As Brooke was about to tell her sister everything, it was at that very moment that the doctor burst into the room just after announcing himself by knocking.
_ DOCTOR : Ah, I'm glad to see you're back among us, miss... Or ma'am?
_ BROOKE : Miss...
_ PEYTON : But not for long!
Brooke literally avoided her sister's gaze... Fortunately, the doctor approached with a small lamp that he turned on.
_ DOCTOR : Congratulations! Well, I'm going to check a few parameters... First follow the light of the eyes, please...
Brooke conscientiously carried out his instructions while he checked her pupils and the inside of her ears.
_ DOCTOR : Are you hearing normally? No nausea? How is your vision?
_ BROOKE : It was blurry when I woke up but now it's better... When can I go out, doctor?
_ DOCTOR : I prefer to keep you overnight... You had a major operation a few years ago, I heard?
_ BROOKE : Mmh... But there's no connection, is there?
_ DOCTOR : No, but your body has been badly mistreated and I don't want to take any risks with a new episode.
_ BROOKE : A new episode?
DOCTOR : Does this happen to you often? These losses of knowledge?
_ BROOKE : No, never. It was the very first time!
_ DOCTOR : Good. And do you have any idea what caused this? An emotion that was a little too strong? A lack of sugar?
_ BROOKE : Certainly an emotion... Well several...
_ PEYTON : Imagine that her boyfriend proposed to her just before, doctor! You talk about a strong emotion!
_ DOCTOR : Ah, okay! I understand where this source of emotions more than sudden comes from then!
Even if she knew that it was not only that, Brooke tried to take advantage of it to convince the doctor.
_ BROOKE : No physical cause then, only psychological... I suppose that is reassuring for consider releasing me?
_ DOCTOR: I understand your impatience but I would like to have you do a scan before making any decision.
Brooke stretched her lips, fatalistic... And then she put things into perspective. Because ultimately where was she best at this precise moment? This hospital room was perhaps the only place where she could still escape the questions and the torments. She could even pretend to be asleep to avoid seeing the two men who were causing her so much trouble. She could then take a little time to think more calmly about what's next, about the crucial decisions...
_ BROOKE : Good, Doctor. I'll do what you think is best for my health.
_ DOCTOR : I'm glad to hear that. And the very first thing to do is to stay calm and rest...
_ PEYTON : But can she have visitors? Her future husband? Her son?
_ DOCTOR : I would be inclined to say that nothing could do her more good, if she feels like it of course...
_ PEYTON : Great! Thanks doctor! I'm sure you'll make a little boy who needs to be reassured happy!
_ DOCTOR : As for me, I'll come back to get you in a few minutes to give you the scan... See you later?
Peyton and Brooke waved goodbye to the doctor who left and Brooke held Peyton's hand as she prepared to take her cell phone.
_ PEYTON : What's going on!? I was gonna text Julian to come up with Cam...
_ BROOKE : Peyton, I need you to listen to me first... As much as I want to see Cameron, I don't want to see Julian...
_ PEYTON : Uh okay... You're about to cry right now, right?! What's happening?
_ BROOKE : It's happening that I don't know where to start, Peyton... And I'm scared, I'm terrified...
_ PEYTON : Terrified!? By what? The marriage proposal?
_ BROOKE : No... By something I should have told you a long time ago... Something I'm not proud of...
Peyton's face then became as tense as Brooke's, her eyes already searching for answers in hers.
_ PEYTON : You're scaring me a little there, Brooke... What do you want to tell me?
_ BROOKE : It's about something that happened a long time ago... And it's resurfacing today... I'm going to tell you everything even if I risk losing you, I can't lie to you anymore...
_ PEYTON : Lie to me!? About what?
_ BROOKE : About what I did five years ago, Peyton... About Cameron's father...
Peyton's eyes narrowed and her head tilted slightly to the side.
_ BROOKE : Contrary to what I've told everyone, including you... Cameron is the result of a betrayal... A betrayal I've never forgiven myself for, Peyton...
_ PEYTON : A betrayal!? What are you talking about... Who did you betray!?
Brooke took a deep breath even though the air didn't seem to want to seep into her lungs.
_ BROOKE : You... I betrayed you. The person who meant the most to me...
Peyton's expression changed again, she opened her mouth but words seemed to fail her...
_ PEYTON : I don't understand, Brooke... Explain it to me...
_ BROOKE : Cameron's father is my greatest love story.
_ PEYTON : Huh!?
_ BROOKE : It's Lucas, Peyton... I slept with Lucas five years ago...
_ PEYTON : ...
Peyton was speechless as tears streamed down Brooke's cheeks, as if freed from an unbearable weight. But at what price had she just unloaded a secret she had kept for so long? But being freed from her lie strangely did not appease Brooke, she dreaded her reaction to follow.
_ BROOKE : Say something, Peyton! I beg you!
As if she still needed to hear it, she indirectly asked her to repeat it to her.
_ PEYTON : You slept with Lucas... Five years ago... Lucas... My Lucas?
_ BROOKE : Yes... But it only happened once and you and him it was already the very end of your story...
_ PEYTON : Because he and I were still together when you... When you...!?
She certainly didn't do it on purpose, but the way she questioned her only made Brooke feel more guilty.
_ BROOKE : Yes. It was a few days before he left and it was definitely over between you two... It was absolutely not calculated... I don't really know why or how we got there... Well, yes... That night, I slipped in the shower and fell... I waited so long for you to arrive...
Peyton squinted to concentrate more on her explanations... Which Brooke already knew were insignificant.
_ BROOKE : But you never came home and it was Lucas who found me... And who helped me...
_ PEYTON : And who fucked you too! You, my own sister!
Brooke wasn't sure but she felt like everything was coming back to her. In particular, Lucas's many escapades.
_ BROOKE : He didn't force me, Peyton... He's certainly not the only one to blame.
Peyton looked at her... Brooke then read less anger than bitterness and incomprehension in her big eyes.
PEYTON : Why, Brooke? You hated him, right!?
_ BROOKE : He always annoyed me, yes ... His behavior with you, his arrogance ... But then, he managed to move me. And then, you know, he was part of the walls ... He showed interest in me ... I pleased him despite my handicap.
_ PEYTON : I don't want to offend you, Brooke, but anything that had a pair of breasts interested him at that time!
_ BROOKE : Maybe ... But one evening, that famous evening, something happened between us two ... Like an obviousness ...
_ PEYTON : An obviousness!? The one to bang my boyfriend for you or the one to cuckold his girlfriend with his sister for him!?
_ BROOKE : Neither one, you have to believe me. We were very bad to have done that ... Well, me, I was ... Terribly. The very next day, I asked him to never come near me again, Peyton... I wanted to erase everything!
_ PEYTON : But you said you loved him!? You've loved him for five years?
_ BROOKE : I don't want to lie to you anymore... So yes, I've loved him for a long time but nothing ever happened again.
_ PEYTON : Are you telling me that's why he left me for good? And me who cried on your shoulder?
_ BROOKE : I'm sorry, Peyton... I just didn't want to hurt you even more... I was a coward...
_ PEYTON : Oh yeah! I never would have imagined you capable of that... I don't know what to say I'm so shocked!
_ BROOKE : I understand, Peyton... Are you mad at me?
_ PEYTON : Do I blame you for what you did!? I think so, yes...
Brooke frowned to analyze her sister and try to know what she was thinking when she herself didn't know anything.
_ PEYTON : Actually, you know what!? I think I know finally... I'm disappointed, Brooke!
Peyton's acerbic and cold tone froze Brooke's blood and although the beginning scared her, the rest terrified her...
_ PEYTON : And what disappoints me the most in the end is that you kept all this to yourself for so long!
_ BROOKE : I got caught up in this lie from the start, I just didn't know how to get out of it...
_ PEYTON : I thought you were brave, Brooke! The bravest girl I know was you! Because beyond what it does to me, I think first and foremost of your son, of Cameron... You deprived him of his father!
_ BROOKE : I was faced with a terrible dilemma, Peyton... You or Cameron... I didn't want to hurt either of them.
_ PEYTON : So you chose the easy way! Hiding the truth from everyone... The people who love you the most in this world!
_ BROOKE : It's because you're also the people I love the most in the world that it was too hard, Peyton... And Lucas would never have been the father I would have wanted for my son... At that time, I mean.
_ PEYTON : Anyway, you didn't even give him the chance! Like us, by the way... And when are you going to tell him?!
_ BROOKE : If it's Lucas you're talking about, he already knows... But Cameron knows absolutely nothing...
_ PEYTON : Of course I'm talking about Lucas! When did you tell him!?
_ BROOKE : Last night...
_ PEYTON : Because you thought it was finally time to tell him he had a son!? What if he hadn't come to my wedding, Brooke? Would he have found out one day!? And Julian in all this!?
_ BROOKE : I don't know, Peyton... I think I would have kept this secret if... If we hadn't seen each other again... And to answer your second question, I don't think I've ever loved Julian like I love Lucas...
Peyton remained silent while observing Brooke, her face distorted by incomprehension and this new shock.
_ PEYTON : Oh my god! So you have absolutely no intention of saying yes to his proposal! Are you going to leave him for Lucas!?
_ BROOKE : No, no! I... I realize that I'm not as in love with him as I might have thought, Peyton... For the rest, everything is blurry... I don't know what to do, or how to do it...
_ PEYTON : But Lucas in all this, what does he say? What does he want?
Brooke knew well that her sister couldn't help but worry about her and show interest in her situation. And this, even if she had just broken his heart because they had never hidden anything from each other until now.
_ BROOKE : He says he wants to be with me above all... He says he's loved me too for a long time... He seems sincere.
_ PEYTON : Hmm... I don't really know what to say about that, Brooke... I'm far from trusting him.
_ BROOKE : I'm not sure you want to talk about that but I think I wanted to believe it... It's ridiculous, I know. But he shattered all my certainties... And I fell back into his arms.
_ PEYTON : When?! Oh no, no need actually... The math is easy...
_ BROOKE : Don't look at me like that, Peyton... There's something inexplicable between him and me... Really...
_ PEYTON : Inexplicable... Like something sexual!? Like an irresistible bestial attraction like five years ago!?
_ BROOKE : Not even... It's something deeper... And at the same time something easy, natural, obvious.
_ PEYTON : So, you're going to leave everything because you found him twenty-four hours ago and it's "obvious" between you!?
_ BROOKE : Except he forgot to tell me he was in a relationship, Peyton... I discovered his ex in his room this morning...
_ PEYTON : His ex? Or his girlfriend? In his room? Because you just told me he was in a relationship!?
_ BROOKE : According to him, he was going to leave her if I agreed to try something with him again... But he didn't tell me anything!
_ PEYTON : And what did you expect, exactly!? For Lucas to become a saint just for your pretty eyes, Brooke!? Sorry, but this guy is the biggest cheater and the biggest asshole this earth has ever seen!
_ BROOKE : I don't really agree with you. He was but he seems to have changed... Well, I think. I thought so.
_ PEYTON : Oh yeah, I forgot, you know him much better than I do! And how do you justify this little detail he forgot to tell you!?
Her tone was inevitably meant to be ironic and acerbic... Brooke knew she was afraid for her.
_ BROOKE : I can't find any excuses for him... He should have started with that and I blame him. So, I'm a little lost.
_ PEYTON : In any case, you can't say I didn't warn you... But don't ask me to help you on this one!
_ BROOKE : That's not what I do, Peyton... I never asked you something like that...
_ PEYTON : Good! Because I clearly wouldn't be a good listener... Because I don't understand you!
Brooke didn't have time to react as Peyton got more and more agitated, she also gathered her things.
_ PEYTON : I'm sorry but this is too much to ask of me... I feel like if we continue this conversation, it's going to end badly!
_ BROOKE : I understand... It's a lot all at once... Even if I don't want you to leave at all...
_ PEYTON : No, actually, I think you don't understand, Brooke! You have everything to be happy and you're going to ruin it all! And I'm going to leave before I get upset because I feel like it's not my sister I'm facing!
Brooke looked at her without being able to say a single word. A new lump lodged in the pit of her stomach.
_ PEYTON : I'm going to go warn your son and... And so, who do I send with him!? Julian or Lucas!? My god, I'm hallucinating!
Brooke pursed her lips, understanding the delicate situation she was putting her in.
_ BROOKE : Neither, please... Just Cameron... I know I'm asking a lot of you Peyton...
_ PEYTON : Indeed, much too much even! And what do I tell them then, to your two sweethearts!? To Julian especially!?
_ BROOKE : You just have to tell him that I feel very weak and that I just asked to see Cameron to reassure him...
_ PEYTON : Oh no, you're going to manage on your own, Brooke! And then what else!?
But before Brooke had time to say anything else, someone knocked on the door... Peyton turned around as quickly as Brooke to find out the identity of her visitor.
_ DOCTOR : Here I am again! And I will do you the honor of taking you to your brain scan myself! Everything is ready!
A huge wave of relief took hold of Brooke at this little respite even though the moment would become inevitable.
_ DOCTOR : I'm sorry but you can't accompany your sister... You can wait for her here though.
_ PEYTON : I was going to go anyway... Other people would like to see her... Her son and... Forget it!
The doctor, taken aback by Peyton's reaction, raised an eyebrow. Brooke, for her part, cast one last pleading look at her sister. And she let herself be pushed to the radiology department... Her stomach ached with anxiety and her soul was in pain. She didn't know exactly how long it would take but her heart rate grew faster and faster. And it could explode in her chest when she re-entered the door of her room, which she had left a little earlier.
_ CAMERON : Mom!
Her son's voice brought the most beautiful smile in the world to her despite what was happening at the same moment... Cameron stepped forward eagerly until the person accompanying her told her to be slowly.
_ PEYTON : Gently Cam, let your mother come in first...
It wasn't Julian or Lucas... A new smile, this time filled with emotion and brotherly love stretched beautifully along her lips. And even if her sister avoided her gaze a little, an immense feeling of warmth and appeasement came over her. Brooke let herself fall back onto her bed and spread her arm to signal her son to come and slide in.
_ CAMERON : How are you, Mom?
_ BROOKE : I'm fine, honey... Don't worry. I just need to rest a little... But seeing you does me a lot of good.
_ CAMERON : You'll heal faster thanks to me, I think... And my hugs.
_ BROOKE : I hope so. But I'm still going to have to spend the night here, sweetheart...
_ PEYTON : And we're going back to the cottage in not too long, sweetheart...
_ CAMERON : But we're going to wait for mommy all together before going back to our houses?
_ PEYTON : Uncle Jake and I are going on our honeymoon, my big...
_ CAMERON : Oh yeah, that's right! We won't see each other for a long time!
_ PEYTON : Not so long, don't worry, it'll go by quickly!
_ CAMERON : In any case, I'll miss you! And Uncle Jake too!
_ PEYTON : That's nice, my love! We'll miss you too!
_ CAMERON : But at least we'll see each other again... It's not like with Lucas... I'll never see him again after...
Peyton and Brooke remained silent then swallowed at the same time before looking at each other briefly, embarrassed.
_ PEYTON : Never say never, Cameron... You never know what life will bring...
Brooke's gaze for her sister became soft, grateful and loving... And she hoped Peyton could read her lips.
_ BROOKE : Thank you Peyton...
And Peyton returned the same shy smile and that same kind look.