One month later:

Phoebe and Brooke looked almost like before. The obvious bruising was almost gone. But emotionally both of them still were extremely bruised. Brooke somehow lost her smile, she shivered whenever a man other than Julian or Nathan wanted to hug her and she could not even think of having sex with her husband. Whenever she tried to, she saw the attacker smiling down at her and opening her blouse.

She tried to suppress her fear, anger, shame and guilt everyday by working 24/7. Julian helped her a lot getting through her fear but the guilt rose in her when all the attention in their marriage was focused on her well being. Somehow she seemed to have lost her voice. She spoke only when it was necessary.

Phoebe on the other side had increased her voice. Haley did not even know that this was possible. Her grades went down and for the first time in her life she got an F on an assignment. It was not because she did not know the answer. She just did not care any more. So she did not write anything down in the tests. Haley was not preoccupied because of that. In fact she thought that it would be more appropriate for Phoebe to be under pupils in her own age, but what feared her was Phoebe's behavior with other pupils. She had not lost her sense of fairness and always defended someone but somehow every day she got into a fight with bigger ones. Haley knew that this was Phoebe's way of letting out her anger but she could not say okay to this kind of behavior. So every time she acted inappropriate she gave her a special detention: working at the store with Brooke after school.

In fact every day Phoebe got detention. Haley had realized that in some strange way it was a healing process for both of them: Brooke and Phoebe. At first Brooke did not like the idea. It was not that she did not like Phoebe but she felt so guilty that every time she saw her, she wanted to cry. Brooke was good at forgetting everything for a moment but Phoebe always made her think of the attack. At first Phoebe and Brooke did not get along very well. Brooke tried to stay calm, when Phoebe "accidently" pushed cherry juice over her clothes, did not tell her that someone important had called or even cursed at her.

"How was school?", Brooke asked Phoebe when she entered the store with a mad face.

"Well, I did not go!", Phoebe just answered and started cleaning the floor without looking up at Brooke.

"What?", Brooke asked surprised. She hated how Phoebe behaved and wished there was some way to help her.

"Are you deaf or what? And by the way, it is none of your fucking business" Sometimes Phoebe was so consumed by being mean. Suddenly Brooke went down to the floor to her and shook her wildly.

"Don't destroy your life little miss. You have to go to school and you cannot hang out at the street all the time. If I have to carry you to school, I will do it but..." Phoebe looked stunned at the outburst into Brooke's eyes. "Do you understand me?"

"But I don't want to, ok!", Phoebe said and pushed Brooke away. Brooke was now in tears and totally lost her control.

"Phoebe. I am sorry that I care for you. I am sorry that all this is my fault. But please don't do this. Don't get in your own way. I know you hate me. I would probably too, but...", Phoebe looked up at her in shock "You definitely are a drama queen", she tried to make a joke.

She did not feel comfortable in that situation and when Brooke took her hands in hers and looked into her eyes again and asked "Please", she had tears in her eyes as well and screamed:"But I can't. Everyone looks at me like I am someone to take care of. I hate that. I hate the orphanage. I hate that he is somewhere out there and maybe will hurt us again. I hate One Tree Hill. I hate...I hate my life."

Immediately Brooke hugged her so tight and both of them were crying on the floor in each other's arms.

"You know what I hate?", Brooke said while holding the girl's face.

"No.", Phoebe shook her head and wiped away a tear. She could not believe that she was crying in front of Brooke. She hated to cry in front of other's but right now everything was too much.

"I hate you getting hurt all the time. And I hate that there is nothing I can do for you." Suddenly Phoebe smiled sadly, "Well, there is one thing!"

"Okay, what is it? Disneyworld?", Brooke smiled for the first time since weeks.

"Disneyworld. Are you nuts? I hate those creepy looking creatures that smile all the time. No...well you wanted to make those new clothes for teenagers. And I've decided to become a model. So I...heard you talking to Mrs. Scott one day. I would really, really love to be the model for that line."

Brooke widened her eyes. In reality she thought that this idea wasn't that bad, especially for Clothes over Bros. But she didn't know whether it was really a good thing for Phoebe. "Well...uhm...first of all, you got too much brain to be a model. Secondly-at the moment you're not a teenager.", she fooled.

"That's mean. I'll be in some months and I am in 9th grade. That counts too.", Phoebe crossed her arms in front of her. She hated being young and wished to grow up faster.

"Okay, we make a deal. You go to school, you be my model, okay?". Phoebe made a grimace.

"Deal", she said and for the first time she was the one that hugged Brooke tightly. Brooke got to see a whole different Phoebe.

xxxxxx

Some time later Haley stormed into the store, "Brooke. You two should spend time together not making her a model. She is too young!", Haley said concerned and looked at the photos in the magazine.

"I know, I know. It's not right. But you should look at her face when she saw the magazine. And this helped getting her to school again.", Brooke defended herself.

Suddenly Victoria Davis entered the store. "Brooke Davis!", she screamed and didn't pay attention to Haley, "Why is this girl on the cover of B. Davis?".

Brooke looked stunned at her mother: "Well mother, cause she is my young model for the new clothing line."

"Well, I invented the magazine and I still have a word in some things. So, I don't want that girl. Get a new model."

Brooke widened her eyes when she saw Phoebe standing behind her mother and Victoria turning around and immediately taking Phoebe's arm. Not very nicely. "Well, well. Whom have we got here? If this isn't the little Phoebe Ferguson."

Phoebe couldn't answer, she just looked at that big woman with wide eyes. Brooke did not know what her eyes showed. Fear? Hatred?

"Mother. Stop it." Brooke said harshly. Suddenly Phoebe answered cold. "Hello Victoria.", she smirked at the older woman, "How are you?".

"Don't ask me that question little brat."

xxxxx

Do you have some questions now?

I hope so!

Thanks for your amazing reviews. They always make me smile and motivate me a hell to continue writing!