A/n: I want to firstly apologized guys for not updating sooner. This was a frustrating chapter to write because so much happens here and there's some emotional stuff going down. I also had a cold for a couple of days so that sucked seeing as it was my last week of vacation.
Chapter Eleven
The Start of the End
She never thought married life was going to be this hard. It had been three months since that day in Vegas and she was still not used of living with Julian let alone sleeping by his side every day. She missed her home life with her mom and brother and she missed having to answer to no one that wasn't her mother.
Her married life with Julian wasn't as perfect as she assumed it was going to be. They fought constantly over the smallest things and she honestly didn't know what to think about that. Although every now and then they did have their moments where everything was fine between them, sometimes she found herself questioning whether she made the right choice in marrying him the way she did that day. She knew she loved Julian but what if it wasn't the kind of love needed to make a marriage work? What if that kind of love was the kind Lucas offered her just hours before she got married?
Lucas.
No matter what she was doing, what she was thinking, everything always came back to the brooding blond. Even if it had been months since that phone call, his confession was still in her mind. She just couldn't shake it off no matter how hard she tried. She could still remember the way he said those words and how her heart tightened at hearing him say 'I love you' to her for the first time. But what could she do about it? She was now a married woman and though she had made her fair share of mistakes, she could never do something that would hurt Julian.
The doorbell rang breaking Brooke away from her thoughts. She had been sitting down in the couch so she got up and went to answer the door. "Haley? What are you doing here?" she wondered when she saw her best friend standing right in front of her.
"Well it's been days since I last talked to you so I thought I should come see how you were." Haley explained as they made their way into the living room. "Where's Julian today?"
Brooke frowned somewhat. "He went to West Virginia a week ago."
"What is he doing over there?" Haley asked curiously.
"You know how a few months ago he got this movie deal?" Haley nodded her head. "Well he went to West Virginia to look for some possible movie site locations that could be used for the movie." she said shrugging her shoulders.
"Oh well that sounds good."
"I guess but I don't really like being alone in this huge apartment." she confessed as she looked around the place she had been calling home for the last three months.
"Tigger if you're lonely all you have to do is give me a call and we can meet and talk. Hell, come over and we'll hang out." she told her with a faint smile. "I know it's a long way from where I live but we could always meet halfway." she said knowing that now that Brooke lived farther away from her house it was harder to hang out like they used to. Sure they visited each other a lot but it wasn't the same.
"It's not that Haley, I could easily take a taxi." Brooke said. "Is just that I need to get use to all of this." she motioned the place around her. "And I know if I keep going back and forth between the two places, I'll never get use of being here…with Julian."
Haley stared at her best friend for a moment and then she saw it. She saw the sadness that radiated from her. She didn't look like the bubbly brunette she was so used of seeing. She looked so sad like if she hated being in this place.
"Hey Brooke…?"
"Hmm?"
"Are you…are you happy with Julian?" she asked carefully not wanting to upset her. That question kind of caught Brooke off guard. She wasn't expecting it and because of that she didn't know how to answer it.
"I-I…I'm not sure." she settled on saying. She wasn't sure how she was feeling at this moment. Sometimes she was fine just being with her husband but other times she felt like going back to her old life. "I just…sometimes I start thinking about if I made the right choice."
"What do you mean?"
Brooke shifted her gaze to the floor. "I uhh…I never told you this and I know I should have but the day I married Julian I umm, I-I called Lucas."
"What? Why?" she asked feeling a bit confused and hurt at the same time. She knew Brooke and Lucas were really close to each other but to call him without calling her first was something that hurt her to hear.
Brooke saw the expression on Haley's face and knew immediately what she was thinking. "Don't take it like that Hales. Is just that I knew how he felt about me or at least I thought I did and I just needed to tell him what I was going to do. I didn't want to hurt him."
"Brooke…"
"And that's not all." she quickly interrupted just wanting to tell her everything already. "He umm h-he told me he loved me." she whispered the last part.
Haley gasped with surprise. It wasn't because she was surprise to know Lucas loved Brooke because she already had an idea but it was because he actually confessed his feelings to her.
"Brooke I had no idea." Haley finally said after the initial shock wore off. "I mean every time I've seen you guys together it's like nothing happened between you two."
"Yeah I know but that's the way he wanted things to be."
"When did you guys have that awkward conversation?" Haley wondered.
"The day I came back from my honeymoon and you know how well that reunion went." she said sarcastically.
"Yeah I do." Haley replied, remembering back to the day where they all found out Brooke had gotten married to Julian.
They were all gathered in the Davis' small but comfortable living room. Victoria, Clay, Haley, Quinn, David, Alexander and Peyton were all waiting for Julian and Brooke to return for their unexpected trip. They didn't know why they were here together. All they knew was that Brooke and Julian had called saying they were coming back from Miami and to meet at the Davis' home because they had news to tell. They all thought it strange that they were coming back from Miami when last they heard they were in Las Vegas.
Finally after a few minutes of some uncomfortable conversation between them, the door opened and in came a very tan looking couple smiling happily at them. Although at first she was a bit skeptical about the way her wedding took place, Brooke was very happy with the results. Julian had made sure that the three weeks of their honeymoon were the best three weeks of her life.
"Hi everyone!" Brooke greeted the whole room with a dimple smile. When all of the greetings were said and done, the questions started and Brooke and Julian knew it was time to tell them their news. After her now husband gave her a signal her appearance soon changed into a nervous one.
"Well are you both finally going to tell us what that trip was about where you guys just left without saying a word?" Victoria impatiently asked.
"Soon everything will be revealed but I was hoping for someone else to be here." Julian answered her as he looked around the room for the person he wanted above everyone else to be here.
"Julian who else are you waiting for? Your mother?" Brooke asked him.
"No, no…all the people I want to share our news with is here. This is more for you babe." Julian told her giving her a sneaky grin.
Brooke was confused. She didn't think there needed to be anybody else in the room. He was obviously up to something with the looks he was giving her but she didn't know what.
"Well maybe we should just tell everyone who's here our news first." she suggested not seeing the point in waiting for someone who was obviously running late or wasn't coming at all.
"Alright." he agreed feeling somewhat disappointed as he looked one last time towards the front door. He then turned to the people in front of them giving them a wide smile. "Brooke and I…" he started to say but then stopped when he heard the doorbell ring. Clay who was silently leaning against the wall went to go get it. Julian turned to Brooke grinning widely. "Actually sweetie why don't you tell them?"
Shrugging her shoulders like it was no big deal to her even though it was, Brooke turned to the group of people in front of them a bit nervous. "Well as you all know a few weeks ago Julian and I went to Las Vegas. The reason we went there was because…" She stopped talking when she realized who just came. Standing a few feet away from her was Lucas who was looking really uncomfortable at the moment. Out of all the people gathered here, he was the last person she expected to see.
Julian nudge her, happy that things were going his way. "Brooke, baby why don't you finish telling them our news now that everyone we care about is here?" Julian suggested.
Looking straight into Lucas' piercing blue eyes who for some reason she couldn't stop staring at, Brooke took a deep breath. "Umm Julian and I…we got married." she finally said looking away from Lucas the minute he saw his face fall even more.
He wasn't stupid; he knew the reason why Julian invited him here in the first place. But despite knowing beforehand that Brooke was getting married, it still didn't hurt any less especially hearing it come out from her lips.
Gasped were soon heard. No one knew what to say until Peyton spoke saying what was pretty much going around everyone's head.
"You're kidding right?" she asked in a serious voice. When the couple shook their heads, all hell broke loose.
"Your mother and Clay went ballistic!" Haley exclaimed. "In especially Clay. I really thought he was going to kill Julian!" Haley exclaimed. "I was just shocked and kinda hurt you didn't tell me beforehand."
"Yeah sorry about that again." she apologized with a sheepish smile. "But one good thing came out of all this."
"And what was that?"
"Quinn met David." she grinned remembering the way Julian's best friend immediately clicked with Haley's older sister.
"Oh yeah…they're getting kinda chummy by the way."
"Yeah I figure…Clay hasn't been in the best of moods these past couple of months." Brooke informed her with a raised eyebrow. Both of them knew that what Clay felt for Quinn was over the friendly stage but he was just a little slow to come to terms with that.
"Well that's what he gets for not noticing my sister sooner…so what happened with Luke after that?"
"Well this is what happened…"
"Congratulations." a deep voice she knew so well said from behind her. Brooke was in the kitchen getting drinks. After the huge revelation, a few heated words, a possible fight breaking and some scolding from Brooke's mom about how irresponsible and reckless they had been, things died down. Brooke needed some time alone so she went to get drinks for everyone.
Slowly turning around Brooke saw Lucas standing in front of her hands shoved inside his pockets. "I'm-" she opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by the blond man.
"Don't please." he said shaking his head at her. "You don't have to say anything. I just wanted to congratulate you since I never had the chance when you told me." he said, grimacing at the thought of their phone conversation weeks ago.
"Lucas…I'm sorry about the way things turned out."
"Not your fault you don't feel the same way I do Brooke." he told her, frowning a bit. "But actually I think I'm going to head out now."
"Luke please don't leave yet."
"Brooke…"
"Please we need to talk about what you said."
"Brooke there's nothing to talk about." he said, his expression hardening. "I told you how I felt, you weren't interested and that's cool…well not cool but it's fine you know…no hard feelings."
"Luke…" she begged him with her eyes.
"Let's just forget about it."
"How can we just forget about that?" she asked leaning against the counter behind her. "I don't want to lose you." she said as she started to remember that dream she had weeks ago. That dream where he left her.
"You're never going to lose me Brooke." he told her, stepping closer to her. "Remember what I told you the last time we saw each other when you came to see me in my office?"
"You said a lot of things Luke." she tried joking which earned her a chuckle from him.
"About our friendship." He tapped her nose playfully forgetting everything that was going on between them. It always amazed him how she had that ability to make him forget about everyone around them.
She giggled, happy that he was acting this way with her. "You said that we couldn't immediately go back to what we had and that it was going to take some time. And to just hang out and see where that takes us."
"Well same applies here."
She frowned. "But Luke I don't want to hurt you."
"You're not." he said even though he wasn't completely sure about it. The truth was he was scared that this wasn't going to work out but he just couldn't stay away from her. She slowly became one of the most important people in his life and Brooke not being by his side wasn't an option he wanted to have right now.
She didn't know what else to do so she hugged him. Lucas Scott was one of a kind and she was happy that he was still willing to be by her side despite everything that happened between them.
"Please never leave me." she randomly said as she desperately clung to him.
"I'm not…Pretty Girl I'm not." he told her quickly, seeing the relief that washed over her.
"Awfully close to my wife don't you think?" Julian's voice said from behind. He had heard when Brooke told him to never leave her along with Lucas answering her with that term of endearment. Julian wasn't very happy at this moment. He was so sure that with the news of their marriage that Lucas wouldn't be causing problems anymore.
"Not what it seems." Lucas said as he stepped away from the brunette's embrace but keeping close to her. He couldn't believe that once upon a time he and Julian got along well. And now the guy looked like if he wanted to kill him or something.
"Really then explain to me why you were here alone with my wife?" he asked skeptically, getting closer to Lucas.
"Seriously we were just talking." Lucas assured the angry man in front of him. It was obvious that he was insecure about his relationship with Brooke with the way he was acting towards him. Lucas didn't blame him, after all the way he and Brooke were hugging didn't exactly look friendly.
"Then why were you hugging my wife huh?"
"Julian…" Brooke tried pulling him away. "We're friends and that's what friends do."
"You know what? I'm just going to go." Lucas informed him not wanting to get into something with Julian. He saw no point, in his mind Julian already won. He got the girl while he was left with nothing but a broken heart.
He made a move to leave but before he did, (and just because he seriously wanted to get a rise out of Julian) he leaned into Brooke and gave her a kiss on the cheek just like the one she gave him a few weeks ago in his office. "I'll see you around…Pretty Girl." he said with a smirk directed towards the brunet man. "Oh and Julian thanks for the invite. You were right; this was something I needed to hear."
"No way! He did not!" Haley gasped in surprise. "Damn I didn't know Lucas had it in him!"
Brooke rolled her eyes. "That just made things worse for me Haley."
"Why? Did Julian give you a hard time?"
"Sort of but then I just turned things around him. Told him that I couldn't believe he would stoop that low just to rub it into Luke's face that I was his wife."
"I was going to mention that…what an asshole huh?" Both girls laughed even though the situation was far from being funny.
"So since Julian has been gone are you and Luke hanging out more?"
"I wish but no we aren't."
"Why?"
"He went back to visit his family in Tree Hill…again." she said letting out a deep sigh.
"Again?" Haley asked in an incredulous tone.
"Yeah he's…been going back and forth. He said that everything is fine between us but I feel like he's running away from me. He's sometimes so distant…so true to his nickname." she said laughing drily at the last part.
"But then there are days when everything is so freaking perfect between us that I feel…like I…" she trailed off not knowing how she was going to finish that sentence.
"When we have days like that," she continued on dismissing her initial thought. "he starts to pull away. Then a couple of days later I find out he went once again back home."
Haley laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. She didn't know what to tell her. This whole situation was so weird.
"I just miss him so much when he's away." she confessed sniffling some. "The worst part is that he doesn't even know how much."
"Why don't you just tell him?" she questioned softly.
"Because it's not right!" she yelled letting all her frustrations out. "I made the choice to marry Julian despite knowing how Luke felt about me!" she said pointed to herself as she stood up from the couch. She took a deep breath trying to calm down. "I just can't tell him that every time he leaves I miss him so much because it wouldn't be fair to him…to Julian and-"
"Brooke do you have feelings for Lucas?" Haley abruptly interrupted when realization dawned on her. There was no way that Brooke's feelings for the blond had remained platonic especially after everything they've been through.
Brooke froze momentarily before composing herself. "I-I uhh…Haley how can you even ask me that?"
"Is just that every time you talk about Lucas, there's like this light in your eyes like a sparkle. And you said it yourself you miss him when he's away. Nowhere in our current conversation did you ever mention missing Julian when he's also been gone like you've said you missed Lucas."
"Haley I'm married now and that's some dangerous territory you're heading to." Brooke warned her not liking where this was going.
"Be honest with yourself Brooke. What do you feel for Lucas?" she asked, completely ignoring what she said. She wanted to get to the bottom of this and maybe if she did then her best friend could be happy again.
Brooke let out a long breath. "That's something I'm not ready to talk about Haley." she said in a serious tone as she began walking into the kitchen. She briefly turned to face the honey blond in the living room. "I'm hungry, do you want anything?" she asked.
Haley shook her head and so Brooke continued her way. Haley looked at her brunette best friend and wondered what was going on in her head right now. It was more than obvious that she definitely felt something for Lucas but wasn't willing to admit it.
"Nice shot Luke." Antwon Taylor, one of Lucas' childhood friends called out when the blond easily made a three-pointer shot.
"Thanks man…break?" Lucas asked tiredly trying to regulate his breathing. Both guys had been out in the River Court for a little over an hour and needless to say Lucas was tired. He wasn't used to playing like this anymore since he moved to New York.
"Yeah." Skills, as he was normally called agreed. He went to the picnic bench to sit, Lucas following suit. Both sat at top of the bench taking sips of their water bottles.
"I remember the day I first came to this court." Lucas randomly said as he looked around the place he loved so much. The River Court had always been like a second home to him. A place he would always come to when he needed his space, when he needed time to think things out.
"I was two years old. Keith took me here one Saturday morning and gave me my first real basketball. He said it was about time I learned how to play the game he loved so much. I couldn't even hold the damn ball but he insisted I should learn how to play." Skills laughed a bit making Lucas smile even more at the memory. "Ever since then he would take me here very Saturday morning without fail. As I got older I started coming every day for an hour or so depending on the time."
"Luke that's great and all but what's up with all the reminiscing?" Skills asked curiously not really seeing a point of this. He turned to look at his friend and saw a look on his face that he wasn't sure what it meant.
Lucas stood up walking towards the middle of the court, looking at his friend. "A year ago I left Tree Hill, leaving everything behind. I left my family, my friends, my home…and this court."
"Just what are you trying to say?" Skills asked confused.
"I'm saying that I've missed this place. I've missed my old life and sometimes I feel like just calling it quits and returning here where I belong." he confessed to his friend.
"How can you say that Luke? You've done so much up in New York with that fancy company of yours. What's going on with you man?"
Lucas sighed going back to the bench.
"I don't know man." Lucas quickly lied not wanting to tell Skills the real reason behind wanting to leave New York. His reason was simple and it involved a beautiful brunette with the power to render him weak on his knees with just one look. He didn't like being way from her but at the same time he couldn't be near her. It hurt him to see her with Julian which unfortunately had happened more than he wished it did.
"Lucas is there something you want to talk about?"
Lucas shook his head and grabbed the basketball. "Nah man, let's just keep on playing. Jake and I promised Lily and Jenny we were going to take them to the park later on and I want to get in some more playing time before that."
Skills watched as his friend started shooting around and couldn't help but to worry about him. What he brought up was something he shouldn't dismiss easily but he knew Lucas really well. When he wanted to he would come to you and talk about his problems but until then it was just a matter of waiting.
Somehow though, Skills couldn't help but to think that his friend's problems had something to do a girl. The look Lucas had on his face said it all. Plus he had been coming back and forth between Tree Hill and New York like if he was escaping from something and honestly he thought it all had to do with a girl.
"Well Julian, what do you think?" Alexander asked as he looked around the beautiful scenery that surrounded the Gauley River in West Virginia. The place was magnificent, with its mountainous view and the deep forest that surrounded it. They had been working non-stop getting locations sorted out since they arrived a week ago for his brother's movie. Julian was determined to find the perfect places to shoot some of the outside scenes for his movie and nobody could blame him. This was going to be his first big movie to ever direct, an opportunity that didn't come to just anyone.
"Looks good Lex." Julian replied, taking in the place. It was perfect he had to admit. "Thanks for coming with me by the way." he said giving him a grateful smile.
"No problem Julian. You're my little brother and although you know this isn't my kind of thing, I love being involved with this part of your life." he said, returning the smile.
"Hey what about me? I came here too you know." David playfully said looking at the two brothers with amusement.
Julian rolled his eyes. "I hired you, you dumbass. You had no choice but to come here with me."
"I didn't have to come." he stubbornly stated. "I could have easily stayed home."
"Talking to Quinn James?" Alexander teased making David blush a bit. They had met at Julian and Brooke's homecoming and the two really hit it off. They had been friends ever since then, going out together and talking on the phone occasionally.
"Shut up! It's not like that with us." David told them briskly, though the blush on his cheeks said otherwise. He did like Quinn, more than just a friend but he wasn't sure if she liked him back that way. Then there was the whole Clay thing which if he was honest with himself he didn't understand. He knew they were the best of friends but the way they sometimes acted around each other begged to differ.
"Oh that's right, because then Clay Davis would beat you up if you tried anything with his best friend." Julian commented in a joking matter.
"Oh like you would do any better against him. Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't it not too long ago that me, Lex and Lucas Scott had to hold him off from kicking your ass?" David said making Julian shoot him a glare. Julian was not stupid, he was well aware of Clay's dislike of him but it became even worse when he and Brooke announced their impromptu wedding to their family and friends.
"Whatever." Julian muttered, him being already over with this conversation. "Let's just get back to work." he ordered as he looked around the place once more.
A couple of minutes passed. They had been working quietly, only a few words being said about the site. Julian was writing down everything about the place while David was making some sketches and Alexander was taking pictures of it.
"How's married life treating you bro?" Alexander asked, breaking the silence between the three men.
"Great, love it." Julian replied, not bothering to look at Alexander as he kept working.
"Really?" he asked skeptically. "Doesn't look like it."
"We've been having some problems but it's to be expected on newlyweds. It'll pass eventually." he said. "Now can we just focus on this?"
"Sure." Alexander agreed with a frown. David saw the tension between them and wanted to diffuse it somehow.
"Hey guys…" he began saying as he stared at the river in front of them. "You know what we haven't done in years?" he asked as he got the attention of Julian and Alexander.
"What?" both brothers asked.
"Kayaking." he simply said with a grin. He remembered when they were younger how much all three of them loved the sport and how practically whenever they had the chance they would go out a weekend to practice it.
"I don't know David. You said it yourself; we haven't done it in years." Alexander pointed out in a worried tone.
"Come on Alex! It's like riding a bike, once you learn you can never forget." he said grinning at the idea. At first it was just to diffuse some of the tension but now he was excited for it.
"Why not?" Julian agreed shrugging his shoulders. He hadn't practiced it in a while but he really did love the sport.
"Great!"
"But we better do it tomorrow." Julian suggested making David pout at the idea. He was rearing to go today not tomorrow.
"Why tomorrow?"
"Because…" he put one arm around David's shoulder and the other on his brother. "I decided that tomorrow we are going to have a whole day off from this scene hunting." he said smiling widely.
Haley stepped outside Brooke's apartment building a couple of hours after her visit. Even though she had been coming a lot times to visit her over the past couple of months, she was still not used of this lavish side of the city. She started making her way down the street, the conversation she had with Brooke still in her head and the very awkward moments after it. All of a sudden she accidently bumped into what she assumed by the hard chest, broad shoulders, was a guy.
"Oh shit sorry!" she immediately apologized. She looked up and saw a set of familiar blue eyes looking down at her with a bemused expression on them.
"Well, well…look who it is." Nathan said making Haley groan inwardly at her rotten luck. It had been a while since she last seen him and she was grateful for it but at the same time she missed him in a weird way.
"What brings you to this nice side of the city?" Nathan asked bluntly giving her a look of distaste. He still had in his mind the last time they saw each other and he wasn't thrilled with how things went between them.
Haley shot him a glare. He was obviously still the same asshole she met a few months ago. "Not that it's any of your business but my friend happens to live around here and I was just visiting." she informed him while rolling her eyes. "Now if you'll excuse me I need to go."
"Humph I didn't know people like you could have friends that could afford places like this?"
"People like me?" she questioned, feeling her anger start to come out.
"Well yeah, you know…poor."
Haley shook her head. She wasn't going to let him get to her, not this time. She was better than this. "You know what? I don't have time for this." She made a move to leave but Nathan stopped her.
"I'm not done with you." he told her gruffly, grabbing her arm.
"Well I am so move." she ordered firmly.
"Haley come on. I just want to talk to you." Nathan coaxed in a much softer tone.
"Talking isn't what you want Nathan." she told him pointedly.
"You're right." he smirked licking his lips in anticipation. "You know what I want so let's just cut the bullshit." he told her as he got closer to her as possible.
"Nathan…" Haley said in a warning tone. She couldn't believe the man in front of her. They hadn't seen each other in months and he was already trying to get in her pants.
He was one persistent horny bastard.
"Oh come on! You can't tell me that for the past months you haven't been thinking about that mind blowing kiss we shared that night? You want me Haley James, I saw it in your eyes the first day we met. And just like you want me I want you too baby." he said as his breath trickled her face. He was close to her, making Haley feel things for him but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
"Maybe once upon a time I did but that soon changed when your arrogance started to show." she admitted with a frown.
"You love it." he smugly said.
"See that's the problem right there." she pointed at him. "You don't or can't take "no" for an answer when it comes to woman. And I bet you it's the same for everything else. It always has to be your way because you think you're better than everyone around you."
His eyebrows scrunched up together nervously. She didn't know what she was talking about right? He was after all Nathan Scott, son of Dan Scott one of the most powerful men in New York. "I-I don't know what you're talking about you cheap waitress."
"Yes you do!" she argued, ignoring the whole 'cheap waitress' comment. It hurt, she wasn't going to lie but she saw something flick into his eyes the moment she started telling him his truths. "You know perfectly well what I'm talking about."
Nathan scoffed. "I'm over this." he told her. "Fine you don't want me then I'm not going to keep on begging. See you around Haley." he said turning around the way he came.
"No." Haley said firmly as this time she grabbed his arm forcefully. "You wanted to talk so let's talk."
"I'm done Haley."
"Well I'm not." Her expression was serious as she looked into his eyes. He gulped slightly. "You think because you're Nathan Scott that you have this power over everyone especially all women? Well guess what you don't. I'll admit at first I thought you were an extremely gorgeous looking man and I was a bit attracted to you-"
"Then why make me go through this if you wanted me just like I wanted you?" he interrupted, feeling his head swell with pride.
Haley rubbed her eyes tiredly then looked at him straight in the eyes. "Because then you opened your big mouth and ruined everything."
"Whatever, your loss not mine." he said, finally yanking his arm away from her. Who did she think she was anyways? It wasn't his fault that he was like he was. Ever since he could remember woman had been coming to him, wanting him in every possible way. It wasn't his fault that his ego grew because of that.
"You're not God's gift to woman." she stated in a serious tone. He rolled his eyes but stayed silent. "Not every woman wants you Nathan and it's better you hear it from me."
"Why? Because you just happen to be the first who doesn't?"
"Yeah that's right so when it happens again and believe me it will, you won't be harassing them like you've been doing to me." That right there hit a nerve. Harassing? Had he been doing that all along to Haley? He didn't think he was but maybe….no he couldn't have. He wasn't the type of guy to do things like that. What she told him was really making him think about all his previous actions with women. What if he had been harassing some of them too?
"Now if you'll excuse me I really have to go." she said stepping away from him. Nathan was dumbstruck at the moment that he didn't even bother to acknowledge her leaving. What she told him really affected him in more ways than she probably thought they would.
Ever since yesterday, the conversation Brooke had with Haley had been swirling around her mind. No matter what she did she couldn't stop thinking about it. Did she like Lucas? Of course she did. He was her best friend, the one guy besides Clay that she trusted with her life. But did it go beyond that? No it didn't because he was her best friend and nothing more. But then why did she miss him when he wasn't around her? And why when he first kissed her did she feel like she was finally complete?
She was so screwed up in the mind and on top of that Julian hadn't called her since he left and she was beginning to worry. They had gotten into another fight the day he left so she wasn't surprise he didn't call the first few days but it had now been a week and she was starting to get worry about him.
The phone rang snapping Brooke from her thoughts. She had been bored out of her mind with nothing to do. She could have probably gone out and visit her family and Haley but it was one of those lazy days where she just didn't feel like doing anything at all.
"Hello?" she answered on the fourth ring.
"Brooke?" David's anxious voice asked.
At hearing the way he spoke, Brooke who had been lounging around in her bed straightened up. Why would David of all people be calling her? Sure he was her husband's best friend but they weren't that close.
"David? What's going on?"
"Brooke I-I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed. "There's been an accident."
"Accident? What do you mean an accident?" she asked her eyebrows furrowing with confusion.
"Brooke y-you…you have to be strong." David told her.
"What's going on David? And who-" she stopped talking. It clicked right away why David was the one calling and why he sounded like he did.
"How is he David?" she asked softly feeling her eyes begin to get teary. "Please tell me he's okay."
"We don't know Brooke."
"Wh-What happened?" she fearfully asked not knowing if she was going to be able to handle this.
"It was our day off and we decided to go kayaking so we did." he began to explain, feeling like crap at the moment. "I don't know what happened. He was right in front of us a-and then his raft just got out of control. He…he hit his head on a rock really hard and the next thing we knew he was just gone."
"David…" she trailed off not knowing what to say. She was lost for words, she felt like she couldn't breathe. Her husband was not only missing but hurt.
"We went to go look for him but the current was too strong for us." he rushed to say. "I swear Brooke, Alex and I tried to but we couldn't find him…" he said trying to keep a strong voice but he couldn't anymore. His best friend was missing and he couldn't do a thing about it. "The current was just to fucking strong!" he yelled, finally breaking down into the phone.
She felt like her whole world was crashing down. This wasn't supposed to happen. Julian wasn't supposed to be missing at a time like this. Not when she was starting to question what she felt for him. She felt the pressure building up in her eyes but she couldn't allow herself to cry right now. Her husband was missing but there was a possibility he was still out there.
She had to go find him.
"I'm on my way David." Brooke managed to say. "I'll be there as soon as possible just keep me posted." she told him and then without another word hanged up.
Not wanting to waste any time, she quickly got dressed, packed a small bag of clothes and grabbed her keys. She left the apartment in a hurry and flagged down a taxi to take her to the nearest airport.
Her husband was missing and she never told him she loved him when he was leaving because as usual they were arguing. She felt like the worse wife on earth.
"Please let him be okay." she thought to herself as she watched the scenery of the city passed by. "Please let him be ok." Brooke repeated as silent tears started coming down her face.
Brooke wasn't surprised when she finally arrived at the rented lodge where David was located to see Peyton, Sylvia or Theresa already there. Nor was she surprised when Peyton was the only one to greet her, (besides Alexander and David) while the other two gave her one of the nastiest looks ever. She just ignored them and quickly went and asked David and Alexander to fill her in more on Julian's situation.
"Have you heard anything?" she anxiously asked them. Both men shook their heads sadly.
"They're still looking for him Brooke." Alexander told her, tears were brimming around his eyes. He looked so broken and as she looked around the room, she saw that everyone there had around the same exact expression.
"How did this even happen guys?"
"He was being careless Brooke." Alexander was the one to answer again. "He got too cocky and went ahead of us thinking he could handle the current by himself." he replied regretfully. "The next thing we know he hit his head and he along with his raft were taken down the current." he said getting a strange look in his eye.
"But umm you must be tired, why don't you go ahead to room we reserved for you and rest for a bit? Alexander suggested, offering her a faint smile.
She shook her head. "I can't sleep not knowing if he's okay or not."
"He's going to be okay Brooke. Julian is a tough guy." Alexander tried to reassure her even though he wasn't too sure himself. It had been hours since the accident and there was still no sign of his brother.
"My mom and brother are coming here first thing in the morning." Brooke commented sadly, tears threatening to come out. "I hope that's okay with you." Brooke said as she let her tears come out. Alexander gathered her in his arms trying to comfort her. If he was being honest with himself he also did it because he needed some comfort too. When his mom and Peyton first arrive here, Sylvia was acting cold towards him while Peyton was just closed off not wanting to really speak to anyone.
"Just get some rest Brooke and I'll let you know if anything changes."
"Yeah Brooke, Julian wouldn't want you to tired yourself out like this." David finally spoke. He had remained quiet during Alexander and Brooke's exchange because he honestly didn't know what to say to her. There was this immense guilt inside of him that was eating him alive the more Julian stayed missing. If he wouldn't have suggested the kayaking he was more than sure that his best friend would still be here with them.
She finally agreed after some more persuasion from the guys. She was tired and she knew that she needed all the strength she could get for tomorrow. As Alexander was leading her to an empty room, Sylvia and Theresa watched on.
"I can't believe she had the nerve to come here." Theresa seethed letting out a low growl. "She has no right being here with us."
"I have to agree with you darling." Silvia commented. "Although she married my son, she has no business being here like if she actually cares about him." she said with annoyance while shooting glares at Brooke's retreating back.
"I can't believe you two!" Peyton suddenly said as she turned to angrily look at them. Both women stared wide at the curly blond because of her outburst. "My brother is out there missing and all you can think is about how his wife shouldn't be here!" she turned to Theresa. "I expect this kind of behavior from my mother but not from you who claim you are in love with Julian." She walked away leaving both women in utter shock.
The next few days were like torture for Brooke. Julian was still missing, nowhere to be found. It was like if he had completely disappeared from the face of the earth. Her mom and Clay had both come to show her the support she needed along with Haley and surprisingly Owen. During that time she felt almost at ease while searching for Julian but unfortunately they all had to leave for work. Brooke appreciated the time they took off work for her and was extremely grateful for it.
And although there were all these people that were showing her the support she needed, there was still one person that she wished was here by her side. She didn't know why she hadn't call Lucas since she knew that with one call and he would be here but she guessed it was because she felt guilty leaning into him when her husband was missing. After all, her feelings for him were still uncertain and having him here by her side just wasn't right in her mind.
But oh how she wanted to desperately just hear his voice telling her that everything was going to be okay. That Julian was going to return and that this whole nightmare was going to be over soon. But again she couldn't because no matter how much she wanted to call Lucas she just couldn't. She needed to stop depending on him because at the end the day it was only him that was going to get hurt.
Lucas made his way into his apartment with his baggage in tow. He had been in Tree Hill far longer than he anticipated but it was all worth it just to see his family and friends. It helped that he was the boss of his work so no one could say much about his random trips.
He dropped down on the couch leaning back against it as he closed his eyes tiredly. He had so much to think about. His visit to Tree Hill had proven to be an eye opener for the blond man. He kept playing in his mind the conversation he had with Skills that day in the River Court and how at that moment he really wanted to do just what he told him. To leave everything behind and go back home, but he knew he couldn't. No matter what he couldn't and wouldn't leave Brooke. A talk he had with Keith just before he left Tree Hill made him realized just that.
"I'm thinking of moving back home." Lucas stated to the older man in front of him. Keith Scott's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"And why are you thinking about that?" he asked curiously. It was early in the morning and they were both in Karen's kitchen each drinking their morning coffee. Karen was already at the café working while Lily was in school.
Lucas ran a hand through his messy blond hair. "I-I just…missed you guys."
"Come on Luke who do you take me for?"
"W-What do you mean?" he asked, taking a drink from his cup.
"Lucas I've known your scrawny ass for twenty four years so don't give me that."
"Lucas smiled slightly. If there was anyone that knew him as well as his mother then it was his uncle. The man that had been there for him since the day he was born. He was the man who he considered to be his real father.
"Is just…there's been some stuff that has been going on with me Keith and sometimes I feel like I won't be able to handle them." he explained with a small shrug.
The older man looked at is nephew tentatively. "Does this stuff have to do with why lately you've been coming back and forth between Tree Hill and New York?" Lucas nodded his head slowly looking down at his coffee cup. Keith stood up to go wash his already finished cup. "Do you maybe want to talk about this or is this a conversation for your mom?" he asked from behind Lucas.
"There's this girl…" Lucas said as he began to explain his whole relationship with Brooke to his uncle. "…and now she's married and we decided to remained friends but it's hard you know because I still love her and being just friends with her has been harder than I thought it would be."
"Well Lucas it seems to me you have two choices here." Keith said holding two fingers towards him. He was sitting back down in the kitchen table in front of Lucas. "You can do like you said and leave everything you've worked for behind. Hell if you want, sell your share of the company I won't care." Keith shrugged in a careless manner. "You can move back home like you want to and just forget everything and everyone you ever met in New York. You know we will receive you with open arms Luke, your mother, Lily and I."
Lucas opened his mouth to say something but Keith raised his hand signaling to stop. "I'm not done yet son." he firmly said. "You can leave everything behind but what good will that do? Lucas the way you talk about this girl makes me think that this is more than a passing thing. Makes me think it's like the kind of love that lasts forever."
"But she's married Keith." Lucas stated in a whisper. "How am I supposed to compete with that?"
"Well that's where your second choice comes in Luke." Keith said looking at him in a serious way. "You stay in New York and you fight for that girl because if what you've told me about her is true then that girl has feelings for you too but she's just too scared to admit them."
"Keith she's married." Lucas repeated for what he felt was the hundredth time. Brooke was married and there wasn't anything that he could do. He could fight all he wanted for her but at the end of the day she was still married.
"Lucas all I can tell you is that all is fair in love and war. And I know it's not much," Keith rushed to say when he saw Lucas was about to protest. "but I'm speaking from experience here son. No matter who or what you have to go through to get the person that you love, you do it because at the end of the day it will be worth it." Keith said patting Lucas in the back before leaving the room. Lucas sat there thinking about what he meant by his last statement.
Lucas sat upright when the vibration of his cell phone snapped him out of his memory. The screen was flashing 'Peyton' and his face scrunched up in confusion. It was kind of strange to see her calling him at this time. Although he and Peyton had become friends since the charity event they attended together, their friendship was a strange one. While he just saw her as a friend, she wanted more from him and sadly for her he couldn't offer that.
"Hello?" he answered the phone tiredly.
"L-Lucas I need you!" Peyton cried out softly as she let all her emotions get the best of her. Lucas listened as Peyton told him what happened and his eyes widen in disbelief. He quickly hanged up the phone after promising to be there as soon as he could. Grabbing the bag he brought back with him from Tree Hill, he left his apartment once more with only one thought running through his head.
"I'm coming Brooke."
Time seem to have passed slowly for Brooke as she waited for news on Julian. The waiting was slowly killing her. Julian was still nowhere to be found and she was beginning to lose all hope in ever finding him. She wanted her family and friends to be here with her to offer her the comfort and support she needed but they couldn't be with her at all times.
Honestly she was feeling so lonely right now.
As she looked the room filled with people waiting on news of Julian's whereabouts, that was how she felt-lonely. These people had each other, they could offer all the support and comfort they wanted because they knew one another so well but she was all alone. She had no one at this moment right now and she felt like crying. Never in her life had she felt this feeling before and she hated it.
The doorbell rang and Brooke who was looking out the window turned around to see who it was. When Alexander opened it, she saw the last person she expected to be here.
"Luke, man what are you doing here?" Alexander asked looking at the blond man in a curious way. Lucas smiled at him tentatively before his gazed fixed on Brooke momentarily before it came back to Alexander.
"I called him." Peyton announced as she went towards where they were. "Thank you for coming…I knew you wouldn't let me down." Peyton said with gratitude and before Lucas knew what was happening she launched herself into his arms.
"Umm y-you're welcome." Lucas stuttered nervously, not quite sure why she was being so forward with him. From across the room Sylvia was smiling widely. Despite everything that was going on, she was happy that at least her daughter was getting something out of this whole ordeal.
Brooke on the other hand was frozen solid as she stared at the two blonds embracing. A feeling of possessiveness was coursing through her body as she watched Peyton buried her face closer into Lucas' chest. As far as she knew she was the only one allowed to do that. She wanted to pull her away from him and just as she was about to take a step towards them she immediately stopped dead in her tracks. What the hell was she just about to do? She shouldn't be here feeling like this when her husband was out there still missing.
She took a step back and turned away, looking at the window once more. She heard the way Lucas was ushered inside the lodge by Peyton. She could feel as he moved around the room greeting everyone and knew it was a matter of moments before he got to her.
"Brooke…?" Lucas said from behind her. Slowly she turned around wanting to offer him a small smile but she couldn't. "Brooke I-" he started to say when suddenly the doorbell ranged again. He wanted to badly go to her, to comfort her and tell her he was there for her but the words got caught in his throat. He didn't know what he was supposed to say in a time like this. He turned his attention when he saw David standing up to go get the door.
When he did, three officers came in with a solemn look on their faces. Immediately Brooke knew that something was not right. They gathered everyone in the lodge in the living room. She held her breath waiting to see what these men were going to say.
The scruffy one out of the three stepped out. "We finally found the raft Julian was on." the officer stated with such seriousness. Everyone waited for the man to continue knowing that wasn't all he was going to say. The officer then motioned for another one of the officers and the other man took out a see through bag and took out part of a tattered shirt stained with some blood patches.
"Can anyone identify this?"
"That was part of the shirt Julian was wearing the day of the accident." David told them, looking at the torn shirt in the officer's hand. He felt sick at the moment.
Taking a deep gulp, Alexander asked the questioned that was in everyone's mind. "W-Where did you find that?" he hesitantly asked.
"We found the raft on the shore almost near Summersville lake." the scruffy officer started to explain. "This torn shirt was found a few miles farther down north from the raft."
"What does this mean?" Theresa questioned in a shaky voice. She was hoping it didn't mean anything too serious but with the looks the officers were giving each other, she knew it was.
"No one could have survived being dragged down by the current that distance especially with no raft. The blood on this torn shirt indicates the hit from the rock he took was more severe than we thought it was." He stopped, taking a deep breath before he continued. "It is with a great regret to inform you that we firmly believe that your beloved one is dead." the officer concluded as he looked at the now shock and sorrowful faces of the people in front of them.
Brooke stared blankly at the officer for a moment as if she didn't recognize the words the man spoke. She then looked around the room and saw the fallen faces of Alexander, Peyton and Sylvia and then the shocked ones of David, Lucas and Theresa. She shook her head not wanting to believe what she just heard. This couldn't be happening, it just couldn't be. Instant silent tears started coming down her face, she felt so lost at the moment.
"But hi-his body wasn't found?" Peyton managed to say. "How can you even say he's dead?"
"Miss I know this is very hard to accept but we've search the whole river. There was no sign of his body anywhere."
"Then how can you say he's dead when there was no body found?" Alexander questioned with tears in his eyes.
"We search all over the area where his torn shirt was found and there was no sign of it. We believe his body was dragged from the shore and some sort of wild animal found it."
"I'm sorry that we had to be the bearer of bad news but that's part of our job. We will leave you to your grieving." he said and then they all turned to leave.
Everyone was too shock to say anything after the officers left. A few seconds later Brooke staggered sideways as the shock finally wore off. Lucas who was the nearest caught her, holding her up and that's when she broke down. Clinging to Lucas, tears began to quickly all down her face as this unknown strong pain came to her full force.
Julian was gone and the last time she saw him she never got to tell him she loved him. There was no heartfelt goodbye or a take care of yourself, all that there was, was yelling…yelling that she now could never take back.
"He's gone." Brooke cried into Lucas' chest quietly and he felt pain ripping through him as he held her. He hated this, he hated seeing her in such pain and it hurt him. He didn't know if there were words out there to could lessen the pain so he just held her.
Around the room David was holding a very distraught Peyton while Theresa was with Sylvia trying to comfort her. Alexander was motionless as he kept staring at the door the officers came through, hoping that they would come back to tell them this was all some sick cruel joke.
"You!" a bitter cry was heard from Sylvia as she stood up to look at Brooke. She walked towards her and pulled Brooke out of Lucas' embrace. "This is your fault!" Sylvia stated angrily with conviction. "My son is gone because of you!" she yelled and without another word slapped Brooke on the face.
Brooke recoiled from her, touching her cheek as she felt the sting of her palm lingering on her face. "I-I…" She closed her eyes, trying to hold back the sob that was coming. It wasn't her fault Julian was dead. Sylvia was just hurt and lashing out like any mother would. This wasn't her fault she kept on repeating.
Everyone was in shock at the event that was playing out in front of them. "Because of you he's gone. If you would have stayed away like I ordered you to none of this would have happened. You brought this on my son!"
"Mom…this wasn't Brooke's fault." Alexander said in a soft tone trying to get her away from Brooke. He gently grabbed her arm but she pulled away harshly. "J-Julian…h-he died because of circumstances that were beyond our reach."
"Sylvia…" Lucas began to say as he stepped in front of Brooke to directly face Sylvia. He couldn't believe the turn of events. "Blaming Brooke isn't going to do anyone in especially you any good." he tried to persuade her. "Your son loved her very much and he wouldn't want you to blame her for his death."
"My son is dead Lucas!" Sylvia shrieked in pain.
More tears were rushing down Brooke's already tearstained face. Without saying much she ran towards the door just wanting to get away from it all.
The fear, the pain, the guilt…all of it.
"Brooke!" Lucas yelled after her retreating form. He made a move to follow her but he felt someone grabbed him as soon as he reached the door. "Peyton…" he growled.
"Just let her go Luke." she pleaded in a whispered. "She needs time to process things through an-and besides I need you." she stated looking at him distress.
"Yeah well she needs me." Lucas hissed as he broke free and went to go look for the girl he loved.
Peyton felt like someone had punched her in the face as she saw Lucas chased after Brooke. She closed the door feeling hurt that he chose to be with Brooke and not with her.
"Well what do you know…" Theresa's voice rang through the room. Peyton turned to look at her best friend and saw that she was looking out the front window. "Looks like those two know each other really well."
Immediately Sylvia and a very confused Peyton went to go see what Theresa was talking about. Outside just a few feet away from the lodge there was Lucas locked in an intimate embrace with Brooke. Peyton wasn't going to lie, it hurt to see the way he was holding her with such care and looking like he wanted to protect her from everything. It hurt her so much to think that there was something deeper than friendship going on with them that instant tears began falling from her face.
To Be Continued…
So like I promised in this chapter everything has now changed, Julian is gone and I sincerely apologized to anyone who liked him. I know lots happened here and I'm sure you all have some sort of comments on it. Anyways please let me know your thoughts through a review and I will see you guys next chapter.
Please Review!