Chapter 11

It is Thursday morning, three days after Julian took JJ into urgent care.

The on-call doctor took his vitals and asked a lot of in-depth questions. But he decided to only do a CT scan if JJ's pain intensified or if he had another bought of vomiting. Luckily, he was able to keep everything down. They were back home by three in the morning and had stayed up for the next two hours playing the new PS4. Julian knew JJ was not supposed to use the PS4 for another week due to his grounding but decided to make an exception as the poor kid had had a hell of a few weeks.

Currently, Brooke, Julian, John B, and JJ are getting ready for the day. Brooke is scheming bagels with cream cheese and Julian is cleaning the countertops. John B is sitting at the table and JJ is laying on the couch.

John B gets up, pours himself a cup of coffee, and sits back down. Brooke places a bagel in front of him and takes the coffee away. John B gives her a confused look. Brooke responds, "I'm sorry honey, but don't you think coffee is a little unhealthy?"

"This coming from the coffee queen," Julian says as he sweeps the floors.

John B shrugs and says, "At least it's not marijuana."

"Okay, you might have a point there," Brooke says trying to hide her smirk. "But, no more than one cup."

JJ waits until Brooke and Julian are both turned around to flip John B off. Brooke turns around and catches him. "JJ," she says.

"Oh, come on, Brooke," JJ said. "That was a cheap shot."

"True," Brooke acknowledges.

"I'm heading out see you later, sweetheart," Julian says as he kisses Brooke on the cheek. "John B, I'll see you after school. And JJ, I'll see you around one."

"Bye," Brooke and John B say at the same time.

"See you at one," JJ responds.

Julian waits until Brooke is searching through the fridge to grab John B by the elbow and guide him to the front porch.

"What's going on?" John B asked, looking concerned.

"I didn't want to tell you this in front of Brooke," Julian said, "but I have what the kids call the hook up! I can stop by my coffee dealer and get you a mocha with one, maybe even two shots of espresso. Or a shot in the dark, that's coffee with a shot of espresso in it."

John B rolls his eyes but there is a smile on his face. "Can I have an iced mocha with four shots of espresso?"

Julian looks at him and drops his mouth in mock horror. "I don't have that kind of cheddar. But I can do an iced mocha with two shots."

"Deal," John B responds.

"Have a good day at school," Julian says squeezing his shoulder before heading towards his Jeep.

"Thanks," John B said as he turned to go back inside the house.

"What was that all about," JJ asks with raised eyebrows.

"Literally nothing. Julian just offered to get me an iced mocha on the way home."

"Oh, god," Brooke groaned. "Let me guess he made it seem like an illicit drug deal."

"Yeah, how did you know?" John B asked.

"It just seems like a very Julian thing to do," Brooke said with a smile. "John B, do you mind putting all the breakfast stuff back in the fridge?"

"Sure."

"Thanks! We'll leave in five, okay?" Brooke said. "JJ, do you want to come with us? Get out of the house for a bit."

"And leave my spot on the couch?" JJ asked as he reached for the throw on the back of the sofa and leaned back.

Brooke smiled, "Well since you're so comfortable, do you need anything before we go?"

"Nah, I'm good thanks," JJ told Brooke as she went to get dressed.

John B plopped down next to him shoving his legs down and leaned in. "Dude, I'm going to tell Brooke that I hid weed for you and that I'd been smoking it too—or at least I was until you had to go and get it confiscated," John B whispered.

JJ tossed the remote at him and John B caught it. "Hmm…normal refluxes," JJ said as he leaned over to inspect John B eyes. "You don't look high."

"Because I'm not, dumbass."

"Then what's with the crazy talk…huh? What's the point of us both getting in trouble. Eyes on the prize, baby! You get into independent living, and I'll join you three months later," JJ whispered slapping his cheek.

"Like the good ol' days with easy access to your cousin Ricky's supply."

"Exactly," JJ grinned at him.

"What are you guys talking about?" Brooke asked as she emerged from her bedroom.

"Skateboarding," JJ lied easily.

"That's nice," Brooke said.

Five minutes later, John B and Brooke are in route to Tree Hill High School. "So, right before we left, I checked my email and saw a message from DCS Cheryl. She set up a therapy appointment for you next Thursday in Holly Ridge. It's about thirty minutes away."

"I know where Holly Ridge is," John B said as he stared out the window.

"Right," Brooke said glancing over at John B, who just turned his head even further away. She pulled into a parking spot.

"Thanks for the ride," John B said as he practically jumped out of the moving vehicle.

"Hang on for one second," Brooke said as she tried and failed to grab his shoulder. John B rolled his eyes and sat back down in the front seat. "Remember when I first told you the judge mandated therapy and that being open to the experience might look good when you apply for independent living. Well, it turns out attendance is important, but the therapist can't break doctor patient confidentiality. There are some cases though where it might be court ordered, but it is unlikely the judge will want to break confidently. I also wanted to tell you that if you-"

"Thanks," John B said as he practically ran out of the car.

A week later, Brooke walked into the main office of Tree Hill High School. "Hello, I'm here to sign John Routledge out. He's in study hall with Mr. Graham now," Brooke said to the receptionist as she picked up a pen and began filling out the sign out sheet.

"I'll call him down for you," the receptionist responded.

"Thank you." Brooke looked over at the bulletin board. "Hey," she said when John B walked into the office. "Ready to go?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," John B said as he turned around abruptly and stalked through the door.

Brooke sighed and gave him a few seconds to compose himself before following. She clicked her key fob when she saw John B waiting at the passenger side of the Range Rover. As she started the engine and pulled away, she resisted the urge to say anything. After twenty minutes of silence, Brooke said, "I think we are going to end getting there about twenty minutes early. Did you want to stop for a shot of liquid courage?" John B looked over and raised an eyebrow. "The caffeinated kind," Brooke clarified.

"I thought you disapproved of Julian's cringe humor?"

"I do. But I really could use a coffee right now," Brooke responded. John B shrugged and looked out the window. A minute later, Brooke said, "I looked up Dr. Andrew's ratings last night and he had fifteen five-star reviews and only one four-star review."

"Great," John B said as he turned to glare at Brooke. "So, a lot of crazy people love him."

"Everyone can benefit from therapy. I was in therapy and I'm not crazy right?" John B scoffed. "No, sarcastic remarks, just answer it seriously," Brooke said.

"You took in two troubled teens, Brooke."

"You're not troubled and neither is JJ. You both recently had some incredibly hard things happen to you that would throw anyone through a loop," Brooke said as she briefly looked at John B who ducked his head.

"Whatever," John B mumbled.

"Look, I probably shouldn't tell you this, but the first time I went to therapy I was twenty-four. It was just before I met Sam. I was terrified because I thought the therapist would be able to just look at me and know every one of my secrets. But, of course, they are only human so they can't do that. Dr. Andrew will probably start really slow, and he will know when to back off because your not ready to talk about something yet. Good therapists don't push, because they know that it shuts down communication in the future. Just ask him to start slow—tell him you want to talk about hobbies, or school, or something more neutral."

"I thought you said that after your first therapy session it felt like a bad hangover."

"That was true for the first few sessions actually," Brooke acknowledged as she glanced to the passenger's side. "But I think it was actually because I was so nervous beforehand that by the time the session was over, I just couldn't cope, my adrenaline had been through the roof for hours. Look it's not going to be as bad as you think it's going to be."

John B shrugged. "You really think JJ and I aren't troubled?"

"I honestly don't, but it seems like you think you and JJ are?"

"I asked what you thought," John B said.

"I'm just preparing you," Brooke said raising her eyebrows. "My therapist loved to answer my questions with questions."

"And how did that make you feel?" John B asked.

"It's actually a helpful tool for," Brooke said and then paused. "Oh, clever, I see what you did there!"