Sorry for the really late update everyone.
Thank you for you're message brucas2006.
This chapter's for you…
Chapter Twenty-Two: How Bad Could It Really Be?
"Oh my God" Karen whispered
"Oh my God" Haley echoed
One by one, as if they had just awoken from a trance, everyone began talking amongst themselves, questioning what they had just seen…
"Who would do something like this?"
"How cruel"
"Do you think he did it?"
"Poor Dan"
"I always thought this family was weird"
"To accuse him of killing his own brother… some people have no shame"
"I was really hungry"
"Do you think he's going to say anything?"
Their voices getting louder and louder, questions, supposed answers, speculation filled the room as Dan, Karen, Nathan and Haley stood there, motionless.
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Brooke sat outside on the steps looking down at her watch wondering, when it would be safe to go in and ask Rachel if they could leave without, having to see Dan, Lucas or Dean for that matter.
Just as she'd decided to give it another ten minutes she heard glass smash.
"What the…?" Brooke thought to herself. But before she had time to come up with any explanation as to what was going on inside, Rachel came running out the house.
"Where have you been Brooke?" Rachel slurred
"Well…" Brooke began but Rachel was to excited to let her finish
"You'll never guess what just happened!" She squealed. Brooke looked at Rachel, assessing her current state. She could tell she was drunk, so decided not to pay much attention to what Rachel had said.
"Can we go already" Brooke said getting up
"Trust me you're gonna want to see this" Rachel laughed pulling Brooke by the arm, leading them both back into the house, Brooke desperately wanted to get away from.
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Brooke followed Rachel into the house. "So what exactly happened?" She asked Rachel annoyed by the fact that they were taking even longer to leave.
"Like I said, you have to see it for yourself" Rachel said, spotting the now free bar "Oooo" she said staggering over to it and pouring herself a drink.
"Rachel… hello are you forgetting something" Brooke gestured to herself.
"What? No ones going to notice, they're all to busy with what just happened"
"What happened?" Brooke asked again.
"I'm a little busy right now" Rachel gestured to the open bottle of vodka on the bar "Go on in and see for yourself. Dan's just standing there like a zombie" Rachel giggled.
Brooke paused, reluctant to continue on. So Dan had something to do with this? She didn't like the sound of that. It can't be that bad. Brooke thought to herself. Rachel's just had a lot to drink. She's probably exaggerating! Brooke tried to rationalise and calm her increasing anxiety. I mean how bad could it really be?
As she got closer to the living room, she could hear everyone talking no, shouting over one another. It sounded like everyone in the room was talking about Dan.
Brooke walked round the corner and through into the living room, coming face to face with what everyone had just seen.
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"Who would have done something, so cruel" Karen whispered, shaking her head. "Dan… say something" Karen pleaded, placing her arm on his shoulder "Dan?"
Haley reached forward, putting her arms round Karen's shoulders and stepping them both away from Dan.
Nathan moved forward towards his father, hoping to get an explanation "Who would have done this dad?" Nathan asked "Who ever they are, we know they're lying, we all know it" Dan turned to face his son, surprised by what he had just said.
Although Nathan's voice was filled with anger and support all Dan could hear was a naivety and innocence that brought him to shame. Despite their differences, Nathan had just started to respect Dan, even like him. Dan had been there for him when Haley got run over, he had been willing to go to jail for him and even though Dan knew on some level that he was just looking for a punishment for his own sins it had brought him and Nathan closer. A relationship he was not willing to lose right now.
Dan began looking round the room at the individuals who stood around him. He had feared the worst. That they'd all be judging him, sentencing him to life imprisonment before the police had even arrived but instead; as he looked amongst the crowd of people he had been entertaining only a few moments ago, he saw warm smiles filled with support and sympathy.
"I apologise on behalf of our mayor, Mr. Scott for such a devastating end to what was a wonderful evening. And sincerely apologise for the lengths at which our political opposition are willing to go to tarnish everything Mr. Scott's stands for " Dan's PA, Simon Pratt spoke with such conviction to everyone.
Simon was a small, chubby man who clearly prided himself on his appearance. Everything about him screamed fake; his smile, his 'caring' tone, his suit, his wife and two perfect little kids. He was good at what he did, good at pretending and manufacturing an image he believed everyone wanted to see. That's why Dan had hired him, he had reminded him of himself in some ways. Sure enough Simon was younger and far less successful but Simon had a way of turning even the worst situations into a great campaign opportunity and Dan hoped tonight would be no different.
Dan paused for a moment, taking comfort in the crowd's apparent faith in him. But, before he could think of something, heart warming to say, a figure, entering the room, caught his eyes.
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Brooke looked over at the writing on the wall. Her whole body filled with shock. She could have sworn she would have fallen to the ground if she hadn't been holding onto the door handle. She had to get out of there!
Brooke brushed her hair behind her ears nervously, preparing herself to turn and run out of the room, out of the house. But before she could leave, her eyes were met by those of the cold-blooded murder himself… Dan.
Dan's eyes were filled with rage and hatred. Brooke's mind flashed back to the time in car when she had yelled at him and thought about how angry he was then. This was nothing in comparison. If looks alone could kill she would have been dead right then and there.
"That scheming little…" Dan muttered
Although she couldn't hear what Dan was saying she knew she had to get out of there. Brooke's heart began beating faster. Get out of here! She screamed to herself trying to make a quick exit, without literally running out of the room.
"Oh no you don't" Dan muttered again
"Dad?" Nathan called, as Dan followed Brooke out the room. No one else had seen the exchange of looks between Brooke and Dan. In fact no besides Nathan had seen Brooke enter the room. "What is going on?" Nathan mumbled to himself, confused by why Dan had gone after Brooke.
"Rachel? Rachel?" Brooke shouted frantically. Where is she?
Brooke looked around desperate to see her ticket out of there. Forget it, she'll have to get a lift home. Brooke thought to herself, heading through into the hallway only to come face to face with Lucas and Peyton, who were making there way down the stairs.
They looked happy; like they'd just been laughing about the worlds funniest joke and Brooke had ruined the punch-line. Brooke struggled to hid her jealousy and trying her best not to think about what they possibly could have been doing upstairs that would have stopped them from hearing what had been going on downstairs. Could this get any worse? Brooke asked herself, as both Lucas and Peyton stopped laughing as they saw Brooke standing in the hall way.
Just then, when Brooke thought things couldn't get any worse, Dan appeared. He stopped, observed the scene in front of him and smiled to himself. Brooke mentally kicked herself for giving Dan this great opportunity to embarrass her the way he thought she had embarrassed him.
"Well isn't this cosy" Dan smirked
Brooke rolled her eyes, brushing her hair behind her ears uncomfortably.
"Where did you two disappear to? You were making so much noise upstairs; I had to move my speech inside" Dan said as Brooke cringed at the thought.
Dan spotted this, realising Brooke's interpretation of what he had just said; and of course being Dan he couldn't pass up the opportunity to twist the knife.
"Young love, hey" Dan added, turning to smile at Brooke who looked deeply hurt by what she had just heard.
Lucas looked over at Brooke, realising how she must have understood what Dan had said. "Actually…" Lucas began trying to explain
Dan interrupted, getting in the way of Lucas's attempt to clear things up "Actually Lucas had something to say to you… didn't you son" Dan said turning towards Lucas.
Lucas looked back at Dan completely confused as Peyton stood there uncomfortably, fiddling with her hair.
"Lucas wanted to apologies for bursting in like that on you and Dean" Dan smirked knowing the effect his words would have.
Lucas's face turned from one of confusion to anger and jealousy. He'd almost forgotten about what had happened earlier. He looked over at Brooke who was still confused by what Dan had just said. First of all Lucas never walked in on me and Dean, it was Dan and second of all there was nothing to walk in on. Brooke thought to herself, as she remembered that none of that should have mattered to Lucas anyway, not with his girlfriend goldilocks over there.
"Yeah sorry about… didn't mean to kill you buzz" Lucas said bitterly
Brooke just stared back at him. Why the hell is he mad at me? If anyone should be mad it should be me! He's the one who was upstairs with Peyton, he's the one with a girlfriend.
"Not that it's any of your business…" Brooke began. She could feel herself doing what she always did when she felt vulnerable… be really mean.
"Your right its not" Lucas snapped ending the conversation.
Brooke looked up, annoyed and slightly hurt by his easy dismissal.
There was a moments silence as Brooke and Lucas stared at each other angrily, before Brooke looked away, frustrated by the entire evening. Soon people started walking out through into the hall, escorted by none other then Simon Pratt.
"Thank you, all for coming" Simon said opening the door.
With this, Dan's focus turned to his 'adoring public' who despite the writing on the wall seemed completely brainwashed into believing Dan was a saint and the victim of a heartless prank.
"I'm so sorry Dan, we're all behind you" A man said, coming over to Dan to shake his hand. "You've still got my vote" He laughed followed by Dan who laughed back politely.
"Thank you everyone, thank you for your support" Dan spoke to everyone "But please don't feel sorry for me… it's my family, I'm worried about and how this has affected them".
Brooke rolled her eyes as some women in the crowd, put there hands on their hearts obviously touched by Dan's persona.
"As long as my family are safe I'll be alright. That's all I care about… they're all I live for" Dan smiled placing his arm around Karen, milking it for everything it was worth.
Brooke had to stop herself from shouting Oh Palease!! Instead she stood there silently wondering how many times Dan had practiced those exact lines in front of the mirror.
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An hour later and everyone had left. Most of the hired helped had packed up and left after receiving only half of their pay; seeing as the evening had been such a shambles Dan had refused to pay for their full service. Brooke had spent most of the hour looking for one opportunity after the next to leave, but Rachel was no where in sight and Lucas kept glancing over at Brooke every five seconds. He had that "we need to talk look" and Brooke knew that the second she headed for the door he would have been right there wanting to talk.
"Okay, I think we should get going" Karen smiled, gesturing over to Lucas.
Peyton had long gone, which Brooke had to admit did make things a little less awkward; however that hadn't stopped her from wanting to leave. Haley and Nathan were still around. Haley had spent the last hour talking to Brooke about baby names and despite three great runner ups they still hadn't come up with anything they both liked.
"Here" Dan said passing Karen a dish of food "I've got so much of it"
Karen looked around at all the food, sighing. "Yes it would be a shame for it all to go to waste. Why doesn't everyone grab a dish or two and take them home"
Dan smiled, agreeing with the idea. He spent most of his time round art Karen's, the food would have only gone to waste. Everyone did as Karen suggested. Brooke walked over to the kitchen counter, searching for food that didn't appear tampered with. For all she knew Dan could have poisoned it. Brooke lifted two dishes one on top of the other, regretting her decision as soon as she began to walk towards the door.
"Oh" Brooke frowned as one of the dishes nearly slipped.
"Here, I'll help you" Lucas rushed over, all to keen to help.
Brooke frowned "No Lucas I'm fine" She said adamantly, continuing to walk out into the hall only to stop again as the dishes got heavy again.
"Let me help you" Lucas persisted
"I don't need you" Brooke muttered back, staring Lucas right in the eyes, letting them both know she wasn't just talking about the food.
Dan, who had been watching the entire scene, smiled to himself walking over to take on of the dishes from Brooke. Brooke turned instantly to face Dan.
"Where's you car?" He said calmly.
Brooke rolled her eyes, damning her luck. She figured there was no point in protesting against Dan's help and that the sooner she took the food, the sooner she could leave.
"This way" Brooke gestured as everyone except Lucas made their way outside to their respective cars, putting the dishes in their boots.
Brooke opened the boot with her keys, placing her dish inside. She stepped back allowing Dan to do so too. As she did then and only then did she remember what she had in the boot of her car. Brooke's thoughts flashed back to that night when she helped Mouth….
"I can take some if for you if you want?" Brooke offered
"Awh thanks Brooke" He said as they walked over to her boot, placing some of the empty paint cans in her boot.
Brooke looked down at the empty red paint cans in her boot immediately shutting the boot. But it was too late, Dan had already seen them.
Brooke looked up at Dan. She could see him put all the pieces together, the pieces of a puzzle he clearly thought he had solved. She watched in horror as he turned his attention to her. If she hadn't have known better she could have sworn, he would have killed her right then and there.
"Bye" Haley and Nathan waved from their car as they drove past.
Dan put on his usual fake smile, waving to the couple as they drove past. Brooke stared down at the ground, unable to stop her hand from shaking long enough to raise it. Brooke's heart began beating faster. She began wondering, why on earth she was still here, long after everyone had gone.
"You all set?" Karen asked as she walked over to Brooke and Dan.
Without thinking, without saying anything Brooke ran into the house pacing straight into the cloakroom to grab her jacket and purse. She needed to get out of there, away from Dan and this evening from hell. As she quickly put her jacket on and began searching for her purse, she was hit with the realisation of what she had just done… walked into a confined, secluded space where Dan could easily pick her part, piece by piece until she cracked.
Brooke felt footsteps behind her. She didn't have to turn around to know who it is.
"Done hiding, Miss Davis?"
Brooke tried to stop herself from breathing so fast by telling herself over and over again to stay calm, just stay calm.
"Excuse Mr. Scott, I think I'd better be leaving" She said stepping forward towards the door. As she did, Dan stepped backwards placing his arm across the doorway… She wasn't going anywhere.
Brooke stepped back uneasily. "I'm sorry about the…"
"Don't insult my intelligence Miss Davis, you just got in way over you head little girl." Dan spat "All this because I let Lucas in on a few home truths"
What was he talking about? What had he said to Lucas "I don't know what you're talking about?" Brooke said, trying her best to sound strong
"No of course not, you've been doing this for a very long time" Dan said leaning over
Brooke fiddled with the buttons on her jacket.
"I thought I made it very clear, last time that this had nothing to do with you"
"It doesn't…" Brooke tried
"This little stunt of yours may have just cost me my entire reputation but trust me, yours will be the bigger price to pay" Dan threatened
"Mr. Scott I didn't…"
"Without guidance at such a young age there's no wonder you've gone off the rails" Dan smirked
"Excuse me?" Brooke asked confused at which twisted path Dan was taking the conversation this time.
"That's your problem isn't it… you can't stand to see anyone else happy because you're all alone"
Brooke gulped
"Don't think I haven't been paying attention Miss Davis" Dan continued
Brooke looked up at him, disgusted by the thought that he had been watching her.
"What, its okay for you to spy on me, break into my house but I can't keep an eye on you?" Dan asked sarcastically
"I…"
"You're parents left you for… god knows what, Lucas left you for Peyton, Peyton left you for Lucas …"
Brooke looked away tears in her eyes.
"I always liked you better than that Peyton girl… pity Lucas didn't feel the same"
His words stung, but at the same time evoked a hatred inside her. Brooke looked up at him, hatred in her eyes. "What has any of this got to do with me?"
"See that's one thing I can't stand" Dan said raising his voice, as he stepped forward "People who play dumb, when they know exactly what they've done."
"I don't know what you're talking about" Brooke shouted
"Breaking into my house, every week, writing those absurd things on the wall"
"It wasn't me!"
"You wish it wasn't you" Dan hissed
"You don't scare me Mr. Scott" Brooke shouted, hoping somebody would hear them
"Oh but I should" Dan shouted back
"What are you going to do? Kill me like you did Keith!" Brooke nearly screamed "I know you did it, I know you did! But it wasn't me, it wasn't me who wrote that on the wall! Someone else knows and soon…" Brooke said gathering all her strength "Everyone will know the truth" she muttered with such hatred.
Dan stood there unable to say anything. Brooke looked into his eyes, slowly realising the repercussions of what she had just revealed. Dan stared straight back at her. Brooke had expected to see fear, worry or even guilt in his eyes. Instead she saw anger, a survival instinct that told him to do whatever it took to stop her.
Brooke glanced at the door, trying to cease the opportunity to leave. She brushed passed Dan running out the cloakroom, towards the door. She reached for the door knob, opening the front door. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see someone walking down the stairs towards her, but before she had time to see who they were Dan, had come up behind her slamming the door shut in front of her.
"You tell me the truth right now, or so help me god…" Dan shouted in her face
Before Brooke even had a second to react to what Dan had just done. Lucas grabbed Dan by his suit, pushing him away from Brooke against the opposite wall. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Lucas shouted
Dan was completely taken back by Lucas. He hadn't seen him coming; god knows if he had he would have chosen his words more carefully. Dan looked between Lucas and Brooke. For once he couldn't think of a smart, cocky explanation as to why he'd acted so aggressively towards Brooke.
Lucas continued to look at Dan, his eyes demanding an answer as he didn't, for a second loosen his grip.
Brooke stood against the wall trying to compose herself.
"Son I…" Dan began
Brooke couldn't stand around waiting for some pathetic lie from Dan. Instead she gathered all her strength and opened the door running out of the house and into her car. She didn't look back. Not once.
If that was the last time she ever saw that house again… it would be too soon.
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Thank you everyone for all your reviews. I'm glad that you liked the Leyton break up; it definitely had to be the one Leyton scene I enjoyed writing ;)
Keep reading and reviewing.
Until next time xxx