Rebuilding and Crumbling Chapter 3!

By: Matt91

Disclaimer: Lucas Scott, Nathan Scott, Brooke Davis, Peyton Sawyer, and Haley James don't belong to me, as do Karen Roe, Deb Scott, Dan Scott and other characters that appear on the show. Please e-mail me with any comments you may have.

Apartment

"Hey, Brooke," says Keith, smiling.

"It's so good to see you," says Brooke, pulling him into a hug.

"Please, come in," says Brooke, ushering Keith inside.

They sit down on the couch.

"How are you, Keith?" asks Brooke, looking him up and down. He looks well considering how hurt he was when he left.

"I'm doing pretty well. It was a bit touch and go there for a while, some days the pain was just unbearable, but I persevered," says Keith, half smiling.

"Aw, Keith, I'm so sorry," says Brooke, sympathetically. "Have you heard from Jules?"

"No, not at all. When I took off, I tried looking for her but I came up empty. She hurt me terribly and I hate her for that but I can't help the fact that I still love her," says Keith, sadly.

"Sounds like something Nathan would say," says Brooke, looking towards her and Haley's bedroom.

"Speaking of, how are Nathan and Haley doing? I spoke to Deb about a week ago but she only said that Haley had come back."

"Yeah, she is back and he left for High Flyers. And she's written him and called him but he's been really cold and unforgiving," explains Brooke.

"And how's she doing?" asks Keith, concerned. He loves Nathan and Haley and hates to know that they're in pain.

"Not too good. She's very gloomy and quiet and is really hurting," says Brooke, feeling badly for Haley.

"Well, I'm sure they'll work things out. They love each other," says Keith, reassuringly.

"Sometimes love isn't enough," says Brooke, as she thinks about her situation with Lucas, Nathan and Haley's situation, and Jules and Keith's situation.

Keith looks at her, in agreement. "This place looks great, Brooke. It's about a million times better than it was the last time I saw it when Nathan lived here."

"Yeah, I really worked to make it nice. When Nathan moved out, I couldn't pass up this great apartment," says Brooke, looking around at what a fine job she'd done decorating the apartment.

"And how's everyone else?" asks Keith. "Deb also told me about the dealership fire."

Brooke begins to fill him on everything else.

Café

Dan enters to find Karen and Deb talking behind the counter.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my ex-wife and ex-sister-in-law," says Dan.

Karen and Deb look at each other.

"What do you want, Dan?" asks Deb.

"Can't a guy just come by and visit?" asks Dan, slyly.

"Yes, a guy can. But, not you," says Karen.

"Can I have a coffee?" asks Dan, sitting on a stool.

"Can I have the last seventeen years back?" asks Deb, as Karen goes to pour him coffee.

"And Karen, make sure you don't put any poison in it," says Dan, as Karen pauses with the coffeepot in her hand.

"What are you implying Dan?" asks Karen, turning around, coffeepot in her hand.

"That the fire at my dealership wasn't an accident," says Dan. "But I'm sure you already knew that."

"You think someone set you up?" asks Deb, surprised.

"That's exactly what I think, Deb," says Dan, as he looks at them. "And when I find out who did it, I will make them pay."

Karen and Deb cringe at the thought of what Dan could do.

"Later, ladies," says Dan, walking out of the café.

Scott Home

Nathan is standing on the front porch, ringing the doorbell.

"Why's no answering?" Nathan asks himself.

He bends down and pulls out the spare key from under the welcome mat.

Nathan puts the key into the front door's keyhole and opens it. He grabs his luggage and heads inside.

"Mom? Dad?" calls Nathan.

Silence.

"They must be out," says Nathan.

He puts his bag down in the foyer and heads into the kitchen.

As soon as he enters the kitchen, he sees the machine blinking, signifying there's a new message.

Nathan hits the 'Play' button and Haley's voice is heard.

"Nathan, it's me, Haley. I know you probably won't get this for a while, but I just have to tell you that I'm hurting. I love you so much and I would be devastated if I lost you. You are the best thing that ever happened to me and I was selfish and stupid when I left you for the tour. You gave me an ultimatum when I left, and I made the wrong decision. Nathan, if I could go back in time and change it I would in a heartbeat. But, it's done. I wanna be with you and we have decisions that we need to make. So, please call me as soon as you get this message," plays the message.

Nathan raises his hand to hit the 'Delete' button, but then decides against it. He still loves Haley with all his heart, but she had hurt him so. How could he just forgive her?

He hears the front door and Dan enters the kitchen.

"Nathan, you're home early," says Dan, surprised.

Author's Note: Ok, well, here's chapter 3. I hope you enjoyed it! So, what's going to happen next? Is Keith back for good? Will Nathan and Haley reconcile? Will Nathan and Lucas be able to rebuild their friendship and their brotherly bond? Will Lucas and Brooke become exclusive? How will the fact that Lucas has been without his HCM medication affect him? Who set Dan up? What will he do when he discovers who set him up? What about Peyton and Ellie; will Peyton allow Ellie into her life? Answers coming soon! Stay tuned! Chapter 4, coming soon! In the meantime, please REVIEW!