Thanks for the reviews, guys! They definitely made me happy, and I look forward to more of them! Here is Chapter 2 & please review.
Lucas sighed heavily and threw himself onto Nathan's couch; he was exhausted. It had taken him almost two full days to convince his brother to come back to Tree Hill with him, and even then he'd had some reservations. However, Luke had had a lot of time to think during his long drive from Tree Hill to New York a few days ago. And he had put together a strong case with arguments from all angles that Nathan simply couldn't deny. First, Lucas had to promise that he would let his brother stay with him and Brooke and wouldn't make him go to Haley's until he was completely ready to do so. He had made several completely true comments about how much Jamie missed his father, and admittedly he may have thrown in some tiny fibs about Haley's missing him as well. In Lucas's mind, she never said out loud that she missed her ex-husband, but he knew that in her heart she did. Also, he'd conveniently left out the part about Haley's boyfriend who she'd been dating for almost a year and who lived in the apartment with her and Jamie. Lucas was smart enough to realize that that would be a deal-breaker. He sighed again as he waited for Nathan to get ready. He wanted to get back to Tree Hill as soon as possible. He'd tried to call Haley multiple times, and she refused to answer any of them. Besides all of the drama with his best friend and his brother, he missed his girlfriend. The trip had been pretty impromptu, and he felt guilty for leaving her home alone for two days on such short notice, but he figured she had a lot of work to attend to anyways.
When Nathan finally emerged from his bedroom for the fourth time that day, he had changed into his pajamas again. Seeing Lucas's irritated expression, he spoke. "Luke, I just can't face them yet, okay? It's embarrassing. What am I supposed to say when I see her? She doesn't want an apology from me."
Lucas stood up and shook his head. "Nathan, you've had two long years to prepare yourself for this, so I don't want to hear any excuses. What's left for you here in New York? I'll tell you: one night stands, a shitload of money, and this penthouse. Is that really all you've got to live for?" He paused for effect. "As for the apology, so what if she doesn't want to hear it? That's only because she's heard it so many times before without you following through. If you show her that you can make it up to her and Jamie and actually make a commitment and stick to it, you'll be golden. I'm not taking no for an answer this time."
His brother's words only made Nathan feel worse. He knew he deserved to feel that way though. Instead of answering, he nodded solemnly and went to change his clothes and pack his bags.
Lucas awarded himself a smile of satisfaction once his brother left the room and sat back down on the couch. He pulled out his cell phone and contemplated calling Haley again. "It's worth a shot," he mumbled to himself, pressing the speed dial. Surprisingly, it only rang once before he got an answer, but it wasn't Haley's voice he heard. He furrowed his brow. "Dane, uh…hey. What's up? Where's Hales?"
"Hey, man. She's just a little busy right now, if you know what I mean," Dane answered, slightly out of breath.
Again, Lucas was puzzled. "Um…alright. Well, can you have her call me back then?"
"You got it."
Lucas heard the phone click and then hung up himself. He stared at his phone, bewildered. Of course, he knew what Dane was referring to. Anyone could've picked up on it. But that's why Lucas was confused. He knew for a fact that Haley hadn't slept with him. She and Brooke had had several conversations about it, during which Haley stated that she simply wasn't ready to let him in physically. Brooke had willingly shared the information with her boyfriend, since he promised not to give away his knowledge of the situation. So why had Dane said that? Had Haley changed her mind already? Lucas found himself getting angry. He already had a huge problem with the guy, and he didn't want him hurting his best friend more than he already had.
"I'm ready," Nathan announced, setting his bags down by the front door. He glanced at Luke. "What's wrong? You look like you've just seen a ghost."
His head snapped up and then his body followed suit. "Uh, yeah I'm fine. Just, um…ready to get out of here," he stuttered. He made his way to the door after grabbing his keys. "Let's go, little brother."
"You seriously need to keep your voice down," Haley whispered forcefully. "Jamie will not go back to sleep if you wake him up now."
Dane shook his head and kept his voice at the same volume. "Don't tell me what to do. I think I have a right to be upset after you practically made out with that jackass at the party," he spat angrily.
Haley was not about to back down. He had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. "I'm sorry; were we at the same party? Because I'm pretty sure all I did was have a five-second conversation with one of your co-workers. Oh no, you're right; I apologize. I forgot that I wasn't allowed to speak to anyone of the opposite sex unless it's you," she replied sarcastically.
"It was more than that, and you know it," Dane said, his voice still rising in volume. "And it better not happen again. You have no idea what I'm capable of, and I don't think you want to make me angry."
Even then, she wasn't scared. She and Dane had fought numerous times before, and they'd always found a way to resolve the issue. Nothing had ever gotten too intense. She peeked into Jamie's room before returning to theirs and shutting the door. "Seriously, Dane, can you please keep your voice down? I'm tired, and I don't want to deal with him right now."
It was then that his muscular hand slapped her across the face. Then he stepped closer to her, causing her back to hit the wall. "I told you not to tell me what to do," he muttered through clenched teeth.
Shock was the only word to describe what Haley felt in that moment. Wait, no…there was also a sharp sting on her cheek. She didn't know what to say or do to ensure that he wouldn't do it again. So she just spat out the first words that popped into her head. "What the hell is your problem? I didn't even do anything. Just because you think you saw something at a party doesn't mean it actually happened. I'm not a whore."
Those weren't the right words, apparently. Dane took her shoulders firmly and shoved her against the wall again. "Shut your mouth!" he yelled. When she started to defend herself verbally again, he figured she just wasn't getting the point. Another blow ought to do the trick, right? This time, it wasn't just a shove or a slap though. It was a full-force punch.
"Bitch," he muttered before leaving the room and the apartment.
The blow had caused Haley to shrink back to the ground. She knew she was bleeding; she could taste it. Tears streamed down her face out of sheer pain. Dane was strong, and he could throw one hell of a punch. She'd seen him take it out on other guys before but never a woman, and never her. After sitting there for a few minutes, she slowly made her way into the bathroom to examine her face. It didn't look pretty.
After cleaning it up and putting everything away, Haley turned to go back into the bedroom and saw her son standing in the doorway. He looked terrified. "Momma?" he whispered.
Trying to keep herself from crying after reimagining the event from three months ago, Haley wiped her eyes fiercely as she sat up in bed alone. Jamie was asleep, and Dane was gone. It was late. For the most part, though, the fresh tears didn't stem from the memory she'd just reevaluated. Instead, they took root with the more recent event which had only occurred about an hour ago. That's why Dane was gone; he was angry again. She didn't know why. Instead of caring about his reasons, she sank into the covers and shut her eyes tight, hoping it would take the pain away.
"There's something you should know," Lucas said as he and Nathan sat in his car outside of Haley's apartment. He was absolutely dreading telling Nathan about Dane, but he didn't want the guy to have a heart attack when he saw the tall blonde in his ex-wife's apartment. Mostly, he hadn't been sure if he would be able to tell Nathan about him without relaying the incident to him as well. But he knew he had to force himself to suppress it. It wasn't his place.
"Yeah?" Nathan looked across the console at his brother. He was an absolute nervous wreck. He still didn't know what he would say to Haley, or even Jamie for that matter. He imagined the younger one would be more excited about his unexpected visit. Apparently, Haley hadn't been informed. His foot tapped against the floorboard incessantly.
Lucas took a deep breath. "She has a boyfriend," he mumbled.
"I'm sorry. What was that?" Nathan leaned over, hoping he'd heard wrong.
Turning the car off, he repeated, "Haley has a boyfriend. They've been dating for almost a year. He…lives with them."
Nathan's eyes widened. "Are you fucking serious, Luke? You're just now telling me about this? What the hell? I can't go in there."
"Nathan, if I would have told you earlier you would've backed out, and I'm not letting that happen," Lucas stated firmly. "Let's go. You can handle it. He's probably at the gym anyways. He works out like seventeen hours a day."
They both got out of the car and started towards the steps. "This just keeps getting better and better," the younger one murmured.
At least Lucas had been right about Dane: he wasn't home. Haley didn't answer the door until about five minutes after they'd knocked, and she looked a little disheveled. Her hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail, and she wore a heavy sweatshirt and a pair of soffe shorts.
She yawned. Then she was finally able to make out the two figures in front of her. "Wh-"
Before she could get her thoughts out, a small voice rose from behind her. "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! You're back!"
Nathan held his son for what seemed like an hour. When he pulled away, it still didn't seem long enough. However, he figured it had been a few minutes. The front door had been shut, and Haley and Lucas were watching silently. "Hey, buddy," he said when they pulled apart. "I missed you like crazy."
Jamie's smile was priceless. "I missed you, too, Daddy. Do you want to play with me?"
"Jamie, go finish your breakfast," Haley ordered, pointing to the kitchen.
"But-"
"Now," she demanded louder.
The boy sauntered off into the kitchen and took his seat at the table.
Lucas could tell that something seemed a little off about Haley. For one thing, she was wearing a sweatshirt. It was ninety degrees outside. And she had a small cut on the bottom of her lip. "Hales, why are you wearing a sweatshirt? Do you know how hot it is?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I got cold," she mumbled.
He eyed her carefully before his mind traveled to Dane. He reached for her arm and began to roll up the sleeve of her sweatshirt.
"Lucas," she warned, yanking her arm away. "Stay out of it. Speaking of things that aren't your business, what the hell is he doing here?" She refused to look at Nathan.
"You know, I am actually in the room," Nathan volunteered, taking a step closer.
"Don't talk to me," she muttered coldly and stepped away. She looked at Lucas expectantly.
"Hales, I'm sorry to just show up with him like this," Lucas started. "But you guys have issues you need to work out. And Jamie was happy to see him. That's worth something, right?"
"Of course Jamie was happy to see him," came a male voice. They all turned to see the blonde man shutting the front door. "He disappeared for two fucking years. Not exactly father of the year material, dude."
Nathan scoffed. "You don't know anything about me, prick."
Dane ignored him and turned to Haley, stepping closer to give her a peck on the lips. Just in time though, she backed away and he was left hanging in the air. He sighed, knowing fully why she was upset with him. "Babe, can we please talk in the other room for a second?"
"No," she answered quickly. "In fact, how about all three of you just stay the hell away from me?" She made her way down the hall and to her bedroom, slamming the door shut and locking it.
"Nice work, dick," Nathan muttered to the stranger.
Dane rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm the reason she's so upset," he said sarcastically. "I'm pretty sure that's you, smart one."
"Nathan's right," Lucas chimed, stepping closer to his best friend's boyfriend. "And you need to leave."
Dane did his best to look innocent. "I don't know what you're talking about, dude."
Lucas crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh, I think you do. Maybe you think I haven't caught on, but I have. And I'm not going to sit here and watch it happen. Haley's my best friend."
The man rolled his eyes. "If you think she feels more for you than for me, you're sadly mistaken. She'd pick me over you any day."
Nathan was watching the unpleasant exchange, trying to figure out what they were talking about. He'd also noticed the awkwardness between his brother and Haley when he'd brought up the sweatshirt she was wearing. He didn't see what the big deal was. She was cold, so she got a sweatshirt. It was nothing to get upset about. He could tell that Dane had done something to piss Lucas off, but he had absolutely no clue what it was.
"Now who's lying to himself?" Lucas wondered aloud.
Dane shook his head and backed into the hallway. "Whatever, dude. I'm going to go take a shower." He paused. "Hey, if you see Haley, tell her to join me." He smirked, locking eyes with Nathan.
Lucas knew he would never say any of those things to him in front of Haley. Somehow, that made it worse in his eyes. "Dick," he mumbled.
"What the hell is his problem?" Nathan asked, looking at his brother. The whole shower thing had really gotten to him. He knew they were dating, and he knew they were living together, but all the information was still relatively new to him. He was still trying to figure it all out. And picturing Haley sleeping with another man, especially that one, was not something he could put himself through. Sure, he'd had numerous hookups since the breakup, but he always held onto the hope that she hadn't done the same thing. That he was still her one and only.
He couldn't dwell on it for much longer, as Jamie came rushing out of the kitchen to stand in front of his dad. "I finished my breakfast." He smiled widely. "Now do you want to play with me, Daddy?"
Nathan shook his previous thoughts and decided to focus on his son. After all, it had been two years. "Of course," he answered with a genuine smile.
If it hadn't been for Jamie, Haley would have been out of there two seconds after she'd seen Nathan's face. She especially wouldn't have stayed for the fun festival that was her boyfriend, best friend, and ex-husband in the same room together. She was becoming extremely stressed and really couldn't handle it all. She couldn't believe that Lucas would deliberately go behind her back and not even give her some sort of warning that he was bringing Nathan all the way from New York to come to her apartment. Even a subtle hint would have been better than nothing. She honestly didn't feel much toward Nathan except that she didn't want to see him. However, when she'd first seen his face, a part of her had wanted to pretend that nothing had ever gone wrong. She'd wanted to embrace the father of her child and act like all was forgiven, but it was impossible. Because it wasn't true, in the slightest. She didn't even want to think about her boyfriend. Last night had been strike number two, and she wasn't sure if she could make it to three. It was more painful than the first, but thankfully Jamie hadn't woken up. She didn't want to be the weak one who stayed with a guy who hit her because she believed things would get better, but she realized that things were headed that way. She still liked Dane, and she wanted to give him another chance. She just wasn't sure if she could physically take anymore of his crap. She had no idea what she was going to do with Nathan in town. She didn't even know how long he was staying. However, even with all of this stress, she refused to cry again; she'd done plenty of that last night. But her mind just wouldn't stop. Then she remembered that it was Sunday and she still had papers to grade. Of course. The drama at home wasn't enough. She had to get it from work, too.
"When did things become so complicated?" she whispered to herself as she lay in bed under the covers. She'd removed her sweatshirt, and now the bruises down her arms and on her chest were clearly visible to the world. Luckily, someone long ago had created locks. Therefore, Haley could keep the outside world away for the moment and just be alone. She wanted nothing more than to just make it all go away. So she closed her eyes and let sleep take her over.