Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!
Brooke's heart was racing. Lucas's announcement had stuck her completely off-guard. She slowly eased the door shut to the guest room, which would be Charity's until she could handle the stairs, and sat down on her daughter's bed. Yes, she and Lucas were divorced, and yes, she and Jake had, well, whatever it was that they had, but hearing Lucas announcing his intent to marry Peyton was the final nail in the coffin of their marriage.
Brooke's eyes widened as the door swung open. Lucas came in and busied himself with rebuilding Charity's bookcase. Brooke wasn't sure if she should pretend she hadn't heard anything, or if she should say something.
"I don't know if you meant for me to hear or not, but congratulations," Brooke said softly. The smile on her face didn't quite reach her eyes.
"I'm sorry you had to hear it that way. I wanted to talk to you about it," Lucas said, turning to give her his full attention.
"I appreciate that Lucas, but it's not necessary," she said, shaking her head.
"Of course it is, Pretty girl," Lucas said with a smile. Brooke felt as if her insides were turned to ice. She hadn't heard those words from his lips in so long.
"I have to go," she whispered, her vision growing blurry behind a cloud of tears.
"Brooke, wait," he said, reaching out to put a hand on her arm. By the look on his face, Brooke knew that he had quickly realized his mistake. She snatched her purse off the bed and flew down the hall. She didn't even pause to say goodbye to Charity. As Brooke pulled out of the driveway she saw Lucas burst out of the front door. His forlorn expression tugged on her heartstrings. She nearly stopped the car, but the colder, bitter side of Brooke won out.
She wished more than anything that she could make go back to when her life made sense. It wasn't so much that she wanted Lucas back; it was more that she wanted to go back to a place where she felt in control of her life. Currently she felt more like she was in some sort of holding pattern, especially concerning her relationship with Jake. After they had gotten over their initial surprise over their mutual attraction, there had been little to no progress made between them. Brooke valued Jake's friendship far too much to 'rock the boat' and ask him to commit to her. She suspected that he felt the same way, but a small voice in the back of her head told her that she didn't ask for a commitment because she feared he would reject her.
As she drove, these thoughts and more filled her head until the jarring ring of her cell phone interrupted her thoughts.
"Hello?" she answered, without even a glace at the caller ID. She knew it was Jake. He had an uncanny knack for knowing just when she needed to hear his voice.
"Hi," Jake replied. She could tell by the sound of his voice that he was smiling. She loved that she knew these little things about him.
"I really needed to hear your voice," she admitted, a shy smile forming on her face.
"I felt the exact same way," he said, making her heart thump just a little quicker.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I found out something today," Jake said, his voice taking on a slightly darker tone.
"Me too, but you go first," Brooke said, wanting to put that news off for as long as possible.
"Peyton and Lucas are getting married," he said gently.
"How did you know? I just found out today!" Brooke exclaimed, shaking her head. She knew that good news traveled fast but this was just ridiculous.
"I'm sorry Brooke. Jenny told me this afternoon. Are you holding up okay?" He asked sympathetically. Brooke considered telling him that she was fine, but she had never lied to Jake and she didn't want to start now.
"I'm kind of a mess, Jake. It's not like I didn't realize it before or anything, but this means that Lucas and I really done," she said, her voice raw with emotion. The silence on the line was deafening.