24 hours had passed since the shoplifting incident. Brooke's initial anger had worn off, and she was becoming increasingly guilty with every passing second. She was alone since Sam was at school, and the silence in the house seemed to amplify the weight of her guilt.
Unfixable.
She knew she was wrong to say it. After she'd cooled down and had some time to reflect, she'd regretted that word ever coming out of her mouth. She was still upset with Sam, but she certainly wished she would have handled the situation differently.
On top of the situation with Sam, she'd also found out that Julian was leaving town for good. They'd finally talked on the phone yesterday, and he'd informed her that the movie fell through and he would be returning to LA within the next week or so. So much for trying to work through things, Brooke thought dejectedly. It's no use to work on our relationship if he's leaving.
"Brooke?" A voice came from the doorway.
Speak of the devil. Brooke's heart skipped a beat when she realized the producer had let himself into her house. She took a deep breath and tentatively made her way to face him.
"Hey," she said, stopping at the staircase before she reached the door. She was slightly surprised to see him standing there; she hadn't invited him over, and he hadn't said anything about coming over either. "I was gonna call you, but…"
"But I said I loved you, and you didn't say it back, and I said it was fine…" Julian looked at her sadly and shook his head. "... But it wasn't."
Brooke's heart fell. Her worst fear was confirmed: She was losing him forever. "Yeah," she smiled sadly, swallowing back the lump in her throat.
Julian stepped closer to her. "I heard about, um Sam and the whole shoplifting thing."
Brooke swallowed, feeling ashamed of herself all over again.
"But, the thing is, it wasn't her fault," The boy continued. "She was just covering for Jack, and, you know, she promised she wouldn't tell."
Brooke stared at him in horror. Suddenly all of Sam's protesting and defensive behavior made sense, and she felt like an idiot for not giving the kid a chance to explain herself. A few hours after their fight, Sam had bitterly asked for permission to leave the house and Brooke had grunted out a 'whatever,' in response. Now the mother knew that Sam had gone to see Julian, and it made her feel beyond horrible that Sam had felt the need to escape to Brooke's boyfriend. "I called her unfixable," she blurted out, shaking her head in disbelief.
"I know," Julian nodded sympathetically. "But she's not. And you know she's not, because she loves you. And so do I." He paused for a moment before continuing. "And you know what that's okay, because sometimes the beauty is in the attempt. I got to go."
He walked in closer and wrapped Brooke in a gentle hug, which she gratefully accepted. Despite their recent issues, she wanted nothing more than to be held by him.
"This is crazy, I don't want you to go," Brooke said, almost desperately.
"And I don't want to go," Julian told her gently. "But I have to." He released her from his embrace and tenderly kissed her forehead before turning to leave.
"Julian, I…" Brooke tried, now teary eyed and trying hard not to burst into tears. But she couldn't say it. Not yet. Instead, she just looked at him pitifully.
"I'm gonna miss you, Brooke Davis," was the last thing Julian said before he carefully turned to close the door.
Only after he was gone did Brooke allow herself to break down.
After 20 minutes of crying into her pillow and feeling sorry for herself, the designer decided that enough was enough and it was time to right her wrongs with Sam. She could cry over Julian later. Brooke forced herself up out of bed and went to pull herself together in the mirror, fixing her messy hair and cleaning off her tear stained cheeks. She was determined to find Jack and hear his side of the story, even if it took her all night.
She marched into the Dixie Grill 5 minutes later, plopped down in a booth, ordered a coffee, and waited. She knew this was where Jack was most likely to show up, since Sam had spent many nights sitting there waiting for him herself. Besides, it's not like Jack had anywhere else to go. Brooke was certain he was still in the area.
Brooke checked the time an hour later and realized that Sam would be home from school by now. The teen hadn't even bothered texting to ask Brooke where she was, and that fact saddened the mother. Sam's probably glad I'm out of the house.
Another 30 minutes passed, and Brooke was beginning to lose hope. The sun was setting and there was still no sign of the floppy haired boy. She was about to give up after another 20 minutes, but then, it happened. Jack Daniels walked through the diner door and sat a few booths down. Brooke took her shot and quickly moved to sit across from him.
"Hey," the woman made herself known and Jack looked up, startled to see her.
"Ms. Davis, uh, hi," he said awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable. His eyes darted around nervously and Brooke could tell that he was looking for an excuse to flee.
"I'm glad I caught you, I've been meaning to talk to you," Brooke said, her voice full of concern. She in no way wanted to frighten the boy and make him feel uneasy with her; she just wanted to have a civil conversation.
"Why?" Jack asked nervously. Oh no, had Sam snitched about the shoplifting? She'd promised not to though!
"I know about how you shoplifted and how Sam took the blame for you," Brooke said gently, not accusatory or angry.
Jack swallowed and looked down at his lap. Brooke must hate him now. "I'm sorry," he said sullenly, not making eye contact. "I didn't mean to get Sam in trouble."
Brooke sighed. "I know you didn't." She paused briefly before continuing. "Sam really cares about you, Jack. She's worried, and so am I."
Jack slowly lifted his eyes to meet hers. An adult figure telling him they were worried about him was a foreign concept to him. He was used to fending for himself, so it was weird hearing Brooke talk to him this way.
Brooke stared into the deep brown eyes across from her and she could see the hurt and confusion behind them. It was true; she wasn't upset with Jack, she was genuinely worried for him.
"Do you shoplift often because you don't have money for food?" She asked softly, scared to hear his answer.
A fierce blush rose to Jack's cheeks and he gave a slight nod. "I'm sorry," he murmured again. "I just don't have a lot of other options, you know?"
Brooke nodded slowly, her heart hurting for the teenager. "I understand," she assured him. "I can't imagine what you must be going through. It must be really hard for you to be dealing with all of this all by yourself," she said sincerely.
Jack shrugged. "It's all good, I'll figure it out," he sighed. "And I know shopliftings bad… I'll, I'll stop, I promise."
Brooke took a deep breath and slowly pulled out a wad of cash from her pocket, sliding it towards the teen. "This is enough to last you at least a couple of months. Jack, I don't want you to worry about affording food or other necessities. Take this, and when you run out, please come to me and I'll give you more. I want to help you."
Jack's eyes widened at the money. "Oh, I-I can't accept this Ms. Davis. I can't ask you to do this for me," he choked out.
"You don't have to ask. I'm offering. And you can just call me Brooke," She shot him a small smile. "You deserve to be taken care of. Come over and spend the night tonight, I know Sam really misses you and wants to see you." Part of the mother wanted to invite Jack to live with her temporarily, but she knew that she couldn't handle another teenager right now. Money and support was the best thing she could offer.
Jack smiled slightly and hesitantly took the money on the table "Thank you so much," he whispered, his voice cracking with emotion.
"Of course. Seriously, Jack, don't be afraid to reach out to me and ask for help," Brooke looked at him tenderly, and the boy nodded. "Cmon, let's go back to the house." She rose to her feet and Jack followed her lead. "Oh, and for the record, Sam kept your secret from me. She only cracked with Julian. She's a true friend."
"She is," Jack agreed. "I can't wait to see her."
"Wait out here for a minute, okay?" Brooke instructed once her and Jack got back to the house. "I need to talk to Sam real quick. I'll call for you when you can come in."
"Okay," the boy nodded.
Brooke entered the house to find her foster daughter doing homework at the kitchen island.
"Hey," she greeted softly when Sam looked up apprehensively. Brooke slowly walked closer, "I owe you an apology."
Sam turned away and looked down without saying a word, trying to appear apathetic. But when Brooke walked right up behind her, the mother's presence became harder to ignore.
"Sam," Brooke said, prompting the girl to turn around and face her. "You are not unfixable. Okay?" she said with a serious demeanor, holding Sam at arms length and staring directly into her eyes. Sam looked down and nodded slightly.
"Come here," Brooke whispered, pulling the young girl in for a warm hug. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm really sorry."
Sam smiled over Brooke's shoulder and melted into her. It felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders and she could breathe again.
Slowly, Brooke pulled back but still didn't let her go. "But I found you something to show you how sorry I am," her eyes were glimmering. "Hey!" She called towards the door, and Jack opened it, peeking his head around the corner. The corners of Sam's mouth curled into a small smile when she saw her friend, and she sat up straighter.
"No boys in your bedroom," Brooke said with a raised eyebrow as she smiled lovingly at the girl before leaving to give the two teens some privacy.
Sam got up off the stool she was sitting at and grinned. "Hey," she said softly.
"Hey," Jack gave her a goofy smile back.
"Well, close the door, you idiot, you live in a barn or something?" Sam scoffed playfully.
"You're the idiot," Jack shot back, causing Sam to chuckle.
She approached him and instantly pulled him in for a hug. "I missed you," she whispered.
"I missed you too."
"So, uh, I'm sorry about the whole shoplifting thing…" Jack told her once he was settled in and the two were sitting on the couch together. "I really appreciate you taking the fall for me. I hope you didn't get in too much trouble with Brooke or anything," he sighed.
"No, Jack, it's okay," Sam grabbed his hand and squeezed it softly. "I'm fine. I know you can't afford to get caught in a situation like that, so don't worry about it, alright?"
"Thanks. I owe you one."
"Yeah you do," Sam teased. "It's not fun experiencing the wrath of Brooke Davis," she laughed.
"I bet. She's scary."
Sam smirked. She thought that his slight fear of her foster mother was adorable. "You're such a wimp, she is not scary," Sam couldn't help but poke fun at him.
Jack's face turned beet red. "Whatever," he chuckled. "She does seem pretty cool, giving me money and letting me spend the night here and all."
Sam nodded. "Yeah, she's the best." A comfortable silence overtook the room before Sam started to rise from the couch. "Well, I'm gonna go get ready for bed. I'll see you in the morning."
"Okay, goodnight Sam."
"Night, Jack."
