Alright, I have to give most of the credit for this chapter Rose. She wrote mostly all of it and I proof-read it and all that good stuff. Thanks Rose! Now go on and read the second chapter.

P.S.- I think Rose exchanged Deb's and Haley's role in this one. You'll see when you read.

By the way: Thank you all so much. I woke up to an inbox full of Favorites, Story Alerts, and Reviews. It made Rose and I very happy! So, thanks so much again. We're glad you like the story.

I Won't Cry

Haley watched as Brooke stumbled over her words for the tenth time that night. She could hardly hear her because her voice was so low and nervous along with the fact that Brooke didn't even want to talk. But, as a good friend, she waited patiently for Brooke to start her story again.

"Brooke, how did this happen?" Brooke looked up at her and Haley instantly wanted to cry for her beat up friend. "I mean truly, how did this happen?"

"I told you," she muttered. "I fell down the stairs."

Haley shook her head in disbelief. "Brooke, you're the most graceful person I know." Brooke looked away and didn't dare look her in the eye.

"I was doing laundry," her scratchy voice forced Haley to listen carefully. "I couldn't see where I was going with the...basket in front of me." Haley watched her for anything that would give her away but Brooke was an emotional stone; she wouldn't crack.

"I just..."

"You should go." Brooke's sudden rudeness surprised her. Brooke had hardly ever been rude to her. "I need to sleep." Haley nodded and Brooke walked her to the door. "I'll see you later Haley." Haley nodded and left the house before it got more awkward than it already was.

Brooke clutched her stomach as she shut the door harder than she intended to. It still stung but she was more worried about Haley telling everyone about her state; the last thing she wanted was everyone getting involved with her problem.

Her eyes glanced at the clock and she realized that it was already eight. Had Haley really been there that long? Peyton would be home soon and she would shut herself away so her and Lucas couldn't see what happened.

She stepped into the kitchen and stared down at her attempted sketches. Some of them were scratched with black marks from where she made mistakes and some were crumpled up into tiny balls. She averted her eyes to the stove and decided to put on some tea before Peyton showed up.

As she set up her drink, she went back to looking at the sketches. She had no idea as to how she was going to recreate the designs that she worked so hard on. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a key being inserted.

Her eyes widened before she quickly squinted them in pain. She threw her items in the trash and headed to her room where she locked the door and laid on her bed. She was being a coward but it was bad enough that Haley knew.

She waited for Peyton to enter. "Brooke?" There it was. "Where are you?" Brooke listened for any others who were with her.

"Where's Brooke?" Brooke almost trembled when she heard his voice but she had to stay silent.

Peyton stepped into the kitchen and noticed the drawings that were scattered everywhere. She eyed the trash and noticed there were un-open teabags. "Maybe she was in a hurry to leave."

Lucas looked at her confusedly. "What makes you say that?"

"Brooke never leaves the house this messy. I'll go check her room." Brooke could hear Peyton's heels hit the floor as she walked towards her room. She closed her eyes when she heard the doorknob rattle.

"Is she in there?"

"The door is locked?" It came out as more of a question than a statement. Peyton knew that she never locked her door. What the hell was going on?

"Brooke never..."

Peyton sighed. "I know but where would she have gone at eight? The store closes at seven and Haley is at home with Jamie getting ready for bed."

"Maybe she had a date?" Brooke winced when he said 'date'. He didn't know how much it killed her to hear him say that.

"Maybe..." Peyton tried the door again but with no avail, she turned and headed back towards Lucas. Brooke opened her eyes when everything went silent. Then she heard muffled voices coming from Peyton's room.

She sighed and realized that she really was tired. Her eyes closed as she tried to avoid the pain that clawed at her.

It was two in the morning when Brooke woke from her nightmare. It was the second time she had had the same nightmare; it was always her and the robber, alone together. She tried to stop the scene from playing in her head again as she stood up, wincing slightly.

She needed medication or anything to make her pain go away. She listened for any voices and decided it was safe to get some pills from the kitchen. She opened the door quietly and stepped out in her silk robe.

She tip-toed into the kitchen and began rummaging through the cabinets. It was hard to see when she squinted but she didn't want to turn on the lights in fear of Lucas or Peyton seeing her.

Her hand wrapped around a small Tylenol bottle and she pulled it out before shutting the cabinet door lightly and going to the sink. When she grabbed a cup from the side of the sink, it slipped and fell into into the sink. She cringed when the cup made a large clang. She quickly grabbed the bottle and turned around but froze when she saw someone in the dark.

No, not anyone. It was Lucas Scott who was trying to adjust his eyes to see her and who made her feel suddenly naked. She was glad that the light hid her face from him.

"Brooke?" She didn't want to say anything. He would be able to hear her scratchy voice and make conclusions that something was wrong. "Brooke, are you okay?"

She ignored him and rushed past him. When she got to her room, she shut the door and locked it before going into her bathroom and flicking the light on. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight; it was a very good thing Lucas hadn't seen her.

Weren't bruises supposed to get better? The dark bruises on her face had become more prominent. The few marks on her neck were dimming but someone could still wonder what they were. She took two of the pills and flicked off the light, not wanting to see herself anymore before she went back to her bed.

After she glared at the ceiling, she turned and stared into the darkness before closing her eyes and falling back to sleep.

She awoke the next morning to voices coming from the kitchen. She could smell something cooking but she couldn't tell what it was; she was more focused on the voices anyway. She tried to move but the pain from her legs held her back. So, she decided to close her eyes and listen as best as she could.

"I don't know..."

"Well, did she say anything? She just ran?" Brooke could pick out Peyton's voice from Lucas'. "It just doesn't seem like her."

"I know. I could only make out her figure. It was odd that she didn't turn on any of the lights."

Peyton nodded, agreeing. "Do you think she's still here?"

"I didn't hear anyone leave this morning." He glanced down the hall. "I'll go knock and see if she wants breakfast." Brooke could hear him walk up to the door and stop.

"Brooke? Are you up or are you hungry? We made bacon." Brooke just listened but didn't reply. She knew she couldn't stay locked up there forever but for now it was fine. He tried the doorknob but it was locked.

She could hear his sigh and then it went silent again as he left. Their voices quieted down, supposedly trying not to wake her, and she couldn't hear them anymore. She tried to get up once again and this time she succeeded.

She quietly got dressed, trying not to hiss when her dress rubbed one of her bruises. She eventually finished and grabbed her biggest pair of sunglasses before wrapping a white scarf around her neck and grabbing her purse. She stepped outside of her room as slowly as she could. Her bruises ached from having the sunglasses and scarf on them but she had to hide. She walked into the living room and noticed it was empty before grabbing her key and going outside.

She had gotten away easily but where were they? They were in the kitchen less than thirty minutes ago. She didn't want to find out but she couldn't help but be a little curious. She ignored her curiosity and got into her car before backing out and leaving.

"Did Brooke just leave?" Lucas called to Peyton from her bathroom. Peyton looked up from her business papers and looked across the hall into Brooke's empty room.

"Yeah. She didn't even say goodbye."

Brooke felt terrible for avoiding her best friend but then again she felt jealous and hurt; she had no reason to feel hurt because of Peyton though. She stepped out of her car and pressed a hand to her aching head before she entered her ruined store.

She looked around at the destroyed mannequins and the torn shirts. She could fix all of this but she couldn't replace the sketches. She walked over to the broken desk and bent down to look at the open safe. She fingered the sides sadly before she stood up and noticed another car parked next to hers.

She realized that she hadn't taken the sunglasses off but the scarf was on the desk; it was too hot for it. When the door jingled, she snapped her head up and regretted it. She noticed Haley and relaxed slightly.

"Hey Brooke." She remained silent. "You don't have to hide from me. Peyton just called and told me that you were avoiding her." Then Haley looked around the store before she looked to Brooke and put two and two together.

"Brooke, were you robbed?" Brooke sighed and knew she couldn't hide from Haley anymore. She slipped off the glasses and looked her straight in the eye.

"Yes." Haley looked at Brooke and wanted to cry for her. The bruises from yesterday only seemed to get worse and she looked so tired.

"He hurt you didn't he? The robber?" At this point, Haley was wishing the 'falling down the stairs' story was true after all.

"Yes." Haley walked over to Brooke and gave her a gentle hug as Brooke rested her bruised cheek on Haley's shoulder.

"I'll help you through this. Everything will be alright."

Brooke only nodded. "I'm not gonna cry. I'm not gonna cry." Haley shut her eyes tightly when she heard those words, knowing that Brooke was trying to be brave as always.

"We have to tell the police." Brooke pulled back quickly and Haley watched as pain flashed in her eyes.

"We can't go to the police. I-I can handle this."

Haley grabbed Brooke's hand tenderly. "Brooke, look at yourself. You can't handle this alone. We could tell Lucas or Peyton."

"I don't want to ruin their new engagement."

Haley was surprised. "They're getting married?" Brooke nodded meekly and took a seat on one of the couches.

"We have to tell someone Brooke. They can help you get whoever did this."

"They took my sketches Haley. I have a fairly good idea as to who did this." Haley watched as Brooke struggled with the facts.

Haley seemed to realize who they were talking about after a second of silence. "You don't think she would..."

"I don't know." Haley slowly reached down to pat Brooke's hair but she flinched and Haley pulled her hand back instantly.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. I guess it's an initial...reaction." Haley nodded and took a seat next to her friend.

"I'm so sorry Brooke. I wish...I could take it all away but..."

"I know."

Haley got a determined look on her face. "I'll be here though. I'll help you through whatever you need help with. I promise." Brooke nodded and Haley pulled her into another hug.

Please press the pretty purple button below? Yes? Thanks. :D

Anyways, the drama will pick up in the next chapter, I promise! The first two chapters were just kind of clearing up what was happening and such. But now that Lucas is suspicious and Peyton is thinking Brooke is avoiding her, things will heat up.

Also, were going to play a game. You don't have to but the winner get's a chapter dedicated to them. In this chapter, I used a quote from one of the episodes. If you can figure out which quote and what episode it was from, then you have a chapter dedicated to you. This one is fairly easy by the way. :D

Also, the song for this chapter was Never Alone by Barlow Girl. I might only be doing the song thing for the first two because I don't always listen to songs. Or maybe I'll do it only when I listen to a song while writing? I don't know.