Chapter 4

Haley could hear the vacuum cleaner, and gave up knocking with a shrug. She opens the side door, past Lucas bedroom, and cautiously steps into the living room. Her sister is barefoot, wearing some scandalous cutout jeans shorts and a tight tank top, her hair tied in a messy bun. She has jacks in her ears and dances while vacuuming enthusiastically. The sight touches something deep inside Haley. Quinn is her favorite sister, but Taylor is so... alive. Haley approaches and touches her softly on the shoulder.

Taylor looks at Haley with a start, and, clamping down on her annoyance, lets a soft smile slowly replace the surprised look. She turns the vacuum off, turns off her cell and removes the jacks. "Hey."

Haley responds her smile with a wistful smile of her own. "Hey."

Taylor's tone is dry. "Lucas is not here. He's playing house with the brunette doll and her loaner baby."

"I know." Haley walks to the kitchen, pours ice and water into two tall glasses and sits at the little breakfast table. Taylor pulls a chair, sets its back towards her sister and sits. Haley pushes a glass towards Taylor, and sips her water. "Lucas called and told me. I was supposed to bring Jamie, but I decided just to do a little one-on-one with you"

"Thanks." Taylor herself is not sure if she is thanking her sister for the water or for the visit. She sips her water, looking at her sister. Haley has a light blue summer dress, white sandals and her her hair tied back with a white barrette, no make up. She looks younger than her twenty-two and very cute. "So..."

Haley purses her lips, looking serious. "What are you doing?"

Taylor giggles, deliberately ignoring the implicit question. "Light housekeeping." She looks around.. "It's a nice place."

Haley frowns, persisting. "Did you sleep with Lucas? Are you together?"

Taylor looks into Haley's eyes. "What is it to you, baby sis?"

"I'm worried, that's all. He's been through a lot. And you're not exactly an angel..."

Taylor cuts her off midsentence. "And the big-eyed cow who broke his heart is?"

Haley gets up and paces. She realizes she's not getting a straight answer to her question, so she changes direction. "Lindsay came by last night."

"And you scratched out her eyes, I hope."

"She is a very nice woman and my friend!"

"Really?" Taylor's voice grows sweet with poison. "And you're such a loyal friend, right?"

Haley raises her voice a little. "Like you'd know about loyalty!"

"Maybe I don't." Taylor knows exactly what Haley has in mind. David. But this is not about her.

"Lucas is loyal, though, isn't he? He's always been right there by your side."

Haley knows how much she owes Lucas. Maybe Taylor is right. She is slumps back at her chair and looks down. "Yes he has."

The silence stretches a bit, until Taylor breaks it. "We talked last night. A lot."

Haley's heart feels heavy. She knows how much Taylor values her friends. Crazy and meddlesome aside, she can be one hell of a friend in a tight spot. She is beginning to see that, in Taylor's eyes, Haley hasn't really been a good friend to Lucas. What she can't figure out is why Taylor cares at all. "I don't get it. You've never exchanged three words before."

Taylor smiles. "I know him better than you think. And he's the absolute best."

A tear drops down Haley's face. "I know he is." Haley just looks at Taylor for a second, trying to guess what's going on with her sister. "I know I'm just wasting my breath with you. You'll do exactly as you please, as always. But I beg you, don't hurt him. He's been through enough. I'll never forgive you if you do."

Taylor gets up, and crosses her arms under her breasts, looking angry. "There were three women in your party that, at different times, really broke his heart. You're not going to forgive me if I hurt him, somehow, but you've been pretty quick to forgive those three..."

"It was always at least in part his fault..."

Taylor get pissed and lets go. "Bullshit!"

Haley gets pissed too. "You don't know. You weren't here." She gets up too. "Besides, who are you to talk? What about Quinnie?"

"You wanna know about Quinn and David? Just ask, bitch!"

Haley sits down again and slumps, the anger draining as she realizes there's more to that story than what Quinn told her. "What happened?"

Taylor squints at her. "I'm not sure you want to know."

"Just tell me."

"Quinn is bored with David."

"What?"

"You heard me. She's been treating him badly for months, from what I saw."

"So?"

"David is sad and angry. He went after me, more to get back at Quinnie than because he was really interested. He is still in love with her. I let him catch me in front of her just to stir things up a bit. Quinn needs to either shit already or get out of the potty."

"You had to meddle."

Taylor smiles sadly, her anger gone. "You know me." She points a finger at Haley. "But you're not off the hook, baby sis. Lucas comes first, then the bitches. Even if they are wonderful critters and your friends."

Haley sits back for a minute, thinking about the past seven years. From the day of that crazy one-on-one at the Rivercourt, brother against brother. She recalls how happy she was that her friend taught a lesson to the stupid, arrogant boy she ended up falling for. She knows exactly which brother is the hero, who supported her and never really disappointed her. She knows that given a choice between her husband and her best friend, she would always choose her husband, to her eternal shame. And she even knows why. Only one of them would never leave her. She feels the taste of bile in the back of her throat. "You're right."

Taylor nods. "He wants another shot with the brunette."

"So, you're not together."

"No. But if was just a little saner, I would gladly settle down and have his babies."

Haley is shocked. "You're in love with him?"

"No." She looks at the ceiling. "Maybe just a little." She looks back at Haley's face. "But what he wants is another shot with the brunette."

Haley shakes her head. "It will never work."

"Why?"

Haley thinks for a bit. "Too much water under that bridge. She's too skittish, and Peyton would never let it happen."

"Then we have our job cut out for us. How do we get rid of blondie?"

Haley thinks a bit. "That's a hard one... let me think a little."

==o==o==o==

I pick up the warmed up bottle from the microwave and the crying baby from the mat on the floor. I sit, carefully setting my back to one end of the couch, baby confy in the crook of my arm, cloth on the opposite shoulder and bottle into the baby, who immediately begins suckling. I chose this position so I can rest my eyes on the gorgeous brunette, busy at her drawing board, while Angie feeds.

I remember feeding both Lily and Jamie at this age. That's how I know there's something a little off with Angie. Her suckling is weak, and, at times, she seems to get tired. While both Jamie and Lily would dispose of a bottle straight, Angie needs a couple of rest stops. I can see that she's a brave little soul, taking her difficulty in good spirits and rewarding my care with playfulness and an occasional smile. I feel Angie's pudgy little fingers wrapping around my heart, like my sister and nephew once did. Looking forward, I can see it will hurt like crazy when she leaves. I'm game, though. If Brooke can do it, I can too.

She's barefoot, wearing shorts and a team tee, no make-up. Her hair is bunched up messily on top of her head, with a pencil stuck in it. Her face is scrunched up, and she mutters softly to herself, completely focused in whatever it is she is doing. At one time, I loved this woman with a scary, nearly obsessive intensity. And she loved me right back. I can still feel echoes of the old feeling. Faint, partially buried by life and other loves. Focused on her work, she's breathtaking. In the back of my brain, a small voice, sounding strangely like Taylor, tells me to chill.

Heavy steps sound from the second floor. A loud, familiar voice. "I'm going to the studio. There's a group coming..." As she reaches the bottom of the stairs, her eyes meet mine, and her voice trails off. Angie stops suckling, and Brooke lifts her head from her work, concentration broken. "What are you doing here?"

I can't keep the sarcasm out of my answer. "What do you think, Peyton?" Angie whimpers a bit, feeling the tension in my stance.

Brooke speaks a little harshly too, annoyed by the interruption. "He's helping me with Angie, P. Sawyer."

Peyton stands next to Brooke, fists on her hips and a look of annoyance on her face. "Why?"

Brooke and I exchange a glance. Brooke shrugs, and focuses back on her work. I turn my attention to Angie, who's beginning to fuss. Peyton petulant question hangs in the air. She is not oblivious to the silent dialogue that just happened in front of her. Peyton snorts in irritation. "Fine. Be that way, you two. I'm out of here."

After the front door slams, I wave Angie's little fist towards the door. "Bye."

Brooke's working grimace morphs into the faintest of smiles.

About an hour later, I'm upstairs, giving Angie a bath. She's happily splashing around, playing with a small rubber Mickey, while sitting in the tub with warm water to her waist. I have a bottle of baby shampoo in my hands, but I'm just waiting, unwilling to interrupt her fun.

"Hey."

I start a bit. Brooke is suddenly standing in the bathroom's doorway, leaning with her shoulder against the doorjamb. The pencil is gone, so her hair is falling softly to her shoulders, her arms are crossed under her breasts, her legs are also crossed, and she has a big smile under a pair of bright mischievous eyes. She hasn't looked at me like that in a long, long time.

"Hey. Taking a break?"

"Just wanted to check on you guys. You've been up here for a while."

"Our angel here did a serious stink after her bottle, and a diaper change wasn't enough." Angie looks at me while I speak, and I turn to her in babytalk, poking her belly. "That's right, angelface, an ugly, messy, stinky job you did..." I'm rewarded with a gurgle and a smile.

Brooke makes a little disgusted face. "Oh, boy, I'm happy you were here to deal with that."

I bow a bit. "All in a day's work, mylady."

She giggles and curtsies, taking my defective heart for a spin. "Well, thank you Sir Knight. Would you mind if I take over?" Lucas with Angie pulls at her in many painful ways, the least of them is the little tingle between her legs.

I give her the shampoo and step away, curious to see what's going to happen. As soon as Brooke takes over, it becomes obvious she has improved quite a bit. She speaks softly to Angie, as she holds the baby forward with one hand, and washes her hair with the other. Angie fusses a bit, she doesn't particularly like having her hair washed. "You're doing great."

"Well, thank you..." Angie slaps the water with open hands. Brooke starts laughing. "You, bad, bad girl, look what you did!" Angie gets into the play, splashing around, and Brooke squeals, laughing some more. This goes on for another couple of minutes, as Angie also squeals and gurgles and laughs and Brooke ends up soaked. I stand aside, smiling and enjoying the wet t-shirt show from Brooke and the simple carefree joy she displays playing with Angie. Unexpectedly, a wave of sadness hits me. This little scene is a parody, almost a mockery of what once was my closest held dream.

I go to Brooke's bathroom to grab a towel for her and come back, giving her the towel and taking Angie out of the tub, wrapping her in a bunny towel of her own. The sadness lingers, as I finish drying and diapering Angie. Brooke comes into the nursery, having changed and dried her hair. She picks a cute green onesie for Angie to wear. With a tummy full, and after all the excitement, Angie gets sleepy, and Brooke tucks her in, closing the curtains, turning off the lights and setting the baby monitor.

We walk downstairs together. Brooke can sense my mood, as she always could. "What is it? I thought you enjoyed my little show."

"I did."

"So, why the brooding?"

"Isn't that what I do?"

"Sure." She pushes onto me with her shoulder. "And I'm supposed to cheer you up."

That brings an even worse wave of sadness. "Don't." We reach the living room and I face her, grabbing her shoulders. Her smile freezes in her face. "We're playing with fire."

Confusion and a bit of fear on her face. "I thought we were past that."

I put my hands in my pockets and head for the door, turning my back on her. "She'll be out for a while. I'll be back after dinner." Brooke stands there silent, watching me leave. As I open the door, I face her again. "I don't know about you, but I don't think I'll ever really be completely past that."

"You're really coming back?"

"Of course. Bye Pretty Girl." I close the front door behind me.

Her reply is just a whisper. "Bye, Broody."