It Never Seems
I AM VERY SORRY FOR THE LONG DELAY! As most would know, I'm college student and this is my last semester, so I've been busy crazy like no joke. But there are no excuses. The upside of graduating is that I have to find a job. This means more time out of the day to set aside allotted time to write more. Hopefully, this makes up for it. There's plot. : ) Oh, as always the prompt belongs to kaya17tj. Special shout out to her for being on my ass.
Personal responses:
Lynne – Thank you for loving this story! I hope you will love it more after this long absence. Lol I'm glad it's very different; don't get me wrong, I love Naley but the lovey-dovey stuff you see on TV needed some action and this is what my sick mind came up with. Lol. We're barely got into the depth of this, so I hope you stick around. Next chapter, we'll start digging in, especially where Nathan is concerned. Thank you for your support!
CAli
Ch. 4 – The Convincing
October 23, 2008. The East Coast
"Hey-ho!" Lucas said, as he opened Haley's back door that led him to the kitchen.
Haley rolled her eyes before she turned her upper body around and found her best friend with a thick manila folder in his hand. She frowned a little before she turned back to her bowl of strawberries. She ignored his mischievous grin also.
"What do you want, Lucas?" She asked.
"Whoa, attitude. I'm gonna need you to leave and give me back my best friend."
"Ugh, I'm sorry, Luke. It's just been a long day." She rubbed her face and made eye contact with Lucas, who was on the other side of the island.
He slapped the package down and his smile lost a little bit of happiness as he took a long look at her.
She imagined he saw the bags formed under her eyes, no matter how subtle they were (not really if you saw her every day like Lucas.) He also probably saw the craziness in her eyes. And, oh, yeah, her face was breaking out.
"Then I should expect the attitude to stay," Lucas said. "Before I show you the package, though, are you okay?"
Haley sighed and dropped her strawberry that she was munching on. She licked the juices off her fingers before she cupped her face with her hands. She stayed in that position for a few good seconds and just breathed. Afterwards, she smoothed her hands back to her hair and smiled softly at Lucas. She kept it together for three years. She refused to break down now.
"I'm okay," she said. "You know how hard it can get."
"Just say the word, Hales, and I'll move in. Make everything easier for you and Jamie."
"I'm fine, Luke. I know you enjoy your little bachelor pad with Skills and Mouth."
"My nephew and best friend are more important."
"And I love you for that. But I can do this. Now what kind of deal do you supposedly have for me?"
She laughed a little to ease the tension and he smiled along with her.
"You're gonna fight me on this," he said.
"What is it?"
He cringed at her wariness but decided to be cute about it. He bared his teeth and swayed his head side-to-side as he slid a stack of papers from the manila folder.
"I signed you up for American Idol auditions." He made a show of groaning his answer.
"No."
"Haley –"
"No! No fucking—"
"Mama?" Jamie said, as he stood at the edge of the stairs with his quilt in one hand and draped over his tiny shoulder and a teddy bear in the other hugged tight to his stomach. "What's fucking?"
October 23, 2008. The Northwest
Nathan laid in bed in misery. He didn't want to leave. His flight was scheduled with the team to travel to North Carolina in a few hours. The Bobcats. He was supposed to play against the Bobcats with a straight face.
He already puked his stomach contents twice. Traveling to North Carolina always did this to him. He'd be two hours away from his family maybe six times a year and he swore God does it on purpose to torture him. The pain and regret overwhelms him every time.
Six times a year, he boarded that plane to North Carolina looking sick as a frail man. Face pale and sweaty, breathing irregular and clammy hands, he would walk up those private jet steps the team organization provided. His teammates would look on concern and inform the coaching staff and trainer. Nathan would sit and try to control his body's reaction to North Carolina.
Without fail, six times a year, his coaches and trainer would ask if he was sick. Could he tough this out? Did he need a hospital? He looks dehydrated; do we have "special" drink for him? Does he need to throw up? What did he do last night; did he eat anything bad? They really need you on the floor for the game, what antibiotics does he need to get him better?
They didn't understand that this wasn't some kind of outside reaction. He wasn't sick and he didn't eat anything bad. He lay in bed last night in dread because he made a terrible mistake and he couldn't see the family he left behind. This was his body punishing him. And he wanted to take the beating.
So Nathan would politely refuse anything except water. He would tell his coaches and trainer that it was nothing; just something his body would go through every once in a while. He just needed rest and he would do anything to play the game and not to worry. No matter what, Keith Lee was dedicated to this game.
He knew what to say to get his coaches to back off and in return, they would praise him for his hard-work and commitment to this game in press conferences. Nathan hated it. He never deserved everything that said about him. No man was good if he gave up his family for a game.
And it didn't matter if Dante told him to play bad or good against The Bobcats. He always played his worse games in North Carolina. ESPN picked up on it, and if he was his high-school version he would be pissed about it. He would've allowed more drugs in his system so he could be the best. But now, he wished he had those drugs.
Nathan wished he could overdose on those steroids to end the pain.
*Beep* "Yo, Nathan. The team's freaking, but I'm worried. Where are you? Come on, man, we need you. Pick up your cell. If I don't get a callback in five minutes, I'm coming over."
Nathan sighed and sat up from his bed. He didn't need Tony Battle, his teammate, coming over to check on him. A wave of nausea hit him and he ran to his bathroom. After he was done, he went back to his bedroom for the small duffel bad and took a deep breath. It actually took him five minutes to leave his condo.
October 23, 2008 – The East Coast
There were times Haley was so pissed off at Lucas; she would stop talking to him entirely for days. The longest was their horrible fight when she caught Lucas cheating on Brooke with Peyton and he got into that car crash before she could get a level head and apologize. After the whole ordeal, she swore to cherish everything about her best friend and not let anything get between them.
Haley thought back to that day she vowed that promise and decided she was stupid, hormonal teenager who didn't know any better. Lucas was a little bitch for going behind her back and she definitely was going to give him a piece of her mind.
Right after she's done lying to her son about not saying "fucking" but "fudging."
It took twenty minutes of arguing with Jamie and then finally just turning on Scooby-Doo and coming back with a bowl of ice cream. She hesistated on the ice cream because she knew Jamie would be bouncing off the walls if he had sweets after a nap and she glared at Lucas when Jamie asked for three scoops. At least Lucas shrunk under her gaze.
Once she got Jamie settled, Haley went back to the kitchen, grabbed the thick manila folder and pinched Lucas's ear. She dragged him down the hallway to her bedroom and ignored his repeated "ow"s and Jamie's franctic shrieks that she stop hurting his Uncle Lucas.
She closed the door and locked it. Haley saw a sliver of her son when she locked the door, followed by pounds and shrieks Jamie produced. Normally, she wouldn't treat her son so crass, but she was beyond livid.
"I told you!" She said in Lucas's face. "I fucking told you no singing! I have a son to take care of, and you do this bullshit behind my back?"
"Haley, calm down—"
"Don't fucking tell me to calm down! What the fuck, Lucas?"
"You need a break, okay!"
"Newsflash, Lucas, when you have a child, there are no breaks! How can be so careless with my wishes?"
"Funny, you wished your whole life you could be a singer. Especially with Nathan."
"Don't fucking say his name! Okay, yeah, once upon a time I wanted to be a singer, but real life happens. I don't have time to be a singer. What part of providing for my son don't you understand? A silly dream isn't going to do anything for him, but a degree will."
"You've never thought like that before! Singing was your life, Hales!"
"Grow up, Lucas! Jamie is my life now!"
Haley watched as Lucas opened his mouth but then closed it. He grunted in exasperation and pulled his hair. He started to pace and she thought it was ironic. Shouldn't she be the one upset; pulling her hair and pacing because her stubborn so-called best friend went behind her back?
She took a couple deep breaths before she realized how hysterical Jamie was being outside the door. His shrieks were full throttle and if she didn't react soon, a neighbor would probably hear him and call the cops. Last thing she needed was being seen as an unfit mother before she locked herself in her room with a man while her son screamed murder. She walked towards the door and hissed one last thing to Lucas.
"Cancel the audition. And don't ever do that again."
Once she reached the doorknob, Lucas spoke. "I can't."
Haley turned her head back towards him. "No, you will. I mean it, Lucas, I'm not going. Singing is dead to me."
"I don't believe that. Look, you need an escape," Haley started to shake her head and he gently approached her. "No, Haley, please. Hear me out?"
She sighed. "Thirty seconds."
"I can't cancel the audition because I paid for it. Non-refundable."
"Sonvabitch!"
"I'm sorry! Well, I'm not really, but if anything, do the audition because of that. Hell, you can blow it for all I care. But I really think singing would heal you. You're struggling, Hales, I see it every day and it breaks my heart. If you won't let me move in to help with Jamie then at least try this. Maybe you'll fall in love again. Just please. Take this chance."
Lucas got her there. He knew if she was too stubborn to do anything, the only way to make her do something was to pay for it. She was still pissed, and probably would be for the longest time, but she had no choice but to do the audition. It had nothing to do with the heart-felt speech he gave her that made her eyes watered.
"You're doing my laundry for a month," she said as she turned to open the door.
Jamie ran in and she started to sink down to her knees for his level. She expected him to run into her arms in a blubbery mess but instead he ran past her and collided with Lucas's legs. Lucas laughed a little and bent down to pick him up. Jamie cried into his shoulder as Lucas rocked him a little and rubbed his back, cooing at him and telling him everything was okay.
Lucas smirked at her and she glared back. She felt a little hurt her son didn't run to her for the first time. She spent the rest of the afternoon apologizing to her son for being mean to Uncle Lucas and promising never to hurt him ever again. Then she had to put on marathon of Scooby-Doo and provide ice cream to both boys.
She really did hate Lucas beyond extreme measure for milking this.
October 25, 2008 – The East Coast
Nathan played horrible like he predicted. He played half a quarter the whole game because of seven turnovers within the first ten minutes of his game playing. He took the yelling from his coaches and accepted his punishment of extra suicides when they get back to Seattle in silence. His teammates patted his shoulder in sympathy but Nathan never gave a reaction.
He decided to take a shower in the arena instead of the hotel. Although it was team policy to leave as a team, there were few exceptions as long as security was around. Nathan made sure he talked with head of security of the Time Warner Cable Arena that he needed one security to stay behind. After he was granted his request, he informed his coaching staff and walked away without a word to the showers.
He stayed in the shower for thirty minutes thinking his life was pathetic.
When he got out he saw a shadow at the end of the room where his bag was. He stopped and fear swam in his veins. His gun was in his hotel room and he had no idea what he did wrong for Dante. He had less than ten points in the game.
He approached with caution and made sure he was on the balls of his feet, in case there was a surprise attack. Nathan didn't think it would help, but he closed his right hand to a fist and prepared for whoever was around his bag.
Nathan approached and hesitated for a couple seconds. He was a few feet away from the man, and he didn't seem to sense anyone behind him. Nathan thought he was either very coy or very stupid to be a tail. With his fist raised, Nathan called out to him.
Nathan flinched when he saw it was his teammate, Tony Battle instead of Dante's goons. He lowered his fist and exhaled quite dramatically. Tony took his ear buds out of his ears and chuckled.
"You're jumpy," he said.
"What are you still doing here?" Nathan asked.
"I waited behind for you."
"Why?"
"Because you're my teammate, man."
Nathan sighed and started rummaging through his bag. "Go back to the hotel, Tony."
"Hey, is everything all right?"
"Everything is peachy."
"Look, we aren't really friends, I get that. But I see you self-destructing every day and truth be told, it breaks my heart. Do you wanna talk?"
"No, I don't want to talk! We've been teammates for three and half years, and now you want to talk? Now you care? Leave me alone, Tony!"
"Keith, man, I see it every day. And yeah, maybe I should've spoke up sooner. But something's not right."
"You don't know anything, Tony."
"Then tell me something."
Nathan got in his face. "Walk away. Don't try and come in here, thinking you could save me. There is no saving because nothing is wrong."
Tony sighed and put up his hands in surrender. "You might think you're trapped, but you're not. When you're ready, we can talk, Keith. I mean it."
"Go the fuck away."
"Whatever you want, but you shouldn't be afraid of your own shadow, Keith. I can help."
Nathan waited until the footsteps disappeared. He was still rummaging through his bag after Tony left but then in spontaneous violence, he grabbed the bag and flung it to the other side of the wall. He screamed out in frustration and kicked the wooden cubby several times. His foot quickly bruised but he felt a little bit better.
It was a shadow and Tony was starting to notice. How could everything be so fucked up? Nathan worried that Dante's goons kept showing up on his road games brought suspicion to Tony. If Dante found out, there would be a hit issued and Nathan was afraid Dante would recruit him.
He had to get Tony off his back, and fast.
I know some of you hate me for taking my sweet-ass time, but it really wasn't taking my time. School is just important to me and it's paying off now. Hope to keep you all for the next chapter.
CAli