Oops, it's been more than a week and here's the update, finally I should say.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own 'One Tree Hill'. No copyright infringement intended.


"I'll still be here and if it's meant to be, we'll be together…"

"Someday."

* * *

Lissa opened the kitchen door and came in, yawning. "Morning", she murmured and sat down next to her brother who was reading the newspaper. Her mother sat opposite her, watching her carefully.

They ate in silence until Brooke stood up and sat: "I have to get going." She grabbed her bag and threw on her coat.

Lissa asked: "Where are you going?"

It looked like her mom was blushing. "I… I have a meeting. With a… relative."

Lissa raised her eyebrows. "And you don't want to tell us anything about it, I guess." Brooke gave her a quick smile. "Not yet. It's supposed to be a surprise. But I'll tell you as soon as I get back." She put a hand on Lissa's shoulder, smiled at Kyle and was out.

Lissa turned around to her brother. "What do you reckon, where's she going?"

"Dunno. But we'll find out soon enough, I guess." He stood up. "I'm out of here."

"Where…" Lissa started but he was already out.

Sighing, she cleaned up and went up to her room, taking her phone out. She dialed George's number and waited for a moment.

"Yeah?" a muffled voice said.

"Hi, it's Lissa." She paused. "I just wanted to ask if Jenny's already here."

"Um. Wait a sec."

For a moment it was silent. Then George said: "I think I hear Jake talking downstairs. You want to come over?"

Lissa's mood lightened. "Yeah, sure."

She hung up and threw on a jacket. George's house wasn't fair away so only five minutes later Lissa rang the bell at their house.

The door opened and Lissa looked into Jenny's sparkling eyes.

Jenny had dark curly hair and a wide smile. Her eyes were a flashing blue and when she grinned you could see all her teeth what was what Lissa loved most about her smile.

"Liz", Jenny yelled out and threw her arms around her. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too", Lissa managed to squeak into Jenny's shirt.

Finally her friend let go of her and Lissa could finally look at her properly.

She looked so… grown-up. Her face was paler as if she had spent more time inside than before. Her hair had grown and was almost down to the waist. She wore a long waving skirt and a red shirt and Lissa noticed that her fingernails were a flashing blue.

"Oh, I have to tell you so much! Fancy a walk?"

Lissa nodded. Jenny closed the door behind her and they rounded the corner and started to talk.

* * *

Peyton was wandering through Tree Hill's street when she saw two girls coming towards her. They were talking and Peyton recognized the one girl who had been at Brooke's house when Brooke and Lucas had argued. She froze. That was Brooke's daughter. Lucas' daughter. And she was beautiful in a certain way. She looked so smart and confident and at the same time so unsecure that Peyton had to suppress the urge to hold her tightly.

She didn't know the girl next to her, although she did seem kind of familiar. But that couldn't be.

Still, she had no doubt that Brooke's child would recognize her, and so she kind of dived into another street and ran into someone.

"Oh… I'm so sorry", she managed to blurt out and took the hand the man she had ran into was holding out to her.

He had dark brown hair and a nice smile but now he was staring at her and opened and closed his mouth like a fish.

"Peyton?" he finally said hoarsely.

Peyton's eyes widened. Could it be…? Was it possible…?

"Jake?" she whispered.

And only a second later they were holding each other, Peyton's head resting on Jake Jagielski's shoulder.

Peyton felt tears run down her face. She breathed in the familiar smell of him and she felt Jake doing the same.

"Hold me", she said. "Please."

* * *

Brooke opened the door of the fancy mansion in front of her and stepped inside. She saw a kind o butler hurrying past her and sighed quietly.

A young woman approached her, smiling, and said: "Can I help you?"

Brooke nodded. "I have an appointment with Mrs. Davis."

The woman nodded. "Please follow me."

She led her up the stairs to a fancy door with a fancy door handle and knocked.

"Come on in", a familiar voice called.

The woman opened the door and Brooke entered the room.

She saw her mother, sitting at a desk and writing something down. Brooke pressed her bag closer to her chest and tried to calm her voice when she said: "Hello, mother."

Victoria Davis looked up, and if Brooke had hoped her mom would smile or anything like that, she was let down. Her eyes were cold and her lips didn't lift when she said: "Sit."

Brooke sat. She waited a few minutes until Victoria finally put away her pen and looked at her.

"What did you want to show me?" she asked coolly.

This was her moment. Brooke took a deep breath and opened her bag, pulling out some sheets of paper.

"I made this a couple of weeks ago and I think they're really…" "Let me see it", Victoria interrupted her.

Brooke held the sheets out to her. Victoria looked at the m for a while before she said: "So you want to get into clothes."

Brooke nodded slowly and decided to say nothing else.

"Well", Victoria said, "I have seen better things than this, but I must admit that some of these might be quiet appealing to younger people."

Brooke bit her lips before she could reply very rudely.

Victoria continued. "I guess you want to raise your… moderate income?"

"Yes, mother", Brooke replied reluctantly. This was her only shot.

"You know", Victoria said, "you could have had so much more than you have now. If you haven't made that… mistake… I would have offered to help you out much sooner."

"I did not make a mistake."

The words were louder than intended. Brooke gritted her teeth as her mother raised her eyebrows.

"Yes you did. I told you not to have those kids. I told you to sue this stupid boy for leaving you. But you did neither of it. So I thought you weren't interested in my help."

"'Those kids' are the most important things in my life", Brooke answered hotly. "And you knew that I couldn't sue Lucas. But you didn't care. You just turned your back on me."

"Because I won't pay for the mistakes you made, Brooke", Victoria said.

Brooke was on her feet. "Don't call them that", she growled.

"Just admit it, Brooke", Victoria said calmly and with a slight smile. "You make a mistake. You regret it. You love your kids, I don't doubt that. But still, if you were to make that choice again, you would decide differently."

"I would not", Brooke yelled. She was surprised at how angry she got. "You know what? Keep those sheets. They're nothing. I can make more than that. Much more. And I don't need you to tell me what mistakes I made in my life. I really thought you would help me get to my own feet. But you're just interested in yourself."

She turned around and was at the door when Victoria said: "If you leave now you will never be able to give your children a good future. Be my business partner and together we will get back everything you want."


I hope you enjoyed this chapter and let me know what you think. Thanks. (: