Hey guys. This is the last chapter to "The Right Thing." Thank you all so much for reading this and reviewing. It's been fun.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to the people over at OTH. I also do not own "What Hurts the Most," that belongs to Rascal Flatts.

Haley had just returned home from Brooke's service. The rain had stopped long enough for her to get from her car to her front door but just as she turned the key it began to pour again. It had been raining non-stop for the past three days. Three days. That's how long Brooke has been gone. Haley welcomed and hated the rain all at the same time. The rain is what had caused Brooke's accident but rain was the only form of weather that could possibly begin to match how she was feeling.

I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house.

That don't bother me.

I can take a few tears now and then and just let them out

I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while

Even though going on with you gone still upsets me.

There are days every now and again I pretend I'm ok

but that's not what gets me

Haley made her way down the hall to her room. She opened the door, walked in, then shut it even though she knew she was alone in the house. She wanted to shut out the world. She wanted to shut out the people that asked how she was doing, shut out the looks of pity, and most of all shut out the sounds of her own guilt that were tormenting her. Solitude. That's what she longed for. Solitude...to really be alone. Just her and the sound of the rain tapping on her roof.

They say you can only run from guilt for so long before it catches up to you. What they don't tell you is that when you lose someone that guilt catches up to you thirty seconds after the realization hits you that the other person is gone. Haley climbed onto her bed and sat with her back against the headboard with her knees drawn to her chest.

Tap, tap, tap. The rain was coming down in a steady almost calming pattern. She was beginning to relax into her bed but her new friend guilt would not let that happen.

Do you love me Haley? Just tell me if you do. I guess that's my answer. Brooke's last words swirled around in her head. She shook her head to rid herself of the thoughts with no luck. They just came louder and louder until the sound of her own sobs hushed them.

Knock knock. Haley looked up from where she had her head buried in her knees to see Taylor's head sticking in.

"How you doing?"

"I'm fine Taylor, thanks," Haley said through gritted teeth trying her best to paste on a smile. Thisis all my fault. I have no right to accept pity or comfort from anyone.She thought as she looked at Taylor.

Taylor nodded and exited the room.

What hurts the most

Was being so close

And having so much to say

And watching you walk away

And never knowing

What could have been

And not seeing that loving you

Is what I was trying to do

"If you love me just tell me," she said looking right into my eyes. There wasn't pretense in her voice or in her action. There never was with Brooke. She loved me and I knew it. She loved me and I used it to my advantage time and time again to get what I wanted not thinking about how it made her feel. So there she was standing in my room looking at me like I held her life in my hands. If only I knew how true that was.

So why wouldn't my brain connect with my heart at that moment and speak? I just stood there and looked at the floor. What the hell was so interesting about the floor that I couldn't just look at her. Look at Brooke. My Brooke. My beautiful, loving, caring, lively Brooke.

"I guess that's my answer," she said sounding broken in only a way that I could break her. I looked up to see her eyes fill with hurt and confusion. I could almost see her heart breaking. It was like watching a crack in a windshield grow. The first line gets longer and then new cracks spread off of it until the entire thing shatters. At that moment when I looked up into her eyes I saw the last crack grow enough to shatter her heart. I wonder how long ago I started to break that precious heart and how many times before I added more and more little cracks. She turned and walked out of my room and I stood there. I said nothing I did nothing. I took her and her life for granted. I figured that she would call me the next day to say hi. Or I would see her at school when it started on Monday. Little did I know she was walking out of my life forever and it was my fault.

It's hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere I go

But I'm doing it

It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I'm alone

Still harder

Getting up getting dressed livin' with this regret

But I know if I could do it over

I would trade give away all the words that I saved in my heart

That I left unspoken

Monday morning rolled around and Haley didn't move out of bed. Tuesday came with the same results.

"Haley, you have to get up." Taylor said as she opened the curtains to let in the sun. "Come on Hales. You have to go to school. You have to live."

Haley rolled herself out of bed tired of hearing Taylor's voice. She walked into school, to her locker, the locker right next to Brooke's. Brooke's locker was decorated with flowers and notes from people who knew her and those who thought they did.

Haley stood in front of Brooke's locker for several long moments staring at the picture that captured the vibrant girl so well. She took a deep breath and headed for her first class of the day. It will be a miracle if I make it through the day. She thought as she walked down the hall. Trying not to notice the looks she was getting. The looks that say 'poor thing' or 'I wonder how she's doing'. She walked into the class and took a seat in the back instead of her normal front row seat. She sank into her seat wishing the day to be over.

Morning classes came and went. She didn't remember anything that was said by any of the teachers. She didn't care. Haley was now accustomed to going through the motions without much thought.

Lunch was now upon her. The one time of day that she knew she would miss Brooke the most. She walked past the old closet that she and Brooke would sneak into during lunch, on her way to the quad. She walked out the door and saw her friends; Peyton, Nathan, Lucas, Mouth, and Rachel. All there. All together smiling and laughing. She forced a smile as she came up to them but it didn't stay long. How dare they laugh. Don't they realize that Brooke is gone? She thought to herself as she got closer when a thought hit her: They're smiling and laughing because it isn't their fault that she's gone. It's mine.

Before she could ever reach the table she turned and ran the other direction heading right for her car. She drove and headed to their spot in the park. The fountain had always been a good place for her and Brooke.

Our fountain. This place was always a place of new beginnings for us. Haley thought as she sat on the ledge of the fountain. I wish so much that I could just go back. Have one more chance. I would say everything that I didn't say. Everything that she deserved to hear. Regret . . . one thing that I've never wanted to feel. And now it's all I know.

What hurts the most

Is being so close

And having so much to say

And watching you walk away

And never knowing

What could have been

And not seeing that loving you

Is what I was trying to do

Haley finally made herself go to Brooke's apartment. She wanted . . . no needed to feel close to the girl. She walked in and her nose was greeted with the smell of Brooke. She sat her keys on the closest coffee table and picked up the small picture frame that was there. The picture was one of her and Brooke from when they first met. She put her hand to her chest grabbing the small silver heart that Brooke gave her so long ago, causing a small smile to spread across her face.

"Here this is for you," she said to me as she handed me a small box. I opened it so fast you would have thought that I'd never gotten a gift before. In the box there was a small silver heart on a gorgeous chain.

"Brooke.." I started to say but she cut me off in typical Brooke fashion.

"Do you like it?" She asked a huge grin on her face. We had never kissed yet but I could tell I was going to love this girl for the rest of my life. "Now you have my heart. Figuratively and literally." She said pointing at the necklace.

"I love it," I said as I hugged her.

Haley sat the picture down as a silent tear fell down her face.She made her way into Brooke's bedroom and sat on her bed for a few moments soaking in the feeling of being in the room for one last time. She looked over and saw Brooke's journal sitting on her dresser. She grabbed it and read the last entry Brooke had made:

August 19,

We had another fight today. I guess you could call it a fight. We're taking another break. This is like the 15th one in the last year. But something tells me this is the end. Haley . . . she's so scared all the time. I don't understand why she won't let me love her. We get so close . . . we could be so happy . . . but then she shuts down and pushes me away. I know she loves me . . . well I at least think she does. I hope she does. She says she does. I just can't bring myself to believe that she's been lying to me all this time. I love her so much, ya know? It's so hard to put into words. But tomorrow . . . tomorrow I have to try. I have to let her know just how much I care. And hopefully she'll feel the same.

Brooke

Haley slammed the journal shut and threw it across the room. Tears were freely flowing from her eyes.

"God why am I so stupid! Why didn't I say anything?" She yelled into the empty house. "God! Why did YOU let this happen?" She yelled looking up. "All my fear . . . all my pulling back was me trying to do what I thought you wanted. And now Brooke is dead. She's gone forever because of me being stupid!"

What hurts the most

Is being so close

And having so much to say

And watching you walk away

And never knowing what could have been

And not seeing that loving you

Is what I was trying to do

"Hey." I said looking at the only thing I have left of her. "You've been gone almost a week. I couldn't force myself to come any sooner. It's been...well it's been hard." I paused and took a deep breath. "Brooke, baby, I loved you. I still love you. I was just stupid and scared. Paranoid even that if I let you close that you would hurt me. But I know now that it was all me. This is all my fault. I love you so so much. I would do anything to have one more chance to show you exactly how I feel about you. I'm sorry." Tears began to silently fall down my face as I traced the lettering of her name in the gravestone.

Not seeing that loving you

That's what I was trying to do

"Why'd you have to go. Why did you leave me? You promised that you would always be here for me no matter what. You PROMISED, Brooke, you promised!" I screamed in the empty cemetery. "I need you. I don't know how to live my life without you here. The truth is I'm totally lost without you. I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am. I love you so much. And I'm sorry that I'm just now getting that loving you was 'the right thing' all along." I got up, kissed the top of the headstone, and turned and walked back to my car letting the tears freely flow from my eyes.

I'm only 17 years old but I have learned that sometimes that the right thing for one person isn't always the right thing for everyone.

THE END

I just want to say thank you one last time to everyone who read this. Please go ahead and leave reviews for this last chapter and let me know what you think. I'm sorry to those of you who wished that it would have ended differently. Maybe next time we'll have a happy ending. Thanks again.

Ash