You know, I was worried we left on bad terms last week," she said setting the drink back down. "I felt really bad for leaving you like that, and you have to know that it wasn't that I chose my parents over you, Lucas. I would never do that. I just felt… I don't know, like I owed them at least that. What you did for them at Christmas made me realize that it's because of them that I moved here and met you. I had to thank them for that."
"Brooke-" Lucas began.
"Let me finish," she held a hand up to stop him, "Lucas, I've had an incredible time these last few months and a lot of that is because of you. The whole weekend was spent realizing that I really do love you, and I was so scared that I'd ruined things. Just us being here now means that we're stronger than that."
"Brooke…" he began again, nervously playing with his napkin.
"This is shaping up to be the best birthday ev-"
"I cheated on you," Lucas blurted out. She stared at him.
"What?" she blinked a dozen times as she tried to understand what he was saying.
"I'm sorry," he continued, "I didn't mean to just blurt it out like that."
Brooke tried to form something to say, not quite sure whether she'd still missed something.
"Last week - just after we had the fight – I was mad. I was angry and frustrated at the way we left things and I ended up at this party. All I wanted to do was forget about the argument and I had a little too much to drink. A lot much, actually. And there was this girl; I mean she was just there. She didn't care that I was blinding drunk and she kept letting me call her Brooke. I thought she was you and… I don't even remember sleeping with her. All I remember is waking up at Nate's and getting yelled at by Haley for being so stupid. And I was. Brooke, I was so stupid. I made the biggest ass of myself and I would take it back if I could. I wanted to tell you when you got home but you were so excited about your birthday and being back that I thought it'd just ruin things and I didn't want to tell you like this or here or now. I just… Brooke, I'm so sorry."
Lucas apologized, knowing he was rambling and making a bigger idiot of himself, but he feared that if he didn't get it out; it would consume him and eat him up inside.
He gulped, looking at Brooke who sat there motionless.
"Brooke?" he prompted.
He expected her to get up at any moment and scream at him. Or burst into tears. Or just show any type of emotion.
Instead, she just uttered three words;
"Take me home."
Lucas hesitated, still waiting for an emotional outburst but nothing came.
"Okay," he said simply. He helped her with her chair and her jacket and led her to the front desk, where he paid the tab.
Brooke didn't say a word or do anything but silently wait for him to finish.
He took her to the car and helped her inside, chewing the inside of his lip as he wondered what would happen on the way home.
But there was nothing.
Lucas anxiously skipped through the radio stations, just for something to do while Brooke stared out of the window impassively.
"Leave it," Brooke said breaking the silence.
"What?" Lucas asked.
"The radio station," she said, "Just leave it."
Lucas obliged and the two continued the journey home, listening to whatever crap was coming through the speakers.
Lucas knew Brooke didn't really like the type of music playing, but guessed she was fed up of his constant station-hopping.
Finally, the pair pulled into the drive of the Scott home and sat in silence momentarily, Lucas wondered if she'd say anything now.
Still, nothing came.
It scared him.
Brooke never hid her feelings, whether good or bad. She always made sure her opinion was heard.
Brooke suddenly let herself out of the car, and Lucas opened his own side and hopped out. She waited patiently by the front door for him to open it, and the moment he did, she pushed through and walked briskly through the house, heading for her room.
"Brooke!" Lucas called after her, as he followed, "Brooke!"
She didn't heed his calls and quickly flew into her room, slamming the door to tell him that he wasn't welcome.
He knocked on the door, "Brooke, let me in. We can talk about this." He pleaded.
Karen came in from the kitchen where she was adding the finishing touches to Brooke's cake, having seen Brooke and Lucas briskly walk past her as if they hadn't seen her.
"What's going on?" she asked her son.
"Brooke and I sort of had a fight. She won't let me in," he told her quickly.
"A fight about what?" she asked. Lucas didn't reply but just gave his mother a look.
"Brooke, please let me in," he asked again, "I'm sorry."
"Let me-"
"Mom, no! Look, I can deal with this, okay?" Lucas shot back irritably. He didn't mean to snap but he wanted to deal with it without his mother's interference.
He knew that if his mom found out about what he'd done, it would prove that he hadn't changed from his old ways and he didn't want both his girlfriend and mother disappointed in him.
Karen backed off slightly, "Okay, Lucas. If you need me, I'll be in the kitchen."
Karen disappeared and Lucas continued knocking on Brooke's door.
-----
After a further five minutes without a reply, he decided to go in from their interconnecting bathroom.
He was stunned to find her sitting on the edge of her bed, motionless and silent.
"Brooke?" he hazarded. "Are you okay?"
She looked up at him and laughed slightly, "What kind of question is that?" her voice was quiet and hoarse.
"I'm sorry."
"You slept with another girl just a few hours after we had a fight, all my friends kept it from me for a whole week, and I was told all this in a restaurant on my birthday. And you're just 'sorry'?" she laughed again. "This is unbelievable." She looked up at her ceiling to try and stop the tears from falling.
She knew if even one fell, then there was no stopping her.
"I don't know what to say or do to make things better," Lucas said, a lump forming at his throat.
"Well you can start by getting the hell out of my room. I don't want to see you or speak to you," Brooke put her head in her hands. "I think I'm going to be sick," she said with a sigh.
"Do you want aspirin or something?" he asked.
"What were you thinking?" she asked, ignoring his offer.
"I wasn't. I was drunk."
"That's a pathetic excuse, Lucas. You know that. Did you… did you even realize how stupid it was for you to go and get drunk? Were you even thinking about me?"
"Yeah, Brooke," he took a few steps closer to her, "I was thinking about how much I screwed up with you by not being supportive and then I screwed up things even more by sleeping with Sarah-"
"You know her name?" Brooke cried incredulously.
"Nathan told me afterwards. Brooke, I am so sorry, please believe me," he knelt by her side, "I just want to make things right."
She turned her head to face him, her jaw tightened and her eyes narrowed.
"You're sorry?" she asked, "I spent the whole weekend in New York thinking about you. Thinking about how to make it all up to you. Believing that I was the one who'd screwed everything up. That was a waste of time," She stood up, forcing him to stand up too.
"Brooke-"
She poked him in the chest as she moved forward, "Don't tell me you're sorry. Don't say stuff you don't mean. Just get the hell out of my life, Lucas." Her bottom lip quivered, but she was determined she wasn't going to cry.
Not in front of him.
"I don't want to speak to you, or hear your stupid apologies anymore. We're over."
Lucas backed away slowly, feeling his back hit against her door.
"You're angry," he told her.
"I'm sorry, did you expect me to be understanding and tell you that it doesn't matter that you slept with some random girl five hours after we fight? It's not happening. I'm not going to let a scumbag like you treat me like a boomerang. I don't come back," she said in a tone he'd never heard before. "Just get out."
Lucas hesitated for a moment, hoping that she'd change her mind but she just looked at him, biting her lip to stop herself from falling apart. Reluctantly Lucas opened the door and began walking out of it. He was barely out of the doorway when the door slammed inches from his face.
Brooke stared at the door and let out a huge sigh and let everything sink in. Within moments, she was sitting in a crumbled heap on the floor with relentless tears streaming down her face.
----
"Mom?"
Karen Scott looked up from the cake she had put in the middle of the coffee table in the living room. She wasn't sure if she should do so since the two of them had returned without speaking to one another. But she hoped that by now they had made up and they could continue the celebrations.
But it was not to be.
"Yeah?" she asked. He struggled to keep his tears at bay.
"Can you… can you help me?" he asked, "She won't talk to me and I screwed up everything."
Karen's heart went out to him. The last time he's cried in front of her was when he was twelve and broke his leg the week before one of his big basketball games.
And now he was standing in front of his mother, pleading for help.
"Sure. What do you want me to do?"
"Can you talk to her for me? Tell her that I'm really sorry and that I love her?" he asked. Karen nodded.
"Yeah. You just wait here, okay?" Lucas nodded and slumped into the nearest seat.
Karen looked at him fleetingly as she made her way to Brooke's room. Knocking gently, she didn't bother waiting for a reply as she walked in.
Brooke sat in a corner of her room, her knees clutched to her chest and her head resting against the wall, tears streaming down her face.
"Brooke, honey?" Karen asked as she approached the young girl. She sighed and sat next to her, "Aw, honey. What happened?" she asked.
Brooke allowed Karen to sit beside her and rested her head on Karen's shoulder.
"I hate him," Brooke choked out through her tears, "I just hate him."
Karen rubbed Brooke's arm.
"That can't be true, can it? You two were so in love. You just had a fight, you ca-"
"He cheated," Brooke told Karen. The words barely leaving her mouth before she broke down into more tears.
Karen didn't know what to say. Her worst fears had been realized. Her son was following in his father's footsteps and she couldn't be more disappointed.
"How could he do this?" Brooke asked Karen.
"I don't know, honey," Karen said, "I don't know."
-----
In the living room, Lucas stared at the cake that had been decorated for Brooke. It stood alone on the coffee table; the white icing so carefully written with the words 'Happy Birthday Brooke!' seemed so redundant now.
He wondered what Brooke was telling his mother, and wondered what his mother thought of him.
Lucas sighed, wondering what kind of idiot he was to have first made the mistake, then lied about it, and finally to have told Brooke on her birthday.
Finally he wondered whether Brooke could ever forgive him. He longed to see a smile on her face – like the one that had been on her face in the morning when she'd woken up next to him, or a mere forty-five minutes ago when she was telling him how much she loved him,
Part of him knew that he would probably never get to see that part of Brooke again. The part that whispered in his ear, or ran her fingers through his hair when she was bored.
Lucas rubbed the bridge of his nose in an attempt to take back the nightmarish week. It had definitely taken its toll on the eighteen year old boy.
Nothing to change the fact that Lucas had made a mistake. He just hoped against hope that Brooke could understand that and they could get through it together.
But the future for both Brooke and Lucas seemed bleak. And very much alone.
To Be Continued…
That was a very long chapter. Sorry. Please tell me what you thought.