Chapter 15

Peyton was in her room drawing when her cell phone began to ring. The caller ID read Brooke.

"Hello" Peyton said into the receiver

"Peyton?"

"Yeah Brooke, what do you want?"

"Um...I need to talk to you"

"Okay"

"Meet me at the rivercourt at 8"

"Okay see you then" and they hung up the phone. Peyton was left wondering why Brooke had called her, and why she had been so nice. She also wondered what in the hell she wanted to talk to her about.

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Nathan was coming out of the bathroom when he saw Haley leaving the apartment.

"Where are you going?"

"I thought I would take Sophie for a walk. Want to join?"

"Yeah, let me just put on a shirt"

"Do you have to?" Haley whined jokingly

"Cute" he said as he walked into the bedroom to grab a shirt. "I'll be right there."

He walked out and they headed outside for walk, the three of them. As they were walking down the street, Nathan could tell something was wrong with Haley.

"Haley, what's wrong. You've been down for quite some time now."

"I'm just really worried about Brooke"

"I know, I cant believe her and Lucas are going to have a baby"

"No, that's not it"

"Then what's the matter with her?"

"I promised I wouldnt say"

"Hales, we're married. We dont keep secrets from each other. And besides, Brooke's my friend too. If something's wrong with her, I would like to know."

Haley paused, contemplating her options. On one side, she couldnt keep secrets from Nathan. On the other, she didnt want to lose Brooke's trust. In the end, her love for both of them made her tell him.

"She was Leukemia Nate."

"Wow. I didnt see that one coming"

"Yeah, neither did I. It just makes me think how short and precious life is, you know?"

"Yeah"

"And I'm just worried that she hasnt been telling me the whole truth about how bad it really is."

"I'm sure she's fine if she says she is." he paused "How long has she known?"

"I'm not sure. She knew at least since I knew I was pregnant."

"Oh"

"Why?"

"Just wondering." Nathan started thinking about the night him and Brooke had sex. Was it just a cover up for her pain. Did she know then?

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That night at the rivercourt, as Peyton was walking up the nearby bench, Brooke was already there.

"Hey" Peyton said

"Hey"

"So you didnt bring me here to kill me did you?" Peyton asked half kidding half seriously

"No" Brooke said, she kind of chuckled as well

"Glad I could make you smile at least" There was a pause of awkward silence. "So what did you bring me here for then?"

"I needed to talk to you"

"Okay, what is it?" she could tell her friend was upset. Even though they hadnt been friends for a little while, she had known Brooke for 10 years, and knew when she was upset.

"Peyton, I'm sorry."

"Brooke..."

"Let me finish" she said interrupting Peyton "I'm sorry for treating you like shit when all you did was tell me the truth. You had the guts to come to me and I was an ass. I'm sorry. I've recently realized how much I need you in my life, and all I want to do is put this feud behind us." she paused "that's if you'll take me back." she added with a little smirk revealing her dimples.

"Wow, I'm sure that wasnt easy for you." she paused to collect her thoughts. "I'm sorry too. Maybe then wasnt the right time to tell you, hell, I dont even know if I really love Lucas that way. I think I was just lonely. I mean Jake had ended things then, and I just really wanted to be loved, so I think I just overplayed my emotions for him as a friend. And for that I'm truly sorry. You're my best friend Brooke. And now that Jake's back, and Lucas and I are just friends, I would love nothing more than to go back to being just that."

She waited for Brooke's response. That's when she noticed that Brooke had begun to cry. She walked closer and put her arms around her brunette best friend. Finally, Brooke had let her back in, Jake was back, Lucas and her were friends. Peyton couldnt think of when she was happier; never knowing as Peyton was so happy, Brooke was slowly dying.

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