Chapter Nine: Undeniable
Lucas ran into the room early the next morning, waking Brooke from her light slumber. She rolled over in surprise to stare at him.
"What's wrong?"
"You were right. They're in LA. Look," he said, tossing her a tabloid. She scanned the front cover, and the three pictures on it. One of Haley and Nathan getting off a private jet, holding hands, another of them entering a high rise apartment building and a third of them walking together down the busy street, their hands intertwined again.
"Posing as a couple," said Brooke, under her breath, reading the headlines that proclaimed that Nathan Scott was in LA with his new girlfriend.
"Or actually a couple. Idiot. He's ruined her before she's had a chance to begin," said Lucas, staring at Haley.
"Why would they do this? He's with Davis. It makes no sense," said Brooke.
"I think they're trying to throw someone off scent. Damnit. She's just a kid," said Lucas. Brooke frowned.
"She's my age."
"He's older," said Lucas distractedly.
"Davis is going to be heartbroken," said Brooke. Lucas let out a grim laugh.
"No, she's not, she just slept with Jake. They've never been a couple in that sense," he said.
"Weird. I never knew my cousin was such a… whore is the word that immediately comes to mind," she said bitterly. Lucas looked up from the magazine in surprise and noted her worried expression. Sighing, he dropped it on the dresser before sitting down beside her.
"Cheer up. It'll all work out, I promise. If it's meant to happen, it will," he promised, putting his arm around her.
"You're nice," she said. He kissed her temple.
"I think you bring it out in me," he said.
"Haley will be okay. Everything will be okay. Don't worry about it," said Brooke comfortingly.
"She's a nice kid. She has a boyfriend. What was she thinking?" wondered Lucas.
"Sometimes it's impossible to know what Brooke is thinking under the surface," said Brooke, sighing to herself.
XxxxxxX
Peyton turned her car stereo up to full volume, desiring more than anything to drown out her pain. As her phone rang she clicked it off knowing that it would be either Jake, who she didn't want to talk to, Brooke, who would make her cry, or Lucas, who still fell into something of a gray area.
Peyton knew who she wanted to talk to more than anyone. Haley would be calm and collected yet sympathetic and reasonable. Yet Haley had run off for some unknown reason and was at that moment living the life in LA, and very possibly having sex with Nathan Scott.
"Damn him. Damn all of them. Why did they have to come and ruin our lives?" said Peyton to herself. She reasoned that what it all came down to was that Davis had come to visit Brooke, brought Nathan and Lucas, who's done nothing but wreak havoc since the moment they'd arrived. With Haley, with Brooke, and now with her and Jake.
Her tears had dried by the time she arrived home and ran up to her room, but nothing had changed the feeling of pain in her heart. She looked around, reminders of him everywhere. They'd gone to the prom together, and had the picture to prove it. It was something they'd always promised each other they'd do. Neither had been in a relationship, and they'd had a blast.
Her hand wound around the t-shirt of his that she'd nicked years ago to use for sleeping. Her eyes fell onto another photograph, taken at the beginning of their senior year, featuring the five of them: Chris with his arms around Brooke and Haley, Jake and Peyton with their arms around each other. They weren't even a couple yet they were infinitely closer than Chris and Haley, who'd been a couple for years.
XxxxxxX
Davis smiled when Jake came back into the room, wearing nothing but his jeans.
"I thought I told you to get out," he said, looking past her.
"Most girls don't react so well to being treated like this," said Davis.
"Most girls aren't you. You have a boyfriend, Davis. What the hell were we thinking?" he demanded.
"We weren't thinking. That's the whole point," she said, smiling.
"Don't you love him?" asked Jake.
"Who, Nathan? God no. At this moment he's in LA with some other girl. We never really had a deep or spiritual connected," said Davis.
"Big shocker there. Get out," he said coolly.
"You're being an asshole. It's not exactly endearing. Especially to her," said Davis.
"Get out," he said again. This time, she compiled.
After she was gone, Jake attempted to call Peyton's phone again, only to ring through to her message machine. He left his third message, even though he knew she'd delete it without bothering to listen. He knew he was killing her, but he didn't know why. She'd said she didn't love him. He believed her.
Jake knew that if Peyton loved him, she wouldn't have ever waited around like he'd always done. She'd have done something about it. This was how he knew she entertained no feelings for him. It had been painfully obvious for years.