Lucas woke up in his bed. He forgot that he had woken up after reading Lily a story and moved into his own bed. He got up and went to check on Lily. As he did this he was checking his phone. He had a couple missed calls and decided to listen to them. He realized that he had a meeting at the high school with the new athletic director. He walked into Lily's room and she was up playing.

"Feeling fine?" Lucas asked.

"Mhm!" Lily said with a smile. He smiled as he walked to fine Lindsey getting ready in the bathroom.

"So I forgot that I have a meeting this morning." Lucas said as Lindsey looked at him.

"That's fine! I called your friend Brooke and she said I could meet with her today." Lindsey said as Lucas hid his emotions. It was hard enough for him to tell Peyton, but to tell Brooke was a whole different story.

"Okay." He said as he walked back into his room to get ready for the meeting. As he was getting dressed Lindsey walked into the room.

"I'm going to look at a few places!" Lindsey said as he nodded. She kissed him goodbye and then left. He started to tie his shoes, Peyton walked into his room.

"Hey bud!" Peyton said as Lucas looked up from his shoes.

"Hey Peyton." He said as she smiled.

"Is Lily ready?" She asked as he nodded.

"What do you have planned today?" He asked.

"Well, we are going to go by Red Bedroom because I'm listening to a new band." She sighed. "It kinda came really unexpected…" She said.

"Do I need to find someone to watch Lily?" He asked as he sighed a little bit. He was upset because Lindsey had already left.

"No, I already did!" She smiled as Brooke walked into the room with Lily.

"Daddy, Brooke is gonna take me shopping!" Lily said as she ran up to Lucas. He smiled as he picked her up and set her down on his lap.

"Shopping for what?" He asked as he looked at Brooke and mouthed hi.

"Clothes." Lily said. "For preschool! I start tomor…" She faded off not knowing how to pronounce the word.

"Tomorrow." He said with a half smile. He couldn't believe that she was already starting preschool. Soon it would be her first day of kindergarten, the middle school, high school and then college. He kissed her cheek and then looked at Brooke. "She has clothes."

"Yes she does." Brooke said. "But nothing that screams I am a big kid in preschool. All her clothes say she is a three year old whose dad picks out her clothes. She needs to be cute on her first day." She said as he laughed.

"Well considering I do pick out her clothes, I'm glad you can tell I pick them out." He said with a smile. Brooke and Peyton started to laugh.

"That wasn't a compliment." Peyton laughed.

"Oh…" He said as laughed a bit. "I can give you some money." He said as Brooke shook her head.

"Just think of it as a late birthday gift." Brooke said with a smile. "Plus I think this little girlie needs some girl time." She said as she reached her hand out from Lily. Lily smiled as she got up and grabbed Brooke's hand. Brooke smiled as she got down on her knees. "How about you go get everything and put them into your backpack." She said as she nodded. Brooke smiled as she got back up. "So what time do I need to drop her off?" She asked.

"Well, I will be at the high school all day. I get done around 5 with practice." He said.

"Okay, well I can drop her off then." Brooke said as Lucas got up and hugged her.

"Thanks so much for taking her." He said as Lily came back into the room. She was wearing a long sleeve pink shirt with jeans. Her shoes were on the right feet but untied. "Come here, I'll tie your shoes." He said as he reached out for her. She walked over to him and he picked her up. He set her on his lap again and started to tie her shoes. He finished and she jumped off his lap. "Bye Lily, see you later." He said as he kissed her cheek.

"Bye-bye Daddy. I love you." Lily said as Brooke grabbed Lily's hand.

"Love you too." Lucas said with a smile as he watched them leave. He got up and walked to his computer. He sat down and opened it. He clicked on the document labeled new book. He opened it and started writing. 'The red seemed to be as perfect as lace. She was no longer the little girl hiding behind the red and afraid to let others in. She was now the woman embracing the colored that directed her life through everything. THE END.' He wrote as he smiled. He had finished the book. He started working on the summary. 'A small town girl grew up hiding from her potential. She hid it behind the popularity; sex and alcohol that came from the high school realm that she belong to. She has withstood many obstacles and from them she became a woman with a heart of gold.' He then went to the top of the page where his title page where it read untitled. He started to write 'The Girl that Lived Behind the Red.' He finished with a grin. He didn't really know what the story was about other than it being about a girl finding her way. He didn't realize it was his feelings being poured out about Brooke.

Brooke parked in the parking garage behind her new store. As she helped Lily out of the car she noticed her mother's car parked a couple spots away. She groaned as she shut the door. She reached for Lily's hand and they started to walk to the storefront. Before they walked inside Brooke stopped Lily to fix her hair. She pulled up one side of her hair into a cute bun and then did the other side the same. Brooke smiled at Lily and then they walked inside. Brooke bent down and pointed to the purple couch.

"You can go sit over there." Brooke said with a smile. She then watched Lily run over to the couch and sit down. Brooke laughed to herself and then went to put her things up. As she walked back out Victoria was standing at the front counter. Brooke sighed and walked up to the counter.

"What on Earth do you call that?" Victoria said as she looked over at Lily.

"A child." Brooke said annoyed. "You might have known what a child was if you were around when I was." She finished as Victoria looked back at her and narrowed her eyes.

"Oh Brooke don't be so dramatic." Victoria said as Brooke rolled her eyes. "Besides, I know what a child is. I was wondering how she got here." She said as Brooke sighed.

"Remember Lucas Scott?" Brooke said.

"Aw yes, the ill-chosen love interest." Victoria said as she nodded.

"She is his daughter." Brooke said as Victoria's eyes widen.

"Is she yours too?" Victoria asked.

"Mother. Stop." Brooke said. "Lucas' mother died in child birth and the father of the child was Keith Scott. Lucas was left as the legal guardian and a couple months after the death he adopted her."

"Oh." Victoria said as she looked over at the four year old. "She looks a lot like you." She laughed. "Anyways, I came here to tell you that you are making a mistake by staying here. There is a reason I left this town. I am afraid that you are going to regret staying here."

"Staying here is what I want." Brooke said. "This is my home. This is the place where everything's better and everything's safe." She said as Victoria scoffed. "Bye mother." She said as Victoria left. Brooke looked over at Lily with a smile. "Come here sweetie!" She said as she held out her hand. Lily smiled and ran over to Brooke. Brooke grabbed her hand and then picked her up and set her on the counter. Brooke was checking the books when Lindsey walked in.

"I'm here for my fitting." Lindsey said as she noticed Lily. "Hi Sweetie! What are you doing?" She asked.

"Brooke took me shopping." Lily said with a smile.

"Isn't that nice." Lindsey said. Brooke smiled as she started to take Lindsey's measurements. As she was doing this Lily was playing with her teddy bear by the window. As she was playing Lindsey and Brooke were talking about dresses.

"So I think that is gonna a really pretty dress." Brooke said. "I can start doing it tomorrow. When are you planning on getting married?" She asked.

"Early November." Lindsey said as Brooke's writing stopped. She was a little surprised by how soon.

"Alright. We can do the last fitting in mid October." Brooke said.

"Is that all?" Lindsey asked.

"Yeah." Brooke said with a smile. "Oh how is Lucas' second book coming along?" She asked.

"He said that out of no where he just started to write." Lindsey said as she walked over to Lily. "I can take Lily off your hands. I am done for the day. I'm just going to go home and edit Lucas' writing." She said as she grabbed Lily's hand.

"Oh okay." Brooke said as she thought about Lucas' writing and what inspired him last time. "How long ago was this?" She asked.

"Oh about a month and a half ago." Lindsey said as she then looked at Brooke. "Actually when did you get back into town?"

"Uh…" Brooke said as Lindsey looked at her eyes. "I don't really remember." She said as Lindsey scoffed. She could tell Brooke was lying.

"Well, we are gonna go." Lindsey said as she pulled Lily with her. She was pulling her really hard.

"No! I wanna stay here." Lily said as she started fighting with Lindsey.

"No, we are going home." Lindsey said as she pulled Lily with her more.

"No!" Lily said as Lindsey stopped and bent down.

"Lily. We are leaving. I am the adult and you are the child." Lindsey said sternly. Brooke was trying not to watch what was going on.

"I wanna stay with Brooke. We are going to go get ice cream." Lily said as she stomped her foot.

"Bad little girls don't get ice cream." Lindsey said as Lily looked at her. Lily scrunched up her face.

"I hate you." She said as Lindsey slapped her across the face. The little girl then started to cry. Lindsey picked Lily up and walked out of the store. Brooke was in shock. She walked to the backroom and asked Millie to watch the store. It was almost time for her to meet Haley at the high school. She grabbed her purse and walked out to her car. She got in and drove to the high school. It was almost time for practice to be over. Brooke parked her car and got out. She started walking to the gym door. She was wearing a pair of white skinny jeans, a yellow tank top and black heels. She opened the gym door and the light caused everyone to look that way. Lucas watched as Brooke walked up to him. He was a little caught off guard.

"Brooke, where's Lily?" Lucas asked as Brooke grabbed him by the shirt.

"We need to talk." Brooke said as Lucas followed her. They walked into the hallway and she stopped. She was very upset.

"Where's Lily?" Lucas asked in a more serious tone.

"She's at home with that horrible monster you call a fiancé." Brooke said.

"Hey, hold on." Lucas said angrily. "I don't really care what you think about her, but calling her names is uncalled for." He said. "Why are you doing this?" He asked as he crossed his arms.

"Lucas she is a monster." Brooke said as she took a deep breath. "She hit Lily." She said as he uncrossed his arms.

"What do you mean she hit Lily?" He asked. "Where? Why? When?"

"Lily didn't want to leave because we were having a lot of fun." She said. "Lindsey slapped Lily across the face really hard." She said as Lucas made a fist. He took a deep breath and walked back into the gym.

"PRACTICE IS OVER." Lucas yelled as most of the players looked at their coach. Skills nodded at the players to leave. Nathan started to walk over to Lucas, but Lucas was walking out the door. He walked out to his car and got in.

"Hey Brooke, what did you tell him?" Nathan asked as Brooke walked back into the gym. Skills walked up to them to find out what the huge out burst was about.

"Umm…are you two going to make the same outburst?" Brooke asked.

"If it is just, then yeah." Skills said as Nathan agreed.

"Lindsey slapped Lily across the face." Brooke said, as both adults got mad.

Lucas pulled into the driveway and got out of his car. He took a deep breath before he opened the door. He was going to let Lindsey tell her side of the story. He opened the door and saw Lily was standing in the corner.

"Lily you can go to your room." Lucas said as Lily looked at him. Her face was really red and he could tell she had been crying a lot. As she walked by him he knelt down and gave her a hug. He smiled as he watched her walk to her room. He took a deep breath and walked into his room. He saw Lindsey was sitting at his computer. He shut the door and looked at her. "We need to talk." He said as she closed the laptop.

"I think that is a smart idea." Lindsey said, as Lucas looked a little confused. "I read your new book. It's good." She said.

"Lindsey we need to talk about something more serious." He said.

"This is serious." She said. "Your book is named 'The Girl that Lived Behind the Red.' I thought it was gonna be really good and something mysterious. Well, today I was driving around town and I saw Brooke's old house. It was a red door, which got me thinking. What else is red in Brooke's life? Brooke has lived behind a red door her whole life. You even painted one for her. Then when I was getting fitted for my wedding dress, Brooke asked about your book. While we were talking about it, she mentioned that she came back into town right when you started writing again. Care to explain?" She said as Lucas tried to take a deep breath and then looked at her.

"CARE TO EXPLAIN WHY YOU HIT MY DAUGHTER?" He yelled. He then took a breath. He looked at her and sighed. "Lindsey, I can't trust you."

"I can't trust you either. You still love Brooke." She said.

"No I don't! I loved you!" He yelled. "Why the hell did you hit Lily?" He asked. "That is not how I discipline her." He said.

"And how would I know that?" She yelled.

"So you think it is just fine to slap a four year old for disagreeing with you?" He asked. "Brooke told me what happened."

"Of course she did. She made me look like the bad guy." She said as she got up from the desk. "Did Brooke tell you that Lily told me she hated me?" She asked.

"She's four!" He yelled. "Do you know how many times she tells me that she hates me? She learned that word from a show I was watching while she was in the living room with me. She knows she isn't supposed to say it and that she gets in trouble when she does, but I don't punish her by slapping her across the face." He said as he shook his head.

"She wasn't listening." She said trying to defend herself. He sighed and looked down.

"So your go to thing is to slap her? Or grab her arm causing a bruise. I saw my daughter." He asked. "Let's put it this way, I can't marry you." He said as her jaw dropped. "I can't trust you, plus you said that you spent the day looking at where my ex girlfriends used to live. I love you, but I love my friends and family and Lily more. I'm sorry." He said as she started throwing her clothes into her bags.

"I don't want to see you again." She said as she placed the ring on top of his computer. He sighed. This is what he wanted, but not like this. He felt like he handled this wrong. He watched as Lindsey left his house. He closed the door and then sat down on the couch. He was about to cry when he noticed Lily's teddy bear was sitting on the coffee table. He grabbed it and then got up. He walked to her bedroom and opened the door. He saw her sitting on her bed.

"Hey princess." He said as she looked up at him. She had a slight smile.

"Hi daddy." She said.

"I think we need to talk." He said as he reached out his hand. She got up and walked over to him. He took her hand and they walked to the living room and he sat down on the couch. He picked her up and set her down on his lap.

"Am I in trouble?" She asked as he handed her the teddy bear.

"Just listen." He said as he lightly patted her leg. "Lindsey and I aren't getting married anymore. It was a rushed decision. I didn't think it through." He said as he looked at her. "I know you liked her but she wasn't ready to be a mommy and I don't think she would have made the type of mommy you deserve. We won't be seeing her anymore. Do you understand?" He said as she nodded. "That being said, I am very sorry that she slapped you. I am actually very mad about that. But, you know you aren't supposed to say the word hate. We have talked about that. Do you remember why you don't say that word?" He asked.

"I can't say it because I shouldn't tell people that I hate them. It hurts their feelings." She said as he nodded.

"I'm not going to punish you. But next time you say it, you will be in trouble." He said. "Okay?"

"Yes sir." She said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He smiled as he hugged her back. "Is it my fault?" She asked as he pulled out of the hug and looked at her.

"No, it's not. It's mine and Lindsey's." He said as he held her.

"Are you sad?" She asked.

"A little." He said. "But, let's watch a movie." He said as she smiled. She got off his lap to go get a blanket. He was picking out a movie when there was knock at the front door. He got up and walked to the door. He opened it and saw Nathan standing there. He was holding a bunch of shopping bags.

"Brooke asked me to bring these over." Nathan said as Lucas smiled. "Did you talk to Lindsey?" He asked as he walked inside.

"Yep…" Lucas said. "The wedding is over." He said as Lily walked back into the room with her blanket.

"Hi uncle Nathan." She said as Nathan smiled. He loved hearing Lily calling him an uncle. He knelt down and hugged her.

"Hi sweetie." Nathan said as he let go of her. He smiled as he watched her get on the couch. "So…" He said as they walked into the kitchen. "Are you okay?" He asked as Lucas started making Lily a drink.

"I'm okay…" Lucas said as Nathan nodded.

"What do you have planned for Lily before preschool?" Nathan asked.

"Pizza and a movie." Lucas laughed. "Not really in the mood for anything."

"Understandable." Nathan said.

"Did you tell Haley what happened?" Lucas asked.

"Actually I did not. Haley and Brooke were going to talk about something. Don't really remember what." Nathan said as Lucas nodded. Nathan looked at Lily with a smile. "And how is my favorite little niece?" He asked as he picked her up and walked to the couch.

"Am I really your favorite?" Lily asked with a giggle.

"Of course." Nathan said as he kissed Lily's cheek. He smiled as he set her on his lap. Nathan looked at Lily and then tilted her face to see her cheek that Lindsey slapped. As he looked at it Lily pushed his hands away.

"Uncle Nathan that hurts." She said as he sighed.

"Aww." Nathan said as he sighed. He was really upset that Lindsey had slapped her. He smiled as Lily snuggled up to him. Lucas walked into the living room and saw his brother and smiled. He was carrying a printed version of his new book. He sat down on the couch next to his brother.

"Can you ask Haley to look at this?" Lucas asked. "Don't really think Lindsey wants to be my editor anymore…" He groaned as Nathan took it.

"Sure thing." Nathan said as he started to get up. He walked to the door and looked back at his brother. "I'm just a phone call away." He said.

"Okay." Lucas laughed. Nathan left and Lucas got up. He walked to his room and grabbed his computer. He then walked back to the living room and sat down next to Lily. "So how about a peperoni?" He said as he looked at Lily.

"Okay!" She said with a smile. He nodded and then started to order. Before he pressed send the doorbell rang.

"Can I get it?" Lily asked as she stood up on the couch.

"No." He said as he walked to the door and opened it. He smiled as he saw Skills, Mouth, Junk and Fergie standing at the door. "What are you guys doing here?" He asked.

"Just came to be with our dawg." Skills said as they walked into the house. Lily smiled as she saw them.

"Uncle Mouth!" She said as she jumped off the couch and ran to Mouth. He smiled as he picked up the little girl.

"And how is my favorite girl in the whole world?" Mouth asked as Skills shook his head.

"She ran past me, to get to you." Skills said as he groaned.

"She likes me more." Mouth laughed as Lily smiled at him. She was very used to being around her dad's friends. They had all stayed in touch through their college years, and typically came to Lucas' house two to three times a week.

"So what are we doing tonight?" Skills asked as he looked at Lucas. "Doesn't Lily start Pre K tomorrow?" He asked.

"Yeah!" Lily said really excitedly.

"Guessing you're excited?" Mouth said as he set her down and she went to Fergie and Junk to hug them.

"Yeah! Jamie and me are gonna be together!" Lily said as she looked at Skills. Skills smiled at her and she ran over to him. He picked her up and hugged her. He hugged her and then continued to hold her.

"So what do you think you're gonna do tomorrow?" Skills asked as Lucas smiled and continued to order pizzas.

"Color?" Lily said as the guys all nodded.

"Probably." Skills said as he walked over to the couch and sat down. He had Lily on his lap and started to look at the mark that Lindsey had made. He sighed as he looked at Lucas. Lucas looked at Skills and got up. Skills noticed this and then placed Lily on the couch. He got up and followed Lucas into the kitchen. Lucas was sitting at the kitchen table and Skills sat down across from him. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"No." Lucas said as he looked at Skills and then looked down.

"Luke…" Skills said as Lucas looked at him.

"Lily got slapped across the face." Lucas said as Skills sighed.

"I know, but it doesn't seem to faze her." Skills said. "What are you really thinking?" He asked.

"What do you think my mom and Keith are thinking?" Lucas asked as he sighed. "I let a strange girl around their daughter and then this happened…" He said.

"Luke don't do that. You can't question your life decisions like this." Skills said. "Lily is your daughter now. You can't think about what they would want. "You need to do what you want to do."

"I let Lindsey come into my life, that fine. But I shouldn't have brought her into Lily's life until I was certain she was the one." Lucas said.

"And you proposing wasn't you being certain that she was the one?" Skills asked.

"I think it was a rushed decision." Lucas sighed. "I think I am just gonna stay single." He said.

"Luke, no. Your mom and Keith would not want you to be alone. They would want to find love like they had. They would want you to be happy." Skills said as Lucas looked at him.

"What is this even about? I woke up this morning engaged and will be going to bed single. What am I supposed to accomplish in this life? What is the prupose?" Lucas said as he looked at Skills. Just as Skills was about to answer the question Lily came down the hall. She was dragging her blanket and holding her teddy bear. Her brown curly hair was in pigtails and she was wearing a pink pajama set.

"Daddy…" She said as he turned and looked at her. Lucas smiled as he picked her up and set her on his lap. "Are we still gonna watch a move?" She asked as both the guys smiled.

"Of course." Lucas said as they all got up. Lily smiled as she ran back to the living room.

"That's what it is all about." Skills said as Lucas smiled. He watched as Skills and Mouth sat on the couch with Lily. Junk and Fergie were sitting on the floor around her. He chuckled to himself as he watched his friends entertain his daughter. He walked to the door and opened it. The pizza delivery guy was standing there. Lucas recognized the pizza delivery guy as his star basketball player Quentin Fields. He talked to him for a little bit and then paid for the pizzas. He shut the door and then placed the pizza boxes on the coffee table. He walked to the kitchen and gathered plates, and napkins. Mouth had walked in to grab a couple beers and a juice box for Lily. The guys walked back into the living room and all started to eat. Lily was typically a messy eater so while all the guys were sitting in chairs; Lily was sitting on the floor using the coffee table. After Lily finished Lucas got up and picked out a movie.

"So I told Lily I would watch a movie with her before she went to bed…she picked it out." Lucas said as he picked up the DVD case.

"Yes!" Junk said as the guys all looked at him.

"You know it's gonna be the Little Mermaid…right?" Mouth said.

"Yeah, I wanna know how it ends. Me and Lily didn't finish it last time." Junk said as the guys all laughed. Lucas put the movie in and then sat back down on the couch. Junk and Fergie were in the two different chairs in the living while Lucas, Skills, and Mouth were on the couch. Lucas had picked Lily up and she was sitting on his lap watching the movie. As the movie came to an end, Lucas looked down and noticed that Lily had fallen asleep. He got up and carried her to her bedroom and tucked her in. He kissed her goodnight and then shut her door. He walked back into the living room and hung out with his friends.

Hope y'all like this chapter! Let me know! I know this is a crazy chapter, but I have a plan! –M J