Walking out of the court room and into the now brightly shining sun, Peyton had to blink and push her sunglasses onto her face, not just to block out the sun, which hadn't been shining as brightly hours ago when they had entered the courthouse, but also to hide the fact that she was just moments away from tears. She was going to hold herself together, just to prove to herself she could. She wanted to hurry away, before everyone else could file out and follow after her, asking questions that she just wouldn't be able to answer honestly, which was why she had practically run out of the courthouse as soon as the results were announced.
Getting into her car, she was surprised that the passenger side door opened just moments before she could drive away, and she glanced over at the figure that slid into the seat next to her. She almost wished she wasn't about to have this conversation, but she knew it was going to come at some point, so she might as well get it over now. She was relatively sure she could make it through this without crying. She sighed as she looked into the eyes of her once best friend, which were covered with sunglasses, much like her own. "Well, Brooke, it's been a while. What brings you back, or, more importantly, what brings you to my car?" she asked.
The two of them hadn't spoken in years. They had kept in contact a little bit after Brooke had left, but as they were both pregnant, and then both single mothers, they hadn't really had the time to keep in touch, especially since both of them were keeping their daughters a secret. Brooke hadn't stayed a single mom for long, though. She had started her company, with the help of the guy who became her first husband, and though they hadn't stayed together long, her company had prospered, lasting longer than any of her many husbands ever could. Brooke didn't love any of them; she couldn't, because she had left her heart in Tree Hill, with all the friends and the life she'd left behind.
Clearing her throat, Brooke looked down at her hands for a moment, before reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ears. She couldn't believe she had just come out and got in Peyton's car, but then again, she couldn't believe she hadn't talked to her best friend sooner. Well, she couldn't really call Peyton her best friend anymore, but Peyton was still the best friend she'd ever had. She looked up with that thought, intent on fixing everything. "Peyton, I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you back then, but I was scared. I didn't know what to do, but I knew I didn't want to ruin Nathan and Haley's relationship, not when they had just gotten back on track," she paused, not sure how else to go on.
As the silence dragged on for a long moment, Peyton realized that Brooke was waiting for her to say something, something to indicate that she was about to forgive Brooke and they could move on. Peyton wasn't so sure she was ready to do that though, not right now, without any sort of story at all. Brooke had been gone for years, and even when she had moved back to Tree Hill, she hadn't gotten in contact with anyone. "Brooke, I understand all that, but you've had three weeks to get in touch with me, since that night at Tric. I've been busy with this, trying to prepare my case so I didn't lose my daughter, but where the hell have you been? You could have at least tried, you know. You want me to forgive you, tell me the truth, the whole truth," she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.
Sighing, Brooke ran a hand through her chestnut colored hair. She closed her eyes, and Peyton knew she was trying to hold back tears, but Peyton refused to soften, yet. Ever since they were kids, Peyton would always accept Brooke's apologies, no questions asked, but this time was not going to be the same thing. She deserved some kind of explanation this time, and she was going to get it. "Peyton, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have left back then, but I was scared. I didn't want everyone to know I got pregnant, and I thought I was doing what was best for Naley. I know that doesn't excuse me from these past few weeks, heck, these past two years, but I was still scared, and I guess I pulled a you and just hid from my problems," she tried to joke.
Sending her a long hard look, Peyton silently let Brooke know she wasn't amused. "Not funny?" she asked, and Peyton just shook her head. "Yeah, I guess that was too soon. Anyway, I don't have a lot of excuses for back then. Nathan got drunk the night of the parties. Haley wasn't around that night, I can't remember why, and I was drunk," she paused, getting a cocked eyebrow from Peyton, "and a bitch. I seduced him, and it wasn't his fault, and I never told him about it, because they were so in love. They got married, for goodness sake. I couldn't tell him, P. So I left, and it might have been the wrong move, but I think I've done right by Kristine, and that's what matters," she paused, and Peyton could hear the tears in her voice.
Still not saying anything, Peyton waited for an explanation for more recent events. Brooke still knew Peyton well enough to know what she was waiting for, so she reached up and wiped the tears from her eyes as she looked at the blonde. "My daughter hates me, Peyton. She told me so a couple of weeks ago when she walked in on my conversation with Nathan and Haley. I said I wanted to be able to spend some time with her, and she wasn't going to move out of my house, even if she wanted to spend some time at their house, and she came in and told me she hates me. I never wanted my daughter to hate me," she broke off into huge sobs, her shoulders heaving as she remembered what had happened.
FLASHBACK
Brooke, Haley and Nathan were sitting in a booth at the Cafe. Haley and Nathan were sitting on one side, and Brooke on the other. They all had cups of coffee in front of them, but they had all declined getting a meal. They were sitting in silence as one of them tried to figure out how to start the conversation. Brooke was the one who finally ended the silence. "Haley, I am so sorry. I know you probably don't want to hear it from me right now, but I really am. What happened back then, it wasn't Nathan's fault at all, and I hope you guys don't let this ruin your relationship, because Ill feel horrible if it does. You two are the most perfect couple, and I'll never forgive myself if I ruined that," she said, pausing to swallow loudly, and take a sip of coffee.
This made Haley angry, and it wasn't easy to upset Haley, but for some reason, the longer Brooke went on, the angrier Haley got. "Well, Brooke, I really don't see how that is any of your business. In fact, I don't see how any part of my life is any part of your business. You lost that right when you left without a word, and in fact, you more than lost that right as soon as you came back and told my husband you had been keeping a child from him for over 16 years. So don't pretend now that you care about our relationship or anything about me at all. The only business we have together now is in relation to the daughter you and my husband share," she cut herself off, and looked down at her hand, which Nathan had taken. The couple shared a look, and she calmed herself down, but didn't say anything to take back her words.
Looking at the woman Brooke had once thought could be a really good friend, Brooke held back her tears and nodded. She wished that she could defend herself against Haley, but really, there was no defense for that. Everything Haley had said was true, and she couldn't change the past, even if she wished she could, and that was what hurt Brooke most of all. "You're right," she finally said, surprising the couple across from her. "I guess we should just get right down to business, then. I want my daughter to live with me again. I don't mind if you see her, but she's my daughter. This has gone on longer than I should have allowed. She needs to move back into her home," Brooke said firmly, still trying to recover from the mental wounds that Haley had just left.
Not one of the adults had noticed that the door to the Café had opened, or that they now had an audience. Kristine had known where Haley and Nathan were going, and she had followed, coming in not long after them. She had heard what her mom had just said, and she didn't like it one bit. "No," she said, catching the attention of the three sitting down. She was looking directly at Brooke. "No, Brooke, I don't think so. You can't just do that to me. You've been lying to me my whole life, and then you pull this crap and you think you can call yourself my mother. I don't think so! I'm not moving back in with you. In fact, as far as I'm concerned, you're not even my mother anymore. I hate you!" she turned and left the Café before anyone could catch her.
Looking across the table at her once friends, Brooke knew she wouldn't get any sympathy from them. She looked after her daughter through the glass windows of the Café, watching as Kristine ran down the street, before she looked back at the couple. "Um, she's right. It's probably better if she lives with you. I'll, um," she paused, not sure what to say. She just knew she needed to get out of there before she started crying. She didn't want the pity from either of them, and she knew she wouldn't get comfort. "We'll talk about this another time," she stood and grabbed her purse, hurrying out of the Café and to her car, getting in and driving to her house. She sat in the driveway for hours, just crying and wishing she could go back to a time when she had friends, and her daughter didn't hate her.
END FLASHBACK
Now, Audrey had never told Peyton she hated her, but at least Peyton could sympathize with her once best friend. She knew what it was like to have her daughter not want to live with her anymore. She knew how hard it was to just stand by as she felt her daughter slipping away. It was hard to be a mother and have that happen. She didn't know what Brooke's relationship with her daughter had been like before, but she did know that no matter what the relationship was like, Brooke had to be hurting right now. That more than anything made her thaw out. She knew how everyone else reacted to Brooke's arrival, and her news, and she knew that right now she was the only one who didn't hate her, or at least strongly dislike her. She also kind of needed a friend, right now.
There was one question, though, that she needed Brooke to answer before she could just forgive her and welcome her back into her life with open arms. She waited until Brooke looked at her, and then she asked why Brooke hadn't been around in the past three weeks since she'd originally dropped the bomb, since Peyton's life had fallen apart, though she didn't add that. Brooke looked like she wanted to get out of the car, her hand gripped the handle in fact, ready to pull and push open the door. She didn't, though, and Peyton had to give her credit for that. "Peyton, I've been scared, because everyone else hates me, with good reason. I know you have good reason to hate me, too, but you'd hurt the worst, because you used to be my best friend, and we were supposed to be best friends no matter what," she said, her voice breaking.
Surprising the brunette, Peyton leaned over and gave her a hug, holding her tightly and letting her once best friend cry on her shoulder. She started crying too, but didn't remove her glasses. "At least your daughter didn't get legally emancipated from you. She can say she hates you all she wants, but at least she hasn't divorced you as her mother. I'm sure this'll blow over between the two of you eventually, Brooke. She just needs time away from you, to figure out where her heads at and besides, she's a teenager. They rebel. At least she's not like you were in high school," she teased, then, when Brooke didn't stop crying, she continued murmuring sympathetic phrases, until Brooke did stop crying.
OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH
Walking slowly out of the courthouse, Audrey was hoping her mom would be gone by the time she got out of there. She knew that with the way Peyton had rushed out of there, she didn't want to see anyone, or, more importantly, she didn't want anyone to see her. She couldn't believe this had actually happened. Yeah, she had been trying for it, but now that it was real, she needed some time to process it. She grabbed her boyfriends hand as he reached her. "Hey, I think I'm just going to go back to Logan's house for a little while. I know we were supposed to celebrate, but I've got a headache. I'll call you later, okay?" she said, stopping and allowing the crowd to move around them.
Meeting her gaze, he leaned down to press a kiss to her lips. He didn't feel like starting a fight over how much time she spent at Logan's. She was living there, after all, and they hadn't really fought a lot since getting back together. He wasn't quite as much of a jackass as he used to be, and her heart wasn't really in it as it had once been. So he just gave her a kiss, and let go of her hand as she ran off to get a ride with Logan. She had ridden to the courthouse with him earlier, but she had been planning to ride home with Sean. She needed to catch up to him and tell him the change of plans.
Seeing his familiar head of dark hair just exiting the building, she pushed through the crowd, not even noticing Kristine until she ran into her. "Hey, watch it!" she said, and was unable to say anything else as she wondered why the girl was here. She knew Nathan and Haley were there to support her mom. She also knew that James had probably been around somewhere, but she hadn't seen him. She hadn't seen Kristine either, until now. "What the hell are you even doing here? I don't recall asking you to show up, and it's not like you're friends with my mother, unless you really are trying to steal everyone away from me. I hear she has an open room," she added rudely.
Staring at her for a moment with a shocked expression, Kristine's face quickly hardened. She had lived in New York; she wasn't unused to mean girls. She had been part of that group before she had moved away, even it she hadn't been quite as mean as any of her other friends. She just didn't know what she had done to get on Audrey's bad side. Well, she did know, but she knew Audrey didn't, and she should have no reason to hate her so much. "Listen, I was here because Sean asked me to be, okay. He's my friend, and just because you don't like me, doesn't mean he doesn't," she shot back, looking to be just as rude as Audrey. She was tired of Audrey being such a bitch to her.
Looking like she'd been slapped, Audrey quickly closed her mouth. She glanced back over her shoulder, Sean was still a ways down the hallway, and there were quite a few people between them, but he was tall enough to see over most of the people. She saw the exact moment he spotted Kristine, because she could see it in his face, the way it lit up, and she knew that he hadn't seen her. She looked back at Kristine and saw that she had seen him too, and her face lit up as well, in a completely obvious way, as she lifted her hand to wave. What was worse, Audrey knew this wasn't just a show to make Audrey jealous, Kristine was genuinely happy to see Sean.
This, combined with everything else going on with her today, made her snap. She reached out and slapped the brunette, getting her attention. She was tired of Kristine, tired of all her friends thinking she was the best thing just because she was new; tired of her boyfriend thinking it was okay to be friends with her; just plain sick and tired. She narrowed her eyes at the teenager as Kristine just stood there, holding on to her cheek, but not making any move to hit her back. "Listen to me, and listen good, I don't care who you were in New York, or who you think you are now. You stay away from my boyfriend. Don't go crying to him, either. Just stay away. I'm not going to lose him because of a bitch like you," she spat out, then pushed past her, trying to leave the courthouse to reach Logan.
Finding him outside, she called his name as she ran to get to him before he got in his car. She walked past the car her mom drove now and noticed Peyton hugging a brunette that she knew to be Brooke Davis, not because she'd actually seen her in person, but because she'd seen pictures in magazines and things. She didn't know why her mother and Brooke Davis were getting all buddy-buddy again, but she knew she was glad that Brooke was taking Peyton's attention, because it allowed her to slip past the car and get into Logan's without being noticed. She forced a smile in his direction, noticing it wasn't as forced as it should have been as soon as she saw his inquisitive gaze. "Can you just take me to your house? I'll explain in a bit," she said, trying not to break down here, where everyone could see her.
When they got to his house, she had to tell him what had happened. "I slapped Kristine today," she finally blurted out, as they stretched out on the couch in his living room to watch a movie. She was holding a carton of ice cream and a spoon and there was a spoon in his hand, but he likely wouldn't have any of the ice cream. She usually got pretty defensive about it. She glanced over at him from underneath her lashes to gauge his reaction. He was still looking pretty shocked. "It was because she was there for Sean. Sean asked her there. I probably shouldn't have done it, but honestly, I've wanted to do it for a long time, and I guess everything had piled on me today, and I couldn't stop myself anymore," she confessed, taking a bite of the ice cream, continuing to avoid his gaze.
Sensing how close she was to a break down, he set down his spoon, took the ice cream and her spoon and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and rubbing her back as she began to cry. "I should tell you how stupid that was, but considering what happened today, I won't. I know you thought you wanted to be emancipated from your mom, Rae-Rae, but are you really sure that it's what you want, now that it's happened? Are you sure you don't want to get to know your dad? Why do you want to live on your own?" he had asked her all these questions before, but she had never given him a straight answer before, and he had a feeling it was because she didn't know herself. He kissed the top of her head and let the questions slide for now as she just kept crying. He comforted her as he rubbed her back.
A little while later, when the ice cream was nothing but liquid, her phone started ringing. She had long ago stopped crying and fallen asleep in Logan's arms. He had fallen asleep, too, because they had both been up most of the previous night. She couldn't sleep, so she had gone into his room, and they had just talked. He had stayed up with her because she couldn't sleep. The phone didn't wake either of them, and neither did the door, but Sean did, when he let out a loud curse upon entering the living room to find her wrapped in his arms. She shot up, looking at him with sleep-filled eyes, but he was gone before she could completely wake up, and she wasn't awake enough to try to follow him.
As she heard Sean's car peal out, and Logan began rubbing his own eyes, trying to wake himself up, her phone started ringing again. She picked it up off the coffee table, looking at the display curiously. Her cheerleading coach was calling her. She was the captain of the team, but she didn't know why her coach should be calling her. "Hello," she said slowly, and a few seconds later Logan watched her expression change. "Yeah, thanks for telling me," her expression said she wasn't happy at all. "I'll see you at practice Monday," she hung up the phone, looking at Logan. "One of the girls on the squad broke her leg. She'll be out all season," she sighed and fell back onto the couch, resting her head on his shoulder.
A/N: Yeah, it's been a while since updates, and I'm sorry. I just don't have the computer access most of the time, and I'm moving right now, and it's just been hectic. I'll try to start updating again on a regular basis before the end of the summer, but I'm not making any promises. So, what did you think? I actually kind of liked this chapter, and I know Audrey is being kind of a bitch to Kristine, and most of the time it seems unnecessary, but I have a plan. I know where I'm going with this. If you remember, Nathan was a real jackass back in season one. She will get better. Anyway, I hope you like the chapter, and I hope you review, even if you don't like it. Just please, a little feedback to let me know you're still reading, if you're still reading.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.