Brooke had barely said Lindsay's name, when Lucas' eyes darkened with anger.
LUCAS : Oh, I see! Everything is explained!
BROOKE : It's up to you to explain! And I advise you to avoid taking me for an imbecile!
LUCAS : Are you going to calm down first and tell me what that crazy woman told you!? Even if I more or less understood...
Lucas wasn't joking, his tone was cold, dry and the loudness of his voice conveyed his obvious state of fury. His eyebrows were furrowed and he stood abnormally straight, almost menacing... Fortunately, Brooke wasn't afraid of him. She just felt completely used, almost soiled for having succumbed to his charms like others before her. But she also noticed that Lucas's expression was both stunned and worried. Moreover, he seemed sincerely hurt... But she couldn't help but believe that it could be part of a well-honed strategy of manipulation.
BROOKE : Is that your strategy? Call her crazy?!
LUCAS : What fucking strategy are you talking about?!
BROOKE : That of making you look like a victim while you're having sex with all of your daughter's nannies, apparently!
LUCAS : That's bullshit! I've never cheated on Peyton before you! You have to believe me!
Lucas approached her... His sharp gaze became softer, more cautious. He brought a hand closer to her face. Brooke tried to decipher the depths of his irises and the shape of his pupils, hoping to find an indisputable truth there. Lucas was only a few inches from Brooke... His hand came a little closer. Brooke froze.
BROOKE : It's your word against hers! And she gave me details that you can't make up! Don't touch me...
LUCAS : I'm going to put my hand on your cheek... I want to be close to you to continue this discussion, I even need it.
BROOKE : Need?! And since when do you allow yourself to do something that I don't consent to!? Oh, I forgot... Consent may be a vague concept for you... After practicing hardcore sex...
LUCAS : I'm open to all forms of sex, with a consenting partner only! Brooke, please... At least listen to me. Afterwards, you can decide what you want to do...
BROOKE : I'll give you two minutes to try to explain...
LUCAS : I can see in the depths of your eyes that you don't believe in these abominations... You don't want to believe them and you're right.
Lucas oscillated between caution, gentleness and rage... His hand rested on Brooke's cheek and his forehead on hers.
LUCAS : I'm not that kind of guy, Brooke... I've been honest with you, from the beginning.
BROOKE : Why would Lindsay make all this up, then!?
LUCAS : Because I fired her overnight without paying her what I owed her for the month that had started.
His warm chest pressed against Brooke and strangely, it calmed her down instantly.
LUCAS : Or maybe because I refused her incessant advances and provocations all day long... And even at parties!
His other hand came to take Brooke's and he intertwined his fingers in hers... He squeezed her hand tightly in his.
LUCAS : Or maybe because she knows full well that she is the worst babysitter this earth has ever known...
Perplexed but already a little more peaceful, Brooke looked up at him... She removed her forehead from his.
BROOKE : She seemed sincere though...
LUCAS : She is gifted... Did she also tell you how rich her parents were?
Brooke bit her lip when she remembered his references to the family fortune and his apartments. She felt herself blush and Lucas noticed it too. He understood that she knew what he was talking about.
BROOKE : Why does it matter?
LUCAS : Think for a second... Why should a loaded student work as a nanny?
Brooke remained silent... Doubt took hold of her more.
LUCAS : Because she simply wanted to enter a world that she finds fascinating... She dreams of becoming a star. This job was just an excuse to get a foot in the door of modeling, styling, social cocktail parties... And incidentally, also, to get me into her bed! It was an obsession for her!
BROOKE : Why be obsessed with you?
LUCAS : Firstly because I'm extremely handsome, obviously...
Brooke knew that Lucas was trying to lighten the mood with a bit of self-mockery... But it was a proven fact for her.
LUCAS : Especially because she's a spoiled nymphomaniac, used to getting what she wants with the snap of a finger... She also wanted to seduce me so that I would use her as a model... To launch her career, I suppose... Listen Brooke, I know what it looks like... Is there anything I can do to make you believe me?
Brooke would like to take his word for it, but she wanted to protect her heart and her self-esteem first.
BROOKE : First, leave me alone... I need to think about this.
Just after a gentle caress on Brooke's cheek, Lucas stepped back to give her some space. That's when they both heard the sound of heels in the stairwell. Brooke panicked a little.
LUCAS : Peyton is back... We'll continue this conversation, the sooner the better.
In a quarter of a second, Lucas patted Brooke's cheeks while moving away from her again. Peyton stormed in.
PEYTON : There you are, honey! I've been looking everywhere for you...
Peyton gave Brooke a quick glance followed by a polite but slightly forced smile and then she approached her husband.
PEYTON : You missed me, I hope?
Lucas avoided Brooke's gaze but she felt herself stiffen... Peyton put her lips on Lucas's, Brooke watching attentively. Lucas' mouth returned her kiss, it was furtive but he had moved his lips. Brooke's heart tightened again.
PEYTON : What are you doing here, in your studio, I want?
LUCAS : We were talking with Brooke about her first week with Sawyer. By the way, did you see him up there?
PEYTON : Yes I vaguely saw him... But it's you I was looking for, my love.
His disinterest in his daughter still hurt Brooke. She wondered if Lucas thought the same thing. On the other hand, the sweet and loving tone she used with Lucas also struck her.
PEYTON : We need to talk about something but I would like to discuss... In private.
Lucas looked at Brooke first. Then, he nodded towards his wife and added:
LUCAS : We'll talk later as I was telling you, I was in the middle of a conversation with Brooke...
Forced by Lucas' inflexibility, Peyton shifted her head a little to the side, frowning her perfectly plucked eyebrows.
PEYTON : Oh yes! It's Friday... It's the end of the trial week! So Brooke?
Taken aback, Brooke's surprised gaze flickered between Peyton and Lucas... Her ex-lover's eyes were pleading.
PEYTON : At the risk of influencing your choice, let me tell you that letting go now would really be very restrictive...
BROOKE : I... I've grown very attached to Sawyer and without wanting to speak for her, I think she has too...
LUCAS : Are you staying then!?
PEYTON : That's pretty much what she said, sweetheart! We're all reassured, it's perfect! Can we talk now?
Lucas couldn't take his eyes off Lucas, his eyes showing his relief and joy.
BROOKE : I'm staying... For Sawyer.
LUCAS : Good. That's good news.
Peyton was getting impatient waiting for Lucas who finally broke eye contact. He addressed her.
LUCAS : I guess we can release Brooke from her obligations tonight, right?
Although Lucas' throat tightened at the thought of not seeing Brooke for the weekend, he understood what she needed. Giving her a little more time and space
PEYTON : Yeah, I guess so... We don't have anything planned tonight?
LUCAS : I don't know how busy your schedule is, but mine is completely empty... For the whole weekend! Well, except for my tennis game with Nathan for two days!
PEYTON : Okay, sweetheart. I'll probably have more to do than you... As usual!
LUCAS : As usual... It would have been surprising if it weren't.
PEYTON : Oh, love! Don't tell me I'm already that predictable?
Not wanting to make a spectacle of himself, Lucas just smiled weakly and turned to Brooke.
LUCAS : See you Monday, Brooke?
BROOKE : See you Monday, Mr. Scott. Can I just go kiss Sawyer?
LUCAS : Sure!
Brooke didn't linger and went back up to the first floor, more serene than she had been when she came down earlier. Peyton looked at the cameras displayed on the shelves at the back of the studio, whistling.
PEYTON : You should tell Julie to come and clean all that thoroughly, it's so dusty!
LUCAS : I'll think about it... Tell me what you have to say, Peyton.
PEYTON : Very well. Well... I need my husband, I need you for my new collection...
LUCAS : I already told you that I wouldn't work for you anymore...
PEYTON : I know and I respect your choice but... I just have one little favor to ask of you... A very small favor...
LUCAS : Always say, I'm listening.
PEYTON : Chase ditched me for the shoot earlier... I'm not gonna find anyone just like that, off the cuff!
LUCAS : You will find... Plenty of photographers would dream of working for you, Peyton!
PEYTON : They don't have Chase's talent and even less yours, Lucas!
LUCAS : You just told me you respected my choice... And right after, you ask me to change it...
PEYTON : Just once... Please, my love!
Peyton approached Lucas and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and neck. She waddled against him.
LUCAS : I understand your little charming act better since you entered this room... But it's no.
Lucas felt Peyton's body tense and knew that her true nature was about to resurface.
PEYTON : Damn, Lucas! Can you stop being so selfish for once in your life!?
Lucas kept his cool, he had long since become insensitive to his wife's tantrums.
LUCAS : Me, selfish? And, how would you describe yourself then... I'm curious?
PEYTON : Oh come on, huh!? You're going to make me feel guilty again for being an absent mother...!?
LUCAS : A mother... A wife... But anyway, you don't know remorse or regrets, I understand that.
PEYTON : You know how much this Total Black collection means to me... I've been working on it for years!
LUCAS : I know it and I really hope it's a success. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going up to see Sawyer.
Leaving his wife to what could quickly spiral into a fit of hysteria, Lucas left the studio. He stopped for a second in the hallway when he heard the crashing sound of something being thrown in anger by Peyton. He continued on his way, rolling his eyes to the sky.
On the bus back home, Brooke's thoughts were racing... Lucas, Sawyer, Peyton, Lindsay... In the end, it was mostly Lucas... Lucas and Lucas again... She took out her cell phone to call Haley or Rachel. But at the last moment, she didn't really know what she was going to tell them... Or in what order to start! So, she sent a message in their conversation group. A suggestion for going out.
BROOKE'S MESSAGE : Hi girls! Anything planned tonight or tomorrow night? Want to see you and tell you about my week!
Brooke waited a bit to see if any of them would read her message or respond to it. But it remained unread... She then tapped into her messaging to find a response from Julian to her message from two days ago.
BROOKE'S THOUGHT : I had completely forgotten about it!
JULIAN'S MESSAGE : Glad you answered me... I suggest we start with a drink one of these evenings, how about that?
Smiling, Brooke put her phone away, deciding to wait for her two friends to answer first, they came first! Brooke spent the rest of the trip replaying the events in her head... And Lucas came back to her mind, again...