The Bitter Taste

Like I'll Never Be The Same

George Bernhard Shaw once wrote;

There are two tragedies in life

One is to lose your hearts desire.

xxx

"You would never lose me," Nathan said softly.

Brooke looked up into his deep, blue eyes, "I could be with you forever," she said with a bashful smile.

"Marry me," Nathan said.

Brooke laughed and hit Nathan playfully, "Stop Nate," she said and then laughed nervously.

"I'm serious," Nathan said and then got down on his knee; he took out a black, velvet box, "It's time for us to make things right between us…"

Nathan opened the box and Brooke looked down at the beautiful diamond ring he had, "Nathan," she cooed.

"I know that I'm in love with you," he said, "It's a fact. So, make me the happiest man in the world and marry me."

Brooke bit her bottom lip as Nathan took her left hand, "I love you so much."

"Then be my wife," Nathan stated, "Brooke Davis, will you be my wife?"

Brooke nodded, "Yes," she exclaimed as Nathan slid the ring on her finger. They both smiled and Brooke jumped up into his arms; they kissed each other passionately.

xxx

Brooke felt the sunshine beam down on her as she stretched out her arms tiredly. She opened one eye and saw Nathan looking down at her; Brooke laughed and rubbed her eyes, "What?" She asked.

"Nothing," he said, "I was just watching you sleep…"

Brooke kissed Nathan softly on the lips, "I was just thinking about the night that you proposed to me," she said; Nathan smiled as Brooke looked around their room, "Can you believe that this is how it's always going to be? Me and you…"

"It's great isn't it?" Nathan said as he stroked Brooke's arm, "It's beautiful outside…Why don't we go on the beach?" Brooke took Nathan's hand as they walked out of the bedroom.

Nathan opened the back door and saw Brooke's dad standing there with his hands in his pockets and a scowl on his face; Brooke looked at her dad in confusion, "Dad?" She questioned, "What are you doing here?"

"Dan told me you two would be living down here," he began and then looked at Brooke, "I'm here because I'm trying to stop you from making a big mistake…"

Brooke grabbed a hold of Nathan's arm and looked down at the ground, "What are you talking about?" She asked, "I'm in love with Nathan."

"Brooke," her dad began, "Honey, I don't want you to get hurt…That's why I want you to come back to New York with me."

"Mr. Davis," Nathan began, "I swear to you that I am not going to hurt Brooke in anyway."

Mr. Davis glared at Nathan, "You stay out of this punk! You're the reason my daughter is making this stupid decision!"

"Dad!" Brooke yelled, "You have no right to come here like this and tell me how to live my life!"

Brooke's dad gave the both of them a disgusted look and then put his sunglasses on, "I will not walk you down that aisle," he threatened and then barged off.

Nathan rubbed Brooke's shoulder as she cried onto his chest, "I'm sorry about that," she cried.

"Don't worry about it," Nathan said as he tried to calm her down, "Come on," he said as he led Brooke to the beach.

Brooke and Nathan sat on the blanket he had laid out, and they faced the ocean. Brooke looked down and saw a stack of chocolate chip pancakes; her eyes widened and she squealed, "My favorite!"

"I know," Nathan said as he fed her a piece, "You once told me that the only things you ever needed in life were a stack of chocolate chip pancakes and…"

"A shot of tequila," Brooke said finishing off the sentence with a smile; she ran her fingers through her hair and looked at Nathan, "You still amaze me," she said softly.

Nathan kissed her passionately, "And you amaze me," he said with a light chuckle.

xxx

Peyton woke up suddenly and looked over and saw Lucas looking out her window; Lucas heard her move around and he turned around quickly, "I didn't wake you up did I?" Lucas asked.

"No," Peyton said and then sat up in her bed, "How long have you been awake?"

Lucas shrugged, "Half an hour or so," he said, "I was looking at some of your drawings…" He said and held up one of him and Peyton.

"Did you sleep on the couch?" Peyton asked.

Lucas nodded, "I though you would want me to…" He began but stopped, "I thought you would want to be alone, 'cause of the while Nikki, Jake, Jenny thing."

"That's not my business anymore," Peyton began, "I mean, sure, I care about Jenny and her well-being, but…Jake told me that he could handle it."

Lucas looked over at Peyton, "You talked to him?"

"I called him when Nikki came by," Peyton began, "I wanted to know if he wanted me to tell Nikki where he was."

Lucas sighed, "You can't protect him forever Peyt."

"I'm just being a friend Luke," Peyton said defensively, "Nikki is a horrible person, and she doesn't deserve Jenny."

Lucas looked at Peyton in disbelief, "Who are you to judge? I mean, for all we know she could be a great mom!"

"Why the hell are you sticking up for her?" Peyton spat.

"You're not Jenny's mother," Lucas said; Peyton put her head down in hurt, "So stop trying to be."

Peyton glared at him, "Get the fuck out of my room!" She screamed.

"I know that was out of line," Lucas began as he started to stand up and head towards Peyton's bed.

Peyton wiped her tears and moved away from him, "Don't come near me!" She said through gritted teeth, "You have no idea about what it is to love someone and then have your heart broken!"

"I dated you didn't I?" Lucas shot back; Peyton snapped her head up and looked at him. Lucas rolled his eyes and left the room.

xxx

Peyton sat on the beach and looked out onto the ocean; the waves came crashing down as the sky above her started to turn a dark grey. She noticed the clouds covering up the sun, but she didn't mind she wasn't in a sunny kind of mood.

"I brought you a beer," she heard Nathan say as he sat down beside her.

Peyton smiled weakly and took a long sip of the beer, "Thanks," she said; her voice weak from crying.

"How are you?" Nathan asked, which made Peyton laugh.

"Well," Peyton began sarcastically, "I have no boyfriend…And the guy that I left my boyfriend for doesn't want anything to do with me."

Nathan winced, he could feel Peyton's pain, "I'm sorry Peyton," he offered.

"Let's change the subject," Peyton said and then took another sip of her beer, "How are things with you and Miss. Brooke?"

Nathan chuckled, "Really…Really good," he said, "Her dad came by this morning and had a little go at us about the whole marriage thing."

"Her dad was always an ass about things that were important to Brooke," Peyton said sympathetically, "What did he do? Threaten to kill you or something?" She teased.

Nathan sighed, "Worse. He told Brooke that he wasn't going to walk her down the aisle…"

"Ouch," Peyton groaned, "What a jackass!"

Nathan nodded, "I don't get it," he said, "I would never hurt Brooke…I mean, I know we've been through a lot but we love each other."

"Don't listen to her dad," Peyton advised, "He's a drunk, and he's an unhappy, lonely man."

"I just want Brooke to know that I do love her," Nathan said, half worry in his voice, half eagerness.

Peyton smiled and put her hand on Nathan's shoulder, "I think she knows," she said and then got up and walked away.

xxx

Brooke sat at the river court and cried quietly to herself. Her own dad, her own flesh and blood told her that he didn't want to walk his own daughter down the aisle. Brooke bit her bottom lip hard, just to feel the pain for a little bit. She looked up at the sky, desperately wishing that her mother was alive.

She felt a warm hand on her shoulder, Brooke turned around and saw Nathan and Keith standing there, "Hi," Brooke said as she wiped her tears away.

"I don't want anyone to ruin our wedding," Nathan began, "So since your dad doesn't approve of this marriage, I found someone that does," Keith smiled at Brooke.

Brooke smiled weakly, "I don't get it…"

"I'll walk you down the aisle Brooke," Keith offered, "It would be an absolute honor to walk you down the aisle, especially since Nathan is my little nephew."

Brooke's eyes glowed, "You would do that for me?"

"Of course," Keith said; Brooke jumped up and hugged him.

"Thank you so much," Brooke whispered in his ear, "You have no idea how much this means to me."

The hug broke and Keith put his hands on Brooke's shoulders, "I think I do," he said with a small wink and smirk. He looked between Nathan and Brooke and clapped, "I think you two need some alone time," he said.

They both laughed and Brooke gave him one last hug, "Thank you!"

"You're welcome," Keith said and then waved goodbye to the couple.

Brooke focused on Nathan and put her arms around his neck, "Did you do this for me?" She asked.

"I want you to be happy," Nathan said as he gripped her hips, "Because the last thing I want to see is my beautiful fiancée upset."

Brooke smiled and kissed Nathan passionately, "I love you," she said with tears in her eyes.

"I love you too," Nathan said.

xxx

Lucas walked into Peyton's house; he was upset with himself at how things had ended between the two of them. He walked up to Peyton's room and saw Peyton lying on her bed, "Peyton," he began, but she didn't move. Lucas walked over to her and sat on the edge of her bed, "Peyton," he said again. Lucas looked over at the bottle of pills on her dresser and then bottle of empty Vodka lying beside her; Lucas panicked and put his hand over his mouth. He opened his cell phone immediately and called 911, "Hi…My friend overdosed on pills," he said, and then gave the 911 operator all the information needed, "Hurry up!" He yelled and then shut the phone quickly. His eyes watered as he looked at the picture that was beside Peyton. It was a picture of Peyton with broken hears around her and a big L with the words, HE'LL NEVER LOVE ME AGAIN.

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