Author's Note: I do not own OTH.
In this story, Nathan isn't a jerk to Lucas when he joins the team. They are still brothers. This will eventually be a Naley.
Haley James woke to the annoying buzzing of her alarm. The pounding headache and aching muscles made her want to stay in bed, away from the world. However, she had to go to school. And, she was no stranger to waking up with a few (or more) bruises. So, she dragged herself out of bed and into the shower to soothe her aching body.
After getting dressed and applying the small amount of makeup she normally wore, she moved quickly out of the house, or else she would be late for school. Haley made her way along the short walk she had to Tree Hill High.
Upon her arrival, she saw her ex best friend Lucas Scott, talking to his friends from the basketball team. He saw Haley, and quickly looked away.
Haley was not always like this. She used to have friends. She used to be all about school, her friends, and work. That all changed almost a year ago.
Haley and her best friend Lucas Scott were inseparable from the day they first met. Lucas was an only child, and Haley was the youngest of 6, who were all gone by the time Haley reached high school. It was just Lucas and his mom, and Haley loved that. Haley's mother had died in a car accident their freshman year, so Karen was like a second mother to her. Haley and her father didn't really get along after her mother died. Jimmy James had always been a little bit of a drinker, but after Lydia's death, things went from bad to worse. When Haley arrived home from school one day, she started her homework like she always did. Then, her father walked in the door, obviously drunk, and obviously reeling about something.
"HALEY JAMES! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HEREE!" he slurred.
Haley was afraid, her father wasn't normally violent when he drank, but he seemed different somehow. She crept downstairs, and asked her father what was wrong. Her answer was a blow to the face. She fell to the ground in shock and pain. Her father didn't stop there. He beat her for a few more minutes, before stumbling into the living room and onto the couch. Haley tried to pick herself up off the floor, but the pain was too much, and she collapsed into the darkness.
She woke on the hard linoleum of the kitchen floor, her body in immense pain from the beating she took hours before. She gathered the strength to get herself up, and walked as quietly as she could past her father, passed out on the couch. She made her way up the stairs and into her bed, wincing the entire way. This was the night Haley James' life changed.
The next morning, she got up, and stepped into the shower, washing away the blood and soothing her body. She dressed in long sleeves and pants, and applied make up to the large purple bruise forming on her cheek. She lifted up her shirt to see the grotesque marks on her ribs from the kicking her father had done. She looked like death. She did her best to be quiet on her way out of the house, she was terribly afraid to wake her father. She arrived at school on time, which was a miracle, considering the pace she was walking.
Lucas was across the courtyard, talking to his new friends. After recently joining the basketball team, he became friends with all the people Haley and Lucas used to make fun of. The popular crowd. And now Lucas was one of them.
"Haley! Wait up!" Lucas ran to catch up with her as she walked by. "I thought you were coming to dinner last night, what happened to you?"
"Nothing Lucas, something just came up," Haley responded.
"What's wrong Haley, you don't look so good," Lucas asked with concern. Just then, his friends from the team yelled his name.
"Sorry Haley, we'll have to catch up later!" and with that, Lucas Scott walked out of Haley's life.
It wasn't entirely his fault. Haley actually blamed herself. She was the one who avoided all of his calls and messages. It would be easier if she didn't have to work so hard to hide it from him. If she avoided him long enough, maybe he would just leave her alone. And he did. So Haley James went home to an abusive father every day, without her best friend to help her.
Please Review! I'm working on the next chapter. If I get enough reviews, I'll continue. I like constructive criticism, so please review! Thank you!
