Prologue
I didn't know how things came to be. I just knew that maybe…just maybe, life would not be better if we weren't reunited. And I was right. All back together again, wishing our lives would fall back into place. It was all a mistake.
If I would have known that I was completely right and would end up here…in the park… "our" spot. Maybe I would have stayed and left everything as it was. I would have stood in New Jersey.
I can't believe that this is happening that he is being taken away from me. I am what caused all of this. I can't believe I let all of this happen. No I have to stop this isn't the way to think…oh, but who am I kidding? This will never leave my mind.
So I continue to stare out at the water as the sun sets. I couldn't help the tears streaming down my face. I tried to stop the tears once I heard the footsteps coming near me and the bench squeak as the person sat next to me.
I knew who it was. Besides my heart and soul, who isn't here right now, it was the other person I could turn to no matter what, the person who practically raised me, who has been there for me my whole life…my sister, Brooke James. I couldn't find it in me to turn my head, to see the look on her face, to hear the news she was going to give me. The few words that were going to leave her mouth. The words that were going to break my heart and bring my world crashing down.
So I stood there, not saying a word hoping I was in some bad nightmare, wondering when I was going to wake up.
She turned to me and it took all of my strength in me to turn to her. Once I saw the look on her face and the tears streaming down her face I couldn't hold it anymore and I broke down, hugging her so tight I knew I wasn't going to let go. She was all I had now, well that is if I read her face correctly. If I am correct then my heart is gone and broken now and there isn't anyone who could put it back together. It was torn and I knew no matter what I wouldn't want my heart to be put back together. Because the love I had for him, no, the love I have for him is stronger than anything I've ever experienced.
It took awhile for me to get a hold of myself. Once I could muster the words I turned to Brooke and said it as simple as I could.
"Why did we leave?"
"W-what?" I knew Brooke was taken by surprise. I knew she wasn't expecting that. I knew it was probably wrong of me to ask her that, but I couldn't help it. It just came out. So I repeated myself.
".?!" I said the words with such anger and regret that I literally saw my happy-go-lucky sister shudder and shed a tear.
"Hales…I don't know what you want me to say but I can't answer that." I knew she regretted it when she saw me flinch at the nickname he called me.
"This would have never happened. Everything would have still been the same. He would still be here if we would have stayed back home and never moved back. He could've had a happy life and would still be smiling and being his normal self right now in his favorite town if we would have never come back."
"Haley…don't you dare say that! Do you hear yourself right now?! If we would have never came back we would have never seen our best friends or reunite with dad, you would have never fell in love with him and the only reason he had that smile on his face was because of you." She stopped for a second when she saw me turn my face. I let the tears fall down. She was right. None of that would have taken place.
"Haley if we would have never came back to Tree Hill you and Nath…," I flinched when she almost said his name, "…I'm sorry, you and him would have never finally made contact and be the best friends you were."
"Were", past tense, not "are", but "were". I knew I would have to get used to it. The referring to him and the things that took place in past tense was going to be hard, but I knew it was going to happen. I tried to see and imagine what was going to happen in the future, how I was going to explain what had happened in the last year to to… so I stopped and realized the best way to tell our story was to start from the beginning and I knew that in a few years I would have to, so why not start now.