"What! Dad! How could you?" Sophia screamed as her eyes turned bloodshot red.
I gulped hard, not knowing how to answer. I turned to look at Lucas and he looked as if he was about to get sick. Lindsey was standing there with her arms crossed across her chest, smiling.
"Sophia, not here. Let's go home and talk," I instructed.
"What no! Mom, you're okay with this?" she asked emotionally.
My eyes flitted from her to Jamie. Jamie with his trademark Scott eyes had got them icy silver, never a good sign.
"Guys, please, let's just go home," I tried again. It was taking so much energy to get the words out. Lucas seemed to have turned into a corpse.
"No. I am not going home!" Sophia continued to argue.
"Sophia, please stop creating a scene. Just get in the car," I said, bringing my hands to press my throbbing head. Why was it throbbing so hard?
"I said no. I don't want to go home with liars and cheaters! How could you do this dad? How could you?!" she continued to fight before breaking into a nerve-wracking sob.
"Sophia Elizabeth Scott, you know nothing, so stop insinuating things and get inside the car," I growled, my voice going very low and raspy, but commanding nonetheless.
"I don't want to hear it. I - just no!" she said, raising her arms in the air.
"Yeah, where are you going to go? I will call all your friends' parents personally to ensure that they don't house you," I said, letting my temper get the better of me.
"Uncle Nate," she said, looking at her trump card. Nathan was a softie when it came to Sophia. He loved her just as much as he loved his own daughter because Sophia was like his first baby. He could never tell the girl no for anything.
"Baby, you know that I love you. Tell you what, you hear what they have to say and then after that, if you want to still come over, I will come to pick you up," Nathan said, extremely slowly while looking at me, asking for permission whether that was okay.
I gave him a tiny, but grateful nod. I turned my attention to Jamie who was deadly silent.
"Dad, you just promised me that you wouldn't jeopardise it. You said those words to me like fifteen minutes ago. I have heard enough. I'm out," he said before taking off sprinting.
"Jamie! Jamie!" Lucas yelled as he tried to chase him, but our athletic boy was fast. Before we knew it, he was out of sight.
"You go find him, we'll get home with Karen," I said to Lucas.
"What, no! If Jamie can run, so can I!" Sophia began arguing again.
I had had it. I gripped her roughly and leaned in. "Shut up and get inside. You will get to state all of your opinions but only after you know the whole story. Thanks, a lot Lindsey!" I said as I basically shoved Sophia into my car that Andy had driven to the roller rink. I showed Lindsey my middle finger before getting into the driver's seat. I waited for Karen, Andy and Lilly to get in the back before riding off.
The car ride was silent. Nobody dared to speak. Sophia had her arms crossed in defiance as she stared out of the window with a death glare. Once we were home, she sat on the couch.
"I'm listening. Speak," she commanded.
I stared at her in disbelief. Karen and Andy were getting Lilly fed in the kitchen so that they could put her away to bed before talking.
"You think any of this has been easy on me, Sophia? Do you have any idea how much this is ripping me? I know you are hurt because I am upset about it too. But, here we are! We are going to have to deal with it, together whether or not you like it because there is nothing we can do to change the situation. Now, wait," I said, trying my damndest to not be an emotional wreck.
"Hey Luke," I said into the phone, desperately trying to hide the emotions from my voice. "Did you find Jamie?"
"No, I drove by the river court and the pier and some other places," he said to me.
"Check the clubs around. I have a feeling he is going the Brooke Davis way," I said.
"Okay, I'll do that. I guess he won't be at Tric. The bartenders know him. I'll call you back," he sighed.
"Yeah call me when you get him," I replied before ending the call.
"Baby, do you want to eat something?" Karen came in to ask Sophia. Quiet tears escaped her eyelids as she shook her head no.
"Sophia, you should eat something," I said warmly.
"You should too, Brooke," Karen said matter-of-factly, adding an eye roll for emphasis.
Sophia and I looked at each other before walking into the kitchen and sitting at the nook.
We nibbled on the food Karen had put in front of us, saying that we were full at the first bite. Both of us sighed, looking like twins as we played with our food. My stomach was lurching as fear chilled my blood.
After another twenty agonising minutes, we heard the sound of the front door opening and closing. In walked Lucas with a pissed Jamie in tow.
"We will listen, but we get to say what we want, no repercussions. This is your mess and mistake," Jamie told us, cutting right to the chase.
We nodded our heads before calling Karen and Andy downstairs who were reading Lilly a bedtime story.
Once everyone was sitting and looking expectantly at us, Lucas dived right in. "Uhh, so while we were in New York, Lindsey started calling and texting me, asking me to meet her. I ignored her but then Brooke and I decided to hear her out. She told me that she was pregnant with my baby and she wanted half a million dollars. I - uh, yeah."
"Way to go, dad!" Jamie said in a drunken stupor.
"Congrats, dad! When was this because she doesn't look ready to pop! Wait, was this when we were in the hospital?!" she calculated, "because that itself was like months ago!"
Lucas looked at me helplessly with pleading eyes.
"Seriously dad! Ughh! I hate you! Why would you do this? What you thought in case you lose your current kids, let's go make some new ones!" Sophia cried.
Her last statement made my blood boil. "Sophia, do you have any idea what you are talking about? No, you don't because to spare your feelings, your father isn't telling you that he was sexually assaulted in his sleep! Do you know how that can feel? Do you have any idea how scary it can be? To be violated that way, to be forced without your explicit consent. That shit never ever leaves you, you are never the same again. I'm sorry Lucas, but it is not okay! What she did to you was not okay on any level and she should not be able to get away with it. That lady should be jailed for her actions!" I began to shake and shudder as each word came out of me like a battle cry. Then the dam broke and agonising tears took over me. "Lucas, I have been there, at the edge so many times and you know all about it. You put not one, but two of them in jail and it was not easy either time. They were scary men with a lot of connections but you did it to protect me and save me. I need to be able to do the same for you!"
"M-mom, y-you have been raped?" Jamie stammered.
I felt an ice-cold chill like a shot to the spine. "No, no, not exactly," I said. Each time I rejected it, it came out steadier, almost making me believe that the words were true.
"Then what jail?" he continued to question.
"Listen, there are things about my past that I never ever want you to know. It is better that way," I put up a hopeless fight.
"Can you guys be honest for once, just once in your lives or is that too difficult for you?" Sophia screamed.
"Brooke, they should know what you did for them. When you two were just months old, Dan broke into this very house while your mom was alone with the two of you. He was in your nursery and threatening to hurt you two. He had already tried to rape your mom once before when she came to save me. So to protect the two of you, she offered herself to him. She made him promise that he would not bend a hair on your head in exchange for her. I along with Nathan, Haley and Peyton walked in to see her pinned down by him and we chased him away. That is what got him put in jail. We never wanted you guys to know this because it's not something we want you guys to have to carry with you," Lucas confessed, putting me in instant anaphylactic shock. I felt my airways close as I choked.
"Brooke!" Karen yelled as she came to me. "Just breathe, somebody get her some water!" She was rubbing my back but I was looking at her with wide eyes, choking for air. I gasped but failed to control my body. Everyone around me got into a frenzy, trying to get me to breathe normally again.
Eventually, I calmed down. My hands were shaking, but I tried to grab the glass of water and drink it.
"Shit, I did not know I still carried so much residue from that. But if we are coming clean about this, I am actually sorry that he failed at going through with it because the minute he got out of jail, he found the two of you and shot you. It was all my fault. I'm so sorry. I bargained for your lives in exchange for me and I didn't fulfil my end," I cried. "But this is about Lucas, who actually was assaulted, not me who almost was. Shit babe, I - I'm so sorry!"
"Oh, my baby, I am so sorry. I am so very sorry, both of you. First Dan and now this. My sweet boy and girl, you two should not have to go through this." Karen interjected.
"I can make some calls and get Lindsey picked up and put in jail. Do we have any proof about the assault?" Andy asked.
"You mean more than the child growing inside her?" Sophia seethed but her anger was directed more towards Lindsey and not us.
"Mom, it's not your fault, okay? God, that spineless man! I don't want to be related to him!" Jamie yelled in frustration.
"Can we please focus on the situation on hand, James?" I answered with exasperation. "I am fine. Dan is dead."
"Brooke, I really want to just pay Lindsey at this point. I have the advance for the current book," Lucas told me.
"No! You are not abandoning that child! No child should have to grow up without love. You know where I come from, I am not going to let that baby go through that, especially when it has you as a dad. You wanted more!" I put my foot down. "Maybe we can get Lindsey charged for sexual assault and use that to get sole custody. But it loses its real mother. God, why can't anything ever just be simple?"I rubbed my eyes with my fingers hoping to wipe my worries away.
"Mom, Andy?" Lucas asked, looking for advice.
"Dad, are you okay though?" Sophia asked in a scared timid voice. She moved from her seat to cuddle with her dad. Lucas smiled as she hugged him and lay her head on his chest. He began to rub her back soothingly.
"I don't know how to answer that honestly, baby girl. I'm at a real loss this time," he stated simply.
"Hey, it's not your fault, it's hers. How did she assault you? You're like a hundred times stronger than her. Wouldn't it have been easy to stop her?" Sophia asked, scrunching up her nose.
"I was asleep. I don't remember it. She says she seduced me while I slept," Lucas shrugged.
"Is that possible? Have you like slept through before? God, I don't really want to know the answer while wanting to know the answer!" Jamie continued to ask.
"No, I've never done it asleep. At least not that I know of, but I don't know about this so…" Lucas said feeling awkward as well.
"Mom, has he?" Sophia continued to ask.
"No, I'm not going to seduce him while he sleeps. I've never needed to. He's usually the one begging for it and it's not like he is ever going to reject me that I have to find underhanded ways to have sex with him," I said casually, making everyone's faces scrunch up. "What? TMI? Sorry, but it is the truth! He's very awake and attentive when we go at it."
"Okay, mom, jeez. We got it. You can stop explaining your and dad's sex life. Eww!" Sophia groaned.
"Is it wrong that I detest that kid?" Jamie asked.
"The kid is innocent. It's not his or her fault in the least but take your time to process it. All your feelings are valid, my boy," Lucas said.
This made Jamie tear up. He began sobbing before standing up too and cuddling Lucas on the other side. Luke and I both smiled as he rubbed both his children's backs.
"We're sorry we kept it from you. It's not like we wanted to hide it and impress it on you whence the baby was born. It's just that we still can't understand what Lindsey's deal is. We wanted to be clear before we got you two involved," Lucas confided.
"How can you be sure it's yours, dad? Wasn't she cheating on you with that other writer?" Sophia said all our first line of defence.
"She showed me a paternity test which was a 100% match," Lucas sighed.
"Wait, she did the test? Did you not get one done of your own? Test results are so easy to fake these days. I could make one and print it in ten minutes!" Jamie yelled.
Lucas looked at me! "Dude, all she wants is money. She doesn't want your involvement and the whole sleeping and memory thing! Gosh, we are nuts!"
"I believed her story because she said when I came, I came saying your name. That made me believe that it could be," Lucas cut me in.
"Uhh, eww! More details. Gross!" Sophia covered her ears.
"Where do you think you came from?" I asked, sniggering at her.
"Please stop! But, still, this is good because this means that Lindsey could be lying! Please, please, please be lying!" Sophia cried.
"How did you not consider getting a test of our own?" Lucas asked me.
"Honest answer. Same reason as you that you came to me. Though I have to ask, are Lindsey and I really that similar? If that is true then I really need to up my game! I was famous for sex, remember?" I laughed.
"Okay, the children do not need to hear any of this and neither do we," Karen complained this time, making me giggle. I was having such a wide range of emotions.
"Why are you laughing? This is still quite serious!" she continued to chastise me.
"I really can't control it. My emotions are so frenzied and on overdrive and that panic attack, my body is so out of my control right now that I have absolutely no control whatsoever over my reactions and emotions. I might pass out soon," I said, attempting to get stoic but failing and going back to laughing hysterically.
"Lucas, this - this better be true. I need this to be a lie that she cooked up. Please," now I was crying.
"Okay," Lucas said, standing up and walking to me. He pulled me up and took me in his arms allowing me to slobber my snot and tears all over his shoulder. He gently stroked my hair with one hand and firmly held the small of my back with the other.
"Come on, shhh. You need to calm down. Brooke, shh," he tried to soothe me.
"So, we are done talking. As promised to Jamie, you are allowed to have opinions and voice them, no repercussions," Lucas said. Hearing that, my hysterics finally calmed down. Lucas asked me if I wanted to go to bed but I shook my head no.
"Mom, if this is dad's baby? Are you two going to break up?" Jamie asked. His face looked the same as it had when he got to know that Mommy was leaving. He was only nine at that time. I would never be able to forget that face though.
"No, sweetheart. We won't. I know we haven't set the most ideal standards for relationships in the past but your dad and I are learning and growing and we are genuinely committed to each other. We co-parented and I am sure that he and Lindsey will figure it out. Do you know a thing about love? It has a shocking ability to grow. Your baby brother or sister will just widen our hearts," I said with remarkable calmness.
"I am still not ready to accept this. Please don't force us to interact with him or her or love it," Sophia pleaded.
"Guys, you can choose not to interact with Lindsey. What fault does the baby have? What did it do to you for you to have such strong hatred? Think over it and then decide. We will not force you," I countered.
"Why are you so defensive about this kid? It's not yours for sure!" Jamie asked curtly.
"I have two children of my own and I had them really young and it wasn't easy. I was not with your father when I found out. I broke up with him and left him and I didn't know if he would take me back. My parents decided to disown me. I had a massive decision on my hands and I never considered it to be a decision. I was clear. It was not your fault. Neither of you did anything wrong. Neither of you was to blame for any of the shit I had found myself in. You were not responsible for me getting kicked out of school. You were not responsible for me getting kicked to the streets of London without a penny of concern. You were not responsible for me having to beg my friends whom I had treated like shit to get me back to Tree Hill, a place where I had no home, no family, no money, no security and what I expected as no support. You hadn't chosen this. I had unprotected sex and I got pregnant. You two hadn't been born so I could never blame either of you for anything! The whole world did. Oh, this happened because she was pregnant. No, this happened because I was careless and naive. It was my agenda to never make you feel less or unloved or that you had to earn my love by being exceptional. Yeah."
"You had to equate that child with us?" Jamie continued to argue for the sake of arguing.
"It's not like you two were a product of a consummated marriage. Besides consent, which is a very very big thing. Consent is everything actually. But, just from the baby's perspective, it is not much different. However, I wish just as much as you that the paternity test that we get done comes up with different results. Don't confuse what I am saying. I am not happy with the situation. The complete opposite. Yet, I hold blame against just one. Not two." I stated my case.
"I don't like it when you're right," Sophia grumbled.
"Yeah, I know. Parents suck. They're the absolute worst!" I mocked her.
"Hey!" Karen complained as well, making us all chuckle.
"You two still mad at me?" Lucas asked them guiltily.
"I still hate the situation but I don't hate you. I didn't hate the idea of a younger sibling, but I was hoping for one with you and mom," Sophia confessed.
"Hey, Lilly is my half-sister and I love her just the same. It doesn't matter that we don't have the same dad," Lucas reminded them.
"Stop being right, please. But, you're right. Whatever, this all sucks. Get a test done and we all want to be present for the result, yeah Soph?" Jamie asked. Sophia nodded her head in response to her brother's suggestion.
"Mom, Andy; what about the two of you?" Lucas continued seeking approval.
"Let's just see what the paternity test says first. Then we can figure this out. We are here to support you and Brooke," Andy sighed.
"I'm sorry, my baby boy," Karen continued looking at Lucas emotionally. I felt what she was feeling. How many battle scars was one sweet boy supposed to carry?
"You kids want to eat something? Jamie, how hungover are you?" I asked. He needed to know that nothing got past his mother. Besides, this was so me, seventeen years ago that I was unfazed.
He looked at me apologetically but kept quiet. "Yeah. We will let this time slide considering the circumstances, but when your dad and I say you need to listen to what we have to say, you two hear us out. We will not tolerate fleeing to clubs or over-the-top theatrics in the middle of the road. Thank God for Tree Hill. Had we been in the city, your little stunt would have been front-cover tabloid news by now. Also, Jamie, I can always tell."
"Daddy, can you make us hot chocolate with marshmallows?" Sophia asked. The 'Daddy always made Lucas putty. God, my daughter was brilliant. She had every boy in the family wrapped around her pinky.
"Of course, Princess," Lucas replied, immediately getting up to go to the kitchen.
Karen went to help Lucas in the kitchen while Andy checked on Lilly. The twins got on their phones, possibly to tell their friends what had happened since they had all witnessed Lindsey's epic showdown.
I too took out my phone to text my Private Investigator to have a go and find any suspicious activity on Lindsey again.
"So what are you going to tell your friends? Did they blow up your phone because our friends sure did ours," Sophia asked.
"Shit, this is going to become Tree Hill news. The whole school will know and then their parents. Maybe small towns are just as bad as big cities. Anyway, to answer your question, we will tell them after we confirm the paternity test. Also, I am certain that your father will not be comfortable with the whole world knowing that he was assaulted. Just please do not tell your friends about that. We don't want that kind of news spreading like wildfire across town," I requested.
The twins nodded their heads, agreeing with my input. Lucas walked in with a tray laden with mugs. We each took one, thanking him for it.
"So Soph, you still want to go to Uncle Nathan's?" he asked.
"No, I guess I am fine. Although it might be fun to visit him tomorrow. I could take Lilly to play with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum," she said.
"I'm sure that they will love that. Text them before you go though," I smiled.
"I know it's the weekend tomorrow but can we please have an early night? I am spent," I requested and was met with murmurs of consent. "Babies, you wanna sleep with us? It was a nerve-wracking night."
"After hearing about your sex lives, I doubt I am ever sleeping with you guys again!" Sophia remarked, scrunching her nose in disgust.
"Be happy that we aren't a miserable old couple!" I joked, taking another sip of the steaming chocolate.
She shuddered before requesting us to stop. Everyone soon retreated to their rooms leaving me and Lucas alone.
"So, that could've gone a lot worse. I think we did well," I remarked, propping my feet on his thighs. He began to rub them, making me moan.
"You should sleep, babe. You're completely spent," he told me.
"Yeah, you are too," I reminded him. "Carry me up, please. I have no energy."
Lucas smiled at me before lifting me up bridal style. I wrapped my arms around his neck and stuck my head to his chest so that I could hear the beating of his heart, the most soothing sound on the planet.
Once inside, he gently placed me on the bed. "Help me out of these jeans, please?" I begged. I popped the button and got the zipper, but then waited for him to peel them away from each leg. He helped me and then I worked on getting my top off. "Can I please have your shirt to sleep in?" Lucas smiled as he pulled his shirt off and handed it to me. I tugged away my bra and slipped on the loose fabric.
Lucas went into the closet and emerged moments later in sweatpants. He smiled at me and I knew that he liked seeing me in just his shirt. He got into bed and I moved to cuddle with him. He wrapped his arm around me, rubbing my arm, holding me close. We just cuddled in silence for a few minutes, feeling spent and catching our breaths.
"You want to go tomorrow and confront Lindsey or talk to our friend fam?" I asked him.
"Lindsey. We should involve our friends only after we have conclusive knowledge. So what we go to the Riverview Suites and ambush her again?" he asked me.
"I am too tired for this. I just want to forget everything for the night. Can we please pick this up after we have our morning coffees?" I pleaded.
"Sorry Pretty Girl," Lucas replied, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "Have I told you that you're the most selfless person I know?"
"Can we end the day on something positive? Let's share three things we are grateful for today," I suggested.
"Oh, easy. I'm grateful for you and the empathy and grace you hold for me. I'm grateful for how understanding our children are and I'm grateful to God every day that we got back together," he replied without thinking.
"Wow, that was so quick. Okay, my first one is not exactly nice but I'm grateful for the kids to point us in the direction of getting a separate paternity test. I'm grateful that this day is finally over because it was overwhelming and I'm grateful that it is me that you choose to end your day with," I said.
Lucas leaned towards me, capturing my lips with a kiss. "I'm so grateful that you didn't run away. I need you with me, Brooke. I need you by my side," he said to me, brushing my cheek with his hand. I brought his hand to my lips and kissed his knuckles. Then I lay my head on his chest and fell asleep listening to the steady drumming of his heartbeats.
