It had been 3 weeks since Brooke had lost the baby and she refused to leave her bed. She didn't want to go to school and face all of her friends knowing that she screwed up one of the best things in her life. She sighed and turned over so she was facing the window. Visions of playing with the baby played in front of her eyes and she started to tear up. Nathan heard her sniffle and pulled her flush against him wrapping her arms around her.
"Shh…Brooke it's okay." He whispered turning her so she was facing him. "I'm here for you." He whispered as the sun began to rise signaling the beginning of another day. Brooke drifted off to sleep as Nathan got up and prepared for the day before him. He was hurting just as much as Brooke but he couldn't let her see him weak, he had to be strong for both of them no matter how hard it was to make it through the day. He got in the shower letting the hot water wash over his body covering up his tears that he couldn't control.
Nathan got out of the shower and walked into the bedroom to see Brooke dressed in a sweat suit with a light cover of make-up. He leaned against the doorframe noticing how breathtaking she looked even more so then usual. He took one look in the mirror making sure that she wouldn't be able to tell that he had been crying and made his way over to her. "Brooke, baby what are you doing?"
"I can't sit in this apartment for one more day, Nate. I have to go out and brave the world."
"Brooke, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do."
"I know Nate but I have to start putting my life back together. There will be more opportunities to have a child." She took a deep breath keeping the tears at bay.
"I love you." He whispered pulling into a tight hug trying to let her know that he would always be there for her no matter what.
"I love you too." She pulled away and looked at him. He just looked deeply into her eyes trying to figure out what was going on in her head. "You know you don't have to cry in the shower right?" She whispered after a few moments of silence passed between them. He looked at her confused as to what she was talking about yet knowing full well. "You don't have to hide it. It's comforting to know that you're hurting just like me." He nodded and lightly kissed her he was surprised when Brooke didn't pull away.
"Let me get dressed and then I'll make you some breakfast." She nodded smiling a little bit before going into the bathroom to do her hair. She may be hurting but that doesn't mean she has to look like it. She was Brooke Davis for Christ's sake and she had to make sure that people knew not to mess with her.
20 minutes later Brooke walked out into the kitchen to join Nathan for breakfast. It was nice to be around Nathan since she basically kicked him out of the apartment the past couple of weeks and she felt so lucky that he understood and gave her space. She smiled and reached across the table gently squeezing his hand giving him a small smile. "You know I love you right?" Nathan looked up from his plate and smiled nodding his head.
"I know that it's been a rough couple of weeks but we're gonna get through this together. You don't have to go through this alone." He cleared their plates and wrapped his arms around Brooke's waist giving her a hug holding her close to his body. She sighed and rested her head on Nathan's shoulder. This was the first time she's let him touch her for longer than 2 seconds.
"Nathan?" She asked as they stood there the silence becoming too much for her to handle.
"Yes?"
"Are we okay?"
"What would make you think we're not okay?"
"I've been acting like a cold hearted bitch and I would totally understand if things weren't okay between us because I wasn't the best girlfriend…." He placed his finger gently over her lips silencing her mid ramble.
"Brooke, things fine with us. I understand that you needed your space; I wasn't upset or anything because you were dealing with it your way. I'm just glad that you're letting me in."
"Thank you, Nathan. I don't know what I would do without you."
"How about we don't find out?" Brooke smiled a little and nodded her head against Nathan's shoulder. "Well my lady how about we begin our voyage to hell?" Nathan joked extending his arm for her to take and grabbing their bags.
The ride to school was silent because Brooke was freaking out about being back in school after missing 3 weeks. She didn't know what people had heard or what they were saying and the thought of people looking at her like she was diseased that if she touched them they would die scared her. She just wanted things to be normal and have people talking about what happened with Tim and some girl. They pulled into the parking lot and Brooke sat frozen in the parking lot.
"Hey, it's gonna be okay. You won't be alone at all today."
"I know it still won't stop people from starring at me and whispering about me from behind my back."
"Why would they do that? They think that you had a family emergency to deal with."
"You lied?"
"No your dad lied, not me. I was just as shocked when Rachel asked me in English how you were doing with the family situation."
"So nobody knows?"
"Well I know, Peyton knows, and I think Luke knows."
"Okay that makes me feel better." Nathan nodded his head and together they made their way into the building. Brooke shocked Nathan by grabbing his hand on the way into the building. "I missed that." She whispered into his ear, he stopped and turned towards her capturing her lips in a sweet kiss.
"I missed it too."
A/N: Aww……..things are slowly going back to normal……….well you know what's gonna happen…..something's gonna happen but what? Will Nathan get into his dream school? Will Brooke make a decision about college? Are they still getting married? Stay tuned for the answers.
