Luke's head snapped up, his gaze instantly latching onto Brooks'.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Brooks spat, the fire iron still gripped tightly in his right hand and his left still clasping mine.

Luke's eyes narrowed, and he lifted his arm to press something to his lips. I squinted to make out what it was, frowning when it reflected a sliver of moonlight and I realized it was a bottle. Wait had he driven here? My eyes roamed over the black Jeep behind him, which I now saw was severely beat up. The front windscreen was completely smashed and the bumper looked like it was about to fall off. I squeezed Brooks' hand in alarm, but he was too busy death staring Luke.

Pouring the last drop of alcohol into his mouth, Luke chucked the empty bottle away carelessly, not looking to see where it went. He licked his lips before offering Brooks a smirk. "Came to see that pretty little sister of yours. She has quite the thing for me, you know."

A deep growl ripped from Brooks' chest at the mention of Mia, and I placed my free hand on his bicep in an attempt to stop him from doing something he'd regret. My movement caught Luke's attention and he suddenly put the full force of his icy blue eyes on me, noticing my presence for the first time. He cocked his head to one side as his gaze roamed all the way down my body and back up again, lingering on my chest. I swallowed back my discomfort and forced myself to meet his stare, raising my chin a little in hopes of showing him that I wasn't scared.

"On second thought, maybe the little actress would be more fun." Luke slurred, taking a step towards me. "You wouldn't have to act with me though, I'd have you scream-"

Exactly half way through Luke's sentence, Brooks snapped. He dropped my hand and the fire iron and took three large strides, swinging a huge punch straight into Luke's face on the fourth step. I watched in shock as Luke fell backwards, wrapping his fingers around Brooks' arm to take him down as well. They landed on the dirt with a thud, scrambling to get the upper hand on each other. Brooks had the advantage of not being completely wasted, but Luke was throwing messy, random punches all over the place, obviously just looking to do some damage.

As Brooks took a particularly hard blow to cheek, I suddenly snapped out of my daze and started to panic. I searched around for something that could help— anything! Shit shit shit shit shit. My hands grappled the ground and landed on a long, thin piece of iron and I mentally gave myself a high five as I pulled the fire iron into my arms. I ran over to the boys and lifted the iron slab into the air, waiting for an opportunity to take a clear shot at Luke. Before I could lower the iron, a desperate hand shot out, looking for something or someone to help them. Long fingers gripped onto my ankle and I let out a cry at the very moment that the hand yanked, sending me sprawling onto the ground. My chin hit cement and my teeth involuntarily bit into my tongue, making me taste blood.

"What in God's name is going on out here?" A new voice rang out through the pounding in my ears, and, for a moment, the world seemed to stop spinning.

I vaguely noted Sarah, Lewis and Dallas running towards us, Sarah rushing towards me as Lewis and Dallas pried Brooks and Luke apart. Sarah fussed over me, pulling me into her fluffy pink robe as she tried to help me stand. "Are you okay?" She fretted once I had managed to find my feet again. I nodded and reached up to cup my jaw, which now felt like it had been put in a blender.

I turned over my shoulder and saw that Dallas and Lewis had finally managed to separate the two boys, Dallas muttering something quietly to Brooks as he wiped the blood from his mouth and shot Luke the most menacing glare I'd ever seen. 

Brooks shook his friend's arm off of him and sneered at Luke, who laughed in return.

"Get the fuck out of here before we call the cops."

***

"So are you ever going to tell me why you and Luke hate each other so much? I mean, aside from tonight's debacle." I asked gently as I tilted his chin up slightly. We were currently in the downstairs bathroom, me cleaning Brooks' injuries whilst Lewis and Sarah dealt with Luke, and Dallas went to check on Mia. I could feel his eyes boring into me as I set to work, but I trained my gaze on his purpling cheekbone.

Brooks stayed quiet, causing a soft sigh to leave my lips. I dabbed the cotton bud on the open wound and gave an apologetic smile when he hissed under his breath.

"Fine, don't tell me, but just know that by not knowing the truth I'm automatically going to have to assume the worst... that you're both drug dealers vying over the best part of town, or you're on opposing gangs or something." I warned him jokingly, catching a drip of peroxide before it could fall onto the counter. Brooks was way too smart to get caught up in anything like that, but I was hoping that my teasing would open him up a little.

"I'm okay with that. You don't exactly have a pristine image yourself, you know." Brooks said with a smirk, crossing his arms over his chest.

I snorted. "Oh you mean my six boyfriends, secret liposuction, month in jail and my recent stint to rehab?" All of the above had, according to People magazine, occurred within the past month. Even though that was physically impossible. I raised an eyebrow in amusement. "I wouldn't have pegged you as one to keep up with gossip, never mind actually believe it."

Brooks shrugged his shoulders, his eyes hardening all of a sudden. "A lot can change in four years. For all I knew the gossip sites were true and you were married with a kid by now."

We sat in silence for a moment as I digested his words. He was right, of course, which just made him even more infuriating. Sometimes even I didn't know what to believe about myself.

"Mia told me how upset you were when I left." I said eventually, placing my hand down on the counter top. I thought back to our day on the football field when Mia had explained how devastated Brooks had been.

"I figured as much," Brooks told me, rolling his golden eyes, "the girl never could keep her big mouth shut."

I turned to look at him, unable to help the frown that fell over my face. "If I'd have known I—"

"What?" He cut me off quickly. "If you'd have known how much I was going to miss you, you wouldn't have gone?" Brooks smiled softly, sadly. "Come on, we both know that's not true."

I pressed my lips together. He was right again. Back then, nothing mattered to me other than getting out of here, and I'm sure that no one could have stopped me.

"No." I agreed slowly, "But I would have given you the goodbye you deserved. I'm sorry, I should have given it to you anyway." I murmured, more to myself than him.

I heard Brooks swallow, and when I looked up at him again his eyes were somber. "It happens." He told me, though the words sounded forced, as if he were talking through a constricted throat.

I busted myself with the medical supplies, a new question burning on the tip of my tongue. "Do you... do you actually believe any of the things you hear and see about me?" I wanted, no needed, to know that the closest people I had to a real family weren't buying into the gossip. But Brooks' words about me potentially having a whole other life with a marriage and kid rang in my head. Obviously he knew that that wasn't true, but the implications were there.

"I try not to buy into it." Brooks answered me slowly, "But I admit, sometimes it's hard not to wonder whether there's any truth to the rumours. I didn't have anything else to go by."

I nodded understandingly, not meeting his gaze. "There was some truth to the rumours." I permitted quietly. "I was a partier. I drank every weekend, got mixed in with the wrong crowd. For years, actually, because there was never anyone there to tell me otherwise. Mom and dad were out of the picture and the nanny they left me with had no say in my life when it came down to it. But all of it— it wasn't even fun it was just..." I trailed off, not really knowing where I was going with this. "I was just..." I tried again, struggling to find the right words.

"Lost." Brooks finished for me softly.

I froze, my hand halfway between the sink and his face as I went to tend to his wounds again, finally meeting his warm eyes. "Yes." I agreed gently, offering him a small smile. "I was just lost."

Silence fell over us, and with a large intake of breath I cleaned the rest of the cut and covered it with a small piece of gauze to keep away any possible infections. "I think," I said slowly, chewing on my lower lip, "you're good to go." I turned to put away the rest of the gauze into the first aid kit when Brooks' hand shot out to touch my arm.

"I'll make you a deal." He said, his eyes darkening. "I'll tell you why I can't stand Luke if you tell me exactly why you came back to Beaufort."

I froze, my heart almost beating out of my chest as I searched his eyes. He stared back at me, and suddenly I was completely aware of his hand on my arm and how the entire right side of my body was currently tingling.

That hadn't been what I was expecting. I'd always just assumed that he already knew— that Sarah and Lewis had told him. But now that I knew he was in the dark, I didn't want to tell him why I was back—he wouldn't understand. Just like my mother and father hadn't understood.

But I really wanted to know the backstory between Brooks and Luke. Eventually I gave him a nod, hesitating just the slightest.

Silently, Brooks hopped off the counter and closed the bathroom door, flicking the lock down. I jumped up to sit where he'd just been, fiddling with my fingers.
When he returned a moment later, he captured my chin delicately between his fingers and carefully started to tend to my scrapes.

"There was this party." I started, taking the unspoken hint that I would be sharing first. "We had just wrapped the fourth season of the show and we were celebrating. Our studio wrap party had finished pretty early so my co-star Andy and I went to one in the valley. One minute I was dancing and the next I woke up crashed in a stolen car with the police trying to arrest me."

Brooks stared at me blankly for a second as my words registered in his mind. "You mean you don't remember how you got in the car?"

I shook my head. Brooks' mouth pressed into a thin line, his eyes unreadable. "So you were drunk then."

I closed my eyes. That's what everyone assumed— drunk teen celebrity goes on a joy ride. Maybe they were right. Who knew anymore.

"At the station they found traces of scopolamine on my shirt— the drug that gives you amnesia." Tears burned behind my eyes as the memories and shame of that night rolled back to me. I stared down at my feet, brushing away the water from my cheeks as it stung the cuts on my face. "That's the worst part about it. I don't remember any of it. I don't even remember taking it. But I was a party girl, of course I took it." I said coldly.

There was silence for a moment, before Brooks reached over and entwined his fingers with mine. I glanced up and found that his expression was soft.

My chest flooded with warmth and I shook my head as if I could clear it that way. "My family did all they could to keep the incident out of the media and me out of trouble, but they didn't trust that it wouldn't happen again. Mom told me that I'd be moving here and stopping filming indefinitely until I could 'get myself together'."

Brooks searched my eyes for a moment before offering me a grimace, our tender moment coming to an end. "When I was sixteen I dated Luke's sister." He admitted suddenly, his mouth set into a deep frown. "I was a sophomore and she was a Freshman, we dated for a while. But then I realized that I wasn't happy and I broke up with her." He shot me a look. "Apparently it broke her heart."

It took me a moment to process his words. "Wait, what?" That was it? Brooks dated Luke's sister and they broke up?

"She made up a bunch of stories about me— that I had cheated and lied, stuff like that. Since then Luke's been intent on making Mia suffer the way I made Demi suffer." Brooks continued bleakly.

If I hadn't been so damn confused by his confession, I probably would have laughed. All if this was because of a breakup?

"Does Mia know about all of this?

"No. She knows that I dated Demi briefly, but that's it." Brooks stated. "As far as she's concerned I'm the overprotective brother who won't let anyone near his baby sister." He shook his head in anguish.

And suddenly, with the help of Brooks' words, like the sun bursting through the clouds my mind connected the dots. Luke had had access to my locker, he'd been at the party and he'd shown up at the lake house tonight. He could have easily slipped the polaroids into my bags when I wasn't looking. Was this why? Was he targeting me now as well as Mia? It had to be him, right?

"Oh my god." I whispered, my hands finding my mouth. That son of a bitch.

Brooks watched me with alarm, his eyes filled with concern. "What? What is it?"

I glanced up slowly, rubbing my arm. "There's something else I should tell you."

A/N: Fun fact, I was listening to Bodak Yellow whilst writing the first half of this chapter to channel the badass vibes. I don't think it worked 😂

Meg x