Thank you guy so much for the replies. I think I like this as two really long chapters too. I hope they are worth the wait. I had a lot of fun writing them and I hope that shows through too! Replies make my day and thank you all so much for reading my little story!
Chapter 4
Lydia stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips.
"It's about time you woke up." she snapped with annoyance written all over her face. The doctor followed right behind Lydia into the room.
"How are you feeling Haley?" he asked with a slight smile while he continued to glance at the numbers written in her chart.
"Umm..I'm pretty tired and my head hurts." Haley said honestly. The doctor chuckled.
"Well that's understandable. The blood tests we ran show that your body is pretty messed up. We got some information from your boyfriend about your problems with food these past few days. Your electrolytes and hormones are out of balance. We would like to admit you and keep you here for obeservation."
Haley didn't bother to correct the doctor that Nathan wasn't her boyfriend. The shock of the entire event was finally wearing off and the truth was really sinking in. She was actually sick. Wow, this was a bitter pill to swallow.
"Do you understand Haley?" the doctor asked. She nodded her head. She felt Nathan squeeze her hand. She glanced up at him and saw the utter desperation in her eyes. She knew she had to get better.
"I'll stay."
"We're leaving." Haley and Lydia said at the same time.
"Haley get yourself up and get dressed. You have so much to make up for." Lydia said tapping her foot impatiently.
"But mom, the doctor said I need to stay." Haley said pleadingly.
"I don't care. You're just being lazy Haley, and you know it."
"Mrs. James, she is really sick." Nathan said.
"No one asked you Mr. Scott." Lydia said wheeling around to face Nathan. She was shooting dangers out of her eyes and her voice was laced with poison.
"Well, Miss James you are 18, so it's your choice." The doctor said speaking calmly.
That's true, Haley thought, it was her choice. Everything was her choice, then her mother's voice brought her back into reality.
"Haley if you stay, you are no longer my daughter." Lydia said walking out of the room knowing that Haley would follow shortly. Haley always wanted her mother's approval, even when she was little. Lydia knew this was Haley's weakness, making it Lydia's ultimate weapon.
Back in the room Haley dropped her head in her hands.
"It's your decision, Hales." Nathan said gently.
"I can't lose my parents Nathan, I just can't."
Nathan shook his head. This was unbelievable. He felt sorry for her as sobs began to wrack her body.
"You will have to sign against medical advice forms, miss." the doctor said quietly before leaving the room.
Haley got up and got dressed. She knew there was going to be hell to pay when she got home. Nathan was pacing the length of the room. He knew he couldn't change her mind, not now. Maybe not ever. They walked out of the room and Haley signed the papers she need. She gave Nathan a hug but for the first time ever, he didn't return it. He couldn't believe she was actually doing this.
Haley went out and started to get in the car.
"What do you think you're doing?" her mother asked.
"I'm going home," she replied.
"You haven't finished your run yet. You need to run home."
Haley sighed but turned around and started to run home. This wasn't going to be good, she could feel it in her bones but she had made her own bed and now she had to lie in it.
When Haley reached home about an hour later, Lydia was waiting for her.
"Where's dad?" Haley asked noticing for the first time that her father wasn't home.
"He's on a business trip in New York until Saturday morning," Lydia said with a gleam in her eyes. Haley gasped. Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse she was prove wrong. She glanced up at the clock and saw that was 11 PM.
"Now get your suit on and get out to the pool, you owe me three miles."
As Haley was swimming she began thinking that maybe life wasn't supposed to be like this, maybe Nathan was her chance at a normal life, a real future. But at the same time she didn't know if her family would ever speak to her again and she wasn't sure if she could live with that. She finished up her swim and climbed out of the pool and surprise, surprise, her mother was waiting for her. Lydia proceeded to rattle off a list of demands that Haley had to do before she would be allowed to sleep.
At 4AM Haley had finally finished everything. She dragged herself up to her room. She had to be up for school by 7AM but hopefully a few hours of sleep would be all she needed to make it through the day. She fell onto her bed, ready to collapse when Lydia walked in.
"You have to be up at 5 to run." she announced before walking out. At that point Haley finally broke. She felt the tears running down her face before she even recognized that she was crying. She picked up her phone and pressed 2 on the speed dial.
"Hello?" Nathan's groggy voice answered.
Haley was now crying so hard that she could barely breathe let alone talk.
"Nathan," she finally chocked out, her voice telling him everything he needed to know.
"It's gonna be alright Hales, I promise. Hold on just a sec alright?"
Nathan got out of bed and padded down the hall to his parents room. He knocked on the door and then pushed it open slightly.
"Dad?" he said quietly.
"Yeah, Nathan." came a tired response.
"How soon?" Dan bolted upright in bed. Nathan shook his head yes when his father sent him a questioning glance.
"Friday." Dan stated as he got out of bed. There was a lot to do now.
"Hales, you still there?" Nathan asked returning his attention to the girl on the other end of the line.
"Yeah, Nate. I'm here."
"Can you hang on until Friday?"
"Yeah, I can. There is so much to talk about." she said starting to panic.
"We will figure it all out. I have an early class tomorrow but that's it. I'll meet you for lunch and we will talk. I'll call Brooke, you know how she lives for this kind of stuff. Now I want you to get some sleep."
"I can't. I have to run at 5."
"Alright, screw lunch. Run down to the corner of your block. I'll wait around the corner and pick you up. You can sleep here for at least a little while."
"Alright." Haley said finally taking a leap of faith.
At 5 AM Haley started her run. She took her bad and told her mom she had an early project to work on. Haley rounded the corner and just as promised, Nathan was waiting for her. When she climbed into his car, she lost it. He pulled her as close to him as he could.
"Shh..." he whispered slowly stroking her hair. "I've got you, it's going to be alright now."
He drove to his house but never once let her hand slip from him. When they got to the house he could see the look of relief that took over her face. He took her bag and they walked inside. When they got in she saw Brooke and Karen making lists, while Dan and Lucas were pouring over paperwork. Karen was the first to notice that Haley had arrived. She jumped up and pulled her into a loving embrace.
"I'm so sorry," Haley whispered.
"Don't Haley. Don't you dare apologize for being the best daughter a person could ask for. You have done absolutely nothing wrong. You hear me? Nothing. Now I want you go upstairs and get some sleep, the guest room is all made up."
Haley knew better than to argue with Karen. She simply nodded and started up the stairs, Nathan following right behind her, carrying her bag. When they got in the room, Nathan put down her bag and then stood next to the door awkwardly.
"Well, I guess I let you get some sleep." he said reaching for the doorknob.
"Nathan will you stay with me?" she asked shyly.
"Of course Hales." They both kicked off their shoes and climbed into bed. She immediately snuggled deep into his chest. Almost as if his arms could block out everything that was currently surrounding her. She was asleep within minutes. "I promise you Haley, I am going to always protect you, no matter what." He gave her a small kiss on her forehead and then allowed himself to sleep as well.
Nathan awoke to the beeping of the alarm clock a few hours later. Haley was still asleep in his arms. He hated that he had to wake her up but if she didn't go to school then Lydia would know something was going and that was not a risk he was willing to take.
"Hales," he said quietly. No response.
"Hales," he said a bit louder. Her only response was to bury her head into his chest in an attempt to block out the noise. He had to smile, he could definitely get used to this.
"C'mon Hales." he said pulling her away from his body. Her eyes flew open at the sudden loss of contact. She quickly glanced around the room to make sure her mother wasn't there like she had been in her dreams. She smiled when she saw Nathan still in bed next to her. Maybe this will all be ok, she thought.
"You ok?" he asked a concerned frown coming over his face.
"Yeah, I just feel bad that I got you into this mess because I was too stupid to tell her to stop." she said tears starting to form in her eyes.
"First of all, this isn't a mess and I was the one who came up with the ideas. Second, you are not stupid and I don't ever want to hear you call yourself that again. Finally, no one could have made her stop. So please let's just focus on the future and don't you dare keep beating yourself up over this."
"Alright. But I have a question for you Mr.-Let's-Focus-On-The-Future, where are we going to live?"
"Here, for now." he said with a laugh.
"Now, you get up and shower. I will meet you downstairs."
He sighed. He knew she was going to struggle with this for a while but he hoped when they fell in love, and he was sure they would, that things would get better for her.
He walked downstairs to see his mom and Brooke arguing about how many people should be invited.
"They should have friends there." Brooke said hotly.
"Brooke we have to keep this quiet. It should be family plus Jake and Peyton." Karen argued. Brooke throw up her hands in an overly dramatic fashion.
"What do you think Nathan?" Brooke asked, her hands finding their way to her hips.
"Uhh..maybe you should ask Haley." he said not wanting to be on the receiving end of that decision.
"Maybe she should ask Haley what?" Haley said coming down the stairs. All of them noticed she already looked better than she had when she arrived earlier.
"How many people do you want at the wedding?" Brooke asked bluntly. Haley sucked in a deep breath, this was all becoming too real. Nathan could see the shock on her face, geez sometimes he wanted to smack Brooke.
"Uhh..just you guys would be fine." she said quietly taking a seat at the table.
"Jake and Peyton?" Karen questioned gently. Her face brightened and she shook her head yes.
"Alright, you eat this and let us worry about everything else." Karen said putting a plate down in front of her.
Nathan sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her waist allowing her to rest her head against his shoulder. Dan smiled, he could already tell it wouldn't take them long before they fell head over heels in love and he had and idea on how to help.
