Lucas and Brooke had done it again... They hung out in bed until Lucas went to wash. Brooke was starving. After stretching out in happiness and lightness in Felix's big bed, she headed to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and found eggs... But also milk. First step completed... By opening a few cupboards, she finally found some flour.
BROOKE'S THOUGHT : Perfect! I'm going to make him some pancakes...
And while starting to prepare the dough while humming, she thought about this whole situation.
BROOKE'S THOUGHT : I knew I was right to trust him ... Him and I it's strong, it's undeniable. And no matter what his damn wife could plot, he doesn't love her anymore ...
Once her dough was well mixed, Brooke let it rest for a few moments and took out the perfect pan to cook them. Dreamy and light, her thoughts flew again and again towards the chosen one of her heart.
BROOKE'S THOUGHT : Because he may not have said it but it's just like that in the end... His eyes and his body told me... And although she remains the mother of his daughter, I don't think I'm wrong about the fact that he loves someone else... Me. I have to be honest and tell him what I heard last night, the discussion between Peyton and Victoria... If he still had the slightest doubt, he won't have any more when he finds out that she's cheating on him... If she denies it, he'll just have to question Victoria... Or his coach! There's bound to be one of them who will spill the beans!
Determined to tell him what she knew before continuing with a breakfast that would please him, Brooke set the table while continuing to hum. She felt good, exhilarated and happy. A few moments later, shiny as a new penny, Lucas joined her. With her back to him, Brooke called out to him:
BROOKE : I made breakfast! Smell how good it smells... After an intense sex session and a good shower, that's what you needed to be a new man!
When she didn't provoke any reaction from him, Brooke turned around. Lucas was sitting on a high stool in front of the bar.
BROOKE : I'll clear the suspense... I made you pancakes!
Brooke frowned when she noticed that he was looking at her with a strangely emotionless eye... Impassive.
BROOKE : Lucas? Aren't you hungry?
But Lucas still didn't answer her. He stared at his phone then turned his attention back to her. His face seemed far too preoccupied, his jaw was clenched and Brooke's stomach twisted with anxiety. Her pancake was browning in the pan but she didn't even notice. Her throat tightened more and more and fear invaded her. Lucas was about to speak just after swallowing with difficulty. He closed his eyes for half a second as if to gain momentum and find the courage outside of her gaze.
LUCAS : You have to go Brooke...
Brooke remained inert, speechless and motionless.
LUCAS : We will not sleep together anymore, you and I... We have to put an end to all this.
As if possessed by a force whose origin she did not know, Lucas continued to stare at her shocked gaze, his teeth clenched.
BROOKE : Excuse me!?
LUCAS : I'm serious Brooke, it's over...
Brooke knew she had heard what he had just said but she did not want to believe it. Her heart broke instantly.
BROOKE : You are breaking up, are you?
LUCAS : You heard perfectly, Brooke. Please don't make things harder.
Even more than what he said, it was the tone of his voice that gave Brooke the fatal blow, cold and dull, almost casual. He didn't seem unhappy, nor angry... He was perhaps unbearably calm, too stoic. A feeling of suffocation took hold of Brooke, her heart rate exploded and she froze in fear. This time, it was really too much, he had crossed the final line. She managed to articulate a few words.
BROOKE : Because I'm the one who makes things difficult!?
Without looking at her, Brooke heard Lucas muttering under his breath and a grin finally broke the camel's back.
BROOKE : So you fuck me one last time and it's settled!? You said to yourself, hey... While we're at it, Brooke is here and there's no one around... So let's take advantage of it!?
In her anger, she imitated what Lucas's thoughts and reflections could be.
BROOKE : Oh and I'm even going to push the vice by hoping that she agrees to fuck without a condom... Then, I'll leave her! Was that your plan from the beginning?
Lucas looked at her with narrowed eyes but he didn't take any steps towards her.
LUCAS : What fucking plan!? What are you talking about there!?
BROOKE : Answer this simple question, Lucas... Did you know you were going to dump me before you fucked me!?
A sadness flashed through Lucas' eyes and Brooke already knew the answer she was waiting for. Her chest tightened. Lucas' silence was killing her and making her lack of oxygen.
BROOKE : You knew it! Of course... And I, like an idiot, believed it!
LUCAS : It's not what you think, Brooke... I didn't want that...
BROOKE : Oh no and what am I supposed to believe then!? What did you want besides getting laid!?
Despite an attitude that contradicted what Brooke thought she read in his eyes, Lucas answered her in a tone that was still detached.
LUCAS : You and me, it's too complicated... And I don't want to lose Sawyer. Sleeping with you again was a mistake...
Hearing him use the past tense and calling her a "mistake" almost paralyzed her with disgust. Yet she could have sworn that it wasn't just sex, that there was something much stronger between them. She shook her head gently, completely lost and disgusted and devastated.
BROOKE : You had no fucking right to do that to me! To sleep with me and then break up right after!
Lucas knew she was right but he couldn't admit it. He had to play his part until the end.
LUCAS : Brooke, don't act like a child... I didn't calculate anything...
His little moralizing tone was almost paternalistic as he rolled his eyes and finished screwing Brooke up. It hurt so much... Going from absolute bliss to the most intense and powerful pain... Yet Lucas was disgusted with himself for acting like the biggest asshole on earth. His own words seemed absurd to him. He knew he shouldn't have given in to his desire to sleep with her. He had to just break up. The disgust and hatred he thought he could read in Brooke's eyes was unbearable to him. He hated himself so much. Seeing her worry about him and being able to lose himself one last time with her out of sight was too tempting. As Brooke was about to leave the place before collapsing, Lucas got up and added another layer.
LUCAS : Tell me you understand, Brooke... You and me...
BROOKE : I may be completely naive but I'm not stupid, I understood perfectly!
He still managed to hurt her a little more when she thought she had already hit rock bottom. He was definitely strong! If he wasn't several meters away from her, Brooke knew that her hand would naturally have gone to slap him. Without turning around, she went through the door while Lucas acted as if he wanted to hold her back by hurrying towards her.
LUCAS : Brooke...
Heartbroken, Brooke ran down the stairs as fast as she could, she left the house as if to run away. And it was clear that Lucas was not following her. He did not watch her walk away through the window either. Once on the sidewalk, Brooke's tears flowed down her cheeks. Her vision was even blurred and she had to stop. She found a bench a few meters away and sat down. Her heart had not calmed down, nor had her anger. The pain she felt at that moment was perhaps more acute than she had ever known. The worst feelings mixed and overlapped ... Anger, pain, disgust, humiliation, feeling of rejection ...
BROOKE'S THOUGHT : How could I have been so wrong!? I didn't see anything coming... As soon as he laid his envious eyes on me, I broke down without thinking! I thought he was really different... I thought he was a good, honest man... Well done, Brooke! And even if what he's going through is really not easy, nothing excuses what he did to me! Nothing! So here's what you're going to do... You're going to make him bitterly regret taking you for a Barbie! He likes women with character, he's going to be served! And too bad if it doesn't suit him... I will have cleared my honor!
Lucas had just slammed his fist hard into the hard marble surface of the countertop. The pain radiated through his knuckles and into his hand, but it was his heart that hurt the most.
LUCAS' THOUGHT : You asshole! You're just a fucking idiot, a weak man who doesn't deserve a woman like her! She had come to check on me, she was worried and and what am I doing!? I jump on her, thinking of only one thing... Making her mine one last time before all this is settled! I can't even imagine what state she's in... The pain she must feel... The hatred... She's going to hate me and she'll be right to! I'm already dreading meeting her gaze again after this... But at least it might be easier for her to deal with all this if she's mad at me... I can't take the risk of Peyton finding out because she'd make short work of it and I care too much about her.