TROUVAILLE | BROOKE DAVIS

sixty-six

Parker paces in the hospital waiting room, still in her cheer uniform. It was the third time she had been in the hospital this year and she honestly could go another ten years without seeing a hospital ever again.

"Your pacing isn't going to do anything," Brooke told her softly.

"I can't sit still," Parker says, "You saw Haley and – and then Lucas went and had a heart attack."

"I know," Brooke says standing from her seat, placing a hand on Parker's shoulder, "But you need to take a seat, okay?"

Parker listens to her girlfriend and takes a seat in one of the chairs. She can see Nathan, sitting on the floor by the reception desk. His hands were covers in blood and his shirt was disheveled. His eyes were shut tightly, and Parker wanted to comfort him, she really did, but for once in her life, she didn't know what to say.

"Nathan," Peyton says stepping out of the elevator. He looks up at her, "How's Haley."

"They're prepping her for surgery," he says, still not moving from his spot on the floor.

"And Lucas?" Peyton asks.

"We still haven't heard anything," Brooke says, getting Peyton's attention.

"This is all my fault," Nathan says.

"No, it's not," Parker tells him.

"Yes, it is!" Nathan says, "Haley might lose the baby because of me, Lucas had a heart attack and my dad is in jail. I should have just died in that car accident."

He stands from his spot, heading down the hallway and Parker stands to follow him, but Brooke grabs her wrist, shaking her head, "He needs time."

Parker starts blinking away tears, "I didn't even think about it," she says, "Haley and Nathan could lose their baby."

"Haley and the baby are gonna be fine," Brooke says rubbing Parker's arms. She looks over at Peyton, meeting her gaze, "Lucas will be fine too."

"I can stay here," Peyton says, "If you two want to go home and change."

Parker shakes her head, "I can't leave them. Not until I know they're okay."

"Parker," Brooke says softly, "We can come back okay?"

Parker stays grounded to her spot and Brooke stands up, taking Parker's hand into her own. Parker sighs and stands and Brooke wraps her arms around her, guiding her toward the elevator.

The ride back to Parker's house is quiet, Brooke's radio fills the silence between the two of them. When they arrive at Parker's house, Brooke watches as her girlfriend walks into her house.

"Hey!" Jessica exclaims as she looks at her daughter, but her excitement quickly disappears as she looks at her daughter, "What's wrong?"

"Haley was hit by a car," Parker says before bursting into tears. Jessica steps forward and envelopes her daughter in a tight embrace, rubbing her back, "That's not its mom. Lucas had a heart attack."

"Oh sweetheart," Jessica says, "Everything is going to be okay."

"No, it's not mom!" Parker exclaims, "Why does this keep happening? Why do these things keep happening? Haley just found out she was having a baby boy! Nathan and Lucas just won a state championship it's like no matter what happens we can't be happy!"

Brooke stares at her girlfriend sympathetically, wishing there was something that she could do to make the pain go away, but she can't. The best thing she could do was let Parker vent and listen.