Secrets And Lies

Chapter 23

Brooke's face fell as those words came out of her father's mouth.

"No..." Brooke trailed off.

"You're gonna get married at 18?" Her father asked skeptically before crossing his arms.

Brooke shook her head quickly.

"No! We're gonna wait until I'm out of college first! School and planning a wedding are alot of things to take on together!" Brooke admitted.

Brooke's father looked at James like he wanted to throttle him but then he looked at Brooke, who looked ecstatic and he knew he couldn't deny them him blessings.

"Alright. You have my blessing... but! If I hear her so much as complain about you hurting her feelings, you're dead." Brooke's father threatened.

Brooke's eyes lit up before she got up, ran over to her father and threw her arms around him.

"Thank you so much, Dad!"

○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○

A few weeks had passed and Brooke was back at college. Christmas had just past and she was currently two weeks into her second semester at Harvard. The work load was grueling but nevertheless, Brooke still pushed through it.

James called often to catch up and frequently, they would facetime. They hadn't talked much about the wedding due to the fact that it was three years away but they would occasionally discuss the theme or location but that was it.

Gia and Brooke had become best friends very quickly although she would never replace Natasha. When she heard about Brooke's engagement, she was thrilled. Brooke insisted she be a bridesmaid and Gia gladly accepted.

Life was great for Brooke. She had everything she'd ever wanted and she couldn't be happier.

○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○

Brooke was sitting on her bed, glaring down at the files for a mock trial she had coming up. She was defending a guilty client and she couldn't find any compelling evidence to suggest that they were innocent and it was frustrating her.

After a while, Brooke got up and put the papers away, finishing up for the day. It was only five o'clock in the evening but she'd been staring at it all day and it was giving her a migraine.

Brooke laid down in her bed and sighed before closing her eyes. Sleep began to take over and before she knew it, she was asleep. A little while later, Gia came into the room, awakening Brooke.

"Oh I'm sorry! I didn't mean to wake you!"

Brooke waved her off.

"It's fine, I wasn't having any luck sleeping anyway." Brooke admitted.

Gia began unpacking her bag, taking out a stack of papers which was presumably homework.

Brooke laid back down in bed but before she could relax any longer, her phone began ringing.

Reluctantly, she got up and answered it.

"Brooke, have you been watching the news?" Her father's voice asked frantically.

"No I've been busy with a case. Why?" Brooke asked, intrigued by her father's question.

"They found some Russian spies trying to get into the U.S. but they stopped them. They were attempting to steal secret information that could bring this country down." Her father explained.

"I got a call a couple hours ago about one of the spies. The FBI found your phone number in his cell phone and showed up at my work, asking where you were."

Brooke's heart rate quickened as she knew exactly who her father was talking about. Almost a year ago, he told her about his plans and now he'd been caught.

"Brooke.... it's Scott."

That very name caused Brooke's heart to shoot out of her chest. She knew it had been him but to hear it confirmed was upsetting.

"Brooke, I'm in Washington D.C. right now." Her father added once more.

In the corner of her eye, Brooke could see Gia looking concerned. She would want to know what's going on but unfortunately, she couldn't.

"I'm on my way." Brooke stated before hanging up.

She began throwing clothes into a suitcase as Gia asked her what was going on.

Brooke only told her that her father had had an incident at home and was in the hospital. She hated lying to her but Brooke knew that this was confidential and that she was not supposed to know.

As Brooke dragged the suitcase to her car across campus, she pulled out her cellphone and called James.

On the first ring, he picked up.

"I'm assuming your father told you?" He asked immediately.

"Yeah. Where are you?" Brooke asked hastily.

"I'm already on a flight to D.C."

Brooke nodded her head once before replying.

"I'm heading to the airport now and I'll be there within a couple hours. I'll see you soon." And with that, she hung up.

Brooke never knew when she would see Scott again but she hoped that when she did, it would not be under these circumstances.

○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○

After landing in D.C., Brooke felt even more anxious. She pulled out her cellphone and called James, hoping they could meet up soon.

"Hey, where are you?" Brooke asked as she glanced around the airport.

"I'm driving to the airport now. I just rented a car, assuming we'll be here for a while." James stated. Brooke could feel her shoulders slouch as she was relieved that she would see him soon.

"Ok well I'm gonna go claim my luggage and I'll wait outside. I'll see you in a few."

With a goodbye, Brooke hung up and sauntered towards the baggage claim area.

After a few minutes, she saw her luggage, pulling it along with her towards the airport exit doors.

Brooke consistently glanced around, waiting for a sign of James and soon, she saw him.

He pulled up in a brand new Cadillac XT5. Brooke shoved her suitcases into the trunk before climbing into the passenger seat.

Neither of them said anything until they got to their hotel room. That's when Brooke started to freak out.

"What the hell are we gonna do?!" She shouted. James simply shrugged his shoulders.

"We have to be honest with them. We have to tell them about our visit with him several months ago because if we don't, they'll eventually find out and we'll look guilty as fuck."

Brooke threw her hands up in the air before sighing in defeat. She stared right at James before charging at him, wrapping her arms around him.

"I missed you so much." She murmured into his neck as he gently rubbed her back.

"I missed you too."

When they pulled away, Brooke looked frustrated and upset.

"When should we be there tomorrow?"

"Your father told me that they are expecting us at eight in the morning so we should probably get some sleep." James explained. Brooke nodded her head in agreement but she knew that neither of them would be getting any sleep tonight.

As the details of Scott's new life began to unfold, so did all of the secrets they had been trying so hard to hide.

As Brooke thought her life was finally settling down and going right, she was taken back to reality and once again, she was pulled back into all of the drama that accompanied Scott.

But will she recover this time or will everything come tumbling down as more secrets come out?