Nathan had just finished showering after his basketball practice when his phone rang. He picked it up while glancing at the caller id. "Yo, man," he said as he answered the phone. "No, I can't workout tonight. I just got off practice and I promised Haley that I would watch JD while she studied for one of her tests. Yeah… ok… maybe this weekend, Luke. Ok. Yeah, I'll tell her. Bye." Nathan hung up the phone. He couldn't wait to get home and see Haley and James. They were his life. Between work and school and basketball, he didn't spend nearly enough time with them, but if that was what it took to make sure his little family stayed ok, then he was going to do it. Nathan walked out of the gym and got into the car that his mom and dad had given Haley and him when James was born. Haley's family had pulled some strings and gotten them a discounted price on a small apartment near Duke. Even with both of them going to school, they were able to find fair paying jobs that worked around their schedule and made the monthly payments on the apartment, clipped coupons to save money and loved each other even more every day. Yes, Nathan Scott was a lucky one.

Nathan got into the car and gunned the engine. He turned on the radio for the fifteen minute drive home and laughed when he realized that Haley must have been playing with the stations. Instead of rap music filling the car like it normally did when he drove, an oldies song filled the air…

Gonna find my baby, gonna hold her tight
gonna grab some afternoon delight.
My motto's always been; when it's right, it's right.
Why wait until the middle of a cold dark night.
When everything's a little clearer in the light of day.
And you know the night is always gonna be there any way.

Nathan turned the music down as he once again heard his phone ring. He picked it up and frowned as he realized who was calling. "Keller." He answered.

"Hey, Nate. I just wanted to give you a little heads up. Sam called Haley today and was asking her about the CD."

"Shit!" Nathan cursed under his breath. He had been hoping that Sam Thomas would have given him some warning before he called Haley. At least a day to tell her what was going on, at least. "Well, what happened?"

Chris told Nathan all he knew about the conversation between Sam and Haley. "Dude," he said, "you just should have told her that you called me. You would have saved yourself a lot of trouble."

"Don't. Start. Chris." Nathan warned. "Anyway. Thanks for the heads up. I'll be home in like two seconds, so I gotta go. I'll call you back later this week."

"All right, man. Good luck."

Nathan closed his phone and pulled into the parking area that was reserved for the apartment residents. It cost an additional $100 dollars a month to have a guaranteed parking space, but they could afford it, and it was better than having to make Haley walk two or three blocks with JD in tow if there was no parking near. Nathan parked the car and pulled his gym bag out of the backseat. He walked into the building and up the stairs to the fourth floor. He pulled in a deep breath as he put his key in the lock and opened the door.