It was the first time she ever doubted Liam, and that scared her.
She stumbled upon a picture when she was going through Liam's drawers, trying to find a shirt to wear to bed. It was of Liam and a woman, beautiful, long black hair, perfect porcelain skin, eyes green and bright. Brooke felt a wave of curiosity wash over her. Who was this woman? Why did Liam keep a picture of them? She grabbed the picture and went back to where Liam lay on his bed. "Who is this?" She asked him gently, not wanting to upset him.
Liam sat up from his place in the bed they shared most nights. Liam pulled Brooke closer to him by the wrist until she was sitting on the bed next to him. "That, my love, is someone from my past. Someone from Ireland."
"Did you love her?" She wondered out loud. Brooke should be scared to hear the answer.
"Does it matter?" He asked her.
Brooke felt something in the pit of her stomach that screamed that she needed to be cautious with this situation. "She's very pretty."
Liam surprised her with his next move, grabbing her wrist hard and pulling her hand to his mouth, nipping at her index finger. "Let's not talk about her."
The conversation ended with Brooke feeling even more confused than she did when she found the picture. Should she really be that upset over a picture when she herself was harboring feelings for another man?
She wondered, now more than ever, if it was truly possible to love more than one person at the same time. She loved Liam, she did, he treated her like a princess my goddess, he would tell her as he ravished her. Liam was strong, a leader, a lover. And Brooke loved to be loved. She never expected to fall in love with someone but to still have feelings for someone else.
Because then there was Chon.
Chon was always in the back of her mind. She couldn't shake him.
Maybe that's how it was with Liam and the woman in the picture, maybe that's why he kept it.
The young woman knew she should try and rid herself from these feeling for Chon, She knew she should give herself fully to Liam because of how much he loved her. He would kiss her hard every time she would leave him to go back to Bens, you're mine. He would tell her. My beautiful Eurydice. Liam knew that Brookes favorite Greek myth was of Eurydice and Orpheus, knew that it pleased her to think of someone loving her so much that he would convince Hades to let him travel to the underworld and bring her back with him.
But they both knew how that story ended.
Orpheus looked back and lost his love forever.
I'll never lose you. He told her. You're mine and I am yours.
And then there was Chon.
She remembered the first time they met, every almost first kiss between the two that Chon always pulled away from. Eventually she convinced herself that there had to be something wrong with her. Why else doesn't he want me? She would ask herself. But Chon was always watching her. She always felt his eyes on her.
"Why do you always watch me?" Brooke asked Chon, the both of them stoned out of their mind. Chon chuckled. You notice? He would ask. Brooke laughed. "Of course I notice." Are you high enough for me to tell you without having to worry you'll remember? Chon said in one breath. Brooke assured him she would be too high to remember the conversation. But she'd never forget what he said to her.
"You're precious to me." He confessed. "You're delicate, like a flower. You need to be watched, taken care of or one wrong move and you'll wither away…I don't want you to wither away." Chon told her. "I watch you because I want to preserve you, guard you, and keep you safe."
No one until Chon had ever spoke to her like that, even though she knew in the morning he would go back to his quiet self – she knew that every time he watched her it was because he was trying to watch over her, to make sure his little flower was safe.
Chon could be hard, well – most of the time. But Brooke brought out this softness in him that no other woman could, or ever had before. He treasured her. She was the light to his darkness. They balanced each other out beautifully, which was one of the reasons why Brooke didn't understand why Chon never made a move on her.
She pulled in to the driveway of the home she lived in with her parents in Laguna, choosing to finally brace her parents with her appearance. Brooke rests her head on the steering wheel of the parked car and closed her eyes. She was still a little achy from what happened with the drugs, but she wasn't going to let that slow her down. She had too much to do.
Brooke was supposed to meet O for lunch at two after she let her parents know that she was alive. She also needed to get a few things, clothes, shoes, purses, so she could move more of her stuff to Ben's house.
Liam had been asking her to move in to his place.
But I'm happy at Bens. She told him. "Can't you be happy with me?" he'd ask her. She would smile, bat her long eyelashes at him and kiss him on the nose. I'm always happy with you. And she was always happy with Liam. Unless she was thinking about Chon. That just left her feeling guilty.
And that's when she made up her mind. She needed to give herself fully to Liam, he was hers and she was his. Brooke pulled out her phone, dialing Liam's cell.
Sweetheart, I'm a bit busy right now, can I call you back? He answered the phone.
"I want to move in with you." Brooke told him.
The other line was quiet for a moment and Brooke knew that Liam must have stepped out of the room to talk to her. "Are you sure?" He asked, and from the tone of his voice Brooke knew that her Irishman was smiling wide. Brooke chuckled. Yes. She giggled. "I'll send my men to your house to get your things. What about your things at Bens house?"
Brooke bit down on her lower lip. Couldn't she leave a few things there? No, she shook her head. "I'll have Ben and Chon help me move my stuff from their place to yours."
"Our place, Brooke. My home is your home now." Liam assured her.
"I'm having lunch with Ophelia, but could you maybe send some of your men to my parent's house to meet me so I can tell them what to take?"
"Whatever you want, I'll give you. We'll leave now and meet you at your place."
Brooke smiled. "I love you, Liam."
And when she said that, she believed it. Chon was not in the back of her mind, the woman in the picture was a fading image. It was just her and Liam.
Brooke walked up to the four story house, pulled out her key to unlock the door but was greeted by a group of businessmen and welcomed to the sound of country music followed by a wave of giggles when she entered the large home. She groaned. Daddy's home.
"-Brooke!" O said from behind Brooke causing her to turn around. She had showed up early. "Ben and Chon were boring me so I decided to help you get your stuff."
"O, stay out here and I'll just grab a few things. I think my Dad has some guys over and I rather they not harass you too." Brooke told her. "Just wait in your car."
Ophelia wasn't going to argue with Brooke, she obviously didn't want her to see her father in the situation he was most likely in. O figured he was high with his business partners with a bunch of hookers to top it off. "Shout if you need me." O told Brooke, hugging her tightly then running back to her car.
The entire house smelt like a brothel. Brooke took in a deep breath before crossing the threshold and headed straight to her room. But she had been spotted. "Brooke!" Her father shouted. "There's my baby!" He laughed, a naked woman on his lap. "Sunshine, this is my daughter." Brooke's father told the woman sitting on her lap before pushing the whore off of him.
Sunshine? Really?
"I just came to get a few things to bring to Bens house, I'll stay out of your hair, Daddy." Brooke assured him. He snapped his fingers and Brooke was escorted to him at once.
Richard "Ted" Davis was well known in Laguna for his business and record DUI charges. But what he held, that Brooke was unsure as to why, was power. He had the police wrapped around his finger, his men ready to suck his dick. All this power that a man like him didn't deserve.
"You've grown up so beautiful – nothing like your mother, thank god." He said causing the room to laugh. "Come, give Daddy a kiss." He told her, motioning for her to come forward.
Brooke obliged, giving him a peck on the cheek only to have him tell her no. "Don't be shy. On the lips." He told her causing the men in the room to laugh. When Brooke tried to pull away again, his grip on her wrist grew tighter and his eyes turned a shade darker then they had been. She had angered him. "Do not make a fool of me in front of my men, Brooke." His fingernails dug into her skin until he drew blood.
Brooke had had enough. She was tired of being treated this way by the man who was supposed to protect her from things like this. Not do them himself. "Let go!" She said through gritted teeth. Her father simply laughed which enraged Brooke.
Brooke spit at him earning herself a slap across her face. She winced at the stinging sensation but still tried to fight him off of her. Her father pushed her down on the ground and Brooke tried to bite at him only to hear a familiar voice.
"Get off her, you creep!" O shouted as she tried to pull Brookes father off of her. Brooke should have known better then to believe that O would stay in the car. She hadn't known about this. None of them did – not even Ben. Because she knew that if Ben knew, Chon would know, and if Chon knew – Brooke's father would be dead. Richard 'Ted' Davis would have been six feet under long ago. Ted knocked her down on the ground. You're next! He threatened Ophelia, high out of his mind. "STOP!" O shrieked, feeling helpless. She looked around the room for something to hit Ted with, but before she could, she heard shots go off and fell down to her knees as the men around her started to hit the ground.
Ted stopped pushing his daughters dress up, stumbling off her when he heard the gun shots go off. Thinking it was the police, Ted began to run with the drugs that were on the table, grabbing the coke and heading for the bathroom.
Ophelia crawled to Brooke, pulling her towards her to shield her from the gun shots. "Do not hit her!" She heard a voice yell. "Only the men!" A man shouted. "Leave her dad to me!"
Liam, O heard Brooke whisper under the loud shots and cries from the businessmen.
Brooke watched, with O still hovering over her, as Liam dragged Ted in to the room by the neck as if he was a dog who just pissed on the carpet and was about to get its nose pushed in to the mess. "No, no, no, Mr. Davis." Liam said. "There's no running from this." He seethed. "Do you have ANY FUCKING IDEA WHO I AM?" Liam shouted, the tip of his gun now in Brooke's father's mouth. Ophelia held on to Brooke, scared out of her mind. There were men surrounding them, she could smell metallic scent of blood clouding her nostrils from the men that Liam's men had already killed. She recognized one of the men as a friend of her mother's latest husband's who came over the last time she went to her house.
"I should cut off all your fingers and make you wear them as teeth after I smash your mouth in!" He shouted. Brooke moved forward only to have one of Liam's men moved her back. "Flay you alive, make a purse out of your skin for Brooke!" Liam looked to Brooke. "Would you like that, sweetheart? Would you like me to skin you a purse from your father's skin?"
Brooke was too shocked to say anything. She had almost forgotten that she had told Liam to meet her at her house with his men to get her things. She stood back in silence, watching what was taking place in front of her and Ophelia. The blonde was holding her hand tight, not letting go. She could hear her father crying for her help but she ignored him.
Liam pulled the gun out of Ted's mouth and motioned it to O which made her shriek. "Now, now, lass – I wouldn't dream of hurting you. You're too important to her." He then put the gun back to Brooke's fathers head. "You on the other hand." He smirked. Liam moved closer to Ted, putting the gun under his chin. "Had I known what you have done to Brooke – you'd have died long ago, very painfully. As of right now – I'm in a bit of a hurry, you see; your daughter is moving in with me. Is that alright with you?"
"Yes! Yes! Take her, just please don't fucking kill me!"
Liam laughed. "Take her!" He mimicked him. "-As if she is your property to give!" He roared.
"Please, I'm begging you. I'll do anything – I'll never touch her again."
"How long has this been happening?" Liam asked Ted, not bothering to listen to Brooke when she told him to just leave it alone. "How. Long. Have you been touching. My girlfriend?"
"Please, god, I'm so sorry!"
"Answer the question or you're going to get a bullet between the eyes."
"I don't know. A few years!" Ted confessed. "When she was … fourteen? I don't remember." Ted looked to Brooke. "Please baby, don't let him kill daddy. Please!"
Liam then moved the gun to the middle of Ted's forehead. He looked away from the man and to Brooke. "What do you want me to do, Brooke?" Liam asked her. "It's up to you, love. His life is literally in your hands."
"-Brooke, think about this…"O said, trying to make sure her friend was thinking clearly. That was the problem. She did think about it. She thought about every night that her father would sneak in to her room, every second of having to feel his hands on her flesh, the muffled cries in her pillows, the pleading to stop. Every memory she tried to block out since she was thirteen years old came flooding back to the surface.
"Kill him." Brooke told him.
Liam looked at her with a smirk. "As you wish, my love." He said before pulling the trigger, his eyes never leaving Brookes.
O screamed. She had never seen someone die before, let alone get killed. Brooke closed her eyes and breathed out in relief. She could still hear Ophelia screaming.
Her demons were gone. Well, one of her demons was gone. Her eyes left Liam's and then looked down at the limp, bloody body in front of her. She could hardly recognize the face from the gun blast.
"-Brooke, get your friend out of here." Liam ordered Brooke. She listened, grabbing O by the hand and dragging her out of the room. "I'll see you tonight." Liam shouted to Brooke as the two women ran out of the house.
Brooke passed body, by body as they ran down the long hall. Naked women, her father's partners choking on their own blood. This was something she had never seen before. She supposed that she would have to get used to this with Liam's line of work.
O kept repeating the same thing, over and over again. Oh my god, oh my god! That was your fucking Dad, Brooke – oh my god! Oh god, oh god, oh god.
"O!" Brooke shouted over her friends cries as she shoved her in to the car. "Ophelia! Get a hold of yourself!" She yelled. "O, look at me! Look at me!" She ordered. The blonde finally looked Brooke in the eyes, tears streaming down her face. "We're not going to think about it, OK?" She asked her friend. "We're going to drive to Bens, we're going to see Ben."
Ben. O now repeated. "I want Ben."
"Ok, that's fine. We're going to go to Bens but I need you to calm down."
O shook her head, trying to get Brooke to move out of the way so the vomit that was rising would not hit her. Brooke moved just in time to not get hit by her best friends vomit.
O's head shot up when she heard someone from the house yell. You think there's a hacksaw? Which only caused O to throw up again, this time hitting Brooke's feet with the mess. Brooke kicked the vomit away and shut the car door, and hurrying over to the driver's side.
Brooke knew she needed help and that there was one person, one of the people she never wanted finding out about this, that had experience in this before. She didn't know if this was out of Liam's hands or if he needed help. But what she did know what that she needed Chon.
She pulled out her phone and hit his name in her speed dial. He picked up on the first ring. "Brooke?"
"Chon," She breathed out as she pulled out of the drive way. "I need you."