The party was in full swing. Sam was being fed to the brim by Karen and Haley. "Guys, these are my meals for a week that you are expecting me to have in one night!" she complained.
"Oh, there's still cookies that I have for you and Jamie. He told me that you loved the ones I sent for you with him," Haley said.
"Oh! Wow," Sam was officially overwhelmed.
"You good out here, Sammy?" Brooke asked as she circled to the kitchen with Bevin in tow.
"Uhh, umm, yeah, I guess," she replied. She was not used to the attention. She felt herself wanting to creep into the shadows again for a bit.
"Why don't you go explore the house for a bit? You never got a chance to fully explore the first floor and the backyard," Brooke offered.
"Yeah, that's a good idea!" Sam said, feeling grateful to get some time away. Brooke smiled and saw her teen slip out of her chair and move towards the backyard.
"I'm going to go put Jamie to bed," Brooke replied. It's going to be hard. I swear it's like the boys have got an excuse to be how they actually want to be thanks to the two-year-old!" The women laughed.
"Brooke, have you eaten?" Karen asked, eyeing the young mother.
"Yeah, I did! I promise," Brooke replied and left to go find Jamie. He was playing video games with the boys, as expected.
"Come on, little man. It's time for bed," Brooke said.
"Aww, man! Please can I play one more game, mama? I am really not tired," Jamie said as he tried to stifle a yawn.
"Not tired, huh?" Brooke played along. "But Skills and Junk and Fergie here are tired, aren't they?"
The boys looked scared as they were put in the spotlight. They were still so new to being around kids. Brooke gave each of them a menacing look warning them that if they didn't agree with her, they would have her wrath to face.
"Yeah, tired. So tired, J Luke. I tell you what, why don't we continue the game another day, dawg?" Skills said as he pretended to yawn loudly.
"We are all going to go to bed now?" Fergie said with confusion. Jamie's big eyes watched them and he was not convinced.
"See, Jamie, everyone is going to go to bed. So, come on," Brooke replied.
"Can we play again tomorrow?" Jamie asked.
"You bet!" Skills replied and gave a big hug to Jamie.
Brooke mouthed a 'thank you' and went to look for Lucas. She guessed that he deserved to be there to put Jamie to bed as well. She smiled at all the people she passed and finally found him in the backyard talking to Sam.
"So Brooke was rich, popular, sexy and liked by the jocks and the nerds of the school?" Sam asked Lucas.
"Yeah, pretty much," he replied with a smile. "Don't get me wrong, she didn't know who I was or any of my friends until I joined the varsity football team, but she was never mean to us. But I mean, nobody always knows everybody out of their cliques, right? We had a phenomenal teacher when we went to school who gave us a very different yearbook picture assignment. He asked Haley what my middle name was and she spat it out without having to think twice. Now, diagonal to me, a girl named Glenda sat. He asked me what her last name was and I didn't know it. She was a goth, you could say, so I never spoke to her despite being in the same class since middle school. We got paired up for an assignment and she was the very first person to read my novel or even know that I was writing one. I thanked her in the acknowledgements of my book. Her notes were helpful because she was an outsider. She got to read it from a fresh perspective."
"Did Brooke know Glenda?" Sam asked.
"Actually, even Brooke has a similar story with Glenda. On the day of our school shooting, when my Uncle Keith died, Brooke was stuck in the centre and she needed an adult to bail her out. So she was there for a really long time."
"Yeah, Brooke told me how your mom came to get her, despite you being in the school with an active shooter," Sam put in.
"Yeah, but I mean, of course, she went to get Brooke," Lucas replied nonchalantly.
"Weren't you upset that she left?" Sam asked, curiosity getting the best of her.
"No, not even for a moment. My mom was kind of the mother figure for a lot of my friends. Haley hung out with her at the cafe where she worked with her. Plus, after she married Nathan, her parents took off. So when Nathan and Haley struggled with bills, it was my mom who helped her. Peyton didn't have any family around, so my mom was there for her too. Deb was well, in rehab so much that Nathan had my mom's support as well, if I remember correctly," Lucas said.
"Wow, was she the mom of Tree Hill?" Sam joked.
"You could say that," Lucas replied with a chuckle. "She really was the best. Anyway, when Glenda's mom came to get her, she sought Brooke and asked her if she knew where her daughter was because Glenda had lied to her mom and said that she was best friends with Brooke Davis."
"How would Glenda's mom know who Brooke Davis was?" Sam asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Oh, everybody in town probably knew Brooke Davis. The Davis' were the richest family in town. Brooke ruled the school, she ruled the colleges nearby. She was on every committee for every extra-curricular activity, every banquet, prom, wedding, reception, bonfire, you name it. If Brooke was not involved in the planning, the event was not happening. Plus, the whole town seemed to have a crush on her, uhh, grossly, including my dad," Lucas said, his face having a look of absolute disgust as he said the last part.
"What!" Sam shrieked.
"Yeah, he would creepily ask her to save him a dance at these fêtes, banquets, whatever, that he hosted for the basketball team. He would look at her lasciviously, it made me want to punch his eyeballs out. But, you need to realise that this is a small town. Everyone in town came to attend the basketball games. They were like the main event on Friday night and everyone saw the head cheerleader do her routine," Lucas explained.
"Damn, this tiny town sounds boring!" Sam complained. "Anyway, so what happened with Glenda's mom?"
"Brooke didn't know who Glenda was, but her mom claimed that Brooke was her daughter's best friend. Brooke pretended to have heard her name incorrectly and agreed with her mother. Then she went to look for her. She took her role as the student body president really seriously. She found Glenda and actually hung out with her, apologised for not knowing her. Brooke cried so much that day about that incident. Jimmy was shooting the school because nobody knew him. Glenda had to lie to her mom about who her friends were. She somehow felt responsible. Brooke always made it a point to greet her when she saw her and become a friend. They didn't change lunch tables, but Brooke was amicable. We all were to her."
"Brooke told this to you?" Sam asked.
"No! Not at all. That girl was always walls up. Glenda told me. She saw Brooke run out and cry. She saw her fight with the news reporters who were harassing scared students for a punchline for their news reports. Brooke always rallied up for people," Lucas replied.
"Is that why Brooke won Student Body President?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, she won because she was kind and confident and courageous and honest," Lucas replied.
"Well, she isn't honest anymore," Sam said, her suppressed hurt and anger coming out.
"Hey, yeah, she didn't tell you the whole truth about her past, but she did it because she cares," Lucas said to his foster daughter, squeezing Sam's shoulders.
"Aren't you angry? She lied to you too! A much bigger lie than she told me," Sam asked, wanting Lucas to validate her feelings.
"Brooke is a complicated person. As much as she and Peyton fought, they loved each other more than anybody and anything on the planet. They would each sacrifice themselves for the other's benefit. They only had each other to rely on, growing up, and I screwed it up with both of them in High School. I was an ass and I am the reason Peyton doesn't know that her best friend has a son," Lucas said. "And what I feel about Brooke and her lie is not something that concerns you at all. Don't worry about me and Brooke."
Brooke couldn't help but take a sharp involuntary breath hearing that. The name Peyton still immediately sent a pang of hurt to her heart. Peyton was and would always be an open wound. Lucas was right, it hurt more to hide Jamie from Peyton than it did to hide him from Lucas though lying to Lucas was the bigger sin she had committed. Both Sam and Lucas spun around when they heard Brooke's sharp breath.
"Oh, Brooke, what are you doing here?" Lucas asked.
"Uhh, I was looking for you, actually. It's time to put Jamie to bed and I figured you would want to help," she replied. Lucas saw Jamie whose head was already lolling in Brooke's arms.
"Yeah, let's go upstairs," he replied and all four of them went up.
"Can you hold him? I'll get his toothbrush and PJs from the bag," Brooke said and left the room to get Jamie's things.
"Hey Lucas, umm, you said that you, uhh, thanked Glenda in the acknowledgements. Whom did you dedicate the book to?"
"To Peyton," came his simple reply. He went on to say something else, but Brooke sauntered back into the room.
"Okay, come on Jamie, let's get you ready for bed," Brooke spoke to him and perched him on her hip to take to the bathroom. Once she had helped him brush his teeth and change his clothes, she put him in his new bed.
Since he was already tired. Brooke didn't bother with a bedtime story. She softly began humming a tune and caressing his soft blonde hair. Jamie's eyelids grew heavy in a matter of minutes. Lucas watched as the little boy's breaths evened out and soon enough, he was in deep slumber. The three of them quickly slipped out of the room. Brooke turned on the nightlight and turned off all the other lights, before keeping the door ajar and walking out.
"Guys, is it okay if I retreat for the night as well? I mean I love your friends but I'm all tuckered out," Sam requested.
"Of course, baby. Andy put the boxes with your things in your room already. We can unpack them tomorrow. Do you need anything from the suitcase? That's in my room."
"No, I have my toothbrush and PJs in my backpack from Liz's. I'll be fine," Sam smiled.
"Wait, new house, new dynamics, new rules," Brooke laid down the law.
"Fair, let's hear them," Sam said, expecting that.
"Breakfast, 7 a.m. sharp, curfew 9 pm on school nights, 11 pm on weekends, you answer every phone call, let me know your whereabouts and since you have your own bedroom now in a house you can actually invite people over to; no boys allowed in the bedroom, no boys allowed in the house when Lucas or I are not present. There will be a chore chart that will come up soon and you have to assist. No sneaking out, no underage parties, no drinking, no smoking, no drugs, participation in school activities is encouraged and homework has to be completed on time as always even though you're going to a public school again which doesn't require a scholarship," she said.
"So basically no fun. No problem, I can live with these rules," Sam said, not expecting to make a lot of friends and it wasn't like there was much to do in Tree Hill after 9 anyway.
"Okay, good night," Brooke said and kissed Sam's head.
Sam gave them an awkward smile and wave before entering her room and closing the door behind her. She still felt giddy about having four walls all to herself. Sam turned on the fairy lights that hung over her bed and her swing. She looked out of her window and saw the gorgeous view of the enormous backyard and pool that the house came with. She sat on the swing and gently rocked on it, taking in the sights. Then, she ripped open the box that contained her new MacBook and began to set it up while video calling Liz to show her her new room. It was bigger and better than Liz's room and Sam had always been jealous of Liz's room. She appreciated the room she had at Brooke's, but the idea of sleeping without a coat on was so nice. The house had the perfect temperature.
"Hey, Sam!" Liz said when she picked up Sam's call request. Sam gave a wide smile before flipping the camera and slowly showing Liz around.
"Oh my God! What! Shut up! Get out of here! That's your new room!" Liz shrieked.
"Unbelievable right!" Sam replied, her tone mimicking Liz's excitement.
"I am so jealous! You get to have a swing in your room! Mine barely fits my single bed! You get a nice double bed all to yourself and what do I see there? Is that a new laptop?"
"Yup, Lucas pulled in all the stops for me. It was really sweet what he did for me, Brooke and Jamie. I can't believe I get to live here, have my own room, have a family, a home. It's unbelievable, really," Sam said, getting vulnerable.
"Oh, I am so happy for you Sam! You deserve it!" Liz said. "Mike and Norma truly are terrific. You lucked out."
"Oh, there's something I need to come clean about. Brooke and Lucas are not Mike and Norma. We lied to you. You see, I met Brooke at a diner where she was waitressing and she got to know that my real foster parents, Mike and Norma, were terrible humans. They didn't care about me. They never fed me. They just wanted the welfare cheques. There wasn't even a bed in the house for me because the house was overcrowded with foster kids who only fought for food and things. So Brooke, the girl you met, took me in. She was a single mom, only 21 herself, so she could not adopt me. So, I lived with her while the social workers thought I lived with Mike and Norma because they were my legal foster parents. Brooke pretended to be Norma at school for my sake. Then Lucas, who is Jamie's father and Brooke's ex, came back into her life. He wanted Brooke and Jamie to live close to me but that would mean letting me go. So, together, they worked really hard to get my custody. So no, Mike and Norma are miserable excuses for the human race. Brooke and Lucas are terrific. They cared for me."
"Wow!" That was all Liz could say.
"I am so sorry that I lied to you. We had to ensure that she got called Norma. If we got caught, Brooke could be charged with kidnapping and lose custody of Jamie," Sam tried to explain.
"Shit! That is some intense stuff right there," Liz said, acknowledging the gravitas of the situation.
"Yeah, it could get really ugly for them," Sam repeated for emphasis.
"Well, it doesn't matter what their names are. Brooke, Lucas, whatever. As long as you get a good family who loves you and treats you right, I am grateful and happy," Liz said, coming to terms with Sam's lie.
"You truly are the best friend ever!" Sam said, turning to putty at how understanding Liz was.
"Yeah, you better remember that when you go to your new school tomorrow!" Liz whined.
"I get to skip tomorrow and go sightseeing. I ride to school with a teacher from Wednesday," Sam said, rolling her eyes.
"Why? Can't you go alone?" Liz asked.
"Yeah, if I want to walk to school! The place has no public transportation! You either bike to school or walk when you're fifteen! Tree Hill sounds so boring! Their biggest event on Friday nights are the High School's basketball games. Really! The whole town shows up to cheer a bunch of pimply high school boys dunk a ball through a hoop!" Sam continued her tirade.
"So, I shouldn't tell you about what tickets Jayden scored for us this weekend?" Liz teased.
"Bye, Liz!" Sam said, feeling fomo.
"Hey, I love you. Keep calling, okay?"
"You'll get bored and tired of my calls. I promise," Sam said with a smile and hung up. She then went on to complete setting up her laptop after changing into her pyjamas. The sound downstairs had visibly thinned. Sam wondered if Lucas had a Netflix account she could use. Brooke never paid for any subscriptions, so Sam had to watch most of her shows with Liz. She also needed the wifi password. Sam gently crept down, she still didn't know her way around the mansion very well and saw that everybody had left. She found Brooke and Lucas sitting on the living room couch. Lucas was massaging Brooke's foot whose swelling had reduced significantly since they left New York.
"Oh, the joy of a dishwasher!" Brooke said with a smile as she moaned when Lucas pressed a point just right.
"Haha! The owners since you did a decent job with the place, I must say. Although, your room back then was gorgeous with the chandelier lights," Lucas said.
"Yeah," Brooke said with a smile.
"Maybe we can get those again?" Lucas offered.
"Nah, it's okay," Brooke replied with a tight smile. "I like my room as it is. I mean, it has a bed and it's warm when it's supposed to be and cold when it's supposed to be. I really don't need anything more."
"Sorry, I didn't know it was Victoria's room and that it had painful memories," Lucas said.
"It's a mixed bag, Luke. I loved this house, I loved being here but I was also the most lonely here. Yes, my parents bickered, but this house was home to me. I really did love the place. But, I spent a lot of time living at Peyton's anyway and well, sneaking into your bedroom," she joked.
"I always liked when you snuck in but I used to wonder how come you preferred coming over to my place instead of having me over here. I mean we did spend a lot of time in your hot tub and your room, but still, you always preferred my room, even though your parents were barely ever around," Lucas wondered out loud, grateful that they could joke and talk about their past history.
"I know you liked the hot tub and you liked me sneaking into your bedroom," Brooke said with her signature one eyebrow raised up look. "But you had a home. I just got a homely feeling at yours. Plus, I had brought a tonne of boys over here with me. You were my first boyfriend. You were special. I wanted it to be special, especially since it was also your first time. Felix always came here for a hookup and so did the boys from college or school or bars or whatever! This place was more for friends with benefits and you were never one of them. We did spend a lot of time at my apartment though, the second time around."
Sam couldn't help but feel like she was watching an R-rated movie as she watched Brooke and Lucas be alone with each other. Their chemistry was literal fireworks and their stories, even more salacious. How many guys had Brooke been with? She could barely wrap her head around how much time Brooke and Lucas spent with each other when they were dating and doing freaky things with each other.
"You think Sam likes the house, the room?" Lucas asked her.
"Yes, I am sure she does," Brooke smiled. "You saw how she lost her mind when she got to know that she would be living here."
"Yeah, she deserved to live the way Brooke deserves to live, like royalty," Lucas joked.
"Brooke is more the earlier version of Cinderella these days than the latter," Brooke replied, moving her foot as it hurt too much while Lucas rubbed it.
"B, are you sure you don't need a doctor?" Lucas asked again.
"Yeah, how would I allow you to touch it if it was broken?" she said matter-of-factly. "Don't take this as me trying to get you to leave but aren't you tired? You must be more tired than all of us. I still caught some sleep on the plane, you were up all night with me and stretched the full day keeping Jamie busy, being there for Sam, moving and hauling luggage, dealing with paperwork and then you refused to let me pick up a plate for the party as you wanted me to not be on my feet anymore. Now here you are, taking care of me," Brooke said, personally enjoying being taken care of.
"Get used to it, Brooke," Lucas said with a smile.
"If it's okay, I'll head to bed now. I'm beat and I am going to work with Andy tomorrow. You think you can manage showing Sam around on your own with Jamie?" Brooke asked.
"Yeah, definitely."
"Great, after breakfast, do you think you could drop me at Andy's?" Brooke asked.
"Yeah, of course," he said with a smile.
"You have a key to this house, right?" she asked Lucas.
"Yeah, I mean no. I gave my key to my mom when we were at the airport so they could move your things and set up for Sam's party," Lucas said.
"Take mine from my purse so that you can let yourself in in the morning. Keep a key to the place with you. I think we need to make more copies. Sam will need one and Haley should have one spare set for emergencies."
"I'll get copies made on my way over tomorrow," Lucas promised.
"You're going to share errands with me, aren't you?" Brooke asked, noticing the pattern.
"Like I said, get used to it, Brooke Penelpe Davis," Lucas said with a wide grin.
"Do you need help up the stairs?" Lucas asked.
"I really went a little overboard on my feet at the party, that's for sure," she chided herself as her foot still throbbed.
"Okay," Lucas said and picked her up effortlessly, earning a whelp from Brooke.
"Oh Sam, hi!" Lucas said awkwardly as he saw the teen spying on them. Lucas and Brooke both grew red with embarrassment as he held Brooke in his arms. They felt like they had been caught doing something intimate, forbidden, like they were cheating on each other's partners although neither of them had any.
"Hello, what's going on?" she asked teasingly.
"I was just helping Brooke up to her room," Lucas said, making Brooke grow red in the face again.
"Oh, but Brooke wasn't one of your rules, no boys in the bedroom?" Sam teased.
"Lucas isn't staying," Brooke said with an eyeroll.
"Oh, neither will anybody I bring," Sam continued to tease.
"Sam!" Brooke couldn't help but scream when she heard what Sam had to say, making Lucas burst into peals of laughter. "What? Do you think that's funny? Do you think we should repeal the no boys in the bedroom rule?"
"Did you come down to tease us or did you need anything?" Lucas asked.
"Oh yeah. I wanted to know what the wifi password was and whether, like, you had a netflix account that I could use, maybe?" Sam requested.
"Oh, yes. I do. I have the wifi password saved on my phone. I'll text you and Brooke all the details," Lucas said, still holding Brooke awkwardly in his arms. "Okay, I'm going to take you upstairs now and then I am going to check whether all the doors and windows are secured and then head home. Is that alright, Sammy?"
"If those are the rules," Sam replied with a smirk and saw Brooke want to hide her face out of embarrassment.
Lucas chuckled again and began to make his way up the stairs to Brooke's bedroom. He deposited her on the bed and waved goodnight. Sam was still musing the house downstairs, fingering the frames that showed their fake engagement pictures. Lucas brought out his phone and forwarded all the details that Sam had requested. "I sent you all the passwords and things."
"Thanks," she said, without moving her eyes from the pictures. Lucas stood there, watching Sam, trying to understand what was going through the teenager's mind.
"I wish I was there, to witness it. I wish I got to see Brooke experience that happiness. Was she happy?" she asked Lucas.
"Yes, she had never been more thrilled in her life. She had just got the call that she was getting a chance to adopt you and take you to a safe home, a forever home with her, with us," Lucas reminded the teen.
"Oh."
"Yeah, all that happiness that you see in the picture, all of it is very real. It's all for you, Sam," Lucas said. He felt like hugging the teen. He wanted to envelope her in his arms and protect her, let her know that she was safe and loved and cared for by him, but he knew his boundaries and he did not dare to cross them. "Well, I'm going to ensure that the place is secured and then head out. You should go to bed too."
"Yeah," she replied and saw Lucas go around the house checking trailed up and went to her bedroom. Suddenly, she felt lonely. She changed into her pyjamas and brushed her teeth in the ensuite bathroom before getting into her bed. Sam tossed and turned, but she wasn't comfortable. She always slept with somebody, in foster homes or at Brooke's house. Yea, the idea of having her own bedroom as a literal dream come true, but Sam felt a little out of her element that night. She grabbed her pillow and got out of her bed, feeling happy that the house was heated and so, she didn't have to wear a coat. Sam opened Jamie's door and peeped inside. She was surprised to see that as soon as she opened the door, Jamie's head perked up.
"Weren't you asleep, Rugrat?" Sam asked the little boy.
"I was, but then I woke up," he said with a giggle.
"Did you miss sleeping with me?" Sam asked and saw Jamie nod his head. "Come on, scoot."
Sam placed her pillow on Jamie's bed and tried to squeeze in but his bed was really tiny. It was a single and designed for a toddler. Sam struggled and realised that it was futile. Her legs stretched out and the space was cramped. She would fall flat on the floor with a single one of Jamie's kicks. Instead, she lifted Jamie in her arms and gently knocked on Brooke's door.
"Yeah?" came the call from behind her door.
Sam slowly opened Brooke's bedroom door and peeked inside. Brooke was lying on her bed in the dress she had on the whole day while reading something on her phone. As soon as she saw her kids, she sat up on the bed. "What happened? Why is Jamie up? Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, umm, is it okay if we sleep here tonight?" Sam asked Brooke sheepishly. Brooke's worry immediately turned into a wide smile.
"Of course," she said and patted both sides of the bed. Sam and Jamie cracked wide smiles and got on Brooke's either side. Brooke began to hum a tune again as she caressed both their hair. Jamie was lying on her chest and Sam was nestled deep in her lap. Brooke smiled, enjoying the feeling of being this close to her children. Jamie passed out within moments. Brooke continued to hum as she played with Sam's hair patiently and lovingly.
"What were you doing when we came? Texting Lucas?" Sam teased in a whisper so that she didn't wake up Jamie.
"No, I was reading," Brooke replied.
"You read?" Sam asked mockingly.
"I named my son after an author! I'm not illiterate," Brooke replied rebuked.
"Okay! Don't get so touchy. Yeesh, sorry," Sam said. "What Brooke were you reading?"
"Uhh, umm, Little Women?" Brooke said, but she was clearly lying.
"This just got interesting! What book? Is it kinky? Like fifty shades or something?" Sam asked, lunging to grab Brooke's phone. She was quick enough to grab it and unfortunately for Brooke, Sam knew Brooke's password. She quickly punched in it while Brooke screamt no and saw the book open on her phone.
"An Unkindness of Ravens by Lucas Scott! He gave you the book! You're reading his book!" Sam screamed.
"Shh!" Brooke said to shush the girl, focusing her attention on Jamie to make sure that he was still asleep.
"Even I want it! How rude, he never gave me a copy!" Sam continued to whine as she scrolled through it.
"Shh!" Brooke warned her another time.
"Sam, I love you, but you need to relax a bit. I was a very different person before I met you, before I had Jamie, before I ever left for New York and got into business with my mother. This place has a lot of history and you will no doubt find a lot of it. But, you need to relax a bit. All this sleuthing to dig into my past is getting on my nerves. It's not like I'm a murderer or anything that you need to be worried about. But, I am also not proud of the person I used to be back then. You are going to Lucas' and Nathan's tomorrow, right? Ask them for our yearbooks, see it all if you like. I was pretty slutty in high school. And I wish I wouldn't have been, because you don't get to take any of that back," Brooke said with a deep sigh.
"Is that why you're a prude now? Byt, hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. It's just seeing you here with friends, with people who care about you regardless of the fact that you hid under a rock and kept your child from them. I can't believe it, and yet I can because one thing never changed from all the stories that Lucas and all your friends told me about you. You will put yourself in harm's way, sacrifice yourself and walk miles for the benefit of the people you love." she said.
"Thanks. That's very sweet of you and I get your curiosity. Fifteen is the age to be curious and frankly, I'm glad that this is what you're curious about instead of what I was back then, god really! You're great. But, please stop making every conversation an interrogation. If you're really curious, you can ask Lucas to give you the book, but it will say some pretty salacious shit about me. Brooke Davis lettered in sex back then," Brooke said guiltily.
"The book really says that?" Sam asked.
"No, he has been nothing but kind and honest and truthful about it. He even added a sweetness and weirdly an innocence to my kinky moves. He explained how I didn't know any better back then, but I mean, it's on how you read it. And I haven't finished the book yet," Brooke explained.
"Did you read the dedication?" Sam asked.
"To Peyton, my one True Love." Brooke said out of memory.
"Did it hurt?" Sam asked.
"No, it was expected. I'd be surprised if it were any different. I was always just the footnotes in her and Lucas' love story. But, that's fine. You and Jamie are my love story. Not every love has to be romantic. This is just as fulfilling," she said.
"I'm sorry, for all the interrogations. You have been kind about my past. Yours is just so beautiful. You had money, friends, everything!" Sam said, raising her arms in the air dramatically for emphasis.
"Yeah, but what I really wanted was a family which I found in New York," Brooke answered with a smile.
"Brooke, are you happy to be back here?" Sam asked.
"Yes, very, but I'm also scared. I'm afraid that I'll mess up. I'm afraid I'll ruin my relationships further. New York is a great place to hide. People come to New York to get discovered, that's what I went there for in the beginning, but it's an even greater place to hide, I've learnt. Also, I don't deserve these people and their praises, not after what I did and I'm not only talking about keeping Jamie from them. My jobs, ehh… High School Brooke was worse."
Sam and Brooke both settled into a deep quiet after that. Soon enough, Sam fell asleep, feeling comforted by Brooke's arms. Brooke sighed heavily. No matter how much she tried, she would not be able to hide who she used to be in Tree Hill from her kids. All she could hope was that she could hide who she was in New York from her friends in Tree Hill. When she was certain that both her kids were asleep, she brought out her phone again and continued reading the book, Lucas' words piercing right through her heart and soul.
Unbeknownst to Brooke, Lucas was doing reading of his own at his house. He sat on his bed with the box of letters that he found at Brooke's house. Lucas found himself struggling to read as he saw the box with its neatly stacked envelopes. That box was Brooke in her most vulnerable state. That was who Brooke had been for the past four years, right from when she found out that she was pregnant. Lucas fingered the first envelope and traced Brooke's neat handwriting. However, he could not bring himself to open it and read the secrets her words contained. He stood up and got a bottle of tequila. Pouring a glass, he downed the liquid in one smooth gulp. He felt the hot liquid burn his throat and travel down to his stomach. Then, he drank three more before opening the first envelope. When he reached the page, he saw that the ink had smudged in places due to tear stains. Brooke had been crying as she wrote the letter. But something else was there in the envelope too, an ultrasound image. Lucas' eyes widened as he saw Jamie as a foetus in Brooke's womb. 'Wow! How would that have felt?' he thought to himself. Suddenly, he saw the image get wet and realised that his own tears were falling on the image.
'Dear Lucas,
The only way to begin this letter is with the words, I'm sorry.
Everything happened so quickly, I don't even know where to begin. This day has been the shortest of my life, but this night… the longest. I'm literally hiding in Central Park on a bench although it's the middle of the night because I have nowhere to go. I don't know what to do and I'm so scared.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but we royally messed up. We're screwed. Literally! And the consequence of our mistake is going to last a lifetime. Victoria has kicked me out of the house, I don't have a penny to my name and what I had, I invested in Clothes over Bro's, sorry, I mean Allure and it's gone. I'm dead, but I can't be because now I'm apparently responsible for another human!
I know I'm probably not making a lot of sense, but the situation feels ridiculous and nonsensical. I just found out this morning that I'm pregnant. I'm sorry but yeah, it's yours. Congratulations, Dad! We made a baby. We cheated on Peyton on graduation night and the proof our our mistake is going to look us in the eye forever. I don't know what to say or do or think. I mean! We're only eighteen! What do we know? This isn't like last time. I'm not messing with you this time. This time it's real. I'm sorry. Why did we do what we did on graduation night? Why did we cheat? Serves us right for cheating, but god, we're screwed.
I saw a doctor and he confirmed it. I have an ultrasound in my hand that shows a baby. Our baby. Luke, we are going to have a baby. I think I am going to faint. When Victoria got to know about it, she got really mad, the angriest I have ever seen her. She told me to take care of it, but how could I? I cannot kill our baby! It's our baby, Luke! So I told her no. She told me that I was an ungrateful idioit and that she was stupid to take a chance on me. She said that the speech I gave her, proving that I was one in a million was a hoax and that I'm going to resent you for getting me pregnant and our baby for ruining my life. Then, she kicked me out with only the bare clothes on my back. So now I'm pregnant and homeless in New York!
Also, what are we going to tell Peyton? She will never forgive us. This ruins everything about your relationship with her. Oh no! What have I done? I can't. I'm sorry.'
The letter ended abruptly just like that. I showed how conflicted and confused Brooke was. The last line, with Peyton's name had the highest amount of ink running. Clearly she had cried the hardest writing that, thinking about her best friend.
Lucas read and re-read the letter. His hands trembled as he scanned the contents a second time. Lucas could viscerally feel what he would have felt had this letter come to him in the mail. He felt the shivers, he felt the dread, he felt the fear of both, becoming a father and losing Peyton. He understood.
"Good morning, Sampson!" Lucas said as soon as he saw Sam open the door. He had to stifle his laugh when he saw Sam. She had the most ridiculous bedhead.
"Breakfast is here," Lucas said, holding out bags to show Sam that contained pancakes for all of them.
"Morning," Sam said, yawning loudly.
"Did you not sleep well in your new room?" Lucas asked Sam, worriedly.
"No, I slept like a baby," she lied, not wanting to know that she was acting like a baby, crawling into mommy's bed.
"Great!" he said with a wide smile. "Where's Brooke?"
"I don't know honestly. This house is too large to keep track of everybody," Sam shrugged. "Can we please sleep for another hour and then have breakfast? I'm jet lagged."
"There is no time difference between Tree Hill and New York," Lucas teased, ruffling Sam's hair affectionately.
"Can you set the table, please? The cutlery is probably still in the dishwasher," Lucas requested. Saying that, he went in search of Brooke. He walked upstairs and gently knocked on her bedroom door. The door was ajar, but he received no response. Peeping in, he found Jamie asleep in Brooke's bed, but no sign of the girl. Lucas called out for her a few times, but she wasn't on the first floor, so he went back downstairs to what used to be her bedroom. She wasn't there either. Walking to the other side, he found her in her office. Brooke was sampling fabrics from what he could tell. She had bits of fabric in her hand and she was layering them one on top of the other.
"Hi," he greeted her with a wide smile. Brooke looked up and reciprocated the smile when she saw him.
"Hey, good morning!" Brooke said with a smile of her own.
"Working early?" he asked.
"Yeah, Jimmy Jam jabbed me pretty hard really early and then I figured, I might as well get some work done," she replied with a smile, her dimples on full display.
"It's great seeing you designing again, Pretty Girl," he said, walking in and taking a look at the design she was sampling fabrics for. "You really are talented."
"Wouldn't be here doing this without you," Brooke said. "I mean it. Thank you."
"Brooke Davis is going to change the world someday and I'm not sure she even knows it yet," he said, directly quoting his book. Brooke turned red as her body had a physical reaction to the words Lucas beautifully penned for her.
Brooke had not finished the book. Rather, she could not finish the book. It hurt her to go beyond their break up. She remembered the last words she read before she tried to fall asleep, but never did because Lucas' words had made their history so alive again. Every word was palpable, tangible, a bullet or a rose directly aimed towards Brooke's heart. She heaved and cried after reading about their breakup the second time.
'I guess I should've said something, anything, I mean, for a guy who wants to be a writer, it suddenly seemed like no words had ever been written. But when someone tells you they stopped missing you, you're pretty much screwed no matter what you say. Brooke went on to explain how I had messed things up, how I always ran to Peyton and not her and she was right on all those accounts. But there had to be something, right? Something that I could say to win her back. Something that no one had ever said in the history of the world. Something that could change this.
As Brooke completed her confession, kissing my head sweetly as a gesture of finality, all I said was "Brooke? I'm sorry."
She turned, already halfway out of the door and giving me a soft nod, she said, "Yeah, me, too." I saw the tears collect in her eyes as she smiled sadly and closed the door behind her.
Those words weren't it.'
Lucas still believed that the reason Brooke broke up with him was because she stopped missing him. She never told him about Peyton's confession. She kept it to herself for the sake of her best friend. She loved Peyton longer, harder, enough to let go of the only guy she ever genuinely cared for. What was the point even?
"Do you need some time here or do you want to go have breakfast? I got pancakes," Lucas asked. Brooke kept quiet but gave a smile as she stood from her desk to follow him outside. "Can I go wake Jamie up?"
"Yeah, he is sleeping in my room," Brooke informed him. She saw Lucas walk up and went to the living room to find Sam passed out on the couch. Brooke chuckled and went to the kitchen to set the table for them.
"Jamie will not move," Lucas said, coming down ten minutes later. "I have never seen anybody sleep that deeply."
Brooke began laughing. "Our other heathen won't either," she said, nudging her head towards where Sam was sleeping. Lucas felt his chest swell up with pride when Brooke said 'our heathen.' He loved how effortless it was for Brooke to now accept that he was Sam's foster dad too. "Yesterday really tired them all out with the move and travel and party and adoption stuff. Plus, this house has the perfect temperature setting."
"Should we let them sleep?" Lucas asked, still new to the parenting game.
"Yeah, let them. It's ditch day anyway. We have a week to enrol Sam in school and submit proof to the social workers. Let them catch their rest. We could eat if you're hungry," Brooke offered. She did not wait for an answer and began to put the food Lucas had brought on two plates for them.
"How is your foot this morning?" Lucas asked, sipping the coffee that Brooke made for them. Working at diner had really taught her how to make great coffee.
"Almost back to normal. It barely hurt this morning," she said, giving her ankle a flex to test her sore muscles.
"Have you fixed a time to meet up with Andy? I can drive you whenever you need to go," Lucas further questioned.
"No, he said to stop by whenever I could. We go to the manufacturers in the afternoon for final product finishes. He wanted me to look at interior design ideas for the stores. How I wanted the displays to look and things. Then, we have to take a trip to finalise a warehouse for the stock and store locations," she filled him in.
"It all sounds so fancy. I can't wait to see you at your first store opening," Lucas praised her.
"When do you rejoin work? Or have they given Skills permanent position of Head Coach?" Brooke teased.
"Tomorrow. Principal Rimkus has been sweet and Haley has been filling her in about everything that has been going on as well. She got to know that I just got engaged and became a father of two. She admires us for taking a foster child in and that I have a book coming out," Lucas replied.
"Any word from the publishers?" she continued to interrogate.
"Yeah, they want me to edit some things, make a few parts crisper and they want me to dramatise Keith's death further," Lucas drawled.
"No! You wrote that scene perfectly!" Brooke couldn't stop herself from saying the words out loud.
"Huh? Did you read it? Wait, did you read my book?" Lucas asked, catching her.
"Uhh, some of it. Not entirely, but you sent it and I wanted to know how big of a villain I was in the story and curiosity got the best of me and I might have skimmed through it a bit," she confessed while still holding all her cards close.
"Right? So, what do you think of it?" he asked.
"Uhh, it's really good Lucas. I think that it's a great love story. Definitely one for the ages. Once Peyton reads it, she will be running right back. Clap back at the editors, your voice deserves to be heard as your voice." Every word that Brooke uttered carried immense weight. Her voice got hoarser and softer with each syllable. The last sentence was almost strained. However, what was she supposed to say? If the roles had been reversed, she would be jumping into his arms right then. Alas, she was the villain.