HALEY

I'm staring at myself in the mirror of the hotel bathroom, trying to figure out how to fix this mess. My hair looks like crap and my make up looks even worse because my mascara keeps running because I can't stop crying. I'm crying because I miss her. I'm crying because I can't forget about my guilt over not telling Lucas sooner about that day when I last saw her.

Nathan was away doing his basketball thing, so I went to visit Taylor in New York …

"So my troubled big sister is getting married. Who'd a thunk it?"

"Ha, ha," Taylor replied, throwing a couch pillow at me. "You're funny."

"I'm just kidding." I chuckled. "I'm happy for you, Tay…a little surprised, but I'm happy for you. Adam seems like a great guy."

"Thanks, he is. I'm happy for you two, little sis. How's Nathan?"

"Nathan is great. He's doing very well in school and with basketball and we are very happy."

"You must be to be crazy enough to be having a baby before you're even old enough to drink."

I smiled and rubbed my pregnant stomach as I said, "Yeah, well, we weren't planning this, but we're okay with it. We're even happy about it."

"Good. You deserve to be happy."

"Thanks, Tay."

We talked for a little while longer before we had to leave to meet Adam and his parents for lunch. Taylor invited me to go along so I could meet Adam's parents, so I accepted the invitation. That is, until we ran into Brooke as we were leaving.

Taylor and I were laughing at something Taylor had just said as we were coming out of the elevator on the ground floor of Taylor's apartment building. But I stopped smiling when I saw Brooke standing there, waiting for an elevator.

"Oh my god, Brooke," I said when my jaw dropped.

She looked as surprised to see me as I was to see her as she said, "Haley…what are you doing here?"

"Visiting my sister, but what about you?" I was so shocked I didn't know which question to ask first. "What are you doing here? Where have you been for the past two years?"

"I live here." She replied. She sounded and looked so nervous, like she wanted to get away from me as fast as she could. But I wasn't about to let her go without some answers. So I told Taylor to go on to her lunch without me and I asked Brooke to please have lunch with me and after I begged her enough, she agreed.

"I can't believe you've been here in New York all this time." I said, sitting across the table from her at an outside restaurant.

"Yep…this is where I've been."

"Why, though?" I couldn't stand it anymore while she was right there in front of me. I had to know why. "Why'd you leave Tree Hill, Brooke? And why didn't you say goodbye to any of us, or at least leave a note?"

"It's a long story." She was really trying any way she could to avoid my questions. I didn't understand why though. What was she so afraid I would find out?

"I'm not going anywhere." I said, trying to convince her to tell me.

Finally, she gave in.

"I left because I couldn't stand hurting anymore, Haley. Peyton told me she had feelings for Lucas and Lucas told me about their kiss in the library the day of the school shooting. Lucas told me it meant nothing, but I know it did and that broke my heart…again. I couldn't go through all that pain from them a second time. So I left so I could be alone and get over him. And I didn't tell anyone because I figured it easier that way."

"Oh, but Brooke, you shouldn't have left. Lucas does not love Peyton, he—

"I know they're together, Haley." Brooke said sadly. "I came back to Tree Hill a few months later and I saw them together…and I saw that Peyton was pregnant and that's how I knew."

"No, Brooke, it's not like that with them. They were never together. Peyton had Jake's baby, not Lucas's."

But Brooke still didn't seem to want to believe me, I could tell by her expression that she was thinking about it all, but she shook her head and said, "You know, it's all way too complicated and it really doesn't even matter anymore because this is my home now…this is my life."

"Brooke…"

"I'm sorry, Hales." Brooke said as she stood up. "But there's somewhere that I have to be, but it was good seeing you again…it really has. I've missed you."

"Yeah…me too."

She started to walk away but came back to ask me to do something for her that I now wish I had never agreed to do.

"Haley, I need to ask you to do something for me that I know you're not going to like."

"What?"

Brooke hesitated, "I need you to please not tell Lucas that talked or even that you ran into me."

I stared at her with complete and utter shock. She wanted me to lie to my best friend. How could I do that?

"I know this is an incredibly large favor, to ask you to lie to your best friend, but I really, really don't want him to know where I am. I'm finally getting over everything that happened between us and I don't want him or anyone else to come looking for me and bring back all those memories. I really need you to do me this favor, Haley. As hard as it may be, just please…don't tell anyone about this and just pretend like you never even saw me. Please…will you do that for me?"

I didn't want to, because I knew I'd be lying and hurting one friend to help another. But I also didn't want to bring back any of that high school drama for either one of them because I knew Lucas was finally getting to be happy again and Brooke said she was too. So reluctantly…I agreed.

"Damn it!" I still can't get the make up right. "I can't get anything right today."

"What's wrong?" Nathan enters the doorway of the bathroom, dressed nicely in dark clothing and ready for the funeral.

"I smeared my make up again." I answer through a sniffle. "I finally stopped crying long enough to get it on and now I've messed it up."

Nathan steps inside the bathroom and begins massaging my shoulders as he asks, "Do you want to talk about it?"

I shake my head and say, "If I talk anymore about any of it, I'm just going to cry again."

But apparently just thinking about it brings the same tears.

"Brooke's dead and my best friend won't even speak to me he's so mad at me. And he's just going to be even angrier after today."

"Why?"

"Because I still haven't told him everything. He was so pissed at finding out that I saw and talked to Brooke during my trip to New York, that I never had the chance to tell him everything Mouth told me when he called."

"Well, what else is it that he said? Something else about her funeral or about her death?"

I shake my head.

"It's something really important, something that's going to come out today whether I tell him or not, but it'll be easier for him to deal with if he knows ahead of time."

"What is it?"

I stare at him and finally I reveal this secret I've been carrying around the last few days.

"He has a daughter."