Warning: This chapter contains a bad word and some adult situations. Sensitive souls should probably not be reading this story or should skip this chapter.

Sorry about the delay. I've had massive writer's block due to the nature of the story and wanting to do Brooke justice. The good news is that trying to avoid writing this part resulted in the next few chapters being written, so the delay for the next chapter shouldn't be anywhere near as long.

A Season in Purgatory

Chapter 71

~~ The key to my survival

was never in much doubt

the question was how I could keep sane

trying to find my way out

Haley impatiently listened to the conversation around her, mentally wondering what was taking Brooke so long. She'd abruptly left the table ten minutes earlier, heading in the general direction of the bathroom. Haley wasn't one for girlie moments, but she wasn't sure if her friend's long absence meant she was supposed to join her in the bath room for girl talk.

Looking over at Lucas, she noticed that he was staring at the doorway to the hallway through which his girlfriend had disappeared. Their eyes met and he realized that he wasn't the only one concerned with how long Brooke had been gone.

Taking advantage of the adults' distraction with the baby, Nate pushed away from the table and motioned the others out into the house's massive entry way. "Something's wrong," he decided, noticing that the door to the bathroom was open and the room was empty.

Luke's heart constricted, knowing that he was missing something big. "I know she's upset about the creepy duo being in town, but why would she leave?" Brooke had been so focused on getting them away from his parents that she'd barely mentioned her family in the past few weeks. He thought talking about the situation with her stepbrother bothered her, but now he realized that maybe he should have pushed her harder to make her talk about it.

Nathan leaned up against the wall, lost in thought. "Maybe she went to confront them about something," he suggested. Nate had known Brooke a long time but the fear in her eyes set off a warning bell. "I thought we reassured her after we beat J.J. senseless." The way she'd run out of the room was nearly… feral.

"I don't think its J.J. we have to worry about," Haley said, shifting uncomfortably at the curiosity her remark drew. She weighed the situation carefully, wanting to protect Brooke's secret but knowing that this situation seemed to be slipping out of her control. She didn't like the idea of Brooke being around her lecherous stepfather, but the idea of her alone in the same house with both men scared her to death.

Lucas walked over to his friend. "Hales, what do you know that we don't?" he asked, growing more concerned with each passing moment.

Haley took a deep breath and realized that she had to tell them. "I think she went to her house for protection from them," she softly said. Haley forced herself to breathe and not focus on the gun she saw in Brooke's nightstand a few weeks ago. They'd been getting ready to go out and while Brooke was in the bathroom, Haley had gone searching for a nail file in Brooke's drawer. She hadn't said anything because she didn't know what to say. Obviously, Brooke had gotten a gun illegally. Now, she wasn't so sure that she'd done the right thing. Haley should have told Anna and asked her what to do.

Brooke wasn't exactly the go to person for protecting herself. She got confused during fire drills and stop drop and roll exercises. Nathan stared at his girlfriend's demeanor for a moment before replying, "What's she going to do, throw Manolos at them?"

"I think she's going to get her gun."

Brooke drove through the darken streets of Tree Hill, ignoring the festively decorated homes as she focused on her goal. She had to get her gun. If she had her gun, no one could hurt her again. She felt guilty for not telling Lucas or thanking Anna and Dan for a lovely dinner. She could always grab her gun and go back, but she didn't want to bring a gun any where near Little Luke. It wasn't safe to have a gun around kids unless it was locked up.

She'd been researching guns on the internet. Brooke just wished she'd had more time to practice with it. Two weeks earlier she'd driven out to a rural piece of land her family owned and actually fired it at a tree. Her nose wrinkled up in disdain. She didn't like the sound the gun made or the smell it left on her hands. Brooke was really hoping that she and Lucas could get away before things got to this point, but she was tired of running. She was tired of being a victim. It was time she stood up for herself and made these creeps leave her alone.

She looked up and realized she was turning into her driveway. Thank god she lived so close to Nate because she had driven on auto pilot, completely unaware of anything but getting her hands on that gun.

Pushing the door to her house open, she tossed her purse on the Louis XVI console table and moved toward the stairs, when a voice stopped her cold in her tracks. "Brookie's home!" J.J. said, as he sauntered out of the formal salon. He looked her up and down like she was the main course at an all you can eat buffet. "And I thought the holiday would be over before you came back home."

She swallowed nervously, stuffing down the panic that was threatening to over take her.

Brooke forced herself to remain calm as J.J. stalked around her, openly admiring her. "Go to hell," she hissed, before spinning out of his reach and sprinting up the stairs.

Dessert plates lay forgotten as the adults casually chatted. Anna stared at the door, wondering where the kids disappeared to. She hoped that Brooke was okay and taking solace in being surrounded by her friends. Anna was concerned that mention of Brooke's family could provoke such a powerful reaction out of the girl. A noise at the door way gained the adult's attention.

Nate reached into the dining room and grabbed his wallet and car keys off the side table.

Dan looked over at his son in confusion. "I thought we were going to take some family pictures after dinner, Nate," Dan reminded him.

"We can't stay. Brooke's gone and we need to go help her," he insisted, motioning toward Lucas and Haley. Lucas stood in the doorway, acutely aware of all the adults staring at him as if he had some clue about what was going on.

He nodded toward Nate, who was the only one of the three with a car. "I'll be outside. If you aren't there in two minutes, I'm walking," he grimly announced, taking off for the door before his mother could raise an objection.

Nathan turned back to the expectant adults and shrugged. "We need to go find Brooke," he said. Karen exhaled sharply. "It seems like Brooke always disrupts everything," she said to no one in particular.

Anna stared at the woman, biting back the negative thoughts that crossed her mind. She was shocked when the only person who replied was Haley.

Haley stared at Karen in disgust. "She's just trying to survive, Karen. Maybe if you'd tried to have a conversation with her, you'd realize that." Haley didn't bother to wait for a response from her long time friend. She grabbed Nate's arm and pulled him out of the room behind her.

The adults stared after the kids in stunned silence. Haley wasn't one to shoot her mouth off around adults, especially around someone she respected as much as Karen.

"Well," Karen finally uttered, "I don't know what's gotten into Haley."

Dan and Keith shifted uneasily in their chairs, avoiding any confrontation with Karen since she was still in precarious health. Anna, however, had no qualms about correcting her behavior. "I think the better question is what's wrong with you, Karen?"

Brooke ran down the hallway, the echo of her heels making an eerie sound in the massive, empty space. She could hear the footsteps of her step-brother on the stairs behind her even as she ran into her room.

"Brookie," he yelled, catching the door before she had a chance to slam it shut and bolt it.

The fear she felt was tempered by the proximity she had to the nightstand that had her gun.

She took a few steps backward, hoping he saw fear rather than strategic movement.

Moving in, J.J. reached out for her, not seeing the disgust written on her face. Or perhaps he just didn't care what reaction he got. "You aren't running away from me, baby," J.J. awkwardly crooned at her.

Twisting away in disgust, she felt the material on her shoulder rip as he spun her back around. He grabbed her jaw in his large hand and wretched her face toward his. "I hate it when girls flirt but don't put out, Brookie," he sinisterly replied, his words so low she could barely hear them as they floated by her ear. His breath was hot on her ear and she felt the urge to wipe away his germs.

"I'm not flirting with you because I find you disgusting," she spat out at him, growing terrified at how aggressive he seemed. Of course, he was just as aggressive on the night he raped her but it had been wrapped up in a prettier package, complete with Champagne and seduction.

J.J. slowly ran a finger up her arm. "You didn't find me so disgusting the night our parents got married," he softly whispered in her ear. Brooke pulled her head to the side as she drove her elbow into his side.

"Fuck," he growled, staring at her as she made her way across the room. "You know I love a good fight, Brookie. It gets my adrenaline pumping," J.J. said, sizing up how fast he could get her on the bed.

Brooke could feel her heart constricting in her chest, making it hard for her to get oxygen in her lungs. She fought the panic that was spreading through her body. She had to stay in control until she could reach her gun. "I don't think you like a good fight. I think you like to get girls drunk and rape them," she said, her voice strong with accusation.

He stopped his advance for a moment and considered her words. "I've never had any complaints before," he replied. "Occasionally, some bitch will whine but most of you seem to enjoy it rough." She had been moving across the room, staying out of his reach, but slowly, systematically making her way toward the gun.

His words made her freeze. "You did that to other girls?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper. Brooke's heart tightened as she realized that by not reporting J.J. to the police might have led to other girls being raped. Brooke turned away from the creep in front of her, desperate to distract his attention away from her bedside table.

The older boy shrugged his shoulders at her words. Hearing footsteps in the hall, he saw his father walk into the room, assessing the scene. Brooke took advantage of his distracted state and grabbed the gun out of her table and slid it in her pocket as they turned to face her.

"It looks like you two are having fun," Trey leered, taking in the torn shoulder of Brooke's shirt. He always loved going two on one when the opportunity presented itself. He smiled proudly at his boy, who was always one to move in whenever he found fresh meat.

Trey walked closer to Brooke, taking in her disheveled appearance and torn clothing. "I think you started the fun without me, Son," he said, causing Brooke's stomach to clench in fear.

Moving closer to where she stood, J.J. shrugged his shoulders. "It's all good fun," he said, taking advantage of her distracted state. He reached out to touch her shoulder when she suddenly spun around and pointed a gun at his chest.

"Don't touch me."

Nate drove as fast as he could, without drawing unwanted attention. The atmosphere in the car was tense, each person lost in their own thoughts. Luke finally broke the silence and turned toward the back seat.

"I can't believe you," he caustically said. "My girlfriend tries to buy a gun from a pawn shop and you don't think it merits mention?"

Haley shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "I told her she was crazy and that we needed to leave. I dragged her out of the store and asked her what was so bad that she felt she needed a gun to protect herself," Haley explained, not very happy with how she'd handled this situation.

Luke wrinkled his forehead in confusion. "She was worried about J.J. trying to attack her again. That's why she needed a gun," he said.

Nathan looked at Haley in the rear view mirror, a sudden sinking feeling in his stomach. "Except that J.J. was away at school and Brooke knew he'd not be at her home with any frequency," Nathan surmised. "However, her step-father is around all the time."

Feeling his stomach drop, Lucas turned to face Nathan. "That's sick. Why would a grown man be interested in a girl?" Lucas couldn't understand what was going on. He and Brooke talked about everything. He knew her better than he knew himself. It was impossible that she was being abused by her step-father and she didn't tell him.

Haley leaned forward and gently touched Luke's shoulder. "It's not about interest, Luke. He's just a sick man with a sick son. With Trey, it's about control."

Luke turned to look at his friend, deeply concerned about his girlfriend. "What's going on Haley? You seem to know way more about this than you are telling."

She glanced down at the floor of the car for a moment, before meeting Luke's eyes. "A few months ago I saw him grab Brooke when she went into his office for her allowance. And it wasn't in a fatherly fashion."

Nathan pulled into Brooke's driveway and turned off the engine. "I think we need to get Brooke out of there," he said, before opening the door and sprinting to the front door.

Brooke held the gun out in front of her, pointed steadily at the two men in front of her. The absolute calm in her manner hide the fear that was crawling up her spine. She could barely breathe from the fear that was threatening to envelope her.

"I want you both to get out of my room," she calmly said, the gun trained on both of them.

Trey stared at the gun for a moment before looking at J.J. The two broke out in laughter at the small girl holding the gun on them. Trey smiled at her. "While I'm sure that hood of a boyfriend gave you a gun, I'm fairly sure he didn't teach you to shoot it," he confidently replied.

Brooke considered his words for a moment and fired the gun.

Good? Bad? Worth waiting for? Meh? More importantly, who do you think Brooke shot? Thanks for your patience with this story. I'll be out of the country in a few weeks but if properly motivated, I'll try to get another chapter up (travel plans permitting). Thanks for reading and for hopefully replying.

Cyn