Update! Yay! Sorry it's taken me so long, i think my one-week thing went out the window! *blushes* Oh well, here it is!
Lucas drove fast towards Tree Hill. Since finding the note that Peyton had left for him, he had been pacing the room and twidling his thumbs for two days. Now, on the third day, he found he couldn't wait any longer to find out what had caused Peyton to leave so suddenly. Everything had been going perfectly for him, and he intended to make sure that it continued to do so.
Sighing with relief as he passed the "Welcome to Tree Hill" sign, Lucas pressed the gas pedal a little harder in an attempt to get to Peyton that much quicker.
When he finally arrived at Peyton's, he fairly cried with relief, and immediately ran up the drive and knocked on the door. When nobody answered he frowned for a moment, but then his eyes cleared. Peyton must be out. Yes, that was it. She was out shopping with Brooke, and he could see her when she got home.
Sighing with disappointment this time, he walked slowly back to his car and decided to drop by and say hello to Haley while he was in the area.
Meanwhile inside, Peyton was laying in bed watching Brooke sleep, completely wrapped up in Brooke and her thoughts and oblivious to the knocking at the front door. Brooke looked so peaceful while she slept, as though she didn't have a care in the world, and Peyton found herself wondering for the billionth time who could ever hurt her.
And not only that, but if I'm right about the bruises on her legs that I saw, she might really need to go to a doctor.
Deciding to talk to Brooke about it when she woke up, Peyton pulled the other girl's body to her more firmly. Brooke murmured in her sleep and turned in Peyton's arms, burying her face in the blonde's chest.
"How long was I out?" came the muffled question.
Stroking Brooke's hair Peyton said, "Not too long, maybe an hour or so."
Brooke groaned and said, "Do I have to get up, Pey?"
"No, you rest for as long as you want," Peyton replied with a small smile, but then she sighed. I guess now's as good a time as any. "But I was thinking, Brooke... Maybe we should go to see a doctor."
The second the words were out of her mouth Peyton could feel the girl in her arms tense, but thankfully she didn't pull away completely. In her heart, Brooke knew that Peyton was just trying to look out for her, but the thought of having to be touched by anyone except the blonde at this point made her feel like being sick.
"I'm–I'm not sure I can, Peyton," she finally whispered. The older girl felt her heart constrict when she heard the fear in Brooke's voice, and she gently moved one hand to intertwine her fingers with the brunette's.
"I know, sweetie, but I'll be there with you the whole time, I promise."
Brooke inhaled Peyton's scent and softly said, "Ok." She knew that Peyton was worried, and honestly she was a little worried herself.
The pain had subsided a little bit, but it had been almost three days now since the attack and Brooke knew that she hadn't made nearly as much progress as she probably should have if everything was going to heal on its own. She was brought back to the present by Peyton talking again.
"Do you think you're up to going later today, Brooke?" Brooke nodded, just wanting to get it over with. Peyton squeezed her hand, trying to reassure her, and Brooke turned her face upward towards Peyton to give her a tiny smile.
She wanted so much to kiss Brooke at that point, but Peyton knew that Brooke would probably hear none of it until she broke up with Lucas, so she settled for placing a lingering kiss on her forehead instead. Brooke's eyes closed at the touch, and she felt slightly less alone knowing that Peyton would protect her.
The drive to the clinic had been spent in silence, with Peyton glancing over at Brooke every few seconds to make sure that she was still ok. The brunette hadn't said a word and was just staring out the window. Reaching across the seat, Peyton took her hand in her own, and was rewarded when Brooke turned to her and gave her a weak smile.
"You ok?" Peyton asked quietly, already knowing the answer. Brooke shook her head no, but said, "It's just...I'm scared."
"It'll be alright, Brooke, I'm not going to let anything bad happen," Peyton replied, wishing she could do more. They pulled up to the tiny hospital and Peyton helped Brooke gingerly exit the car and go up the walkway.
Peyton hadn't wanted to risk taking the other girl to the local Tree Hill hospital in case someone there recognized her, so she had driven to the next small middle-of-nowhere town that had a hospital. Going through the doors to the ER, Peyton felt Brooke trying to get even closer to her, and she pulled Brooke into her side and whispered, "It's ok, Brooke, we'll be out of here before you know it, nobody here is going to hurt you."
A nurse had approached them to ask what the problem was, but when she saw Brooke she instantly adopted a brisk, business like tone and said, "I'll page the doctor immediately."
A few seconds later a large man came bursting through the doors that led to the rest of the hospital and his eyes locked on Brooke and Peyton. Going over, he could tell instantly that someone had tried hard to hurt the poor girl in front of him, and he approached them more slowly.
Nonetheless, Brooke shrunk back from the very sight of him, and he stopped at the look Peyton was giving him. Brooke looked at Peyton, her eyes pleading with her to not let him be the one who would touch her and see her so vulnerable. Peyton understood what Brooke was asking instantly, and she walked the remaining few feet to where the doctor was still standing.
"I'm sorry, but is there any way at all that we could have a female doctor? Please?"
The blonde girl's voice was practically begging him, and the doctor decided to do what she was asking. He nodded, saying, "Of course. I'll go find one." The look that he gave Peyton before leaving was one filled with sympathy, and also intense worry.
A few moments later a medium-height red-head came through the doors. Seeing the two girls still standing there, she approached them calmly. She looked at the brunette in front of her carefully, assessing the bruising that was clearly visible on her face.
"Follow me, please," she said, leading them to an exam room down the hall. Within a few minutes, Brooke had been stripped down to her boyshorts and bra, and the doctor felt like killing someone at the sight in front of her.
The blonde, who had introduced herself as Peyton, had haltingly explained at least part of what happened, but the doctor felt that there was something she was leaving out. Deciding to save her last question for later, she began her examination.
Noting the hand prints emblazoned on the poor girl's throat and arms, she continued downward until she got to the ribcage. It was massively swollen and colored various shades of dark red, brown, and purple. Touching it lightly, she heard a gasp and looked up at the girl. Her lips were pressed together in a thin line and it was clear she was trying not to cry. Sighing, the doctor continued down and assessed the rest of the damage.
Finally she stood and said, "Ok, we need to x-ray the ribs to make sure that none of them splintered and punctured any internal organs. Brooke, Karly is going to take you for the x-rays, and Peyton, do you mind staying here for a few minutes to fill out the forms?"
Shooting a panicked look at Peyton, Brooke's eyes widened at the thought of being alone in the hospital. Looking at the doctor, Peyton said, "I'm sorry, is it ok if I go down to get the x-rays with Brooke?"
Looking between the two the doctor nodded and said, "Sure, but you won't be able to go in the actual room due to the radiation. Brooke will be able to see you the whole time, though."
Smiling thankfully at the doctor, Peyton started down the hallway with Brooke and was directed into a room where she would be able to watch. Startling briefly when the doctor, came in behind her, Peyton turned.
"I'm sorry, Peyton, but I need to ask you a quick question."
The look in the doctor's eyes told Peyton what was coming, and she answered before the doctor could even ask. "Yes. I think she was raped." Tears burned her eyes at the words, and she saw sympathy in the doctor's eyes as well.
"Ok, we'll need to do an examination after the x-rays, then." Peyton just nodded, not trusting her voice. She turned to watch as Brooke entered the x-ray room and the nurse helped her lay down.
It took a few minutes before Brooke was helped back up, and Peyton went back into the hallway to meet her, dreading what she knew was coming next. Finally Brooke came out into the hallway, having acquired a wheelchair since going into the x-ray room.
Peyton knelt down next to Brooke, and felt like crying when Brooke asked, "Can we go now, Peyton? I don't know how much longer I can stand this."
"Actually, Brooke, the doctor needs to do one last examination." The catch in Peyton's voice instantly tipped Brooke off, and tears welled in her eyes before she blinked them back.
The nurse began wheeling Brooke to the exam room and had her in the stirrups before Peyton could even think about catching up. Brooke grabbed for Peyton's hand as the doctor walked in and moved so that she was facing Brooke.
"I'm going to be as gentle as I can, but this is still going to hurt, ok? I need you to trust me that I'm not going to hurt you," the doctor said, waiting for Brooke to nod her consent.
Once she got the nod, she began the examination. Peyton could tell that Brooke was hanging on to her hand for dear life, her eyes squeezed tightly closed and her bottom lip pulled between her teeth.
The entire thing took only a matter of minutes, but by the end Peyton could no longer feel her hand, Brooke could taste blood from biting her lip so hard, and she was pretty sure that the pain of reopened wounds was even worse than the original infliction. Looking down at Brooke, Peyton was certain that she had never seen anyone so pale in her life, and she watched her with concern.
The doctor helped Brooke out of the stirrups, and she moved until she was standing shakily next to Peyton again.
Clearing her throat, the doctor said, "It appears that there was a great deal of tearing, and that a sharp implement of some sort might have been used at one point, but luckily it didn't puncture anything. I've patched everything up as best I can, the rest will have to heal on its own over time. Also, the x-rays came back on your ribs and it appears that 4 of them are broken. We'll wrap them for you here and show you how, since I'm assuming that you aren't going to want to stay here for observation until they heal. You will have to be confined to a wheelchair or have someone help you until they heal fully, however, otherwise you might overstress them and either cause new breaks or for them to shift and cause internal bleeding. I'll go get a wheelchair and wait for you back in the clinic while you get dressed again."
So saying, the doctor left, leaving Peyton and Brooke alone on the room. The second she was gone Brooke was on the floor sobbing with Peyton cradling her. Peyton's tears mingled with Brooke's as they cascaded down her face.
Oh my god, a sharp implement? What did he do to her? What did she have to go through alone, without anyone to save her?
After several long minutes, Brooke turned in Peyton's arms, nuzzling into her neck. Leaning her head against Brooke's, Peyton whispered, "God, I'm so sorry, Brooke, I'm so sorry I wasn't there to save you. I'm so sorry for making you come here, I'm sorry for making you go through this, I'm sorry for everything."
"It's ok," Brooke whispered, her voice barely audible, "It's not your fault. And I can't even blame you for making me come here, because I would have done the exact same thing if our positions were switched."
Holding Brooke tenderly to her, Peyton tried to convince herself that it would be ok, because Brooke was alright and the bastard that had done this to her was long gone. As she felt the shaking girl in her arms, though, Peyton knew that everything wouldn't be ok, because everything had been changed the second the first punch had landed on Brooke's face, and the second she had first been violated.
Gradually Brooke's breathing slowed, and she murmured into Peyton's neck once more. "God, Peyton, I don't know what I would do without you. I'm so lost, but somehow, every time I'm around you it's like I've found my way again. I honestly don't know how I'll ever survive if one day you aren't there anymore."
Lifting Brooke's chin gently with a finger, Peyton captured her lips in a kiss that was so full of love, and compassion, and empathy that Brooke thought she had never felt so loved as in that moment. Breaking away slowly, Peyton lovingly brushed a loose lock of brunette hair away from Brooke's face and softly said, "I love you, Brooke, and I will always be here to help you find your way when you're lost."
Not caring about Lucas for once, just knowing that she needed Peyton, Brooke leaned back up to brush her lips against Peyton's one last time before carefully standing. Peyton stood next to her, and helped her walk out to the lobby.
The doctor had long since left to go see to other patients, but a gentle nurse with a kind smile showed Peyton how to wrap Brooke's ribs, gave her some pain medication, and brought out a wheelchair for Brooke. "Thank you," Peyton said, wishing that they could have had this nurse instead of the aloof doctor for the examination.
"You're welcome; I wrote my name and number on the paper in the bag, so please call me anytime you need anything." With a gentle squeeze to Peyton's shoulder the nurse was gone, leaving her to wheel Brooke out to the car.
Once everything was settled in the car, Peyton began the long drive back home.
I don't care how long it takes; I'm going to stick this out with Brooke. No matter how long the road to recovery, I'm going to be there every step of the way.
Sighing as she looked over at the now-sleeping Brooke, Peyton felt a small smile working its way onto her face.
I'm going to be there for her, because I love her.
So there you have it, reviews are appreciated!
Next chap there's prolly going to be lots of pucas, cuz i have to get him out of the way somehow, right??
-cello