Chapter 9

"Nathan, what's going on? You're making me nervous," Haley commented. He was still sitting silently across from her on the bed and had yet to tell her what was troubling him.

"I…I did…" he trailed off. Why was this so damn hard? He decided to take another approach. "Do you remember that game last season we played against the Cavaliers?"

"Well, no offense, but they all seem the same to me," she admitted. Haley was never a big sports person. The only reason she had gone to the basketball games was to support Lucas being on the team. She never really kept track of anything else.

"It was the one where I broke my dad's scoring record."

"Oh, yeah." She did remember that particular game. At the time, she'd hated to admit it to herself, but Nathan had been playing amazingly. The boy was on fire with all of the baskets he made. "You did great, Nathan."

Nathan sighed. "Actually, not really."

"What do you mean?" Haley questioned, frowning.

"I screwed up. I…"

She could see him struggling with the words and put a comforting hand over his. "You what?"

"I took drugs that night, Hales. Performance enhancers to help my game." When she didn't say anything, he continued. "It was stupid, but I didn't feel like I had any other way out at the time. My dad kept bullying me and saying that I would never break his record. And I had to. I had to prove him wrong for once."

"Did anyone find out?"

Nathan nodded.

Haley felt a sense of dread forming in the pit of her stomach. "Did Dan?"

"I actually collapsed at home after the game."

Her hand tightened around his. "Nathan, oh my God."

"My mom found me and took me to the hospital. When my dad learned of what I'd done, he was furious. Obviously he tried to sweep it under the rug for the scouts. But my mom told Whitey what was going on. I think he was kind of suspicious anyway, since I wasn't acting like myself that night. But he let me have some time off from practice and games."

"I bet your dad loved that," she said sarcastically.

"Oh, he was pissed," Nathan stated. "And as if that wasn't bad enough, he kept throwing it in my face that I really didn't break his record, because I cheated. When my mom saw the bullying get worse and realized that Dan was the reason I almost killed myself in the first place, that's when she filed for a divorce."

"Nathan," Haley muttered. She brought her other hand to his cheek and stroked it. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

Nathan looked into her chocolate brown eyes, amazed. He thought for sure that Haley was going to be disappointed in him. That it might change the way she looked at him from now on. But he couldn't find anything like that of the sort. If anything, she looked concerned and sympathetic.

Nathan let out a nervous laugh. "I thought you were going to be pissed or disappointed in me."

"Why?" she asked, not quite understanding.

"Because I screwed up, Hales. I took drugs and almost died just to prove my father wrong. That's not something to be proud of."

"I'll admit that it was wrong. You shouldn't have done it. And if we'd been dating then and this had happened, I probably would've been sick with worry and maybe a little angry," Haley explained. "But I didn't know you then. And if you ask me, that incident was more of a reflection of your father's faults than yours. Like you said, it was because of your dad pressuring you that you felt like you had no way out."

"I'm still not proud of it," he mumbled.

"But you learned from it." She leaned forward to capture his lips in a tender kiss. "I'm glad you told me. I want you to be able to confide in me, Nathan. No matter what."

Nathan stared at her in awe. "You're amazing. You know that?"

"I have my moments." She smiled.

Nathan ran a hand through her hair and took another nervous breath. "There's more, though."

"What is it?"

"You know how I told you that Dan wanted me to move in with him before?"

"Yes," she answered, unsure of how this fit in with the story he'd just told her.

"Well, I'm going to have to. Move in with him, I mean," he elaborated.

"What? Nathan, why—"

"He's using that incident from last year against me."

Haley's eyes widened in both shock and outrage. "What?!"

"He said that if I don't, then he'll reveal it to the public himself. And I can't let him do that, Hales. Basketball is my only shot at a good college. It's my dream. I can't lose that."

"How can he do that? Who will believe him?" she questioned. "I mean, if it's just him saying it then you and your mom can—"

"Dan's got the test results. The doctor didn't formally write down what happened, but it's not like he could hide that," Nathan explained. "So he's got proof."

Haley shook her head angrily. "What kind of a person does that? What kind of a father does that to his child?!"

"It's Dan. Isn't that explanation enough?"

"You don't deserve this, Nathan. Any of it." She hugged him tightly.

Nathan buried his face in her hair and closed his eyes. He needed her so much right now. Haley was the only thing in his world that ever made sense and brought him comfort.

"You're not going to tell your mom?" she asked softly, already knowing the answer.

"I can't. Dan doesn't want me to. And it's probably a good thing, because my mom will flip. There's nothing she can do to stop this anyway."

Haley pulled back to look at him. "She's going to be mad when you tell her you're moving in with Dan."

"But at least she's getting her divorce," Nathan replied with a shrug. If he had to go along with this, then Nathan sure as hell wanted something good to come out of the deal. That was his only condition before going along with Dan's stupid plan.

"When will you be moving in?"

"This Saturday."

"And when are you telling your mom?"

"Tomorrow."

Haley pulled him into another embrace. "Baby, I'm so sorry."

"I just don't know how I'm going to survive this, Hales," Nathan revealed. Living with his father was his own personal form of hell.

"You will. I know you will," she reassured him. She left a few feather-light kisses on his cheeks and forehead. "You've got me, and you've got your friends. Despite what Dan wants you to think, you're not alone."

He pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was slow and gentle but also full of emotion. "Hales?"

"Hmm," she mumbled without breaking contact.

"Do you think that I could stay with you tonight?"

She broke the kiss and met his pleading gaze. He looked so sad and hopeless. Haley kissed him once more before getting up and walking to the door.

"Hales?" he urged. She motioned for him to give her a minute. She left the room for several moments. Afterward, he could hear her calling something to her parents before she returned. Haley walked back through the door dressed in her pajamas and seemingly ready for bed. She shut the door behind her and turned the lock.

"I don't think they'll bother us," she said and motioned towards the bed. She turned off the main light in the room but kept her small desk lamp on.

Nathan breathed a sigh of relief. He just needed an escape from all of the chaos going on in his life at the moment. And being with Haley in her perfect room and perfect house was a way to do that.

Nathan took off his shoes and socks. He removed his shirt, too, before following Haley's lead and getting under the covers. He then pulled her into his arms and held her close.

"I missed this," she whispered after a little while of comfortable silence. The last time they'd slept together in the same bed had been at camp. Although it had happened only a few times, they had been the best nights of sleep she'd had in her life.

Nathan smiled and kissed her forehead, remembering. "I did, too."

~***~

"Okay, now just finish that last step," Haley instructed.

"Really? That's it?" Adam questioned in surprise.

She nodded and smiled. "Yup. That's it."

Adam did as she said and finished the math problem he was working on. He handed it to Haley to check it over.

"Excellent. You got it right!"

A huge grin spread across Adam's face. "Sweet."

"I told you that it wouldn't be hard once we broke it down."

"If only my teacher taught it this way. I'd be getting an A."

"Well, I'm sure you'll be getting one now," Haley stated as she checked her watch. "Oh, I have to go."

"That's it for today?"

"Yeah, we covered a lot. I don't want to fry your brain," she joked.

Adam laughed. "I think it's too late for that."

Haley smiled as she gathered her things. Adam actually wasn't that bad. Sure, he could sometimes act obnoxious around school. But during the session he paid attention and listened. That's really all that Haley could hope for.

"So, where are you headed?"

"Nathan's house. I have to help him with something."

His eyebrow jolted up. "Really? And what would that be?"

Okay, I take that back. He is obnoxious.

"It's not like that," she objected when she noticed the look he was giving her. Haley sighed. Why did everyone always assume that just because she was dating Nathan Scott that she was sleeping with him?

"So what is it like?" he goaded.

"None of your business. That's what it's like," she bit out.

Adam laughed. "Relax, Haley. I'm only teasing you."

"Ha ha," she muttered dryly as she slung her messenger bag over her shoulder.

"Okay, I'm sorry," he apologized as he followed her out of the room. "Let me make it up to you. Do you want a ride?"

"No. I'm fine."

"You're a little high on yourself, aren't you? Going around and telling people you're all fine."

Haley rolled her eyes. "Seriously, do all of you jocks use the same recycled lines?" She'd heard Nathan say that to her, too, once before. Although when he'd said it, it had actually been cute. But Adam didn't need to know that.

He chuckled and revealed, "I actually heard Nathan say it once."

"I know."

"But in all seriousness, I can take you to his house. It's no big deal."

"Thanks, but—"

"Haley, you ready?" Lucas called as he walked down the hall towards them.

"Yeah." She turned back to Adam. "I'm all set."

He shrugged. "I guess I'll see you Monday then."

"Yeah."

"Same time?"

"Sure."

"Okay, thanks, Haley." Adam let his gaze wander over to Lucas. He smirked and shook his head before turning around to head in the opposite direction. Haley put her hand on her best friend's shoulder when she saw how tense he was.

"You know, I hate that guy almost as much as I hated Nathan," Lucas mumbled.

"Why?"

"Because he's an ass. Do I need another reason?" he replied and glanced at her questioningly. "What were you doing with him? He wasn't bothering you, was he?"

Haley shook her head. "No," she answered as they started to walk towards the parking lot.

"You still didn't answer my first question," Lucas pointed out a few seconds later.

"I'm not supposed to say anything."

That seemed to pique her best friend's curiosity even more. Haley rolled her eyes when she noticed Lucas wasn't going to let it slide. "Why else would I stay after school on a Friday?

"Oh. You're tutoring him."

"Just don't tell anyone. Adam doesn't want people to know."

"Figures," Lucas snorted as they got into his truck.

"Lucas, I'm serious. Don't say anything."

"I won't."

"Promise?"

"Yeah. I may not be able to stand the guy, but I won't say anything."

"Thank you."

"Sure."

"So, you ready for this?" Haley asked after a moment of silence. They were almost to Nathan's house.

Lucas shrugged. "Are you?"

~***~

"Why are you doing this?"

Nathan flinched when he heard his mother's voice behind him. He didn't turn around. Instead, he just kept filling up the box in front of him. Nathan already knew what she was going say. It's the same thing they'd been arguing about for the last few days when he told his mom that he was moving in with Dan.

"I told you, Mom."

"I know what you told me. But what I'm having trouble with is actually believing it."

Nathan sighed. "I don't know what else you want me to say."

"I want you to tell me what the hell is going on!" Deb angrily exclaimed. "You said you were going to live with me."

"Well, things change," he replied.

"That's my point exactly. Something must've happened for you to do this. What did Dan say to you?"

"Mom, we already went over this. I'm doing this for you. This is the only way that he'll give you a divorce."

And not ruin my career, he thought to himself. He felt awful lying to his mom. But his hands were tied right now. There wasn't much more that he could do.

"I'll find another way. You don't have to live with him."

"Don't you get it?" Nathan questioned. "He's never going to stop!"

"Nathan—" she tried again.

"Mom, I'm living with Dad. That's it!"

"Damn it, Nathan, I—"

"Oh…" Both Nathan and Deb looked towards the doorway. "Um, sorry. We rang the doorbell but no one answered. And it was unlocked so…" Haley trailed off.

"We just let ourselves in," Lucas finished.

"But if it's a bad time, we can—" Haley began and gestured to leave.

"No, stay. We're done talking anyways," Nathan declared.

Deb turned sharply to look at him. She then huffed loudly, shook her head, and walked out of the room. Nathan, meanwhile, took a seat on his bed and rubbed his hands over his face.

Haley shared a concerned look with Lucas. She walked over and took a seat next to Nathan. "Are you okay?"

"Does it matter?" he laughed cynically. "It's not like I have a choice in this anyway."

"Maybe your mom's right. Maybe you shouldn't—" Haley quickly motioned for Lucas to be quiet when she noticed the angry and frustrated gaze Nathan was giving him.

"My hands are tied. Do you think I'd be doing this if they weren't?" Didn't they get it? He had no choice in this. Otherwise he never would've agreed to live with his father.

Haley placed a comforting hand on his back. "We understand." She tried to change the subject. This whole move was obviously a sensitive issue. She nodded towards the half empty boxes. "Now, what do you need help with?"

~***~

"Let me help you with those."

"I've got it, Dad."

"Don't be ridiculous, Nathan. You've got a lot of stuff here," Dan said as he reached into the trunk of the SUV and took a large box.

Nathan tried to keep his breathing even. His whole body was tense. He really did not want to be doing this. With each box he carried into the beach house he could feel a piece of his prior freedom slipping away.

"So, I was thinking about painting the living room red," Dan said as they made their way upstairs to Nathan's room. "What do you think?"

"I don't care."

"Come on. I need a second opinion."

"Fine. It sounds great, Dad. I think it's a good color for you," Nathan replied dryly.

Since you are the devil, he thought.

Dan smiled. "Excellent. I already bought the paint. I thought we could start on it tonight."

Nathan inwardly groaned and dropped the box down on the floor. "It'd be faster if you just hired painters."

"Well, we haven't had any father-son time in a while. It's time we started making up for that."

Great. Just great, Nathan mused. That's exactly what I want.

They left his room and continued to unload the boxes. It was about fifteen minutes later before they were finished. Nathan was just about to pick up his phone and call Haley—he needed to hear her voice—when Dan interrupted.

"Nathan, follow me. I have a surprise for you."

"I've been surprised enough, Dad. I don't need anything else," he retorted.

Dan just smiled smugly. "Trust me. You're going to love this one."

Nathan almost snorted at the word "trust." Yeah, like he could really do that after all that had happened. He begrudgingly followed Dan downstairs. They looked like they were headed towards the garage.

Sure enough, it was the garage. It was pitch black until Dan flipped on the lights. It was then that Nathan saw it. Next to his father's car was a sleek, black mustang convertible.

"Do you like it?"

"It's nice, Dad," Nathan replied, humoring him. In truth, the car looked amazing. Nathan had always wanted one. But he didn't want to give his father the satisfaction of knowing that he was impressed.

"It's yours," Dan announced.

Nathan frowned and turned to look at him. "What?"

"I bought it for you. It's a little present to show my appreciation of you coming to live with me."

"You didn't have to, Dad."

Dan shrugged. "I take care of my family."

"I meant that you didn't have to do this, because the only thing that's keeping me here is your blackmail. Otherwise I'd still be living with Mom—whether or not you bought me a car."

Dan just grinned. "You're young now, but you'll understand someday." He handed him the keys. "It's yours, regardless. And you'll need a car like this to get you to school on time."

He turned to leave but halted and quickly whipped back around. "Oh, by the way, I was thinking that we could go for a run. So be ready in about forty-five minutes. We need to get you in better shape before your next game. Verona's been doing well. They're going to be tough."

Nathan ran a hand through his hair and stared at the car again. It was yet another bribe. Just another thing Dan could hold over his head. Nathan clutched the keys tightly in his hand until it hurt. He literally felt sick.