Sorry about the earlier short chapter but I said all I wanted to include in that!
Chapter 10
Brooke had talked continuously to her friend ever since she had regained consciousness but couldn't wait till her friend could actually talk back. Peyton was still in pretty bad shape and slept a lot of the time anyway.
But once when she had been awake, Peyton was very confused to see Karen sitting at her bed side stroking her hair, rather than Brooke. She didn't have the energy to think about it, or anything for that matter, she was worried about everything but right now her body just ached too much so just accepted the fact that Karen was there.
Days had passed and today was finally the day when they were going to try and take the tube back out of Peyton's throat. Karen had some business to attend to at the cafe so Brooke was alone when the procedure happened.
She wasn't allowed to stay in the room while it happened but waited patiently until the doctor came out to see her
'Good news Brooke, we were successful, Peyton is now breathing on her own with just a little help from an oxygen mask'
Brooke beamed at the doctor 'Thank you so so much!' and rushed into Peyton's room.
Peyton had her eyes fixed on Brooke and without even another second passing, she burst into tears and lifted the oxygen mask off her face
'I'm so sorry Brooke, so very sorry' Peyton's voice was hoarse, Brooke winced when she heard it.
'Shhh, Peyton, don't cry. Everything is just fine now, you don't have to do this' she replied softly whilst lifting the mask back down to Peyton's mouth and wiped away her tears.
'I do Brooke' she looked her friend straight in the eyes 'Will you ever be able to forgive me? Will we ever be the same again?'
'Peyton I already have, sure I was mad and I said I didn't want you in my life but when I heard about the accident I realized that nothing mattered, everyone makes mistakes and it's a shame you made the mistake with my boyfriend but at the end of the day I need you P. Sawyer, your the glue that holds me together and the fact that you managed to come back to me from this is enough redemption to last a life time. But no I don't think things will ever be the same again, but not for that reason, for this reason' Brooke put her hand softly on top of Peyton's pregnant bump 'It's not just us against the world anymore Peyton'
Peyton began to cry again 'Are they okay Brooke? Please be honest with me, the doctor said everything was okay but he might just be saying that to keep me calm? I'm so scared' she began to struggle a bit with her breathing.
'Everything is fine, these little guys are fighters just like you, now just try and chill a bit, get some sleep and then we will talk' Brooke spoke gently and again put the mask but on Peyton.
When Peyton had drifted off Brooke left the room and walked towards the oh so familiar coffee machine but she was stopped by a nurse
'Honey, you look exhausted, go home and get some rest, if you still don't want to leave her then nows your chance, we gave her a lot of painkillers and I would say she will be out till at least the morning, she won't even realize you've gone'
Brooke glanced up at the clock. Half 3. She thought about it for a bit then replied 'Alright, I suppose I could do with some time to myself but please call me if she wakes up, I'll be straight back'
She left the hospital and turned on her cell. 34 new messages. They were mainly from Lucas and Haley but there were even a few from Nathan which surprised her. After listening to a few, they were all basically the same message.
'Brooke it's Luke, again, listen please call me we are all worried, where are you? You and Peyton haven't been in school for well over a week now and we just guessed you've gone away for a bit but it would have been nice to know about it. Peyton's not picking up either so just call us okay?'
Haley's was the same but she sounded a bit more worried rather than mad. She didn't call them back, what was she supposed to say? She would have to ask Peyton what she wanted to do.
She went to Peyton's house rather than her flat so she could pick up a few things for her friend now she was awake. She headed straight for the shower when she got in, she had been longing for one for days now. She had the music on blasting as she was in the shower so she didn't hear a car pull up outside.
Lucas, Haley and Nathan all got out of the car. They could hear the music from outside and all just looked at each other.
'Peyton's home then' Nathan chuckled at his own sarcasm
They headed for the door just as Brooke was getting out of the shower. The door was unlocked so they just went on in as they always had done when Peyton's music had been on too loud. They headed up to her room and when they went in they were surprised to find Brooke there not Peyton.
'Hello stranger' Haley said, making Brooke jump.
She turned around quickly and was stunned to see the 3 of them standing there. Realizing she was just in a towel she looked down to make sure that she was covered up.
'It's alright Brooke I've seen you more naked than that' Lucas said laughing.
'Guys... what are you doing here?' Brooke was petrified, what was she supposed to say?
'We came here to look for you and Peyton again when you still weren't at the flat. Where have you two been? I thought you two weren't even talking at the moment?' Haley looked around the room in search of her other friend and was surprised not to see her. 'Where's Peyton?' she spoke clearly but you could tell she felt worried and angry about their absence.
Brooke was absolutely gobsmacked. She hadn't expected an ambush. Hell, she hadn't even expected to see them. What could she say?
The others sensed Brooke's uncertainty and when she struggled for words Lucas firmly repeated Haley's question.
'Brooke. Where is Peyton?'
It wasn't Brooke's place to explain about Peyton, but it also wasn't her place to lie so she came clean. Well, partially.
'She's in the hospital' her voice cracked 'She had a car accident and was in a coma for a week, she's conscious now but is sleeping off her medication so I came home for some rest'
'WHAT?!' the 3 friends chorused.
Lucas spoke first 'And you didn't think we would want to know about this Brooke?! Is she okay??!'
'She's doing better now but she's still very fragile' Brooke was quiet, she realized how mad her friends were.
'Brooke. We are her friends not just you, you know! We should have been with her, why didn't you call us?!' Haley was both angry and very confused.
Brooke looked at her friends. 'To be fair, none of us have been real friends to Peyton recently have we? Not one of us have bothered with her so honestly I thought it best not to call you. I wouldn't have even known if have the hospital hadn't of called me. So quit judging me, I did what I thought best in a very very hard situation. If you don't like it you know where the door is!'
There was a long uncomfortable silence until Nathan finally spoke
'Your right Brooke, but we are here now. We will make this right. When can we see her?'
Brooke struggled to think on the spot. 'I'm going back to the hospital in the morning. Meet me outside at 10 and I'll take you up to her. Alright?'
The three of them nodded simultaneously. Haley looked at Brooke in the eyes 'How are you doing Brooke? This must have been tough on you'
'Me? I'm fine Tutor Girl don't worry about me' Brooke lied and smiled convincingly 'But I am tired, can I just see you guys tomorrow?'
'Yeah sure, we'll see ourselves out'
Lucas, Haley and Nathan left the house and got back into the car, shellshocked.
'I can't believe it' Haley said breaking down. Nathan held her tight, it'll be okay, she's getting better, don't worry'
Luke nodded 'Yeah she is, but I'll feel better once I've seen her with my own eyes'
They drove off leaving the devastated Brooke alone, she thought to herself. 'What have I done? Peyton's gonna kill me'