Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update, I was getting my daughter ready for kindergarten, she starts next week. :) I want to give a shout out to all of you! (dianehermans, aschly, britt, brucas, takemewhenyougo, GG, sandygirl, thibbs65, miss pretty girl, loveojandbrucaslover) Thank you so much for the reviews. Without sounding like a cliche, you're the reason I write stories. Hearing from all of you brings me a lot of joy.

Thanks again!

Krystal

Chapter 4:

"When would I have told you, it wasn't long after that that Lindsey disappeared, I wasn't really your favorite person after that." Lucas ran his hands through his hair, "We don't have much more time but I want you to know YOU were the reason my appearance changed, why I was drinking, why I picked a fight with Nathan. It didn't have anything to do with Lindsey... I had feelings for you and I was wrestling with what that meant. I mean falling in love with your wife's little sister, that's got tella novella written all over it."

Brooke's breath hitched in her throat, "You had feelings for me?"

"No," Lucas gulped, "Not had, have... I have feelings for you Brooke and your sister knew it."

"You have feelings for me?" Brooke choked.

"Yes pretty girl, I think deep down I've felt it for years, but I was with Lindsey and she always told me that you looked at me like a big brother. After your hospital stay I told Lindsey I was tired of the lies, she clearly didn't love me since she kept stepping out on our marriage and I couldn't shake the feelings I had for you. I told her I wanted a divorce, she freaked out and started crying, asked for a separation, said we could go on a holiday together and reconnect." Lucas sighed, "I felt like I owed Lindsey and our marriage one more try. On our way home from the hospital she asked me if you knew how I felt about you, I said no and we left it at that. The day before she disappeared I told her I wanted to go through with the divorce since nothing had changed and she agreed."

"Why didn't any of this come out during the trial?" Brooke asked.

"Jimmy thought it hurt my case, he said the jury would think I murdered my wife to run away with her sister. I couldn't put you or your parents through that." Lucas paused, "My time is almost up, I am looking forward to seeing you this weekend. I'll try and call again before Friday. Goodbye Brooke, I love you."

Brooke blurted out, "I love you too Luke," but all she heard was the dial tone.

A little while later Brooke heard a knock at the door, she went ahead and opened it, Rachel came rushing inside, "Is it true?"

"Hey Rach, how are you this lovely Tuesday evening." Brooke said sarcastically with a huge smile.

"I got off work and had like a million messages from Haley." Rachel kinked her eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest, "None from you though, thanks for the heads up bestie."

"It wasn't personal Rach," Brooke said before she sat down on the soft corduroy couch in her living room, "I've been in a haze since I left Nathan and Haley's. Lucas's attorney is on his way over to collect the letters I found." She sighed, "Did you go on the Instagram page?"

"Of course I did," Rachel sat next to her and grabbed her hand, "The girl in the pictures looks like Lindsey. So I have one final question." Brooke nodded, "When do we head to Rio to bust the bitch?"

Brooke cackled at Rachel's candor, "We don't. Mr. Edwards is sending one of his investigators down to follow them, get some pictures, then I guess we reassess." There was a knock at the door, "One second Rach."

Brooke opened the door, "Miss Davis? Do you remember me? I'm Detective Felix Taggario I handled your sister's disappearance and subsequent murder case," He flashed a badge, Brooke nodded and motioned for him to enter.

Before she shut the door, she saw Mr. McFadden and Mr. Edwards heading up the stairs. "Miss Davis," Mr. McFadden said as they entered her apartment.

"Should I leave?" Rachel asked, standing up.

"No Rach you're fine." Brooke sat back down next to her, "So how does this next part work?"

"Where is the evidence you collected at the deceased's residence?" Detective Taggario asked.

"On the kitchen table, I did exactly as I was instructed by Mr. Edwards," Brooke answered.

Marvin sat down on the couch next to Brooke, Brooke didn't take her eyes off Felix. She watched him bag up her already bagged letters. "Miss Davis?" Marvin said a second time.

"Yes," Brooke responded quickly.

"I would like to ask you a few questions if you don't mind." Marvin half smiled, and pressed record on his phone, "As you can imagine I was surprised to hear from Mr. Edwards office that there might be some new evidence in your sister's case that would exonerate Lucas Scott of any wrong doing. So I'll just begin with the facts first, falsifying evidence is a felony Brooke. If you understand this and would like to continue please say so."

"Before you say anything Brooke I want to remind you of your right to have an attorney present," Jimmy chimed in.

Brooke nodded, "Thank you, I didn't falsify any evidence Mr. McFadden." Brooke wiped away a tear on her cheek, "I was cleaning out Luke and Lindsey's house so neither set of parents had to do that. We all agreed we would like to move forward and selling that house was the first step."

"Were you alone when you found the letters in question?" Marvin asked.

"Yes, Nathan wasn't returning my calls and I told my best friend I didn't need any help." Brooke squeezed Rachel's hand.

Rachel nodded, "That's true, I joked I couldn't go over there with her and she said she was fine."

"Where did you find the letters?"

"From the time Lindsey and I were kids she hid things," Brooke paused, "there was a couple boxes of family photos and keepsakes in the closet. The letters were tucked inside one of the boxes."

"Why did they seem odd to you?" Marvin continued.

"The postage said they were from Brazil. The one on the top was dated a little over a week before Lindsey's disappearance."

"Did your sister know anyone in Brazil?" Marvin quizzed.

"Yes, an old flame, Chris Keller. He lives in Rio with his parents." Brooke looked up when the front door opened.

"Brooke?" Chase asked as he came inside, "What's going on?"

"Chase, my sister might be alive and living in South America somewhere. This is Detective Taggario, the prosecutor Mr. MdFadden and Luke's attorney Mr. Edwards." Brooke got up and hugged him, "He's the only person I showed the letters to, Mr. Edwards said you were going to need fingerprints from whomever came in contact with the letters while they were in my possession."

Detective Taggario interjected, "Would you be willing to submit a fingerprint card for comparison Mr.?"

"It's Dr actually," Chase said with a smile, "Dr. Adams and no I wouldn't mind. How do we do this?"

"Come with me into the kitchen please Dr. Adams."

"Brooke, let's continue." Marvin paused, "What happened after you got home?"

"I showed the letters to Chase, he speaks Portuguese, I asked him to translate a love note for me. Then we both went to bed, I was restless. I drove over to Luke and Lindsey's house to look for some answers. I didn't want to disturb anyone so I texted Rachel and a short while later Rachel, Nathan and Haley showed up and convinced me it was nothing. Then this morning I found the Instagram account and I saw my sister. Alive and well, living in Brazil with Chris Keller."

"Is there anything else Brooke?" Marvin scribbled some notes down on a small notepad.

"No, I went to Nathan and Haley's showed them the Instagram account, talked to Mr. Edwards this afternoon and now here we are."

"Mr. Edwards informed me that he sent an investigator, a Mr. Owen Morello, to check out the identity of the woman in the pictures." Marvin stood up, "The police are going to go through the letters you found, and if all the evidence holds water we will assess the situation then. Detective Taggario are you ready?"

Felix came out of the kitchen, "Miss Davis we still have your fingerprints on file so I guess we're all done here."

Brooke headed outside when she heard the horn, she locked the house and jogged over to the car, "Did you have to honk the horn? Chase is asleep inside."

Nathan backed out of the shared driveway, "If your boyfriend is living with you Davis, why are you driving four hours up north with us to see Luke?"

"Chase is only staying at my house while his apartment is being cleaned. He wanted to move closer to work and school and I didn't mind him being at the house. We aren't exactly together like that." Brooke trailed off.

"Wait a minute, you've been dating this guy for months. No action for the good doctor huh?"

"Stop it Nathan," Haley said from the passenger seat.

"I told you it isn't like that, I think we were dating and we sort of crossed into the friend zone." Brooke shrugged, "I'm coming with you because you said I had to and Luke wants to see me."

"If you aren't also coming for yourself I'll turn around right now and take you home." Nathan said glancing into the back seat, "But I guess since my brother is in love with you I have to bring you along."

Brooke's cheeks reddened, "He told you huh?"

"Please I've known about Luke's feelings for you since he even realized it I think," Nathan said while he pulled onto the freeway. "I've talked to him three times this week and each time he casually mentioned SEVERAL times that he hoped you were still coming."

"I was at work when he called the last two times, he doesn't think I'm avoiding him because of what he said does he?" Brooke asked as she picked at her nails.

"He knows the phone cut out after he told you he loved you." Nathan chuckled, "Then he was left hanging."

"So have you heard anything from Jimmy about his investigator?" Haley asked changing the subject.

Brooke shook her head, "No, but he said it could be a few weeks. I did hear from Mr. McFadden's office, the preliminary data they've collected from the letters support my story."

"If they had done their job checking that house for evidence of fowl play in the first place Luke probably wouldn't be in prison." Nathan huffed, "I was snooping on that page again, it's now private. You can only see the posts if you're a friend of Chris Keller." Nathan tapped on the steering wheel, "I can't believe Lindsey is in Brazil pretending nothing happened. She married that Keller guy and they're having a baby. I mean it's unreal. I know my brother can sometimes be a prick but nothing warrants that type of wrath."

"He told Lindsey he had feelings for me after I was in the hospital." Brooke admitted.

"Shit, really." Nathan gasped, "I know Lindsey was always competing with you, but faking her death and concocting some huge fake murder plot seems extreme right?"

"Not really," Haley laughed, "Remember when that girl Peyton Sawyer got voted Class President instead of Lindsey. A few weeks later there were pictures of her topless, going down on a football player all over campus. She ended up leaving school and moving away. The following week Lindsey was elected by default." Haley shook her head, "If we all thought about it I'm sure we could think of a few times Lindsey's competitive side came out and made her seem like a psychopath."

*Flashback*

"Brookey," Lindsey said, strain in her voice, "Who is that firecrotch with Lucas?"

Brooke looked up from her book and saw her friend Rachel touching Lucas's upper arms. They seemed to be enjoying each other's company, "That's Rachel. She's been my friend since like eighth grade. They're just friends."

"They look really friendly." Lindsey glared.

Brooke closed her book and took off her glasses, "What's wrong Linds, you and Luke broke up I thought? What happened to that Chris guy?"

"Chris went home to Brazil Brookey summer is almost over." Lindsey stood up, "We both know Lucas will come to his senses he always does. How old is that girl?"

"She's in my grade," Brooke stared at her clearly jealous sister, "I'm not even sure why she showed up to the end of the year pool party. She can't swim."

"Is that a fact," Lindsey said, "I'll be right back."

Brooke watched Lindsey walk around the pool and insert herself into the conversation between Luke and Rachel. Brooke shook her head when she saw Lindsey pull Luke into a kiss and then smirk at Rachel. "Lindsey always looking out for number one." She said to herself. She picked her book back up and went back to reading.

A few minutes later Brooke heard a scream, "Help, I can't swim." Rachel spit out from the deep end of the pool. Brooke watched as Luke dove in and pulled Rachel into the shallow end, "Thank you Lucas." Rachel cried as she got out of the water. She sat down on Brooke's lounge chair.

Brooke handed Rachel a towel, "Are you alright?" Rachel nodded, wrapping the towel around herself. "What happened?"

Before Rachel could answer, Lindsey came over to them and put her hands on her hips, "Rachel you should choose better footwear next time you come to a pool party. Hooker heals are practical for your line of work but they can be dangerous on slippery surfaces."

When Lindsey left Brooke hugged Rachel, "She pushed me in B," Rachel whispered. "I'm sure she was just joking, I mean if she knew I couldn't swim that would have been really messed up right?"

*End Flashback*

"Wake up sleepy head, we're here." Nathan said from the driver's seat.

Brooke sat up, "Jesus how long was I out?"

"Nearly the entire drive, have you had trouble sleeping again?" Haley asked.

"No, I just must have been tired I guess," Brooke felt uneasy as she remembered her dream. 'Lindsey tried to hurt Rachel that day' she thought to herself, 'I'm sure of it.' She decided to shake it off for now and get out of the car, 'Today is about Luke, not Lindsey' "Let's do this."

"Alright," the officer said, "the inmates will come from those doors over there. For you first timers, your visit can be outside or inside if you prefer. Keep the physical contact to a minimum please, we don't want to cut anyone's visit short. If you chose to stay the entire time you'll here a bell ring at 4 pm when visiting time is up. You'll be allowed ten additional minutes for goodbyes at that point, and again I cannot stress this enough, if you don't obey the guidelines we went over you won't be allowed back for four visitor days." He closed his clipboard, "Enjoy your day everyone."

Brooke watched as the doors opened and she saw men in blue jeans and white shirts come out, she scanned the crowd for Luke, she spotted him and smiled. She wanted to go to him but she decided she would wait till Nathan got his hug first. Nathan waved Lucas over and smiled, "Hey big brother," he pulled Lucas in for a hug, they quickly let go, "how are you holding up?"

"I manage," Lucas smiled, he looked at Haley, "Hales," they hugged, "Thank you for coming." Brooke's heart was pounding out of her chest, Lucas looked at her next, "Hi pretty girl." He wasn't sure if he should hug her or not so he put his hand out for hers.

Brooke was confused by the gesture, 'Nathan and Haley got hugs' she thought, "Nice to see you broody." She shook his hand and sighed, "I drove all this way for a hand shake?"

"Hey I drove, you slept." Nathan laughed.

"I wasn't sure if you would want a hug or not," Lucas squinted into the sun. He was still holding her hand so he pulled her into him and wrapped his arms around her, he smelled the familiar scent of cucumber melon in her hair. "Is this better?"

Brooke didn't want to pull away but she didn't want to get in trouble for too much physical contact, "Much."

Lucas moved some hair out of her face, "I honestly didn't think I was ever going to see you again. I'm so glad you're here pretty girl." He pressed his head to hers.

Nathan cleared his throat, "We were told to limit contact Luke."

"I know, they tell us too." Lucas stepped back and headed towards a picnic table in the corner of the yard. Before he reached the table he stopped walking dead in his tracks, "Fuck it if I get in trouble I get in trouble." He grabbed Brooke's wrist and pulled her to him again and kissed her hard.

So what did you all think? This story has been a lot of fun to write, it's a bit darker than most of the stuff I've written. Glad you ll seem to be enjoying it. :)

Do what I love and review, review, review!

Thanks!

-Krystal