"That was a mistake." Brooke said nervously as she held the sheet around herself.
"Definitely." Lucas agreed.
"And the second time was an even bigger mistake."
"But not quite as big as the third." Lucas shrugged, and Brooke bit her lip, "I'm gonna go to my room so uh... well just cause." Brooke nodded and politely averted her eyes as he got up.
"Bye." Brooke said when she heard the door open.
"Brooke," he said pausing at the door, "Thanks for uh... well for what you said earlier."
"It was nothing."
Brooke peaked out her door, and when she saw no sigh of Lucas she quickly ran from her room to the kitchen. Haley, Peyton, and all the kids were there finishing breakfast.
"Morning mommy." Penelope said getting up to kiss her mother.
"Hi baby." She said, "Hey listen Keith, why don't you take all your cousins outside to play?"
"What?" he asked rinsing off his plate before putting it into Haley's dishwasher.
"Keith, please? I need to talk to your aunts."
"Okay, come on guys." Keith said picking up Tyler.
"Come on Pen, Andy, El, let's get your coats." Jenny said nodding to Brooke.
"Thanks kids." Brooke said patting Jamie's head as he passed.
"Okay, B. Davis-Scott, what's up?" Peyton asked, once the kids were cleared out.
"Lucas and I had sex last night." Brooke said in a whisper.
"What?" Haley and Peyton yelled.
"Shh! The boys will here you!" Brooke said swatting at them.
The three girls glanced around to make sure no one had heard, "What does this mean?" Haley asked, while Peyton demanded, "How was it?"
Brooke chewed on her thumbnail, "I don't know." she said to Haley then added to Peyton, "So good, but so... so wrong. We're divorced. We're not horny teenagers anymore. We have three children to think of."
"I mean I couldn't do that to Keith, Pen, and Tyler. Give them false hope like that." Lucas told Jake and Nathan. Lucas had made them go to the garage so the girls wouldn't hear them.
"But man what if-?" Jake started but Lucas cut him off.
"There can't be a what if. Brooke and I ended. We got divorced and that's the end of our story."
"No offence man," Nathan started, "But you and Brooke are never over." he clapped Lucas on the back and got up to grab another beer from the fridge.
"Why do you have a fridge in the garage?" Jake asked.
"For situations like this." Nathan shrugged.
"Do you usually have conversations in the garage that your wife can't overhear?" Nathan paused to think about it while Lucas left shaking his head.
"What are you doing?" Penelope asked walking up behind Jamie, Keith, and Jenny.
"Nothing." Keith said.
"Why are you following our moms and dads around?" Andrea piped up.
"We're not." Jamie said.
"We're eight not stupid. Keith you're a year older than me, just tell me."
"Pen, this is important okay? You can't know."
"Keith, who do I take after?" she asked her hands on her hips.
"Mom." He sighed.
"Right, so either you tell us what's going on or I'll go to mom, aunt Haley, and aunt Peyton." She said.
Jamie, Jenny, and Keith exchanged glances, before Keith groaned, "Fine! But Squirt, you listen and you listen good. One, we make no promises, just cause we're doing this doesn't mean anything's gonna come from it, so don't get your hopes up. Two, not a word to your mom, your dad or anyone else except us. Three, I know I said it already but you guys we're serious, don't get your hopes up."
"Fine, just tell us." Andy said.
"We're trying to get the parents back together." Jenny said.
"Are you okay dad?" Keith asked. He had been watching his father pace around the front yard all morning. It was now after lunch and Lucas showed no time of stopping.
Luke laughed bitterly, "No, son, I'm not okay."
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Lucas shook his head, "No. Your dad just did something… not exactly stupid, but not really smart either, last night."
Keith tilted his head to look at Lucas, "Did you tell mom?"
"She knows."
"What did she say?"
"She agrees with me, kiddo, says it was not smart. Says it was a mistake."
"I'm sorry dad."
"Me too, Keith." Lucas shook his head again, "But it'll be fine. Are you okay though man?"
"Me?"
"Yeah, I mean about going to see Dan. I know you didn't really want to talk to us the other night but… well if you need to, I am your dad, and Dan is my dad. I do know."
"I'm fine." Keith said turning to go back to his cousins.
"So did you hear?" Peyton asked Jake as they wrapped some presents in their room that afternoon.
"About?" he asked.
"Brooke and Lucas."
"Oh yeah, Luke told me and Nate this morning." Jake nodded.
"What did he say?" she asked.
"That they both agreed it was a mistake."
"That's what she said too. What do you think?"
"Are we actually sitting here gossiping about our best friends?" Jake asked one eyebrow up, Peyton nodded, "Well obviously they're kidding themselves."
"I told him that he and Brooke were never over." Nathan said as he and Haley made their bed.
"I know. Brooke brought up that they couldn't do that to the kids. But what I didn't say was, you think it's better for them this way? With their parents fighting over who gets them when. Especially when it's obvious that they are both still in love." Haley said.
Jenny, Keith, Jamie, Andy, and Penelope were sitting around the living room.
"Where is everyone?" Jenny asked.
"My dad is still pacing in the snow." Keith said.
"Mom's focusing all her energy on Tyler." Pen supplied.
"My parents are making beds." Jamie said.
"Mine are wrapping presents." Jenny said finally, she turned to Pen and Andy, "You guys know what to do today right?" They both nodded, "Good. Penelope don't start till after dinner though that way it's more likely to work."
"I got it Jenny." Pen said rolling her eyes.
"I've got Nathan and Haley covered tonight." Keith said messing with something in his pocket.
"I'm gonna see if Aunt Peyton wants to go sleigh riding." Jamie said.
"What are you doing in here kid?" Nathan asked, entering the laundry room.
"I checked aunt Haley's chore wheel and I saw that you were on laundry duty."
"Feeling like another heart to heart?"
"Nah, I wanted to help out." Keith shrugged.
"You're our guest man." Nathan said pulling some towels out of the dryer, "You don't need to do chores."
"I always do laundry at home. I don't know how mom and dad got by before I was born and learned how to wash their clothes." Keith said.
"Well your mom had maids, and in college your dad used to bring his clothes home to your grandma, but then again until I was seventeen, my mom did my laundry too. I only learned how when I married your aunt and she started her chore wheel."
Keith grinned, "Yeah, you must love aunt Haley a lot."
Nathan paused then nodded, "Yeah. She's… well she's everything to me."
"My mom and dad used to say things like that, then one day they just stopped and then they got divorced." He said folding a towel.
"I- well-" Nathan tried to say but trailed off.
"Uncle Lucas," Jenny started, "I need to ask you something."
"What?"
"Stop pacing and I'll tell you." She said, Lucas stopped and moved to lean on the tree next to her, and offered a sheepish grin, "Thank you. Okay now Uncle Lucas what I'm about to tell you, you can't tell anyone. Not even Aunt Brooke okay?"
Lucas paused, "Jen is this something… well something your parents know about? Cause I want to be someone you can talk to, but I'm not going to help you keep something from your mom and dad."
"You don't have to worry about my mom and dad Uncle Luke. They know. They're actually the reason I need you to keep it a secret, cause I'm supposed to keep it a secret only… well I can't do it anymore Uncle Lucas. I don't understand and they won't talk about it and- I just want to scream at them!"
"Okay, okay. Calm down kid." Lucas said putting a hand on her shoulder, "What's wrong?"
"Do I have your word?" Lucas nodded, "My parents are separated."
"So I bet you tell Aunt Haley you love her everyday. Probably even more than once a day." Keith said pulling a blanket out of the dryer.
"Well… I mean when you've been married for as long as me and Haley…" Nathan trailed off.
"Dad used to tell mom he loved her every single day… and then he just kind of stopped." Keith turned from Nathan pretending to be sad, but really he was just trying to hide his grin, he turned back and added, "But not you and Haley. You tell her you appreciate her everyday. Right?" he didn't wait for an answer as he continued, "And I guess you tell her how much she means to you all the time huh?"
Nathan paused and then lied, "Yeah all the time kid."
"And how much you love the things she does for you." Nathan remained silent, "Oh and of course the things you love doing with her." Nathan sank down on the chair deep in thought, Keith grinned and added, "I'm going to go find Jamie. See you later Uncle Nathan." Nathan gave him a small-preoccupied wave.
"So anyway I promised I wouldn't say anything so you can't!" Jenny finished sternly.
"I won't." he assured her then added more to himself, "Jake and Peyton broke up."
"Yeah." She added softly.
"So what did- uh- what did you need me for Jen?"
"Why did you and Aunt Brooke break up?"
"What?" Lucas asked confused.
"You guys were in love," Jenny said almost pleading, "and now you're not. I need to know how two people can just wake up not loving each other anymore. It shouldn't happen. Why does it happen? Uncle Luke please!"
Lucas opened his mouth, then closed it again, then opened it, "Jen-"
"Lucas don't give me a speech about love never dying and my mom and dad will always love me, cause I've heard it already okay? They practically recited it out of a book. What happens when your mom and dad break up but your mom wasn't really your mom anyway? Huh?" she demanded, "I don't want you to tell me everything will be okay, cause it won't."
"Uncle Luke, please, why did you and Aunt Brooke break up?"
Okay I'm not sure if I'm 100 happy with this chapter. I'm at like 90.
Oh and just to be clear Jenny's outburst at the end is supposed to be the stuff she's been holding in since Jake and Peyton told her they were separating. When I re-read it I thought for a second that I had wrote Jenny giving up, but it's not in case any of you got what I did.
But you guys aren't crazy obsessive like me. Lol
Please review.
-Em