"Haley?" she said, and then really looked over her friend. Something was wrong, something was terribly wrong, and she felt awful for missing it at first glance. She got closer, "Haley, what is wrong?"
"It is about Sam," the emotions were about to prematurely break the dam.
"Where is she? She was supposed to be here after school," then her greatest fear sprung to her lips, "Did something happen to her?" grabbing Haley's hands demanding to know where her daughter was.
"She isn't coming, Brooke," looking into Brooke's eyes, she couldn't lie anymore.
"Where the hell is she, Haley?" she just had to know where Sam was.
"I don't know where she is, Brooke," she had to admit to the worried mother, but worst than anything, it wasn't just a worried mother, it was Brooke. It was her best friend.
"How do you know that she isn't coming? You do know something," reprehensibly looking at her friend. "What have you been keeping from me?" She eyed Haley as she released her hands from the comforting grasp. No one could possibly comfort her that withheld vital information about her daughter's safety. She just never thought that person would be Haley.
"Let's sit down," Haley tried to lead Brooke over to the couch.
Brooke wanted to know now; she did not want to sit down to find out, "No," she halted Haley's attempts. "I want to know now," there was anger intertwined with pure concern. If Haley knew something, she wanted to hear it now. She did not want to wait until they sat down to find out possibly the worst news a mother could hear. She wanted to know now; whatever the news may be, she wanted to hear it right now.
"I am so sorry, Brooke," the pain in Brooke's eyes matched Sam's, and this was never a place that Haley wanted to be at, looking into the eyes of two broken souls in only a matter of minutes.
"Haley, I do not want to hear your apologizes for something I know nothing of. What are you not telling me about Sam? I have the right to know." She had to know.
Her words couldn't delay the inevitable any longer, she had to tell Brooke, "Her boyfriend hasn't been treating her very nicely," she began, starting out slowly. She was about to break Brooke's heart; a heart that was already shattered, into even more pieces.
"Her friend Jack told me that. He is possessive, he is rude," she spoke wanting to hear news regarding Sam that was fresh to her.
"Brooke, there is more," Haley's eyes were on the brink of having tears cascade down her cheeks. It was half due to the fact that she knew of Sam's physical pain, but the other half was due to the pain she had caused Brooke by not telling her.
"Then tell me," her emotions were flat. It did not matter at the moment who was standing in front of her, she would have responded all the same.
"He hurts her. He hits her," she couldn't believe she was admitting this, and now it seemed more real. Reality was more painful than the television shows made it appear to be.
"Maybe I am going to sit down after all," but she didn't make it to the couch, she sat down where she stood. Sam had been abused by a boyfriend she only even knew of yesterday, how long has she been hurting and Brooke neglected to even notice?
Haley got down at Brooke's level, trying to remain the stronger of the duo; she placed another comforting hand on Brooke's, "I am so sorry I didn't tell you."
"I am her guardian, and you are my best friend. She was being abused by this asshole and you didn't think that I needed to be informed?" Then tempos changed, "You didn't think I could handle it, is that it? You didn't think I could handle something this severe?" Even as she was demanding an answer from Haley she realized that she couldn't. There was no way Brooke could have been able to handle this alone. As much as her anger had accumulated towards Haley, Brooke knew that Haley would never endanger Sam or her well-being, first and foremost was protection. Haley was a protector.
She pulled back knowing that Brooke was angry at her, "No, Brooke. Not at all. I wanted to tell. I promise you that. But I didn't know all of the facts. I saw some bruises, I asked Sam about it, and she denied it. I feared that if I came to you with my assumption and I was wrong, that something worst could happen." She had so much faith in Brooke; it was the main reason that Haley had asked Brooke to foster Sam in the first place. Adolescence is the most difficult age to deal with, and living through it was even harder. That is the sole reason that Haley knew that Sam and Brooke would make the greatest of pairs – both knew how it felt to mature during life's most important stage unloved.
"And what could that be, Haley? That I would feel betrayed. How do you think I feel right now?" She confided in, respected, and trusted Haley with every ounce of her heart, but her confidante kept this enormous fact from her, how could one not feel betrayed – even if Haley had good merits?
"Brooke. She didn't want me to tell you," she pleaded with her, the tears she had not wanted to fall, splashed to the surface. Sam's pain was very real, but so was Haley's at the moment. She knew she betrayed her friend, but she thought she was protecting the both of them.
"She is a child. I am the adult. Her well-being was at risk. C'mon, Haley, you are a teacher for God's sake. I thought that you always protected the child."
"I was afraid that if I broke that trust we had built that she would run, and not just away from me, but away from you too. I thought that this was the best possible scenario."
"Someone is hitting her, and you thought this was the best scenario?" Brooke was unable to grasp her normally reasonable friend's irrationality.
"I never let it slide, Brooke. I was going to try and get to the bottom of it before I brought you all the details. I did not want you to worry," as she continually listed her reasons for betrayal, Haley was becoming unsure if withholding information was the best plan after all. She wanted Brooke to feel no pain at all, but this plan only brought more. She never wanted Brooke to feel pain, especially pain she could control. But it appeared as if she failed at her attempt, and it appeared as if she failed Brooke.
"You didn't want me to worry? Who do you think I am? You didn't want me to worry? Haley, I am beyond worried now," still completely distraught in regards to her new findings and this overwhelming sense of betrayal.
"I thought it was for the best," she really did, this was not something that Haley would keep from her best friend if she hadn't thought it was the only option at the time.
"Well maybe you should stick to parenting Jamie, and I will stick to parenting Sam," the words were harsh, but they were the only ones that brushed her lips.
Brooke's comment was a sting to her face, and her heart, but she continued, "Brooke, you do not even realize how pained I am about this situation. Do you really think I was going to sit back and watch as Sam slowly disappears from our eyes?"
"No," she admitted, knowing Haley's track record.
"How many battles have you fought by yourself, Brooke?"
"Way too many to count," though they were innumerable, she silently recalled many of them. Fighting is the hardest when you are alone. Most have armies to assist in the battle, my not Brooke, she was an army of one. And armies of one hardly won the fight unscathed.
"Look how strong you are now because of that fact alone."
"She is a child."
"And so were you," she reminded her. "So were you, Brooke."
"I didn't have anyone to fight alongside me. Sam has me."
"I know that, Brooke. But she didn't. Not until last night."
"So if I was more loving from day one, then this wouldn't have happened?" For a second it appeared that Haley was putting the blame on her, but deep down, Haley would never do that, and Brooke needed to realize this. Her anger was just getting the best of her, and all she had to blame right now was the crying best friend in front of her.
"I am not saying that, Brooke. She has been damaged in the past, she was afraid that she was going to lose you too. So she didn't want to hold onto your opening arms in the pure fear that you would be like everyone else in her life."
"I am not." At first, when Sam first came into her home, she didn't think that it would ever last. Sam would steal, run, and defy. Brooke wanted a cute little baby, not a teenager with a broken past. But soon Brooke saw herself in Sam – minus the theft and such. No one helped her out, and Brooke started to really, genuinely love the girl Haley had placed in her home. She was not like the others that let Sam slip away and become permanently stuck in a system of loveless homes. She was not like everyone else, and now she was realizing maybe she didn't do a good enough job of showing this.
"Brooke, you are the best thing that has ever come into life. She is just not willing to admit this to herself yet."
"That is why she is fighting unaided?" She looked at her friend again, and her anger had subsided. She just wanted to know the answer.
"For that fact alone. She has more scar-tissue than we will ever see."
"Why didn't you tell me, Haley? I trusted you to protect her when she wasn't in my presence," she wondered again to her friend. Even after Haley revealed every single reason, she still questioned her. Her daughter was in pain, and Haley didn't tell her. Why hadn't Haley told her about the pain?
"I thought I was. I tried everything. I yelled, I sympathized, I threatened. I just thought that she would come in due time. But if I saw one more ounce of pain plastered anywhere over her body, I promised I would do something." The girl could only get what she wanted for so long. Haley wouldn't have left Sam in a cycle that could be unbroken.
"So you saw it?"
"She came to me after school, and told me that she was afraid of Marcus. She was afraid of what would happen when she didn't show up. I urged her to allow me to help her. But she walked right out of the door. I knew then I had to come to you." She had a hero-like complex, but sometimes you don't need heroes. You need parents; you need someone to love you enough to rescue you from the darkest of trenches. Heroes cannot always find the battered in the dark. Parents know where they are with their eyes closed; the darkness had no chance at winning.
"But why not the first time you were alarmed?"
"I knew that if I told you then you would want to fix it all."
"Exactly. What is wrong with that?" She was still unsure, especially since Haley knew of her desire to heal the broken. This time the broken was Sam, and she wanted to help the battered more than ever.
"She wasn't going to let you, Brooke. At the first attempt at saving her, she was going to run; she was going to run because she knows nothing else. I didn't want you to lose her. That is why I didn't tell you, I didn't want you to lose Sam," her sobs escaped this time when the final truth was released. "I am so sorry," she cried out. She keeled over, distraught about her betrayal. Her intentions were always good, and if she had known that this would have been the conclusive result, she would have never had withheld a thing. Unfortunately, the past could not be unwritten. If it could, Sam's history would have been replaced by now. But it cannot, and Sam held her past with her and Haley held her betrayal.
Brooke understood now. Haley was trying to protect her all along. She reached out and pulled Haley into her arms. She understood now, so her tears fell since the anger had been subdued moments ago. The two cried until Julian came out to witness the spectacle.
He was concerned; "Brooke?" he questioned the reason the two were fighting the massive flood of tears falling from their eyes.
Brooke looked up to see her boyfriend's distress; maybe he was going to be worth having around after all. "It is Sam," was all she could say before she was impeded once more by tears spilling down her cheeks just knowing she was missing, and she was not unharmed.
Haley stood up, and wiped her tears away. She extended her hand to Brooke, who accepted the help. "I will let you two be alone."
"Haley, please don't leave," she was able to get out. Haley was ready for Brooke's words, "I don't know what to do," she admitted.
"You wait. You wait and hope that Sam comes home tonight."
"Then what?" She needed to know every step she had to take to ensure the best end result for Sam.
"You tell her it is going to be okay."
"What if that isn't enough?" Words couldn't possibly be enough, could they? Only if actions were not possible, words would always suffice if they were the right ones.
"It has to be."
"Haley, I don't think I can do this," the strength she had in her anger towards Haley was gone. The insecurities had returned. Fighting your own fight was completely different than fighting someone else's. If you don't win, you move on. But if you lose someone else's battle, then they are lost, and then they are gone.
"You are Brooke Davis. Brooke Davis can do anything. She can even heal a broken girl's heart." Haley had all the faith in the world in Brooke being part of Sam's success story. Now all that was left was for Brooke to have the same faith in herself.
"Haley," she didn't believe that she could. "What happens if she runs?"
"You run after her."
"I don't know, Haley," she pleaded with her eyes to Haley just asking her not to leave her alone. She didn't think she could do it alone. Truthfully, she didn't know if she could do it at all.
"It is time for you to save a life," Brooke had the potentially to finally end Sam's suffering-filled life. If she did so successfully, Brooke would be saving Sam's life. And that is what parents have to do sometimes, because as much as the child does not want to admit it, parents are sometimes the necessary saviors. Even though they aren't credited daily, it must be remembered that mothers give life, and from that moment on, they continue to ensure their children always have it. Brooke may not have given Sam her original life, but she had to do all that was in her power to ensure that Sam still had life.
"Just like you saved mine?" And sometimes you don't need a mother to be a savior; you just need a friend to remind you that life is worth living. Even if the person attempting to take it away from you was the same one that gave it to you.
Haley did not want to take credit. She did not deserve it. She might have gotten Brooke to realize her place in her life – even if it had to be one with a mother – but Brooke saved herself. Saviors are sometimes not mothers or friends. Sometimes, well sometimes you have to save yourself. "No, you did that all by yourself. You were all alone and still able to come out on the top. Sam has you; just imagine what you could do by her side."
"I am sorry that I was angry," at the time it was hard to be anything other than angry, but she knew that Haley would never purposely cause harm to any soul – well other than Rachel Gatina – especially not to her. It just overwhelmed her that Sam was in an abusive relationship and she had not done anything to eradicate the pain she was hiding underneath her clothes.
"I am sorry too, Brooke. I should have told you sooner."
"No, you did what was best. You always know. I know that, I was just angry that I did nothing to help Sam. She was hurting and I did nothing."
"She is a teenager, Brooke. Teenagers never want any help; they are stubborn as hell. You can do this though. I am sure you are the only one. And Brooke, you did more than you will ever know. I'm sure you gave her the strength she needed to continue to fight. You are the reason she is still here." Being here battered is better than losing the battle, being battered means you haven't given up. Sam has not given up, not yet.
"I love you."
"I love you, too. Call me if you hear anything."
"Thanks," she said to Haley's back as she walked out of the store. As she watched her friend disappear she realized that she had a completely confused boyfriend to her back. She slowly turned around, "You sure I am still the girl for you?"
"I think that you just solidified every single reason I have," he had overheard almost all in the back room. Brooke loved Sam with every ounce of her heart. And if Brooke could love her after all that she put her through, then he was sure that he could love Brooke forever.
"Sam is in trouble," her voice was shaky all over again.
"Well then let's find her," he was eager to find the girl Brooke evidently loved.
"It is not that easy. I don't know where she is," she just admitted one of her greatest fears, not knowing where her daughter was. If that was unknown, then anything could have happened. And if you leave it up to anything, well let's not do that.
"She will come home," he was trying to be confident for her; because he knew she was not going to be at the moment for herself.
"What happens if she doesn't?" She always feared the worst, especially since she knew what it was. Not everyone had this capability.
"What happens if she does?" That was a proper question, and she fell into his arms. They remained until Brooke felt comfortable enough to go home.
Julian walked Brooke to her vehicle, "Do you want me to come with you?"
"As much as I would love that, I think this is something that I have to do alone. She has to know that she is my number one priority," she saw his fallen eyes, "don't worry, you are a close number two," she confirmed this with a kiss.
"Call me if you hear anything," this was not only the best response for Brooke at the moment; it was the truth. He cared, and right now his words would suffice.
"I will call everyone in Tree Hill at the rate I am going."
She opened the door; her house was in pure darkness. She sure hoped that Sam was in the darkness. She put all the lights on just in case Sam didn't want to come back to a gloomy house. Sam's door was open, so it was a sign that she had not returned. Brooke slumped onto the couch, where she would remain in pure, desperate hope that Sam would walk through the door.
The night had not had been as awful as Sam thought it was going to be. Marcus was decently pleasant. The group was tired relatively early, and it looked like Sam was not going to break curfew for the first time in a while. The conversation she had with Haley earlier was reeling in her mind. Maybe it was premature or of the past. There was no fear tonight. She walked home, and her head was high for the first time in she couldn't even remember how long. As she approached Brooke's house, she noticed every single possible light was on. This was going to be one expensive electric bill. She smiled because she knew that Brooke couldn't even care less, the lights were shining for Sam.
Brooke was growing tired, the position she was in was unpleasantly uncomfortable, but there was still this small degree of faith that Sam would walk through the door. She quickly realized that she didn't even know what she was going to say. Brooke didn't really have much time to ponder any longer because Sam opened the door.
She saw Brooke sitting on the couch, looking entirely confused, "What? It isn't even ten, yet," a classic response from the sarcastic teenager. She had broken curfew, what could Brooke possibly be mad at her for?
Brooke shook her head bringing herself back into reality that Sam was standing before her. Only things were different now, everything that she knew about Sam had been altered. She didn't know how to react to this version of Sam. Her motherly instinct came flying out though, all a mother ever wants is for her child to be protected from harm, and it was her intention completely. "Sit down." Parents don't know everything; sometimes the only way to help is to get to the bottom of it. Even if the child does not budge, the first step is always to try.
"Okay," she abided by the demands, not really sure where this was going. Maybe she was kicking her out; this would help speed up her plan – the plan she would never admit out loud was one she never wanted. She just thought it would be best. But what the hell did she know; she was only a teenager after all.
"Some information has been brought to my attention that I think we need to talk about," looking at her hands because she didn't think she could handle what lay in Sam's eyes. How awful she felt for not being able to confront the pain of the person she loved the most, but it was too much to bear.
"What information may that be?" she was curious who the source of this new information was.
"Do you feel safe here?" She did not answer Sam's inquiry. It was not time for Sam to be asking questions. All Brooke wanted her to do was to answer them. The more answers she answered, the closer she would be to fixing the problem. But it wasn't a problem that needed to be fixed it was Sam.
"Yeah, of course. It is like the safest place I have lived."
"Then why are you always leaving it?"
"I need some space, some freedom. I am a teenager, remember?" The rule when she first moved in was that she could use it as a place to stay. However, Brooke soon erased that rule, she had wanted Sam to have some stability. And honestly, Brooke slept better knowing Sam was in her house, and not on the street. Nevertheless, Brooke hadn't been sleeping well for months – even with Sam in her room – because she realized Sam wasn't even safe as she sleeps.
"Oh that is something that I cannot soon forget. Speaking of teenagers, I ran into the previous occupant of your bed, Jack, yesterday at school," she would not ever forget that conversation.
"You talked to Jack?" She was startled with this revelation, she had not spoken with him in months, what could he have possibly told Brooke that was prevalent?
"He informed me that you have a boyfriend."
"Yeah, so," she knew that there was no way that Brooke could make it a rule that she couldn't have one. That would be entirely unfair.
"He also told me that he wasn't very nice," undeniable facts first, questions later.
"Jack and Marcus don't get along," oh wait, Sam would try to deny everything.
"I think it is more than that, Sam," she knew it was more than that. She knew more today than she did yesterday.
"Wait a second, just because you don't have a boyfriend, means you are going to try and tell me that I cannot have one. What a hypocrite you are."
"That was not what I was going to say," she would tell her about Julian later on.
"What then?" She had to know where Brooke was taking this.
"I heard he wasn't nice to you either," she knew he wasn't nice to her at all.
"Well whoever you heard that from was lying," she would try and deny everything.
"It was Haley," no one can deny Haley.
Well there goes confiding in Haley about anything, "Well she is lying." Okay, Sam was going to try anyways, but she wasn't going to get very far.
"I don't think she is," she knew Haley wasn't lying.
"Fine, go on believing what you want, I will be the only one holding onto what matters. It is something called the truth," she couldn't believe that Haley would tell Brooke. She felt slightly betrayed. Not slightly, entirely. The only reason she told Haley was so that she would stop badgering her; she didn't tell her so that she would start running to Brooke. She didn't need Brooke's concern. That was the worst; to have the concern of the person you cared about the most. It meant it was really bad. And Sam didn't think they were there yet, so Brooke didn't need to know. Thanks a lot, Mrs. James Scott. "I don't know if you have heard of it, because you spend your life avoiding it," it cut deep, Sam saw Brooke flinch, but she quickly pushed it aside.
"The truth is that Marcus has contributed to the change in your behavior lately," finally able to voice the reason. Whatever Sam said to her in anger would not curtail her attempt to save Sam from Marcus, her past, and herself.
"Well if you don't like it, I will just leave so you won't have to deal with it anymore," she stood to her feet; her plan was taking full effect. Brooke had her own truths to deal with.
"Not so fast," she said pulling her back before Sam had a chance to leave. She would not let Sam leave her sight.
Sam had her back to Brooke still, but she didn't expect what was going to happen next. She felt her shirt being lifted up, and without even looking she knew that her lies were being relieved. She pulled away, but was pulled back, this time she turned around.
Brooke looked like she was about to collapse in sorrow, she was shocked, she embraced Sam carefully, and "You aren't safe out there."
Sam couldn't accept it; she never could accept the words someone who claimed to care about her could say. She pulled away. "I am not safe anywhere."
"You are safe here," she reassured her. Brooke looked at Sam and knew that until things were changed, Sam could not truly be safe. Brooke just hoped that the precocious teenager would for once believe in the uncertain. She just hoped that Sam would believe in her.
"Thanks for trying, Brooke. You were really nice to me."
"Where do you think you are going?" She was in complete shock that Sam had given up on the current situation. It wasn't over, how could she possibly be walking away?
"Stop trying to save me, Brooke. No one can save me. I am too far into this all," she was at the door. "Goodbye." She didn't look back; it would hurt too much. This was the hardest goodbye; this is the only goodbye she had cared about. This was the only goodbye that pained her. That being said, even though there was enough pain radiating through her body, the goodbye, just a simple word overpowered the physical pain. Marcus could beat her to a pulp, and it would never hurt as much as the pain of walking away from the first person who ever loved her. At the rate Sam was living her life, she might not have the opportunity for anymore. And yet, she still walked out the door, leaving a stunned Brooke paralyzed.
Damn it, Brooke. Why didn't you go after her? She just let the girl who needed her more than anything in the world, walk away, and she stood there. When her shell shock wore off, and her feet were able to move from their place on the ground, she opened the door Sam had closed. "Sam," she called out even though she knew that she was already long gone. Sam was gone, and what happens if she was right? What happens if she couldn't save her?
Someone could save Brooke at least. She was even surer of it after the events of this afternoon. She had been so angry with Haley, but she realized that Haley was looking out for not only Sam's well-being, but for Brooke's as well. She could not say this about many in her life.
Haley had kept her phone close by, just hoping that Brooke would relieve her with some new details, preferably good news. The second she heard Brooke's shaky voice, she knew that she did not get her preference. "What happened, Brooke?" she said as she made it into the hallway not to wake up her sleeping husband.
"She ran, and I couldn't move. I let her leave," she cried into the phone at her big reveal of failure. She had failed Sam.
"I will be there in ten minutes."
Brooke wanted Haley there, so she couldn't tell her not to come. The ten minutes were almost as torturous as the hours she had waited for Sam's return.
Haley opened the door and found Brooke on the couch engulfed in an oversized blanket. Brooke didn't even move as Haley joined her and surrounded her with her arms. They didn't say much for it was not necessary. Haley knew more than anything – well other than Sam being safe in her bedroom – that Brooke needed someone by her side. So that is where she remained, they both had managed to fall asleep. Haley's phone alarm woke them up in the morning. It startled the two exhausted girls.
"Brooke, it is morning," Haley informed her friend that the night really did end.