75Hello fellow readers! Thank you so much for the amazing reviews as always. Hopefully I will get more chapters out more quickly because I'm finally on winter break..thank God! After practically failing all of my exams I need some time off..haha. Anyways, I hope I can get to writing this story more, but I'm also snowboarding like this whole week, and have just recently bought the first two books of the Twilight series and their amazing, but I did read the first book in like 10 hours so…but yes, I am straying from what this author's note is supposed to be about. Your reviews have really inspired me and have made me into a better writer. Ok, enough of the heartfelt thank yous…I hope you enjoy this chapter and that it clears up any confusion.
Disclaimer: Do I really need to repeat this…I don't own anything having to do with One Tree Hill. Ok.
Also I have to tell you guys something else…THIS IS MY FIRST STORY THAT HAS EVER HAD CHAPTERS IN THE DOUBLE DIGITS! I am very excited. Oh and I hope the flashback in the beginning of the story helps and you guess aren't as confused about the rape comment in the last chapter. Also I changed it a little bit, last chapter I wrote that Nathan found Brooke before her boyfriend, Jared, raped her, but I decided to change it and say that Brooke finally told Nathan about it.
Flashbacks are in italics.
What is Love? – Chapter 10
NATHAN'S POV
I stood there in front of the janitor's closet that Brooke occupied a few moments ago, shocked. Her broken face and eyes filled with gentle tears was the image engraved into my mind. It physically breaks my heart to know that I'm not fulfilling my duty as a big brother. I am supposed to be protecting her from the evils and people of this world that can hurt her. Instead I have become one of those people. Not only could I not get her saddened face out of my head, but her departing words were repeating over and over, making my ears burn at the sound of her raspy voice. "It's like looking into the eyes of a stranger."
That's what hurt the most. The fact that after everything we have been through together, I thought she knew how much I cared for her and would do anything for her. She has to know that what I'm doing is for her own good. I am never going to let her sink into that state of fear and anguish she was in after what the fucking prick Jared did to her.
Flashback winter of Nathan and Brooke's freshman year
I was sitting at home in my room playing one of my basketball video games on my flat screen in my room when I heard the front door close. Brooke's probably back from her date with her slimy, junior boyfriend, Jared. I fucking hate that douche bag.
He's on the basketball team with me, that's how they met. Brooke was smitten with him since she first laid eyes on him. It took her a couple of weeks of flirting and wearing the skimpiest outfits for him to finally ask her out. Once she did she was ecstatic. They've been dating for about two and a half months and she's already in love with him, who knows why. He honestly treats her like shit. Once, in the locker room, I heard him saying horrible things about her like how she is a slut and he couldn't wait to fuck the living shit out of her. He said that Brooke was falling in love with him, which she was, but he just couldn't wait to fuck her. I stood up to him telling him he couldn't speak or treat my sister that way. Once I threw the first punch everyone on the team was pulling me back. I was the only freshman on the team and Jared was the first junior captain in the history of Tree Hill basketball, it's easy to see how this is going to play out.
Jared said he wouldn't tell Whitey about this little mistake as long as I didn't interfere with him and Brooke. I knew I was stuck in a tough place. If I went to Whitey and told him about what happened and why I did it Jared and everyone else on the team would say Jared didn't say any of those things or provoke me at all. If I let it go, this jerk would seriously hurt Brooke. I know it was really selfish of me, but I decided to keep my mouth shut.
I heard Brooke's dainty footsteps on the wooden staircase leading up to the hallway where both of our rooms were. She stopped in front of my room and knocked the bony knuckles of her fingers on my white door. I paused my game and said, "Come in."
The golden knob turned and the door squeaked because my sister opened the door extremely slow. I had a feeling she wasn't going to be her bubbly self and that Jared was the reason for her sour mood. When she opened the door, her chocolate locks fell over her face, trying to cover something I was probably never meant to see. As she closed the door she made sure to lock it, I gulped as she walked towards me and took a seat on the edge of my bed. I immediately turned my X-box off and gave Brooke my undivided attention. As she opened her both to speak she took in a shaky breath and her body shook because of a chill she must've gotten. "Here, let me get you a sweatshirt or something, okay?"
Her face was still covered by the barrier that separated us, but I didn't see her react to my question. I stood up and went over to my closet, grabbing an old gray Nike sweatshirt. I placed it in her hands and she greedily slid it over her tiny frame. As she was pulling her hair out of the inside of my sweatshirt I saw a purple bruise forming around her left eye. I brushed the remainder of the hair away from her face, so I could take a deeper look. I gasped as I saw the purple color spread further than just around her eye. "Who did this to you Brooke?" I tried to keep my anger in check, but it was becoming increasingly difficult as I pictured some sick bastard laying his filthy hands on my sister.
"It was nobody Nathan, just clumsy old me tripping and falling into a door," she tried to laugh it off so I would stop questioning her, but the laugh was forced and instead of her bright smile I saw a scowl. It wasn't pretty. I started to put two and two together and as I did I got up and started to leave my room. Brooke was hot on my trail and she pulled me away from the locked white door I was about to rip from its hinges. "Nathan stop. I'll tell you everything, but you have to promise not to go after him."
I took an inhale of breath and exhaled with a strong sigh. It released some of the tension from my shoulders, but not ever close to all of it. "Okay," I lied, but she seemed to believe me so we took a seat back in the positions we were moments earlier. I knew this was going to be hard for her, but I'm going to be by her side through all of this.
She sniffled before she began, "It started a couple of weeks ago. I decided it was finally time for me to show Jared how much I loved him. So we made love and it was amazing, but after that he started to get more aggressive. He wanted me all of the time and started to threaten me if I didn't do what he wanted. I was mistaking his need to control me through physically hurting me as love. He never loved me," she cried as she leaned forwards into my chest and more tears spilled from her hazel eyes. "Tonight I was going to end it with him, but he wouldn't let me go. He hit me repeatedly, branded me as his own and," she could hardly speak the horrible words I knew were about to come, "forced himself on me. Somehow I got away and ran all the way here." As she finished, sobs wracked her body and I only held her closer. I snarled at the thoughts of the 'golden boy,' Jared, treating my sister so horribly. I snarled at the thought, but knew I had to stay here and support Brooke. At that exact moment I promised myself that I'm never going to see her look so broken and scared ever again. I am going to protect her with my life if that is what it takes. I am going to do whatever it takes to keep her happy and safe.
End Flashback
After my little trip down memory lane, I did realize some things. Though Brooke has been guarded she has matured into a wonderful person. I may not have shown her that I have noticed her transformation and I honestly still believe I know her better than anyone. God I have to find her and tell her, apologize for my actions. I look to the left, down the hallway that she had taken and realize it is now crowded with students. How long I had been standing here going over the memory of that night? I had a few minutes until my first class started, but I have to find Brooke.
I run down the hallway as fast as possible, thank God for basketball, while trying to remember what Brooke's first class is. Um, Spanish...no, History…no, then I remembered our conversation from a couple days ago, on our first day of school.
"What so interesting?" I asked her.
"Nothing, nothing important. So, you don't happen to have English with Mrs. Hogan first do you?"
First period English with Mrs. Hogan, that's it! I took a quick right turn, running into some underclassmen, accidentally knocking over their books as I race to her classroom. I make it there with about two minutes to spare, look through the glass window cut out of the wooden door and see Brooke in the corner with her arms crossed on her desk and her head snuggled in them. Her hair is covering parts of her face, but from what I can see her eyes are bloodshot. 'Wow, I'm such a jackass,' I thought. I pull open the fairly light door and walk over to her desk on the other side of the room.
"Nathan Scott, I don't have you until third period. What are you doing in my classroom?" Mrs. Hogan asked, obviously not understanding why I was in her room right now. All 25 or so students in the classroom, had their eyes fixated on my form as I stood beside Brooke's desk. I didn't answer Mrs. Hogan's question right away, but as soon as Brooke saw me through her puffy eyes, she turned her head the other way. I knew she hated unwanted attention on her, so I didn't want to have this conversation with her in front of all of these strangers.
"Mrs. Hogan, I need to speak with my sister, it's very important," I replied to her question about two minutes later. She gave me a curt nod, knowing the general information about my dysfunctional family. My sister raised her head, to see Mrs. Hogan's answer to my question and then looked to my opened hand, I was waiting for her to take. She leaned over her chair to grab her duffle bag and placed her cold hand into my much larger one. Once we were both standing I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and felt her tense up. We got out of the classroom and walked further down the deserted hall.
The silence between us is unbearable. We walk outside the school building, through the new courtyard and to the doors of the basketball gym. I open the metal doors and can feel the heat coming from the room. I hold the door open for her and we walk over to the bleachers, I have removed my hand from around her shoulder a while ago, seeing as how it was making her uncomfortable. She takes a seat on the bleachers, but I remain standing, my back facing towards her. I take in the sight of the basketball court in front of me, where I have accomplished so much. Through all of the accomplishments and defeats I have had here, Brooke was part of every single one. She helped me through the worst times, like sophomore year when I did drugs and collapsed on the court (like what actually happened in the first season of oth) and when I beat Damian West, my rival since I was in the 7th grade, for the first time. She was always there.
"Brooke I don't think I have told you how much you mean to me. Through the good and the bad you have always been there. You are my rock and I honestly have any idea what I would do without you. Earlier today you said when you look into my eyes, it's like looking into the eyes of a stranger. I'm sorry that it took me this long to realize that I haven't been doing what was best for you. By trying to keep you safe and protect you, I have ultimately been smothering you and not letting you experience the different walks of life." As I come to the end of my speech I turn around and look directly into her eyes. "I need you to know that I am truly sorry if I haven't been the brother you needed and I'm going to try to be that person. I have seen you mature into the strong woman you are now over the past two years, but especially over the past couple of days. I hate to say this, but I have to thank Lucas for helping you. I'm still a little skeptical about him considering you have only known him for a short while, but I will do my best to get to know him."
I hear her quietly crying as she leaps into my arms and gives me one of her infamous Brooke Scott hugs that I missed. As she pulls away a smile makes its way across her once broken face and I feel as if things are starting to get back on track.
"Nathan, thank you, for at least putting in the effort to get to know Lucas. You don't know how much that means to me. But I can't blame our fight solely on you, Nathan. You were doing what you do best and that is protecting me. After what Jared did I understand why you are so quick to dislike all the guys that I date. But you have to know not all guys are like Jared."
"I know, I know, its just sometimes I can't get your broken face out of my head. The one that came to my door with a purple bruise marking a large part of her face. I never want to see you like that ever again." She grabs my hand and gives it a small squeeze. With my empty hand I wipe away her remaining tears. "I just love you to damn much Brookie."
Her pearly whites make another appearance as a smile adorns her face. "I know Natey. I love you too."
Relief washed over me when we finally ended our fight. Whatever happens I know that Brooke and I will always be there for each other. No matter who or what gets in the way, were always going to have each other, always.
Author's note 2: So I know that the past two chapters have all been about Nathan and Brooke and their fight, I figured I needed a few chapters about them and their fight. There will be brucas and possibly lathan interactions in the next chapter. Please review!