Chapter Thirty Six

The Search for Something More

Lucas was prepared to talk to Lindsey, but she quickly made the excuse that she had to go home. However, he wasn't going to let her off the hook that easily. He ran to catch up with her and he was able to stop her as she was getting into her vehicle. "Whoa, you aren't going anywhere until you tell me your game."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Lindsey replied innocently. "I just thought you and your friends needed a night out on the town."

Lucas raised his eyebrows. "Dine and dash? Eating pickled eggs? Making me return girl clothes while wearing them? That's your idea of a night on the town?" He shook his head in disbelief. "You're trying really hard to get back on my good side. And if you're thinking about breaking me and Brooke up, forget it. She knows about our short marriage and I know about her past. So there's nothing you can tell her that she doesn't already knows about me."

"So she knows how disappointed you were when you found out the truth about my pregnancy?" Lindsey asked. "You were really looking forward to being a daddy. You were looking forward to settling down and starting your new life with your wife and baby. Did you ever tell your parents you don't want to go to college right away? Did you tell your parents you would rather travel the world instead of attending Duke with Nathan?" Lucas didn't answer. "I didn't think so."

"I will tell them when the time is right," Lucas replied.

"Careful or they might think you want to adopt Brooke's baby sister as your own daughter," Lindsey taunted.

Lucas glared at her. "You and I both know I chose to do this long before she came along. Besides, none of this is really any of your business. So I suggest you stop sticking your nose in my business. And I want you to stay away from me and my friends."

Lindsey didn't answer as she climbed into her car. He watched her drive away before he went back into the café. He began cleaning up when his brother looked at him. "Dude, you're not mad at me for kissing Brooke, right? She had to do it." Lucas nodded understandingly. "I didn't see it coming."

"I don't think anybody did," Lucas replied. "And it's okay. I know it wasn't your fault. It wasn't even Brooke's fault. It's Lindsey's fault for coming up with that stupid tiebreaker. She's lucky you two didn't have feelings for each other."

"I think she was hoping she would get to kiss you," Nathan told him. "Or it was a test to see if Brooke was loyal to you."

"Whatever her plan was, it didn't work," Lucas replied. "Besides, Brooke is a completely different person now. She would never cheat on me. And I've learned my lesson. I'm not planning on getting married again until I know I'm ready. I'm not going to make the same mistake twice." Nathan nodded in agreement before they dropped the subject. They cleaned the café before they headed home.

When they arrived home, they found their parents waiting up for them. They turned towards their sons as they entered the kitchen. Lucas and Nathan looked at each other. Their parents knew exactly what they were thinking. "Boys, you aren't in trouble. We just wanted to get started on the wedding plans. We're running into a few problems though."

"Like what?" Lucas asked. "Is there anything we can do to help?" Karen and Keith exchanged looks. The twins felt something was wrong. "What happened?"

"We didn't want to say anything to you boys because we didn't want to worry you, but we've been having some financial problems," Karen announced. "The auto shop isn't doing well and we can't survive on the café alone."

"And your mother wants to buy a new wedding dress since she doesn't fit in her old one," Keith added. Karen gave him a look. "Honey, you're beautiful. But you had three children, two of them at once. Your body will never be the same again."

"Can we please stay on topic?" Nathan asked. "Is it serious enough that we're going to lose the house?"

Before their parents could answer, Lucas spoke up. "I'll give up my college fund so you guys can have your dream vow renewal. I was planning to do something with it anyway since I don't want to go to college." Everyone turned to him shocked. Even Nathan wasn't expecting to hear that from his twin brother. "I don't want to go to college right away. I want to travel. I want to see the world. I want to try and find myself and I don't think I can do that at college."

"Of course you can do it at college," Karen said. "I know you don't know what you want to do as a career and college is the perfect place to try and figure that out. Nathan may look like he's set for playing professional basketball, but he might change his mind. I know going to college is scary, but you don't have to go to Duke right away. You can start at a community college."

"Does this have to do anything with Brooke and Mackenzie?" Keith asked. Lucas knew that question was coming. "You don't want to go to college because Brooke has decided to put off college too?"

Lucas shook his head. "No, I made this decision a long time ago. I'm not ready for college."

"You never thought to tell me this?" Nathan demanded, finally finding his voice. "I'm your brother! You're supposed to tell me everything! Do you think I'm ready for college? I don't want to go to Duke without you!"

Lucas gave him a look. "You know you're going to get a basketball scholarship for Duke. You would be crazy not to accept it. Look, I'm sorry I never told anyone, but I didn't think I would have to." Keith and Karen realized he was talking about his marriage with Lindsey and her fake pregnancy. "I didn't want you to worry about me when you still had Lily to take care of. And I know you talked about setting up a college fund for Mackenzie. You can use my college fund for her or your vow renewal. I don't care. I just don't want it."

Karen stopped him. "Hold on here. As much as we appreciate you giving up your college fund for Mackenzie, we can't allow you to do that. We set up that college fund for you and you should use it whenever you're ready. If that means waiting a little longer, then it's fine with us." She looked at Keith. "Right, dear?" Nathan looked at his parents. He wanted to argue some more, but his mother stopped him. "It's his decision. We can't force him to go to college just as much as we couldn't force you to stay in Tree Hill when you wanted to move back to Charlotte."

Nathan didn't answer for a moment. "I'm sleeping in the guest room tonight," he announced before he stormed off.

Lucas let out a heavy sigh and he was about to follow him when Keith spoke again. Lucas turned to his father. "Are you sure this is what you want to do? You won't change your mind between now and graduation?" he asked.

"I don't want to go to college," he repeated. Keith and Karen nodded understandingly before he left the room.

When Lucas woke up the next morning, he immediately got dressed and headed to the River Court, not even bothering to wait for Nathan. He knew he was still not speaking to him. It wasn't long before Lucas was joined by Mouth and Jake. Mouth sat down on the sidelines while Jake joined Lucas on the basketball court.

Jake began to talk about the Dare Night and Lucas apologized for the humiliation they had to go through with the silly dares. His friends weren't bothered by it. Instead, they really thought it was fun. "Then again, I wasn't the one who had to return clothes while wearing them," Jake said. "Or capture a wild animal." He turned to Mouth. "What did happen to that turtle?"

"I tried to convince Skills to keep it as his pet, but he didn't want anything to do with it," Mouth replied. "So we released it in the wild."

"Glad you didn't bring it to my house," Lucas said. "Lily probably would have wanted to keep that turtle. She would love a pet, but I don't think my parents believe she's ready. Besides, I don't think we can afford a pet right now."

"What about a small pet like a hamster or guinea pig?" Jake suggested. "Or even a goldfish. They are easier to take care of than a puppy or a kitten."

"I know, but it's just not the right time," Lucas replied as he shot the ball towards the hoop and watched it go through the basket, giving him another point against Jake. They continued playing the game until they heard another car coming up to park next to the other cars. It was Brooke's blue Volkswagen. Brooke and Millie came out of the vehicle, carrying a couple of containers of food.

"We thought we would bring breakfast to you guys," Brooke told them. Lucas and Jake both agreed to take a break and joined their friends in the stands. She couldn't help but notice her boyfriend was distracted. She didn't want to ask in front of their friends and she decided to wait until it was more private to talk.

"Who's taking care of Mackenzie today?" Jake asked Brooke. "You didn't leave her with Rachel, did you?"

Brooke tried not to laugh. "You sound like Haley. No, she's with Karen and Haley at the café. Rachel's off shopping somewhere. She wanted me to go with her, but I told her I couldn't go. She didn't want to wait and she went without me. What about you? Why isn't your girlfriend with you?"

"If I know Peyton, she probably stayed up late working on her art," Jake replied. Brooke looked at him confused. "You didn't know your former rival is an artist? I'm surprised since you two are now friends. You two are now friends, right?"

"Yeah, but we're still learning about each other."

Jake nodded understandingly. "It's not easy for her to let people in her heart. I'm surprised she let me in, but I think because I gave her a chance to show who she was instead of judging her. She understands you more now that she has participated in your play. You may have come from a privileged family, but there was a reason why you were a shopaholic and you had wild parties."

"I'm glad those days are over," Mouth said, speaking up. "I like it when you invite your real friends and not just any guest who walks through the door."

Brooke knew he was thinking about last year when crazy Psycho Derek crashed her party and she let him stay. That was a big mistake. "Don't worry. As I told Haley, I'm not letting anyone through without an invitation. Although, I might change the plans this year since it is Mackenzie's first year trick or treating. I've already started working on her costume. She is going to be Minnie Mouse. Now I need to come up with my own costume. I'm thinking of staying with the Disney theme."

"Maybe Lucas can be your Prince Charming," Mouth suggested as he nudged Lucas. Lucas snapped out of reverie. He looked at his friends with a look of confusion on his face. "We're talking about Halloween costumes for Brooke's party."

"That's nice," Lucas replied. "Thanks for breakfast, but I should probably get going. I'll see you guys later." His friends watched him as he walked back towards his car. Brooke was right behind him. She had to find out what was bothering him. He allowed her to catch up with him.

She gave him a worried look. "Hey, is everything okay?"

Lucas wanted to tell her everything, but he didn't want to explain it in front of his friends. "Take a ride with me?" he asked. She nodded and she joined him in the car. It wasn't until they were out on the road when Lucas told her about his parents' struggle to plan their vow renewal and Nathan's reaction to finding out his brother wasn't going to attend Duke with him. Brooke just listened and she didn't respond until after he was finished with his story.

"I'm sure Nathan will come around with the idea," Brooke assured him. Lucas hoped so because he hated when they fought. "Is there anything I can do to help with the wedding?" Brooke asked. She wanted to do something for Keith and Karen. After all, they had done a lot for her with letting her move in their house and helping her with Mackenzie.

Lucas sighed. "I don't know."

Brooke had an idea. "I could make a new wedding dress for her," she suggested. "I've made costumes before, but I'm sure I can make a wedding dress." Lucas was about to protest when Brooke stopped him. "Please let me do this. It can be my gift to them."

Lucas finally agreed. "Alright. We can ask my mom." There was a short pause. "So you're okay with me not going to college? You know I didn't make this decision because of your situation with Mackenzie, right?" Brooke nodded understandingly. "Maybe we can travel the world together or something."

Brooke would do it in a heartbeat, but she had one thing holding her back. "You know I can't leave Mackenzie right now. And I really don't think I would want to take a toddler backpacking across Europe."

"You're going to have to let her go sometime," Lucas reminded her as Brooke heard her phone. She checked to see who it was and frowned. "What's wrong?" Lucas asked, seeing the concerned look on her face. "Is it Mackenzie?"

"No, but my mother wants to see me right away. It's about my father," Brooke replied. She let out a heavy sigh. "I wonder what he has done now. Do you mind dropping me off at my house?" she asked. "I'll come back later for my car."

"Don't worry about it. I'll bring it over after awhile," Lucas replied. As they headed back to her house, Brooke tried not to worry. Yet, she couldn't help but think her father was going to cause trouble again. She was determined not to let him upset her. She was also determined to let him know she wasn't going to give him Mackenzie. No matter what.