Note: I've been writing this story forever, way before someone gave Brooke a mother on the show. I named my character Katherine, and decided to keep it rather than to be consistent with the show. Apologies and all that!

A Season in Purgatory
Chapter 25

The air in the room grew colder with each passing moment. Brooke pulled back, closer to the door as if seeking refuge from the storm that was about to ensue. She'd been successful in avoiding this meeting for so long that she'd lost the panic that was now building up inside her. She took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself down. It was all about management. She just had to find a way to fend off Trey, manage her mother and make sure that Lucas didn't get caught up in her sick family.

Feeling Brooke's hand tremble in his, Luke's confusion grew as the pin stripe suited man stopped a few feet in front of him and proceeded to look him over like a bargain on Christmas Eve. Lucas stood toe to toe with the guy, not sure how they got into a pissing contest without a spoken word between them.

"Brookie, I think an introduction is in order," Trey said, his tone both smirking and rebuking at the same time. Luke's eyes instantly narrowed at the name "Brookie". He hated it and he could tell by the way his girlfriend's shoulders tensed up that she despised it as well. He reached out to where she stood, still silent, and pulled her closer to him.

Brooke drew strength from her boyfriend and eventually answered her step father. "Trey, this is Lucas, my boyfriend." Lucas fought the urge to smile at the label. It was a whacked out time to start dating someone, between the Dan situation and his constant groundings, but he liked the way the term sounded on her luscious lips.

"Lucas Scott," he offered, sticking his hand out toward the stuffy man in front of him. He appeared to be about the same age as Dan, but had a much more formal look about him.

Examining the proffered hand for a moment, Trey hesitantly reached out and shook Luke's hand. "John Jacob Herrington," the older man imperiously announced, failing to intimidate Lucas. He'd been around that obnoxious, self important tone his entire life, in the form of Dan Scott. Well, as obnoxious and self important as he could be from across town with his other family, Lucas thought.

Having been curiously quiet for most of the interaction, Brooke stepped forward and moved between the two men. "It's getting late, Lucas. You can take my car home and pick me up in the morning for school," she explained, ignoring Trey's evaluating expression. All she needed was for her money grubbing stepfather to start harassing Lucas for his socio-economic status.

Trey interrupted her, moving between Lucas and the door. "Now, Brookie, if this boy is going to be dating you, we need to sit down with him and get to know him," Trey commented, not quite covering his possessive attitude with his faux hospitality.

A staccato tapping of heels echoed toward the entryway from the second floor landing. Lucas followed the sound and lifted his eyes up to the landing where an elegantly dressed lady stood staring down at him. She said nothing as she gracefully descended the marble stairs, but came to a slow stop in front of Lucas. He took in the woman's dark hair and features and knew was looking at Brooke's mother.

Katherine stood there for a moment and ran her critical eyes over the boy who stood in front of her. His shabby shoes were definitely a sign, she thought. The worn jeans with threadbare patches were another. How her only child could manage to bring home every homeless bum in town never failed to amaze Katherine. Sighing, she finally introduced herself to the boy. "I'm Katherine Brooke Herrington."

Lucas hesitated, knowing from the older woman's wrinkled nose that she found him repugnant. He stepped forward, refusing to let her judgmental attitude get to him. "Lucas Scott," he said, feeling stupid for limiting his conversation to his name.

Katherine's eyes narrowed at his name. She looked at Brooke in confusion. "I thought his name was Nathan," she asked, before moving over to stand next to her husband. Luke heard Brooke sigh, as she shook her head in annoyance. "Nathan is my best friend, mother. This is Lucas," she pointed out, not expecting her mother to be able to identify her lifelong best friend. That might be expecting her to pay attention to her daughter's life, and Brooke knew that wasn't going to happen. Katherine looked unrepentant, these kids changed grew and changed appearances so frequently it was hard to tell one tall lanky boy from another.

Trey ran his hand up his wife's back even as he stared intently at his stepdaughter. Brooke ignored his lascivious look and moved closer to Lucas, intent on getting him out of this freak show. "Lucas, I'll see you tomorrow," she began, but was cut off by her mother's sudden recognition.

"Lucas Scott. You're that waitress Karen's boy, right?" she asked, knowing her words had hit their mark as Lucas bristled under her condescending tone. It was nothing new, he'd weathered similar remarks from the country club set for years, as his schoolmates had picked up on their parent's views.

He exhaled a moment, not wanting to go off on his girlfriend's mother. "Yes, Karen is my mother and no, she's not a waitress. She owns her business," he emphasized, wanting these two snobs to understand that while they weren't business tycoons, they weren't on welfare either.

Katherine gave a sly look to her husband, before moving over to where her daughter stood with her new boyfriend. She'd have to end her daughter's delusions on that point immediately. "That's right…she has that quaint little Café near the river. You live in that part of town, don't you?" Katherine asked, knowing full well that he literally lived on the other side of the tracks. She gave her daughter a pointed look, hoping that Brooke would realize how foolish she was being. Bringing home a boy like this could only ruin her future.

Making the connection, Trey directed his words at Lucas. "Is Dan Scott your father? We played a round of golf at the club last weekend." While Trey was new to Tree Hill, he'd worked hard to form a group of associates in the small town. While there were few people who could match his portfolio, Trey had attempted to form ties with the citizens of Tree Hill that had decent bank accounts.

Lucas fidgeted for a moment, realizing that Trey probably didn't know the twisted Scott family history. "I don't have anything to do with either Dan Scott or his country club," Luke finally replied, hoping that Trey was smart enough to realize that this was a private family matter that Lucas did not want to discuss.

Katherine sensed his discomfort and jumped into the fray. "Of course Dan is his father, at least biologically," she sweetly drawled, wrapping her venous words in a slow southern drawl. Brooke's eyes narrowed as she watched her mother systematically attack her boyfriend, point by point. It wasn't anything conscious, Brooke realized. Her mother had done the same thing to her for the past 16 years, finding small flaws and imperfections and digging away until they became gaping wounds.

Brooke watched as Luke flinched somewhat under her mother's words. She moved between her mother and Lucas, desperate for any kind of intercession from this train wreck in progress. "Mother, Lucas has to go home since it's a school night," she said, physically moving him toward the massive door at the other end of the entryway.

"Of course, dear," she called after them, relief clearly coloring her eyes as that boy left her home. "We need to discuss your cotillion plans anyway." Hand on the obnoxious brass door handle, Brooke froze, before turning toward her mother.

"It's all taken care of. Lucas is going to take me to cotillion," she deftly replied, looking up at her boyfriend for reassurance. Outside of making snide remarks about the stupid, antiquated debutant ball, Brooke hadn't really talked about the event with Lucas. Now that they were dating, she hoped he'd put aside his intense dislike for the country club types and escort her to the ball. Not to mention she had a few ideas of what she'd like to do with him after the party…

A look of horror crossed Katherine's face. "Oh, Brooke, I don't think having Lucas take you to the ball is a good idea," she stumbled, for once completely speechless. The idea of her daughter attending the biggest event of her life with a boy from such a dubious background was nearly more than she could take. "This is a very formal event and I'm not sure that Lucas would feel comfortable in such a setting."

Fed up, Lucas slowly turned around and faced Katherine. "Oh don't worry, I'll try not to eat with my fingers or pee in the topiaries," he said, giving Brooke a sad look before stalking out the door. The sound of the door slamming caused Brooke to jump. Slowly she turned to face her mother, who looked chagrined at Luke's parting words.

Katherine looked at Trey a moment before turning back to her daughter. "That is why you don't date boys from disparate backgrounds," she exclaimed, dropping into a Louis XVI chair near the stairway. "Sometimes Brooke, I have to wonder if there's a brain in that head of yours." Trey walked over to her and offered his wife a comforting hand to hold, all the time staring at Brooke.

She walked over to where the adults were, arms wrapped across her stomach. The urge to toss her cookies on her mother's favorite heirloom Aubusson carpet was overwhelming. "Was there a point to you being a total bitch and treating him like trailer park trash?" she asked, furious that her mother had tried to ruin the only good thing in her life. Or maybe she had already ruined it. Lucas was absolutely rigid has he'd brushed past her at the door. Maybe there wasn't going to be a second chance for them after her mother's behavior.

"You bring home the illegitimate son of Dan Scott and that…Karen person and you expect me to be pleased? There isn't a single boy in this town I would find more reprehensible than Lucas Scott," she replied, furious that Karen Roe had managed to disrupt her life yet again. Nathan was acceptable, but there was no way that Katherine would let Brooke ruin her future by dating a boy who was likely going to end up working in a diner or as a mechanic. At least Nathan had some good financial prospects.

Sadness ran over Brooke rather than anger. Sadness that her mother would never truly know love or kindness for another human being. And fear, too. Fear that Brooke would end up just like her mother, trapped in a series of cold, empty relationships. She walked over to where her mother sat. "I can easily fix this problem. I'm not going to the cotillion," she stated, not caring about the stupid dance if she couldn't take the escort she wanted.

Katherine's face literally went pale at her daughter's words. She brought a hand up to her heart, convinced that it was only a matter of seconds before she passed out. Trey murmured calming words to her, all the time staring at Brooke. "Brookie, I don't think you're being rationale, and you're upsetting your mother," he began, knowing how much work his wife had put into Brooke's big societal debut.

"Oh, I'm being completely rational. She's already run my father off and now I don't have a date for this stupid event," she shouted, completely furious at her mother's nastiness.

Katherine gave Trey a glance, readying herself for yet another tirade about her ex-husband. "Your father made his own decision not to escort you to the biggest event of your life," she stated, knowing that he was too busy with his barely legal trollop in Charleston to care too much about his daughter.

Brooke crossed her arms and stared at her mother in disdain. "You did everything you could to make it impossible for him to come to the party. If daddy and Lucas aren't going, then I'm not going." It felt good to finally stand up to her mother. For so long Brooke had let her mother shove her around, dictating the pattern of her life and daily existence. But she was sick of it, sick of the lecherous stepfather and sick of her mother in general.

Katherine stood up and stalked over to stand in front of her rebellious daughter. "For three generations, every female in this family has attended the club's deb ball. You will not break that tradition," she hissed, her features twisting like a creature from a horror movie.

Brooke refused to back down, beginning to see how totally pointless her mother's pathetic existence was. It was an endless round of parties and charity events, all based on appearances, money and gossip. She gently shook her head, realizing that she had to stop this cancer before it consumed her soul and she became as worthless as her mother. "What are you going to do? Force me into a white dress and drag me into the club?"

Her mother's botoxed forehead smoothed out momentarily and her sugar sweet tone returned. "No, but I can send you off to that lovely convent school in Kentucky. You know, the one with the uniforms and the nuns," she reminded Brooke, having used the threat in the past. "And then you won't have any access to your little friend Lucas or that cheer squad you love so much."

Katherine's threats struck deep. Cheering was one of the few things Brooke was any good at and Lucas was one of the only people in her life who made her feel important. She looked down at the antique Chinese vase on the table and resisted the urge to throw it against the gilt walls. "I can always go live with Daddy," she threatened, watching as a smile crossed her mother's face.

"You try that, dear. We all know that your father is too busy with his new wife to put up with you living with him," she retorted, once again making Brooke feel like a burden to everyone in her family.

Knowing that she'd won this round, Katherine wrapped her arm around her husband. "Besides, we've already worked out the details. Trey can take your father's place for the cotillion and J.J. can be your escort for the rest of the evening."

Her heart began racing as she looked from her mother to Trey. "I don't want to go with J.J.," she stated, forcing the panic out of her voice. It was her worst nightmare come to life, being forced to spend any time along with her step-father's son. She'd managed to avoid him every since the night of the wedding.

Trey walked over to where she stood and slid his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "Brookie, you'll have a great time. J.J. has already escorted four girls to various cotillions. Unlike Lucas, he'll be comfortable with the setting and the rituals associated with your big night," he said, lowering his hand so that it rested on the bare skin between her low rise jeans and short top. She felt nauseous, wanting to throw his hand off her body and scream at her mother, who was completely oblivious to her husband's hands.

He gave her a final squeeze, letting his hand slid down the curve of her body to linger on her ass. "J.J. will take special care of you," he murmured. Brooke felt frozen, unable to scream or move or throw his hands off her. The idea of having to spend an entire night trapped between Trey and J.J. caused her heart to constrict, forcing her to fight to get air in her lungs.

Without another word, she bolted from the foyer, taking the marble stairs two at a time. Anything to get away from these people. The echo of her kitten heels tapping down the hallway chased Brooke into her room. She slammed the door shut, leaning against it for added security in case someone bothered to come after her. Ten minutes passed before she forced herself to move. She shakily made her way into her bathroom, fumbling first with the light switch and then with the door to her ornate medicine cabinet. She knocked over various bottles until she found the huge container of her mom's industrial strength valium. Popping two, she slid against the cold white tile floor and fought off the memories of that night. Of J.J.'s hands forcing her down and taking her clothes off her unwilling body.

Eventually, calmness descended over her, a gift from the magical pills she'd stolen for the nights when the memories were too vivid for her to bury. She tried to stand, but was too weak and she opted to crawl across her bedroom floor to the sleek black phone next to her bed. She couldn't stand being in that house another second, but knew she couldn't stand let alone drive anywhere. She fumbled with the keypad, having trouble hitting the right numbers. There was only one person that could help her now.

A voice answered on the other end of the line. She croaked out "I need help."

Dropping his pencil, homework forgotten, Nate's sense of concern grew. "I'll be there in a second," he said, dropping the phone as he grabbed his keys and left the house.

Good? Bad? Overly trite? LOL...thanks for reading, as always.

Next up (and I hope it's up very soon):

Nate comes to the rescue
Karen and Luke clash
Dan deals with the changing nature of friendships