Something's Missing

By Marie Lace

Summary: Haley James was forced to move into her dad's after her mom had gotten killed about two years ago. Nathan Scott was forced to move on with his life. What happens when their lives collide once again?

A/N: This is my first fan fiction. So I would love everyone's input. Constructive criticism is certainly welcomed.

Now please read.

I lay there on my bed, looking up at the ceiling. I find myself doing this more and more lately. My friends, here in Alton, tell me that I brood too much. I just laugh at them and proceed to point out that they had never seen brooding until they saw Lucas, but I'd stop before I'd say his name and then get all quiet again. No matter what happens, anytime I start to mention my old life, I get sad.

After my mother died, and my dad forced me to move here, I tried to keep in touch with my friends, from back home. I tried to do everything to keep them in my lives, but eventually it became too hard. Too painful. So I pushed it aside and decided to move on. To try and accept what I had been dealt with and to cope. To do this, I pushed back every memory to the back of my mind and bury them deep. I did the same with my memories that were objects, they were in a box, buried deeply inside of my closet. Well all memories but one. That memory though I could not hide. I could not bury. That memory was in the form of a year old boy, with raven colored hair and beautiful blue eyes.

Currently, this dark haired beauty was sound asleep on my bed. Which was why I was also laying down. Have you ever tried to take a nap on your own schedule, when you have a one year old? It's not possible. Everything is pretty much on their schedule. I figured I had about ten more minutes or so before he woke up. I sighed.

"Hey Haley! What's up?" My friend Kelli came running in my room screaming. I put my fingers to my lips and nodded at Ty. "Oh.. Sorry.. Hey Haley.. What's up?" She whispered this time.

I rolled my eyes. "Not much Kel. Just trying to get in a few minutes of peace while Ty is asleep."

"I see." She stretched out on the other side of the bed. Her long blonde hair pulled was in a ponytail, and she had on her daisy duke shorts. "So guess what tomorrow is Haley James?"
"I don't know Kelli Allston. What is tomorrow?"
"Our first day as seniors."

I just shrugged my shoulders.

"C'mon on broody pants. We'll be seniors. Which means we will rule the school. We will be the top cheerleaders. We have the best squad out there and we get to go to the classics."

Great! I thought to myself. Just what I need, another reminder of my old life. All though wasn't that the reason I decided to try out for cheerleading here? To give me a feeling of still being connected with my people back at home?

"Haley. Come on.. Be excited. Cheer up!"

"I am excited Kelli. I'm just tired. Tyler was hyped up last night because someone slipped chocolate syrup into his milk before they left which kept him up all last night. Then he was back awake at 5:30 this morning."

Kelli just looked at me. "Who would have done something that stupid?" She had the innocent look in her eyes.

"I wonder Kelli, who would of." I laughed.

We both lay there talking about what was going to happen this school year, all thoughts of Tree Hill being pushed out of my mind.

Cruella De Vil

Cruella De Vil If she doesn't scare you

No evil thing will

To see her is to Take a sudden chill C

ruella, Cruella De Vil

Kelli laughed at me as I grabbed my cell phone. It was the ringtone that I had for my step mom. "Hello?"

"Haley darling, is that you?"

I rolled my eyes. "No AnnaBella, it's not me."

"Don't take that nasty tone with me young lady."

"What tone? You asked a stupid question so I gave a stupid answer. Who else would have been answering my phone?"
"Now sweetie no need for that. I was calling because I needed to talk to you."

"Really. Is that why you call someone? I thought it was so you could just hear them breathe." I glanced up and saw Marcus standing in my room holding back a laugh.

"Seriously Haley…"

"Seriously AnnaBelle. What do you want? Tyler is sleeping and I don't want to wake him up."

"Your dad and I aren't coming home until tomorrow. I need you to go pick up Alyssia and Alexander at their dads, and make sure all the kids get to school tomorrow."
"What the hell! I am not their damn mother. I have my own damn kid to take care of. Alyssia and Alex can stay at their dads until you get home. Which you should do now, so you can see your kids off to school."

"Haley James! Don't you use that tone with your mothe.." I guess she put my dad on the phone as soon as she told me that.

"Okay dad. Don't even. She is not my mother. She may be your dirty little whore, but she is in no way my mother."

"Young lady, if you don't watch it, you'll be grounded. Now you are going to do as she asks.."
I sighed. "Dad, I'm sorry, but hear me out. I'll do half of it. Alyssia and Alex can stay at their dads tonight and then after practice me or Marcus will bring them home. They are 15 years old and don't need us to baby sit them. As for Kyler and Elizabeth, I will make sure they go to school."

"Fine, but your calling the twins and telling them. I will see you tomorrow. You better come home straight from practice, because you are…"

"Dad, sorry but I gotta go. Tyler is awake and crying now. I'll see you tomorrow." I hung up the phone and looked at Marcus.

"Lemme guess sis, they aren't coming home?"

"Nope, but luckily I got out of us having to deal with the twins."

Annabella had been married two times before she was married to my father. The first time was to Marcus's mother. Marcus is a year older then me, but we are in the same grade because I got to skip a grade back in Tree Hill.

His dad and Annabelle divorced because two years after Marcus was born, she had been caught cheating on him with Alyssia and Alexander's dad. A year later the twins were born and they had gotten married.

Then not even a year after they had gotten married she had met my dad and moved on to him. My dad divorced my mom and every summer for a month I would come to stay at my dads with Cruella, as I liked to call her. Luckily for me though, it was Marcus' month there and not the twins.

Marcus pretty much lived with his mom, even more so since I moved in. He would stay at his dad's every other weekend and for a month during the summer. Whereas the twins, well their parents had joint custody of them. So they would be at their dad's one week, then here the next.

I didn't get along with them at all. They were fifteen and snobby as heck. Alyssia was on the cheerleading team, as much as I didn't want her to be, she made it. Then Alexander was on the basketball team.

Seven years ago my dad and Annabelle had a baby boy named Kyler. He is a sweetheart. Marcus and I both love him to death. Then two years later they had Lizzie. She was also a sweetie. The only problem was sometimes, she would act like her mom or her sister. I hated those days.

"So which one of us gets to call them and break the news?"

"You want to bro? I have to change Ty's diaper and get dinner started." I looked at the clock and realized it was six.

"Sure. What are we having?"

"Mac - n - Cheese."
"Haley…"

"What? It's easy and quick to make. The kids need to have their baths and be in bed in two hours. You staying Kel?"
"Nope. Gotta hot date with the hotshot I met at Duke last weekend."

"Really? What's his name?"

"Daniel. He plays ball for the Hawks or something like that."

"Duke. That's all the way in North Carolina. What is he doing in Montana?"
"Not sure. He said he's visiting a friend or something. He's flying back home tonight, so I wanna send him a special farewell if you know what I mean."

"Gross. Listen be careful, you know what special farewell's can end up as…" I said motioning my hand at Tyler as I was changing his diaper.

"Yea. I know."

Review! Much love MarieLace