Haley put her Sonicare toothbrush into her suitcase and checked it off her list, searching for the next item on her travel register. She sighed in contentment. She was so happy to be going home this year. It would be her first time being home for Christmas in four long years.
Last year, Haley had flown to Nashville to stay with Quinn and her husband, Clay, and the year before that, her parents and Taylor had flown out and they'd spent it together. But it was never the same as spending Christmas in her childhood home. The other two years, Haley had made up some excuse not to be there. Since she never could be sure she whether or not she would run into Nathan, it was what she felt needed to be done.
She'd only seen Nathan a handful of times since he and Craig had left for Duke. Nathan had always found things to occupy him during breaks to make it seem like a plausible explanation for not being there. Haley had missed him like crazy, but she knew it was for the best. Nathan knew things about Haley that no one else did, and it made it hard for her to be around him. For him, too, apparently.
Haley sat down on her bed and took a deep breath as she remembered the night that she and Nathan had become inseparable until he'd left for college.
The door to the bathroom connecting Haley's bedroom to her brother's flew open and Nathan took a step in. "Oh, sorry," he said, when he saw Haley on her knees in front of the porcelain bowl."I didn't realize you were home already." He started to take a step back, but stopped. Tonight was supposed to have been a big night for Haley. It was her first date. "Haley?" he said softly. "You OK?"
"I'm fine," Haley whispered, not looking up at him.
"You're lying," Nathan said simply.
She looked up at Nathan and his heart stopped. Her face was tear streaked with mascara, and she had the beginning of a bruise on her left cheek. "What the hell happened to you?" he asked softly, crouching down and tenderly smoothing her hair away from her face.
"Nothing. I'm fine," she insisted. "I just want to take a shower."
Nathan nodded his head and that was when he noticed a red splotch on the inner thigh of her white dress pants. He stood up, and grabbed her upper arms, hauling her to her feet with him."Haley," Nathan said--almost threateningly.
"Nathan, please," she begged brokenly.
"Who did this?" he asked. In that instant, Haley knew that if she told him, she would see a darker side of Nathan that she'd never dreamed existed.She would have collapsed into a heap on the floor had it not been for his grip on her. Sobs wracked her body, and he pulled her to him and kicked the door shut with his heel. He leaned up against it, sliding them both to the floor. "Sshh," he said, trying to comfort her, but knowing at the same time that it wasn't possible. He was running one hand down her hair repetitively. His chin was resting on the top of her head.
"Nathan?" she finally said after a long time.
"Yeah," he answered.
She pulled away so that she could look him in the eyes. The look on her face made his heart ache. He'd watched as she'd swallowed nervously. "Please don't tell Daddy. Or Craig," she said, her voice full of tears again. "I'm not…sure what they'll do if they find out," she said.
"I won't tell them," he said softly. "But, Haley, this guy deserves to pay. Tell me who did this to you," he persisted.
Haley shook her head. "It's not important."
Nathan laughed in disbelief. "Are you kidding?"
"It's over, Nathan," she said.
"Not for you, Haley," he said tenderly, knowingly. "For you, it's just beginning."
Haley swallowed audibly and then moved back into Nathan's arms. They stayed that way for a long time, neither moving, each barely breathing. Finally, she spoke. "I think I'd like to take that shower now," she told him. He stood up and helped her to her feet, and then left her to cleanse herself.
Haley swallowed past the lump in her throat as the memories flooded her. That next morning, at three a.m., she'd crossed the hall to Nathan's bedroom, unable to fall sleep. She hadn't knocked, just slipped quietly in without a word and crawled into bed with him. He'd wrapped his arms around her protectively, pulling her back against his chest. It was the first of many nights she'd spent by his side, the only place she felt safe. He was still the only one who knew what had happened to her.
Haley stood up and moved about her little house, tidying it up as she went along and thinking all the while. She couldn't say that she was fully over what had happened to her that night, but she'd learned to live with it. She didn't dwell on it anymore, and she'd even started dating again within the last few years, which she knew, had been a huge step for her.
777
The next afternoon, Jimmy and Lydia were on their way to the airport to pick up their youngest child. "I can't believe you used that seattop thing with Haley," Jimmy James said, gliding in and out of traffic on the highway.
Lydia laughed. "Jimmy, those kids think I'm crazy," she said. "There's no need to burst their bubble."
"Crazy is fine. But you sounded…"
"Yes?" Lydia said, giving her husband a stern glare.
He uncomfortably cleared his throat. "Endearing," he said, changing his choice of wording at the last minute.
She reached over and squeezed his hand. "That's what I thought you were going to say."
"So, that means all the kids will be home this year," Jimmy declared.
"Not all of them," she said longingly, gazing out her window at the scenery.
"Honey, he doesn't belong to us," Jimmy said softly.
Lydia sighed. "Just because we didn't give birth to him does not mean he's not ours. That boy belongs to us in every way that counts," she disagreed.
"I know," Jimmy said, keeping his eyes on the road. "I just keep thinking that if I say it enough times, it'll make me miss him less."
She turned her gaze to her husband. "And does it work?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Not a bit."
777
Haley was looking around the busy airport for her parents when she heard her mother yelling her name. She turned around and grinned at the sight of them. She headed in their direction, and when she got there they nearly smothered her to death with their hugs. Her mother took a step back and holding her daughter at arms length, looked her up and down. "You look good, Haley," her mother told her. "You look really good. Doesn't she look good, Jimmy?" Lydia asked.
Jimmy grinned down at his daughter. "She looks stunning," he said, winking at her.
Haley laughed. "Dad," she softly scolded, embarrassed.
"What?" he said. "Is it my fault that my daughter happens to be the most beautiful daughter in this whole entire airport?"
Lydia grinned, nodding in agreement. "Let's go get your luggage, Honey," she said, heading for baggage claim. Haley's dad put an arm around her shoulders and they followed.
He kissed his daughter on the forehead. "We're really glad you're home for Christmas this year," he told her. "Especially your mom. She's really missed having you here, Haley."
"I missed you guys, too, Dad," she said, giving him a squeeze.
They collected Haley's luggage and were on their way home, Haley sitting in the front with her dad, her mother in the back. "When is Taylor supposed to be here?" she asked.
"She should get there soon after we do," Lydia told her daughter. "She left Tampa at around six this morning."
"Wow. Tay--getting up at six a.m.? Will wonders never cease," she said amazed.
"Your sister really misses you, Honey. She's so excited to spend some time with you. She was thrilled that we weren't going to be home tonight."
Haley turned around to face her mother. "Where are you going to be?" she asked.
"Your father has his company Christmas party tonight, so we'll be there."
Haley grinned, knowing that if it was anything like the times she remembered, her parents would be having lots of fun. "We won't wait up," she teased.
"We won't be too late. We want to be able to spend some time with you before you go home," Lydia said. She didn't want to miss a moment with her most elusive daughter.
Jimmy grinned. "Plus, your mother can't hold her liquor like she used to be able to," he said.
Lydia playfully hit her husband on the arm from the backseat. "You're one to talk, Jimmy James," she said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, Honey, the parties are much different than they used to be. Legalities and all."
"Yeah, I know," Haley said.
777
Haley was up in her old bedroom and had just finished unpacking everything when a wave of exhaustion finally washed over her. She'd been so busy trying to get caught up on correcting tests and getting her house settled before she left, that she'd barely slept last night. She decided to lie down and close her eyes for just a minute.
But first she walked across the hallway and opened the door to Nathan's old room. She smiled softly when she saw that her mother still hadn't taken down the posters on his walls of his favorite basketball players—a testament to how much she'd adored her son's best friend. She sighed and walked over to the bed. She picked up the pillow and walked to the door, closing it again on her way out. She returned to her own room and crawled under the covers. She pulled Nathan's old pillow to her chest and closing her eyes, inhaled. She sighed in disappointment. It didn't smell like him anymore.
