Sorry! We didn't get as many reviews as we had hoped for the last chapter. I know some of you are saying that Lucas wouldn't cheat on Peyton but you would be surprised; we think that he would for Brooke. Thanks to all those people who reviewed our story.

For the dedication: Many of you got the answer right but Rose and I decided to make it in the next chapter. Were sorry about the wait but we had to figure out where this person fit and this chapter just didn't work.

P.S.- Anyone else think Nanny Carrie deserved to die? She was a little too psycho for us. Anways, enjoy chapter eleven.

The Truth of Things

Brooke didn't know what was worse; nearly sleeping with her best friend's fiance or lying to her about it. She was glad that she had stopped her and Lucas when she had or else it would have killed her even more.

It was those exact reasons as to why she was sitting alone in the small diner. She had never really come in here but it seemed like the perfect hideaway; the perfect hideaway until someone found her and called her out on everything.

But no one would. She knew that Lucas wouldn't tell anyone and she was keeping the same promise even if it hurt her insides so much that she couldn't breathe sometimes.

"Brooke?!" Lucas knocked on the door for the fourth time. They hadn't spoken since yesterday and even that was too long for him. He knocked one more time before he tried to open the door. He was glad that it was unlocked.

He stepped into the house and noticed nothing new except for a few papers scattered on her counter. He stopped when he saw a picture of him, Brooke and Peyton back in high school. When he saw Peyton's smiling face, his gut twisted and he looked away.

Ignoring his thoughts, he headed towards her room, hoping that she was in there. When he stepped into it, he sighed and was about to turn when he noticed something on her mirror. He walked over and looked at the red marks all over the glass.

"What..." His voice trailed off when he noticed the writing. All the words around the circles were confusing him but he needed to find Brooke and ask her about it. He got out of the house as quick as he could and sped towards her store.

Peyton couldn't keep her eyes off of him as he talked. She remembered back in high school when she felt the exact same way. Then, all of the sudden, a picture of Lucas popped into her memory and she looked away from him.

"Peyton?" She looked over and smiled at him. He smiled back without hesitation and continued talking. She realized that he was talking about Jenny.

"...and she's in kindergarten now."

Peyton shook her head in disbelief. "She's getting so big now." Then another thought struck her. "When can I meet her?" It had been her second time going out with Jake and he still hadn't mentioned anything about her meeting Jenny.

"Soon," he said. She smiled and felt the nervous feeling start back up in the pit of her stomach. She knew why it was doing what it was doing but she tried to ignore it and listen to Jake; the only problem was that when she listened to him, she seemed to zone out and go back to the high school years when everything was so much easier.

"Nathan, it's not bad at all," Haley laughed when she looked at her husband. He was still freaking out about the new baby. "He or she isn't even a speck yet."

"I know but still." She sighed and walked over to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "How are we going to tell Jamie?"

Haley looked around, as if searching for Jamie. "He'll be fine. He's always wanted a little sister or brother."

"That's what Brooke said," he muttered but Haley had heard him.

"What?"

"When I went to tell Brooke..." He stopped himself when he noticed that Haley wasn't near him anymore.

"What did you tell Brooke?"

"That I thought you were pregnant," he said quietly, knowing that he couldn't lie to her. She met his eyes and shook her head.

"She knew before I told her?"

Nathan nodded. "Why didn't she tell me?

"I think Brooke has a lot going on," Nathan offered and Haley ran her hands through her hair. He could tell that she felt bad for saying that.

"I didn't mean...I just...you're right. I worry about her." She went towards him and he pulled her into his lap before laying his cheek on her head.

"Me too Haley, me too."

Lucas was at the store in ten minutes. He probably broke a few laws getting there but he knew that something was up with Brooke and this time she couldn't hide it or lie; he had solid proof.

He stepped out of his car and crossed the street before he got to the door of the store and noticed that it was already open. He peered in and his mouth almost fell open. Everything that was there yesterday was gone now. The mannequins were stripped and the tables were gone, along with the chairs and all the clothes.

Was she moving locations? He nearly jumped when he felt someone tap on his shoulder. He looked over and took a few steps away from the person.

"Hello Lucas," the person said and Lucas gulped, slightly nervous to be around the smaller person.

"Hi Victoria, what are you doing here?"

She rolled her eyes as if it was an enourmous job telling him. "Well, if you must know, after Brooke decided to give her company to me I wanted this store gone."

"Why would she give you her..."

He didn't get to finish. "She's finally come to her senses. We all know that Brooke couldn't run this company. I mean, she can't even take care of this store."

"She took great care of this store," he spit. He really hated the woman in front of him and tried hard to control himself.

"Then tell me why it was robbed." That one made Lucas stop breathing. Was that what she was talking about? He hoped that Victoria was lying.

He scoffed. "You're lying."

She copied his actions before picking up a piece of paper from the register. "How am I lying? Please," she laughed. "How else would she get those bruises?" She said as if it was no big deal and that infuriated him before the whole truth finally got to him.

Then everything was put in place; all the puzzle pieces fit together. The lying, the mirror, all the bruises finally made sense.

"Are you there?" His eyes met hers and he suddenly had a feeling to give her a piece of his mind and it wouldn't be pretty.

"Victoria, do you even care about what this will do to Brooke?"

She laughed carelessly. "She's a big girl. She can take care of herself."

"No thanks to you. Did you know that she actually missed you in high school? I always knew that she did but she would never admit it. I will never understand how she could miss you." Victoria did nothing but look away from him. He had gotten to her and that pleased him.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have someone to meet." He left before she could squeeze another word out. He breathed a relief once he got away from the awful woman and began to think of where Brooke would be. She had a lot of explaining to do and this time he wouldn't let her run.

"That was fun." Peyton nodded as her Jake walked down the pier. Her arm was linked with his and she felt so comfortable.

"I'm glad you came back Jake."

He looked over and smiled again. "Me too." Then a frown crossed his face before she could see. "Are you excited about your wedding?"

The question caught her off guard and she smiled nervously. "Yeah."

"That's good."

Peyton nodded and couldn't help but feel bad. She didn't want to break Jake's heart but she didn't even know if he had the feelings for her that he did back in high school. She stopped short when he stopped to watch the boats.

"It's nice out here."

"It is," she agreed. "I wish our lives were like this."

A confused look crossed his features. "Like what?"

She pointed to the boats and the water. "Just...so carefree and happy. Isn't that what you think of when you see this?"

He smiled softly. "Yeah, I guess so." She smiled when she felt his arm go around her shoulders; everything just felt so right. She completed it by placing her head on his shoulder.

She could feel him tensing up but she tried to ignore it. When she turned to ask him if something was wrong, he quickly placed his lips on hers.

She was shocked of course but neither her nor Jake made any attempt to pull away and Peyton found herself feeling like a little school girl again.

Brooke sat alone in the little blue diner just picking at her food. She felt so much freedom now that Victoria had taken the company; she still felt a little empty but she put it off, ignoring the feeling completely sometimes.

When she had gotten to the store that morning, workers had been moving her stuff but she wasn't surprised. In fact, she had signed the stupid paper and let them move her stuff; the stuff that her mother was taking from her.

On the other hand, her bruises had almost gone away. The few on her back wouldn't go away for a while but the ones along her jaw and face were fading. There was still a little black under her eye but it would go away eventually.

The only one that she couldn't hide was the one that Lucas had seen. She smiled a little when she thought of Lucas but her smiled turned into a frown when she remembered her best friend.

She couldn't tell her what happened. Peyton would be crushed and it would ruin any building relationship that they had. Things had been off with them ever since she moved out.

Brooke sighed and placed her head in her hands before she closed her eyes and tuned out all of the noisy sounds of the families and the waiters.

The noises finally faded when she let herself lose touch with reality and fall asleep. She had been lacking it these days anyway.

So, any chance with that button?!

Lucas knows and Brooke doesn't know he knows. That's going to go down well. Haley is pregnant and worried about Brooke and Peyton and Jake are hooking up. That sounds like One Tree Hill to us!

Remember: The character that's coming back is only staying for the next chapter. Oh and Dan might be in this story but we don't know; he's not very important to our storyline.