Back To The Start (One Tree Hill)

Chapter 16

Julian's POV

I waited exactly one hour before picking up the phone and calling Haley. I had tried to reach Brooke on the phone before, but only the mailbox had been activated. After half a dozen recorded messages, I finally gave up. And gradually I wasn't just worried, but really scared. A look outside revealed that the rain still hadn't subsided. And in the news, new warnings were reported every few minutes. The thought that Brooke may have had an accident and was injured somewhere outside tormented me.

"Hello?"

"Haley? Here's Julian. Is Brooke with you?" I came straight to the point.

"No, she isn't. What happened?"

My heart started to beat like crazy. I had hoped so much that she had gone to her friend to cry her heart out. "We had a fight," I confessed, hearing a soft moan through the phone.

"She told you, right?"

"That she can't have children? Yes, she told me." I didn't care what Haley thought about me. I just wanted to find Brooke.

"And that's why you had the argument?"

"Not directly," I said reluctantly. "She also found out that I have a child with another woman," I confessed. Silence. I couldn't even hear Haley's breathing anymore. "Are you shocked?"

"Yeah, a little. I didn't expect that, and neither did Brooke it seems. Apparently you both had a secret to hide from each other."

"It's not like that." I shook my head. "I only found out today and I have to deal with it myself."

"What exactly happened?"

"We had a fight and then she just ran away. I haven't heard from her in over an hour. Haley, I'm really worried that something bad happened to her," I admitted.

"I'll let Nathan know, then we'll come over. We will look for her."

"Maybe she's with Peyton," I suggested.

"I'm afraid no. Lucas and Peyton left for a few days. They didn't want to come back until next week."

Now my last hope was gone.

"Julian? Don't worry. We'll find her."

After she had hung up, I wandered through the house, hoping the phone would ring and Brooke would tell me she was fine. But the phone didn't ring and I gradually lost hope of ever finding her unharmed and well again.

Brooke's POV

When the car tipped over on its side, I was paralyzed with fear for a moment. Complete darkness was around me, and I heard a gurgling sound below me. Apparently I had fallen into a ditch that was already full of water. I fumbled for my cell phone and just wanted to switch it on when I heard a humming sound and the display turned black. Great, the battery was empty! Now I didn't even have the chance to call anyone for help. And nobody knew where I was. I had to get out of here and find a way to attract my attention. The door couldn't be opened, so I freed myself from the seat belt and made my way to the back of the car. Under the backseat was the tool that I always had in case of a tire change. I grabbed the torque wrench and wriggled back up. Powerfully, I raised my hand and hurled the tool against the windscreen, but nothing happened. I don't know how long I battered against the glass until the material finally gave way and splintered. I wound my way through the narrow opening and landed in the mud. Unable to get through the darkness, I fumbled my way up and finally reached the road again. Exhausted, I remained lying for a moment, while the rain relentlessly lashed down on me and lightning and thunder brightened the sky. I knew that if I stayed here now, nobody would find me. I had to get up and walk along the road. With the hope that a passing car would stop and bring me to the nearest house or shelter I got up again and continued walking.

Julian's POV

Water was pouring down and you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, when Haley, Nathan and I set off to find Brooke. So far, we hadn't found her car. I prayed that she hadn't come up with the stupid idea of leaving the main road. There were just too many exits. This way we never would find her.

"Don't you really have any idea where she could have gone?" Haley shouted from the back seat.

"No, if I knew I would tell you," I called back.

"Did you try to call her again?"

"Thousand times. But no response." I ran through my hair, sighing. "Hopefully it's just that the battery is empty. This happens often because she always forgets to plug it in the charger."

"The rain is getting worse and the road is muddy," Nathan intervened. "We can't continue like this for a long time..."

I winced as Haley suddenly screamed. "What is it?" I asked in alarm.

"Nathan, stop! I think I saw something flashing up there," she said, pointing to the roadside.

Nathan stopped and Haley immediately jumped out of the car, running to the spot where she thought she had seen something. I followed her, hoping it was Brooke. And then I saw her car lying on its side in the ditch. I ran, slid down the slope and immediately realized that the windscreen was broken. I managed to open the door and found Brooke's phone in the back of the back seat. The battery was empty. Exactly as I had suspected. Nathan had followed us and, like Haley, looked down at the car.

"Is she in there?" Haley asked frantically.

I shook my head and then slumped back into the mud. "If anything happened to her, it's only my fault!" I sobbed.

"Pull yourself together, Julian! If you lose your nerve now, we will never find her."

Haley's words put me out of my mental breakdown and I scrambled to my feet, then crawled out of the ditch back to the road.

"If she walked by foot, she might have met a car," Nathan said, shrugging. "Maybe she's already at home."

I looked around and saw only blackness in front of me. "Nobody leaves the house willingly in this weather."

"I have to agree with Julian. I don't think many cars are on the road now," Haley said.

"Okay, come on now. We keep looking for her." Nathan patted on my back and I followed him and Haley to the car and sat back down in the passenger seat.

Brooke's POV

I completely had lost the sense of time and space as I walked down the road, hoping to meet a car or a human being. The darkness around me was oppressive and I barely felt my body because the rain had completely soaked my clothes. I froze miserably. If nobody would find me soon I would die on the roadside. This thought pushed me forward, but I also felt that I was losing more and more strength. I never should have left the car, I blamed myself. At least it had been warm and dry in there. But going back wasn't an option anymore because I didn't even know how far away I was from it. There was a hurdle on the road, but I noticed it too late. I stumbled over it, fell down and lay dazed in the mud for a moment. I had to stand up and continue walking, I admonished myself and wanted to get up, as a sharp pain went through my ankle. All attempts to get up again failed and I realized that I had probably broken a bone. Tears of despair mingled with the rain as I lay there exhausted. That's it, I thought. My life would end here. I closed my eyes and surrendered to my fate.