Today was the first day in weeks where the sun was shining so bright. Brooke took in the view from her kitchen window. Nathan and she would take picnics out by a lake on days like this. She missed him.

Taking a sip of her orange juice, she sat down at the table. Brooke looked at the bills in front of her and groaned. She had money that Nathan left for her, but she didn't want to spend it all on paying the bills.

Lucas had a job to help out with the rent, but she knew it wasn't long before she needed to get a job. Brooke didn't go to school and planned on staying home and taking care of everything. There was nothing that she was good at.

Brooke grabbed the newspaper and looked at the classified ads. An overwhelming feeling of failure washed over her. The jobs all required a formal education, at least the ones that didn't mean flipping burgers.

She knocked everything off the table in a fit of anger. She was angry. She needed Nathan to be here and tell her what to do, how to fix everything that was going on.

Walking over to the living room, she grabbed her old sketch book and a piece of black chalk. She began to sketch an outfit that she would wear if she was at the beach with Nathan.

"Why?" she muttered.

A tear rolled down her face. Why did Nathan have to be one of the many fallen soldiers? Why couldn't he just be around a little longer? She couldn't take this any longer.

Lucas entered the house and she remained unmoved. Her eyes stayed transfixed on the sketch that she was working on.

"What's all this paper doing on the floor?" he asked as he picked it up in a pile.

When she didn't answer him, he walked over to her and watched her. She was taking her frustration out and putting on paper. He knew her form of therapy was the same as his. Lucas loved to write, but it was a just a hobby.

"Brooke, that's awesome! I didn't know that you could sketch!" Lucas said as he picked up her drawing.

She wiped a tear that was slowly falling down her cheek, "Thanks."

He turned to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "What's wrong?"

Sniffling, "I just miss him. He loved to be outdoors when the sun was out. I just need him."

"Brooke, he wouldn't want you to be sad. Let's do something in honor of Nathan!" Lucas suggested as he stood up.

Brooke rolled her eyes, "You didn't even really know him!"

Lucas flinched, she was right. When they were all in high school, he and Nathan were close but they split after graduation. Their relationship was no different than he and anyone else. Lucas cut ties with everyone when he left for up north.

"I know, Brooke. He is still my blood and you need someone to vent to…"

"I don't need anyone but Nathan! All I want is to talk to him for three seconds. I just want to tell him I love him!" she yelled. The tears were coming faster. She felt like she was doing this every single day and she was. "I just want to feel whole again."

He wrapped his arms around her. She was resisting his affection, but he was too strong to push him off of her. He felt his t-shirt dampen with every heave of her body.

"Things will get better, but they don't happen overnight," he reminded her softly.

She nodded. She knew that this was going to take time, but how much longer did she have to keep doing this? This was a routine thing: wake up, cry about Nathan, yell at Lucas, and go to bed.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"We have to go to dinner in an hour with your parents and I'm having a melt down!" she said with a little laugh.

"You're right. Now, it's my turn to have a meltdown," he said with a chuckle.

Brooke raised a brow, "I don't understand anything that is going on."

"No one does."

Dinner was taking forever or so it seemed. They had been there for an hour and no one was really talking. It was so quiet you could hear a pen drop.

Brooke exchanged awkward glances with Karen, trying to break up the awkwardness, "This is really good pasta, Karen."

"Thanks," she said as she swirled more pasta in her mouth.

"So, mom, what do you want to talk about?" Lucas asked. He was tired of waiting for this whole topic to be brought up. He just wanted to get this over with.

"I just don't want to know that my son is back in town and we can't be like how…how we were," she said as she started to get teary eyed.

"Plus you are working for me in the garage and you have a few things to explain to us," Keith chimed in.

"Well, what do you want me to say?" Lucas asked as he tensed up.

"Why would you do this to your family? What about Haley?" she asked. There was no hiding her emotions. She was a few tears short of hysterics. "We were so close, Lucas."

"I needed to get out of Tree Hill and make something of myself. I needed to make it big somewhere out there in the world."

"Why couldn't you do that here?"

"I don't want to have a café or a garage, no offense. I needed to get away from Dan and his games. If I stayed here, I never would have accomplished anything."

"I understand that, Lucas, but why leave the way you did?"

"Because I was eighteen and thought that I knew everything about the world," he yelled. "I'm sorry that I was trying to make something of myself. I'm sorry I left without telling you. I'm sorry I fell off the grid and left everyone to wonder how I was!"

Karen wiped her eyes with her napkin, "I didn't know what happened to my son for three years. You couldn't keep in contact with me at least?"

"I tried to call you but we always would fight—"

"Forgive me for caring about you!" she screamed as she stood up and walked into the living room.

"No, we are not going to fight and runaway!" Lucas said as he walked after her.

"Oh, like you did?" she hissed.

"Mom, I'm fucking sorry! You can hate the decision that I made and I know that you do. Honestly, I'm glad that I did it because I made my own company!"

She nodded, "I know what you did! I read the paper and found out. When people came to my café and congratulated me, how do you think it was when I didn't know? Your own mother didn't know that you were successful. All a mother wants is to know you are successful in life!"

"I told you that I was fine and not to worry. I'm sorry for the manner that I left, but I can't turn back the fucking clock!" he shouted. He was frustrated. He knew he messed up but couldn't they get past it.

He walked over to her and sat with her on the couch. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her.

Kissing her on the forehead, "I still need you, mom. I love you and I want to get past this."

"If you have a job, why are you here?"

"I don't want to talk about the company," he said with a sigh. All that anyone wanted to talk about was his company. He didn't want to keep dwelling on his failed business venture. No one needed to know the details about it either.

"Fine, but I think that you need to talk to Haley," she said as she wiped the final tear.

Lucas nodded, "That's the one person I am dreading."

"She plays at the café on Thursday nights," she informed.

Lucas rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't know how to approach his childhood best friend about his absence. No one really knew the whole story about his business. He was going to have to face her sooner or later. He preferred later, but his mother would force him to do it sooner.

Brooke entered the hallway and played with her hands, "Can I come in?"

Karen nodded, "Lucas, why don't you and Keith go make coffee. I want to have a little talk with Brooke."

He hesitated for a moment before getting up, "Okay."

Brooke sat down cautiously next to Karen. She knew all about Karen, but never actually talked to her before. Dan and Deb didn't exactly have nice things to say about Karen.

"How are you doing?" she asked quietly.

Brooke shrugged, "It's really hard. I feel like I constantly sit there and cry because he is not here."

Karen nodded, "I know how you feel. My dad died before Lucas was born and that was the hardest thing, not having him meet Lucas. I know that a dad isn't the same as your life partner, but it doesn't mean I don't feel the same."

"I just…I just see all these things that I want to tell him or show him," she said as she began to cry.

"I still have those days, but you keep busy and it won't be so hard on you."

Brooke nodded in agreement, "Even though Nathan didn't like Lucas, I'm glad that he is in the house with me. I feel like I have someone to vent to when I go crazy."

"Sometimes I feel like I am going to hurt myself…" Brooke whispered.

Karen gasped, "Oh, honey, don't say that."

"It's true. I think if Lucas wasn't there I would want to be with Nathan…"

"You will have your time with Nathan, but he wouldn't want you to give up on your life. You have so much to offer the world."

"Not if Nathan is not in it," Brooke said as her voice cracked.

"You have to start living your life almost as if you were living for Nathan. Make the most out of your life because you deserve it," Karen said firmly. "I know that you don't have a good relationship with your parents, but you owe it to them, and yourself, to make the most of it."

"I never had anyone to talk to or be there for me. Nathan was the first person I let in and he's gone now…"

Karen gave her a loving embrace, "I am here for you, Brooke."

Brooke smiled even though she was in tears, "Thanks, Karen."

Even though this was the first time that she had actually talked to Karen, she knew that she was genuine. She was very nurturing and that was something that Brooke was lacking in her life. Maybe, in a weird way, Lucas was here to help her through this rough time.

AN: thanks for the reviews! More reviews = quicker update!

COMING UP: Brooke makes a desperate call to Karen. Lucas meets with his childhood friend.