Chapter Two
Nathan stood awestruck at what had just happened. His wife was usually strong, and confident. The woman he had encountered this morning was none of those things. Even though she had tried to shrug off the desperate situation he had caught her in, Nathan had seen despair in his wife's every movement, and every word. How could he have missed this? How could he have overlooked her now obvious pain? Nathan rubbed his hands up his face and through his hair, took a deep breath, and walked inside the house ready for the fight that was to come. As he walked into the kitchen, however, he found a perky looking Haley, cup of coffee in hand. 'You like yours with sugar right?' she said as she bounced all over the kitchen in search of sugar. 'I was sure we had some. These cupboards are a wreck, I really should organize these with labels or something…maybe we could build some extra shelving? What do you think? Too much work?' Nathan silently watched while his wife frantically opened and closed every drawer and cupboard she came in contact with. As she continued her frantic pace, he walked towards her and firmly grasped onto her hips. 'Haley, stop this.' He said as his hands slowly made their way across her hips. 'Stop what Nathan? Do you not want coffee? No? That's ok, you want breakfast? I'll make breakfast' Nathan spun Haley around so she could face him. 'Stop it.' He repeated. Haley kept her chin down so to avoid eye contact. 'Honestly Nathan, I…' 'Stop it,' said Nathan once more as he cut her off. He gently grabbed her chin and lifted her head. He could see her holding back tears. Her eyes had gathered up soft puddles. She smiled. 'I'm ok Nathan, really. These are just silly tears. I'm fine. I'm fine.' Her performance didn't convince him. 'So fine equals falling asleep outside?' he asked. Haley once again avoided his gaze. 'I have to get ready for work' she whispered, and for the second time that morning, left him standing alone desperate for answers.
Nathan sat down next to the phone and stared at it. He'd been wrecking his brain for solutions on how to break his despondent wife's walls ever since she had left for work. After hours of brainstorming, it had come down to this; a phone call. Nathan reached for the phone and dialed the familiar number. 'Hello?' answered the voice on the other end. 'Lucas…it's Nathan, Haley's in trouble.'
Haley parked her car in the driveway and unbuckled her seat belt. She couldn't get herself to open the door. All she wanted to do was to stay locked up in her own world where she dared to cry. The minute she would step into the house, she'd have to count the hours until she could sneak out again, and have yet another sleepless night next to the pool. She finally coaxed herself out of the car. Each step towards the front entrance took excess energy. Energy she did not have. With a big sigh, she plastered a smile on her face and opened the door. 'Nate? Jamie? I'm home!' she yelled enthusiastically, but no answer came back to her. Haley kicked off her heels, and made her way towards the living room. As she turned the corner, an all too familiar face made his way towards her. 'Hi buddy.' Those two words were all it took for Haley's walls to come crumbling down. She felt her legs give away as tears welled up in her eyes. Just as she was about to fall to the ground, Lucas caught her in a hug whispering 'It's ok' in her ear. Luke couldn't bare seeing her this way, his heart broke as he felt her ragged breaths against his chest. She looked much more frail and thin than last time he had seen her. He could feel her spine and ribs as he rubbed her back to console her. Haley's sobs finally subsided, 'Hi', she said meekly through sniffles. Lucas wiped her cheeks dry, and tucked straying hair behind her ears. 'Nate was telling me you've become a fan of camping?' joked Lucas while giving her a sly smile. Haley couldn't help but smirk. Luke always had a way of making her worse moments bearable. 'I'm ok Luke, really.' They both knew she was lying. 'I'd like to think all these tears are for me Hales, but I think I'd be being a light high on myself if I actually believed that.' 'Here', he continued handing her his hand, 'let's sit down.'