A/N - Hey!! Sorry for the delay of this chapter, but school's been a bitch. And I wasn't home for a few days last week, hence no access to my computer. I'm off for spring break next week, though already I seem pretty busy. And then that Friday I'm leaving for Wilmington to go the charity game that Saturday, but we'll see what I can do regarding updates. And I still need to UD 'Finding My Way Back' and I also have another story idea swimming in my head...so yeah, we'll see.

Thanks: brookenlucas4eva03, othfan326, Brucas3Naley23, toddntan, BDavis427, onetreefan, evergloweyes, brucas333, bella, Simoman, Brucas2006, lanenapr252005, Brook-Lucas-Fan-23, Brooke D., BrOoKe DaViS23, Brucas True Love, and brucas224!

Thanks so, so much!!

Enjoy! Review!

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What's True

Chapter 11 -

"Mommy?" Her daughter's voice was soft and sincere and it caused Brooke to drift out of her thoughts.

"Yeah...?" Brooke continued stroking her daughter's head as she placed a book she had been reading to Rylie as a bedtime story on the night-stand beside the bed.

"How come I haven't seen daddy in a while?" From Rylie's point of view, the question probably seemed harmless...But to Brooke, it shattered her heart into a million pieces.

It was just another thing added to a list of realizations. Both she and Lucas -her mostly, though- were being selfish. And because of that, unfortunately, it affected their daughter.

Brooke didn't want to deal with her problems with Lucas, and by avoiding them, that meant avoiding him, too. And for Rylie that meant her father wouldn't be around for awhile.

"Well..." She sighed and closed her eyes, content just listening to her daughter's breathing. She didn't want to go into details with her daughter about how screwed up her parents' relationship was. Besides, Rylie was a smart little girl; she'd probably be catching on soon, if she hadn't already.

And as much as Brooke tried to deny everything, and put the blame on someone else, she would always think that all this was her fault. The reason why she and Lucas were always so akward when with one another...The reason why Rylie was left fatherless many times...

The reason why things were the way they were. And they weren't supposed to be that way, either.

Dating Lucas in highschool, she pictured things differently. Much different.

She and Lucas would still be in love now, they'd get married, and then have Rylie. And maybe even a few more kids after that.

She reopened her eyes and looked into her daughter's blue eyes. The same eyes that Lucas had.

"I'm so sorry, baby." Brooke wrapped her arms around Rylie, kissing her forehead and hair. "So, so sorry."

Brooke was sure Rylie had no idea what had just happened...why Brooke had started to breakdown, but Rylie didn't pull away and question her mother. Instead, she wrapped her arms tighter around her.

Moments later, Brooke pulled away and fixed her daughters hair so that her bangs were out of her eyes. "I'm a good mommy, right?"

Rylie looked at her mother, confused, but than nodded. "The best mommy."

Brooke smiled at Rylie, and kissed her cheek.

It was then she realized what she was doing wasn't right. She was punishing Rylie for something that was totally not her fault.

Rylie deserved better than that.

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"Mommy!" An energetic Rylie bursted into Clothes Over Bro's with a disheveled looking Haley attempting to follow quickly behind.

"Now I know what you mean when you say not to let her have too much sugar." Haley sighed, plopping down in a seat.

"Were you a bad little girl for Haley?"

"No. I was a perfect little angel."

Brooke laughed. "I'll bet. Babe, why don't you go back there, Peyton's putting some clothing on the racks and I hear she needs your help."

"Really?"

"Mhm."

"Bye Haley!" The girl quickly ran off, anxious to help out with her mother's store.

"So, how was your day, besides having to deal with my little monster?"

"It was good. I took Rylie to the park...and we actually bumped into Lucas along the way."

"Oh." The secret was out. Haley knew something was up. And knowing her, Brooke knew she was going to get to the bottom of it.

"Brooke, what's going on?"

"Nothing...Everything's fine." Brooke quickly responded, getting up and walking behind the counter. It wasn't before long she pulled out a sketchbook and placed it on the counter top, frantically flipping through the pages.

"You don't have to lie to me."

"I'm not lying...Hey, what do you think about this for my fall collection?"

"Brooke, stop it." Haley demanded, slamming the book closed. "You can't do this."

Brooke repositioned herself on the stool and clenched her jaw tightly. "Do what?"

"Do this...run away from your problems...mostly having to do with Lucas."

"I don't do that."

Haley shook her head. "I love you, Brooke, but you do do that. And I just wish you'd realize this isn't the way to deal with things. Because it's not only affecting you anymore, like it would in highschool." Haley's eyes drifted towards Rylie in the back of the store with Peyton.

Brooke knew exactly what she meant. She had just been thinking about that all the other day.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Brooke, do you remember back in college after you officially called it off with Lucas? And then he started dating other people..."

--2010--

Brooke sighed as she closed her laptop.

Midterms were always a bust...and so were the countless hours spent studying for them.

Her body slowly descended until her whole back was directly on the bed beneath her.

She was beyond exhausted and really just needed a break from everything.

From work. From school. From the baby. From life.

She reached over to her cell phone and turned it on, coming face to face with a picture of Lucas from a few months prior.

She had taken the candid picture of him while he was sleeping one day, and claimed it was too adorable to not put as the wallpaper on her phone.

Without really thinking much into it, she dialed Lucas's cell phone number. She had found it hard to study with Lucas on her mind lately, and just really needed to talk to him.

After two rings, someone picked up.

"Hello?" Except it wasn't Lucas. Unless of course Lucas had transformed from a guy to a girl, that is.

"Um, hi...is Lucas there?" She found it incredibly stupid of her to still be on the phone, and was even surprised she hadn't hung up yet. It was obvious what was happening.

"Lucas...the phone's for you." The girl on the other end giggled.

"Hello?"

"It's Brooke."

"Uh, Brooke, can I call you back?"

She didn't bother answering. She knew it was coming.

After all those days of pushing him away, he finally stopped trying.

And she was just too late.

--2015--

"I don't understand what you're trying to say..." She rolled her eyes. She knew exactly what Haley was getting at. And it killed her that she could be read so easily...especially when it came to Lucas.

"All I'm saying is, you have to make a choice. And don't ignore it. Whether you still have feelings for him or not, regardless of any of that, if you wait too long, the same thing will happen as before...And you'll never know." With that, Haley readjusted her purse strap on her shoulder and got up from her seat.

"Bye Ry, bye Peyton." She exited the store leaving Brooke speechless.

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The wind was starting to pick up, and from people walking by and passing by in cars, she probably looked ridiculous.

She had been standing outside Lucas's house for at least a half hour, and it seemed like she wouldn't be going in anytime soon, either.

She jumped back a bit when the front door opened and Lucas stood there, a smirk washed over his face. He knew she had been out there, hadn't he?

"I...um...Hi."

"Hi. Why don't you come inside?"

She took a minute to nod, but when she did, she followed him into the house.

Now or never.

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A/N - Okay, I know...not sucha good way to end it. But I wanted to leave a bit of a cliffhanger. Let me know what you thought!

Enjoy OTH tonight!! (for me, it's in 1 hour and 18 minutes!! Lol)

–Melissa