The beauty and the tragedy

Chapter 3

Brooke cried and cried in Lucas' arms and he didn't know what to do. How do you console someone who went through something like that?

He knew things like that happened, but he could never imagine it happening to someone he knew, let alone to Brooke – the fiercely independent, brilliant, beautiful and brave. Why? How could someone want to hurt her, violate her in the most awful way? Why wasn't he there to stop it?

Brooke cried until she had no more tears. She promised herself she wouldn't d it, but now, in Lucas' arms, she couldn't be strong anymore. He, as always, made her show her true self to him. But it was a bit relieving that after all, there was someone out there who cared.

After she calmed down, Brooke started feeling uncomfortable about breaking down in front of Lucas.

"I'm sorry…"

Lucas looked at her in shock.

"What do you mean you're sorry? What could you be sorry about?"

"For breaking down like this. I should be stronger, I know, I just…"

Before she could say even a word more, Lucas interrupted.

"Brooke, you are the strongest person I've ever know. You have nothing to apologize for. You can always come to me, whether if it to cry on my shoulder, to feel safe, to chat or anything else. I'm always gonna be right here."

She just slowly whispered:

"Thank you."

They stayed silent for a few more minutes, then Brooke started talking again.

"What exactly happened to me? Suddenly, it all went black and I wake up in hospital."

"When you collapsed, I drove you here and they immediately took you into the OR. You had broken ribs, internal bleedings. They had to remove your spleen, but the doctor said you are gonna be fine."

Lucas knew the doctor told him other things too. But the fact that she didn't mention the… He couldn't even bring himself to think about Brooke and rape in the same sentence. She didn't say anything about it, and she said she fainted. Lucas assumed she didn't remember. He didn't know what to do. He decided against telling her – he couldn't bare her heart breaking once again.

"Have you told anyone?"

"No. I didn't want anyone to know. I was going to tell you all the story with the stairs."

"But why, Brooke? Why do you want to go through it alone?"

"Because you all have your lives and your problems and I… I'm used of being alone."

"You are such a big part of everyone's life Brooke. Everything that happens to you matters to us. And you don't have to be alone. You have Nathan and Haley. You have Peyton. You have me. You'll always have me no matter what."

Brooke felt tears in her eyes once again. She wanted to tell him how she felt, confess everything, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She looked at Lucas' eyes and saw so much care, guilt, pain and love it surprised her. They were looking at each other's eyes when Lucas' cell rang.

"It's Peyton."

He knew she was going to call eventually, but ever since he saw Brooke, he hasn't thought about the blonde. Right now, he wished he didn't have to talk to her, or to anyone for that matter, he just wanted to be there for Brooke. But he knew he had to.

"She's probably freaking out. I mean, there was some blood on the floor, and I don't remember if I closed the front door when you fainted… What should I tell her?"

Brooke closed her eyes, took a deep breathe and spoke again.

"How long do I have to stay here?"
"A couple of days, maybe even a week."

"Tell her I fell down the stairs and you took me here. Nothing more."

"Brooke, are you sure? She is your best friend, she can he…"

"Just tell her that, Lucas."

He nodded and finally picked up.

"Hey."

Peyton's voice was trembling and Lucas could tell she was crying and scared to death.

"Luke, I just came home and the front door was open. And then I came in and saw blood and Brooke is not here. Have you talked to her or seen her today?"

Lucas sighed. He hated lying. He hated lying to Peyton. But he had to do it. For Brooke.

"Peyton… Brooke is in hospital."

"Oh my God… What happened?"

"She fell down the stairs. I took her to the hospital and obviously, I forgot to close the door."
"H-How is she?"

"She's gonna be ok physically."

"I'm coming right away. Do you want me to call Nathan and Haley?"

Lucas looked at Brooke, who stared at one point with empty eyes.

"No, at least not now."

"Ok. I'll be there in a few."

Lucas hung up and looked at Brooke.

"Peyton's coming."

She slowly nodded. She then turned to Lucas and said:

"Can you bring the doctor?"

"Sure, but did something changed? Do you feel some pain…"

Brooke interrupted him, still without looking at him.

"I'm fine. I just wanna talk to him."

Lucas nodded and went to look for the doctor. Now, that he wasn't with Brooke, he could let the anger and the pain consume him. He closed his eyes and the image of Brooke, all bruised, collapsing in front of him, appeared. He thought about who could have done this to her and he wanted nothing but to kill this bastard. How could someone do that to a woman? How could someone do it to Brooke? The most amazing, loving and selfless person he knew. His Cheery, his Pretty Girl…

Lucas focused Brooke's doctor and went to him.

"Doctor, Brooke wants to see you…"

"Is everything ok?"
"She says she just wants t talk to you. Listen, doctor, she doesn't remember most of the… attack. She says she fainted shortly after it started. And she doesn't remember… Brooke doesn't know she…"

Lucas couldn't bring himself to think about it.

"Was raped? And you want me not to tell her for now?"

Lucas nodded.

"I… She'd prefer learning it from me, but right now… I couldn't. She's been through so much lately… She gave up the baby she was looking after, and her mother is giving her hard time, two of her best friends left town, and she runs the company on her own… And now this… I'm not sure how much can she take and stay herself. She's already losing it… Please, give me some time."

The doctor nodded.

"I understand. I'd do what you think is best for her. But I wanna warn you. Sometimes, with attacks like hers, the victim thinks they were passed out, but with time, they remember parts of what happened… In most of the cases, the victims faint, then get back their consciousness for a minute, and then faint again. So, you should now that there's a chance that she'll remember it at some point."

Lucas nodded and he and the doctor headed back to Brooke's room. They saw her, lying in the bed, looking at nothing. She looked so… empty. Her pale skin was covered with bruises, her lips were swollen, but what was scarier were her eyes. These usually bright hazel eyes were now blurred, with no spark in them. And that broke Lucas' heart.

When they came into the room, Brooke turned around to face them.

"Miss Davis, you wanted to talk to me."

"Yeah. I wanna know when I can be released."

"After 4 days at least. But I'd prefer if you stayed a whole week, your injuries are pretty serious."

Brooke closed her eyes. It was obvious she didn't plan to stay a minute longer than the minimum. But she knew there was no point in having this conversation then. So, she talked to the doctor about the other important thing.

"Doctor, please, do not tell anyone about that. I want to keep my privacy and that means no media, no press, anything. I'd be grateful if you make sure no one calls the journalists."

"Of course, no problem with this. Miss Davis, the politic of the hospital requested that we waited for you to wake up before calling the police, so we still haven't called them, but if you want us to, we'll…"

"No! Don't call the police."

Lucas and the doctor both tried to protest, but Brooke repeated.

"I said do not call them. Trust me, I know what I am doing."

The doctor sighed, then nodded and after checking her heart rate, blood pressure and stuff and then left. Brooke and Lucas were now alone in the room. He looked at her and almost cried.

"What, do you want him to get away like that? Without paying for hurting you?"

"They probably wouldn't catch him anyway, so why do I have to get through it again, and if I call the cops, it will be just like I called the press. And I don't wanna deal with that."

Somehow, she knew that the police wouldn't catch him. And there was a reason for that opinion, one that she wasn't ready to admit.

"I wanna kill him"

Brooke looked at Lucas with surprise. For all the years they've known each other, she has never heard him say something like that.

"What did you say?"
"I said I wanted to kill him – the bastard that dared to touch you. I want them to catch him so I could make him pay for every time he hit you, for every bruise on your body, for every tear you cried, for every second you spent in pain and fear. I want him to pay."

Brooke looked him in the eyes and didn't know what to say. He hasn't been like that even about Dan, the person that took so much from him, that hurt him, Karen and Nathan, that killed Keith… And still, Brooke hasn't heard Lucas talking with so much hate even about him. She was just about to say something when Peyton came into the room.

"Oh, Brooke! What happened to you?"

The blond sat on the bed and hugged Brooke. The brunette felt so… distant from her best friend. Still, she knew she had no right to hurt her.

"I'm ok, Peyton. Really."

"I shouldn't have gone to the studio today. I knew it, I should have stayed and we could have a girl's day and none of this would happen. It's my fault."

"No, Peyton, it isn't. I… stumbled. It would've happened even if you were there. So don't blame yourself."

Peyton hugged Brooke again, still crying.

"I'm so sorry. When are you coming home?"

"Probably in 4 days. Hey, Peyton. I feel a little tired and I really need some sleep."

Peyton was surprised by her best friend's strange behavior, but she nodded. Then, she stood up and turned around and said:

"Come on, Luke, let's go."

Just then, she heard Brooke.

"Actually, I need a minute to talk with Luke."

Peyton felt strange, but she didn't say anything. Just smiled at both Brooke and Lucas and said she was leaving.

The moment she closed the door, Lucas looked Brooke straight in the eyes. Then, he sat on her bed and kissed her forehead.

In his arms, she felt better. She felt safe. But she knew she had to do this mostly on her own. But still, he was Lucas Scott and she was Brooke Davis.

"Sorry you have to go through this. I know it will be hard for you to lie to her, and to Nathan, Haley and Jamie, but it's for the best. Trust me. I really appreciate what you did for me and what you are still doing. So… Thanks."

He looked her in the eyes and his heart ached when he saw them. They were not Brooke's eyes. Not the cheery hazel ones he loved. Those eyes were the eyes of someone so broken, but trying to act strong. But Lucas could see it. Still there, deep there, was the Brooke he loved. And he was going to do anything to save her.

"Anything for you, Pretty Girl."

She used to love it when he called her Pretty girl back in high school. Now, it felt awkward, but still, those two words coming from him made her feel better. He hugged her one more time and then he left her to really rest.

When he went out of the room, he saw Peyton waiting for him.

"Hey, Luke."

He smiled at her, but couldn't focus on the blonde.

"I really wanna thank you for taking care of her. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to her."

"You have nothing to thank me for. She's my Cheery, my Pretty Girl. I wish I went there earlier, I wish I stopped this…"

Lucas knew he couldn't say anything, but it was so damn hard.

"When I first went into the house, I thought… I thought someone attacked her. When you told me she fell down the stairs, I felt a bit relieved. But now, as I saw her… Just…"

Lucas couldn't bare standing there anymore, listening to Peyton, knowing the whole truth. He mumbled some goodbye and an excuse to leave. He went into the car and wasn't sure where to drive. Then it came to his mind, He knew it was a bad idea, but he felt like he had to.

10 minutes later, he parked his car in front of CoB store. He tried the door, no matter of the big sign "CLOSED". And it was locked. Then he saw that the glass of the door was broken, so he opened it from the inside. He stepped into the store and quickly closed the door. He looked around. Clothes, mannequins, papers, it was all over the floor. And at some places, there was blood. Her blood. He closed his eyes and pictured what happened. Brooke, so beautiful and fragile. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, appears some man in a mask and starts hitting her. She scream but nobody hears. He keeps hitting her… No, he had to stop thinking about it. Something drew his attention. It was a picture. He picked it up from the ground and took it out of the broken frame. It was a photo of him, Brooke and Angie. Brooke was holding the little girl and Lucas had his arms wrapped around Brooke. He remembered exactly when they took that picture. He remembered how for the first time in months he felt like his life had meaning. He felt happy, and he knew Brooke and Angie were happy too. How ironic, wasn't it? They lived almost like a perfect family for a couple of weeks just a few days ago, but now… Angie was gone, and Brooke was… violated in the worst possible way. Lucas looked around and whispered.

"I'll rescue you from all of it, Pretty girl."