Brooke's POV

Haley's house

Three weeks later

I felt stupid, as I stood with smeared mascara from hours of crying my heart out in front of Haley's door, desperately pressing the bell. It was Lydia, Haley's mother, who opened the door. I really had to look terrible, because the dismay about my look was clearly visible on her face.

"Brooke, Sweetheart, what happened?" She asked concerned.

"Is... is Haley here?" I sniffled and wiped my nose. I couldn't and didn't want to talk with Haley's mother about my problem.

"She's in her room. Just go to her."

Gratefully, I looked at her and then hurried up to Haley's room. I knocked briefly and then opened the door before she could say 'come in'. She seemed as shocked by my appearance as her mother had been, because she jumped up from her homework and pulled me into her arms.

"What happened, Brooke? You look awful!"

I carefully freed myself from her arms and dropped the backpack I was carrying on the floor. "Can I use your bathroom?" I asked, starting to rummage in my backpack.

"Of course. You don't have to ask. You can just..."

I looked up as she stopped in mid-sentence and looked at me in horror. And then I glanced at the object in my hand that I had just pulled out.

"A pregnancy test?!" Haley gasped horrified. "Haven't you used contraceptive?"

I closed my eyes and shook my head. "We... we were in the water, Hales," I stuttered. "I didn't know that you could get pregnant there at all."

"I can understand why you might not have a condom with you, but I thought you were taking the pill?"

I sighed and ran a hand through my long hair. "I have... actually. But at that time I was taking a pill break because I didn't have a boyfriend and found it unnecessary to prevent," I tried to justify my carelessness.

"Oh, Brooke!"

She didn't have to look at me so reproachfully. I knew very well that I screwed up. As beautiful as the moment had been with Julian, I didn't need any memory of it; in the form of a living, screaming bundle!

"Did he contact you?"

"Who?" I asked unnecessarily, because my thoughts were just somewhere else.

"Julian. Who else could I mean?"

I shook my head. That was the worst part. We had seen each other for the last time three weeks ago and since then silence has prevailed. I had tried to call him, but the message had gone straight to the mailbox. It seemed as if he had left everything behind with his move to LA. And not only that. He apparently had forgotten everything; Me, us, our shared moment of intimacy and closeness. I took the pregnancy test and tore open the packaging. "Okay, let's get it over and done with," I said firmly, picking up the test stick and disappearing into the bathroom.

"Brooke? Is everything alright? You've been in there for almost 20 minutes now. Does it take so long to get a test result?"

I sat on the floor next to the bathtub and held the test in my hands that had told me the result 10 minutes earlier. But I wasn't ready to share this news with Haley yet.

"Brooke! I'll kick the door in if you don't come out right now!"

I looked at the bathroom clock and couldn't believe that 15 minutes had passed. And if I would sit here for three hours, the result would be the same. I wiped the tears from my face, scrambled up, and pushed the latch back. "Here." I handed the test stick to Haley and then went to her bed and sat down on it.

"Oh no... Brooke..."

She put the test aside and then went to hug me.

"We can do this together," she promised. "You don't have to go through this alone."

"I'm 17, Hales. What am I supposed to do with a baby?" I cried in despair.

"There are many teen mothers who have done that before you. They raised their babies without a father. You can do what they can."

I was not as optimistic as Haley, but right now it was good to know that I wasn't all alone. I tentatively placed a hand on my belly and closed my eyes. It seemed unreal to me that something was growing inside of me. A living human being, a part of me and Julian.

"You have to tell him."

I looked up. "He hasn't reported for three weeks. Do you think he's even interested in what I'm doing?"

"He's the father, Brooke. You can't keep that for yourself. He has rights as much as you have."

I rolled my eyes. Why did Haley always have to be so correct in everything? Of course, I knew that as a father he also had rights. Unless, I wouldn't even have this baby. And that's what I said then and received a horrified look from Haley.

"You want to have an abortion?" She gasped in shock. "Brooke, do you even know what you're talking about?"

I jumped up. "I don't know yet what I'm going to do," I confessed. "All I know is that I don't want to have a baby right now." I was somehow relieved that she didn't stop me when I grabbed the pregnancy test, stuffed it in my backpack, and then left her room and ran down to the front door.

Julian's POV

Norris' Mansion, Los Angeles

"You must forget her, Julian."

I slowly turned to my mother and stared at her blankly. "I can't," I said in a low voice.

"I'm sure she has already forgotten you. A girl like her is not alone for long."

My hands involuntarily clenched into fists as I glared at her. "You don't even know Brooke and you're judging her!" I shouted. "You rejected her from the beginning. And just because you thought she was not 'worthy' enough for me." I emphasized my words by rolling my eyes. "If you hadn't forced me to go to L.A. with you, Brooke and I might have had a chance."

"You deserve someone better."

I closed my eyes and forced myself to stay calm. Since we lived here, she believed she had everything under control again. But she was wrong for thinking she could continue manipulating me as she had done before. "I love her, Mom," I said quietly. "I know, you can't understand that, but there was something special between Brooke and me."

"Yes, sex."

I sighed in frustration. "I already regret that I ever told you."

"I'm not blaming you, Julian."

When she put her hand gently on my arm, I knew that she thought I was just a victim. But she was wrong.

"She seduced you, in a most shameful way, even though she knew you were still... innocent."

"Do you think it's something to be proud of when you haven't had sex at the age of 18?" I asked her, shaking my head in disbelief. "Definitely not. And I wasn't that 'innocent' either," I added. "Imagine, I wanted it just like Brooke did. She didn't have to 'force' me, if you think so."

"Let's not talk about it anymore."

As she turned away, I knew the conversation was over for her. But I didn't give up so easily. "Why, Mom? Because it makes you uncomfortable that your son has a sex life, which you only know from some cheesy romance novels!" The slap she gave me afterwards was justified, as I had to admit to myself. But the way she looked at me it seemed it hurt her a lot more than me. Everything was said between us. I turned around and just left. Even as I heard her call my name in a whiny voice, I went on. I ran out of the house and left everything behind. But I didn't get far when my cell phone rang. It was my mother, again. Annoyed, I pressed the 'hang up' button. She should just leave me alone! It wasn't far from our home to the beach, and I took off my pants, shirt and shoes and plunged into the water, clothed only in underpants. I don't know how long I swam, but when I came back and checked my phone, I had 20 missed calls. All from my mother. Apparently she's really sorry for slapping me in the face, I thought as I pressed the button to listen to my mailbox.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry that I seem to have failed as a mother. I've always wanted the best for you, Julian. You have to believe me. But don't worry. From now on, you're responsible for your own life alone because I won't be there to tell you what to do. And in spite of everything you have said to me, I will always love you, my son."

It clicked and the message was finished. I stood there, stunned, staring at my cell phone and suddenly noticed the cold sweat breaking out, even though the hot August sun was burning down on me. I quickly changed my clothes and ran. On the way home I prayed that it wasn't too late. It was not the first time she had threatened to kill herself. But this time, I knew, she would do it. It was only a few weeks ago that she had been taken to the hospital for mixing pills and alcohol. I opened the door, ran up the stairs, looked first in the bedroom, then instinctively turned towards the bathroom. And then I found her there. She lay lifeless in the bathtub, still fully clothed, while blood trickled away from two deep cuts on her wrists, slowly turning the water red. I acted more instinctively than consciously, when I lifted her out of the tub, laid her down on the bath mat and then reached for my cell phone and called the ambulance. Like a Deja Vu, I went through everything again that I had experienced only a few weeks ago in our house in Tree Hill. Only with the difference I was convinced that she was dead this time.

"Please, step aside and let us do our work!"

I was rudely pushed aside and then, as if in a trance, watched as two doctors tried to resuscitate my mother.

"Vital functions are back again. Now let's take care of the cuts."

I closed my eyes in relief. She was alive! But this time it was pretty close. Even as a layman I knew that.

"Do you want to ride in the ambulance?"

I looked up when I was approached and nodded. "She's my mother," I said quietly and completely out of context.

"Then you should come with us."

Just like last time, they put my mother on a stretcher and carried her to the ambulance. I took one last look back to the bloodied bathtub before following the paramedics outside.

Brooke's POV

Gynecological practice

With a nervous beating heart, I lay on the gynecological chair, anxiously waiting to hear my baby's heartbeat for the first time. Two weeks had passed since I had made the pregnancy test, and in the meantime I had plenty of time to think. The decision hadn't been easy, but in the end I decided to keep the baby. Haley had promised me that she would support me. But not everyone knew about the pregnancy yet. So far, I hadn't told my parents. I wanted to wait until the end, until I couldn't hide it anymore. However, I didn't have much time left.

"Are you ready?"

I was interrupted in my musings when the doctor approached me. I nodded and reflexively held my breath as she put cold ultrasound gel on my stomach and then gently traced the contours of my belly with the ultrasound probe.

"Can you see it?"

Haley, who had accompanied me to the appointment and was now as excited as me, let out a yell.

"Oh my God! Brooke! Do you see it? There's your baby!"

I turned my head so I could have a better view and then had trouble holding back my tears. You couldn't see much, but there was clearly a small dot visible in the uterus.

"Let's see if we can hear the heartbeat," said the doctor.

Excited, I waited and watched her as she activated something on the device, and then a loud and steady thumping could be heard.

"Can you see what it's going to be?" Haley asked excitedly.

All I could do was stare at the monitor and listen to the heartbeat. Everything felt surreal. I looked up when the doctor laughed.

"No, unfortunately it's too early for that. But maybe at the next appointment in four weeks. Probably even later."

"That's a pity."

I had to smile involuntarily at Haley's response. She was almost more excited than me about the news that a baby was growing inside my belly.

"Everything looks fine," said the doctor. "I'll make a quick print out from the ultrasound image and then we're done."

Twenty minutes later, Haley and I stood in front of the counter to make the next appointment in four weeks.

"Look, Brooke! There are so many flyers on the wall at the back."

I turned around and then frowned as she took flyer after flyer out of the holders and then put them in front of me.

"It's important that you know everything before the baby comes."

I looked at them and suddenly felt sick. The picture on one of them showed a woman with a heavily rounded baby belly and made me realize that I would be in the same situation very soon.

"Brooke, are you okay?"

Haley looked anxiously at me and I took a deep breath to banish the nausea. "I just realized I'm becoming a mother soon," I said quietly, taking the flyers and stuffing them in my purse.

"Yes, isn't that wonderful?"

I forced a smile. It was nice that at least one of us was so euphoric about this pregnancy. I looked up when the receptionist handed me a little note with the next appointment. "I have to stop with cheerleader training," I told Haley when we were back on the street.

"First of all, you should tell your parents," she suggested.

I sighed inwardly. Yes, it was about time. And there was something else that I needed to do, something even more unpleasant, than to tell my parents; I had to tell Julian. Now that I had decided to keep the baby, he needed to learn that he would become a father.

"Do you want to go to the ice cream parlor?"

"If you pay," I replied with a smile. I was so happy that Haley was at my side. She had the ability to always make the best of a situation, no matter how hopeless it was. I clasped her arm, and together we made our way to the ice cream parlor.