Reasons that reason cannot know

Chapter 14

Everything was ready for the big opening. There were only around 30 minutes. Brooke was nervous as hell. Yeah, everything seemed perfect, but she was still shaking. She was sitting on a canapé, deep in her own thoughts when someone interrupted.

"Seriously, as far as I remember, I called you Cheery for a reason. Since you came back, you're a lot more Broody than me."

Brooke looked at him and smiled. Lucas was smiling at her too and sat next to her.

"No one can ever be as Broody as you, Mr. Scott."

He laughed and said:

"Maybe. So, why are you nervous, everything is great."

"I just want it to be perfect. And I wanna thank you about everything, Luke. I don't know what I 'd do without you."

And it was true. He helped her so much to get everything ready and there was no way she could make it without his support and help. And plus, him being around meant more than he could imagine. Brooke remembered the time he said the exact same words to her. It was at the movie night for Nathan. At the time, they were just friends, even thou both felt more that just friend-ish love. Those were one of the most amazing days in her life. They were so close, spent so much time together and for the first time in her life, Brooke felt safe and special and worth it.

"You have nothing to thank me for. You made it by yourself. I always knew you would do more than great, but you even surprised me. I'm so proud of you."

And he really was. He always knew Brooke Davis was destined to conquer the world, but she proved him she was even more than that. She was everything: an amazing designer, owner of a fashion empire, and still a great friend to the people in her life, beautiful inside and out as she has always been, and a perfect mom. He admired her strength and greatness and he couldn't believe he had spent so much time without her in his life.

As always, his words made her eyes fill with tears. Happy tears thou.

"Thank you, Lucas."

They hugged and stayed in each other's arms for some moment, then pulled away and she asked him.

"So, how are thing with you? With Lindsey, with the job, with writing and the attempt of being friends with Peyton?"

"Well, the team is doing great. Net week is our first game. You're coming, right?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

He smiled. He was so glad she was going to be there.

"About Lindsey, she went to New York today and she'll be gone for a few days, but otherwise we are great. And writing, I haven't felt that inspired since… Since I started my first book."

Lucas remembered when exactly he started his book. It was after the same girl that was now standing in front of him told him she stopped missing him and broke up with him. He remembered clearly that night, because it was when his whole world changed, or precisely fell apart. The pain he felt, he had to let it out somehow. And his way to do it was writing. No one in the world knew when exactly he started his novel, no one but him. Lucas didn't know why this came to his mind or why he felt what he was feeling when he wrote the first words of his novel again, even if it was for a second.

"Hey, Luke, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I just remembered the night I started my first novel."

Before any of them could say anything else, Millie came and asked Brooke to take some call from New York. She went there and Lucas stayed on the canapé. He thought about the way he just stayed silent that night. And he let her slip away. He should have said something. He should have said he missed her like crazy when he was away, that he pushed her away because he didn't want her to see him so broken, that he loved her and wanted just to be by her side till the end of time. But instead, he remained silent and watched her walk away. Why was he thinking about this now? It has been forever ago.

"You look a funeral is about to start, not a fancy party."

He smiled a bit. She sat next to him

"What's going on?"

"Do you ever wonder if we chose the right path?"

She sighed before speaking again.

"Often. I mean, there are so many 'what if's. What if I have spent more time with Ellie, what if I didn't went to Savannah back in senior year, what if I haven't turned down your proposal, what if I haven't come back, and so many, many more. I doubt almost every choice I've ever made. But why are you asking me this?"

Deep inside, she hoped it was because of her, but she knew it wasn't. Lucas wasn't in love with her anymore. And if she had to be honest, since her feelings weren't that strong anymore. Yeah, she still had some romantic feelings for him and they were strong, but since they talked and both decided to mend their friendship without any awkwardness anymore, she realized she missed what they used to be more than him.

Lucas hasn't think about 'what if's in a long time, especially the sort he was thinking about now. And he couldn't understand why they came to his mind, he was happy, he had everything: he was coaching the Ravens, he was writing again, he had beautiful and loving girlfriend and all these amazing friends. Why was he going back in high school?

"It's nothing. Forget I asked. So, Anna and Jamie are with Deb, right?"

"Yeah. You should have seen how worried Brooke was. She was nervous about tonight and leaving Anna with a formal pill-addict wasn't the most calming thing."

They both laughed. Lucas looked at Brooke, who was still talking on the phone. She was wearing a beautiful dress and looked amazing. Lucas smiled.

"You know, when I learned about Anna, I was a bit shocked and I was worried how Brooke was doing. But when I saw her with Anna, the way she was looking after this little girl, I realized she was born to be mother, an amazing one to be exact. And now, I still she's become even greater than before, no matter how hard it is for her."

"I know what you mean. I was waiting for her at the airport and when I saw her with Anna, I thought I had some weird dream. But it didn't took me long to see that Brooke is the kind of a mother every child should be grateful to have. And with the example she had from Victoria, it's even more amazing. I still worry for her, thou. It's hard to be a one-parent child, we both know that. And when Anna starts to ask about her daddy, it's gonna be though."

Lucas was worried too. He cared so much about Brooke and Anna and just wanted them both to be perfectly fine. When they started talking about Anna's father, Lucas remembered the time he thought that was him. He was scared as hell, but one not so small part of him wanted it. It didn't matter anyway. He loved this little girl like she was his. And he felt like her father, no matter they weren't biologically related. Before he could say anything, Brooke came back to them. She was worried, but she was still smiling. She just didn't want anyone to see her weak or vulnerable. But Lucas always could read her eyes.

"That was the longest phone call ever."

"It was from the office in New York. Some of the most important magazines are publishing materials about the opening."

"Honey, that's great!"

"Yeah. I wanna thank both of you so much. If you weren't here, I just wouldn't make it."

"As I told you, you made it yourself."

"Yeah, B. Davis. You're welcome."

Peyton stood up and hugged Brooke, then excused herself. Lucas looked at Brooke.

"Come here, Cheery."

Brooke wrapped her arms around Lucas and suddenly, she felt that it was really gonna be ok.

Lucas put his arms around her and felt so good to hold her again.

The hug hugged a bit longer than the one with Peyton and after they pulled away, they looked at each other's eyes. It was time for it.

"Well, go amaze the world, Brooke Davis."

"I will, Lucas Scott."

They smiled and she went to finally open the door of the store. When she was walking, she saw something she decided to keep and smiled.

"Somebody told me that this is the place where everything's better and everything's safe."