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Chapter 5 : I'm Yours
The game had gone better than they could have ever planned
The game had gone better than they could have ever planned. Barely breaking a sweat and Nathan had lead his team to another win. The final score was 68 to 26, Nathan scoring 43 points by himself.
Sitting on the bench inside the locker room he continued to get dressed, preparing to head home and get a shower in his own bathroom.
"So what are you doing tonight Nate?" Tim called out from a few lockers down. "Going to celebrate with some girl?" A hideous chuckle followed close behind.
Smirking Nathan shook his head and looked down at the floor thinking about how many girls would love to spend the rest of the night with him, including Haley James who asked if she could cook him dinner but he had to take a rain check.
Nathan had been keeping his eye on Brooke's mother throughout the game and noticed she had been knocking back a few drinks, which meant Brooke would be staying with him tonight. He was actually looking forward to getting a chance to see where her head was at.
Lately Brooke had been standoffish. Like she was hiding something from him but Nathan just figured she wasn't read to open up about it just yet. After all it took her years to confess her family problems to him, but when it rained it poured with Brooke.
It was just another typical night, Brooke had come over out of the blue wanting to hangout in the middle of the night. Except this time she showed up with a hand print on the side of her face.
"What happened Brooke?" Nathan asked jumping to his feet as soon as she walked up to him in the back yard.
He watched her force and smile and try to shrug it off, "Nothing.. you know me. I face planted after tripping over all the shoes on my bedroom floor." Her laugh was shallow.
"I don't believe you Brooke." Nathan said sitting down on the bench. "You have been telling me about what a klutz you are but you're the most coordinated cheerleader.. It doesn't make sense." Normally Nathan would back off but he felt like tonight he had to push the subject, he needed to know what was going on.
Nathan looked up to see if she was ready to give up the show yet, to finally open up about what had been going on in her family and about why she found herself at his house 5 times out of 7 nights a week.
"Promise you won't get mad?" she asked cautiously as she stepped closer to him and took a seat on the bench, waiting for him to take a seat next to her.
Nathan didn't want to make a promise he couldn't keep but if he didn't say yes there was a huge possibility she would shrug it off again. "Yeah I guess." He was unsure but he sat back down and looked into her beautiful brown eyes.
"You can't tell anyone Nathan.. it has to stay between us.." her face has suddenly become very serious as she stared him down waiting for another promise.
"I promise." He answered her reassuringly.
She was rubbing her hands together, fidgeting nervously as she tried to come up with the strength to just tell him.
"You know how my mom enjoys her alcohol." She said with a light laugh of embarrassment. "Well one night she found another outlet." Her eyes looked up and locked with mine as I tried to put together the pieces of everything she was telling me.
"I back talked her one night and she just clinched her fist and swung." Brooke gave him a half hopeful smile as if it was suppose to make him believe that she was okay with it.
"So she hit you? And your dad just let her?" Nathan asked confused as he turned to her finding more questions now than answers.
"Come on Nate. My dad just comes home and locks himself away in the office that is when he bothers to come home at all. He's either burying himself in work or out with the flavor of the week." Brooke said bluntly because there wasn't a soul in Tree Hill that didn't know her farther wasn't faithful.
"So this isn't the first time?" Nathan asked naively.
"The first time was the day I came to school with that busted lip."
Nathan sat there, staring at her as he tried to understand how she could have kept it a secret for so long and why she had chosen to tell him now. But what was bugging him the most was how he couldn't have figured it out before now.
"Earth to Nathan." Time called out as his waved his hand in front of Nathan's face trying to get his attention. "So what are your plans?"
Pulling himself back to reality Nathan looked up at Tim realizing he was still waiting on some answer. "Uh.. Actually I am going to hang out with Brooke."
Grabbing his gym back, Nathan stood up and started to say goodbye to all his teammates before making his way out of the locker room.
Once outside he stood by the door he knew Brooke would be filing out of soon, figuring they could come up with something better than just a movie night.
When the door flung open and a brunette bounce out he pushed himself off the wall and moved up next to her. "Looks like all you're cheering paid off tonight." He said giving her a devilish grin.
"Looks like it." She replied without cracking a smile or giving him any eye contact.
"Brooke.. everything okay?" he asked slightly confused as he reached for her arm and stopped her to face him. He needed to make sure she was honest and that involved eye contact.
"Everything's fine Nathan. You can stop worrying so much." She said in a hurtful tone before giving him an 'anything else' look.
"We're hanging out tonight right? I mean I saw your mom and you know you can crash at my place."
"I can look out for myself Nathan. Plus looks like you already have plans." Brooke said with an attitude as she nodded her head in the direction of Haley would was waiting a few feet behind Nathan for him.
Nathan stood there in shock as he watched Brooke turn and practically stomp off like a little kid would was mad. He had no clue what just happened or what caused it.
--xXx—
Nathan had spent the last two hours texting Brooke's phone and waiting anxiously for her to give him any response. He'd tried calling anyone who might know where Brooke would be, even Peyton but she hadn't a clue.
He found himself driving all over Tree Hill, looking for any sign of her or her car. Even driving by her house knowing it was the last place she would end up tonight.
As he was about to give up and head back home he spotted her car as he was passing by the playground.
It was the same playground they use to spend most of their day at, until the street lights came on and they had to race home.
Pulling in next to her car, he parked and got out.
Walking over to the swing set where Brooke was sitting still, he took a seat on the swing next to hers. He didn't know what to say.
The silence between them wasn't comfortable like it normally was; it was awkward and uneasy.
"Brooke.. what's going on?" Nathan asked cautiously, trying to avoid another out burst like they'd had a few hours back.
His eyes were locked on her, waiting for her to tell him what had caused her to blow up on him. Half expecting it to have been cause by something Victoria had said.
"I just needed my best friend." Brooke said in half a whisper as her eyes started to fill with tears but she refused to let them fall.
"I've been right here the whole time.." he leaned over placing a hand on her back. It wasn't a lie, Brooke knew that he was there for her if she ever needed him. All she had to do was come and talk to him.
Curled up in a corner, Brooke waited with her fingers plugging her ears. It was the third time this week her parents were fight but this one was worse that the last two.
Hot tears streamed down her red cheeks and she squeezed her eyes tight and tried to think of another place far away from here.
A few minutes had past when she felt a hand on her shoulder, her body jolted. Opening her eyes she saw a brunette hazel eyed boy looking at her concerned
They spent the entire afternoon in that corner, her head resting on his shoulder as he told her the story of the pretty princess.
"The princess was a beautiful girl who lived in a huge white house with a red door. She had long brown hair and was prettiest girl in the world.."
The story went on but Brooke slowly drifted off into a fairy tale land, leaving all the problems behind as she did so.
"Nathan" Brooke said finally breaking the prolonged silence between them.
Looking up Nathan caught a glimpse in her eye like she had something to tell him. "Yeah?" he asked.
"Do you think that I will end up like my mom?" Brooke paused looking over at him. "I mean.. drunk and alone, pushing away anyone who every cared about me?" One single tear slid down her cheek as she waited for him to tell her.
"Of course not.. You're nothing like your mother Brooke." Nathan stood up and kneeled down in front of her, taking her hands into his as he gave her a genuine smile.
"You're the exact opposite of your mom. You have me and you will never be alone and while we might fight I am always going to be here for you. There will never be a day that you can't call me and I won't come. I'm yours Brooke Davis, yours before anyone else's."
Smiling she nodded and then leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his chest and squeezing tight. His arms slipped around her, holding onto her tightly as one hand moved to the back of her head.
He hadn't lied, but little did Brooke Davis know that she had his heart, she always had and she always would.
