This is told mostly from Lucas's perspective because I needed a change. Hope you enjoy it!

xxxx

They had been playing for nearly an hour though neither of them was really concentrating on the game. Each brother would simply take the ball after an unsuccessful basket and dribble a few times before missing his own shot. Neither had ever played this bad before and they both knew why. Focus had been something neither of them had much of lately.

Finally Nate gave up; Lucas clearly wasn't going to address what was on his mind without some prompting.

"So are you gonna tell me what happened with Brooke last night?"

Lucas sighed and hung his head, debating what to tell Nate. Things were so complicated with Brooke that he wondered if he could give one detail without having to explain it all and he knew Brooke would never forgive that. She told him her secrets in confidence. The words they said to each other were only ever meant to be heard by the other.

Sometimes he wondered if it was his secrets that made her so sad. Sometimes he wondered if she had simply never shared the ones that truly made her heart ache. Maybe she carried all of them, her own and his, and that was why she had lost that twinkle in her brilliant eyes.

He decided to be broad. He could confide in Nate about the stresses he felt without informing him of the few secrets Brooke had shared with him. The few things she couldn't keep inside anymore and whispered in a moment of weakness.

His breathe came in and out in quick short gasps and it wasn't from the game. She had never been weak, or maybe he just always assumed she was strong. She wasn't like the other people in his life who needed saving…but maybe she was the only one.

"I really don't know. She's upset about a lot of things," he shrugged his shoulders, "It was like all the other times I've seen her. She'll be yelling at me one moment and then crying in my arms the next…"

It really didn't matter what he wanted to or didn't want to say to Nate because Lucas knew there were no words to truly describe how broken Brooke had been as of late. He wondered when it started, somehow he felt like she had been carrying the burden for significantly longer than the attack. That the attack may have been the last thing she could handle.

Really, the last thing she could handle was not having her friends see the pain she felt.

Nate dribbled the ball, shaking Lucas from his reverie.

"You're getting mood swing Brooke. I've been getting strong front Brooke."

Lucas looked at the other Scott, his confusion apparent, "Different Brookes?"

Nate shrugged and nodded, "Yeah. Haley's been getting pensive Brooke," he paused realizing Lucas was not following, "She's giving us different aspects of her grief. I mean, it makes sense since Brooke is all these different things to all of us that she would share her pain with us in different ways."

Lucas shook his head, "That's pretty f-ed up."

"Yeah, well the fact that one of our friends was raped and beaten to a pulp and we didn't notice is pretty f-ed up." Nate's voice contained more anger than he meant but he couldn't help it when he thought of how blind he had been.

"Don't say that," Luca's responded coldly.

Nate threw the ball at Lucas, who managed to catch it despite the force Nathan had used.

"What? It's the truth. We were bad friends. We took without thinking. I don't know who I was fooling thinking I could give one winded speech about how we're there for her and pretend like that qualifies as being a good friend."

Lucas remained at the center of the court, his knuckles turning white from his grip on the basketball. Hearing that Nate had talked to Brooke before she left only filled the empty places within him with more guilt.

After all the claims he had made to Brooke about being a good friend he had never taken the time to truly follow through with the promises he had made.

Nathan had been closer to Q and yet it was still the younger Scott who had managed to bear the larger burden and be a better friend. He wondered when Nathan had matured so much. He felt a jealous pang knowing he fell short. Not because it was a competition but rather because he had failed at becoming a better person. Learning from mistakes was something Lucas was still working on.

"Just don't talk about the attack," he said quickly, dribbling the ball to ease the tension that filled him.

He couldn't tell Nate but when he talked about it, all he felt was inadequate and he already felt that way every time he was around Brooke.

"What? We can't all live in denial land like you and Brooke. She had every right to leave and forget about us. After everything Brooke did, everything she sacrificed for us we were too caught up in ourselves to notice her."

Lucas hurled the ball, letting it bounce on the pavement and roll the court.

"I hate myself for not seeing it, okay?! It was all right there but I just…I don't even know. What kind of a person am I?"

Nate sighed, realizing he was taking much of his own frustration out on Lucas, "It wasn't just you. I did it too. And Haley, she's been driving herself crazy too. She said she recommended Brooke to a psychiatrist. Like it was her own problem she had to deal with," he ran his hand through his hair, "She probably felt like she was losing her mind and we tell her to go talk to a complete stranger."

A silence fell between them. Finally Lucas spoke.

"What do we do?"

His voice was raw. It was the single question that had been running through his mind since he had taken Brooke to the hospital.

Nate shrugged, "We wait. We watch. We act like better friends than before. None of us can push ourselves in; she isn't the kind of person who lets other people in without a fight. She's got to rebuild the trust she's lost," he paused before walking towards Lucas and placing his hands at his brother's shoulders, "You have to be ready to listen when she wants to talk. It's going to hurt but she's always had that connection with you."

Lucas met Nathan's eyes and he knew. He knew Brooke would open up to him, it'd take a while but he was the only one who Brooke had let in. He knew she regretted it, every time she fought him and gave in he saw it flash in her eyes.

Lucas also knew he wasn't Brooke's first choice. She had wanted to rely on Peyton to listen but the blonde had completely shut herself off to the situation.

He couldn't say he was shocked. When Peyton had left he knew nothing would bring her back, and he really didn't care if she did or didn't come back. He had realized in the short time Brooke was gone Peyton was certainly not what he wanted, let alone needed. It did pain him to know that Brooke had once again relied on her best friend only to realize their relationship had become a one way street in which the blonde always got a shoulder to lean on the brunette got nothing.

Lucas knew Brooke would also never burden Nathan and Haley with the fears she that ran her life. How could she shatter their world when they were responsible for instilling hope in a little boy she loved?

He knew if it was possible she would have chosen anyone but him because when she was around him she wasn't as controlled. He saw past the barriers she put up and that was perhaps what scared her the most. He had been the only one who had broken her because he was the only one who had ever made it in so far. He promised himself that this time would be different.

xxxx

She had missed dinner at Haley's place again, though this time she had called and said she wasn't feeling well. Haley finally conceded but only after Brooke promised to come over the next night for a meal.

That was how he now found himself at her doorstep with leftovers.

He rang the door bell and waited. He tried again and when there was no response he took out his set of keys and let himself in. Brooke tended to ignore the door lately; hoping whoever was there would simply leave.

"Brooke? Haley sent leftovers…" he trailed off after hearing the water running upstairs. At least she wasn't ignoring them this time.

He made his way to the kitchen where the counter was filled with papers. Curiosity got the best of him and he picked up a few with the CB logo on them. He scanned them quickly, trying to make sense of what they all said. Brooke owed the company money, for what he wasn't sure but nearly all of the papers dealing with the company had similar statements written on them.

Confused by what he saw he set the stack of papers down and picked up another. These ones were about her assets, apparently Victoria had them seized.

Brooke cleared her throat from the staircase. Her hair was wet and she wore a loose tee with a pair of shorts under. She looked so underdressed lately. Everything that had made her pretty was gone; the stylish clothes and make up non existent. He couldn't help but think how beautiful looked.

"Feeling nosy?"

He blushed and quickly put the papers down.

"Sorry, it's just…what is all this?"

She sighed, "Apparently not opening your mail for four months can really screw you over."

Lucas looked down again noticing a statement about her house lying on top. He picked it up and read it over slowly.

"Brooke, this one says your house is being foreclosed. And the other ones said Victoria was seizing all your assets."

"Don't worry about it Luke."

She moved forward to take the paper out of his hands, though he refused to let it go. This all wasn't something he couldn't worry about. It was everything Brooke Davis owned not being hers anymore.

"Brooke, You just signed the mortgage back in your name. How can it be foreclosed?"

"It's nothing," she tried again.

He looked her in her eyes, refusing to back down, "It's not nothing. Ignoring it won't make it all go away Brooke."

She let out a deep sigh and sat down, burying her face in her hands. She was too tired to argue. She had spent all day trying to figure out what she could do. How she could solve all the problems on her kitchen counter and she was no closer to fixing things.

"Brooke…" he pleaded while taking a seat beside her. His arm rested at her neck, rubbing small circles.

Finally she responded, "Victoria is taking it all. I signed the company over to her but I broke my contract by not remaining the public face of the company. Any losses the company had while Victoria was in charge are mine because I didn't comply with everything she wanted."

"She can do that?"

Brooke gave an empty laugh, "She's Victoria Davis. She can do whatever she wants."

He wanted to ask if Victoria would allow her to stay in the house but he already knew the answer. Victoria hated Tree Hill and there was no way she would let Brooke remain. He wasn't even sure how Victoria would treat Brooke now that she was back. He doubted she would feel the same relief he, Nate, and Haley had felt.

"Have you talked to Victoria?"

She shook her head, "Her lawyers called. They're the ones who were nice enough to make sure I got all these statements as soon as possible. Though they made sure to stress all this was done on Victoria's orders…" she signaled around her, "So here I am now, broke."

She gave him a smile, trying to show it wasn't affecting her.

"You don't have to pretend like its all okay."

They sat in silence for a moment before she broke it. It was like reality finally hitting her.

"I just can't believe she'd do this."

Lucas would be lying if he tried to pretend this wasn't what he expected from Victoria. When she had come to Tree Hill looking for Brooke it hadn't been concern that had driven her, it had been the drive for control. Brook did something Victoria couldn't manipulate and she needed to change it. Power over her daughter was all that was all she wanted.

Even now she wasn't curious where Brooke had been for the last four months, all she cared about was finding a way to punish Brooke for disappearing.

"She always finds new ways to hurt me…" her voice quivered slightly, giving Lucas chills.

She had already lost too much. Couldn't Victoria see that? He feared what may happen if she was pushed any further. They had already lost her once.

She looked even more broken in front of him. The attack had taken so much and Victoria was now taking away what little bit she had left.

"Come live with me."

The words were simple and Lucas knew after seeing everything that was on the table in front of him it was the only option.

"Funny Lucas."

He shook his head quickly, "I'm being serious. Come live with me. If Victoria is taking this house let her take it. I've got room."

"Lucas…" she trailed off.

She was out of options but he knew she was still hesitant about moving back into his old house. She had been so happy there once and happiness like that seemed impossible to understand right then.

"Brooke, come on. Just until you get back on your feet."

"I can't…"

He turned her to face him, "Yes you can," his blue eyes looked into hers, letting her know it would be alright, "You can be the girl behind the red door again."

"The girl behind the red door doesn't exist anymore."

He nodded, letting her know he understood that so much had changed but he needed her to know it wasn't all lost, "Maybe we can find her."

She gave him a small smile.

"Just until I get back on my feet."

He pulled her into his arms. He'd find a way to bring that girl back, he had to.

xxxx

The stars are align
but they don't align for us
excuse me for I am the ocean
and I will stop for you
will you know how to stay brave
search for fragile moments we share
and you are my everything
and even with nothing to say
ooooh oooh

xxxx

City and Colour lyrics

We're getting there…just keep some faith…