"Hello Sir, uhh, Penelope Cruz is here. She said that she was told to come to your hotel room. We just wanted to check that it was you who hired, uh, I mean invited her," Lucas heard the guy at the reception desk ask on the intercom.
"Yes, send her up," Lucas said. Why was Brooke using her stripper name? It did not make any sense to him. He did not have to wait too long for answers as five minutes later, he heard a knock on his suite door. He opened it to see Brooke and Sam. He smiled at them and led the two inside.
"I see they gave you the imperial suite, not bad writer boy," Brooke remarked as she entered the room.
"Huh? How do you know that? Also, Penelope?" he asked, his face scrunching.
"I've been to his hotel a bunch of times, Lucas. The doorman, the concierge, the receptionist, they all know me and what I do," Brooke told him. Lucas went cold upon hearing that. His mind straight away went to Brooke sleeping with someone for money. He had obviously never dared to ask how far Brooke went. Chet had constantly complained that Penelope never slept with anybody. Did Chet not know? Had Brooke really gone that far?
Brooke caught the drift of Lucas' thoughts as his entire body became stiff. "Bachelor parties, Lucas! I'm the stripper, entertainment or whatever. I've even done some lesbian bachelorette parties. They are a lot more fun, very high school slumber party-esque. They can pay well sometimes and I don't have to give anybody a cut," she explained.
"Oh! Uhh, you guys must be hungry. We have pizza, but we can call for anything you guys want," Lucas offered. Sam's stomach growled instantly at the thought of food. She walked to the table and lifted the lid on the pizza box, munching the cold bread happily.
"Sam! What do we say?" she yelled, not believing the manners of her rugrat.
"Thank you," Sam said between mouthfuls of pizza.
"No problem. There's some for you too. I got you your favourite," he smiled, opening the lid to show a veggie lover's pizza with extra jalapenos and no corn. Brooke smiled and accepted a slice.
"Sammy, let me know when you're done eating. It will still take us a while to reach home," Brooke told her.
"Brooke, don't act ridiculous. It's really late. Sam is tired, Jamie is already sleeping and Brooke, you look exhausted. The hotel is closer to their schools. Just sleep here tonight," Lucas suggested.
"What? No! We don't want to intrude," Brooke said quickly.
"Good thing you're not intruding. I am offering. The couch has a pull out bed. Jamie is asleep in the room," Lucas said.
"Brooke, please can we stay? It's nice and warm here. I am really tired," Sam requested.
Brooke was put in a dilemma. Sam was right, the suite was large and warm. Yet, her stubborn side did not want to take any assistance from Lucas. She also felt shameful about the apartment she was renting.
Sam could tell she had struck a raw nerve, "You know what, home is a better idea."
"Sam, it's fine. We can stay. You really don't look up for taking the subway," Brooke swallowed her pride and allowed it.
"Thank you! I'm going to get ready for bed," Sam said and pulled out some clothes and toiletries from her duffel before making her way to the bathroom.
Brooke walked in and checked on Jamie. She ruffled his beautiful blonde hair and smiled. "Should I move him to the bed outside so that you can get the room?" she asked.
"No, let him sleep. Umm, he and Sam can share the bed and is the pull out okay for you?" Lucas asked.
"Where are you going to go then?" Brooke asked, kinking her eyebrow.
"Floor's fine," he said, not knowing better.
"The three of us can share a bed Luke, you sleep comfortably, well as comfortable a pull out couch can be," Brooke said.
Sam emerged from the bathroom ready for bed. "Got anything else in there that I can borrow for the night?" Brooke asked her.
"Uhh, I actually packed in the dark hurriedly, so I only have like 2 jeans and cropped tops, I'm sorry. I only had these sweats with me," Sam apologised.
"It's okay baby," Brooke said. Lucas knew how much Brooke hated sleeping in jeans. She abhorred it. Lucas went to the closet and took out a pair of his sweats and a t-shirt. She used to sleep in his clothes or rather just his shirt back when they were dating, if she even chose to put on a shirt that is. It could be good enough again.
"Here you go, Brooke," Lucas said, handing her his clothes. She smiled graciously and walked into the bathroom to get ready for bed as well.
Inside, Brooke smelled his clothing. They smelled the same. He was still using the same detergent and the same cologne. A smile instantaneously graced her lips upon inhaling the scent.
"Down girl. He gave Peyton the ring, not you," she reminded herself. She put on the clothes. Lucas had buffed up since High School while she had remained more or less the same. Birthing had widened her hips, but the hard life had her thinner than High School as well.
She took in her appearance in the mirror and found herself smiling back at herself for the first time. That was odd. She hated watching what had become of herself in the mirror. How was she looking back and smiling? She owned sweats too! Brooke chalked it up for fatigue and stepped outside. Sam was already on the other side of bed.
Brooke got between her kids and smiled. She stroked Sam's hair lovingly and the younger brunette sighed, grateful for her mother's love and affection.
"I have to ask you one thing though, how did you know that Lucas proposed to Peyton? I never told you and no, Lucas and I don't love each other anymore. We had a wild whirlwind High School romance and that's it. Lucas and Peyton are two peas in a pod. They are better suited for one another," Brooke said, trying to make the girl let go of the fantasy.
"I overheard Lucas telling you that. You identified the ring to be someone's? I did not catch the name though. The walls in our apartment are paper thin Brooke and you and Lucas were loud," she joked.
"He said Keith…. Keith was his uncle who raised him like his own son. He proposed to Karen, his mom. I was supposed to make their wedding dress. I even ordered the fabric for it. But, then we had a school shooting," Brooke told her.
"What! What do you mean by school shooting?" Sam gasped,
"It's a really long story. Peyton and I were entering school and Rachel, another friend of mine, had released a time capsule video that we had all made as a school project. It obviously wasn't supposed to be opened for ages but she leaked it. This guy Jimmy had spilled a lot of secrets on his tape and he got hazed for it. He was disturbed, lonely. He used to be friends with Lucas and Mouth, this other guy that I was really close to back then," Brooke continued.
"Mouth? Was he a good kisser? Also what did you say on that time capsule or whatever?" Sam interjected.
"You're never allowed to bring up my time capsule, ever! And Mouth was a sports announcer of the basketball games. He was a really really good friend of mine. He wound up being my prom date and I am glad that it was him and yeah, he wasn't a bad kisser. We only kissed once briefly the same night I conceived Jamie actually. He always had the biggest crush on me but he was my buddy, my pal! So on graduation night, after he got to know Chase, my then boyfriend dumped me, he dunked a beer, jumped off the roof and kissed me. It was a sweet kiss of friendship, nothing more," she continued to narrate, wondering how Mouth was and what his life had wound up like now.
"Then what happened to the guy with the gun?" Sam asked curiously. Brooke had never ever revealed that much to her.
"Peyton and I were walking towards a glass door. She was behind me. Suddenly this guy saw me and pointed a gun towards me. I pushed Peyton and ducked down as the shot rang through. Everyone screamed and there was a stampede around us. I wasn't hit so I stood up and tried to search for Peyton. She wasn't around me so I assumed she had run out too. Before I knew it, the kids had pushed me out of the door. Lucas and Nathan were late that day. We were dating when this happened. I ran to him and told him and our coach what had happened. Then I searched for Peyton outside. She wasn't there. Nathan had already jetted off inside as his wife, Haley, was in the tutor centre."
"Haley being Jamie's godmother who got married in high school?" Sam confirmed.
"Yeah, the one and only, rockstar tutor wife," Brooke said, smiling at the memory of one of her closest friends.
"Rockstar?" Sam asked.
"She had an album out and went on tour with the Wreckers. How many can of worms are we going to open today? All this began with a simple question of who Keith was!" Brooke laughed.
"What can I do? You're the one with a secret past life. Anyway, please continue. Did you go to any shows?"
"Oh I went to so many concerts. Karen, Lucas' mom opened an All Ages Club called Tric and Peyton got so many bands to play. We hung out backstage with the artists sometimes. It was incredible," Brooke smiled.
"Wow! It sounds like you had an awesome life," Sam said sadly.
"Yeah, it wasn't that bad a life. I had amazing friendships until I didn't," Brooke sighed.
"So then what happened with Jimmy after Nathan ran inside?" Sam asked.
"When I told them about Jimmy and the gun and worried about Peyton, Lucas ran in to save her. The glass door had the bullet ricochet and the bullet that was aimed at me, turned and lodged itself in Peyton's foot. He saved her, they kissed and cheated on me with their I Love You's. I was taken to a centre and surprise surprise, a parent had to come to take you out. Mine didn't live with me or care for me. Lucas' mom, Karen, was the closest I had to a parent, so I called her to come and get me. Keith stayed back at the school for went in to talk to Jimmy to turn himself in. I wonder to this day, maybe if I had not called Karen to get me, she maybe would have stopped Keith from going inside."
"What, Brooke no! That couldn't be your fault. Besides, didn't Lucas say his father killed him?" Sam asked.
"Yeah. Keith got to Jimmy but he was too far gone. Lucas saved Peyton but Keith didn't manage to save Jimmy. He used the gun on himself. Then, Dan walked inside and shot Keith. We didn't know for a very long time and just assumed that it was Jimmy, but there was a witness."
"All this sounds insane. Did you know him well, Keith?" she asked.
"Yes, very well. I loved him. He had such strong dad energy… Karen had gone to Italy for a culinary course and Keith was living with Lucas taking care of him. That is when we began dating and let's just say I showed Lucas a wild time leaving Keith answerable to Karen. You've seen that tattoo on Lucas' arm? Yeah…. His mom was not happy! I also remember when he had taken off for a while after he found out his brother was paying his fiance to catfish him and break his heart. Yeah Tree Hill was wild. When he finally returned, I saw him and just flung myself into his arms and he hugged me right back, although I was nothing more than his nephew's girlfriend. When he was taking care of Lucas, he was also looking after me. He really cared. I still miss him sometimes," Brooke replied, her eyes closing, remembering him.
"What about Lucas' mom? I mean her son was in a building with a shooter and she came to get you out of the centre or wherever you were," she continued to ask.
"Yeah, I was very very close to Karen. Even after Lucas and I broke up, I tried to stay in touch with her. My parents had moved out of Tree Hill to California for a job. Karen took me in. I stayed with her for a while and for the first time in my life, I got to have a real mom. She did not go easy on me and you know what, for a girl who came from no rules, I loved every second of it! She made me do chores, she grounded me, I had an allowance, a curfew, things I never had before," Brooke answered, feeling nothing but love and respect for the kind lady.
"Wait, hold on… what do you mean make you do chores and get an allowance? Isn't that how it works?" Sam interrogated. "I mean in foster care you have chores and no allowance, but I mean normally."
"Hmm… that is a story for another night. You need to sleep," Brooke said, tapping her nose gently.
"No! You opened up so much for the first time," Sam whined.
Brooke began humming a soft tune and playing with Sam's hair instead of answering her questions. Sam sighed and moved to her side to cuddle further into Brooke's arms. She was asleep within moments. Brooke lay Sam's head on the pillow and moved so that she could sleep as well. She pushed herself down on the bed and closed her eyes as well.
Jamie liked to move a lot in his sleep. He could spin cartwheels out there. As soon as Brooke had fallen asleep, he began stabbing and kicking her. The space on the bed was tight since it was three of them sharing the bed and Jamie was making it quite impossible for Brooke to sleep. Sam's foster training had made it possible for her to sleep through anything but Brooke couldn't.
Eventually, she got tired and got out of the bed. She walked outside into the living room area and saw Lucas on his laptop on the couch.
"Hey, why are you still up?" Brooke asked him, rubbing her tired eyes. She yawned and made her way to him.
"I had a new idea for a story and I needed to write it down before I lost it," he replied. "What are you doing up?"
"Jamie. That boy literally rotates on the bed. He has been kicking me since I laid down," she answered with a laugh. Another yawn escaped her.
"Here, why don't you take this bed?" Lucas offered, patting the space beside him.
Brooke smiled and considered rejecting the offer, but she was so tired and her body was in desperate need of some rest so she got onto the bed.
"I'm sorry we couldn't have our chat today. I will make it up to you. Tomorrow, after I finish my shift at the diner, I will come here directly. We can talk then," Brooke said to him.
"That will be great Brooke. Umm, do you want me to move?" Lucas asked as he looked towards the table.
"No, it's fine. Write your story. I'm sorry. I'm really tired. I can't stay awake," she whispered.
"Just sleep, Pretty Girl," Lucas smiled. Brooke smiled at him and before she could even register that she was sharing a bed with Lucas, she passed out in a state of deep sleep.
Lucas took a moment to look at her and saw her chest rise and fall with even breaths. He almost had an urge to hold her, but he kept to himself. The familiarity that Brooke provided was infectious. They had spent so many nights cuddling together. When they started dating the second time, Brooke had wanted to take things slow and he had agreed. So they had spent so much time kissing and cuddling and if he was honest, he missed that much more than being with her. He could meet his nose to hers before kissing her lips or leave kisses on her forehead and watch Brooke's eyes flutter at the feeling of being loved.
Then his mind wandered to Peyton. He hadn't heard from her ever since he said goodbye to her in LA. He looked at his laptop and suddenly felt too tired to write. So he put down the lid and slid under the covers too.
When Brooke's alarm rang in the morning, she felt startled as she felt herself enveloped in somebody's strong arms. Panic shot up her body as she lifted herself to look at who was beside her. She relaxed a little when she saw that it was Lucas. Memories of the night before came to her mind as she turned off her alarm. Lucas was living in a hotel which meant that he did not have supplies to cook. Plus they were much closer to Jamie and Sam's schools. Brooke's body instantly nudged her to go back to sleep. But sleeping meant curling into Lucas' arms. The pull out wasn't as large as the bed in the room.
Lucas' arms had slipped down when she had sat herself on the bed. He was still sleeping soundly. He looked cute sleeping, his face still had a broodiness to it. Brooke tried to get out of the bed but the warmth was so damn inviting. She reset her alarm and curled back into the covers, keeping away from Lucas' side.
The second time her alarm rang, she was the one who was cuddling with Lucas' body with her leg entwined with his. She hadn't shared a bed with anybody since well, Lucas. So, it had been almost four years. How was it so easy for her body to just fall into old habits?
She got out of bed and walked to the room to wake the kids up. Sam still had her things with her but Jamie didn't. She woke Sam first.
"Hi baby. Time to get up and get ready. Also, when you're done, can you help Jamie? Use the toothbrush that the hotel gives and put him in the same clothes. I need to figure out breakfast for the two of you," I told her once I had finally managed to shake her awake. "Also, try to keep it down. Lucas is still sleeping."
"Okay," Sam said. She knew that Room service would be expensive. She got ready and then tried to get the little gremlin out and about. Jamie was asking Sam a dozen questions while she tried to get him ready. He wanted to know where she had gone, when did they return, where his mom was and Sam wanted to follow Brooke's instructions and let Lucas sleep.
Brooke walked back into the room with bags of breakfast from a nearby cafe and placed it in front of her kids. She was grateful to find that they both were ready.
"Alright, Chocolate chip pancakes! My favourite!" Jamie grinned and said loudly, making Lucas wake up. "Finally! Good morning Dad!"
"Oh wow, good morning," Lucas said, rubbing his eyes.
"Hey Luke, I've got breakfast for you too. Uhh Sam, I need to return home because my uniform and things are at the house and I am going to be late for my shift anyway doing the trip. School is not that far from here. Do you think you could drop Jamie and go on your own today? Straight School and back, okay? You're still grounded. I want you to answer every phone call of mine every time I call."
"Yes, Nazi," Sam rolled her eyes at Brooke.
"Cool! Lucas, I got you some breakfast too. It's your favourite and there is coffee the way you liked it three years ago at least. I'm gonna head. Bye my babies!" Brooke said before kissing both their foreheads and bolting out the door.
"Wow, she's a whirlwind in the mornings," Lucas mumbled.
"You can go back to sleep if you want," Sam said as she ate her breakfast and sipped her extra sweet coffee.
Lucas went to the breakfast table and Sam handed him a plate. Brooke had got him his favourite breakfast. Blueberry waffles with a hint of cinnamon and coffee. He smiled at the ease and familiarity. New York could have been a strange cold and lonely place but Brooke made it easy.
"Can I walk to school with the two of you?" Lucas asked them.
They nodded their heads in synchrony. He was deeply falling in love with the idea of a family life with kids. No, he had wanted that with Peyton though! It was all so confusing.
That evening, Lucas got the same call again about allowing Penelope to come up. His throat burned as he said yes. He did not like that one bit for Brooke. When he heard the knock on the door, he opened it and saw Brooke on the other side. She looked a little sweaty and unkempt from working at the diner but she still had her jacket on. She gave him a shy smile as Lucas stepped aside to make way for her.
"Hi, umm, can I get you anything or do you maybe want to freshen up?" Lucas asked.
"Uhh, yaa," Brooke answered. She removed her jacket and stepped into the bathroom. Once she was fresh, she walked out and sat on the couch beside Lucas.
Lucas knew how Brooke was so while she was in the bathroom, he ordered some room service for them. If she remembered his favourite breakfast, he remembered her favourite dinner too.
"So, let's talk. First off, I already got him tested for HCM while I was pregnant and after he was born. He doesn't have it," Brooke started heard Lucas sigh with relief.
"Wow, that completely slipped my mind. I hadn't even thought about that. I mean I should have, I take my medication every day but I never even thought that Jamie could have it," Lucas answered.
"I've seen you get a heart attack at 17, Luke! It was scary watching both you and Haley be rushed to the hospital after Haley got hit by the mobster Daunte. I died when that happened. I wasn't taking any chances," she replied. "The doctors had asked me if either side had any medical history and I told them about your HCM. We tested it and he didn't have it." Lucas didn't know how to respond to that so he kept mum.
"I also got this for you. It's scrapbooks that I made. They cover all the big moments of his life," Brooke said, pulling them out of the bag that she was carrying.
Lucas eyed them like they were treasures of gold and silver. He took them and began to flip through them, smiling as he saw the pictures Brooke had placed with little inscriptions.
There were pictures at the hospital with Brooke carrying a bundled baby in her arms. Jamie looked so red and tiny as he slept on Brooke's chest. Brooke was watching him with tears in her eyes, an expression of undefinable joy on her face. His fingers were so little, his head had soft blonde tufts sticking out. He looked so perfect that Lucas' breath hitched. He flipped the page and saw a picture of his first food with a little inscription that said baby does not like peas. Jamie had a squished red face crying. She had his first day of pre K, his first haircut, his first basketball shot, his first storybook, a picture of him trying to crawl, a picture with Jamie's mouth open and an inscription that read - 'Jamie's first word.. Bapa.'
The next scrapbook had his first and second birthday. It had his birth certificate. Lucas' hand traced his name where Father was written. He saw his birthday was soon. He hadn't even known his birthdate. Lucas had wondered, but he felt a little strange to ask, like there had never been a right time. There were pictures of Brooke and Jamie blowing out candles in their apartment. They looked so happy.
The third covered random happy moments. There were images of Sam and Jamie eating ice cream, Jamie running in the park, him feeding the ducks, him holding a bunny rabbit at the petting zoo, him hanging upside down on Sam's shoulders. Some with him in Brooke's lap, just snuggled. Him hugging Brooke tight, sleeping cuddled in her arms. It was still bizarre because Brooke fit such an ideal description of mom when he saw those images that it was hard for him to fathom that she was only 21.
"His birthday is in two months!" Lucas remarked. "Thanks for these, Brooke."
She smiled at him. "Okay what questions do you have?"
"What does Jamie like and hate? What are his favourites?"
"Uhh, wow! Umm… He loves reading stories and he loves basketball, just like you. He is the oddball who actually loves school though he hates waking up in the morning. He loves going to the park to play but on some days, especially gloomy rainy days, he just wants to sit at home and cuddle or get under a blanket and watch cartoons. He doesn't like sleeping in the dark. He is terrified of storms. If it is storming, he will not allow me to go to the club to work. His favourite food is anything with chocolate,"
"Just like you!" Lucas cut in.
"Yeah, he loves chocolate as much as me. He isn't too fussy but he isn't a fan of peas and sprouts," she said with a chuckle.
"What was it like when he was a baby?" Lucas asked.
"Wow, it was…. Different and yet wonderful and so scary. I was doing it all alone. I didn't have any experience with a child. The nurses at the hospital taught me how to make him latch for feedings and how to give him a bath, but they didn't teach me how to deal with a collicky baby. It was insane, but I knew what I was getting into. I was clear so none of it mattered. I loved him so much that despite all the sleepless nights, I had my composure through it all. I only had myself to rely on and he only had me to depend on for everything. I never complained and he would show me his cute baby blues and I knew we would be okay," she answered.
"Umm, when do we tell Nathan and Haley? And my mom? Our family?" he asked her, easing into the difficult part of the conversation.
"I don't want to because I cannot explain this, any of this. Lucas, I can tell myself every single day that you and Peyton had broken up. But what we did was wrong and I can't face them. I kept this huge secret for years!" she said, her eyes wide with horror at the idea of our family knowing.
"Brooke, they deserve to know him. I want Jamie to know his grandma and his aunt and uncle. How can I ever keep them away from my son!? And this isn't about Peyton," he argued.
"Yeah, you're right. You can tell them, of course. Just please can you promise me that you will not give them my contact number or address or anything. I'm sure they will see Jamie eventually when we work out some arrangement but I cannot go back," she requested.
"Fine. I promise," Lucas acquiesced.
"Karen is going to hate me! Nathan and Haley are going to be so mad. I made them his godparents without even asking them," Brooke shuddered as she put her head in her hands, bedding down to lay her hand and hands in her lap.
"I think they will feel honoured," he said, trying to change Brooke's perspective.
"Can you wait until you return to Tree Hill to break the news?" she pleaded.
"Yeah, sure. But Brooke, we need to address the elephant in the room. I can't be in his life for just a few days. He is my son! I want him to see Tree Hill." Lucas addressed their main concern.
"Lucas, you cannot take him away from me! I don't have much, but I will fight with every last penny and breath in me for that boy. He is my everything! I have never spent a night away from him. He hasn't been away from me!" she cried.
"Brooke, I will not take him away from you! I have promised you that I won't. Stop getting so defensive. I am just saying that I don't want him away from me either. We have to come to some sort of arrangement! That is all I am saying," he yelled, shaking his head, knowing Brooke was going to create hurdles for him to jump over.
"But how? What will we even do?" she shuddered to think about being alone at night…. and the fact that Jamie was definitely going to love Tree Hill more than New York and choose to stay with his father. Then she wouldn't know what to do. "If Sam's social worker comes to know that I took her to another state, I am done for. She is a child of the state. I will be pressed with kidnapping charges. Right now we can still pretend that Sam is just staying at a friend's place. Crossing state lines without her legal guardians' permission is a huge felony and I am not leaving her here alone. She has to be there for checks and inspections when Nancy comes."
"We can't make Jamie run to and fro between us. That is ridiculous. He is 2 years old," Lucas said. Brooke rolled her eyes as Lucas stated the obvious.
"Maybe I can move here, to New York," he said sacrificially. What other choice did he have? Brooke was just too damn stubborn and the situation seemed impossible.
"You shouldn't have to uproot your life. Nathan and Haley are there. You coach the Ravens there. Tree Hill is home," she said the last sentence so meaningfully, a lump formed in her throat.
"It's your home too," Lucas reminded her. Brooke smiled but the smile was more like she had accepted and made peace with what was. "But I guess yeah, the best solution is that I move here."
"No! You're not uprooting your life for us! Please, I don't want you to have to do that for me," she pleaded.
"I'm not doing it for you! I'm doing it for me! For my son! So that I can have an actual relationship with him. The son that you kept from me!" Lucas screamed at Brooke. Tears pricked Brooke's eyes and she remained very quiet. "You kept him from me! He could've had a father since day 1 but you have to have it your way. You have to have your impenetrable walls up and nobody is allowed inside because the only way is the Brooke Davis way!
"And I want to take him to Tree Hill for vacations and things so that he can hang out with his family and get the feel of home. Summer, Christmas, Thanksgiving… every family holiday. He has a family and I want him to feel the love of family."
"Vacations!? They are so long! It will be too hard for him. He has never been away from Sam and I," Brooke tried to get the words out but her airways seemed to have closed.
"It's the best idea. Jamie needs to see his family. That is important Brooke and you know it," Lucas answered trying to keep his voice decibels low.
She sighed and nodded her head but her face was crestfallen and her heart was breaking at the thought of being away from her son for a long period. He and Sam were her only real family, ever. It shouldn't be that hard to fight for both of them but it just was and Lucas was right. She knew it
"Yeah… yeah, you are right. I guess I do have to meet you halfway somewhere, but Peyton is in LA, Lucas. If you really want to leave Tree Hill which I know you don't, you should move to LA to be with Peyton. You can call Jamie every single day and come visit us every moment that you can and you deserve to spend the holidays with him. I'm just saying that take your time to think about it. Don't uproot your life because of a hasty decision," she said to him softly, making peace with their decisions.
"You left your house with your mother in a haste for Jamie," Lucas reminded her that she had made the same choices he was making.
"Yeah but that was because she didn't want me. Nathan and Haley want you. Peyton may not admit it, but she wants you," Brooke replied, showing that their situations were not at all the same. In fact they were poles apart.
"Brooke, can we talk about you?" he asked slowly, knowing he was traipsing into a territory he wasn't invited to.
"No, we only talk about Jamie," she quickly shut him down.
"Fine, I want to help you out with Jamie and Sam's expenses. We split them 50-50," he said authoritatively to show that he was not going to budge on that.
"No, there is no need and where did Sam come from?" Brooke asked incredulously.
"Brooke, I wasn't asking. Jamie is my son and I don't want to differentiate between Jamie and Sam. I want help. I need this to be a partnership which means that I put in as much as you do. I'm not saying I will pitch more. I'm coming with you at an equal," he tried to make her understand.
"Lucas, I'm good. Jamie is good with what we have. Kids don't need that much," she sighed, afraid of the strings help came with. She had asked for help with Clothes over Bro's and that had resulted in her losing it so quickly when she couldn't even suspect that that could happen. Here, she was already terrified of Lucas and the State.
"Brooke, it's happening whether you like it or not. Either you tell me or I figure out an amount on my own. You will be receiving child support either way," Lucas was not budging either. If the going got tough, the tough got going!
Brooke sighed but kept quiet. If she got half of what she needed, she could probably rent a better living space or maybe take a night off from the club! Whoa, that seemed so wild to her. She had been working and hustling non stop for far too long now.
"Brooke, I know you're scared about everything but is there any way at all to get Sam's legal custody? There has to be something that we can do? If we figure something out, you can consider coming back to Tree Hill. Even if you don't admit it, your face is telling an entirely different story. Your eyes sparkle at the mention of Tree Hill. It is obvious that you miss it," he tried once again softly.
"Lucas, I'm literally repeating myself. I can't cross state lines with Sam. She is not legally mine or in my care and I cannot ask for her because of my job. I make waitress wages with no benefits and I already have a biological son to take care of as a single parent. I don't check any of the eligibility boxes," she huffed. Didn't he know her? Did he really think she would rest or give up on the dream of adopting Sam? But no situation was in her favour. All she could do was wait until the girl turned eighteen.
"But I can! I have a salary and benefits and other lines of income. I will put my name on the damn documents to foster her!" he answered as if he had had a really bright idea.
Brooke couldn't believe that he could think of something that dumb. He was supposed to be smart. She rolled her eyes and answered him, shutting his stupid idea down, "Lucas, Sam is 15 and you're a 21 year old guy! You can't."
"And so many others can? Guys who actually hurt her?" He was pissed at the system and how it was just against them.
"Yeah but they have wives, terrible wives but they do. Two parent households are always preferred instead of one," Brooke informed him.
"Brooke there is no way in hell I am letting you live like this and sell yourself. I am going to help you stop that job," he cried, rubbing his face in anger and confusion.
"Lucas, you have no authority to tell me what to do!" Brooke argued. She could not be dependent on him. She would not ever be dependent on anyone. She had seen the worst to know she never wanted to go back there and drag her kids with her. She never wanted Jamie to see a homeless shelter or foodless nights.
"But he is my son, dammit!" Lucas exclaimed. Brooke went silent. "Brooke, I will figure it out. Sam and you will come home with me. I promise. We will leave this place together."
"Stop it," she said a little too quickly.
"What, you want to be a stripper your whole life?" he asked her angrily.
"Just stop!" she begged.
"I can't not do anything about this. It's not right," Lucas argued.
"I'm not yours to fix and make right," she cried. Her words were barely audible as her voice was ragged and hoarse, her voice completely choked.
"You're my friend, Brooke. Friends don't leave friends to drown in horrible situations," he said.
"We haven't been friends in a long time," Brooke chuckled.
"Brooke please. We will find a way with Sam. There has to be something we can do," he said, needing her to hold hope.
"It's getting late, Lucas. I need to get to the club," Brooke said, shuffling to her feet. They heard a knock on the door and Lucas opened it to allow the bellboy to place the tray of food he had ordered on the table.
Brooke didn't even bother with it. She grabbed her bag and entered the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, she emerged in jeans and a t-shirt but they hid her shiny bra. Lucas could see a bit of the strap poking out.
He knew that there was no way to stop her, so Lucas remained silent as Brooke walked out the door with questions of her own this time. She absolutely hated that he actually gave her an inkling of hope.