here is the next chapter...don't worry, it's a happy chapter, i promise.
there are going to be a few more chapters before i wrap the story up...so please comment!
For the next few days, Brooke didn't talk. She didn't change her clothes, and she barely ate. Haley has been staying with Brooke to take care of Sophia. And Nathan has been living at Haley's, to take care of Tyler.
Brooke didn't go to the funeral. She sat home and looked at pictures. She couldn't bear to go and see her husband in that church.
She missed him dearly, and didn't know how she would get through. Raising Sophia, and everything else that was going on, she didn't think she could do it.
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"Mom! Emma is here! I'll see you after school!" Brooke heard Sophia yell from the bottom of the stairs.
Sophia is now seventeen. She is a senior at Tree Hill High. Her best friend is Emma.
Emma is Nathan and Haley's daughter.
Nathan and Haley got married just a few months after Sophia was born. Tyler was living in California and doing great.
Brooke came down the stairs as Emma walked in the door.
"Good morning Aunt Brooke." Emma said
"Good morning sweetie. You two want a ride to school?" Brooke asked the girls.
"Brady is picking us mom, don't worry." Sophia said, kissing Brooke on the cheek before she opened the front door.
"Be careful sweetie." Brooke said
"We will mom. Love you" Sophia said, shutting the door.
"Bye Aunt Brooke!" Emma yelled back as Sophia pulled her down the stairs.
Brady pulled up, with Noah in the front seat.
Noah got out and jumped to the back so the Sophia could sit next to Brady.
And everyone also knew that it was so he could sit next to Emma.
"Good morning button." Brady said to Sophia as she got it.
"Morning boyfriend.' she said, kissing him.
Emma got in the back next to Noah.
"Good morning." Noah said as she sat next to him
She smiled "You too."
They looked to the front seat where Sophia and Brady were still kissing
Emma fake coughed and Sophia turned to look at her.
"Well we're gonna be late" Emma said smiling.
Noah laughed and they drove to school.
"Hello?" Brooke answered when the phone rang.
"Good morning!" Brooke heard through the phone
"Hey tutor girl. What are you doing?" Brooke asked Haley
"Nathan is going to work and I have a few errands to run." Haley told her
"Well I have to clean the house. it's time for a good cleaning." Brooke said
"You need some help?" Haley asked
"Nah, I'll be fine. Thanks though." Brooke told her
"Well I'll stop over later anyways." Haley said before hanging up.
Brooke sighed and pulled up her long brown hair. She really didn't want to clean on her day off but she knew she had too.
She grabbed the broom and started to clean.
By noon Brooke had swept, vacuumed, and dusted the whole house. Now she just needed to organize some things.
Just as she was about to start on the bookcase, the door opened.
"Tutorgirl!" Brooke said as Haley walked in
"Hey, I brought some coffee." Haley said, handing a cup to Brooke and sitting on the couch.
"Thanks." Brooke said "I have to get this bookcase straightened up."
"You need help?" Haley asked
"No, you can watch." Brooke told her
Haley smiled and watched her best friend start to take book after book out of the bookcase.
The bookcase took up the whole wall of the living room. It is the biggest collection of books Haley has ever seen in one house.
But a book hasn't been added to it in seventeen years.
Most books were Shakespeare, or long books that Brooke never even bothered to look at.
But she pulled out something larger than a book, and realized that it wasn't a book at all, it was the scrapbook Lucas gave to her on graduation. She remembered promising herself she would read it as soon as everything from graduation died down, she must have put it away and never read it.
She put in down next to her. She wanted to read it, but by herself. She wasn't sure exactly what was in it.
Brooke finished cleaning up the bookcase while talking to Haley. When she was finished Haley stood up.
"Well, I better get home. The girls should be home soon." Haley said to Brooke, as she walked towards the door "Oh, and Nathan has to go to a meeting tonight so I was thinking maybe you and me and the girls can hang out?"
"Sounds fun!" Brooke said
"Great. I'll call you soon." Haley said before walking out the door and down the street to her house.
While Brooke was in the kitchen fixing herself a snack, she heard the door open, and then she heard chattering.
"Mom, we're home!" Sophia called from the living room
"Hey sweetie." Brooke said coming out of the kitchen to see Sophia, Emma, Brady, and Noah
Brooke said hi to everyone else and asked if they wanted a snack.
Of course, the boys agreed.
They all went into the kitchen and the kids sat at the table.
"So, how was school?" Brooke asked everyone
"Good." they all said at the same time.
"So you two, first basketball game is two weeks right?" Brooke asked Noah and Brady. They were both on varsity for all four years.
"Can't wait Mrs. S." Brady said
Noah agreed.
Brooke put some crackers and cookies on the table, and a pitcher of iced tea.
They all thanked her and grabbed a cookie.
Emma and Sophia were talking and when the looked up the cookies were gone.
"Brady!" Sophia said loudly. "Noah!"
"Sorry." Brady said smiling "We were hungry.
"Yea, I see that." Emma said
Noah's cell phone rang. He looked at it and stood up.
"It's my mom. I have to get home. I'll talk to you guys later?" Noah said
"All right c'ya." Brady said
Sophia said goodbye but Emma stood up.
"Yea, I have to get home too. My mom wants me home by 3." Emma told them
"Okay, call me later." Sophia said
"I will Soph." Emma said "Bye Aunt Brooke."
"Bye sweetie."
Noah and Emma both walked into the living room and out the door.
"You want company on your walk home?" Noah asked her
"Sure." Emma said
They talked about school on the short walk home, and Noah walked her to the porch.
"Thanks for walking me home." Emma said :"I'll see you sometime soon."
"Okay." Noah said as Emma was opening the front door.
"Hey Emma?" Noah said
Emma turned back around to face him.
"Um, I was wondering, if maybe tomorrow night, if you weren't busy, you maybe would want to go to dinner?" Noah asked her
"I'd love to." Emma said smiling.
"Great. I'll call you tomorrow." he said before she shut the door.
Emma leaned against the door and smiled.
She hadn't gone out with anyone before, well for real. Her and Sophia were the most popular girls all through high school and Emma had gotten asked out plenty of times. But she usually said she was busy, or she went with them and dreaded the night. But she really liked Noah, she always had.
"Hales!" Nathan called from the front door "I have to go!"
"Okay!" Haley called back before coming to say goodbye
"Have fun tonight." Nathan told her
"We will." Haley replied
Nathan kissed her "I love you."
"I love you too."
Just as Nathan was leaving Emma came downstairs.
"Go say goodbye to your father." Haley told her
"Bye dad." Emma said, running up to Nathan and giving him a hug. "I love you."
"I love you too sweet heart. Be good tonight."
"Okay."
"No he didn't!" Brooke and Haley heard Sophia yell from the living room.
Brooke and Haley walked in with hot chocolate and handed two cups to the girls.
"Who did what?" Brooke asked
"Noah asked Emma out!" Sophia yelled.
Emma stared at Sophia.
"What?" Sophia said "You never told me to keep it a secret."
"That's because I didn't even get a chance to finish the story." Emma told her
Haley and Brooke sat on the couch next to the girls.
"When are you going?" Haley asked
"Tomorrow night!" Sophia said
"Thanks Emma" Emma said to Sophia.
Sophia smiled at her.
"Are you excited?" Brooke asked
Emma paused, then smiled "Yea."
They talked about what she was going to wear, then Haley got up.
"Okay, what movie?" she asked, walking to the television.
They finally decided.
Haley turned on The Breakfast Club.
"Emma, can you throw me a pillow?" Brooke asked Emma, who was sitting on the other end of the couch.
Emma picked up the pillow and threw it, knowing she wasn't throwing it at Brooke.
It hit Sophia.
"Hey!" Sophia said, before grabbing another pillow and throwing it back at Emma
This went on for a few minutes, until Haley and Brooke got it on it. They all laughed and wacked each other with the pillows.
They finally sat down, out of breath.
"Haven't had one of those in a long time." Haley said
"That's cause your old mom." Emma said jokingly
"Hey!" Haley said, nudging her
"I haven't either." Brooke said "Probably since that night that we had that fight."
"What fight?" Emma and Sophia asked
Brooke and Haley laughed "Let's just say that Aunt Brooke did something she shouldn't have in my apartment." Haley said
Brooke and Haley started cracking up. Emma and Sophia were so confused, they didn't even both to try to figure it out.
Brooke and Haley fell asleep by the time the movie was over, so Sophia and Emma went out back to talk.
It was something that they haven't had time to do in a while. Just talk about whatever they wanted, with each other. And they like to do that.
The next morning, Brooke and Haley were sitting at the kitchen table when Emma and Sophia walked in.
"Mom, can Soph and I go out?" Emma asked Haley
"Yea, that's fine. Where are you going?" Haley asked
"Over to Brady's."
"Okay, be good."
After the girls left, Haley looked at Brooke.
"We raised some pretty great girls, huh?" Haley said to Brooke
"We did." Brooke agreed. She paused for a second, then kept talking "You know, Soph reminds me of Lucas so much. I mean, it scares me sometimes. The way she talks and moves, it's like Lucas is back."
"Yea, I know. It's pretty weird." Haley said
"It is." Brooke said, then she remembered about the scrapbook, that she has yet to read.
"Hales, I'm gonna run home for a little bit. I'll come back later." Brooke said
"Okay. Bye Tigger." Haley said as Brooke walked out the door.
Brooke walked home, but didn't open the scrapbook right away. She knew that it would bring back so many memories that haven't been touched in so many years.
She just hung around the house a little. Sophia came home and then left to help Emma get ready for her date with Noah.
By the time she worked up the courage to open the book, it was dark out.
She walked out back and sat on the glider that Lucas had set up for her. She looked at the side of it where it said 'My pretty girl'. Brooke smiled, she hadn't sat out here for years.
She looked up at the sky and the stars were beautiful tonight.
She took a deep breath and opened the book.
http://img481.imageshack.us/my.php?imagemyprettygirlns3.jpg
She was stuck on the first page. The pictures were ones that she forgot all about. She started to cry.
She looked up at the stars as a shooting star was falling.
She didn't close the book, but she went inside and laid on the couch.
She looked out the window and up at the stars, and closed her eyes……………..
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A few minutes later she heard the door open.
"Sorry pretty girl, I forgot my keys." she heard.
She sat up "Lucas?"
"Yes?" he asked, realizing she looked confused.
"You're here?"
"Um, I just forgot my keys. I'll be back in an hour." he said
"How long was I sleeping?" Brooke asked him
"Just a few minutes." he said.
Brooke paused. She couldn't believe that everything that had just happened was a dream.
"I'll be back." Lucas said, about to shut the door.
Brooke jumped up and ran to him "I love you so much."
"I love you too pretty girl. Until the end of time." he said, kissing her.
She walked back to the couch and looked at her baby, who was laying in the bassinette next to the couch.
"Well, you're gonna grow up to be a wonderful girl." Brooke said smiling, still shocked by the dream she just had.