I'm back. I hope someone other than me is still reading. Let me know.

"I don't know what to do, Nathan! It's all my fault!" Haley cried, flinging herself into the boy's arms, confusing the hell out of him.

"What? What happened, Haley?"

"Brooke. She's hurt and upset, even if she won't show it, and it's all my fault. I shouldn't have told anyone what happened with Brooke and Peyton. Not you, not Lucas," she rambled in a frenzy.

"Why is Brooke hurt?" I thought Lucas was the one who was upset?" he asked, leading his girlfriend to sit on the couch.

"He was. So upset that he practically attacked Brooke. He told her she needed to stay away from Peyton, and he pushed her into the lockers at school," Haley explained, nearly forgetting that Nathan didn't already know the story.

"Lucas pushed Brooke?" Nathan scoffed, disbelieving.

"More than once. And called her a whore and a bunch of other stuff. He was awful to her."

When Haley pulled out her cell phone to reveal the picture of Brooke's back, Nathan's eyes widened.

"Karen overheard me yelling at him and took him over to Peyton's to apologize. Not that it matters. He wouldn't have even known what happened between them if it wasn't for my big mouth," Haley sighed, resting her head on Nathan's shoulder.

"Lucas did this to Brooke?" Nathan asked, eerily quiet as he stared at the picture, and Haley nodded sadly in response. "Be back soon," he said, walking out the front door and not looking back.

XXX

"Peyt, do you mind if I go upstairs for a little bit?" Brooke asked softly, emotionally drained, constantly reliving the unbelievable day she had.

"Of course," Peyton smiled sadly, patting Brooke's hand as she finished drying dishes. "I'll be up soon. You just rest."

"You okay, Brooke?" Larry asked, looking up from the sink and seeing the underlying pain in her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she smiled weakly before retreating up the stairs.

"She's not fine," Peyton said, immediately after her friend was out of earshot.

"I know she's not," Larry sighed. "She needs you, Peyton."

"And I'll be here, no matter what. I'll do whatever it takes to make her okay."

"I know you will."

XXX

"You okay, babe?" Peyton asked softly, walking into her bedroom to find it Brooke-less.

The bathroom door was shut, however, and the sobs coming from inside were audible.

"Brooke?" she asked, tapping on the door, her heart breaking at the sound.

"Hey," Brooke sniffled, "I'm fine. Sorry I'm hogging the bathroom. I'll be out in a minute," she said through the door.

Despite the attempted cheeriness in Brooke's voice, Peyton could hear the pain.

"Brooke…" Peyton said sadly, tapping on the door again.

"I'm fine, Peyton. I'll be out in a second."

Peyton pushed open the bathroom door easily to find Brooke standing there in her bra, back to the mirror, seeing the damage for herself for the first time. Her eyes were red and puffy and tears streamed down her face.

"Oh, Brooke…" Peyton whispered, walking to the girl and enveloping her.

"It's okay. I'm fine," Brooke spat through her tears, trying to push Peyton away from her. "I feel like such a little bitch. They're just a few bruises. I don't know why I'm so upset," she cried, giving in to Peyton's embrace and clutching her friend to her.

"Of course you're upset, Brooke," Peyton soothed as a tear ran down her own cheek, running her fingertips up and down Brooke's back. "Do you remember when we were eight and Penny the cat hissed at you and scratched you?"

Brooke pulled out of Peyton's arms just far enough to chuckle and raise a confused eyebrow. Of course, she remembered, but what did that have to do with anything?

"She was your cat, and you loved her and trusted her, right?"

Brooke just nodded.

"The scratch wasn't that bad, but you came over here, sobbing. She scared you, and it didn't matter that you weren't really hurt, physically. She hurt your heart."

"Yeah, she did," Brooke admitted.

"That's what happened today. It doesn't matter if you think they're just a few bruises, Brooke. Lucas scared you and he hurt you. Someone that you never thought could turn on you, did," she said, wiping a tear from Brooke's face and immediately wiping one from her own. "It's okay to hurt, Brooke. It's okay to cry," she sniffled, pulling her back in and running her hands through the tips of her hair.

"I don't want to forgive him, Peyton," Brooke cried, clutching the girl to her once again.

"I don't want you to. Just because it's Lucas, that doesn't change anything. No one is allowed to hurt you, Brooke."

"Why are you always so good to me?" Brooke whispered between tears, face cradled in the crook of Peyton's neck.

"Because I love you so much."

XXX

Lucas answered the incessant knock at the door, annoyed with having to deal with any more company. His annoyance was quickly shattered though, as he was met with a solid punch to the jaw. He hadn't even had time to see who was at the door.

Nathan stood over him, grabbing him by the shirt and lifting him to his feet before shoving him hard into the door frame.

"How's it feel, asshole?!" Nathan shoved him again, holding him against the door.

"N-Nathan…" Lucas choked out, disoriented.

"Well? How's it feel, big brother? Who the hell do you think you are?!" Nathan said quietly with hatred in his voice.

"Why are you doing this?" Lucas spat out, confused and afraid, rubbing his neck before getting punched again.

"Doesn't make any sense, does it? To get the shit kicked out of you for no reason, out of nowhere. You did this because of Peyton, right? Because you were scared to lose her? Do you know how much she loves Brooke? She would kill for that girl. She'd probably kill you if she could stand to look at you!"

"I didn't mean to—"

"I don't give a shit what you meant," Nathan spat, shoving his brother into the door again. "She didn't do anything wrong, Lucas! Even if she had, she's a girl, and she's our friend, and you had no right to touch her! Someone needed to knock some sense into you. I knew you wouldn't really get it any other way," he said, pushing Lucas one more time before walking away, slamming the door.

"Lucas?" Karen asked, walking in the back door to find Lucas, shaking, a trickle of blood coming from his nose. "Who was that?!"

"Oh, Nathan stopped by."