The Bitter Taste

I Must Quit

You can try your hardest; you can do everything and say everything. But sometimes people just aren't worth trying over anymore. They aren't worth worrying about. It's important to know when to let go of someone who only brings you down.

xxx

Brooke slowly opened her eyes and felt the room spinning around her. She sat up, which was a big mistake, and put her hand on her head. She looked around and saw that she was on the couch in Nathan's living room. Brooke looked over towards the chair and saw Peyton sitting there feeding Eric as she watched TV. She looked over at Brooke and smiled as she set Eric down in one of his many cribs which were around the house.

"Morning Sleeping Beauty," Peyton said as she came over and sat next to Brooke.

Brooke gave her a sarcastic grin and put her head back down on the pillow, "How long have I been out for?"

"Well…We brought you home at 2 or so in the morning, and it is now 5:35 in the evening," Peyton said as she looked at the watch on her wrist.

Brooke groaned and rubbed her temples, "Sorry about last night…"

"Brooke," Peyton said as she put on her motherly tone, "You don't have to be sorry about anything."

"I made an ass out of myself in front of Veronica," Brooke said with a bitter tone, "She probably thinks I'm white trash who dates white trash guys like Jack."

Peyton rubbed Brooke's head, "Veronica actually thinks you're a gorgeous girl, and she doesn't think any less of you. She knows about you and Nate and what happened between you two, and I really think she's being a good sport about it."

"So now everyone's falling in love with her," Brooke mumbled to herself.

Peyton gave Brooke a look, "Brooke…"

"Sorry," Brooke said like she was a child that was getting in trouble, "I'm a little jealous okay? I'm dating this ass hole, and Nathan shows up with this beautiful girl who's a lawyer and has everything going for her. He's probably relieved that we're divorced."

Peyton went to say something, but turned when she saw Veronica and Nathan walking down the stairs hand in hand. They walked over to where Brooke was lying down and Veronica sat down across from her and smiled, "How are you feeling Brooke?" She asked.

"Better," Brooke said with a small laugh, "I have an ass of a head ache though."

Veronica grabbed Brooke's hand and rubbed it, "How about I make you a special cup of tea that my mom used to make me when I had head aches?"

"That'd be great," Brooke said, "Thank you."

Veronica smiled genuinely and got up and headed towards the kitchen; Peyton smiled down at Brooke and followed Veronica into the kitchen. Nathan watched the two of them go and looked down at Brooke who was looking away from him. He sighed and sat down where Peyton had been sitting; he put his hand on Brooke's back and rubbed it lightly.

"I'm really sorry about all of this," Brooke finally said; Nathan gave her a look and Brooke continued, "I mean…You were with Veronica and I ended up getting into some deep shit, and you had to take care of me…I'm sorry I kind of ruined your night."

Nathan shook his head, "You didn't ruin my night," he began, "I wasn't going to let that guy hurt you."

"I feel like I'm always looking for you to get me out of bad situations, and I know you have a life to live," Brooke said sadly.

Nathan combed his fingers through Brooke's hair and looked in her the eyes, "You're still in my life Brooke…I just can't forget about you, and pretend that what happened between us didn't happen because you made me happy. Just because we're not together anymore doesn't mean I don't still care about you. I'll always care about you; even if we both get re-married and have 4 kids, I will still care about you."

"Wow Nate," Brooke said as she wiped a tear from her cheek, "That means a lot to me…Thank you."

Veronica walked back into the living room holding a tea cup, "One cup of hangover tea for you Brooke," she said and giggled at her own joke. She sat on Nathan's lap and watched as Brooke took a sip.

"It's delicious," Brooke said and then took another sip, "Thank you so much."

"Anytime," Veronica said, "I mean…We're friends."

Friends. Brooke thought to herself as she watched her new friend kiss Nathan. Maybe it could work; maybe they could just move on and leave the past in the past. The doorbell rang and Jack walked through the front door. Or maybe, Brooke thought to herself, the past would all catch up to them.

xxx

Brooke pushed Jack outside and put on her jacket; she closed the front door and glared up at him, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry Brookie," Jack said with a warm smile. Brooke knew what he was trying to do, he had done it before. He would apologize, it would be okay for a couple days, and then it would go back to the yelling and the hitting.

Brooke rolled her eyes, "Do you think I'm that dumb?" She asked, "It's over Jack. I'm not going to be somebody's punching bag for the rest of my life. So just leave."

"Do you think you're going to get back with that Nathan guy?" Jack said with a cynical laugh, "You're dreaming sweetheart. He's head over heels in love with that blondie. I can see why, you don't amount to shit compared to her."

Brooke clenched her fists, "I don't want Nathan back. We're friends and that's what we both want. As for him and Veronica they're happy and I'm happy for them. I'm going to find somebody new Jack, and you can choke and die for all I care."

Lucas walked up towards the two of them and stood beside Brooke, "Is there a problem?" He asked.

"Nope," Jack said as he backed away, "I was just saying bye to Brookie here." He gave them both a fake smile and looked at Brooke, "I'm not going to be here when you find out that all these people are going to turn there backs on you."

Brooke rolled her eyes, "I know…" She said as Lucas put a comforting arm around her. Jack got into his car and drove off, Lucas looked down at Brooke, "Let's go," she said and then headed towards the car.

"So that's the last of Jack?" Lucas asked as they drove towards the house.

Brooke smiled and nodded her head, "Yeah…"

"How about you let me and Hales decide who you date from now on," he joked.

Brooke laughed, "That could work," she said and then looked at Lucas, "What's with the big smile that you have painted on your face?"

"I'm proposing tonight," Lucas said as he looked at Brooke.

Brooke's jaw dropped, "Luke!" She squealed, "Should I be in the house tonight?" She teased.

"Don't worry," Lucas said with a laugh, "I'm renting a hotel room so we all can have our privacy."

Brooke bit her bottom lip and shook her head in amazement. She looked out the window and thought about her own marriage. All in all it was an amazing experience; and she had never felt so much joy in her life.

"Will you marry me Brooke?" Nathan asked as he got down on one knee in Karen's Café.

Brooke cupped her mouth and felt the tears roll down her rosy cheeks, "Nathan…" She whispered.

"I love you Brooke Davis, more than life, more than anything," he began, "Please…Be my wife."

Brooke smiled and nodded, "Yes," she said. Nathan slipped the ring on her finger and stood up. He kissed her passionately, "I love you…"

xxx

Nathan walked into the den and saw Veronica looking through pictures. He smiled and came up behind her and kissed her neck softly, "Hey you," he said.

Veronica turned around and kissed him passionately on the lips, "Hey baby," she said softly and then kissed him again.

"What are you looking at?" Nathan asked as he and Veronica sat down on the couch that was down there and looked through the pictures.

Veronica smiled, "Now if guys like you would've gone to my high school then I probably wouldn't have been such a good girl." Nathan laughed and kissed Veronica on the forehead. They skimmed through the pictures and Veronica stopped at one of him and Haley hugging, "Did you two used to date?"

"Yeah," Nathan said, "Actually…We were married once…"

Veronica let out a laugh, "Right," she said and then stopped laughing, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah," Nathan began, "We got married out junior year of high school and then we got divorced and that's kind of where Brooke came in, but Brooke and I waited a whole while longer before getting married."

Veronica ran her fingers through her blonde hair, "Wow…Married and divorced…Twice."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Nathan began, "I don't actually start conversations by telling people about my marital statuses."

"It's fine," she said and then gave Nathan a kiss on the cheek, "Let's go for a walk on the beach." Nathan smiled and set down the pictures; he grabbed Veronica's hand and headed up the stairs.

xxx

Brooke lay on the beach and looked up at the stars. She closed her eyes and just listened to the waves crash into the shore. She felt somebody sit down beside her. Nathan looked down at her and gave her a little wave. Brooke laughed and sat up, "You're just popping up everywhere," she teased.

"Veronica and I went for a walk," Nathan said, "She went back up the house to take a bubble bath."

Brooke raised a brow and gave her signature smirk, "And you're not in there joining her?"

Nathan laughed and Brooke even saw him blush a little. They were joking around just like friends, but they both knew that they were never going to be friends, not after everything. "I've only known her for a couple days," he pointed out.

"And when has that stopped you before?" Brooke asked with a smile, "You've changed," she said after a moment.

Nathan looked at her, "Oh yeah? How?"

"You used to be this confident, sexy, player type of guy," she began, "Now you're all shy and acting like a virgin when I bring up sex."

Nathan smirked, "At least I'm still sexy right?"

"There he is," Brooke said as she began to clap, "The old, but new Nathan."

Nathan sighed and scratched his head, "The old Nathan's kind of packed up and gone."

Brooke was glad it was dark; she couldn't bear for Nathan to see the pain in her eyes. She got up and put her hands on her hips, "We're not 50 years old Nate," Brooke said as she took his hand and ran out with him into the water.

Nathan stopped and looked at her like she was crazy, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Lightening the mood," Brooke said as she danced around in the water, "Having a little fun!" She kicked water towards Nathan.

He looked down at his wet shirt and shorts and raised his eyebrows, "You know what Brooke," he said with fake seriousness and then ran into the water and picked her up, "The water's kind of cold isn't it?"

"Nathan Scott!" Brooke screamed, "I swear to God if you drop me in this water I'll…" Splash! Brooke stood up and felt the water all over her body; she looked over and saw Nathan on the shore pointing and laughing at her. "You think that's funny?" Brooke asked as she walked over towards him.

Nathan nodded, "Yeah…I do."

Brooke lunged at Nathan and tackled him to the ground, "Ha! Now you're all wet!" She said as she wringed her hair out on his face.

"I give! I give!" Nathan yelled with laughter.

Brooke smiled and put her hands in the air, "And the winner and remaining champion is…Brooke Davis!"

Nathan looked up at her and she looked down at them. They smiled at each other and Nathan messed up her hair a bit, "You're so cute when you're all wet…"

"Yeah, thanks to you," Brooke said and then got off of him. She wrapped her towel around herself and picked up her shoes, "I should get going."

Nathan wiped off some sand from his shirt, "You can come inside for a little bit," he suggested.

"No," Brooke said, "I've got to get back; I finally have the house to myself tonight."

Nathan looked at her in confusion, "Is Lucas proposing tonight?"

"Yeah," Brooke said. The mention of marriage still stung a bit.

Nathan smiled, "Good for them," he said and then started walking towards his house, "Bye Brooke."

"Bye Nate," Brooke said and then walked in the opposite direction.

Nathan walked into the house and saw Veronica and Peyton sitting on the couch. Veronica got up and gave Nathan a worried look, "Baby, you're all sandy and wet!"

Peyton stood up and looked at Nathan; he'd be kidding himself if he didn't think Peyton looked somewhat pleased. "Yeah, I wanted to see how the water was," he said.

"Alright silly," Veronica said and then gave him a kiss on the tip of his nose, "I'm going to head home so I'll call you sometime tomorrow," Veronica said and then kissed him passionately, "Bye," she said with a wink and then walked out of the house.

Nathan looked over at Peyton, "Don't say a word," he warned her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Peyton said with a shrug, "Silly…"

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