A Season in Purgatory
Chapter 51
The party was blaring full blast by the time Lucas pulled Brooke's car to a stop in front of the sprawling house at the end of the posh block. He leaned his head back against the head rest for a moment, before looking over at his girlfriend. "You're too quiet tonight," he commented, worried that something was wrong.
Taking a deep breath, Brooke turned toward him and offered him a small smile. "It's been a long week," she offered, not willing to share what had happened earlier with her stepfather. Lucas was pretty much the only thing she had in life and she didn't want to gross him out. "Maybe we should just drive to the beach and talk." She didn't feel like going to a party where she'd have to paste on her famous dimples and fake her way through being a party girl.
Lucas considered her words, taking in the masses of kids on the lawn and porches of the immense colonial house in front of them. "We promised Nate and Haley that we'd see them at the party though," he admitted, knowing that his brother just wanted to continue Whitey's lecture about how much his game sucked. He'd promised Haley though and he was trying to be a better friend to her lately.
Sighing, Brooke slid out of the seat, prompting Lucas to get out of the car. He grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "We'll make it a short night and go to the beach," he said, nuzzling the back of her neck. They'd really not had any quality alone time lately and he wanted nothing more than curl up with Brooke on a deserted beach.
Fighting back the feel of her stepfather's hands, Brooke managed to relax into her boyfriend's roving lips. She just needed to loosen up, she thought. A few drinks and all her problems would fade away.
"Tim," Nathan yelled, fighting to be heard over the blaring stereo. "Great party." He managed to maneuver Haley toward his friend, who was chasing a freshman cheerleading around the keg.
"Dude, you made it!" Tim screamed, giving an appreciative wolf howl at Haley. "Your girlfriend is so hot." Nathan gave his obviously drunk friend a critical look, before pulling him into a headlock and tersely saying "don't be rude, Tim."
Nathan released him and he rubbed the back of his neck for a moment before grinning over at Haley. "Sorry, but you do look hot." Tim caught a flash of the freshman cheerleader sneaking behind him and yelled "Tim time." Haley watched as he ran off, before turning to look at Nate. "And you are friends with him why?"
Shrugging, Nate grabbed a plastic cup and filled it from the keg. "Because he throws great parties and I'm the only person who can put up with him?" She frowned at how fast he downed the beer, but refrained from commenting. As long as he was sober enough to drive her home, she wasn't going to lecture him about drinking.
"What I don't understand is why you put up with Tim and yet you can barely stand to be in the same room with your own brother," she noted. His eyebrows rose a moment, before refilling his cup. "Come on, Haley. I'm trying. I even asked him to drop by tonight even though he nearly lost the game."
"He didn't play that badly, Nate. He just had an off night," Haley said, defending her friend. In truth, Haley was worried about Lucas. He was screwing up nearly everything he did lately. Hearing a roar go up in the living room, she looked past Nate's shoulder and saw Brooke and Lucas ending a shot contest. "Be nice," she muttered, as the couple meandered through the dance area in the living room and headed toward them.
Brooke made a beeline to the keg, giving Haley and Nathan a quick greeting as she downed first one and then another cup of beer. Lucas warily approached his brother, focusing instead on his friend. "I guess I missed you after the game," he said, not wanting to dwell on his sucky performance.
Haley noticed the dark circles under his eyes and her worry kicked into over drive. "Are you doing okay, Luke?" she asked, putting a hand on his shoulder in concern. He glanced at her hand for a moment, and then realized that Nathan was listening intently to their conversation and pulled away. "I'm fine, never better," he lied, not caring to discuss his problems in front of a throng of people. Nathan's eyes narrowed at his older brother's words. "I suppose she's fine too?" he asked, motioning toward Brooke who seemed intent on draining the keg.
"God, what is it with everyone tonight?" Lucas erupted, finally having enough of all the people bitching at him. "She's drinking. I'm drinking. You're drinking. People drink," he yelled before walking out of the kitchen. Nathan shot Haley a look before turning to stare at Brooke, who was practically glued to the keg. "What?" she asked, before downing her beer.
Haley shook her head in dismay, but knowing that she couldn't stop Brooke or Lucas from self destructing in the middle of a party. She started coaxing Brooke away from the keg, when the girl froze, prompting Haley to follow her gaze out to the make shift dance floor where her ex best friend and boyfriend were in a lip lock.
Lucas was in the process of heading for the front door when a set of spindly arms grabbed him from behind and pulled him on the dance floor. "Hey Lucas," she drawled out, wrapping his arms around her waist. He was clearly buzzed, which made Peyton even happier. She pulled him closer to her, supporting his listing body with her small frame.
"Where's Brooke?" he slurred out, his tongue feeling suspiciously leaden in his mouth. He just needed to get back to Brooke and she'd make the emptiness inside of him go away, he reasoned in what little part of his brain that was still sober.
"We don't need Brooke, do we," she replied, suggestion heavy in her voice. She slid her hands down his back and attempted to sway in time to the music with him. His eyes dropped in exhaustion, having played an intense game on little sleep. Peyton ran her hand up under his shirt, relishing the feel of his warm skin. She'd worked so hard to get his attention lately, as his fixation on Brooke was beginning to annoy her. Peyton knew that Lucas was only dating Brooke because she'd refused to date him exclusively. Eventually, he'd tire of the perky brunette and start chasing her again, she was confident. And anything she could do to speed up that process was fair game.
Lucas pushed away from her thin body. As he pulled his head away from her shoulder, she turned her head, planting her lips on his. The kiss lasted an instance, before Lucas shoved the girl away from him. "Get off me, Peyton!" he yelled. He stopped when he realized that Brooke and Haley were staring at them in shock and amazement on his girlfriend's face before she bolted out of the kitchen.
Peyton sauntered into the kitchen and grabbed a draft off the keg. "What's up with you, Haley?" she causally asked, knowing the girl was staring daggers at her. "What?" She innocently asked.
"Do you inadvertently cause people pain or are you just intent on unleashing it on Tree Hill?" Haley asked, visibly upset by the blonde's actions. Haley had better things to do than hang out with a girl who took pleasure in destroying her friend's relationships.
Peyton's eyes narrowed at the accusatory tone in Haley's voice. "I was with Lucas way before Brooke was interested in him. She totally moved in on my guy," she asserted, trying to explain why Lucas was her property.
Sighing, Haley looked around for Nathan, needing a way out of this conversation. "You played with Luke for months, blowing him off for weeks and then trying to use him for sex the next month. He gave up on your mind games and started hanging out with Brooke, a girl who appears to be steady in her affections."
Grabbing another cup of beer, Peyton smirked at Haley's words. "And how steady has Brooke ever been in her affections? She'll play around with him for a few months and then dump him when someone better comes along."
Shaking her head at the pathetic girl in front of her, Haley gave her a sad look as she stalked past her. She'd just spotted Nate in the living room and she needed to tell him that Brooke was upset. Peyton leaned back against the kitchen table and thought a moment. She just needed to draw out the dark side of Brooke, so that Lucas could realize that she was totally the wrong girl for him. She turned quickly and went into the one of the bedrooms upstairs, where Tim's older brother was selling drugs. All she needed to do was get Matt to give out some samples out tonight.
Brooke stood on the deck, hugging her arms around her waist, trying to stop the violent shaking that cold air and the night's events had brought on. The last thing she'd needed for this day to be horrible was the sight of her boyfriend locking lips with her ex- best friend. Hearing a noise behind her, she turned and saw Matt, Tim's older brother standing behind her.
She turned back around, grateful that she'd managed to avoid Lucas and the rest of her well meaning friends. That last thing she needed was a sympathy party about Lucas and Peyton.
The boy impatiently coughed, forcing Brooke to turn around and acknowledge his presence. "What do you want, Matt?" she suspiciously asked knowing what the guy was all about. He sold drugs part time, having failed at nearly everything he'd attempted since graduating Tree Hill High two years ago.
"Brookie," Matt purred, in a greasy used salesman kind of way. "You look like a girl who needs to have some fun," he murmured, leaning over and getting very close to her tiny frame. Brooke tensed as his hands touched her for a second, readying herself for some kind of attack. Instead, he slid a packet of pills down the small front pocket of her jeans, before backing away. "That's some of my premium stuff. You know where to get more if you want it," he said, before turning to go back in the house. He paused for a moment as Nathan walked up to them, stepping to the side so the younger boy could get by him.
Nathan's eyes narrowed as he watched Matt walk off. Tim's brother or not, the guy was bad news. He turned his attention back toward his friend. "Hey there," he said, wiping away the trace of a tear as it coursed down her cheek. "I hear you have stupid boyfriend syndrome."
A smile threatened her serious demeanor for a moment. "Have they invented a cure for that yet?" she sniffled, knowing that men were just innately stupid. Nate watched as she turned away from the house, cloaking herself in the darkness that loomed around them.
"He's drunk, Brooke. Haley and I found him in a corner, barely conscious," he explained, not sure why he was defending Lucas. "Brooke, Haley saw the entire thing. Lucas was practically shoving Peyton away from him." At the end of the day, this really wasn't about his brother; this was about his friend who was in pain. And Nathan had to help her regardless if it meant defending Lucas.
Brooke listened patiently, hearing his words but refusing to process them. She didn't want to have more reasons to trust Lucas, to give her heart to him more than she'd already done. It would be easier for all of them if he did cheat on her with Peyton because it would give her an excuse to shove him away. "Why should I trust him?" she plaintively asked her best friend, confused beyond belief. Most of the men in her life had hurt her in so many ways. Trusting Lucas made her too vulnerable and that was something that she couldn't risk. Betrayal after betrayal were piling up on her: Peyton, her parents, Trey, J.J.... It would kill her if she had to add Lucas to that list.
Leaning back against the railing of the deck, Nathan considered her words. "I think you can trust him. I've been watching him closely and I don't think he's interested in Peyton." Unlike their father, Lucas seemed to have made his decision between the girls in his life.
The door to the house opened, drawing both of their attention. Haley negotiated the glass door, supporting a drunken Lucas across the deck. Nathan moved quickly to help her, knowing that her small frame couldn't continue to hold his brother's weight indefinitely.
Lucas struggled to get past Nathan to where his girlfriend stood, watching him with wary eyes. "I didn't do anything, Brooke. I promise," he explained, his addled brain comprehending Haley's explanation of what his girlfriend thought she saw. He lurched closer to her, making sure that only she could hear him. "I didn't want her to touch me, Brooke. Do you know how gross it is to have someone's hands on you when you don't want it?" he slurred, praying that Brooke would listen to him and give him a second chance.
She froze at words, flashing back to through all the nights of unwanted touches. Part of her resolve melted at his words, her anger slipping away into the night. Yeah, she knew what he was talking about. "It's okay, Luke. I know Peyton's been after you for a while." He clumsily fell into her arms, pulling her closely to him. Lucas was so afraid he was going to lose her, lose another person in his life.
Haley hated to break up the moment, but knew that they had to get Lucas some place where he could sober up. "Lucas, you can't go home tonight," she said, drawing the couple's attention. "My parent's are actually home and you know that they'd call your mom."
Nathan slowly exhaled, knowing this night was more trouble than it was worth. "We'll take him to the beach house. We'll deal with Karen later," he said, moving to help Brooke support his brother toward the house.
The group slowly made it to the front door when Peyton walked up behind them. "Lucas, you can't leave. The party's just beginning," she called out, watching as Brooke's face grew tight with tension.
The kids in the house grew quiet, sensing an impending cat fight in the making. Seething, Brooke moved in between her boyfriend and her ex-best friend. "Leave us alone, Peyton. None of us need you interfering," Brooke declared, growing tired of the people in her life who constantly ignored her boundaries. Her heart constricted for a moment, realizing that she was losing her best friend. They'd grown so distant lately that she tended not to focus on it, to put off worrying about it. But it was getting harder for Brooke to forgive her friend's complete lack of interest in her problems. She'd given Peyton her full support after her mother had died. Yet after Brooke's parents got divorced, her best friend was completely dismissive about her feelings.
Peyton moved closer to Brooke, glad that all the pretenses of their friendship were falling away. "What's wrong, Brooke. Are you afraid you won by default?" She asked, knowing her friend's weakest points. Brooke had always been insecure about her place in people's lives. And when she was insecure, she did stupid things.
Brooke's fist connected with Peyton's jaw in an instant, knocking the skinny girl flat on her ass. "Don't fuck with me, Peyton," she calmly stated, rubbing her hand against her leg. Nathan looked down at Peyton and shrugged. "I think that pretty much said it all."
Nathan fumbled for his keys, encumbered by his brother and the lack of lighting by the beach house's door. It was past 2 AM and he was dead tired. This was definitely not his idea of a fun after game party. Suddenly, he was happy that he'd only had a few beers at the party and was totally sober for once.
Haley helped him with the lock and he smiled at her gratefully. He honestly didn't know how he'd deal with all the problems in his life if it weren't for her. Haley was filling a void in his life that he wasn't even aware he had.
He opened the door and stood aside, allowing Brooke and Haley to maneuver Lucas through into the entry way. Nate noticed that the 20 minute drive to the beach house didn't do much for his brother's sobriety.
Brooke struggled under Luke's weight, still slightly buzzed. She just wanted to crash someplace quiet with her boyfriend and wake up to a better morning. She ignored the small package of pills in her pocket and the massive selection of alcohol at the massive bar just across the room. The need for something to bloat out her pain made her feel even weaker. The night had been a total disaster for her, the last straw being Peyton. A lump formed in her throat, feeling the losses of the past few months adding up.
Nathan walked through the entryway into the massive living room; flipping lights on to help the girls move Lucas toward the overstuffed furniture across the room. He moved toward the fireplace and abruptly stopped, the girls and Lucas plowing into his back.
"What…." Lucas began, peaking around Nathan's large shoulders. His eye's widened at the sight of Dan and Karen, lying naked under a blanket in front of the fire.
Cliffhanger much? To the three people who actual like Dan and Karen, thank you. I appreciate the support. As always, thanks for reading and replying. I always love to hear what you think, even if it involves vodoo dolls, Karen and large pins.