Chapter 72
Anna turned toward Karen, ignoring the silent pleas that Dan and Keith were both sending her way. "I think the question is what the hell is wrong with you, Karen."
Dan moved between the two women, who were clearly in the mood to face off. "Kar, I think you need to go upstairs and take your blood pressure medicine and then take a nap," he lightly suggested, knowing that her health was still so precarious. He'd already lost a wife and baby to a dangerous pregnancy and Dan was determined to see Karen safely through this one.
Karen turned away from Dan. "I don't need to rest, but I do need Anna to say what's on her mind." She'd noticed the nasty looks her future sister in law had been giving her all night.
Keith picked up Caleb, who was getting fussy. "Anna's upset at your treatment of Brooke," he finally said, surprising most of the people in the room. Keith was a peace maker and didn't tend to stir up trouble.
The adults in room shifted uneasily as time grew on. Roy stared at all the empty seats and frowned. "Kid's these days have no manners," he huffed, while looking at the adults in the room. "They need some discipline."
Dan shifted uneasily, realizing that something was very wrong with all of the children and his father's judgmental pattering was not helping. "What they need is some support from the adults in their lives," Anna interjected.
Karen shifted uneasily, her growing stomach a constant concern for her. "Things were going well until Brooke decided to turn this into a circus with her family issues."
Anna turned to look at her future sister in law sharply. "If you'd ever bothered to talk to Brooke, you'd realize she's just trying to get through a difficult life," Anna informed her.
"What difficulties in her life as a rich man's daughter?" Karen crassly asked. "And I'll remind you that that Brooke is not a saint. She's exposed Luke to drinking and parties and we can all see the result it's had on my son."
"Your son is making bad decisions because he's a confused teenage boy with a screwed up family life," Anna tersely replied. "No one is saying that Brooke is a saint. But all you need to do is to say something nice to Brooke and she lights up like a Christmas tree," Anna explained. "You can tell that no one ever says anything nice to her. All she needs is one small, kind word from you, Karen."
Karen shrugged her shoulders at the other woman. "It's not my job to build up her confidence with fake words."
Anna frowned at Karen's coldness, knowing the woman couldn't be that cold hearted. "No because that would be her mother's job and we wouldn't want to compare you to that bitch," Anna replied.
Karen's eyes shifted at those words. "Don't ever compare me to that bitch again." She hated Katherine with every fiber of her being.
Anna smiled. "Congratulations, Karen. You treat the girl the same as her mother. You find every flaw both real and imaged just so you can tear the girl down and make her feel bad. You spend all of your time telling everyone that Brooke is to blame to for all of Luke's problems when the truth is that the only person to blame is yourself."
The room grew silent as Anna's accusation lingered. May got up, taking Caleb from Keith and mumbled something about putting her grandson down for a nap. May had always had a weak stomach for family fights.
"Dan and I are trying our best…"Karen began before getting cut off by Anna.
"You are doing your best to get by, just like Brooke is. Any one can see something is wrong with the girl. She's dangerously underweight, she's not sleeping and I can only assume that the problem resides in her house."
Keith nodded in agreement. "What affects Brooke affects Lucas. We're asking that you show a bit of compassion instead of criticizing the baby clothes she buys or the desserts she brings to holiday dinners."
Shifting uneasily at the turning tide against her, Karen started to rebut Keith's words but he held up a hand toward her. "I don't care if you don't support Brooke but I do ask that you stop criticizing everything she does."
Karen was silent for a moment, stunned by Keith's staunch defense of the girl. "She's ruining my son's life," Karen insisted.
"Or maybe she's a convenient scapegoat because it's easier to blame her rather than yourself," Anna asserted.
Dan finally stood up, determined to put an end to this. "Karen will try to be nicer to Brooke. But we really need to take a break before…"
Karen cut him off. "No one can fill the holes in that girl. She's like an emotional sieve that's too needy for anyone to fix. I don't want Luke caught up in her drama."
Anna moved in on her words. "Or maybe you are afraid she'll get pregnant so she'll always have someone to love, kind of like you did."
Nathan cautiously approached the red door of the Davis house, not sure if he should ring the door bell or just walk in. Lucas pulled back; always leery of the reception he received at this house.
Haley looked at the boys for a moment in exasperation before throwing the red door open and tearing up the massive staircase. The boys stared after her for a second before jogging up the stairs behind her. Haley cleared the last step and started for Brooke's bedroom when the sound of a gun shot rang out through the foyer.
Brooke held the gun steadily and pulled it back level with J.J.'s chest. The men slowly glanced behind them, to the hole in Brooke's wall, where the bullet from her gun was lodged. She'd fired a foot to the side of her stepbrother's chest. She felt dizzy for a moment, realizing that her gun gave her power. It was a heady moment that helped diminish the pain that had a vice grip on her heart for the past few months.
J.J. realized how close she'd come to shooting him and drew in a shaky breath. He took a step toward her, intent on taking the gun away from her, when she coldly pointed it at his chest and pulled the trigger back. "You shot a gun at me, you crazy bitch."
The haze cleared around Brooke as she became rooted in the present, not trapped in the past. "Then we're even because you raped me, you bastard."
A noise behind her distracted her, as she turned and saw her friends standing in the door way. Her hands shook momentarily, causing the gun to waver a moment, before she forced herself to hold it defensively in front of her. Her heart pounded in her chest and she fought for control. She'd worked so hard to hide this information, to bury it like the optimistic young girl who'd been violated that night. Brooke had spent so many months lying and faking that she didn't know how to react to something as simple as the truth. She only knew how to shut down and stop feeling. Anything to stop feeling so much pain from that night.
Luke heard her words echo in his head for a moment, as he took in the sight of his girlfriend, with torn clothing, wielding a gun at two people. He glanced at Nate, who was similarly stunned at both Brooke's words and her gun.
Haley, though shocked at Brooke's accusation of rape, decided to take charge of the situation. "Brooke, I think you need to give me the gun," she gently said, walking slowly toward her friend. The glazed look in Brooke's eyes scared Haley nearly as much as the gun her friend had a vice grip on.
Having heard enough, Lucas decided to take matters into his own hands. He side stepped Haley and threw J.J. into the wall with a fore check worthy of NHL consideration. Trey stood by uncertainly, giving Brooke an uneasy look while Lucas pummeled his son with furious fists.
Seeing that Haley was cajoling Brooke, Nathan stepped around Trey and attempted to pull his brother off Brooke's attacker. "Lucas, not now," he hissed, realizing that they needed to get Brooke away from these people and convince her to hand over the gun.
Lucas struggled against his brother's arms for a moment, before conceding to the idea that he should be more focused on his girlfriend and not the sleaze who was currently laying at his feet. He gave the boy one more kick to the ribs for good measure, before turning around to look at Brooke.
Brooke stared blankly at the sight of J.J. broken and bleeding on the ground. Part of her was satisfied that he was in pain, but the other part of her realized that he could never know the pain he'd inflicted on her. It was pain that had permeated her soul and forever changed her. No amount of punches would ever beat the evil out of her stepbrother.
"Brooke, I know you are scared and that you were attacked tonight, but I need you to give me the gun," Haley cajoled, hoping that words could end this stand off before someone got seriously hurt.
Brooke stared at J.J. on the ground again for a moment before shifting to meet her friend's eyes. "He raped me," she emotionlessly repeated, wanting to make sure that she was finally heard. She'd kept the truth buried so deep inside her that she wasn't even sure if she had the ability to speak the words out loud.
Lucas slowly made his way to her side, numb at how small and vulnerable Brooke looked at that moment, like she was collapsing into herself. Nathan stood his ground, forming a barrier between the two perverts and his friend. He wanted to go comfort Brooke and protect her like he should have months ago, but looking at J.J. he realized that his friend needed him to keep her attacker as far away as possible.
Haley stayed out of the path of the gun, respecting the power of the weapon as well as Brooke's nearly disassociated state. All she needed was to spook the girl into firing the gun again. "What happened Brooke? When did he attack you?" She gently asked, sensing that Brooke wanted to get the words out.
"It was the night of the wedding," she reluctantly began, giving Trey and J.J. a look that boarded on hatred and disgust. "J.J. came into my bedroom during the reception party. I had just finished off a bottle of Champagne. I'd been drinking most of the night," she confessed, still angry at herself for getting drunk and not being able to fight back.
Lucas gently reached out and touched her check, making sure that his actions didn't freak her out. His heart constricted a bit as she flinched at his touch. Suddenly, all those nightmares he'd witnessed and all the times he'd playfully touched her only to have her jump made sense. He lowered his eyes, realizing that he should have known someone was hurting Brooke. He'd failed in protecting her and keeping her away from those who hurt her.
Haley encouraged Brooke to continue. "Why were you drinking?" She curiously asked, knowing that most kids would not have been creative enough to get so much booze at a party.
Brooke motioned toward Trey. "He creeped me out. He was always touching me and making inappropriate comments," she admitted. "It was like living with a predator. That's why I asked Luke to put the deadbolt on my bed room door. I'd wake up in the middle of the night and he'd be standing over my bed."
Everyone turned to face Trey, who looked defiant at the accusations thrown at him. "This girl is a slut who is slandering me and my son," he asserted, backing off a bit as Nathan towered over him.
"I'd suggest you stop calling her names before you end up on the floor with your pervert son," Nathan calmly replied. So many things made sense to him now. All the late night phone calls from Brooke, the times she showed up on his doorstep in the middle of the night seeking refuge. He was growing angry at himself for not realizing that most of her problems started after that wedding.
Brooke took a deep breath, realizing that Nathan, Lucas and her gun could stop these two from hurting her again. "J.J. started crawling on me. I told him to stop. I tried pushing him away. . ." Her voice cracked and she fought to control her shaking body. The night of the rape was nine months ago, but it felt like yesterday to her.
J.J. looked up at her in disgust. "You wanted it and now you've created this story so your friends don't find out what a slut you are," he shouted, his voice losing steam as Brooke pointed her gun at his chest.
"I don't care what you say. We both know what happened that night. I was a drunk 15 year old and you raped me," she firmly said. The pressure that had permanently resided in her heart seemed to lessen a bit. She looked at Trey in disgust. "And you are just an old pervert who likes to feel up girls young enough to be their daughter. You are just as bad as your son."
Trey smiled at her. "You've lost all credibility, Brookie. Your mom thinks you're a drunk slut. Your father, when he bothers to remember you, thinks you are out of control. Your teachers think you are a stupid cheerleader," he insulted, piling on the insults. "If you dare to accuse my son or myself, everyone in town will call you a liar."
Lucas moved toward the older man, angrier than he'd been in a long time. Feeling something other than numb for the first time in months. "If you say one more thing to Brooke, I'm going to put my fist down your throat." His hand, bloodied from his earlier assault on J.J. twitched in anticipation of hitting the man.
Haley took a deep breath and decided that this needed to end now. Brooke looked like she was going to throw up. The room was spinning out of control and Haley feared that someone was going to get seriously hurt. She motioned for Luke to get away from Trey.
"Brooke, I need you to give me the gun," she firmly said, putting her hand out toward the small girl. "You can trust us, Brooke. But you have to give me the gun."
She looked over at Trey and J.J. for a moment, seeing that Nathan and Lucas had them under control. She hesitated for a moment, before lowering the gun. When no one attacked her, she slowly placed the gun in Haley's outstretched hand.
Trey smirked in their general direction. "Crazy bitch. I should go call the police."
Haley whirled around to face the older man. "I want you to stay away from Brooke," she said, her voice deadly calm in a sea of chaos. "I don't care where you go or what you do, but I want you away from this house as much as possible."
Trey stared incredulously at the petite girl in front of him. "Who are you to tell me where I can and can't go?"
Haley forced herself to ignore Brooke, who was shaking silently in Luke's arms. "My mother goes to Sunday school with Judge Parker, who I believe is the family court judge for Tree Hill."
Nathan picked up on Haley's thought process. "Judge Parker also plays golf with my dad on a regular basis," he added, realizing that Haley had already connected the dots in this problem.
"If you play grab ass with Brooke, or even spend time in the same room with her, I will personally tell my mother that she needs to call Judge Parker," Haley stated, knowing that her mother might be flakey but she always stood up for a child in a need.
Nathan moved behind Haley, hoping to back her up both physically and verbally. "And if you don't keep your son away from Brooke, I will have my dad call his golf buddy and tell him that Brooke has spent more time at our house the past year than her house and that he knows something is wrong."
Ignoring J.J. Haley continued the verbal assault. "You might think you are big and powerful but two complaints about the same family to a respected Judge is going to result in social services being called. And that means publicity. By the time we get through with you, your family name won't be worth anything." Haley knew these types of people. She'd spent her entire life around people who felt they were entitled to everything simply because of their last name.
Trey assessed the situation and realized that the girl's threats had some merit. These little towns were full of inbred locals who knew everyone's business. He put his hand on his son's back and maneuvered him toward the door. "I would be very careful about who you threaten in the future, little girl," he said to Haley as they walked by. "You never know what accidents can happen."
Luke's eyes finally focused at the overt threat to his friend. He left Brooke's side and stormed over to where Trey and J.J. stood. Nathan realized that his brother was out for blood and blocked his path. "Not now, Luke. Let it go and take care of Brooke," he growled, putting his arms out to stop his brother from attacking the targets of his anger.
Staring daggers at the two men, Luke shrugged off Nate's arm, knowing that Brooke had to be the priority right now. His voice was soft but clear. "One day, we'll meet again J.J., and when that day comes, you'll get what you truly deserve. It might not be next week or even next year. But you'll pay for what you did to her. I promise you that."
Luke's words gave Haley pause, as she alone understood that Luke had just thrown down the proverbial gauntlet. She knew her childhood friend spoke the truth. He would make it his mission in life to get J.J. just as he'd promised to make Dan's life a living hell when they were in fourth grade.
Moving next to Brooke, he wrapped his arm around her and guided her into her dressing room so that she could get away from the men who were terrorizing her. Haley watched as the two men left the room and then she turned to Nate. "I need you to do me a favor," she slowly said, realizing that this night was going to be a long one. "I need you to drive over to my house and go into my garage. My dad has a work bench that has a lot of paint cans and DIY stuff."
Nathan looked around the room in confusion. "Brooke admitted she was raped and all you want to do is home renovation?" he asked, concerned about his girlfriend's priorities.
"No, I want you to get some spackle and some of the paint that we used when we redid the kitchen last year," she explained. "Just in case Trey decides to press charges against Brooke for trying to shoot them, we need to make sure there's no evidence."
Nathan's brow crease for a moment before he reached out and brushed his hand against her check. "I'm glad one of us is thinking clearly. The slime bucket is more than capable of pressing charges against Brooke in order to negate her charges against J.J."
Haley walked over to the dressing room, where Lucas was comforting Brooke.
She walked over and hugged the girl before pulling back and looking at her friend.
"I need your help, Brooke. I need you to help me find where you shot the gun."
She led Brooke and Lucas over to the wall where Brooke took a shot off. "We need to find where the bullet went into the wall," Haley explained, knowing that as soon as she got rid of the bullet, there would be less evidence for anyone to find. Lucas absently ran his hand over the wall, his eyes slightly unfocused on the task. Nathan shrugged at Luke's behavior and went over to help search for the bullet.
A few minutes later, Nathan shouted out. "I found it!" He reached over and snatched one of Brooke's metal nail files off her vanity table. Using the narrow end, he pried the bullet out of the wall, leaving a little pile of plaster and dry wall on the black and white marble floor.
Haley smiled at him and motioned him toward the door. "Go get the stuff from my dad's work bench. We'll have the wall patched and repaired good as new in a few hours."
She turned toward Brooke and Lucas, each looking lost and alone in the large bed room.
"Lucas, you need to take Brooke some place safe tonight, a place that no one would think to look for her, just in case Trey's got something up his sleeve."
Haley pulled Lucas aside and spoke to him in a low voice. "You need to make sure that Brooke is alright", she reminded him, realizing that Lucas seemed as numb as Brooke.
"Take her some place quiet and keep her away from this house for a while."
Luke stared at the floor for a moment before looking up at Haley's warm eyes. "I don't have the best record for making sure that Brooke's okay," he softly said, feeling that Brooke might be better off with him.
She reached out and forced him to look at her. "You didn't do anything wrong, Luke. Brooke was raped months before you started to date her. She hid the stuff with her stepfather very well. You couldn't have known what was going on with her."
He shrugged at her words, knowing that nothing could be said to make him feel better about not protecting Brooke. He should have known that there was a reason why she was in so much pain. He should have known that she wasn't eating for a reason. Lucas slowly walked into the dressing room, where Brooke sat, blending into the shadows.
Slowly moving over to sit next to her, Lucas pulled her to him. "Hales wants us to get out of here. We need to pack up a small bag and leave," he explained to her. Brooke silently got up and pulled one of Luke's old hoodies over her head. Lucas picked up a Chloe bag and held it open for her as she listlessly dumped clothing and toiletries into it.
As they were leaving the room, Lucas pulled two fifths of tequila out of a corner in her closet and added it to her overnight bag. Just in case, he thought, he might as well add the baggie that contained a variety of pills.
Okay...so that took a long time to post. I thought the story would be over in a few chapters, but I've been told that where I plan to end the story is not a great place for the readers. I'm torn because I know that the fanbase for this story is finding new fandoms. I never thought my story would take longer to write than the show's TV run. I know by the hits that people are reading (and I'm amazed at the those who've been commenting since the first chapters. I just don't know if I should extend the story to avoid giving you a cliffhanger from hell instead of a neatly wrapped up story. Thoughts are always appreciated. I would love to know what you thought about this chapter. It was hard to write. I hope it did Brooke's angst justice. And thanks to Stagediva for reading and opining. I promise that Luke will only be on your nerves for a few more chapters.
Thanks!