A Season in Purgatory
Chapter 6
Dan leaned back against a support beam in his attic, closing his eyes to avoid the pictures of his oldest son's life, haplessly splayed out in front of him. A strange feeling was creeping over Dan, one that left him simultaneously chilled and anxious. He sighed, running a hand through his dark hair, cursing the idea of ever visiting this dark place, this black hole of emotional turmoil that was his past. He been weak tonight, when he should have just ignored Karen and walked away with what was left of his soul. She was the only person capable of striping away all of Dan's defenses and exposing the insecure kid he'd been in another lifetime.
He remained there for ten minutes, his nervousness fighting his dark mood. Finally, Dan pushed himself up and quickly exited the attic. As he determinedly stalked through the house, he grabbed his keys off the entryway table and slammed the door behind him. Action was always better than contemplation, he reasoned, backing his car out of the driveway. He turned toward the other side of town, convinced that 1AM wasn't overly late for a surprise visitor.
Brooke stood along the railing of the dock, staring off the pier into the dark, endless waves that crashed to shore beneath her. She felt much like the foamy white caps of the waves, momentary bits of fluff that rode the destructive waves until consumed by the vehicle that moved them along to their ultimate demise. She felt like that whitecap, perched precariously on top of the turmoil that was her life. And while she was momentarily on top, she wasn't stupid enough to think that it wouldn't change in a minute, that she would always be able to battle her way to the top. Eventually, Brooke would grow tired from the endless struggle and she'd succumb to her fate, drowning beneath the powerful waves just like the frothy white caps.
And she was tired. Brooke never slept much anymore, paranoid about who might come crashing through her bedroom door at any moment. That combined with the façade she had to maintain around even her inner circle killed what was left of her energy.
A tear trickled down her cheek before she could stop it. She was losing control of her life, it was spinning out of control and she couldn't do a damn thing to stop it.
Stumbling down the planked walkway, Lucas shook the noise emanating from the beach house out of his ears, as he also tried to forget his confrontation with Haley. She was in over her head, he reasoned, knowing that she was caught up in Nathan's web. He'd trapped her as efficiently as a spider and Nate was more than likely moving in for the kill at that very moment. Lucas knew it was a mistake to let Haley tutor Nathan in the first place. He should have put his foot down and demanded that she stop when he first found out. He'd given into her argument that she was strong enough to resist any plans or plots that Nathan had regarding using her to get to Lucas. He knew Haley only tended to see the best in people, but she was clearly out of her league in this matter. And what scared him was that she had no clue how vulnerable she was.
Lucas shut off those thoughts, not wanting to image his Haley in Nathan's arms. He stumbled, his foot hitting an uneven plank and he fought to maintain control of his blanket and bottle of scotch. He wasn't exactly drunk but he was buzzing hard and only his natural athletic ability preventing him from falling face first into the wood boards beneath him.
Regaining his balance, Lucas looked down at the bottle of scotch and unconscious thoughts about his father surfaced, darkening his already sullen mood. Maybe Dan and Nathan had some sort of ability to render the females in his life weak and compliant, he thought. He'd never thought that Haley would betray him like this with his mortal enemy, but the idea of his mom talking and laughing with Dan Scott was more than he could take. She was his rock, the foundation of his world and now, even that seemed weak and shifting.
He forced himself to stop thinking about them: Dan, Karen, Peyton, Haley, Nathan…even his uncle Keith who was probably spending the night with his new girlfriend. Lucas just wanted to stop his mind from analyzing all the people around him and the implications their actions might have on his life. He cradled the bottle with great care, knowing that at least for the rest of tonight his brain would be too incapacitated to think him into depression. He looked up and saw Brooke ten feet in front of him, her slim figure enhanced by the light of the full moon. 'She's beautiful,' he thought, wondering how he'd missed that in all the time he'd spent chasing Peyton.
Lucas silently approached her, his arms laden with booze and blankets per her instructions. He could tell something was wrong, the petite girl's frame was shaking and her shoulders were hunched up with tension. "Brooke?" he questioned, forcing the volume of his voice up a few notches, so that it could carry above the sounds of the waves crashing around them. He watched as she surreptitiously wiped a tear from her check and turned to face him.
"Oh… you got the good stuff," she exclaimed, shrugging off her earlier darker mood. Pasting a smile on her face, she greedily took the bottle from Lucas' strong, warm hand, anxious to get back to the business of getting drunk. If she was drunk, she couldn't think and if she couldn't think, she'd find refuge from the darker thoughts that threatened to overwhelm her. She gave Lucas a sweet, knowing smile as she pulled the cap off the bottle and took a few chugs of the sour smelling liquor. Tonight she'd not succumb to the waves but rather she'd ride them out, floating along like the white caps around her. And this boy would be her life raft.
"Are you okay?" he gently asked, tracing the tear streaks down her beautiful face with a gentle hand. He'd always known she was an attractive girl, he'd have to be blind not to. But lately, he'd sensed something more from her, a kindred spirit who tended to view life in sarcastic shades of grey and black. He noted it in their English class that year, hearing her take on various great works of literature and the dark spin she put on the motivations of the characters. She was very much a realist who saw the world as it was and not as it should be. They were both wise enough to know that the 'shoulds' and 'oughts' of the world were a waste of time. He should have had father. Dan ought to have cared about his oldest son. Lucas shook his head again, realizing that it was all a waste of time. He looked back down at his companion who was guzzling down the bottle of scotch.
"Brooke," he jokingly admonished, getting her to turn around and face him. "You could leave some for me." Her face curved into a smile, bringing her dimples out in full force. "I'll share with you, Broody," she slurred, in a sensuous voice that drew him even closer to her. The winds were beginning to pick up around them, but neither one noticed as their bodies grew closer. Lucas smiled down at her, as he ran his hand over her shoulder and down her arm, warming her skin nearly as much as the booze. His hand reached hers and he gave it a small squeeze, before liberating the bottle from her grasp. She smiled at him, watching as he tilted his head back, gulping several shoots worth of scotch in a smooth graceful movement.
She giggled at him, feeling the remainder of the tension sliding from her body. They turned and stared at the waves in silence, taking turns with the bottle and ignoring the turmoil of the waves in front of them.
Finally, the bottle drained and the world spinning, they clumsily retreated to the back of the dock, leaning against the rail in order to stay upright. Brooke shook violently, chills coursing through her thin black shirt. "Let me grab the blanket," Lucas offered, crawling to where he'd dropped the blanket earlier. He retrieved the soft woolen blanket and crawled back to where Brooke sat. He awkwardly fell back next to her, completely incapable of maintaining any semblance of balance in his drunken state. Lucas unfolded the blanket and wrapped it around their shoulders, pulling Brooke even closer to him.
"You never told me if you were okay," he reminded her, not forgetting the earlier tears he'd seen on her beautiful cheeks. Brooke shrugged her shoulders and leaned closer into his chest, cherishing the warmth and security she found there. Outside of Nathan, she rarely felt safe with anyone and yet here she was on a dock in the middle of a party with the safest guy she'd ever met.
She considered his question and then shrugged her slight shoulders. "It was just a momentary lapse of reason. I'm fine, Luke. I've had some rough nights lately, but I came here to party," she joked, gaining a smile from his dazed but still concerned face.
Lucas took in her words as he looked around them. "Kind of a lonely party," he noted, the roar of the party off in the distance behind them.
Brooke looked into his deep blue eyes, realizing that she could drown just as easily in those eyes as she could the waves below them. She tilted her head away from those intense blue eyes for a second and stared at the waves before she turned back to him and smiled. "In the end we are all basically alone, Lucas".
He stared at her for a moment, confused by the dark tone of her words, but not by the words themselves. He understood what she was saying all too well, as he knew that life was basically a game of one on one and you couldn't always depend on a team to help out or stand beside you. He'd felt alone and isolated most of his life, but he'd never thought that someone as out going as Brooke might feel the same way.
Lucas looked down at her as another shiver tore through her body. Lucas pulled her even closer, settling her firm body against his, as he wrapped the blanket around them. He smiled down at her, seeing a slight smile and a look of relief cover her face. "Well, you don't have to be alone tonight," he assured her, before laying a gentle kiss on the end of her nose. His face lingered in front of hers for a moment, as he fought the urge to seek out her soft lips and take refuge in her firm body. He eventually pulled back; secure with the knowledge that he'd find a moment to kiss her and it wouldn't be the result of a sad night and an empty bottle.
Brooke smiled at him; content to soak up the air of security she felt anytime he was around. For one night, at least, she'd go to sleep with something better than fear clouding her dreams.
A very short chapter at 5 pages. I might post the next chapter asap if there's interest. I don't want to over post chapters, but I'd like to get past this one night so the story can move forward. Thanks for reading. Replies are always welcomed and appreciated.