Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!
Brooke hung up the phone, looking at it questioningly. She had accepted Lucas's apology for the way he'd ignored Charity, in favor of Peyton, all weekend. She wasn't ready to give him a second chance though. She had been in the process of telling him that she wanted Charity to stay with her, not Lucas, when he'd suddenly bid her goodbye and hung up. Shrugging, she began to throw the rest of her things into her luggage.
"Hey mom, do you care if I ride the bus back, instead of riding with you?" Charity asked, barging in. Brooke looked up, trying to keep the disappointment off of her face. She had been looking forward to catching up with her daughter.
"That's fine. Do you have any plans for tonight?" She asked lightly.
"Actually, a bunch of us were going to go to Tric, to celebrate, if that's cool?" Charity asked, as she reapplied her lip gloss in the mirror. Brooke knew it was her own fault that Charity never stayed home. That didn't make it hurt any less though.
"Yeah, have fun. I'll see you when you get home." Brooke said, plastering a smile on her face.
"Don't wait up!" Charity called over her shoulder as she left Brooke's room. Brooke slumped on the bed dejectedly. Her head snapped up as she heard a knock on her door. She smiled when she saw Jake stick his head in her room.
"Hey. I saw Charity skip off, I just thought I'd check in on you." He said, sitting down on the bed beside her.
"I'm Peachy keen, jellybean." She replied despondently. She and Jake had never really hung out in high school. He had always been Lucas's friend and Peyton's friend or boyfriend or whatever they were at the time. They'd always been cordial to each other but never exactly friendly.
"I know this is kinda awkward, but I thought since we're both sort of going through the same thing, I'd check and see how you were holding up…" He trailed off, at a loss for words. Brooke smiled, she was moved by his concern. Here he was, dealing with the loss of his long time girlfriend and yet he was concerned for Brooke, a girl he'd barely known in high school, and even less since.
"Thanks Jake. I appreciate it. I've been better, to be honest, but it's nothing I can't handle. What about you, how are you doing?" She asked. Jake nodded slowly.
"I'm doing better. It was tough at first, you know. I guess I couldn't make myself believe it. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I'm here, if you need someone to talk to." He said, shrugging. Brooke leaned over and kissed his cheek.
"Thanks Jake. If you want to talk, you know where to find me." She said with a smile. Jake gave her a small smile and pulled the door shut behind him as he left the room. Brooke was pretty surprised at how things were turning out. She'd always known that you never truly knew who your friends were until the things got rough, but she had never expected Jake to be the one to stick with her.
Sighing she resigned herself to finishing her packing. She only had 15 minutes or so until the buses were leaving and she wanted to tell Charity goodbye. Quickly she grabbed her bags and drug them down the hallway to the elevator. She groaned under her breathe when she saw Lucas heading her way.
"Hey Brooke. Do you want some help?" He asked as he took a bag from her. She didn't, but it was too late to say so now.
"Thanks. So, what was up with the quick exit, when we were on the phone earlier?" She asked as they stepped into the elevator. Lucas looked at her and shrugged.
"It was Peyton. I think she overheard my conversation with you and assumed that we were getting back together. I can't deal with her right now, not if she's going to invade my privacy and then jump to conclusions, you know?" He asked. Brooke couldn't believe that he had the audacity to vent to her, his wife, about his problems with his mistress! She really wanted to give him a piece of her mind but she was so shocked, she was speechless.
The elevator doors opened and there stood Peyton. Peyton's mouth dropped slightly when she saw Brooke and Lucas, and Lucas holding her luggage, no less. Brooke took some twisted delight in the fact that Peyton was getting the wrong idea about them.
"Thanks for carrying my things Lucas. Would you mind helping me out to the car?" She asked sweetly. Lucas glanced from Peyton to Brook and back again. Peyton only glared at him.
"Sure, where are you parked?" He asked, as they walked past Peyton and out of the hotel. Brooke was sure that Peyton's eyes were drilling holes into her as they walked away, but she was walking away with Lucas and that was all that mattered to her.