Walk You Home

WARNING: This story will contain mature themes, this story is truly rated M, for more than just sexual relations.

Hiding it is getting harder. Peyton, and Haley, they're starting to become suspicious. They say I'm different, and I guess, in reality I am. Nothing's been the same since that night and it's getting harder to pretend that things are. Everything had been going great; I was about to be a sophomore when I was offered the opportunity of a lifetime. H&M, one of my favorite stores in New York City, offered me a spot in their summer internship program. I was living in the city with a group of 3 other high school girls, and working for H&M, it was a dream come true. After that summer, they offered me the deal of a lifetime. They wanted a new line, a new Brooke Davis line. In order for me to do this, I signed on for a year of home schooling and grueling hours at work. I was 15-years-old living in the city of dreams making my dream come true… until that night. The night that's got me here… writing this letter because I can't bring myself to say the words I so desperately need to get out. It's been a week since I fell apart, a week since I left New York City. Now, I've returned to Tree Hill… broken. No longer full of life, or ambitions. I'm 17, entering my senior year in high school with an almost two-year-old son.

There was silence as the dark auburn haired woman across from Brooke placed the piece of paper on her lap. Brooke watched her in silence as she toyed with her hands nervously, waiting for her to say something.

"Does it make you feel any better to finally know that there is someone else who knows about this?" The auburn haired woman asked, looking up at Brooke with a warmth Brooke had never seen before in her eyes.

Brooke shrugged, "I'm glad someone finally knows about my son." That was the only thing she was really sure of. Hiding her little boy was making her life even more of a living hell than it had already become.

"Your parents don't know?"

Brooke looked downwards, unable to figure out how to reply. She glanced at the desk the woman was sitting beside, staring at the nametag on the desk. Dr. Gabrielle Riley. It made Brooke uneasy knowing she was sharing her problems with the school psychologist, but there was nowhere else for her to turn. She'd kept everything in for far too long. Besides, lying to her friends over the phone was a lot easier than lying to them in person.

"Brooke?" Dr. Riley asked again, attempting to regain the seniors' attention.

"My parents aren't really around much. They know about my son, but they work a lot so they never really had time to come visit me in New York City. Other than them, nobody but the girls in the program and our advisers knew about him," Brooke answered, not once looking upwards.

"In the letter, you mention something about a night… do you feel ready to discuss that yet?" Dr. Riley asked, hoping that the girl would give her a little bit of a clue.

Brooke immediately shook her head, "No."

"What do you want to talk about today Brooke?" Dr. Riley asked, trying to find some way that she could help the teenager. Brooke finally raised her head, letting herself make eye contact with Tree Hill High's psychologist. Brooke did not speak, but instead let out an incoherent babble of a hiccup that ultimately led to her uncontrollable sobbing. Tears fell from her eyes as she lost control.

"This…" Brooke started to mumble between her sobs, "isn't.. l-l-like me."

"Let's talk about something good then," Dr. Riley stated, extending her hand to the girl, and patting her knee gently. "How about your son? Let's talk about him. What is his name?"

Brooke took in a deep breath, attempting to calm herself down, "Harley. Harley Sawyer. He'll be two in 3 months."

"Did you name him after anyone in particular?" Dr. Riley asked with a grin, happy that discussing her son had the ability to calm her down even a little.

"I've always wanted a son named Harley," Brooke started, thinking of the little boy she loved so much, "and Sawyer is my best friends last name. I named him after her."

"Does she know him?"

Brooke shook her head. She'd never told anyone about Harley, nobody who didn't positively have to know. Besides, Peyton would never understand.

"Does his father know him?"

Brooke shuddered, and immediately stood up from her spot in the office. "I have to go. Harley needs to be picked up from Day Care." Without another word, Brooke picked up her backpack and exited the office. Without looking up, Brooke hurried from the school and out to her car. She was so caught up in her thoughts and tears that she didn't even realize that her two best friends had followed her from the building worried.

"Brooke!" Peyton yelled after her as they neared the parking lot. Brooke froze, and tried to compose herself as she slowly turned around to face the girls behind her.

"Hey," Brooke said with a fake smile as she moved closer to the girls, "what's up?"

"What's up? What do you mean what's up? You've been home for almost a week and none of us have seen you… until now. And when we finally do see you, you're running out of Dr. Riley's office crying!" Peyton exclaimed, rather confused.

"I'm fine Peyton. She just had to talk to me about my trip. It's part of the program," Brooke quickly lied with a smile.

"So, what's been keeping you from us? You came back a successful designer, and now you're too good for us?" Peyton joked.

Brooke faked a laugh, "I'm sorry. I've just been getting settled back into life here. My parents moved, and sold the house, so I've been dealing with them getting me an apartment to finish school."

Haley shuffled in her spot, unsure of how Peyton could call herself Brooke's best friend when she was so clearly lying to her.

"But, I really do have to go," Brooke added in last minute, leaning over to pull both girls into a hug, "I've got to go send my new sketches in by 12."

Peyton and Haley both hugged Brooke back and reluctantly let her leave.

"How's my little man?" Brooke asked with a laugh as the little boy came running at her. His chestnut brown eyes and dark hair mirrored that of his mothers. She grinned as he leapt up into her arms with a giggle.

"Mama!" Harley exclaimed as she signed the paper to take her son from daycare. Brooke thanked the woman behind the desk and moved her son to her hip, making it more comfortable to carry him out of the building.

"Did you have fun today?" She asked him as he toyed with the necklace around her neck, lying his head down on her shoulder. She felt his head move in a nodding motion and she smiled in contentment. It was weird having a child, seeing as she never thought she would make a good mother. But, ever since she'd had Harley, she was different. Harley needed her, and she absolutely loved being the little boys mother. Of course, at times it was really hard, like when a sketch was due and he wouldn't stop crying, or she had a test to take for school and he was sick, but at the end of it all, he was most important.

It had taken them almost 30 minutes to get home, and not because of traffic. Brooke had specifically chosen a day care in another county to make sure that there was no possible way anyone could ever find out about Harley… at least not anyone that she didn't want to know about him. That was… until now.

Authors Note: So, I've lost all of my muse for anything Brucas… mostly because I've fallen in love with the idea of Brooke and Haley and because there is no Brucas anymore on the actual show. But, never fear, I just got a really great idea for a Baley story. Or, at least, I think it's great! Anyway, this was kind of a little teaser chapter, more of an introduction to kind of tell you where Brooke's at in life. Everyone else is kind of in the same place that Mark Schwann put them in. The only difference is, for the sake of this story, Nathan and Haley were never and never will be anything more than good friends. Brooke and Lucas never happened. Brooke was the same old Brooke... only in New York City.