Brooke was topless and sitting on a man's lap. His hands were grabbing her breasts as he snaked his arms over her shoulders to rub her body. Brooke felt stiff in his arms as she allowed him to feel her as he pleased. He was having a business discussion with some men. It was normal in Brooke's world, men would bring clients to the strip club, distract them with topless women and get their drooling faces to sign contracts and business deals. She knew how to be a temptress and extort people into signing documents. Men often made her be the one to hand the pen to the clients and whisper encouraging words in their ears innocently. She was doing the same that day. The man, Mr. Hendrix, looked like a large heavy-built Greek God the way Brooke's petite frame was on his lap. She let out fake moans as he groped her breasts because men liked to hear those sounds, they enjoyed being able to pleasure a woman and were more likely to tip her more if she pretended to enjoy herself.
"So what do we think? Should we seal the deal?" Mr. Hendrix asked after he had run through the pitch. The two men on the opposite side had definitely not registered a single sentence out of his mouth. They were too busy ogling Brooke. Brooke could see their hard-ons and the desire in their eyes, hoping that she was sitting on their laps instead.
Brooke knew that this was her cue. She pulled out the pen that was resting in Mr. Hendrix's shirt pocket and slowly sauntered to the other side of the table. "Sign it, you won't regret it," Brooke said in her sexy raspy voice. She moved closer to the men, her naked breasts freely moving as she handed over the pen to them. One of the boys was centimetres close to attaching his lips to Brooke's nipples while the other contemplated feeling her butt.
"So, are we signing the papers?" Mr. Hendrix asked again. The boys did not hesitate this time as Brooke handed the pen to the man who was trying to feel her butt. He took it and wrote his name on the dotted line. Brooke smiled, took the pen back and returned to Mr. Hendrix's lap.
"Pleasure doing business with the two of you," he said, getting Brooke off his lap and standing up to shake the men's hands. Brooke dutifully continued to stand behind him, as if she was his property. Mr. Hendrix used his palms to show the boys the exit and started assembling the papers to take in his briefcase.
"So, where's my cut?" Brooke asked, tracing her nails on Mr. Hendrix's back. He allowed his head to fall back, feeling the effect of Brooke's seduction. He pulled out a bundle of cash out of his wallet and handed a few of them to Brooke.
"Thanks for the help, honey. All those suckers forget to read the fine print after they see you," he chuckled. Brooke gave him a fake smile of appreciation before walking towards the staff-only room to lock her earnings. She was supposed to go up on stage soon anyway. She used to feel bad for helping trap men into bad deals, but what was she to do? It wasn't like she was deliberately stopping them from hearing or reading the fine print. If men were stupid enough not to vet the documents, the onus was on them.
"Wait, you weren't here in the last couple of weeks and a lot of my business deals didn't go through as well. None of the other girls put up a spread as fine as you. Will you be here in the coming week? I have 2 more deals that need some coaxing to sign," he asked.
"I'll be here," Penelope replied, "but I want 15% this time instead of 10."
"That's ridiculous and you know it," Mr. Hendrix replied.
"Okay, good luck using Celeste then," she said with a businesswoman-like smile before turning on her heels.
"12%, final offer," he relented.
"It's a deal," Brooke replied. She was grateful, those deals would be enough for her to sort her medical bill for the month and the dancing and other jobs would support rent and food.
Brooke was about to go back to the door, but Mr. Hendrix's hands stopped her. He pulled her towards him and began to feel her body, moving his hands everywhere as if he were high.
"Mr. Hendrix," Brooke complained, as she struggled to move away from him but he didn't listen and instead took one of Brooke's nipples in one mouth and pinched the other with his hands. Brooke was stuck as she tried to detach herself from the man. "Mr. Hendrix!"
"I want a blowjob, come on," he said and moved away, pulling her up the stairs.
"Uhh, I have to go on stage soon," Brooke replied.
"After all that teasing, I'm not going to take too long. Come on," he said and before Brooke could get another word out, he dragged her up.
"Here, 500," he said, throwing the bills on the bed after he had entered the room that he was familiar with. He had used her services before quite some times. He did not even wait as he unbuckled his pants and let them fall to the floor.
It was all happening so fast, but Brooke was a hardened soldier by then. She moved close to where Mr. Hendrix was standing and got to her knees. Hr. Hendrix gripped her hair to clutch onto her as Brooke linked her hands with the waistband of his briefs and pulled them down. She was greeted with his length that sprang out, hitting her face. His length was twitching as precum dripped down. Brooke moved to get a condom from the drawer and tore the wrapper, sliding it on. Mr. Hendrix was already moaning by then.
Brooke took a moment, feeling a part of her soul die just like she did every single time, before attaching her lips to the tip of his length. Slowly, she moved her mouth, taking his entire length in. Once he was enclosed in the warm space, Mr. Hendrix sighed and groaned. Soon, Brooke started moving her mouth, sucking and licking his length making the huge man grunt. Mr. Hendrix quickly began to move Brooke's head up and down his length, making her thrust, using her hair to pull and guide her movements. Then he pushed himself deeper, staying there, making Brooke struggle to breathe. Brooke could feel herself gag and choke as he remained pushed deep inside her mouth until he increased his pace. She felt spit drool down her sides but she did not have any time to adjust as he kept bobbing her. Brooke felt her mouth ache, but she closed her eyes and kept on going. It was soon but to Brooke, it felt like it went on forever until he erupted like a volcano in the condom. Brooke felt the impact and sighed, moving away from him, panting and breathing heavily. Her hair was dishevelled as Mr. Hendrix had used them to navigate her actions as if they were a gaming console and her sweat had made them stick and stand awkwardly. Mr. Hendrix too, was panting as he pulled off the condom.
"You're still the quickest to get me off and most girls allow me to fuck their little pussies too," he chuckled as he pulled up his pants. "I'll see you again soon." With that, he walked out of the door. Brooke stood up and looked at her appearance in the mirror in the room. Her hair was matted and her lipstick had smudged. She needed to get down quickly for her stage performance and she would have to spend some time redoing her hair and makeup. She tried to get her limbs to move, but they seemed to be cemented to the floor. Brooke had once given 6 blowjobs in one night, her highest earnings ever. She had taken on each of those men like a champ and been proud of herself for all the money that she was taking back with her. Hell, even Marty had given her a complimentary beer to toast her for all the money that he was making as commission out of her pretty little mouth. Yet, that one client had drained her out of all her energy. Her mind was still at Tree Hill and the life that she was never going to get. Instead of going down, Brooke found herself curling on the bed and rolling herself into a tight ball as sobs racked her body. Her arms were folded at her chest, hiding her bare breasts from nobody as she tried to roll herself like an armadillo. She cried until the voice inside her head that Marty would roast her if she did not get down got too loud. So, she pulled herself off the bed and walked back down to get ready for the stage.
"I was about to announce you but you were nowhere in sight," Marty screamed when he saw her scurry down the stairs.
"Sorry, I was upstairs with a client. It took longer than I expected," Brooke replied. The smudged lipstick and messy hair were enough evidence to corroborate her story.
"I had to send Dana up on prime time! That's your slot. Get up there once she is done," Marty screamed. "Go, get ready."
"Yes," Brooke replied and walked in to fix herself. She was alone in the dressing room. Brooke sat on her chair and looked at herself in the mirror. She cupped her own breasts and felt them. Mr. Hendrix's spit had dried, she could feel it up there was nothing there to wipe away. Regardless, she pulled out a wet wipe and moved them over her naked boobs. Brooke again cupped them and hid them before cocking her head and biting her lip as she stared in the mirror. She couldn't tell what was the charisma about being able to see them and feel them. She thought she looked the same even with them covered up. It was the forbiddance that was attractive, not her actual breasts, she believed. Moving her hands away, she let them fall to the side, allowing her breasts to hang loose. There was nothing alluring about it to her. However, she did not have time to be philosophical and instead grabbed a brush to detangle the knots in her hair. Once her makeup was fixed and she looked like a new person, bright and shiny, she put on a bra whose only purpose was to be taken off. Brooke felt defeated in that moment, there was nothing to look forward to and every hope of escaping the life she had felt bleak.
Brooke had returned to Tree Hill the night before with Jamie. Andy had stayed back, promising her that he would get the office building renovations to start. Brooke was supposed to coordinate with the manufacturers and it would take them a week to incorporate the changes she wanted, trying to make the best product. It would have been better if she had stayed and got that sorted as well, but all she really wanted to do was get back to Sam. Besides, she was stressed about making money for her next payment to the hospital, so she needed to get back to paying jobs as well. Andy had asked her about a couture line as well and Brooke had replied that she had designs and she wanted to keep those exclusive that you custom ordered since she intended to hand stitch those and ship them.
After Brooke had picked up Sam from the hotel where she had been living, Karen and Lily flew to Tree Hill so that Karen could discuss with Andy what Brooke had proposed. The adults had collectively decided that it was better if Sam was kept in the dark until some decisions had been made. Brooke had been adamant about it because a part of her felt guilty. All of Sam's life had been the adults picking where she stayed and how long she stayed there for. Brooke had promised Sam a permanent home for as long as she chose it for her, at least in the beginning when they were figuring out the new family dynamics. Now, she was behaving like every other foster parent, deciding for her. Of course, if Sam hated the idea, she would not push her. She had no authority to, but she knew that she would coax her enough to agree because, in Brooke's mind, it was best for the girl. She had already built such a good rapport with Karen, Andy and Lily. Jamie would cry a lot when he would lose Sam, but he would be okay and Sam would keep coming to visit so it wasn't like Brooke would be out of her life. She would always be her first mom.
Brooke and Lucas had exchanged little to no words ever since the social worker's visit. After Brooke had spoken to Karen, she requested Lucas to take her back to the Davis home where she booked a ticket to Tree Hill for that night and packed all of hers and Jamie's things.
"Sell it," she said when she looked back at the mansion with the red door with a sense of finality in her eyes before leaving for the airport. Lucas watched as the young mother's hopes and dreams crumbled. He was on the verge of tears himself. The loss of permission to adopt Sam had him reeling too, way more than what he expected for himself. His name was just on the papers, right? It was then that he realised just how much he had enjoyed building Sam's room for her and how much he was looking forward to her seeing it and staying there. He had really poured his heart out into making what he believed would be his family's dreamhouse, quite like he had poured his heart to get his home ready for Brooke all those years ago. He remembered helping her through the rollercoaster and teaching her how to swim, he wanted to be there for all of it. He realised that he wanted Sam close to him.
"You should take some things with you, the laptop for Sam, the playstation for Jamie, the dollhouse for you?" he asked.
"I can't carry the dollhouse to New York! That's ridiculous and where will I fit it in my tiny apartment? The walls are paper thin and we don't have a TV in that house to support a playstation. We don't even have wifi for Sam to be able to do homework on that laptop. She will still need the library for internet," she said and sighed. "Your gifts are great, but they don't work for us." Brooke rubbed her face in her hands as she realised that she had to go back to her old life and be a maid and a stripper. Tree Hill was always so good to her, it pained her to have to leave.
"If Sam agrees to what you have proposed to my parents, you have to move to Tree Hill," Lucas warned her.
"Of course," she replied.
"Good," Lucas said, quite surprised that Brooke hadn't argued or retaliated, but had easily agreed.
"I do want to say… Thank you, Lucas. For everything. I know that it didn't work out and it was all for nothing, but for a minute there, the hope of getting Sam and getting to live here with both my kids in my house…. The dream felt good," she said as tears threatened to slip out of her eyes. She struggled to keep them from slipping out. Lucas gave her a weak smile in return, not finding any words that could make the situation right. What could he even say to her? Sorry? That wasn't cutting it.
"Also, guess I won't be needing this anymore," Brooke said, giving back Lucas his engagement ring. Lucas couldn't believe it. He hadn't thought about that, that now their ruse was over. They didn't need to trick anyone into believing that they were engaged. They would simply revert to being friends and co-parents.
When Lucas made no effort to take the ring that Brooke was offering, she picked up his hands and opened his palms to place the delicate object.
"Is it the ring? Is it cursed? Keith gives it to my mom, Keith dies. I give it to Peyton, she dumps me. I give it to you, we lose Sam!" Lucas said and threw the ring towards the red door they were standing outside.
"Lucas!" Brooke screamt as she ran to find the tiny expensive piece of jewellery. "Are you insane? That ring costs thousands of dollars."
"Awesome, you can sell it and do whatever you want with the money," he said, holding his hands up to show that he was not guilty. Brooke rolled her eyes as she continued to search for the ring.
"Don't be stupid. Rings don't write destinies. This is a symbol of Keith's love towards your mom and you. It symbolises his dream family which was you and Karen. That is why Karen gave it to you to give to Peyton. Hold on to it. You will regret it otherwise," Brooke said and placed the ring back in Lucas' hands.
"I already lost my dream. You!" Lucas said in a fit of emotions. The words flew out of his mouth before he realised what he was saying.
"What!" Brooke squealed.
"Ignore what I said," Lucas replied hastily. "God, that came out wrong. What I meant was that I am scared that I won't have Jamie living in Tree Hill."
"I should go," Brooke replied, eyeing Lucas up and down to surmise his intentions. With that, she walked towards where Nathan and Haley had their car parked with Jamie asleep in his car seat to drive them to the airport.
Lucas' words rang in Brooke's ears as she went to Marty to show that she was ready for her performance. He smiled when he saw her appearance. Her hair was high and tied with ribbons and her makeup was loud and accentuated. Her body was covered in some body glitter and he could see through her sheer bra.
"Good," he replied, licking his lips.
Soon enough, Brooke was announced and she was dancing on stage. She got on stage and smiled, grateful that the blinding lights hid every single face in the crowd. The music began and she took the first few seconds to get into the rhythm. Then she began, sultrily crouching down and widening her legs, to show her covered centre. Brooke got onto her knees and began to slowly crawl ahead towards the ramp to get closer to the crowd before standing up and dancing as the beats to the song picked up. She walked to the edge of the ramp and pushed her breasts towards a man's face who immediately groped them and felt them before slipping money into her panties. Then she moved to the next man and indicated that he unclasp her bra. The man fumbled and Brooke gave him a surprised expression, the crowd laughing and teasing the man who had in all honesty, been too surprised that he had been picked and hence, his brain had stopped working. Brooke pretended to unclasp her bra herself as the men got closer to the edge of their seats. Then she pretended to wonder, moving her fingers around as if she were contemplating who would it be. Men showed hands filled with dollar bills as Brooke put her hands close to her eyes to look further in the back. Picking the man raising the most number of bills in his hand, Brooke sexily walked to him and waited as he unclasped her bra. She gave him a smile and adjusted her hair as her naked breasts swung out. Then she smiled and watched as she stuffed her g-string with the bills he had promised her. Brooke sat on his lap for a moment as a thank you before strutting back up on stage and dancing towards the pole. She hooked her feet on the golden rod and climbed up, hanging upside down, snaking one foot around it and extending her other foot so that her covered vagina was on display and her boobs flowed out. She could hear the crowd cheer as she continued to swing from it. Brooke's mind was elsewhere. She was not in the club, she was not on stage, she was not on the pole, she suddenly found herself tuning out the people as she felt like screaming as the voice in her head grew louder and louder, "I lost my Dream, You!" Suddenly, Brooke began to feel very dizzy and before she realised, she slipped off the pole and landed on the stage with a thud.
"Oh God!" everybody screamed and stood up, surprised to find her pancaked on the stage.
Marty ran out as Brooke struggled with her ankle that she had twisted.
"What happened?" he asked.
"The rod must be slippery. I just fell," Brooke replied as the men she was entertaining walked to the stage, a few of them climbing up.
"Are you good to continue?" he asked. Brooke could feel pain, but she had yet to collect her tips and she needed to forget Lucas' words. Those weren't meant for her, they were meant for Jamie and Sam. She wasn't the dream and she would never be worth the dream.
Brooke nodded her head as she tried to stand up, but whelped the minute she put weight on her foot. Brooke hissed as the pain intensified.
"Should I call some girls to help you down and to the dressing room? Your leg is swelling up," Marty replied, concerned.
Brooke nodded her head and soon enough the other girls at the club ran to her. Brooke put her arms around their shoulders and they helped her off the stage and back to the dressing room. They got her some ice in a bag from the bar and Brooke propped her foot up, the coolness making it sting like a thousand needles were pricking her.
"Celeste, could ask Marty to round my tips for me, please?" Brooke requested. "I never got to go and collect them."
She nodded and ran out to where Marty was like a dutiful puppy. She really wasn't the brightest of the bunch.
Brooke could hear Marty go on stage and make an announcement, "Eh, sorry for that fellas. Accidents happen, I guess. Uh, Penelope can't go around to collect her tips, but can you hand them to Celeste for her?" he announced.
Many people were sceptical whether the tips would actually reach her and since she wasn't out there enticing them, Brooke made the lowest that night. She could not go give lap dances, or blow jobs, she could not dance on stage, she was out for the night to hobble home changing subways! Brooke jumped around the back room, going to her locker and unlocking it to pull out her sweats. She tried to find her bra, but then remembered that it was still somewhere outside on stage, perhaps. So she tugged her sweatshirt and returned to her chair to carefully put on her sweatpants, trying to be as gentle as she could with her injured ankle.
Once she had put her things away, she grabbed her bag and tried to walk out but she cried out in pain the swollen ankle was causing her. She could not afford a taxi back home. For a second, Brooke wished, if only Karen and Lucas were still in New York, she could go to their hotel room, but that wasn't the case. So she hopped and cried as she made her way home through the pain.
Just as Brooke had reached the subway stop taking thrice the time she usually did to walk there, she felt her phone vibrate in her bag and she stopped to pull it out, in case Jamie or Sam needed her, but she was surprised to see that it was Karen calling.
"Hey Karen," she greeted, answering the call as she still tried to take baby steps towards the subway station.
"Hey Brooke, is it a good time?" Karen asked. "How are Jamie and Sam?"
"They're good," Brooke said as she tried to avoid grunting.
"You don't sound alright, is everything fine?" Karen asked.
"Yeah, yeah, everything is good," Brooke said, although her attention was on the steps in front of her. Her hands gripped the railing as she tried to balance her phone using her head. Karen suddenly heard metro announcements in the background.
"Oh, are you outside?" she asked.
"I'm just heading home," Brooke replied.
"Okay, I actually called to let you know that Andy and I talked about what you suggested and we have both agreed that it should be Samantha's decision. We can suggest it to her and if she likes the idea, we go ahead with it. We would love to adopt her, she is already a part of the family, as Lucas and your daughter or as mine. I would love to raise another Brooke, especially since the first turned out to be such a phenomenal girl," Karen said.
"Phenomenal, how?" Brooke asked. She couldn't help but burst out laughing when she heard that. "Did you forget that I basically cheated on my best friend and slept with her boyfriend minutes after they broke up, had his baby in secret and kept it from him and his family for years?"
"Hey, you took in Sam and raised her so well despite your hardships, that is pretty phenomenal to me. I just wanted you to know that Andy and I are on board as long as it is what Sam wants," Karen stated again.
"Thank you! Thank you so much, Karen. I will talk to Sam tomorrow," Brooke replied.
"Okay, take care of my grandbabies, or grandbaby and daughter? Wow, I don't even know. Call me tomorrow after you talk to Sam and when Jamie is awake so I can talk to that sweet boy," I sure will, Brooke replied in a strained voice, panting as if she was running a marathon. She cut the call and continued the struggle to make it home.
Brooke unlocked the door and slipped and sat on the floor by the door, glad to have made it there. Her foot was hurting as if someone had sawed it in half. She hated that she lived so far out of the city. Sam heard the door bolt and was surprised that Brooke was home that early. She was usually at the club till 2 or 3 AM and it was barely midnight when she returned.
"Oh my God!" Sam yelled when she saw Brooke panting on the floor. "What happened?"
"I slipped while dancing on the pole and fell on my ankle," Brooke replied.
"Let me help you!" Sam said and got to Brooke's side to move her to the couch. "That thing looks nasty!"
"Yeah, it hurts like a bitch too," Brooke replied.
"Hey, language!" Sam joked as she went to the fridge and brought out a pack of frozen peas.
Brooke couldn't help but whelp when the bag made contact with her ankle.
"Brooke, I know you hate hospital bills, but do you want to go see the doctor and show your foot?" Sam asked.
"No, I will ice it and that should bring the swelling down. I'll be as good as new in a day or two," she replied. "I literally have body glitter on me and I don't think I can stand in the shower."
"Does body glitter like itch?" Sam asked.
"No, but it can after a while. I definitely shouldn't sleep with it, but I don't think I can make it to the shower. Also, can you please grab the money I made and lock it, I'll deposit it all when my leg is healed. I'm going to have to cancel tomorrow's shift at the hotel. I hope it's healed by night so I can make it back to the club," Brooke said.
Sam started shuffling around and put Brooke's money away. "Do you want me to call Lucas or Karen and let them know? Sucks that they aren't in the city to help."
"What no. I don't need to tell Lucas and Karen that I sprained my ankle. If it was Jamie or you, yes, I would have to, but they don't need to know about me," Brooke replied, shocked that Sam had suggested that.
"They care about you too," Sam explained her thoughts.
"Yes, but what are they gonna do? They're in Tree Hill and I can take care of myself," Brooke said matter of factly.
"Did you try to talk to Lorelai at all while you were in Tree Hill? What is taking them so long? I'll call Nancy tomorrow and ask her for the 411. I've seen adoptions go through, they're always quick for the perfect families and little babies." Brooke could read the questions Sam was too afraid to actually ask in her eyes. Did they not sell themselves well? Was it failing? The uncertainty in Sam's eyes broke Brooke's heart.
"Sam, you and I need to talk," she said and propped herself up so that Sam could squeeze on the couch where Brooke had extended her foot.
"While in Tree Hill, we met with Lorelai. We had the house inspection and she raised some concerning questions and she said that she was not going to recommend us for adoption."
"What! And you're telling me this now! Why?" Sam asked, screaming.
"I'm sorry," Brooke said, her eyes turning red as she tried to keep her tears at bay. Meanwhile, Sam had let go of the struggle and was allowing her tears to freely fall.
"No! Why! Did you and Lucas get caught?" Sam asked, her entire face turning red.
"No, she believed that we were together, but she dug up our past from High School and she ran the mill with it. We tried, we really did. I am so sorry Sam," Brooke said, but by then, Sam was inconsolable. She was weeping away at the edge of Brooke's couch. Despite the pain, Brooke moved her foot down and sat up so that she could wrap Sam up in her arms. Brooke pulled her and kissed her head, shushing her. Sam continued to cry as her hopes and dreams broke in front of her eyes.
"It's all going to be alright Samantha. I'm still here. We are all still here and we still love you," Brooke said, rubbing Sam's back.
"But we can't be a family. Why can't they let you adopt me?" Sam asked Brooke.
"I know. It really sucks and I am so sorry," Brooke replied, still enveloping Samantha.
"No!" she cried. "This is not fair! Now what?"
"Shh, it's alright honey. It's all going to be alright. I am still here. We are still together. Shh," Brooke said, rubbing soothing circles across Sam's back.
"But why? What problem did Lorelai have?" Sam enquired as she continued to cry in Brooke's arms.
"Everything about my past is a mess. I know that you don't know a lot about my past, but I used to be a bit of a mess and Lorelai knew all about wild Brooke from High School," Brooke said, rolling her eyes. "She knew that I used to be a party girl in High School and that Lucas and I had a love triangle. Plus, we are young with a child of our own and our parents…" Brooke didn't explain herself. It still pained her what Lorelai had informed her that her mother had said in her interview.
"So now, what are we going to do?" she asked, looking at Brooke vulnerably.
"Sammy, there are two options and they are totally your choice. Although I will ask you to consider both of them and take your time to make the choice. Really, really consider them. Use the night and tomorrow to think about it. It's the weekend anyway, but really take your time with this decision. Option 1 is this. We continue with what we had going on previously where you continue living with me while making appearances at your foster family's. Option 2 is that Karen and Andy adopt you. If they put in papers to get you, the process will take like, five minutes," Brooke said in at a slow pace so that her words would fully sink into the teenager's brain. Sam's mouth was hanging when she heard Option 2. She could not believe what Brooke was suggesting.
"You're suggesting that Karen and Andy adopt me?" Sam asked rhetorically.
"Yes. They're great parents, they're the right age to be your parents, they love you and I know you love them and they're millionaires, but millionaires with hearts. It's perfect for you," Brooke listed the pros.
"They live in New Zealand!" Sam screamt.
"Yes, that's the only con. But don't worry, they come to Tree Hill all the time to visit Lucas, so you can come with them and visit me and Jamie," she suggested.
"Wait, so if I go to New Zealand, you and Jamie go to Tree Hill?" Sam asked, her eyes growing wide as she connected the dots.
"Yes, but that isn't the point. We will stay in New York if that's what you want Sam. I promise you. This is your decision to make. Although, you will get your dream with Karen and Andy, only ten thousand miles alway," Brooke said.
"I'll go," Sam replied hastily.
"No honey, take your time with this. It's a big decision," Brooke said.
"I've made up my mind. I'll go," she repeated, decidedly. The stubbornness with which Sam made her decision made Brooke realise why she said it.
"Wait, Sam. Did you agree to New Zealand, so that Jamie and I could move to Tree Hill?" she asked.
"Obviously! This works out for everybody. You deserve to have a good life, away from these bad jobs," Sam replied. "Jamie deserves to be with his dad and you deserve to be with Lucas too."
"Okay, I'm going to call Karen," Brooke replied and asked Sam to pass her her cell phone.
"Hi Karen, sorry I know it's late but can we talk?" Brooke asked.
"Yes," Karen replied.
"I just talked to Sam about the adoption and we have reached a decision. Sorry, but Sam is going to continue to stay with me. We'll remain in New York until she turns 18. Sammy is a feral cat but she is my feral cat and I love her and I am going to continue looking after her whether the State and the agency like it or not," Brooke said, making Sam widen her eyes.
"What! No! That's not what I said!" Sam screamed, but Brooke held her hand against the receiver so that Karen could not hear her.
"I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay Karen?" she asked and cut the call.
"What are you doing!?" Sam asked although she couldn't hide the wide smile on her face.
"Eh, what are you going to do? I love you," Brooke replied with a shrug.
"But then Jamie has to live away from Lucas! That's not fair to him," Sam reminded her.
"We'll figure it out," Brooke replied.
"But how! Can you run your clothing company here? Aren't you registering it in Tree Hill?" Sam asked.
"We'll figure it all out Sam," Brooke replied.
"But, it's so much easier if I go to New Zealand. Everything works out if I do," Sam said.
"But I'll miss my feral cat too much," Brooke said and pulled Sam to cuddle with her.
"Ow! I think I got some glitter in my eye!" Sam said, dabbing her eye painfully as both the girls began laughing loudly.