((("You have no idea what’s within your grasp and even if you did you lack the courage to reach out for it!" Lily accused bitterly.

"What’s `within my grasp’, Lily?" Brooke growled at her.

"I’m not handing it to you that easily, Brooke," she growled back. "But it’s something more special than you deserve and for the life of me I don’t understand why you’re going to get it, why it wants you!"

"What are you talking about? What is `it’?" Brooke asked.

"If you can’t figure that out on your own, you don’t deserve it," Lily had informed Brooke hotly and arrogantly. "But first, you need to figure out what it is you want, Brooke. You need to decide what’s more important, your precious image or what you want, your own happiness and someone else’s.")))

Those words didn’t haunt Brooke as bad as the way the conversation had actually ended.

((("I know what I want and I can’t have it BECAUSE OF YOU!" Lily had screamed her voice full of raw and pure pain.

"Lily, I." Brooke started but Lily cut her off.

"I’m not stupid, Brooke. And neither are you so cut the shit. We both know what I’m talking about," Lily took a deep, calming breath. "Now, figure out what you want, what you are, what you can and can not deal with and then let the rest of us know so that we can move on with the rest of our lives."

"I’ve seen how you look at `it’," Lily continued, unwilling to give Brooke the satisfaction of saying Sam’s name outloud. "You may not realize what you want yet, but you’d better figure it out soon. I won’t sit by passively for long. I’m not known for my passiveness," she reminded the thunderstruck blonde.

"Lily, I don’t know what I want," Brooke admitted softly. Lily sighed.

"I know, that’s the problem. You have to figure that out. It’s not fair to make us wait for you to iron out your `issues’."

"I’m scared," Brooke whispered.

"Grow up," Lily rumbled roughly. "And grab on to the possiblities that lay in front of you before they slip through your fingers, Brooke. Because I won’t make the same mistake and there are no second chances in this life." Lily opened the door and walked out.)))