Hey everyone! This chapter's a day late because last night when I had planned to write, I went out to see The Dark Knight instead lol. I'm not too sure how much longer this'll be as I can see the end insight with the way I'm outlining it. And for everyone that's confused about when this story takes place, everything happening in the past is set during the 505 time setting. Hope that clears things up! Hope y'all enjoy!

Present Time

"Is she here?" Lucas opens the door to find Brooke's mother standing on the other side, her icy voice laying into him as soon she could see him.

"Excuse me Mrs. Davis?" She pushes past him and goes into his apartment, her face showing her disgust with the small dwelling.

"You're not a very good writer are you Lucas," she states factually, looking around the sorry excuse for an apartment. "Brooke?" Lucas cringes at the woman's sharp voice and follows her.

"She's not here. We were supposed to get breakfast two days ago and I've only gotten one text from her." Victoria walks back into the living room and looks the blonde boy up and down. Looks at his ripped jeans and plain white T-shirt, his blonde hair messy and his face unshaven.

"You really don't know where she's at?" He shakes his head sadly and she lets out a sigh, her shoulders slumping. She brings her hand up to her head, covering her eyes. "Thank you Lucas."

She walks past him once again, this time less forceful, less determined. It's honestly one of the scariest things Lucas has ever witnessed as he stands shocked in his makeshift dinning room. "If you do find her," he says just as she reaches the door, stopping her but not turning around to make eye contact. "Can you just let me know if she's okay?"

"You're not good for her. You know that," she responds and he shrugs with a bitter laugh.

"Neither are you."

She cocks an eyebrow and then sighs. "Fair enough."


Lucas slumps down on his couch, his head in his hands. Where the hell was Brooke? His phone rings and he jumps up to answer it, praying it was the brunette that seemed to fall off the face of the earth. "Hello?"

"You sound panicked, are you okay?" He let out a strangled groan in disappointment.

"No, I'm fine Linds. What's up?"

One Year Ago

Brooke rolls over, panting heavily. She glances over at Lucas who is smirking amidst his ragged breathing. She hits his chest lightly, deciding half way through it takes too much effort to hit him and to try and get her breathing to normal. "You always get so cocky after sex," she says in short clipped words.

"Don't use that word now, Brooke," he manages to get out and she lets out a throaty laugh before rolling back on to his naked body. She kisses his lips before moving to his jaw line and then neck, her hands making their way down his body.

"What are you doing tomorrow," she asks in between kisses, his hands finding their way to her hips.

"Some book dinner shit. Why?" His thumbs rub circles into her skin before moving towards the chinese symbol he's been seeing more and more of.

"Victoria's going out of town," she whispers in his ear, her tongue darting out to outline his earlobe. She sits up and looks at his dirty smile and dark eyes and knows that after whatever dinner he's gonna 'drag' her to, they won't leave the bedroom till Victoria gets back.

He flips them over quickly, Brooke giggling at the movement, her legs naturally going to rest on Lucas' shoulders once she's on her back. "This is going to be a very fun weekend."

Present Time

Brooke stands in front of the massive cathedral a month later, still trying to get up enough courage to go inside. Was it really something she should discuss with a stranger who would probably barely understand a word she said, about something so... tainted? She sighs and then takes a step forward, walking up the cathedral steps, taking deep breaths with each movement. She enters the cold church, her feet hitting the marble floors, her eyes searching for a man who can help. She's sure she looks like a tourist and she guesses in a way she still is. A priest or maybe a deacon, she's really not too sure, is off to the side and she debates for a moment whether or not she really wants to open up to a man she doesn't even know and probably barely understand.

The man looks her way and she turns around, clutching her purse, trying to hide her small rounded belly. She's barely made it a few feet into the church before she chickened out. That is exactly why she's made her next appointment. She lets out an irritated sigh, slipping her large sunglasses down to cover her eyes when she hears someone say "Excusez-moi?" She knows it's directed towards her and she stops in her tracks even though everything in her is screaming to keep going.

"Um, oui," she says after some time, still hiding behind her glasses. The priest from before comes up to her and she fidgets for a minute before saying in her broken French, "Vous parlez anglais?" He smiles at her and points her to another man sitting in one of the many rows of chairs and she takes it as a sign that he does.

So she steps even further into the church, and sits down next to the man. She pushes her glasses back up to sit on the top of her head and stares straight in front of her. "Congratulations," he says in a deep accented voice, one that takes her by surprise. He's an older man, his hair gray and face wrinkly. "Children are one of the many gifts from God."

She keeps her gaze straight ahead, staring at the stained glass windows and statue. "This child is not a gift..."

One Year Ago

Lucas has been talking to Lindsey for the past hour and she's starting to get incredibly bored. She hasn't seen him in thirty minutes and she can only chat with old men about the stupidest shit in the world for so long. She scans the room, tapping her nails on the champagne flute in her hands and notices that for once, there's another person around her age. She smiles and excuses herself from the old couple in front of her, making her way over to the man leaning against the bar. "I have to say, I've been to quite a few of these parties and I haven't seen you here before," she says in that raspy voice of hers as she leans against the bar in front of the man who is now smiling himself.

"I just joined the publishing company," he tells her and she nods, introducing herself. Rob does the same and takes her outstretched hand into his. They talk for a good thirty minutes and she knows that she's shamelessly flirting. It's all she can do. It's fun, Rob's attractive, and it's taking her mind off of Lucas. So when the blonde brooder finally does show up, placing his hand on the small of her back, she's almost disappointed.


They walk into his apartment, Brooke's heels already off and in her hands. "We were there way too long," she complains and he just laughs.

"I had to talk business," he tells her and she shrugs and holds up her hair. He unzips her dress and she wriggles out of it, letting the expensive gown lay on the floor and wrinkle. She goes into his kitchen and begins searching threw his fridge for something to munch on, Lucas coming up behind her and placing his hands on her hips. She smiles and turns around, forgetting about her hunger for food and turning her attention to Lucas. Her lips find his and she slides her tongue into his mouth before pulling away abruptly. Something's different. It's not like usual, it's not the normal she knows.

"Who did you kiss," she asks and he looks at her confused. "You kissed someone else. I can tell."

He looks down, although all he can see is Brooke's lingerie clad body, and lets out a deep breath. "Lindsey," he mutters quietly, moving his hands so that they're cupping Brooke's ass. It's probably not the best thing to do but he feels like he's done something he shouldn't.

"It's okay," she tells him even though it's not. She tilts his head back up and gets him to look at her. "It's just different." He nods slightly and he leaves a peck on her lips before letting her go. They need some space, just for right now. She returns to finding food and he goes into his room, changing out of the tux he'd been wearing.


They lie in bed, Brooke resting on her elbow as she runs her free hand through Lucas' short blonde hair. They haven't brought it up since the incident in front of the open fridge, not that whole weekend and with Victoria coming home tomorrow, she feels like she should. But she doesn't want to ruin the quiet peaceful moment between them. He's been tracing invisible patterns up and down her torso for the past few minutes and she's been staring at him, playing with his hair. "Are you going to ask me about it," he asks suddenly and she leans a bit back in surprise.

"What made you kiss her," she asks in return, still not stopping her movements, the only thing that keeps her from allowing to get in too deep. He shrugs, mumbling something about how they've gotten closer and how nice she is. "Do you like her?"

"Not enough," he says and she nods. "Are you okay?" This time she nods more assuredly, placing a beautifully fake smile on her face to convince him. He can see through it but doesn't say anything because it's not his place and he knows his actions have hurt her. So instead of saying something like he knows he should, he brings her closer and kisses it all away.

Present Time

His parting words are "Absent in body, but present in spirit," and Brooke has to make a conscious effort to not roll her eyes. It's not what she wants to hear, it's not what's going to be. She stands up, thanking him for his time before walking out of the church as fast as she can, going back out into the sunny city.

She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes before exhaling. Six more months.

Six more months until her baby arrived.

Seven months until she'll finally went home.