Walking Roman (OTH, XO, UC, MATURE) CH 9 - 01/10 [WIP]

[pielette]

Title: Walking Roman

Author: pielette

Rating: Mature

Category: crossover Roswell/One Tree Hill

Disclaimer: I do not own or will I ever claim to own the characters in this fanfiction, though I sure wish I did. They are the creations of Melinda Metz & Jason Katims, and Mark Schwahn.

Author's Note: It's been YEARS since I've been on here, but I used to post quite often. I wrote fanfics under the name hoLLyBEHRy. Maybe some of you remember me. I'm somewhat back. Not to full capability. But somewhat.
Summary: Set in the OTH realm, Max, Isabel, Michael, Lucas, and Nathan are all siblings, but they're hardly a family. There were reasons that kept Max away from home but he's come back and forced to confront those issues.

Couples: Liz/Max, Max/Brooke, Brooke/Lucas, Isabel/Alex, Michael/Maria, Nathan/Haley

Feedback: Please do. It's much appreciated.

PROLOGUE

The photographer looked through the viewfinder of his camera. No. He wasn’t satisfied. The locks on the tripod were loosened and the legs were then shortened. The photographer tightened the locks and looked through the viewfinder again. No. He was still not satisfied. What was done to the tripod was undone and this time the legs were made longer. The photographer looked through the viewfinder once more. Eh. That was a little better.

Except now the lighting was off.

“Sorry, folks,” the man hurriedly apologized, but he didn’t even really address the people in front of the camera.

They were a family of eleven. Two were related by association, three by marriage and the other six by blood. Five of those six were siblings; four brothers and a single sister. The sixth member being their father. There was no mother to speak of primarily because there would be four mothers, two of which were ex-wives and the other two not wives at all.

It’s complicated.

While the photographer continued fiddling with the lights, the subjects waiting to be photographed fiddled with their appearances.

At the center of this small crowd sat the patriarch. He adjusted himself in his wheelchair, trying to find comfort. Looking around him, the patriarch found his children occupied by their significant others.

Standing behind their father, the only girl amongst the five siblings dusted off the slightest bit of lint from her husband’s shoulder while he looked right at her. They were almost the same height. She was just an inch or two shorter. His eyes caught hers and she smiled. He reached up and wiped away the remnants of her sorrow from her cheek. Before he could take his hand away, she delicately took it into her own and kissed his palm. In return, he kissed her lips. She appreciatively smiled and then looked around curious to see if her brothers sufficed to her expectations for the perfect family portrait for which she was the one responsible for arranging. Despite her concern her brothers’ needs were being taken care of.

Sitting on the chaise longue next to their father’s wheelchair was the eldest child’s wife. She sat relaxed, yet still proper, with her husband’s hand resting on her shoulder, but after observing the photographer and deducing that the photo wasn’t going to be taken anytime soon, the eldest removed his hand and grabbed the knot of his tie. All of a sudden it felt ridiculously tight. He played with the knot with one hand while his other hand tried to keep the rest of the tie tucked into his vest.

“Are you ok?”

He looked down at his wife looking up at him. “Yeah,” he quickly replied.

She offered him a smile and got on her knees, but being petite, she only came eye level to the base of his neck like normal. “Need help?” she asked.

With a pensive expression on his face he casually nodded. He attentively watched his wife as she took control and shifted, adjusted and reclipped the tie to his shirt. When she was finished, she looked back into his eyes, mirroring the same soft thoughtful look on her husband’s face. He took his eyes off hers and glanced toward her ear. Strands of her chestnut brown hair were out of place. So he gently took his fingers and tucked the strands behind her ear. She gave a small smile and lowered herself back down onto the couch, letting her hand slide down her husband’s solid black tie. She sat back on her bottom, got back into her pose and faced the camera. Her husband placed his hand back on her shoulder.

On the opposite side of their father, the second eldest son sat on a loveseat matching the chaise his older brother’s wife sat on, and sitting next to the twenty-seven year old, who grossly slouched in the chair, was his girlfriend, patiently waiting for the photographer. He sighed disapprovingly. It was probably the fifth time since the photographer started adjusting the lighting. As he stay leaning against the back of the couch, he patted his girlfriend’s arm with the back of his fingers.

“Hey.”

The spunky blonde glared over her shoulder at her boyfriend. She didn’t know what he wanted, but she already knew that she was bothered by it. She didn’t verbally respond. Her lifted eyebrows told him she was listening.

“How does my hair look?” he wondered.

Now one eyebrow lowered and the other was raised higher. “You’re kidding me, right?” She looked up at his buzz cut and then rolled her eyes as she went back to looking at the camera. Now her patience was diminishing.

Behind the oldest brother, the third eldest let his hands hover over his hair. He barely let his hands touch it. He just needed to know if any hair was out of place. When he deemed his hair satisfactory from what he could feel, he gave the front portion of his sandy blond hair a little pat. His fiancée watched the crisp locks of hair bounce in place and then return back to its original position. She playfully rolled her eyes and started adjusting his lapels.

“Thank you,” he smiled.

She gave his chest a little pat. “No problem.”

He got on his toes for a quick second and placed a kiss on the top of her head amidst her soft auburn hair that smelled like sweet peaches and as he did, she gripped onto the lapels of his coat and glanced in his older brother’s direction. When his feet were firmly placed on the ground, he found himself once again the focus of his beautiful fiancée. He smiled at her and then stared back at the camera. He held his arms around his fiancée as she looked elsewhere.

The baby of the family stared off into the distance standing in the space next to his sister and behind his second eldest brother. He stayed in the position he was set in with his arms around his new wife. She fiddled about however, tucking his collar back into his jacket and ironing out the slight wrinkles in his shirt with her hands. She was focused on the task she took upon herself but briefly glanced up at her husband and became distracted by his contemplative stare at nothing.

“Hey,” she said simply. “Are you ok?”

He shook himself out of his daze and glanced down at his wife. He looked directly down at her five-foot-two frame and worked up a smile that was hardly considered a smile. “Hi.”

“Hi,” his wife laughed. “Are you ok?” she asked again.

He boyishly bobbed his head and gave an unpersuasive reply. “Yeah.”

The young bride put on a smile that he knew she feigned. He felt pathetic for making her feel insecure at this moment but appreciated her attempt to overlook his worry and doubt. He felt more wretched when he clearly saw the hope and faith in her eyes, the hope and faith that he was lacking.

All the while, the patriarch coolly sat in his wheelchair after having found comfort. He reached inside his jacket, pulling out a small orange bottle of prescription pills. He didn’t bother to look around him and his children might have glanced at the bottle in his hands but they thought nothing more of it. Their father shook out about three pills and slid one back inside the bottle. He popped the two pills into his mouth and began chewing them disgustedly. As he did, he regretfully screwed the top back onto the bottle and shoved it back into his pocket.

“All right,” the photographer said, clapping his hands together. “Are we ready?”

Everyone looked at the camera and worked smiles on their faces.

[pielette]

Hi xmag - No, you don't have to watch OTH. What you need to know will be given to you in the story.

I forgot to let you all know about the credits/trailer video I made. Walking Roman credits/trailer. Although Isabel, Alex, Michael, and Maria aren't named in the credits, they are very much a part of the story. I'll be making another credits/trailer video that will feature them.

Until then...

CHAPTER 1

Back in their home on Manhattan’s Upper East Side the sitting room in their bedroom had the perfect view of the vanity section of the bathroom. This perfect view was only perfect to the man who sat in his favorite chair every night. He would take a seat with a book and had the good intention of getting through at least one chapter but it wouldn’t be long until something would steal his attention. From where he sat, he watched his wife in front of the mirror. Some nights she’d be dressed in a gorgeous and flattering gown as she touched up her makeup and he’d be sitting in a fine Italian suit, like he was tonight. Most nights, though, she’d be wearing a pair of his boxers and a wifebeater, brushing her teeth, while he was in his boxers just watching her move. She knew he was there. He knew she knew. They never said anything. He just watched and she just did what she did. It had to be one of the best parts of his day.

Tonight, though, Max was sitting on the side of a bed that wasn’t his own, looking into the bathroom of the penthouse suite they had for the weekend. It was a different line of sight than what he was used to. He couldn’t see the mirror from where he sat. At home, their sitting area was at an angle to the bathroom. He could see Liz in the mirror. He could see her glance over at him once in a while and wink and smile. Tonight he wasn’t able to look into the mirror and see that. Instead, Liz turned to him and winked and smiled. She brought her attention back to the mirror and Max continued staring at her profile.

Liz wore a beautiful pleated ivory dress and stunning Jimmy Choo’s, appropriate attire for the sophisticated dinner party at the family estate, a birthday celebration for the man who, today, turned 30.

“Alright,” Liz pronounced with a satisfied manner. “I’m ready.” She turned to her husband, bent her knees slightly and held out her arms silently asking, “How do I look?”

With a smile of approval on his face, Max nodded. “Beautiful,” he told her.

The two of them gathered their things; Liz placed a stick of lip gloss, her compact, cell phone and ID into her matching clutch while Max stuffed the room key, his wallet and car keys into his pockets. He patted his chest to feel for the objects he had placed in his jacket earlier and then he gave Liz a satisfied smirk and offered his arm to her.

In front of the hotel a valet leaned against the side of a silver 1955 Porsche Spyder. Upon seeing Max and Liz Evans walk through the lobby, the young man launched himself away from the car and met the lovely couple at the doors. He humbly spoke to them and walked them to the vehicle. Five feet from the car the young man moved to lunge forward, but Max stopped him, offering to open the car door for his wife himself. While Max gave Liz a hand into the car, the valet sprinted around to the driver’s side and waited for Mr. Evans. As the teenager held open the door for Max, Max held out a fifty for the teenager.

“Thank you, James,” Max said without once glancing at the kid’s nametag.

With his eyes wide and a smile yearning to be smiled, the young man pinched his fingers around the crisp bill. “Thank you, sir.”

Max gave a nod and sped out of the driveway of the Bel, the premiere hotel in Tree Hill named after the hotelier’s sister, Isabel. The Bel was just one hotel in a chain of them, each one differently named for important people in the owner’s life. Astronomy was the title of a song by Metallica, Michael’s favorite band, and thus, the moniker of the hotel in Chicago where Michael had gone to school. In Los Angeles, there was the Guard, named for Nathan’s basketball position. Lucas’s favorite book The Catcher in the Rye was inspiration for the Rye in New York. For Liz, Max named his hotel in Paris Promesse, French for “promise.” Then there was the Ruscello in Rome and then a few other hotels around the country and the world.

The hotels were the reason Max hardly ever visited Tree Hill but it was just the excuse he gave his family whenever they asked him to come home for a visit. For a while, his “reason” worked. They believed he was nurturing his empire, which, understandably, needed much attention and devotion. But then two years passed and they realized it would take a lot for Max to come home; birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas…They weren’t enough. Eventually, Isabel and Nathan—the only two who actually spoke to him—just started asking him as a courtesy. They’d throw the question into their conversations like it was some casual comment, much like a “How’s it going?” between acquaintances. Must be hard to believe considering the names of Max’s hotels had significant meanings.

Max’s family members were important to him and he genuinely loved them. They were family, but they weren’t each other’s best friends.

Three Days Ago

He nervously waited for the doors to open. It wasn’t because he needed to pour out of the elevator and rush with desperation to the hospital. Max nervously waited for the doors to open because it was the last thing he wanted to happen. Those doors were the only thing between him and his past. They were going to open and he was going to have to escape the safety of the elevator and confront everything he had left behind five years ago.

Finally, the doors opened. The people behind Max maneuvered around him while he stood still. There was only one other person left in the elevator when the doors started to close. She used her hand to stop the doors and then used her other hand to grab Max’s.

“You’ll be fine,” she told him, and then she tugged him out of the elevator.

They walked with her leading the way still holding his hand.

“Thank you, Liz,” Max managed to say.

Liz looked over her shoulder and gave a smirk. “Anything for you.”

Together they walked toward the reason for Max’s overwhelming apprehension.

It was like this on the way to the airport. It was like this on the way to the plane. Same when they were landing. To the cab. To the hospital. Now.

Plain and simple: This was the last place Max wanted to be. And the reason for them being here…Frankly, the reason pissed Max off. Of course this had to happen. Of course. That son of a bitch played basketball all his life. He ran three miles every morning. It’s not like he scarfed down butter and mayonnaise every chance he got. So why would this happen? Max knew why. This was God’s way of pulling Max back into this life here in Tree Hill, back into this family.

Dan Scott wasn’t much of a father to Max, because when Dan learned that he was going to be a father, he wasn’t ready. So he decided he just wasn’t going to be one, leaving Max’s mother to raise Max on her own. That was fine. It was perfectly fine because they did pretty damn well. They didn’t need Dan.

That was until Max was ten. Dan finally acknowledged Max as his son and took him in, but by then, Dan had already been twice married and had four other children. Thankfully, Max fit right in. He had always wanted siblings and Dan’s second wife was wonderful to him, treating him like her own, just like she did with Dan’s other three children. Of course things weren’t perfect. There were five siblings; the relationships amongst them were all different. They weren’t all buddy-buddy.

Max and Liz approached the group of four in the waiting area. Michael and Lucas sat slouched with boredom clearly strewn across their faces. Conversely, worry struck both Isabel and Nathan. The two of them couldn’t keep still. They paced around the room, staring at the ground as they walked. But Isabel felt a presence in the room she hadn’t felt in a long time. She looked up and then froze where she stood. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes glazed over so much so that the light reflected in the pool of tears.

“Hi,” Max breathed out. He squeezed his wife’s hand as if doing so produced for him reassurance and comfort.

His voice woke Michael and Lucas from their dreariness and halted Nathan in his course. They focused on the man Isabel stared at.

Sometimes none of them looked alike, but at this moment, by the expressions on the faces of the shell-shocked four, you could tell that they were siblings. They were siblings stunned by this appearance of their oldest brother.

Isabel rushed right over, nearly tackling Max with her hug. “You came,” she sighed in relief.

He didn’t reply back. He didn’t know how to. So he just held her close.

While he waited to greet his brother, Nathan happily welcomed his only sister-in-law. “It’s so great to see you, Liz!”

“You too,” Liz giggled into the bear hug she received.

Then Nathan and Isabel switched places. Nathan grabbed his brother tight and Isabel gently embraced Liz. While the exchanges occurred, it was then that Michael and Lucas got to their feet and joined the others. With the two of them the greetings with Max were a little different. Michael and Lucas were feeling a sort of watered down happiness that Nathan and Isabel felt.

“How’s it going, Maxwell?” Michael asked as they broke from their hug.

Max bobbed his head. “Good,” he succinctly replied.

Then with Lucas, Max couldn’t really look him in the eye.

“I didn’t think you were going to come,” Lucas decided to say.

Michael seemed to concur. “I figured we’d see you at the funeral.”

“Please,” Nathan said rolling his eyes. “Dan’s not going to die. He’s going to outlive us all.”

“Did you guys make it through the reporters ok?” Isabel wondered.

Word had quickly spread that Tree Hill’s mayor was admitted to the hospital. Never wanting to disclose much to the media, the media investigated on their own. As Max and Liz approached the hospital in their cab, they could see the satellites on the roofs of all the uplink vans littering the parking lot. Reporters and their camera operators ambushed Max the moment he stepped foot out of the cab. It didn’t help that he was the son of he mayor, but being the famous Max Evans made things worse because instead of four or five groups of reporters and camera people from the local stations, there was at least ten, but that didn’t even include the print reporters with their audio recorders shoved in Max’s face. It was national news that real estate tycoon Max Evans’s father and Tree Hill, North Carolina mayor was admitted to the hospital for an unidentified illness.

Max had fought his way around the cab to get to Liz’s door and help her out. Once they were on their feet walking toward the hospital, Max kept his arm wrapped tightly around Liz, shielding her from the flashes and lens of the cameras, keeping the reporters at bay. This wasn’t the first time Max and Liz encountered unwanted attention of photographers. Protecting Liz from the consequences of celebrity was something Max did often, often enough that Liz knew how to rest in Max’s nook and get comfortable.

“Yes,” Liz told her sister-in-law. “It was crazy but we got through it.”

Max still remained silent. He wasn’t sure of how to respond. He wasn’t sure about a lot of things when it came to his brothers and sister. Hence the current moment of awkward silence creeping in as the group stood around.

Liz was familiar with this situation and she found it easily fixable if she said something, usually anything, unless it had to do with a certain subject, which unfortunately was going to be the subject of her impending inquiry, but it was the reason why they were here. “How’s Dan?” she wondered, genuine concern in her tone.

Max, on the other hand, seemed to feign the concern, and he didn’t do a very convincing job. It was clear that he didn’t want to be here and didn’t really care to know Dan’s condition but he was going to hear it anyway.

“They told us that he’s going to be fine,” Isabel explained, “but they haven’t said anything else and they won’t let us see him.”

But speak of the devil! Here came the nurse to tell Dan’s children that it would be ok to visit him, but only one person could go in at a time and only for a couple minutes. So now the concern wasn’t Dan’s questionable condition. It was apparent that he was in fact going to be ok since the nurse spoke with a comforting, optimistic tone. The concern was in deciding who would be the “lucky” one to see Dan first. Since no one jumped at the chance, the majority concluded that it would go according to birth order. Max hated when they went with that route.

With much reluctance, Max followed the nurse down the corridor and toward a private hospital suite. Max looked over his shoulder at his family in the waiting area. Seeing them gave him strength to enter the room, albeit very slowly.

“Your father should come to soon,” the nurse told Max, “but don’t be disappointed if he doesn’t.”

Oh, I won’t, Max laughed in his head. Out loud, he told the nurse “thank you” and continued standing at the foot of his father’s bed just watching Dan. The nurse left Max’s side and closed the door behind her.

Max couldn’t even remember the last time he was alone with Dan. Come to think of it, Max probably never was. If he ever was, then he should remember this horribly anxious and uneasy feeling spinning his stomach and the hammering against his chest. He would remember these thoughts of anger and resentment. He didn’t though. So this must have been the first time.

What a marvelous first time.

“I honestly don’t know what to say to you,” Max said with a shrug. He was aware that his audience was unconscious but he continued on anyway. “I came home because this happened to you, but I could really care less. I’ve stayed away for five years because…” Max didn’t feel like revealing anything remotely personal to Dan regardless of his current state of unconsciousness. “…because of a number of things,” Max decided to disclose. “I’ve been tired of hiding for a while now but my pride always prevented me from coming home and admitting what a dick I’ve become. I guess I got that from you. But with you having this heart attack, you’ve given me an excuse to come home without admitting that I’m a jerk. Thank you,” Max said, sarcasm coating his words. Then he sighed heavily, looking regretfully at the ground. “Now I’m hiding behind your heart attack.”

Shaking his head, Max started to pace. He crossed his arms in front of his chest to keep himself from reaching inside his jacket for his comfort. As he walked, Max kept focus on Dan, staring intently, until the door handle turned. Max gave his attention to the door and watched as the doctor entered.

“Hi,” she said with a hint of cheeriness.

Max worked up a grin. “Hello.”

“You must be Max.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Max nodded.

“It’s nice to meet you,” the woman said as she walked toward Dan’s bedside and examined the machines next to him. “I’m Dr. Coughlin.”

Max dropped his chin down for a nod of acknowledgment and then went back to intently watching an unconscious Dan.

When the doctor noticed the look of, what she thought was, concern, she stood next to Max and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “He’s going to make it.” She waited a beat. “The next time he might not.”

Unsure of how to react, Max just looked down at the doctor, having assumed that she was waiting for him to ask her to elaborate, but Max really didn’t care to know. Instead, he continued to feign concern and just looked at Dr. Coughlin with an attentive expression on his face rather than risk revealing his lack of concern, because it was certain that anyone would be able to hear it in his voice.

The doctor believed that maybe Max was just too affected to formulate words. “Your father came to me a week ago presenting with chest pain, shortness of breath, heart murmurs…We ran some tests and we’ve been waiting for the results, but then this happened.”

“Do you know what’s wrong with him?” Max finally said.

“Because your father came in unexpectedly with this emergency, we rushed all the tests to find out what was exactly wrong with him and we were able to see then and there. The lab work I ran last week will just confirm what we suspect.”

Max lifted his eyebrows waiting for the news.

“Your father has an enlarged heart.”

Oh, inside, Max was cracking up. Dan’s heart was too big.

“It has to work harder to function,” Dr. Coughlin went on. “Just like with anything else, if something works too hard, it’ll exhaust itself.”

Dan’s heart was too big and it was going to kill him. Max couldn’t believe it. He would have gone his whole life thinking Dan was a Tin Man had Dan not suffered a heart attack. Now, not only did Max realize there was a heart inside Dan after all, but it was a big heart as well.

Max was about ready to thank the doctor for her help and be on his way but there was something he had to know. “Is this condition Dan has,” he started, “is it something he could have passed onto my brothers and sister and me?”

“Yes.” There was no hesitation from the doctor. “It’s very important that you all get tested, especially Nathan. Once in a while you’ll hear about an athlete—a young athlete—dying of sudden cardiac arrest. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is more than likely the culprit.”

Max hated to admit it but he had had a feeling. Dan just had to pass something on. A curse. How typical. If Dan had to suffer in life, someone close to him had to as well. Hell, it was proof that Dan was poison.

“Have you told the others?” Max wondered.

The doctor shook her head. “I wanted to wait for the labs to come in to be a hundred percent sure.”

“When they do, will you please give me a call?” Max reached into his jacket, retrieved a business card, and offered it to Dr. Coughlin. “I need to know as soon as possible. I want to be the one to have to break it to my brothers and sister.”

Back in the waiting room, Liz had been sitting patiently with her husband’s siblings.

There are those who dread moments alone with in-laws, but for Liz and the Scott children things were frighteningly perfect. Isabel, Michael, Lucas, and Nathan adored Liz, and for Liz, Max’s younger siblings were like the brothers and sister she never had but always wanted. In fact, Liz was more of a sibling to Isabel, Michael, Lucas and Nathan than Max was. I guess it would even be safe to say that they were a little happier to see Liz today.

“How’s he been, Liz?”

The only way they would ever know anything about their oldest brother was to speak with Liz and get the information from her. In the beginning, just after Max left Tree Hill, a few of them would call him once in a while to see how he was doing or at least to get a “hello,” you know, something family members often do with each other. It wasn’t a lot to ask for, but they soon realized the only way to get even the slightest bit of information about Max was during their chats with Liz. Without hesitation, she always took their calls and was always happy to hear from them, and moreover, she tried her best to make time and give them a call every so often, something Max hardly ever did.

“He’s been good,” Liz told them. “He’s learning Portuguese for when he goes to Sao Paolo in a couple of weeks.”

“That might have helped him out when he went to Lisbon,” Michael scoffed.

Liz gave a giggle. “It was because of that incident that he’s learning Portuguese. So now he’s going to try to learn as many languages as he can, or at least enough of each language to get by. He already knows Spanish, French, Italian, and Japanese. He’s learned Arabic, Russian, German, and, I think, Norwegian. He even picked up Afrikaan.”

“All seems so romantic,” Lucas noted.

Locking eyes with the blond, broody brother sitting the farthest away, Liz nodded as she sent him a sympathetic smirk. It was the only way she knew how to reply to that kind of response from Lucas.

Because Liz truly knew Max and because she truly knew his siblings, she was the only one in the perfect position to really understand all of the Scott children and their relationships with each other. While Max was oblivious of Lucas’s dissatisfaction concerning their brotherly love, or lack thereof, Liz could see it clear as day.

“And how about you?” Nathan asked Liz. “How have you been?”

“Good.”

Despite the lack of elaboration, none of them doubted anything Liz said.

“Are you going with Max to Brazil?” Isabel wondered.

Liz took a moment to reply. “Um, not this time,” she answered. “I finally have all the research I need. So now I’m in the ‘putting it together’ phase.”

“If you ever need an editor,” Lucas smiled.

“You’d be the first person I call…if I was writing the next great American novel and not an article for a science journal. I wouldn’t put you through that.” She returned his smile. “Thank you anyway, Luke.”

For a few minutes more, they all continued to catch up. They asked about the latest adventures of Max and Liz, so Liz told them about Johannesburg, Cairo, St. Petersburg, Berlin, and Oslo. They followed up with questions about the glamorous celebrity lifestyle Max and Liz lived in New York and Los Angeles They asked about what new Broadway shows they saw and which new famous figures they met. So Liz remained cavalier as she spoke about sitting next to Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard at the opening of Billy Elliot. She also told them about the dinner she and Max attended, the one that Magic Johnson hosted. Liz knew how happy and excited her brothers-in-law would be to hear that. They’d be even happier to know that waiting in her and Max’s hotel room were three jerseys signed by Magic.

Before they could ask her anything else, Liz was able to turn the tables on her in-laws and find out how they were doing. Isabel glowed as she spoke about the last case she won in which she was able to keep a deserving and loving family from being broken apart. When Liz asked Michael how work was, he told her about the museum he was designing and his excitement for the sustainable, environmentally-friendly and -beneficial aspects of it. Lucas revealed that when he graduated in a month, a job was waiting for him at the publication company he was currently interning at. And finally, Nathan grinned from ear to ear as he spoke about his promising future in basketball.

The conversation was so positive and optimistic. It appeared as though everything was falling into place for the Scotts. They hadn’t even delved into personal lives yet but Liz was pretty sure that things were going great for all of them. So all was good for the family, except for the fact that they were all in the waiting room of a hospital because the patriarch of the family had just suffered a heart attack. They were reminded when the Max returned from Dan’s room.

“How is he?” Isabel asked.

Max bobbed his head as he took Liz’s hand and helped her to her feet. “He’s going to be ok,” he told them. “He wasn’t awake yet and the doctor said he’ll be here for a few more days but he’ll be just fine.” He looked down at his watch. “We better he go,” he said to Liz.

“Go?” Nathan wondered.

“We have a plane to catch.”

Nathan’s eyes narrowed. “Are you kidding me?”

“You’re leaving?” Isabel exclaimed.

Max knew this was the reaction he would receive. The expression of sadness on Nathan’s face was what Max expected. Isabel’s rage came in right on time and Michael’s scoff was predictable. Max was, however, a little surprised to see Lucas disappointed.

“Dan just had a heart attack,” Michael said.

“And we’re here,” Max replied. “I saw him. I know he’s going to be ok. That’s enough.”

Lucas chuckled to himself. “Man, if there was any of us who was worse than Dan, you’d win hands down.”

Max, and anyone really, would find great offense to that remark, and Max did, but he couldn’t argue, because he realized how right Lucas was. He couldn’t help it, though. Max needed to get out of here, out of the hospital, out of Tree Hill. If he stayed any longer, Max was sure that his anxiety would consume him.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” Nathan said. He was going to make sure that he made Max feel guilty. “You fly in, you come here, you say your pathetic ‘hello’ to all of us, you see and get what you need, and then you leave for who knows how long again.” Nathan shook his head in disappointment and went back to pacing like he was earlier, no for an entirely different reason. “I can’t believe how selfish you are.”

“Nate…” Liz sighed.

“You can’t even stay for a few more days?” Isabel begged. “This sounds really horrible but Dan’s heart attack came at the good time. Your birthday is in a few days and I was hoping that we would all get together at the house for a nice, formal dinner.”

Liz gave her husband’s arm a little tug causing him to give her his attention. Without saying a word, she asked him to reconsider. So Max took a moment to look at the people surrounding him.

If Max closed his eyes, he wouldn’t be able to tell you what color his siblings’ eyes were. He wouldn’t be able to tell you who of the five of them was the tallest. Sad, isn’t it? Yes, Max was realizing that.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to stay.”

[pielette]

A little author's note: I apologize for the chapters being so lengthy. I wanted to establish a history for these characters to benefit those who are and aren't OTH fans. The earlier chapters are long but later chapters won't be.

Thank you for reading!

-Holly

CHAPTER 2

Present

The drive was only going to take about ten minutes. Both the Bel and Dan’s home were in the wealthy part of Tree Hill. So driving through the small portion of the town was going to be quick and simple, but instead of heading down the main drag that would easily lead to Dan’s gated neighborhood, Max avoided it. He was on the busy street for maybe a minute or two before getting off and heading in the opposite direction of Dan’s home. Eventually he would drive over there, but Max wanted to take his time, stall as long as his wife would let him.

It wasn’t easy growing up in the Scott household. I guess Max was lucky. He only spent ten years of his life living with Dan and the rest of the family. Isabel and Michael, on the other hand, were there from the beginning of their lives.

They were young then and so I don’t really know how much they remember if they remember anything at all, but they were there when Dan and their mother divorced. They were there when Dan met Karen. Michael and Isabel grew to like her and came very close to loving her, but Dan didn’t make things permanent, not even after Lucas was born. So it was now Isabel, Michael and Lucas who were bystanders in the life Dan led. They watched as Dan met Deb. This time, Deb hung around long enough for the kids to grow to love her. Dan eventually married Deb and then the Scott brood grew larger with the addition of Nathan. A couple of years later, the family absorbed Max.

So yeah, I guess Max was lucky. He didn’t have to live in a broken, repaired, broken, and then repaired again household. He didn’t have to live under their selfish, overbearing, and soulless father. He didn’t have to go through the tumultuousness that that whole life was was, but fortunately, even after meeting them later in life, he still managed to have a relationship with his siblings. Half of them anyway.

Isabel was about seven when she gained an older brother. She thought that she would have had to give up the power that goes along with being the oldest sibling but that definitely wasn’t the case. She unknowingly held onto the power and bypassed Max’s authority and continued to boss around their younger brothers. That was fine with Max, he never did feel like the quintessential oldest sibling. He was, however, treated like one.

And this is where Dan comes in. For the first ten years, Dan didn’t exist to Max. He told himself that Dan was dead. So when Max was forced to live under Dan’s roof and suddenly be Dan’s son, Max wasn’t very happy, and Dan sure as hell stepped into the father role, making things even more unbearable for Max. Dan made up for those ten years. Maybe it was regret. Maybe it was guilt. I’m not sure what it was that made Dan spin 180 but the moment Max stepped inside his home, he showered Max with love and attention, something he didn’t even give to his four other children.

Say “hello” to the root of all that is wrong with the Scott family.

“Hello, Dan.”

When the ten-minute drive hit the thirty-minute mark, Liz put her hand on Max’s. That was enough to get him to realize that he had to stop stalling and just face reality. The night would be over soon enough.

Max had headed back onto the main drag from the deepest part of town. It had been five years since he had been on Tree Hill’s streets but he still knew them so well. Liz did, too. So when Max thought he was going to buy more time by driving off course, Liz got on his ass before he could even signal to turn. She understood his heavy apprehension, and she actually shared some of it, but she knew that they would have to deal with this night. It was going to be hard for both of them, for different reasons and the same reasons. They were going to get through it together, even during the moments that would make Liz’s heart ache.

After driving into the sole gated community of Tree Hill for about five minutes, Max pulled into a long driveway and parked in a courtyard. He helped his wife out of the car and escorted her to the front door of his father’s home. Liz rang the doorbell when all Max did was stand on the front steps. Not long after did Dan answer the door in a wheelchair. I guess seeing him confined to the chair gave Max the confidence to be the first one to speak.

“Happy birthday, son,” Dan replied. With one hand still on the door, Dan used his free hand to maneuver his wheelchair out of the doorway to allow Max and Liz in. “Liz, you look beautiful.”

Liz worked up a smile that only got as far as a smirk. She didn’t offer him a handshake and neither did Max but that’s what Dan expected.

“I didn’t know they released you from the hospital.”

Dan nodded. “This morning.”

“How are you feeling?” Max asked. It was more of a courtesy than a concern, and Max saw it as a nice segue into another question, which would, this time, be a concern.

“Good,” Dan replied with a nod and a smile on his face. “I should be—”

“Did you tell them?”

“Tell who what?”

Max looked for anyone else in earshot. Though it seemed no one was around, Max still kept his voice a little above a whisper. “Did you tell them?” He emphasized each word. He wasn’t going to beat around the bush or play coy.

Confused, Liz squeezed her husband’s hand to grab his attention. “Max, what’s going on?”

“Dan knows what we’re talking about.”

So then Dan conceded. “How did you know?” he asked.

“When I went to visit you,” Max began to explain, “Dr. Coughlin told me HCM was her guess. I asked her to contact me when she got the labs back and knew for sure. She called me the next day.”

“But your brothers and sister don’t know.”

“Because I haven’t told them,” he reluctantly admitted.

A devilish, but proud, grin stretched across Dan’s face. “Well, I just found out today and was waiting until everyone was here to tell them. What’s your excuse?”

“They don’t need to know.”

“Yes, they do,” Dan scoffed. “Nathan, especially.”

“He’s fine.”

“No one knows that unless he gets tested. You all have to get tested.”

“Tested for what?” Liz asked.

“I’ll tell you about it later,” Max told his wife before focusing back on his father. “They don’t need to know,” he repeated.

Dan came to a conclusion and bobbed his head, conveying understanding and surrender. “Ok,” he told his son. “I won’t tell them.”

“Where are they?” Max asked. He stood with one hand stuffed in his pocket and kept the other around Liz’s hand, and he looked around the room to keep away from any chance of locking eyes with Dan again. He already met his quota and he wasn’t interested in overachieving.

Dan started to roll his way out of the foyer. “Look who’s here,” he announced.

Max kept hold of Liz’s hand as he started to follow his father into the living room. Liz could feel his apprehension in his tight grip and his hesitation became more evident when he halted just before turning the corner into the room. Once the two of them were inside, Isabel, her husband Alex, Michael, Michael’s girlfriend Maria, and Lucas stood up to greet them. Max exhaled sharply and calmed himself.

Despite it being a small family dinner held at Dan’s home, everyone was dressed to the nines. Think opening day at the horse track without the big hats. Beautifully flowing spring dresses adorned the women while the men donned luxurious and handsome tailored suits.

Isabel approached Max first, immediately wrapping her arms around him. “I’m so happy you decided to stay,” she told him. “Happy birthday.”

“Thank you, Iz.”

Isabel moved to greet Liz while Alex shook hands with Max. “Happy birthday,” the tall, lanky man said to his brother-in-law

Max tried to stand as tall as he could but was still about three inches shorter than his sister’s husband. It was clear, though, that more confidence lied in Max. “Thank you, Alex,” Max said. “How have you been?”

“Good.” The intimidation and uneasiness in Alex was apparent. He gave Liz a quick hug and then returned back to the couch.

Michael stepped up and offered his brother his free hand while a glass of scotch rested in the other. “Happy birthday, Maxwell.” His breath stank of the liquor. “Congratulations on making it thirty years.”

Max went silent but thanked his brother with a nod of appreciation.

“I’m sorry,” Maria apologized as she hugged Max. “Don’t mind Michael. Happy birthday.”

After the two of them let go, Maria and Liz rushed to embrace each other and squeezed each other tight.

There wouldn’t be a Michael and Maria if there wasn’t a Maria and Liz. When Michael graduated high school, Max and Liz came home. They brought along with them Liz’s best friend Maria. For two hours during Michael’s graduation party, no one could find Michael or Maria. They’ve been together on and off ever since.

“How are things going?” Liz wondered.

“‘Ok’ is the only answer I can give you right now.” Maria let her eyes widen, gesturing that this wasn’t the time or place to catch up. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t meet up with you until today. How much longer are you staying in town?”

Liz glanced over at Max to see him distracted. “Not much longer,” she told Maria.

While the two girls briefed each other about the latest happenings, Max was watching his brother Lucas over at the bar. He made his way over there when Max and Liz came into the room and Max had noticed immediately. Max also noticed that while Isabel was with her husband and Michael was here with his girlfriend, Lucas was here unaccompanied.

Max stepped in Lucas’s direction but stopped when Nathan and Haley rushed in.

“Hey!” Nathan cheered. He jogged to his brother and grappled him in a bear hug. “Happy birthday, man.”

“Thanks.” Max’s laughter and voice was muffled against his brother’s shoulder.

Nathan moved to hug Liz while Max greeted his brother’s girlfriend with a kiss on the cheek.

“It’s really nice to see you, Haley,” he said.

“You too,” she replied. “Nathan’s so happy you decided to hang around. Happy birthday.”

Max smiled appreciatively and watched as Haley made her way over to greet his brothers and sister across the room. Haley said hello to Lucas with a tight hug and kiss on the cheek. They shared a quick laugh over something and then Haley moved toward Isabel and Alex, but Max kept his eyes on Lucas who continued to remain over by the bar and hadn’t yet made an attempt to come over.

“Hey,” Nathan said to Max, stealing his attention. “You and I haven’t had a chance to talk about this season.”

“I know,” Max replied apologetically. “But I watched you, Nate, every game. I’m real proud of you.”

Nathan grinned, trying his best to tone down his smile. Max would never know how much his approval meant to Nathan. “Thanks, Max. Three-peat next year.” He lovingly slapped his brother’s arm and moved to join Haley and greet his other siblings.

“How are you doing?” Liz wondered.

Max brought his stare down to his wife. “Ok,” he told her. “I think I’m ok. How about you?”

“Just fine, but um, we’ve had an audience this whole time.” With her eyes, Liz gestured in a certain direction.

Max knew exactly who she was talking about. He looked over his shoulder and found Dan staring at them. Dan didn’t even attempt to look away when his son caught him watching them. Instead, he just softened the expression on his face and hoped to get the same from his son, but Max just continued to glare at Dan for a moment, letting his father know that he wasn’t having it. After that moment, Max needed his mind to be elsewhere. He grabbed his wife’s hand and took a seat on one of the couches to be around his brothers and sister. Being surrounded by them was infinitely better than standing alone and watched by Dan.

As Max was sitting down Lucas caught his eye. The blond Scott had been sitting next to his best friend Haley and gave her his full attention. Still, Lucas had not acknowledged Max, not even when the older brother sat just feet away from the younger one.

To rid himself of his overbearing thoughts and insecurities, Max shook his head and tried to focus on anything else. “So…” he began. “What’s new?” He had the ability to charm even the coldest of people until they swooned and he could successfully pitch proposals to the most intimidating businessmen that you would never be able to fathom, but Max had the hardest time talking to his siblings. Again, there was no one else to blame besides himself.

Lucas and Michael exchanged looks and chuckled at their older brother’s attempt.

Aware of the awkward silence, which would be a natural occurrence this night, Nathan slapped his knees and stood up from the couch. “Hey, why don’t we shoot some hoops?”

It was a noble and valid suggestion. It was probably the smartest thing to suggest, because the only thing that the boys had in common, as far as interests go, was basketball. Their two-on-two pick-up games were a Godsend for the family. A lot of times, the boys would be on their game causing for a close and intense match. Surprisingly, those games always ended with the boys congratulating and praising each other, regardless of who won or loss. Backwards, isn’t it? You’d figure that during those close games, where the intensity is so high it gets the adrenaline and testosterone going, that the boys would be most intent on winning and that that was the most important thing, but they were never competitive like that, not with each other.

When all the boys play well, it brings out a sportsmanship and camaraderie between them. They push each other in the most positive sense with the best of intentions in mind, to make each other better. If any of them left the game pissed off and a sore loser, it was because of frustration in themselves, not because the other team kicked their ass. If one brother wasn’t having a good day, he wasn’t going to hate on his other brothers for playing as well as they knew how. More so, he was going to take the hard time his brothers were going to give him, because they would be justified in telling him that he was better than how he was playing.

Don’t get me wrong, not every game they played against each other ended “happily ever after.” Once in a while one of the boys would be a little bitch, causing fights, playing sloppy, hacking and shoving. That, though, was a rarity.

If you wanted to know what helped keep the family together, it was basketball. That, and Isabel.

“Honey,” Haley said as she looked straight up at Nathan. “Look at what you’re wearing.”

He looked at the neck tie that ran down his chest and was tucked into his waistcoat. He noticed his shiny black dress shoes that slid against pretty much any surface. “Oh,” he said, sitting back down next to Haley.

While Nathan had been standing, something had caught the eye of his siblings. It caused them to examine Haley, and after an easy-to-come-to conclusion, the siblings were none too happy.

“Those are promise rings, right?” Isabel asked with a nervous laugh.

Both Nathan and Haley’s eyes widened at the exact same moment and they continued to move in sync as they looked at each other and then down at each other’s left hands, particularly their ring fingers.

“Yeah,” Nathan quickly told his sister.

“God,” Lucas scoffed. “You’re a fucking horrible liar, Nate.”

Nathan and Haley both closed their eyes at the same time and I’m pretty sure they were feeling the same thing, regret and embarrassment. Meanwhile, Nathan’s siblings were reeling and Dan had rolled his way over to join the others in feeling disappointed and angry.

“Haley, are you pregnant?” Lucas questioned.

“No!” Her response was quick and defensive. “No, Nathan and I never even—Not before we—”

“She’s not pregnant,” Nathan affirmed.

Dan chuckled. “So this mistake was by your own will.”

No one even bothered to acknowledge Dan.

“I can’t believe you two!” Isabel exclaimed. “This has to be a joke.”

She had gotten up from the couch and started pacing, her palm on her forehead. Alex had made a reach to grab his wife and bring her back down to the couch with the intention to calm and comfort her, but Isabel was just too fast. She paced back and forth, pivoting after every fourth step. During her fourth pass she nearly collided with Michael who was heading over to the bar to refresh his drink, leaving Maria to be an uncomfortable bystander in yet another Scott family debacle. Maria briefly looked over at Liz and managed to catch her eye. The two best friends exchanged “Oh my God” glances and then Maria buried her face in her hands. Liz grabbed Max’s hand and leaned up against his arm. She placed her chin on his shoulder and studied the expression on his face. He was angry. She could tell as she was only inches away from his bulging jaw muscles. Understanding of Max’s anger, Liz rested her head on his shoulder and just let him fume. While she watched Nathan and Haley burn red and sweat under the hot stares of everyone in the room, Liz caught a glance of Dan and realized that Max and Dan had the same livid expression on their faces. That was something she was going to keep to herself.

“Haley, you’re smarter than this!” Isabel continued to rant.

Shaking his head, Lucas sighed heavily and spoke more calmly. “What were you thinking, Hales?”

Liz couldn’t help but feel bad for the girl. Ten years ago, she was in Haley’s position, except it was only Dan and Deb who gave her grief and not all of Max’s siblings. Isabel, Michael, Lucas, and Nathan were younger then, they didn’t really have an opinion about Max and Liz getting married at twenty.

Dan scoffed. “There goes your future in basketball.”

“What are you talking about?” Nathan asked offended.

“Don’t listen to him,” Lucas ordered.

Taking his brother’s advice, Nathan moved on. “I don’t see what the big deal is,” he said. “Haley and I are happy with our decision.”

“Yeah,” Michael scoffed. “Happy now.”

Maria sent Michael a glare

“When did this happen?” Isabel demanded to know. “How long have you been thinking about it?”

Lucas was just as curious. “Why didn’t you tell me about this, Haley?”

“You guys,” Alex started to plea. “Maybe we should ease up—”

“Stay out of this,” Michael snapped.

Isabel stopped in her tracks. “Don’t talk to him like that.”

“He has no say in this.”

“Michael, calm down,” Lucas said.

Nathan shook his head in disbelief. “Everyone just shut up. We thought this through,” he told them all. “It was going to happen sooner or later, why not sooner?”

“Because you’re going to end up—” Max froze still and interrupted. It wasn’t because he was about to make a revelation that would cause as much commotion as Haley and Nathan’s, it was because something—someone had distracted him.

All eyes were on Max when he stood up and began to finally have a say. They continued to watch him for a slight second while he went speechless and until they realized he was sidetracked. Everyone followed his stare pointed at the foyer and found Brooke standing surprised that she was the center of attention.

“Hi,” she laughed. She had a nervous smile on her face as she waved.

Lucas jumped to his feet and rushed over to Brooke while Max’s heart dropped. He sank back down onto the couch. This time, Liz didn’t grab a hold of his hand or bother to make any sort of contact with him, but she did watch him as he observed Lucas and Brooke.

“You couldn’t have come at a better time,” Max heard Lucas say, then he witnessed his brother plant a kiss on Brooke’s lips.

“What’s going on?” she wondered.

“Nathan and I got married,” Haley answered as if it were no big deal. She was just over the whole ordeal and wanted to move on.

Brooke’s jaw dropped and her eyes opened nearly as wide as her mouth. “Shut up!” She rushed over to Haley and grabbed her hand to see the evidence of a marriage. Afterward, Brooke dropped Haley’s hand in order to give her a tight hug.

“That’s it.” Nathan stood up and addressed the room. “For now, everyone just get over the fact that Haley and I are married. It’s Max’s birthday today and we’re finally lucky enough to be with him to celebrate it.” He reached into his vest and pulled out an envelope. “Here,” he said, handing his brother the envelope. “Happy birthday.”

Everyone settled down. Dan wheeled himself to be in a better position to watch Max open gifts. Isabel finally took her seat next to her husband. Michael stood behind the couch where Maria sat with a full glass of scotch in his hand. Lucas wrapped his arm around Brooke’s waist and led her over to the couch across from Max and Liz, and Liz put on a smile as Max received his first present.

With an appreciative smirk on his face, Max took the envelope from Nathan’s hand and began to open it. “Thank you,” he replied. “Lakers-Knicks tickets,” he announced after observing the slips of paper in the envelope. His smirk turned into a happy grin. “Thank you, guys.”

Nathan gave a noble nod and sat back down next to his wife, wrapping a comforting arm around her.

“Michael, where’s Max’s present?” Maria asked.

Michael reluctantly bent down and grabbed a rectangular box from behind the couch. Rather than walk to Max and give him the present, Michael tapped the side of Maria’s arm with the box.

“What are you doing?” It wasn’t that late into the night and already she was irritated by him. “Just give it to him.”

But Michael remained silent and continued to hold the box out in front of his girlfriend.

Absolutely hesitant and frustrated, Maria snatched the present and handed it over to Max. “Happy birthday,” she said.

“Thank you,” Max chuckled. He undid the ribbon around the box, freeing the lid and revealing a bottle of wine. “Taylor’s 30 year old Tawny Port. Very appropriate. Thank you.”

“It’s drinkable now, but it’s supposed to be best in seven years,” Maria informed him.

“No, this one’s going in my special collection cabinet in the cellar when we go back home,” Max smiled.

Isabel clapped her hands twice in glee. With the exception of the pink elephant in the room that was Nathan and Haley’s marriage, things were going considerably nice. “Who’s next?” she wondered.

“Why don’t you go?” Michael suggested.

“Our gift isn’t here yet.”

Nathan looked to their father in his wheelchair. “Dan?”

“I’d like to give my gift to Max privately,” he replied.

Of course, Max wasn’t especially looking forward to that.

“Lucas, you’re up,” Isabel deduced.

Max and Lucas never were the closest of the brothers. In fact, an outsider might think the two of them kind of resented each other. Yet Max was yearning to make some sort of contact with Lucas since up to this moment there was no communication of any kind between the two of them.

Lucas walked out of the room and returned with a nicely square box in his hands. He leaned over the coffee table where Max met him halfway. “It was hard to figure out what to get you since you have everything already,” he nervously laughed, “but I hope you like it. Happy birthday, Max.”

Surprisingly, Max was taken aback by Lucas’s sincerity. By the way things had been up to this point, Max was expecting more coldness but to his surprise and delight, it was the exact opposite. “Thank you, Luke,” he replied, hoping he was coming off as genuine as his brother did. Max pulled off the wrapping paper revealing a plain cardboard box. He lifted the lid.

“A little basketball?” Liz said as she peered into the box.

Max pulled out the worn orange ball that rested comfortably in his palm. His eyes were narrowed as he stared at it in fascination, observing it keenly.

Maria shook her head. “I don’t get it.”

“Twenty years ago,” Lucas began to explain, “when Max came into this family—”

“Lucas handed me this ball,” Max finished. He looked over at his brother and gave him an appreciative and flattered smirk. “It was the first thing he did when we met.”

Innocent, warm smiles stretched across the girls’ faces, Alex’s too, while the rest of the men looked regretfully at their hands or the spot between their feet as Max continued to study the ball. The feeling of it in his hand was the same feeling twenty years ago and suddenly he was thinking back to when he was ten.

Max had always known that he had brothers and a sister. Tree Hill wasn’t the smallest of small towns but it was small enough that you couldn’t hide from truth. He never met his siblings, though, until that day he moved in to the Scott home but never really into the family.

It was very much like being the new kid in school. There were the kids that welcomed you. In this case, Isabel represented that group. Some kids know right off the bat that they aren’t going to like you, i.e. Michael. On the other side, there are your feelings as the new kid. There are those that you like because of their kindness—Isabel. You always know that you’re just not going to get along with some kids. Max saw that in Michael. Other kids you know you want to hang out with. Even though Nathan was just a baby then that’s who Max sought out. And then there are kids that are just acquaintances, maybe sometimes you don’t like them, but they always end up surprising you in impressing ways, and eventually, you realize that the reason you keep them at distance is because, actually, they’re just like you.

“Lucas, thank you,” Max said. “I love it.”

He watched his younger brother sheepishly smile and bob his head, lowering his nervous stare to the ground. Lucas gained some confidence though when his girlfriend comfortingly rubbed his back and kissed his cheek. Max looked away then and focused on the server who entered the room.

“Dinner’s ready,” the man announced.

Everyone got to their feet while Dan was beating the pack and wheeling himself into the dining room. Max quickly gathered all of his presents and set them aside as his wife waited, her hand outstretched to him. When Max looked up, there was her hand, which he lovingly took without any hesitation. He loved that she was there for him. He loved that she knew he desperately needed her this night. He loved her graciousness and conscientiousness.

Once Max and Liz entered the dining room, they deduced the locations of their seats. Four chairs lined one side of the long table and were occupied by Isabel, Alex, Maria, and Michael. At the head of the table, Dan tried his best to get comfortable. Sitting on Dan’s other side and across from Michael was Nathan, then Haley across from Maria, Lucas across from Alex, and across from Isabel, Brooke, and next to Brooke an empty chair and then another empty chair at the other end of the table.

Both Max and Liz reluctantly took their seats.

[pielette]

Thank you for the fb WomanofMystery and pandas2001!

Another little note about the length of the chapters. This one's a short one! Yay! And some of the following chapters have been divided into parts so that they're not just one LONG chapter. Again, I apologize. I never intended the chapters to be so long. Sorry to put you all through that. LoL.

Best,

Holly

CHAPTER 3

“Max, Liz tells us you’re going to Brazil.”

With a nod, he replied, “In June.”

“And then?”

“I’ll be in Los Angeles for a while.”

And that was probably the most that Max said at the dinner table. Conversations on the side became the interaction of choice when it looked like one large family conversation wasn’t going to happen thanks to Max’s aloofness. So at different points during the dinner, people spoke to their respective partners; Max aside, siblings exchanged banter; and friends would talk amongst friends. Nathan tried to discuss basketball with Alex while Isabel and Brooke chatted about fashion. Liz asked Lucas about school and work, and Maria and Haley were sharing stories and recent experiences concerning their music.

Max just watched them all until he realized his father was doing the same. Then, Max started to study everyone’s hands as they maneuvered eating utensils across bowls and plates. He tried to play a matching game and imagined that he didn’t know who sat where but would figure that out by observing everyone’s hands. Isabel’s hands were slender and her nails were always well-manicured but always painted a neutral, soft color. Tonight they were an almost transparent peach. The next set of hands were that of Isabel’s husband. No offense to Alex, but in this company his hands were the most delicate of all the men’s especially compared to the Scott boys whose hands were all wide and thick from lifetimes of basketball.

Obviously Max knew his hands from his brothers and father and he knew his father’s from his brothers. It was harder to tell Michael’s, Lucas’s, and Nathan’s apart. Although, now, Nathan had a wedding band around his left ring finger, and the smaller, petite hands of the person sitting next to him wore a matching wedding ring. By close observation, Max noticed that two people at the table had callused fingers and Max deduced that the only thing that could cause callusing like theirs was from playing guitar, something he knew Maria and Haley excelled at. Since Max was able to distinguish whose hands were Haley’s, he assumed the other set of callused fingers were Maria’s, especially since Haley wore a wedding ring and, even though she’s been with Michael for eight years, Max knew the ring finger on Maria’s left hand was still bare. So then Max was able to figure out that Michael’s hands were the set next to Maria, and Max confirmed his guess by studying the middle finger of the right hand, spotting a callus created from years of sketching and drawing.

The only pair of Scott hands that were left were Lucas’s. They were kind of like Max’s in that they weren’t callused like Michael’s were and they weren’t as muscular as Nathan’s were. Actually, the only trait distinguishing Max’s hands from Lucas’s was a piece of jewelry. A thick white gold band separated Max’s hands from Lucas’s naked ones, and the delicate hands of the person next to Lucas’s were just as bare, but the pair of hands next to Brooke had something very familiar to Max. He had spent two hours trying to pick out Liz’s engagement ring more than ten years ago and another two hours searching for the perfect wedding band. They decorated Liz’s left hand and sparkled like her eyes, or at least like her eyes did.

For some coincidental reason, Max wasn’t the only one thinking about hands and weddings bands at the moment. The dinner plates were removed by the caterers as Maria reached across the table to gaze at Haley’s wedding ring. Max observed Michael avoid the moment by staring at the ground.

“So how does it feel?” Maria wondered.

“I’m not sure,” Haley laughed. “We’ve only been married for a day. I don’t even think it’s really hit me.”

Maria delicately let go of Haley’s hand after a kind pat. “I’m sure it’s a nice feeling.”

“Oh, get off it, Maria,” Michael said with distaste.

His brothers and sister were taken aback by his crudeness.

“What? Haley and I are just talking.”

“About marriage.” Michael rolled his eyes and pounded his scotch.

Max had that uncomfortable queasy feeling of a looming uproar.

“It’s something nice to talk about it,” Maria replied.

A scoff and stench of scotch rushed out from Michael’s mouth. “You talk about it all the time. How have you not annoyed yourself?”

His spiteful attitude enraged Isabel. “Michael!”

“It’s ok, Isabel,” Maria told her.

“No, Michael knows better.”

But Maria still tried to defend her boyfriend. “Michael’s been drinking.”

“Michael’s sitting right here,” Michael sighed. “Look, don’t get on my case. I’m not the one who’s 21 and already hitched. At least I’m waiting until I’m grown up.”

“I guess I should consider myself lucky,” Maria said to herself.

Meanwhile, Nathan was reacting to the dig aimed at him. “Oh, real nice, Michael.”

“Hey, if you didn’t want all this attention you shouldn’t have gotten married.”

“It’s not about attention, ass.”

Dan placed his fork down. “Then what is it about, Nathan? If it was about love, you could have waited.”

“He’s right,” Isabel said.

“I can’t believe you’re on his side.”

Lucas scoffed. “There are no sides, Nate. It’s not Dan versus you and Haley.”

Nathan slammed his napkin down and got to his feet. “No, it’s about all of you against me and Haley.”

“Nathan…” Haley grabbed her husband’s hand.

“You’re all ganging up on me,” Nathan said. “I didn’t do anything wrong. We didn’t do anything wrong. We did what Max and Liz did ten years ago. Max, help me out.”

All eyes were redirected to the end of the table where Max sat. Instead of addressing his brother, Max looked at his wife. He slid his hand across the table and placed it on top of hers. He held it tight. He held it lovingly. He looked into her eyes. He saw the sparkle. It was still there, but very faint.

Max nervously cleared his throat. “Nathan, I’m sorry,” he told his brother, “but I can’t back you up on this.”

“But you and Liz—”

“Liz and I have separated,” Max revealed.

As soon as the words escaped his lips, Max squeezed Liz’s hand and she squeezed back. They looked down the table at their surprised and stunned family and prepared for the field of questions they would soon received.

[pielette]

Thank you for the FB, pandas2001!

This chapter is a little long but not as long as the previous ones.

CHAPTER 4

Nathan chuckled with his crystal blue eyes narrowed in disbelief. “Wait, you’re kidding, right?”

Max gave a slight shake of his head. He didn’t want to have to reconfirm the truth by saying it aloud.

“Why didn’t you say anything before?” Isabel asked.

“Are you really surprised he didn’t tell us?” Michael scoffed. “He probably wouldn’t have even told us if—”

“Michael, shut up,” Maria ordered. “Liz, you never mentioned anything.”

Liz’s cheeks burnt red. She was clearly embarrassed by all of the attention, but Max rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb and it seemed to comfort her. “We didn’t know how to tell you all,” she said. “We don’t even know what to tell you really.”

“So wait,” Lucas said. “What does this mean? ‘Cause I’m looking at you two and I’m really confused.”

On his way to looking at Lucas, Max glanced at Brooke who gave him a sympathetic smirk and mouthed “I’m sorry,” which Max acknowledged with a subtle nod. “Liz and I have decided to get a divorce,” Max said and a destructive fire started to burn inside of him.

“What happened?” Nathan asked, genuinely trying to understand.

But Max was done. He rose to his feet and placed his napkin down on the table. “I can’t do this right now,” he told his family. “Just accept it. Liz and I have.”

Everyone at the table sat with their questions unanswered and watched as Max left the room.

“Should someone go after him?” Brooke wondered.

Alex shrugged. “Maybe he needs some time alone.”

“Just give him a minute,” Liz told them all.

She received nods to her suggestion and then sat on edge while she observed everyone take a moment to react. Liz watched Michael drag his hands across his tired face while Maria fought the urge to get up from her seat and rush to Liz’s side. With his elbows on the table, Nathan rested his forehead against his palms, staring down at the napkin in his lap. Haley leaned her cheek against his arm and remained silent, unsure what to say, afraid of their own future. Isabel and Alex sat turned toward one another, speaking to each other quietly. Lucas appeared lost in thought, his eyes looking at every last object on the table. Liz spotted Dan intently staring at the chair where Max had been sitting. She quickly averted her eyes and landed on Brooke who stared at the doorway Max left out of.

Through her peripheral vision, Brooke could see that Liz was looking in her direction. She wasn’t sure if Liz was actually looking at her. To determine that, Brooke looked to her left and, yes, she awkwardly locked eyes with Liz. Both women exchanged soft smiles and then quickly, but long enough to be polite, brought their stares to their laps.

It comes across that Max and Liz’s announcement is one with devastating consequences, and it is, because with this divorce, the family wasn’t just losing a sister in Liz, they were losing their only tie to Max.

Isabel, Michael, Lucas, and Nathan weren’t afraid that they wouldn’t hear from Liz again. Their relationships with her were strong enough to survive this divorce. They’d still call her at least once a week. They’d still answer her calls. If they were in New York, they were going to visit her. If she happened to be in North Carolina, she was going to visit them. It was just going to be different. They wouldn’t be interacting as in-laws anymore. They were all just going to be friends, which was fine. It was fine, but they liked the fact that she was their sister. She wasn’t going to be when she and Max divorce.

And she wasn’t going to be the liaison between Max and his siblings anymore. That terrified Isabel, Michael, Lucas, and Nathan. How were they going to know if he landed safely at the location of his next business trip? Who would tell them that he was in Los Angeles this weekend or in New York that weekend? Their brother had always been just a little more than a reach away, but now…

Nathan shoved his chair out from under him and marched out of the room. Everyone watched him until he disappeared behind the wall. Afterward, they all looked back at the spots they were staring at before Nathan left; their hands, their laps, the table, the ground, the ceiling, anything but each other. But a couple of minutes later they were staring at the doorway once more.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO TELL YOU?”

It was such a forceful shout with an astonishing amount of power behind it.

Now the people at the dining table began to exchange glances, except for Isabel. She jumped to her feet and rushed to find her brothers. Lucas and Michael followed, both for different reasons. It was almost certain that Michael was just going to cause more trouble while Lucas was going to serve as a bystander, maybe he would intervene if things got out of hand, but for the most part, he wanted to be included as an observer. Everyone else figured they would do the same. Plus, they didn’t want to be left in the room with Dan.

Amidst the chaos and crowd of people, Maria sought Liz and grabbed her hand. “Are you ok?” she wondered.

“Yeah,” Liz nodded. “I’m going to be fine.”

“I hope that’s because you’re emotionally stable and not because you think you’re going to be receiving a nice settlement from my son.”

Both Liz and Maria brought their stares down to about waist-level where they saw Dan rolling closely behind them. Rather than engage in a sparring match with Dan, the girls gave him an icy stare and picked up their pace to keep up with the crowd.

They learned early on how to deal with Dan. Despite being warned and prepped about him by their respective significant others, it wasn’t near enough. Their first days were a little frightening but each girl stayed strong, and eventually, it was by experience and interaction with Dan that they learned how to rebuff and tolerate him. They were good too. Most of the time, they would just let things slide, to be the better person, but sometimes, the girls would bite back with a snide remark that had as much of a punch as Dan’s quips. Poor Alex never got the hang of dealing with Dan. He struggled and eventually stopped trying. Haley had some tough days ahead of her. She still needed to thicken her skin. I think Brooke had it the easiest. She grew up just down the street from the Scotts. Her parents and theirs frequented the same country clubs and ran in the same social circle. In fact, Brooke knew Dan longer than Max did.

“I just want you to talk to me.”

“I said everything that I was willing to say.”

Nathan and Max were identical with the tone of their voices and the gestures they made, emphasizing their words with their arms. Both of them froze when they noticed they were joined by an audience. Nathan faced the crowd while Max shied away and turned, looking at the ground as he did.

“Hey,” Nathan greeted his family. “We were just talking.”

“Yeah,” Michael chuckled. “We could hear that.”

Max gathered himself together and started walking toward the group, directly toward his wife. “Let’s go.”

He grabbed her hand, but she slowly, and politely as possible, slid it out from his grasp. “We can’t leave things like this.”

There were many, many times when Liz demonstrated how wise she was and every time Max beamed with pride. This was the exception.

“I don’t know what to tell you all,” Max said, addressing his family.

People started to move into the living room and settle on the couches. Michael headed straight over to the bar but Maria stopped him from opening the scotch decanter. She handed him a can of pop instead. As she directed him away from the bar, Dan took their place and poured scotch into the glass Michael had intended for himself.

“Can you guys just talk us through things?” Isabel said.

“We did a lot of that with a therapist,” Liz replied. “I don’t think I can say it all out loud again.”

“And neither can I,” Max agreed. “Liz and I just don’t want to talk about it. Not yet.”

Lucas nervously cleared his throat and spoke up. “Can you at least tell us what’s going to happen?”

Liz looked to Max. She gave him a comforting smile and put her hand in his. “I’m staying in New York and Max is going to move to Los Angeles.”

The thought of Max moving across the country had never even crossed their minds. I mean, they always knew that Max split his time between the two coasts, but now it looked like Max was going to call California home. He was definitely going to be out of their grasp three thousand miles away.

“You don’t have to tell us what happened,” Nathan started, “but can you tell us when? Maybe you two haven’t given it enough time.”

Nathan may have been a married man but to Max he was still just his baby brother. So Max offered him a kind, soft smirk, appreciative of his brother’s interest, which was an indication of his innocence and naïveté. “It’s been happening for a long while, Nate.”

“Just accept it,” Michael sighed. “The man you look up to is a failure as a husband.”

Lucas stared at him in disgust. “Man, what is your problem?”

“Oh, come on. You can’t honestly tell me you’re not happy that Max finally failed.”

When it was clear that Michael was speaking directly to Lucas and not to everyone in general, Lucas bowed his head in embarrassment, convincing himself that he was hiding from Max.

“He sucks as a brother and son,” Michael continued, this time to everyone in general, “but we still hold a candle to him. Finally we see he’s not the extraordinary man we made him out to be.” Clearly Michael was resentful.

Tongue in cheek, Max let his head bob and brought his stare down to the ground.

“Seriously, what is wrong with you?” Lucas wondered, shaking his head.

“Nathan needs to grow up,” Michael said, continuing his mean streak. “Max has been his role model since Nathan could recognize him. All the answers Nathan needed, he always found them in Max, but now he’s out of luck. Our little brother has to make this premature marriage work but he’s terrified. He doesn’t think he’ll be able to do it because Maxwell’s failed and now Nathan doesn’t have his hero to turn to this time.”

Fighting the urge to march across the room and punch Michael square in the face, Nathan just clenched his fists as tight as his jaw and kept them by his side. Max did the same.

“Maria, I don’t know what you’re still doing with him,” Isabel said, staring Michael down. “What is wrong with you?” she asked her brother.

“Michael’s right,” Dan announced.. “I knew ten years ago Max was making a mistake but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I’m not sorry I was right.”

Lucas spat out a laugh. “Are you kidding me?! You knocked up four different women, married only two of them and failed at both of those marriages.”

Dan sat unaffected.

“What do you want me to do about it, Dan?” Nathan demanded. “You want me to divorce Haley? Then I’m failing like you think Max has. You want me to stay married? Then you’re just going to continue thinking this is a mistake like you did with Max’s marriage. It’s lose-lose with you. It always is.”

“I want this marriage annulled,” Dan said. “You and Haley can try again in a few—”

This time it was Isabel to express her disbelief with a loud scoff. “What difference will it make?” she asked her father.

“A lot.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lucas said.

Dan ignored him and pushed himself toward his youngest son. “I know a thing or two, Nathan. Learn from my mistakes.”

“I will,” he laughed.

“Good luck,” Michael said snidely.

Isabel had had enough of her brother. “I don’t like the idea that Nathan’s married, because he’s still just a kid, but you, Michael, you’re so cynical. It’s like you’re attacking marriage. It doesn’t seem fair to Maria.”

Maria gave a sigh. “You guys—”

“None of this is about us,” Michael interrupted. “So don’t bring us into this.”

“She has a good point,” Lucas observed. “You seem to have a strong attitude about it.”

Brooke eyed the tension. “You guys, that’s something Maria and Michael should talk about.”

“Maria, I love you like a sister,” Isabel told her. “I care about you. You shouldn’t have to wait forever, especially not for Michael.”

An appreciative smile rested on Maria’s face.

Meanwhile, Michael sat with his knees nervously bouncing, his frustration wanting to escape his body. He may have had a stonewall permanently up but stonewalls can have cracks. “Are we going to do this here?” Michael asked hypothetically. “Then fine. You want me to lay it out for you? I’m not marrying Maria but I’m not breaking up with her either.”

Nathan scoffed. “Talk about selfish.”

“Can we not do this right now?” Maria begged.

“You want to know this is going somewhere, right?” Lucas asked her despite knowing the answer. “You deserve better.”

“I’m not letting her go. She’s the only good thing I’ve got.”

“Then marry her!” Isabel exclaimed.

Michael looked at the ground. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I can’t provide for her,” he revealed to the carpet. After a beat, Michael finally looked up and faced his family. “If this is a night for confessions…I’m broke.”

Liz squinted her eyes in confusion and decided to join the conversation. “What happened to your job? I thought you were still working for Coburn & Kay.”

“Me too,” Maria said.

Michael stood up and put distance between himself and his girlfriend but he still gave her his attention. “I got fired,” he told her.

Dan had an inkling that he knew why but he wanted to hear it. “What did you do?”

“Nice, Dan,” Nathan scoffed. “Assume it was something Michael did.”

Everyone brought their gaze to Michael and waited for an answer. Michael’s silence and reluctance told Dan that his assumption about his son was right.

“So are you showing up to work drunk or drinking at work? Maybe both?” Dan questioned.

Heads turned from Dan to Michael.

“Don’t tell me he’s right,” Nathan sighed.

Rather than answer his brother, Michael addressed his sister. “Are you happy now, Isabel?

His avoidance of the issue caused winces of disappointment from everyone in the room, mostly Michael’s family. The others were hoping that Dan was wrong. They couldn’t bear another revelation adding to the uncomfortable tension in the room. But they knew what they were getting into when they committed to their respective Scott.

“I’m sorry I’m not perfect,” Michael went on, a slight slurring in his words. “I know how much of a disappointment I am to you.”

Isabel’s heart dropped. “Michael, I—”

“No,” he interrupted. “I’m not smart like Max. I’m not sensitive like Lucas. I’m not athletic like Nathan.”

All the alcohol Michael consumed seemed to have hit him at once. He stood unsteady, wobbling a bit. A few times Nathan and Lucas jumped slightly toward their older brother ready to catch him in case his legs gave way and he toppled over.

“You need to cool down,” Alex suggested.

Michael stared at his only brother-in-law, studying the well-educated lean man. Even though everyone watched Michael diligently he reacted before anyone could physically take him outside.

“Everyone needs a chance to be in the hot seat tonight,” he said, continuing to glare at Alex. “It’s your turn.”

“Michael, stop,” Isabel ordered.

“No,” Michael laughed. “You get on my case for not giving Maria what she deserves, what about Alex?”

Alex knew exactly what Michael was getting at but he remained silent. Maybe he should have tried to defend himself but doing so would consequently put blame on Isabel even though no one was at fault for their misfortune.

“Come on,” Michael said, egging Alex on. “My sister has wanted kids ever since she could hold a baby doll in her arms.”

“Michael, shut up,” Isabel commanded, but there was no stopping Michael.

“I can’t believe this is still going on,” Haley whispered to Brooke, referring to the storm Michael caused.

Brooke agreed with a nod. She had been a spectator for most of this night. It was like watching an intriguing movie at the theater. All your thoughts and opinions stew in your mind but you concentrate all your energy on what’s happening in front of you and you fall into a zone where you’re silent despite the bustling activity going on in your head. You hold it in. You keep quiet. You just watch. That was Brooke at this moment.

“Lay off,” Lucas told Michael.

“This is such bullshit,” he exclaimed. “You all give me shit but Alex is just like me.”

Nathan laughed like he would if he were just told a stupid joke. “How the hell do you figure that?” he wondered.

“We’re all waiting for me to propose to Maria,” Michael began to explain. “We’re all waiting for Alex to give Isabel kids.”

Isabel pleaded for her brother to stop while her husband sat passively beside her.

“You think we don’t see your sadness,” Michael said to her.

It had silenced Isabel. She turned toward her husband, grabbed his hands and held them in her lap. Alex loosened a hand to wipe the tears from Isabel’s face.

“Michael, that’s enough,” Dan told his son.

For once in his life, Michael listened to his father.

“Christ,” Michael sighed, seeing the tears in his sister’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Isabel.”

“You should be!” Maria said, backhanding his arm. “Look what you did!”

Lucas got up from the couch and walked across the room to his sister. On the way, he passed Michael and shoved him out of the way. “Isabel, what’s wrong?” he said when he kneeled down next to her.

“We’ve been trying,” Alex explained.

That was all he needed to say. His tone and delivery were flat and hopeless. It made Isabel tear up more while everyone else stayed where they were. They didn’t want to crowd her, and if they did, they feared it would induce a breakdown. But Isabel kept everything in thanks to the comforting hands of her husband and brother.

“You saw someone about this?” Lucas asked.

Alex replied, telling him, “Many times.”

“You’re such an asshole,” Nathan said to Michael.

“I didn’t know!”

“She told you to stop,” Alex growled. “You didn’t listen.”

[pielette]

Thanks you, pandas2001 and WomanofMystery, for the awesome feedback!

CHAPTER 5: Part 1

Max had walked to the bar and helped himself to the 20-year-old single malt scotch that was so popular this night. With glass in hand, Max turned around, leaned against the bar and looked around the lively living room, watching the quiet exchanges between the people who chose to be a part of this family while the people who didn’t were continuing to throw words at each other.

He didn’t grow up with his siblings his whole life, just ten of the thirty years he lived and breathed, but in those ten years, he got to know his siblings. Loving them was immediate. It was liking them that was the issue. They were siblings, there was that bond, but ever since leaving Tree Hill ten years ago, for Max, seeing family again was like running into acquaintances or old friends.

Max and Liz lived in New York and Los Angeles. They lived a whole different kind of life. At least once every month, they were in the air, crossing the country, the Pacific or the Atlantic. It would always be a while since Max saw any of his siblings. He rarely talked to them on a regular basis. There were no daily phone calls. There was maybe an email on birthdays and holidays. If you got a phone call, cherish it and consider yourself lucky because who knows when you’d be fortunate enough to come across another one?

So on the rare occasion when Max met up with a sibling or more than one, it always took him time to get acclimated. He was always hesitant about being alone with one or two of them. He never knew what to say to them because he never knew much about them. Well, he knew them, of course, he just never knew what was going on in their lives.

It was easier for the others to get along. They all lived relatively close. Max aside, Nathan lived the farthest in Durham, which was a mere two and a half hour drive compared to a ten hour drive from New York, and even if he was standing in the same room as them, it always felt like Max was ten hours and states away.

With an uncomfortable itch painstakingly crawling under his skin induced by all the fighting, Max took a swig of his scotch and turned around, walking through the French doors to the flower garden. The beautifully crisp Atlantic air blew against Max, cooling his face, rustling his hair and caressing his skin as it found its way through the sleeves of his jacket, taking away the itch his anxiety had caused. Max walked to the edge of the patio and leaned against the railing with glass still in hand. He looked out at the maze of flowers and then up at the clear sky.

As it always is with the city, Max never really noticed the moon and the stars because of the buildings that were in the way, because the city lights were brighter than the moon, and because Max just never thought to stop for a minute and look up.

“I know it’s been a while since you’ve seen them, so I’ll help you out. They’re stars.”

Max whipped around so quickly he nearly tossed his drink.

Brooke stopped staring up at the sky and watched as Max gathered his composure. “Sorry,” Brooke giggled. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

After catching his breath, Max licked up the spilt scotch on his fingers and downed whatever was left in his glass. He walked over to the patio furniture and took a seat. Brooke had watched every move he made wondering if maybe she had bothered him and he was trying to get away or if maybe he wanted her to join him under the canopy. Brooke just stayed where she stood and waited.

A minute or two passed and Brooke had half the mind to turn around and walk back into the house. So she started to turn, but she stopped because he finally spoke.

“Happy birthday.”

Slowly Brooke faced Max. “You remembered,” she smirked.

Max scoffed. “We share the same birthday but even if we didn’t…”

Brooke’s eyes fell to the ground as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Did Lucas forget?”

“No,” Brooke shook her head while she slowly strolled over to the canopy. “Lucas remembered, but not for very long. He was kind of preoccupied with this dinner, so he’s going to make up for it.” Then she started bobbing her head because she was understanding of Lucas’s excuse. In the dark, Brooke could see Max roll his eyes. She walked under the canopy and took the seat opposite of him. “Is there a problem?” she wondered.

Max smirked as he shrugged, a skeptical response. “I don’t think I’d ever forget Liz’s birthday or regard any of my brothers’ birthdays over hers.”

“Well, it’s different,” Brooke replied defensively. “You live up in New York or all the way across the country in L.A., just you and Liz. We’re here with your sister and brothers, and with you and your family and the way you all are, tonight was the only thing on Lucas’s mind. Family means a lot to Lucas.”

“And it doesn’t mean a lot to me?.”

Brooke sighed. She didn’t want to fight with Max. “I’m just saying that tonight was a big deal for Lucas. It’s been a long time since he’s seen you.” She sent him a soft smile. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.”

Max stopped staring at the glass in his hands and looked at Brooke. He met her eyes and he stared. He didn’t shy away. She had captured him; first with the words she chose and her voice, and then that look in her eyes. But after a while, Max brought his gaze back down. “It’s been a long time since any of them have seen me.”

Discouraged that her message didn’t quite get across to Max, Brooke sighed. She surrendered her attempt to connect and just agreed with Max’s statement. “Yeah,” she nodded, but then she shook her head in confusion. “Wait—Why is that? What’s got you so busy up there that you can’t come and visit? Or even call to say ‘hi’?”

“I’m really not ready to disclose everything that happened between Liz and me.”

“I didn’t ask you to disclose everything. I didn’t even ask you to tell me if it had anything to do with you and Liz. So either you’re the one trying to tell me something or you’re just being a dick.”

Max couldn’t take offense to the name-calling or the much deserved attitude from Brooke. In fact, it made

him smile. The two of them always had this banter between them and because of that, there was never a dull moment. Except now, it was different. They weren’t little kids or teenagers bickering with each other. They were adults with substance and intention to their words and subtext.

“I’m sorry,” Max apologized. He reached into his coat pocket, something he had been aching to do since Dan answered the front door. When he felt his fingers touch cool metal, Max pulled his hand out with a silver case the size of a deck of cards resting in his grip. Max popped it open like a miniature book almost, revealing to him a row of cigarettes. He grabbed a single one and closed his lips around the filter end. He snapped his cigarette case shut and held the top edge close to the cigarette in his mouth and after pushing a button, like magic, the case produced a flame.

Brooke fiddled with the charm bracelet around her wrist while she observed him silently and intently until he finished lighting up. “I didn’t know you smoked,” she said.

Max quickly pulled the cigarette out of his mouth. “You don’t mind, do you?”

Brooke shook her head.

Max placed the cigarette back between his lips and took a drag. Afterward, he gave the cigarette a little flick causing embers to fall to the ground. It was orange rain fading into grey earth.

“I’m just surprised,” Brooke went on. “In high school, you didn’t drink a drop of alcohol. You stayed away from the kids who smoked. You never touched soda or anything too sugary. You were so careful about the things you ate or drank because you said you never wanted to put anything in your body that would make you less than a 100. Every day, you carried around a gallon of water. By the end of the day, it was always empty. ”

“I played basketball in high school too, but I haven’t touched one since, until tonight,” Max grinned. With the cigarette right where his index and middle finger met, Max took in a deep drag and blew the smoke out of his mouth by jutting his bottom lip out to one side. He noticed the disapproving look on Brooke’s face as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and rubbed her bare arms to generate some warmth. “If the smoke is bothering you, and if you’re cold, you can easily go back inside. No one’s keeping you out here.”

“You are,” Brooke quickly replied.

Max lifted his eyes off his empty glass and stared at Brooke.

“It’s been five years, Max. I’ve missed you,” she blatantly admitted. Forget about subtleties. She was going to make sure he got it this time.

Swallowing hard to force the lump in his throat down, Max brought his stare down, watching the smoke float off his cigarette. He needed to stare at anything besides her and her eyes, her lips, her dimples…

Brooke cleared her throat and resparked the conversation to anything a little less heavy, sidestepping her own admission. “You know, I hate to state the obvious, but smoking is bad for your health.”

Max took a deep breath with the cigarette in his mouth. “You sound like Liz,” he mumbled. He blew out a stream of smoke straight to the ground as he leaned toward the fire pit between himself and Brooke. He shoved his cigarette into the stone and reached inside his pocket for his cigarette case.

“Another one?” Brooke asked, an eyebrow raised. “You just put that one out.”

Max looked at her and smirked. He remained silent though and proceeded with his task. After leaning the fire pit lid against the pit itself, Max brought his silver case toward the pile of wood and ignited a flame, lighting a fire. It lit up the whole canopy as it crackled and popped. Max could see Brooke’s face so clearly, and that was a slight problem for him.

“Oh,” Brooke giggled. “Thank you.” The urge to rub her arms disappeared.

The reply to Brooke’s gratitude was a nod as Max held his hands in front of the fire.

Brooke leaned toward the fire and did the same while she watched Max stare at the bright flames. They lit up his face; his tired and troubled face. Tired and trouble because of work? Because of his personal issues? Brooke had no idea, but she wanted to know. She wouldn’t ask tonight. She didn’t want to pry, but the curiosity was there. A lot of curiosity was; five years worth. Brooke caught herself staring and embarrassedly brought her stare away and nervously cleared her throat. “When did you start smoking?” she wondered.

Max squinted his eyes, trying to pinpoint when. “Five years ago?” he guessed.

“I wish you would quit.”

She had hardly let a second pass between the time he finished speaking and when she started as if she had no real concern for his answer and asked only to get the conversation going so that she could tell him how she felt about it, and the difference between “You should quit” and “I wish you would quit” was quite big. It warmed Max’s heart to hear her say the latter.

After realizing he was smiling directly at her, Max extinguished his grin and went back to staring at the fire. “Um…” He nervously cleared his throat. “Quit?” he said to himself as if he had never considered it before, which he never did. He shook his head and chuckled. “I’ll think about it.”

“Good,” Brooke nodded. Again, he had barely finished speaking.

Max matched her nods as he leaned back in his chair. The fire was making him a bit too warm. “And what about you? Do I need to tell you I wish you would quit something?”

With a proud smirk on her face, Brooke shook her head once.

That smirk made Max smile. He took a moment to look at her. She was the Brooke he would always know but she had grown so much in the past five years. He didn’t know what it was, but it suited her, it flattered her, it made his feelings grow, and that made him remember why he spent the past five years away. Max shook his head, shaking his thoughts away. He knew of only one thing that would change his train of thought.

“I was surprised when I got here and didn’t see you, but then you showed up and I was relieved. I’m glad you and my brother are still together,” he pronounced casually, borderline carelessly and smugly.

Brooke didn’t know how to take it. She didn’t really know how to respond either, but she saw Max looking at her and waiting for some sort of reply. So Brooke brought her attention to her clutch. She snapped it open, let her hand scavenge through it and then retrieved what she was searching for. Max watched her patiently but was then stunned by her actions. What Brooke had grabbed from her purse was a beautiful diamond ring, a ring that from five feet away Max could clearly see and observe. She slid it onto her left ring finger. Brooke held up the back of her hand to give Max a better look.

[pielette]

Thank you, WomanofMystery! I'm glad you like the Brooke and Max interaction.

CHAPTER 5: Part 2

“Oh, wow.”

Max was genuinely shocked. Good shocked? Bad shocked? You couldn’t really tell. The way he expressed his astonishment wasn’t all that clear. It could be perceived either way. So, again, Brooke didn’t know how to take it, leaving silence amongst them.

Brooke stared at her engagement ring and then curled her hand into a fist so that she couldn’t see the ring anymore. The whole idea impressed Max so much that he couldn’t take his eyes off of the ring. He was taken aback, but, honestly, Max shouldn’t have been so surprised. Lucas and Brooke had been dating for five years. He’d known her since they were kids.

Even though his mind was reeling, Max managed to form some questions to ask and break the silence. “When did it happen?”

Brooke looked at him with wide eyes. “What?”

A simple point at her hand answered her question and then he added a few more questions. “Where did he ask you? How?”

“Oh, um. Lucas took me to The Planters Inn in Charleston last weekend. He proposed over dinner.”

Max stayed silent. He didn’t know how to reply. Well, he knew how. He just didn’t know how he wanted to reply.

“Look, I’m really sorry about all this,” Brooke apologized, “and about what’s happened tonight.”

“You don’t have to be sorry.”

Brooke shrugged. “I just feel really bad. First, there’s the thing with Nathan and Haley, then Michael’s got his problems, and Isabel and Alex…then you and Liz have… It’s a whole lot. Lucas and I were planning on announcing it tonight, but you know, we don’t have to. This has to be the worst night to do it. ”

Max quickly shook his head. “No. No, it’s—It’s fine. It, um… How would you have known that tonight was going to turn out the way it did?” he chuckled. He knew he was about to ramble on but he couldn’t stop. “It’s really not a problem. My family is going to be thrilled. The night should end on a good note and, I mean, tomorrow I’d rather have all of us thinking about your engagement rather than any of our other news. You’d be helping us out.” He flashed his pearly whites and then toned it down to an honest smile. “Don’t feel bad about being happy, Brooke.”

They bickered with each other and teased each other and they were there for each other. He always managed to make a bad situation tolerable for her.

“Have you set a date?” Max wondered.

Brooke shook her head. “Probably soon though. Lucas doesn’t want to wait too long.”

“And what do you want?” Max asked.

A tornado of emotions unexpectedly turned Brooke’s stomach. Hesitation was overwhelming her. “I—I don’t know,” she managed to spit out. “I really don’t know.” Noticing the glow of the wood dim down, Brooke found her hands running up and down her arms again.

Not giving it a second thought, Max made one big step toward Brooke, taking his jacket off as he moved. He draped it on her shoulders and sat next to her. “Is this ok?” he asked with uncertainty.

To show her approval Brooke nodded and grabbed the lapels of his blazer and pulled them into her, tightening the jacket around her, bringing it closer to her body. The jacket mostly smelled like maple caramel with a hint of smoke and the lamb they had for dinner. Brooke actually liked it.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

Neither of them had noticed how close they were in proximity to each other. Brooke was leaning into Max as he had his arm around her. It was coincidence that they came to the same realization at the same time. It took them maybe ten seconds to realize what they were doing. For both of them it was a very long ten seconds, but it wasn’t something they were ever going to complain about. Brooke quickly pulled away, sitting up straight, while Max leapt off the bench and backed away, awkwardly trying to figure out what he should do with his arms. First, he crossed them in front of his chest, then he changed his mind and shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Sorry,” he apologized.

“It’s fine,” Brooke chuckled. She watched him pace around and look up at the sky. Considering everything that happened tonight, Brooke wondered. “Are you going to be ok?” she asked.

Max stopped and looked at her. “Yeah.” He threw his head around a bit. “Yeah, I’m just worried about Isabel and Nathan.”

“That’s good, but I mean, are you going to be ok?”

Something off to the side stole Max’s attention. He stared at it intently; his eyes squinted and all. He took his lips inside his mouth and shook his head. “I don’t know,” he sighed.

This was the first time Brooke had ever seen Max so…broken. When he took that deep breath to sigh, Brooke heard it quiver. “Max, if you want to talk—”

“You know, I don’t even know what you do,” he interrupted. “You going to school? Working?”

Brooke pursed her lips, disappointed that Max had closed himself off. “Um…” She decided to just comply. “I finished school and for the past couple years I’ve been an apprentice for this designer in Durham.”

“How’s that going?”

Pleased to hear the interest in his voice, Brooke smiled happily. “It’s great. Donovan—she’s the designer I apprentice for—she’s an amazing woman. I love her work and she’s really helping me try to launch my own line.”

“Your own line?” Max’s eyebrows lifted. “That’s great, Brooke.” He smiled so proudly.

Brooke’s cheeks burned red. She was relieved it was dark and that the fire had gone out. “Thanks. I’m excited about it.”

“You should be. I mean, that’s really huge.” Max hadn’t stopped smiling and was aware of it. “I’m really proud of you.”

Who needed the fire when there was flattery to warm Brooke up? It was refreshing to receive praise from someone other than Lucas, especially if it was Max. This is what Brooke had missed. She missed his presence. Not just because he boosted her ego, because he could easily put her back in her place. That was the friendly, anything goes relationship they had. Brooke missed Max mostly because he was her Lucas without being Lucas. It was both a good thing and a bad thing.

“What about you?” she asked. “How’s the, um, building business?”

“The building business is perfect.”

“I’m reading about you in magazines.”

“Playgirl?” Max joked.

Brooke’s mouth dropped open feigning shock. “No. I’m talking about Forbes, The Economist, Fortune…”

“What the hell are you doing reading those magazines?” Max laughed.

The reasons she read those magazines were…Well, there was only one reason.

“Max, you—”

“So this is where the birthday boy and girl are.”

Brooke and Max looked over their shoulders and at the site of Lucas, they reflexively smirked.

Max gave his brother a wave from the hip. “Hey, Luke.”

“What are you guys talking about?” The blond Scott took a seat next to his fiancée and wrapped his arm around her.

“Just catching up,” Brooke replied.

The conversation pace had slowed down considerably.

Ok, it stopped when Lucas joined in.

“How are things inside?” Brooke asked.

“Better,” Lucas nodded. “Michael took a walk. Maria’s with him. Hopefully he’ll cool off.”

“Isabel and Alex?”

“Alex is taking care of her.”

“Good,” Brooke nodded.

Meanwhile, Max had continued standing off to the side, watching and listening to the conversation between his brother and his fiancée. Lucas’s fiancée. “Congratulations,” Max decided to say. “Brooke told me about the engagement.” He held out his hand.

A little taken aback, Lucas hesitated for a moment before standing up to shake his brother’s hand and pull him in for a hug. Surprised by the hug, Max’s eyes had widened. The hug itself was a rare moment but what made Brooke smile was Max’s reaction. He made eye contact with Brooke and shrugged with his eyes, throwing in a little smirk.

Max broke the embrace and took a step back, patting the side of Lucas’s shoulder. “You did good, little brother,” he said.

“Thanks, Max.” Lucas could not take off the goofy grin on his face, but he took his brother’s situation into consideration. “Hey, um, I have to apologize for earlier.”

Max’s eyebrows frowned.

“When you and Liz got here tonight, I was really stand-offish,” Lucas clarified. “I just…” He had trouble finding appropriate words to portray himself honestly and adequately. “It’s all of us here at Dan’s celebrating your birthday after five years of barely seeing you. I needed to warm up to the idea.”

With complete and utter understanding, Max bobbed his head.

“And,” Lucas continued, “I’m really sorry about what’s going on with you and Liz and with what happened inside.”

“Don’t worry about it. Look, you and Brooke have some great news,” Max smiled. “Share it. Let’s just hope Dan’s more understanding than he was with me and with Nathan.”

“I don’t really think it’s a good time.”

“Would you tell him?” Max chuckled, looking at Brooke.

After watching his brother, Lucas turned to his fiancée and waited for her reply.

“Max actually thinks it’d be a good idea if we told everyone,” Brooke explained.

Squinting his eyes with skepticism, Lucas glanced at his older brother. “Are you sure? Because it really can wait.”

“When else are we all going to be together like this? Go inside and tell everyone,” Max insisted. “I’ll be in in a minute.”

“Ok,” Lucas smiled.

He nodded his head once, satisfied after getting what he needed. He stood up, holding Brooke’s hand and essentially helping her up. Together the two of them walked back toward the French doors that would lead back to the chaos. With a hand already on the door handle, Brooke stopped and took a step back, pulling her hand out of Lucas’s.

“Hold on a second.” The blazer that belonged to Max was still draped around her shoulders. Brooke turned around and jogged back over to him.

Max stayed where he stood and waited for Brooke to come to him. There was a certain nervousness he felt as she drew near. As she stood in front of him, he only had his eyebrows lifted, expressing his attentiveness.

“Thank you,” Brooke said, taking off the coat. She placed it in the hand he offered to her and stared down at the brick patio.

After sliding his jacket back on, Max just observed her. He still hadn’t said a word. As he waited, he gave a quick glance over Brooke’s shoulder to see Lucas patiently waiting by the doors, texting on his phone.

“Look, I don’t want to impose myself into your life,” Brooke started, stealing back Max’s attention, “but it’d be really nice to be back in it. So if you ever want to talk or need to talk, I’m just a call away.”

Despite being thrilled by the offering, all Max could do was put on a smile, albeit it very small, practically non-existent, and nod appreciatively. He had become completely aware of the situation: his brother and Brooke were going to get married. Who knows for sure what Max’s hopes were, but you can definitely say that Lucas and Brooke’s engagement was bittersweet for him.

Brooke turned a bit to leave but hesitation caused her to pause and then turn back to Max. “Hey, so Lucas convinced me that it was ok that the basketball was a gift from the both of us, but I still have something for you from just me.”

“You didn’t have to,” Max told her.

Brooke gave him a smile. “I didn’t bring it though. So do you want to stop by my place sometime? Or I can drop by your hotel? Actually, what time do you leave tomorrow?”

“Liz and I fly out tomorrow night.”

“Do you have time for lunch?”

Max took a moment to recall his schedule in his mind. Eventually, he nodded. “Lunch works.”

“Great!” Brooke smiled. “So I’ll give you a call or something. See you inside?”

Max nodded and before she stepped away, Brooke comfortingly placed her hand on the crook of his arm and gave it a soft squeeze. She started to skip backwards.

“Don’t you dare light up again,” she warned, giving a friendly wink.

Brooke hopped around and tiggered her way back over to Lucas. At Lucas’s feet, Brooke landed on her tiptoes and kissed Lucas on the lips.

Considering the mood Max was currently in and disregarding certain events, the night was looking up. Maybe it was a number of things, but maybe it was because it was nice to just spend a moment with one person versus ten, especially if the majority of that ten were the Scott family. I guess Max just never got used to having a family so big.

[pielette]

Thank you, tigerr100 and WomanofMystery. I appreciate the FB!

My apologies for this chapter being nearly a month late. I hope you enjoy.

CHAPTER 6

Brooke and Lucas stepped inside while Max looked back up at the sky. Off in the distance he could hear the familiar sound of a basketball hitting the concrete. With the elements of the cool air, the midnight blue sky, and the bouncing of a basketball, Max started to remember the nights when he’d sneak out of the house just to be outside because it was better than being inside Dan’s home.

Twenty years ago, when Max moved in, it wasn’t easy for him to get comfortable. He was living in a part of town that was the polar opposite of the part he used to live in. Dan’s house was about ten times bigger than the apartment Max and his mother used to live in and full of gorgeous furniture but still spacious enough with plenty of room for all the kids to run around, but to Max it was stifling.

The first few nights Max tried to run away but he’d never get far. He could never get past the basketball court. It always caught his eye and drew him in. So instead of running, Max would sit at center court and lie down on his back. He’d just stare at the stars. That’s it. He would just lie back on the black top, staring at the dark sky. Being surrounded by that much darkness, it was almost as if Max was in the sky. It felt so safe. Time would pass and Max would doze off. The sound of the sprinklers and the mist hitting his face always woke him before dawn. He’d rush back into the house and slide into bed. Eventually, Max stopped trying to run away but continued to spend nights out on the blacktop.

Max stood at the top of the key with his hands stuffed inside his pockets. He felt a certain sense of pride as he watched his brother lay the ball into the hoop with perfect form and ease. Max himself loved the game and always wondered “what if” when it came to basketball. You’d figure he’d harbor, at the least, the slightest bit of jealousy, but Max was extremely proud, the way a father proud of his son, the way Dan should have been proud of Nathan, and all of his children for that matter.

The ball fell through the net and into Nathan’s waiting hands. He pivoted toward Max and shoved the ball to him. “Play to 11?” he asked.

Max sandwiched the ball with his hands. He missed the feeling of the leather under his fingertips. He missed the action of shooting the ball; bending his knees, lifting off the ground, extending his arms, flicking his wrist and watching the ball fall through the hoop. He missed running up and down the court. He missed pressing his forearm against an opponent’s back, keeping them from advancing to the basket. Max missed the adrenaline and the endorphins released as a result of the hard work. He missed everything about basketball, but lately, he was glad he hadn’t played in twelve years. Who knew that all this time the one thing all the Scott boys had in common, the one thing that could bring them together, was something that could kill them?

“Well?” Nathan walked to his brother. “Do you want to play?”

Max looked at him and then back down at the ball. “Is it ok if we just talk?”

Nathan looked at him skeptically, but then he shrugged and nodded. “Yeah, sure.” He led the way over to the bench on the sideline. “I know what you’re going to say, Max, but before you say it, I know that Haley and I are young, but I am beyond in love with her. If I think about my future, I can’t see one without her, and when I try my hardest to imagine it, I don’t want to be in that future. Plus, she’s a smart girl, man. She wouldn’t marry me unless she truly believed it would work.”

While his brother spoke, Max spun the ball on his palms and watched it intently. He had been thinking back to ten years ago. “I said the same to Dan when he found out about Liz and me,” Max chuckled sadly. “So, no. You and Haley are young but that’s not the issue for me.” Max handed the ball to his brother, freeing his hands for his cigarette case. He lit up and took a drag before continuing. “It’s not the age. It’s just that you and Haley are starting out a lot like Liz and I did and that scares me.”

“Max…”

“I tried to love my wife the way I did ten years ago,” Max went on, “but I’m not the guy I was ten years ago, and back then I knew I was going to be the guy I am now.”

Frustrated, Nathan scratched his brow and sighed. “I have no idea what you just said.”

After inhaling sharply with his cigarette between his lips, Max tilted his head back and sighed heavily, blowing the smoke in a stream straight up to the sky. “When I was your age, Nathan, I knew that I wanted to be a real-estate developer. I knew that I wanted to build hotels around the world and be this successful. I knew that.” The last three words escaped out of his mouth and he used them to beat himself over the head. He dropped his cigarette between his feet and stomped on it hard. Clearly, Max was angry at himself. “We were both so in love with each other then. We didn’t factor in that in the future we were going to be different people as a result of where our paths took us. We adapted to each other, but that might have been the problem. We shouldn’t have had to compromise for each other.”

“But isn’t that ideal?” Nathan questioned. “You compromise, make it work?”

Max bobbed his head. “Sometimes, yes. But Liz gave up pieces of herself to be my wife. She compromised herself. It’s not very fair, is it?” Another heavy regretful sigh escaped from Max. “We all change and we don’t even realize it, Nathan.” He looked his brother in the eyes. “Are you who you want to be?”

“What?”

“Ten years down the road, where do you see yourself?”

“Playing pro ball.”

“Are you that person now?” Max questioned.

“You know I’m not.”

“So you’re going to work to get to that point then.”

Nathan replied with a nod.

“Meanwhile, what’s Haley doing?”

Genuine thought and concern appeared on Nathan’s face. “I—I don’t know,” he replied.

“If Haley tells you that she’ll support you and your dream and follow you wherever you go, that’s great, but does her own dream suffer because of that?”

Nathan continued staring down at the ground.

“I’m not trying to discourage you, Nate. It’s just that neither Liz or I were truly ready. We were both willing to make the commitment. We both went into it believing that we would work through anything. Everything was seemingly ideal. But neither of us were who we wanted to be yet.” Max laughed to himself, shaking his head as he did. “It’s like Michael said, he’s waiting until he’s grown up. It’s what Liz and I should have done.”

“You are now,” Nathan replied. “You’re grown up. Both of you are. Is it too late to make adjustments? Are you telling me you two aren’t in love with each other any more?”

“We’re different now.”

“So what, you just stopped loving her?”

Max shook his head. No, that wasn’t it. “I still love her. I think she still loves me. We just don’t love each other enough.”

“And that’s what I don’t get. How does that happen? How does love like yours and Liz’s just go away like that?”

Seeing such innocence in his brother’s eyes, Max smirked at Nathan. “It just did,” he shrugged. “I became the businessman I wanted to be and Liz was trying to be the scientist she wanted to be, but not completely, because she was holding back to be my wife. It changed her. I changed. We were just becoming people different than the ones we fell in love with.” Max sighed a tired sigh. “It’s hard to explain, Nate, because it doesn’t make sense. We always came home to each other. We always tried to be with each other if either of us had a business trip. If it wasn’t possible, then we called each other when we woke up and we called each other when we went to bed. A lot of times we would talk so long we would fall asleep to each other’s voice.” Max took the ball back from Nathan and gave it a couple of bounces, focusing only on the spot where the ball hit the ground. “Something changed and then something happened.”

“What ‘happened’? Did Liz do something?”

“No,” Max immediately answered. “Liz is still the Liz that you love like a sister, Nathan. She didn’t do anything wrong. Don’t ever think she did.”

“Did you do something?”

Max went back to staring at the ball. “It’s not that simple.”

Nathan didn’t want to assume but his brother’s reply compelled him to prod further. “What did you do, man?”

All Max could do for a little while was shake his head. “Probably a few things,” he reluctantly admitted, “but I didn’t cheat if that’s what you’re thinking. I wouldn’t do that to Liz.”

“You’re being cryptic, Max.”

He got up from the bench and started to pace. “This is why I didn’t want talk about it, ‘cause I knew we were going to head down this road.”

“You’re doing all the talking, Max.”

“Come on,” he ordered, walking back toward the house. “Lucas and Brooke have some news to share with everyone.”

Nathan stayed on the bench. “Max, if you didn’t cheat, then what did you do?”

“Nathan, drop it,” Max sternly replied.

“Max, come—”

“Stop.”

Max didn’t shout but he frightened his little brother with the tone and weight of his voice. It wasn’t a threat but it gave Nathan that sense of fear. He felt the anger steam off of Max’s words. He quickly shut his mouth and followed a foot or two behind his brother all the way into the house. Suddenly he felt like he was a kid again, and not in that happy sense.

The two brothers entered through the doors that led back into the family room where everyone had gathered again. Max went one way; Nathan watched him go and decided to head in the opposite direction. After he greeted his new bride with a kiss on the cheek, Nathan sat next to Haley but kept his focus on Max across the room. He watched his brother kiss his wife—his ex-wife? Nathan just couldn’t understand it. Maybe it was his naïveté. Maybe he just had hope for Max and Liz.

Growing up, Nathan was completely aware of the relationship his parents had. He was observant. He knew they didn’t have the greatest marriage. It was, however, Dan’s most successful marriage as far as length goes, but it was far from a love story. That became more apparent when Nate was about ten. Around that time, Max and Liz had been dating for some time. It wouldn’t be much longer until the two of them got married themselves. When they did, despite hardly seeing them, to Nathan, they became parental figures and the only example of true love. Nathan was the only one whom Max spoke to most during his time away from the family. Max was the dad Dan should have been and Liz was the mother Deb should have been.

It broke Nathan’s heart that Max and Liz were no longer going to be “Max and Liz.” When Nathan was younger, it was great that his oldest brother was getting married, but love wasn’t really big on Nathan’s mind. Basketball trumped everything else. But Nathan got older. He had those moments of puppy love in high school and hoped that his relationships were at least half as great as Max and Liz’s was. When he started to seriously think about his future in the relationship department, he only wanted what Max and Liz had. Now what they had was gone. What did Nathan have to look up to? Fuck Michael for being right.

Nathan kept his eyes on Max who glanced over in his direction every so often. There was a burden being the oldest brother. There was always going to be someone who looked up to him. Mostly it was Nathan. Max didn’t like that pressure.

Now that everyone was finally in the room, Lucas stood up and drew the attention of his family and friends. “I know that it’s been a rough night,” he announced, “and I don’t mean to take from anything that’s going on, but Max made the point that we’re all here together and when is that going to happen again?”

“What are you getting at?” Isabel curiously wondered.

Lucas looked down at Brooke with a growing grin on his face. On Brooke’s face was a softer more subtle smile. Max noticed the difference but wasn’t quite sure how he felt about that.

Still smiling down at her, Lucas gave Brooke his hand. Maybe he wanted her to stand beside him but she continued sitting on the arm rest of the couch closest to him. I guess it was ok since she was half standing. Lucas didn’t think too much about it. Maybe he should have.

After a deep breath, Lucas addressed his friends and family. “A week ago I asked Brooke to marry me.” He looked at her and smiled. “She said ‘yes’.” Lucas looked out and was met with wide eyes and smiles much to his relief.

“Congratulations!” the room responded.

Soon people got off the couches and showered Brooke and Lucas with hugs and kisses, but Max headed straight to the bar. Lucas and Brooke were surrounded by people to notice, but Liz, after congratulating her (ex-) brother-in-law and soon-to-be (ex-) sister-in-law, spotted her husband and joined him.

Liz placed her hand on the small of his back when she approached him and leaned her cheek against his arm. He knew it was her the moment she put her palm against his back. It was a comforting, warm touch. She always touched him the same way. It was something he was going to miss, amongst many other things, and he was going to miss them all terribly, so much that it made him ache. There were moments like this where he reconsidered things. Maybe it would be a mistake to go through with the divorce, but then he remembered, it wasn’t his decision, it was hers. And if they didn’t go through with it, it wouldn’t be a marriage. It would be a selfish act. They would merely be together because they didn’t want to let go of the little things. But Max and Liz were rational, so they were going to go through with it and say goodbye to those little things, but they would remember the magnitude of them and cherish them.

Max rested his cheek on the top of her head for a lingering moment and then placed a kiss amidst her soft almond hair.

For a couple about to get divorced, they looked like a couple very much together, and in love.

“You should probably congratulate them,” Liz told Max. “They’re going to wonder why you’re over here and not there.”

“Yeah, I, um, already congratulated them outside,” Max said.

“Still,” Liz insisted. “It doesn’t look normal.”

After glancing over his shoulder and being unable to find Lucas and Brooke in the sea of people, Max shook his head before taking a sip of scotch. “I don’t think anyone will notice.”

“I’m sure Brooke would appreciate it.”

There was hardly any sass in her reply, but it was there. It disappointed Max.

“Liz, I thought we weren’t going to do this,” he sighed.

“I know. I’m sorry. I just—” She looked at him with a sad, heartbreaking smirk and shrugged her shoulders. “We thought she wasn’t going to be here, Max, but she is, and it’s hard. I can see the way you—”

“I don’t mean to,” Max quickly interrupted. He didn’t want her to have to say it. It would devastate him if he could hear the hurt in her voice and he surely would. It wouldn’t be the first time.

“You can’t help it,” Liz told him.

“I wish I could. I really wish I didn’t feel—”

He froze when she placed her hand on the side of his face. She grazed his cheek with her thumb as she offered a sympathetic smile, lifting just a corner of her lips. “You and I know that’s only half true.”

With his eyes closed, Max turned in and kissed Liz’s palm; regret and guilt in his heart and mind. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered into her hand.

Their tender moment would soon be interrupted.

“Something’s going on,” Nathan said to them.

Max’s eyes shot open as Liz whipped around, snatching her hand from her husband’s cheek. They pretended to hide the affection they had just shown each other. Liz turned away while Max refreshed his drink. They carried on as if nothing happened, fueling Nathan’s confusion and determination to discover the truth.

“I’ve been watching you two this whole time,” he told his brother and sister-in-law. “The others might not see it, but I can.”

“Nathan, I told you to drop this.”

Liz tried her hand. “Hey,” she kindly said to Nathan, wrapping her arm around his and walking him even further away from the crowd. “I still love your brother and I’m going to love him forever, but we’re different people now.”

Nathan shook his head. “That shouldn’t matter,” he said. “Love stays the same.”

“But it didn’t. Not for us.”

Maybe Liz had an affect on Nathan. Max could see that his brother was slowly getting it. He was looking into Liz’s eyes less intensely; more defeated instead. The disappointment and discouragement were finally setting in.

“I love you, Nathan,” Liz told him. “And I’ll love you forever too.” She gave him a smile and leaned into him, holding him tight, savoring every bit of their embrace.

“I still don’t get it,” Nathan said to both Max and Liz. “No matter how much I hate the idea, you two aren’t going to be together anymore. Fine. But I have to know why.”

Liz checked with Max before replying. “Neither of us are ready to reveal that,” she told Nathan.

“So then what the hell am I going to do about Haley and me?”

Nathan’s sister-in-law offered a soft smile. “It’s something you’re going to have to go through on your own, Nate. I’m sorry, but you’ve made a grown-up choice, you have to be a grown-up now.”

It really was a parental relationship between Max and Liz and Nathan. If Nathan didn’t get the answer he wanted from one “parent,” he was going to go to the other. After receiving, essentially, the same conclusion from both Max and Liz, Nathan was closer to accepting the reality. But God. He was aching to find out what happened between the two of them. The “different people” theory wasn’t enough for him. There had to be more.

With their arms still hooked, Nathan and Liz walked back to the center of the living room to join their family and friends. Max topped off his glass and followed after them. He could feel his face getting warmer as he neared but it had to have been the alcohol. That’s what he was going to keep telling himself.

“Congratulations again,” Max said, working his way through the crowd with his free hand reaching for Lucas.

“Thanks, Max.” Lucas replied at a bit of a shout just so that his brother could hear him over the girls who gawked at Brooke’s ring.

After giving Lucas’s hand a hearty shake, Max moved on to Brooke. She continued sitting on the armrest while Isabel, Liz, Maria, ad Haley hovered over her left hand. They gave more attention to the ring than to Brooke’s face, which was fine with Max. He saw it as an opportunity to congratulate her. He glanced around before doing so, noticing his brothers, his father, and Alex huddle around Lucas to listen to him recount the night of the proposal.

Max moved to Brooke’s side, standing next to her, facing her. He leaned in so that his right cheek was near her left, so that his lips were near her ear. “I never congratulated you,” he said softly, but not in a whisper. “Congratulations.”

He leaned in further, stopping when his cheek rested against hers, and then slowly turned his head. Max let his lips graze Brooke’s skin until the flesh of his lips pressed against the flesh of her cheek. Leisurely, he gave her a drawn-out kiss. It wouldn’t have ended if Brooke hadn’t pulled her head away to look Max in the eye with her own eyes wide in shock. She didn’t get to study his eyes for very long at all. He had lowered his head and then walked away.

[pielette]

It's been more than a month since I've updated! Major fail on my part. My apologies for my truancy, but here is the new part. I hope you enjoy!

Thank you, Blink1lit, for your FB!

Happy holidays everyone!!!

CHAPTER 7

Brooke could smell the alcohol. The scotch was aged. It was strong. Max had had at least a couple of glasses of it, which was more than enough for his keys to be taken away from him. That’s what it was. It had to have been the alcohol.

The alcohol was extremely popular with the Scott family. Max found himself back at the bar and even if he wasn’t there, Dan was going to refresh his drink anyway. It was just an added bonus that his son was doing the same.

“Would you mind?” Dan asked from his wheelchair. He held his empty glass up to Max.

Lucky for his father, Max was buzzed and willing to help him. So Max snatched the glass from Dan’s hand and served his father before himself.

“Thank you,” Dan smiled as he took his drink.

Max remained silent.

“You mind if I talk to you privately?” Dan asked.

With a raised brow and skepticism stamped across his face, Max continued to remain silent but he at least gave his father his attention.

“I’d like to give you your present,” Dan explained.

Since the others were still preoccupied by the happy news of the engagement, Max figured this would be as good a time as any to deal with Dan. After a nod of approval from his son, Dan wheeled himself out of the room and across the foyer to his study. Reluctantly (obviously), Max sauntered after him. Eventually he stepped inside, closing the door behind him while his father grabbed a folder from his desk.

Dan stayed behind the desk and held out the folder for his son. For what felt like a good while, he just held his arm out and looked at his son standing at the door. Dan could see the reluctance in Max and he could see the dislike. Max didn’t show disgust for his father like a couple of his siblings did. He showed disinterest. Dan wasn’t sure which was worse.

Max approached warily but grabbed the folder without question. He set his glass down on the desk and examined the papers he held. Dan watched his son. He watched him narrow his eyes and shake his head. He knew what would come next.

“What is this?” Max questioned.

“I had my lawyer draw that up as soon as I came to.”

Max dropped the papers in front of Dan on his desk. “Why are you giving me the dealership?”

“It’s your birthday gift.”

“No, it’s not,” Max chuckled. “It can’t be that simple.”

“Why not?” Dan scoffed.

Did he really have to ask?

“Because it’s you,” Max answered. “You give because you always want something in return. You’re always plotting.”

“I had a heart attack three days ago. Is it hard to believe that I want to change?”

Again, I think we all know the answer. Max didn’t even bother replying. Rather than coming up with some retort, Max instead thought about how much a waste of time the last few minutes were. Max could have done without this night actually. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his family, but he had done so well without them. Max had a whole different life. It didn’t include them. He was aware of how horrible that sounded, but for the first ten years of his life, Max did well without them then too. He definitely did well without Dan and would continue to. It wasn’t like he needed the dealership. He could do without that as well. It would just be another thing that tied him to Tree Hill.

“I was going to leave you the dealership anyway,” Dan explained.

“So then you should have let me find that out when you died. I don’t want this crap now.”

Dan had said much worse in his lifetime, so even if he felt hurt, he wouldn’t fight back. “I want to make sure my affairs are tended to.”

Max could only find humor in this conversation, in Dan’s actions and attempts at being human. “Jesus Christ, Dan.” He turned around and headed for the door. “You’re not going to die tomorrow.”

As his son reached for the doorknob, Dan prepared to reel him back in. “You don’t know that,” he said. “Hell, considering this heart problem that some of you might have, you or your siblings just might go tomorrow or who knows when.” He watched his son freeze into place and then whip around without any regard to the drink in his hand.

Max’s glass was now empty, much of the scotch soaked the floor. “I told you, Dan: Do not tell them.”

“What do you think you’re achieving by keeping this a secret?” Dan wondered narrow-eyed, his eyebrows deviously frowning. “Are you afraid that you’ll be the one with this curse? Or are you scared that maybe one of them has it? Which is it? Selfish? Or selfless?”

“You talk so carelessly about this, like you wanted to plague at least one of us and you could care less because then you wouldn’t be the only one. We’re your children!” Max threw the glass down right at his feet. The thick glass only cracked when it hit the carpet.

“Take the gift and I’ll keep my mouth shut,” Dan said. It was all he chose to say.

If it would buy Dan’s silence then Max had no other choice. Max reluctantly approached the desk and grabbed the folder with its contents sticking out. He didn’t bother rearranging them. The whole time he kept his eyes on his “gift” not looking at Dan once.

“I’m going to have my lawyers look at these,” Max said over his shoulder as he walked out of the room.

By now, Max’s buzz had worn off considerably. He stopped mid-step when he walked back into the family room, when he caught sight of Brooke. Memories of minutes ago when he congratulated her flooded his mind. The embarrassment rushed to his face in the form of warmth.

The hoopla of the engagement had settled down. Brooke and Lucas were surrounded by individuals rather than groups. Who knows if they were even talking about it anymore? The room looked like it should have looked, a bunch of family and friends who gathered together after years of being apart. Forget what happened nearly an hour ago when Pandora’s Box slowly opened. What Max saw, now, in the family room was something he hoped for.

Max loved his family. He did. He just wished they operated like a one. Max didn’t like that their father wasn’t a father. He didn’t like that his sister always had to put on a brave face and pretend that everything was alright. Max didn’t like that he hadn’t seen a smile on Michael in nearly ten years. He didn’t like that Lucas was always cast off to the side, even by him. The only thing Max liked was the naïveté in Nathan.

What Max didn’t realize was that every family had their own set of problems, his family wasn’t an exception, and you have to take it all, the good, the bad, and the ugly. There are things that pull Max away from Tree Hill, like his work, and then there are things that just make him want to stay away from home, like Dan, and a few other things, like the overload of bad and ugly, and unhappiness. If you ask me, it’s not like Max was good and happy.

The embarrassment soon began to subside, taken over by the sliver of happiness Max felt looking at his tamed family. It was a shame that, for him, the night was over.

“Liz?” He knelt down beside his wife while she spoke to his sister. “You ready to go?”

“No!” Isabel protested. “You can’t leave yet. Your birthday gift still isn’t here.”

A little wince. “Isn’t it something that you can send to me?” Max wondered.

“The final product, yes. But you need to be here to be a part of the production.”

“What is it?” Liz curiously wondered.

The doorbell rang before Isabel could answer but something told Liz that the answer had just arrived. Isabel rushed out of the room. Everyone watched her has she fled and continued staring at the doorway until Isabel returned with a wide and very proud grin on her face and a, quite frankly, geeky stranger by her side. With the stranger was a cart of silver crates and large cases.

“What’s going on?” Dan had rolled out of his study and found his daughter and the stranger.

“We’re taking a family portrait,” Isabel smiled. “Everyone’s going to be in it.”

Ta-da!

Michael, of course, laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”

In response to his brother, Lucas shook his head disapprovingly. “You know, you should just shut up for the rest of the night.”

“I think it’s a good idea.”

Everyone stared at Max in surprise.

“It’s a good idea that Michael shut up?” Nathan wondered, looking for clarification.

To the contrary, Max shook his head. “I think the family photo is a good idea.”

“How is that possibly a good idea?” This time it was Lucas who vocalized his doubt. “We’re not really at the point in ours lives to be immortalized in a family photo.”

“Don’t rag on Isabel’s gift,” Brooke told her fiancé.

“He’s kind of right,” Nathan winced. “Lucas, that is.”

Max continued to stand on firm ground. “I think it’s the perfect time. Haley just became a part of this family and Brooke’s going to be. Liz and I haven’t had a picture together in a little while and I’d like to get one before we…” He didn’t bother finishing that thought, swallowing his words instead. “It’s a nice way to commemorate my thirtieth,” he reasoned. “Who knows when we’re all going to be together again?”

Isabel was relieved and happy that her brother was thinking positive. “Let’s take it in the living room,” she suggested.

In one hand was the folder with documents that gave Dan Scott Motors to Max Evans and in his other was Liz’s hand. With his wife by his side, Max led his family to the living room for a family photo of a family that hardly was.

[pielette]

Happy New Year's everyone!!!

CHAPTER 8

The miniature fridge was still full of untouched bottles of water and petite bottles of assorted liquors. The can of macadamia nuts remained with its seal intact and next to it was the cellophane-wrapped fruit basket of figs, dates, and other odd-looking fruit. In the bathroom, the white, thick and fluffy towels were all accounted for and hanging neatly on the rack. On the counter next to the travertine sinks were the complimentary bottles of shampoo and conditioner. These weren’t the typical hotel toiletries. The soap was imported from France and the shampoo and conditioner didn’t look like the generic dog shampoo you’d find at your local big box store, the one that was an odd emerald green. No, this shampoo and conditioner were the kind you wouldn’t find at your local supermarket and although expensive, they were worth the money.

In a suitcase on the floor of the bedroom was menswear, a vintage bottle of wine, Knicks-Lakers tickets, and a 20-year-old toy basketball. Max lifted the luggage onto the king-bed covered in five hundred thread count sheets. He noticed a tie poking between the zippers and tucked it in before zipping the suitcase shut and locking it up for the flight home.

There was about four hours until he and Liz had to be at the airport to make their plane to New York. She would spend a few of the hours watching a movie with Maria at the theater across town and then they’d enjoy a late lunch at the bistro near the airport. Max would meet them there later with the luggage and Maria would see them off. Before then, Max was just going to relax in the room, maybe get some work done. Or so that’s what he told Liz.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come?” Liz asked.

Max looked at her as she finished applying her lip balm. He caught her eye and smiled at her while he shook his head. “You and Maria should spend time just the two of you, but thanks anyway.”

On the way to the door, Liz stopped in front of Max and patted the sides of his torso as he placed a kiss on the top of her head. He watched her leave before plopping onto the bed. With a click of the remote the 52-inch LCD television on the wall turned on. First, an infomercial for car wax was on. Max watched the demonstrator put an area of a hot rod’s hood on fire. They put the fire out and what do you know? No damage to the hood. Max flipped the channel, passing a few other infomercials and reruns of shows like MacGyver or Fall Guy before landing on golf.

Half an hour had passed when Max’s phone began to ring. He answered and said a “See you in a sec,” and hung up.

The one thing Max didn’t pack back into his suitcase was a gift he had brought from home. He retrieved it from the safe and carefully dropped it into the pocket of his slacks. Liz knew nothing about it, like she knew nothing about the lunch Max planned to have.

By now, she and Maria would be sitting in the movie theater with their tubs of popcorn in their laps, but Max still scanned the lobby hoping that he wouldn’t spot them. It was a terrible feeling this type of fear and deceit. Max was glad he never did this on a regular basis. While he looked and hoped he would not see his wife and her best friend, Max was also looking for someone else. She saw him before he brought his eyes to hers.

“Hi,” Brooke softly smiled.

Max returned the smile and the two of them started walking toward the restaurant.

Tourist season didn’t start for a month or two but by the looks of the business in the Bel it would seem that the season was already well under way. It was always like this year round and would only get busier in the next coming months. The Bel was pretty much the place to be in Tree Hill. It’s where the elite relaxed and where the non-elite could spend a nice day out. The tennis courts were constantly occupied, the three pools were often bragged about as was the spa, and the golf course greens were impeccably maintained. The staff were all courteous and the restaurant was internationally known. Essentially, the Bel was the best there was in Tree Hill, and it was Max’s pride and joy.

“I’m sure you know how well you’re doing on paper,” Brooke said, “but how is it actually seeing the success?”

No one had ever asked that before. Max actually needed a moment to think about it.

“It’s surreal,” he told her. “It doesn’t even really register with me. I’m proud, I guess.”

“And it feels good, doesn’t it?”

Max stopped looking at the busyness around him and met Brooke’s eyes. He subtly bobbed his head and gave his attention to the menu in front of him. As the two of them began to settle on a decision, the server returned with complimentary mimosas. Brooke chose the duck salad while Max went with the ahi burger. The server left, taking the menus with him. Max no longer had anything to hide behind.

“Do you remember kissing me last night?” Brooke asked.

Max spat out a scoff. “I didn’t kiss you last night. I would definitely remember kissing you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Brooke wasn’t sure if she was offended but that’s how her words had come out. “And you did, too, kiss me. Lucas and I had just announced to everyone that we were engaged. You came over and congratulated me, which I don’t know why you did since it’s not like it was your first time hearing the news. You came over and kissed my cheek.”

“It was just a kiss on the cheek.”

“Not this one,” Brooke shook her head. “No one’s ever kissed me on the cheek like that before.”

The butter knife on the table kept Max’s attention as he turned it over and over again. “Maybe Lucas should kiss you on the cheek more. Maybe then it’d be more familiar to you.”

Brooke watched him fiddle with the silverware but not because it was fascinating to her like it apparently was to Max. Her eyes fell on the butter knife because she didn’t want to have to look at Max not looking at her. “Max, the way you’re talking to me…I’m not sure what to think.”

“Then let’s move onto something else.”

Max reached inside his pocket for the gift he had kept locked in the safe in his room. He placed the small box adorned with a ribbon on the table and kept it close to him. “Do you remember when I came back for Christmas during my first year at NYU?”

Brooke nodded.

“Thanksgiving of that year, I had gone to Japan—”

“That was when we started to realize that we were losing you,” Brooke interrupted. “We were relieved when we saw you at Christmas.”

Max nodded and continued on without dwelling on Brooke’s statement, almost as if she hadn’t said anything at all. “When I came here for Christmas, I was wearing a necklace with a pendant I had gotten from Japan.”

“It was beautiful,” Brooke recalled.

Again, Max bobbed his head. “Well, I went back to Japan…” Finally, he slid the box toward Brooke. “Happy birthday,” he smiled.

Brooke delicately took the ends of the ribbon and freed the box. As soon as she lifted the lid, the smile on her face relieved Max. Brooke was staring at a unique white gold pendant with Japanese characters. She could remember it so clearly from that Christmas many, many years ago. Now she had one of her very own.

“I was happy to see that you were still wearing your charm bracelet.”

The white gold of the pendant matched the white gold of Brooke’s bracelet and the charms attached. It looked like it belonged. “Thank you,” she told him. “I love it.” She gave her wrist a jiggle and watched the pendant swing. “When did you go back to Japan?”

Max nervously shook his head. “It’s not important.”

Though she didn’t agree, Brooke nodded her head and moved on. She reached into her large purse and retrieved a rectangular box only a couple inches thick and no longer than a foot wide or long.

“As soon as Isabel convinced you to stay for your birthday,” Brooke started, “she enlisted me to help her find a family photo. It took us a day of searching through all the boxes in Dan’s attic to figure out that you guys never took a whole family photo, but I did find this.”

Max had opened the box to reveal a picture, matted and framed. The black and white photo was of Max, just hours old, resting comfortably in his young mother’s arms as she looked down upon him lovingly. The sunlight through the hospital windows accentuated the beautifully delicate features in Max’s mother and highlighted the precious bundle of joy that was Max.

“Dan doesn’t deserve to have that photo,” Brooke said. “So I took it from him and gave it to the person who does.”

It had been so long that Max sometimes forgot what his mother looked like. He could remember her presence and love but as the years went by Max couldn’t picture her clearly. There weren’t many photos of her around and of the ones Max had, they were nothing like this one. They weren’t as raw, as strong, as emotional.

“She was beautiful,” Brooke said. “I wish I knew her.”

Max finally took his watery eyes off the photo and looked at Brooke the same way he looked at his gift. “She would have loved you,” he told her. “Thank you.”

He went back to admiring his present which left her with nothing to do but to watch him. She was so happy to see what a success her present was. She was even happier to have taken it away from Dan to give to Max. If there was one thing that Brooke was afraid of by marrying Lucas, it was that Dan would be her father-in-law, but of course, it wasn’t that simple and there wasn’t just one thing that she was afraid of.

“Do you have to leave?” Brooke asked.

It was time for Max to put his gift away. Wrapping it back in the torn wrapping paper, Max placed the picture on the empty seat next to him. He watched it for a moment after he set it down to make sure that it didn’t slide off the cushion.

“Do you really have to go?” Brooke said. “Can’t you just stay for a little while longer?”

The softness in her voice, the slight crack, the quiet plea, made Max nervous. It reminded him of their conversation last night under the canopy. “Brooke, I don’t know what you want me to say. Why do you miss me so much? Why do you want me here so badly?”

There was hesitation. She had two major reasons. She didn’t want to admit one but the other she was willing to disclose. Brooke took a sip of her mimosa hoping that it would give her some strength. “You have no idea how much Lucas loves you, how much he admires you.”

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting but his heart dropped nonetheless. “This is about Lucas?”

“I’m afraid I made a mistake,” Brooke admitted. “I don’t think I should have said yes.”

Max sat obediently and waited for her to clarify.

“I’m losing him.”

“I think you’re confused,” Max replied. “Lucas proposed to you. That’s the complete opposite of losing him.”

Your own reasoning always works out so much better in your own head.

“It was just the next thing to do,” Brooke tried to explain, “but we’re not ready.”

Max should have been delighted but he wasn’t. “You’ve been together for five years. I thought this is what you would expect by now.”

“I would,” Brooke agreed. “But not if I’m not sure of how much Lucas loves me or if he even really does.”

“He proposed.”

“He’s just going through the motions. He’s saying what I want to hear. He’s doing what I want him to do.”

“Why are you telling me all of this?”

Brooke shrugged. “You’re one of my best friends…”

Max looked down.

“And you’re his brother.”

“Hardly,” he scoffed. “ I don’t see what the problem is and I certainly don’t know how I factor in.”

“Lucas would come to you with everything if you let him.”

It suddenly became clear.

“You want me to come home to be best friends with Lucas? You want him to confide in me and you want me to report back to you?” The lack of response was the answer Max didn’t want. “I can’t do that, Brooke. I can’t be his best friend. I can’t even be yours.”

“What? Why not?’

“Because…” Max stopped a beat. “Because he asked you to marry him.”

“What kind of reason is that?”

Max sighed heavily. “It’s my reason.”

“Not good enough. Why can’t—”

“You’ve been asking too many questions, Brooke.”

Unashamed, she laughed. “I’ve got plenty more.”

Luckily for Max the server had finally arrived with their lunch. The conversation paused but Max hoped that it had stopped. Of course he knew he was wishing for the impossible. They had just received their food. There was no way the issue would be dropped. They were too far in so early in the meal that it couldn’t be ignored.

Max proceeded to devour his lunch but as he held his burger up to his gaping mouth, he caught sight of Brooke looking down at her salad glumly. Instead of skewering at the duck breast neatly placed on the top of all the lettuce, Brooke pushed it around with her fork. Max placed his unbitten burger back onto his plate and dusted the sesame seeds off his finger tips.

“What do you want to know?” he asked.

Brooke quickly looked up. If a child had been giving their parent the silent treatment but made progress when it seemed that possibly their parent caved, the light they would have in their eyes was the same reflected in Brooke’s.

“When did you go back to Japan?” she decided to ask first. She stabbed a piece of duck and a few leafs of lettuce and shoved them into her mouth while she waited for her answer.

“I went back after I graduated.”

The math wasn’t hard.

“You’re telling me that you’ve been holding onto this for eight years?” Brooke asked holding up her wrist that wore the charm bracelet with the present from him attached.

Only a nod was returned.

“Why?” Brooke wondered. “Why did you hold onto it for so long? How come you never mailed it to me? Or why didn’t you just give it to me when you did see me?”

“One question at a time.”

“They’re essentially the same question,” Brooke bit back. “Just answer.”

Max looked across the table at the vanishing salad on Brooke’s plate. He slyly touched his burger. It was already getting cold. He was losing his appetite anyway. “You know,” he said. “I’m not sure why. Maybe it wasn’t the right time.”

“What makes this the right time?”

Evaluating the moment, last night, and his stay in Tree Hill, Max shook his head. “It isn’t,” he told Brooke.

“So why give it to me finally?”

“I needed to get rid of it.”

Brooke rolled her eyes. “Gee,” she acted. “Thanks.”

“I just needed to not have it anymore,” Max restated.

It felt like a good time for an intermission. Max grabbed his burger and took a bite. Yes, it had gotten cold. All Max needed was a bite though. A bite would be good enough to keep his stomach satisfied. It would be enough to absorb the mimosa which he used to wash the burger down.

“Ok, so tell me,” Brooke said. “Why can’t you be Lucas’s best friend? Or mine?” She spoke nonchalantly like Max told her that he couldn’t pick her up at the airport or something non-significant like that and not that he couldn’t be, and didn’t want to be, Lucas’s best friend or hers.

“Do you really want to know?”

Bringing her head down pretty deep, Brooke nodded emphatically. “Yes, it’d be nice to know why a person can’t be someone’s friend.”

“If I tell you,” Max warned her, “nothing will be the same. You’re going to think about me differently. You’ll look at me differently—”

“And the way you’ll look at me?”

Max smirked but said, “Unfortunately, that’ll stay the same.”

She wanted to take offense but his soft smile told her that his statement wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“Do you really want to know?” Max asked again.

Brooke swallowed hard. A leaf of lettuce coated in Caesar dressing slid down her throat. She couldn’t even remember tasting it if you asked her. This time, Brooke’s nod was more subtle and soft. Her hesitance wasn’t a matter of reconsideration. She did want to know why, because not knowing would consume her even though she dealt with the issue nonchalantly. Her hesitance was because she was afraid of the answer. She had an inkling. She was afraid he would confirm the thoughts that she had been obsessing over for the past sixteen hours, since having a conversation with him last night under the canopy.

“The last time I came home,” Max started, “I saw you after not having seen you for a few years, and you were different.”

A fluttering in her heart made Brooke nervous yet flattered and hopeful at the same time. Her face felt warm. Not champagne-induced warm. Brooke took a sip of her ice water but it didn’t help.

“I thought maybe it was something else,” Max continued. “Maybe I was just waking up and noticing how beautiful you are, but amidst the panic in my head, I came to the conclusion that no, that wasn’t what I was feeling. You’ve always been beautiful. That wasn’t a new revelation.”

Looking down at his uneaten burger, Max didn’t think, What a shame. Max was envious, wishing he was anything else but the man sitting in front of the burger even if that meant being the burger.

“So then my fears were confirmed and that thing I didn’t want to be feeling is what I was feeling. I kept trying to deny it, but I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I tried to talk myself out of it. I kept telling myself that you were Lucas’s girlfriend now and that we were childhood friends. I thought about walking you home every day after school until I realized that because of the talks we had on those walks, you were my best friend. So then I started to miss you and it just made everything worse. It was like I couldn’t get around it.”

Max gave her a shrug. He grabbed his empty water glass and held it in the air after catching the eye of a busboy. A moment later and water was falling into his glass from a perspiring metallic pitcher. Max took a sip to refresh his drying throat. The whole time he didn’t look at Brooke. He didn’t even look in her direction. She might as well have not been there, which we know Max wished was the case and Brooke wished it too. She was regretting her decision. She didn’t want to know anymore, but it was too late and now everything had changed.

When he placed his water glass down where it once was, Max finally faced Brooke. “I never came home in the past five years because I needed to stay away from here,” he went on. “I needed to stay away from you.” He had said it kindly, not harshly, and he looked her in the eye when he admitted it, but then he started to stare at the orchid centerpiece between himself and Brooke. “I knew that they would be angry at me for pushing them away, but I would rather all of them be angry than Lucas hate me.”

“Please,” Brooke begged. “Just say it.”