"Oh my God, Brooke!" Lucas yelled as he barged into the room. He was there, by my side before I could even blink.
"Are you okay?" He asked me, staring into my eyes. His gaze quickly shifted away as he started moving his hands up and down my porcelain skin. It was as if he was checking, ensuring that I was okay.
It almost looked like he was looking around for another bullet wound. Thankfully, there wasn't any.
I just gave him a lopsided smile. At least I think I did. I wasn't sure with the feeding tubes and other thingamajigs that we supposedly keeping me alive.
"Oh Pretty Girl, do you feel fine? Wait, let me call the doctor!" He said racing towards the door again.
I chuckled at the sight which only erupted in pain. I knew I was supposed to take things slowly.
"Hey Miss Davis. I'm Dr. Adams. It is good to see that you are finally awake. This young man over here was getting quite agitated here. He kept my staff on high alert." He casually joked. Grabbing his stethoscope, he quickly checked me up to ensure that everything as alright. He began to fumble with some monitors soon after.
"So everything looks good. A nurse will come in here very soon and take you to get some scans of your leg. It is just to ensure that no bullet fragments are left behind and to make sure that there isn't in post- op infection. She will also remove the feeding tube. I know how scratchy those can get." He went and drew some blood from my hand as he spoke. "Just running a few tests. Don't worry Lucas, Brooke looks great and she will be as good as new very soon."
"Thank you doc!" Lucas greeted him before quickly moving his attention back to me.
I saw the doctor smile from the corner of my eye before he exited the door.
Lucas quickly took back his position near my on the side of my bed. He gazed lovingly towards my eyes as he tucked back a few strands of hair that had made their way on top of my face.
"God, you scared the life out of me over there Pretty Girl! You are never allowed to do that again!" He grinned. He genuinely looked like a goof as we spoke.
"We came to know it was Peyton who leaked the Time Capsule. Why didn't you tell me, Brooke? She was trying to get back at you! She hurt you! You didn't have to go through that alone! Anyway, she is expelled now. So we won't be seeing her again." I could see the relief in his eyes.
Thats when I remembered. I quickly grabbed his arm and started tracing letters over it. So that he could know what I wanted to ask.
'J-I-M-M-Y'
"Jimmy?" Lucas questioned after I finished tracing the letters on the palm of his hand. I gave a slight nod in response. Did he hurt anyone? Was anybody shot? How was school? Was everybody okay? Nathan and Haley? Were they fine? I needed to know everything. I didn't even know how long it had been since the shooting. However, I knew I could not ask him all those questions then. I had to wait. That nurse should have come by then. But I was also enjoying my time with Lucas, so I didn't mind it much.
"Baby, Jimmy didn't uhhm, actually, he uh actually shot himself. I tried, I promise you I genuinely tried to stop him but he was too far gone. He killed himself in the corridor by the lockers. I'm sorry." Lucas answered dejectedly.
My heart broke thinking about it. Jimmy killed himself. I somehow felt that I was to blame. The time capsule was released because of me. His entire clip played because he spoke about me. He was bullied because people came to know what he said in the time capsule.
I didn't even realise when the cascade of tears emerged from my eyes with sudden gust and fury.
"Brooke, don't. Don't even go there. It was not your fault. Firstly, Peyton was responsible for the time capsule. It wasn't your fault that he even said anything. It wasn't anything that you said or did that made him say what he spoke. The police investigated and we came to know that he was doing drugs and alot of other things. There was no saving him. So don't pin this down on you, okay?" He firmly explained.
I nodded fervently as I tried to barricade the tears that fell freely from my misty orbs.
"Pretty Girl. I love you so much! And I promise to never leave you. I'm here for you every step of the way. I love you so much and I am so sorry for hurting you before. I promise to never make that mistake again. I know better than to lose the most important person in the world. Will you please forgive me, Cheery? We all need a little help sometimes. Someone to help us hear the music in the world, to remind us that it won't always be this way. It won't always be that hard. Will you be that someone for me, Brooke?"
I didn't have to answer. I didn't have to nod. No gestures were needed. He just softly looked at me and knew it. In that moment, I gave myself completely to him.