"Lucas!" Haley's hair swung back and forth as she jogged to catch up with her best friend.
"Hey Hales, what's up?" Lucas shifted his bag on his shoulder.
"I was wondering what you were doing tonight?"
"You asking me out on a date Hales?" Lucas smiled.
"You better not be." Haley turned to face the brunette who had just entered the conversation. "Hey Boyfriend." Brooke kissed Lucas who kissed back fiercely.
"Ok gross to what you said and gross to what I'm having to witness right now." Haley shielded her eyes.
"Haley you really need to divorce that jerk you call a husband and find someone else. You'd be a lot happier." Brooke smiled as she looked to Lucas. Haley shifted uncomfortably, should she tell her that she'd already found someone. Probably not. She pulled her sleeve down a bit more for fear of Lucas seeing the bruise.
"So I was just wondering if you could babysit tonight Luke. I'm going to go see if I can get some writing done and god knows where that jerk I call a husband is going to be."
"I'd be happy to. I haven't seen my goddaughter in a while."
"Great." Haley was almost gone when she remembered something. "Oh shoot. Brooke do you think you could come with Luke, Jake might bring Jenny over so Luke could use a hand."
"Oh I'll give him a hand." Brooke kinked an eyebrow.
"Ok so don't want to go there. Thanks. I got to go. See you two tonight!" And with that Haley rushed down the hall. She passed Peyton and Jake in the hallway, they seemed to be arguing, not wanting to be pulled into it, Haley continued on.
"Ok formula's in the fridge. You've got diapers, bottles, and anything else you might need here." Haley rushed around the apartment showing Brooke and Lucas where everything was.
"Yeah except the babies," Brooke said.
"Oh right." She led the couple into the bedroom where Lauren was sleeping, her hand curled around Jenny's who was also sleeping.
"Awww. You know, you may have heard this before, but Lauren kind of looks like Jenny." Haley gave a hollow laugh.
"Ok Jake and I will be a phone call away if you need anything."
"Relax Tutorgirl, we've got this. Go, write a hit."
"Ok thanks." Haley grabbed her guitar and her purse before exiting the apartment. Her heart did a flip as she slid into the car waiting for her.
"Hey," the boy in the driver's seat leaned in towards her.
"Not here, Brooke or Luke might see." A quick glance to the window.
"Whatever you say rockstar. Where to?"
"Our place." With a smile, Jake put the car in gear and sped off down the road. And Haley left her façade behind.
Their place was nothing more than a dilapidated old building with overgrown plants everywhere. But they had memories in it. They had written their best material while sitting on the dusty floors of this house. And when their relationship started over a year ago the plants provided safety from prying eyes.
Haley lay, her head on Jake's bare chest, the sheet they had brought wrapped over her. "So I saw you talking to Peyton today. She looked mad."
"Well I broke up with her." Haley's heart skipped a beat. "I told her that someone else had my heart." Haley propped herself up, kissing him.
"And you've got mine." Jake looked curiously at a bruise on Haley's upper arm.
"Where do you get that?"
"Ha, you know what a klutz I am. I ran into a doorframe." Jake kissed it.
"Better?"
"Yeah, your kisses can fix anything."
"So why are you still with Nathan?" Haley got nervous. This wasn't the first time that they had discussed the topic, but the previous night Haley had a particularly bad fight with Nathan, so bad that he had walked out.
"For Lauren."
"Well look at Jenny. Niki and I didn't stay together for her, we knew we'd be better off apart. And I'm glad we did it, otherwise I don't think we'd be together." Haley smiled and kissed him. "Not to mention I'm a good father. I wouldn't mind having two daughters." Haley's breath caught in her throat. Words that she needed to say hung in the air. "Well actually one daughter and one step-daughter. But I would love her like she was mine. Hell I already do." Tears filled Haley's eyes. "Hey, hey I didn't mean to make you cry." Jake pulled her into his arms.
"I love you Jake," Haley whispered.
"I love you too Haley." He kissed the top of her head and the two clung to one another as they escaped the world.
Jake took Jenny in his arms and smiled at Haley. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah." He mouthed an 'I love you' before walking to his car. Haley turned and walked in the apartment. The door closed with a snap behind her. "Hey Tutorgirl! Why are you so smiley? Did you write a song?" Haley shook her head. "You spend all that time writing with Jake and yet you never have anything to show for it and oh my gosh!"
"What? What is it?" Haley set her guitar down and ran to her friend.
"You."
"Me?"
"Jake." Haley's heart began to thud.
"What?"
"I can tell when someone just had sex. Call it a gift or a curse but I can tell. You never get anything written. I can't believe I never put the pieces together before."
"Shh. Be quiet." Haley gave a look into the bedroom where Lucas was tickling Lauren.
"Is it true?" Brooke whimpered. Ashamed, Haley nodded. "Oh my gosh!"
"I know."
"No I just realized why Jenny and Lauren look alike. She's his isn't she?" Again, Haley nodded. "Does he know?" This time a shake of the head. "And Nathan doesn't know?" Another shake no. "They need to know. They need to…"
"What are you two talking about?" Lucas had entered the room.
"Nothing!" The two girls said in unison.
"Come on Boyfriend, Haley's got some thinking to do." Brooke took Lucas's hand and pulled him from the apartment. On their way out they met Nathan. Brooke gave him and uneasy glance, Lucas gave him a wave and then they were gone.
"Should I be worried?" Nathan asked of his wife as he entered the apartment.
"Nathan there's something I need to tell you."
"Ok." Nathan moved to the fridge, took out a beer and sipped from it.
Haley lost her cool. "Nathan would you stop drinking! It's all you do anymore."
"Haley we've got to keep up appearances, act like we're some happy married couple. And this is the way I do it."
"But we're not happy Nathan."
"We get along fairly well." Tears spilled from Haley's eyes.
"No we don't!" She lifted her shirt to reveal bruises on every inch of her body. "Unless you consider beating the hell out of me getting along well."
"You're a klutz, you say so yourself." He took another swig. Haley just shook her head. "Don't you dare tell anyone that I did that to you!" A wail came from the bedroom. "Go get your daughter." This was the perfect opportunity and Haley was taking it.
"You're damn right she's my daughter. And Jake's, not yours." Haley ran into the bedroom.
"You cheating whore!" Nathan lumbered in after her. Haley clutched Lauren to her chest and was about to exit the room but Nathan was blocking her way. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Nathan don't do this," Haley pleaded.
"Don't do what? This?" Nathan smacked her across the face. Lauren wailed louder as Haley stumbled backwards. Once she had recovered she ran to the door, ducked under Nathan's arm as he took another swing and was out of the apartment in the blink of an eye.
Jake opened the door to reveal a sobbing Haley with a sleeping Lauren in his arms. "Those bruises weren't because you're klutzy were they?" Haley shook her head without a word. "I'll kill him."
"Please, will you just stay with me tonight," Haley said in a soft voice. Jake nodded.
"So are you ever going to tell Lauren that her dad's a jackass?" Jake asked Haley as he led her inside.
"He's not."
"Are you kidding me Haley?!? He beat you! He's…"
"She's yours." Jake shut his mouth. "Lauren is your daughter." Any other guy might have taken that news badly, overreacted. But Jake wasn't any other guy.
"I always knew she was. I loved her too much for her not to be." He kissed Lauren and then Haley. Haley put Lauren in the crib by her half sister and then let herself give into the tears. Jake pulled her to him and Haley felt safer than she had ever felt before.