Irreplacable

Chapter 1

It was the day after graduation, and Haley had walked over to Lucas at his graduation party. As she hugged him she wished that he would have somehow found out her biggest secret of all. She always felt like she couldn't tell him, but now she wishes she had. Maybe they wouldn't have been friends, but at least she'd be free from her secret she thought. As they break off the hug, she wonders if he had a secret of his own that he's been keeping from her. Somehow she doubted it. Why would he?
That was the last time she had seen him, that day at his graduation party. Now it was just a waste to think about if he ever had a secret of his own. It wouldn't matter now anyway she thought. Not now that he was gone forever. She couldn't help but think about why he wasn't with them anymore though, it wasn't like he had a heart attack or anything like that. He had been taking his medication and hadn't been over active she thought. No, he had just been taken too soon by a single bullet. The thought saddened her. Her best friend had been gunned down in broad daylight at the river court.
Looking around her dorm room she can't help but think about how much things had changed since that day. There were too many things that had changed since then, and by how Haley saw it they probably wouldn't have if Lucas was still with them. She had never realized how much he had assisted in so many aspects of her life before than, and how much he was holding a big something together for her.
That big something was her marriage to Nathan, which after Lucas was gone fell apart at the seams within just weeks. Maybe Lucas had been her good luck charm she thought. How else would you explain how she and the baby had safely survived a car crash that should have killed at least one of them if not both of them?
Haley was now planning on naming her soon to be son after Lucas. In her mind it was the only name that she wanted to name her first born son. After all Lucas was the one person that she admired the most all of those years that he was with them even if they had only been friends.
"Hey Haley, do you want to go with me to the dinning hall for dinner?"
"I guess so," she says coming out of her daze as her roommate, Claire, slips out of her slippers and into her sneakers. "Just give me a minute."
"Don't worry I'm not going to rush a pregnant woman."
"I would watch it if I were you."
"Okay, you're still touchy. I'll back off," Claire says pausing and watching Haley get up from her bed.

"You know I thought it would be different this time," Nathan yells slamming the door behind him as he comes into the apartment. "Now I find out that you've been back at it again."
"Nate, you're over reacting."
"No, I'm not. Now who is he?"
"It doesn't matter who he is," Haley says trying to keep her voice down.
"Yes it sure does. I want to know who the heck got you pregnant. It's either you tell me or we're through."
"We can make it through this just like we've done in the past."
"It's not like last time," he says raising his voice even louder. "You slept with someone this time."
"I know and I'm sorry."
"I love you Haley, but sorry doesn't cut it this time. Not to mention that I had to find out that it's not my baby while we were at the doctor's."
"Well you found out when I did." Pleading with her eyes she hopes that maybe Nathan will change his mind. "I didn't realize the baby was his either Nate."
"If the doctor didn't request for that test to be run you would of gotten away with it. You didn't get away with it though. Personally I don't like the idea that you have been hiding that there was even a possibility that someone else could be the father of the baby."
"So who's the father? I mean, you've never even hinted at it."
"That's because it's not important."
"He slept with you and ran when he found out didn't he?"
"No," Haley says looking at her irritated. "He never knew it was his baby, if you must really know."
"Oh, I guess I shouldn't have asked."

"You know dawg, this is really weird."
"I know," Haley says looking around Lucas's room. "It's kind of hard to sleep considering he's not here anymore."
"Then why don't you find somewhere else to sleep, like on the couch?"
"I know, but it's kind of comforting to sleep in here. Everything still smells like him."
"I never thought of it that way," Skills says sitting down on Lucas' bed. "Almost everything's left exactly how it was. I just wish he was still here with us, he was taken too early."
"I feel the same way."
"So what do you plan on doing now that you and Nathan are calling it quits for real?"
"Well for starters I'm going to go to Stanford." Looking over at Skills, Haley watches for a reaction. "I mean that was the original plan anyway, and I got accepted and didn't tell them either way yet so I can still go there."
"Hey I'm not going to get all judgmental on you. Besides Lucas wouldn't be."
"You never bring up anything about friends or family."
"I just don't like talking about stuff okay?" Getting up from her computer chair in their dorm room Haley throws a look Claire's way.
"You may not like talking about it, but maybe you should talk about it."
"Yeah well maybe I should, but I don't want to."
"Look if you need to talk to someone I'm a pretty good listener," Claire says looking understanding towards Haley.
"So how old are you anyway?"
"You're finally interested in finding out some stuff about me, that figures. Well for your information I'm sixteen."
"So you're a little smarty pants?"
"I suppose I am," Claire says laughing a little.