Nine
October 12, 2008
The week seemed to fly by in a blur. Haley had been so out of it since she noticed Tim's lifeless body in New York. She honestly couldn't remember much of what happened since then. Currently she stood in a gloomy graveyard. She was standing next to her father and Julian, both of them holding her hands trying to comfort her. It didn't seem to help. Her hands still trembled.
She didn't understand why this happened. Tim was such a good guy. He dedicated his life to working in the FBI and helping others. He loved his job and he believed in his job and what they did. He was always a happy guy. No matter what was happening Tim always had a smile on his face and that's how she wanted to remember him.
Haley glanced over at the huge picture of him. Tim had that stupid grin on his face. She smiled softly through her tears as she gripped her fathers hand tighter. She was glad that he was here. She knew that he was taking this pretty hard, just like her. Anytime they lost someone her father took it pretty hard. Jimmy felt responsible for all of them. Her mother was on the other side of him crying herself. Her whole family had loved Tim.
Haley's eyes traveled across to Tim's wife Bevin. Bevin was sobbing heavily and Haley felt the sound of it breaking her heart all over again. It didn't help matters that their two-year-old son was sitting next to her not quite understanding what was happening. Haley could feel more tears spill over as she watched him. He was so young and he didn't deserve to grow up without his father. Haley wondered if he knew just how amazing his father was, how he brightened up everyone's day, how many lives he saved, and what a hero he was. She hoped that Bevin would let him know when he was old enough to understand.
When Nate leaned his head on his mom's shoulder that did it for her. She took in a shaky breath before letting go of Julian hand and wiping her eyes. Looking at the little boy only made her remember that Tim had named his son after Nathan and he wasn't here.
Why wasn't he here?
Haley was so angry at him. Infuriated. Nathan had been gone all week. She hadn't seen him since their plane landed last week. He wasn't picking up. He wasn't home. He was just…gone. He was missing and she didn't know where he was. She knew that he had been close to Tim and that he was probably taking this hard too, but why wasn't he here? Bevin needed him here. She needed him here.
Haley was so angry with him and yet she understood. Nathan hated this kind of stuff. He hated funerals and burials.
She didn't know why and he never told her but she knew that going to stuff like this was hard for him. Her mind wondered to him and all his secrets and she wondered what he was hiding. Why was he so damn secretive?
Haley noticed that Bevin kissed little Nate on his forehead and she quickly glanced away from the sight. Haley was already crying heavily and she didn't want to lose it in front of everyone. She couldn't. If she fell apart now then it would just make it harder. She could wait until she was alone later. She could hold herself together until then.
Haley had held herself together this long. She had been so busy helping Bevin and worrying about where the hell Nathan was, that she didn't have time to fall apart and realize that Tim was really gone and he wasn't coming back.
As Haley thought about Nathan once again she felt rage swell inside of her. How could Nathan not be here?
And as if thinking about him made him suddenly appear out of thin air, then there he was. She noticed him out of the corner of her eye and she turned quickly, squinting her eyes to see him better.
Nathan was standing next to his bike so far away by the rest of the cars. He had his sunglasses on with his leather jacket and he held his black helmet in his hands. Haley watched him for as long as she could and wondered why he just wouldn't come and join them. He belonged with them. Why did he always consider himself an outsider? He was one of them.
Gun shots broke her gaze away from Nathan. She glanced at the soldiers shooting. Before she knew it the flag was being folded and handed to Bevin and Nate. Slowly people began to walk off. Haley glanced back towards the cars and noticed that Nathan was gone. That is if he had really been there in the first place and she hadn't just imagined it.
It was hours later and Haley found herself sitting at the bar. Lucas, Julian, Jake, Chase, and Peyton were all sitting with her. They had all gone to Bevin's afterward and stayed for a while. Haley had played with Nate in his room before it was time to leave. She had told Bevin to call her if she ever needed anything. It had been hard to leave, but she couldn't stay in Tim's house a second longer. Being in there it felt like she couldn't breathe.
It was as if all the memories she held of Tim kept replaying over in her mind. She couldn't help but think of the last time she really had talked to Tim, just the two of them. After that night she had just been so caught up in work and her own personal problems and when she wasn't on a job then Tim was. It was such a long time ago, a different lifetime ago. At least that's what it felt like.
Haley sipped on her glass of champagne with a scowl on her face. She tried with all her might to keep her anger in check and to just ignore him. It just wasn't working. He was standing not ten feet away from her with a group of guys from work and of course he was talking about how much he hated her –hated working with her –and everything else in between. It really wouldn't even be such a big deal and she didn't care, well except for the fact that he knew she was listening.
When Nathan smirked smugly right at her, Haley rolled her eyes before turning away abruptly. And as if he won this battle, his loud laughter followed her as she stormed across the crowded ballroom. She didn't want to be here. One of the older guys from the department had retired and he had been close to her father. Alan had invited everyone and normally she wouldn't have minded but Nathan showed up. She had been certain that he wouldn't show up but he proved her wrong yet again.
The stares of the people around her wasn't helping her mood. Had Nathan told them something about her? What the hell were they staring at? She tired her best to ignore the looks.
Her eyes searched for someone to save her from being alone. In the sea of people she somehow managed to find Nathan's dark and stormy icy blue eyes on her. She knew that look, as if he was challenging her. She glared back in defiance.
And then a pair of lips were on hers possessively as his arms moved around her waist holding her into him. It didn't matter that she tried to push him off softly. He kissed her harder and she was sure that people were watching the two of them.
Finally he pulled away panting with a satisfied smirk plastered on his face. Then his eyes swept the sea of people before grinning at her once again.
Haley glared at him.
"What?"
"What the hell was that?"
He shrugged. "That was me kissing you."
"No, that was you marking your territory," Haley bit out. "My parents are here, Reese. I can't believe you just basically mauled me in front of everyone here."
"Just making sure that some people know you're taken."
Haley's gaze softened slightly as she twirled her engagement ring around her finger before glancing around to see what kind of audience they had. Luckily it seemed like no one had noticed. Relief flooded through her. She wasn't big on PDA and Reese knew that.
"They do," Haley muttered softly. She was wearing a freaking engagement ring for crying out loud.
Reese shrugged again. "Not everyone seems to understand that you're mine."
What was he talking about? "I –"
"Why does he keep looking at you, Haley?"
Haley bit her bottom lip before looking back up at Reese. He didn't look happy. "Who are you talking about?"
"Don't act like you don't know," Reese spit out angrily.
"Keep your voice down. This isn't the place or the time." She glanced around nervously hoping that no one was watching them.
"Of course not. It never is."
"You have nothing to worry about. How many times do I have to tell you that? Now calm down. I didn't do anything and you're acting like –"
"The guy hasn't fucking taken his eyes off of you all night long! In fact, he isn't the only one, Haley. Looks like you've got a whole fucking fan club."
"You're wrong."
"No, I'm not. Don't act like I'm making this shit up."
"I can't control him or anyone else for that matter. Besides, he's just trying to piss me off. He's doing this on purpose. There's nothing more to it. Just ignore him like I do."
Haley watched as Reese relaxed for a second before he was angry once again.
"Unbelievable," Reese hissed.
"Are we interrupting?"
Haley glanced at Lucas startled for a second. She smiled easily before she noticed that Nathan was right behind him with a huge grin on his face. She glanced away from him quickly.
"No," Reese replied tightly. "Not at all." His face said otherwise.
"You guys having a good night?" Nathan questioned.
"Just perfect," Reese replied dryly.
"We were bored," Lucas muttered over to Haley.
"Actually, we were checking out the ladies," Nathan pointed out.
Lucas grinned sheepishly. "We were."
"A lot of sexy women to choose from," Nathan grinned. "Wouldn't you say, Reese?"
Haley glared at Nathan sharply before she felt Reese slip his arms around her as his body pressed into hers from behind. He held her possessively against him.
"I hadn't noticed," Reese muttered before kissing Haley lightly on the neck.
Nathan rolled his eyes before grinning once again. "Lucas was looking at the brunette over there." Nathan pointed her out.
"She looks like my type," Lucas shrugged.
"She's ok," Nathan chuckled.
"Dude, she's totally hott."
Nathan shrugged. "I'm not impressed."
"Whatever," Lucas chuckled. "You don't have a shot with her anyway. She was checking me out earlier."
"Right. I can have any chick I want in this place. Easy," Nathan grinned wickedly. "You have to excuse Lucas. He was a thing for brunettes."
"What about you?" Reese challenged.
"Me?" Nathan asked innocently before grinning. "I have a thing for blondes."
Haley felt Reese's possessive hold tighten and before she could reply Lucas tugged Nathan away while sending her an apologetic look. She glared at their retreating forms with fire in her eyes. She was sure that Nathan had a satisfied smirk on his stupid face. Before she could calm Reese and assure him that Nathan hadn't been talking about her, he let go of her before storming into the sea of people. She searched after him but she couldn't see him anymore.
She found herself reaching for another flute of champagne.
"It looks like you're having an eventful evening which I think has been more interesting than Alan's whole career."
Haley took a sip of champagne as she heard laughter behind her.
"Come on, Baby James. The cold shoulder? Really? Are we still in high school?"
"Tim, I'm not in the mood."
"Well, get in the mood. You've been pissed off all night. What's up your ass?"
"Why don't you go ask your buddy?"
"Buddy?"
"Nate," Haley spit out. "And don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. You were standing right next to him when he was talking about me."
"That's what you're mad about?" Tim chuckled. "Nate always talks about you. It's nothing new. Since when do you let him get to you?"
"I'm not," Haley snapped.
"Seems like it to me," Tim shrugged. "Shouldn't you be worried about your fiancé and that waitress he's chatting up?"
Haley followed Tim's line of sight before she noticed Reese talking to one of the waitresses by the food. They were just talking. No big deal. You didn't see her going crazy and marching up to him and acting all possessive. She trusted him.
"Tim, I swear, I'm going to kick your –"
"All right," Tim chuckled. "Damn girl, smile. And don't give me none of that I'm not in the mood crap. You're on Tim Time and if you're not going to smile then I might as well go find the next beautiful girl in the room."
Haley finally smiled. "Where is Bevin?"
"Mingling," Tim shrugged. "You shouldn't let him upset you."
"Which one?" Haley laughed before sipping on her champagne.
"Both," Tim muttered. "You're too damn beautiful to be pissed off all of the time. You don't smile nearly enough, Baby James."
"I just…"
"What is it?"
"Reese has been acting strange all of a sudden and then…my partner hates me, which by the way, he has no reason. He's a jackass. This last year has just been…hard. I keep thinking that with enough time we'll get along but it's just getting worse."
"You know, when I was in second grade there was this girl. Carly. She sat in front of me in class and I'd tease her all the time. Anytime she was around I'd go out of my way to make fun of her with my friends. That whole school year I kept it up."
"Are you trying to tell me that you're a jerk?" Haley questioned. "Because I get the point."
"No you don't," Tim grinned.
"You are," Haley laughed.
"Well, besides that," Tim shrugged. "I did all those things because I liked her."
"That doesn't make any sense and what does that have to do with me?"
"I'm just saying that I made fun of her because I liked her and I didn't know how to tell her. Maybe Nate…" Tim's voice trailed off before he sent her a pointed look.
Haley couldn't help but laugh. Loudly. People started to stare but she couldn't stop. Tim stood there grinning at her as she let her laughter die down. Then she took a deep breath before smiling at him. Nathan liked her? Yeah freaking right.
"Your boyfriends are staring at you," Tim pointed out with an amused smile.
Haley ignored him as he looked around the ballroom.
"Good one," Haley smiled. "Really, Tim. I mean it. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Thanks for making my night better, buddy." Haley tapped his cheek lightly with her hand before walking away from him.
"Glad the Tim could help but I wasn't joking!"
Everyone had a shot glass lined up and Julian filled them all before they each took one. Haley glanced down at hers. They did this whenever they lost someone. It was stupid but its how they dealt with it. Plus, it numbed the pain. At least for a little while.
"To Special Agent Tim Smith," Lucas spoke up.
"He was on hell of an agent," Julian muttered.
Haley cleared her throat. "And a good friend." "
"Yep," Julian agreed. "He was. He was always there when I needed him. No matter what was going on he'd always make me laugh."
"He was a funny guy," Peyton smiled. "He didn't know how to shut up…"
"This is true."
Haley laughed. "He was just always saying the wrong thing."
"It would drive Dad insane when he'd say something stupid at meetings," Julian chuckled. "No, but really, I'm going to miss him."
"He didn't deserve to go out like that. He was a good guy."
"He was a hero," Haley spoke up softly as her finger traced around the rim of the small shot glass.
Everyone was suddenly quiet and with a shaky hand, Haley lifted her shot glass up.
"To Tim," Haley whispered. She downed the shot. The burning liquid ran down her throat. It felt like a trail of fire running down her chest but she didn't care. Lifting her beer up, she quickly took a drink and let the cool liquid relieve some of the burning. Her chest felt heavy. After placing her beer down, she wiped the few tears that had spilled from her eyes. She felt Peyton place a comforting hand on her back. She smiled at her soon to be sister-in-law. At least, she didn't have to go through this alone.
Her thoughts couldn't help but drift to Nathan and she wondered why he felt the need to deal with this alone. Why was he so closed off and distant? She didn't understand. As much as she hated him they were still kind of like a family. As much as they pissed each other off, she was still used to him being around. He was always there even when she didn't want him to be and now suddenly he wasn't. It was weird not being on the defensive waiting for him to attack her. It was so weird that he wasn't here with them. She didn't know why it was bothering her so much.
"Why didn't Owen come?" Jake wondered.
"He stayed to help out Bevin."
"Yeah, Bevin needs him right now and he's going to be there for her. Owen's been a part of their family since he and Tim started working together. Owen feels responsible for them."
"I'm glad that he's helping her," Haley muttered.
"She's gonna need him," Peyton agreed.
"How is she going to explain this to her son?"
For that Haley didn't have an answer. She didn't know. She didn't have kids, so she had no idea. She couldn't even imagine losing someone really close to her much less telling her kid about it. Words couldn't describe how badly she felt for the family that Tim left behind.
Nathan watched as Haley hit the punching bag hard. She had been at it for over an hour now and he knew that she was pissed. She kept hitting the punching bag hard. The gym was empty and it was just her. Nathan stood in the doorway watching her without making his presence known. He knew that she was still pissed at him and he couldn't hide out forever.
He'd have to deal with her sooner or later. He was just ready to get this over with.
As he watched her, he couldn't help but think how incredibly sexy she looked. Even all sweaty and her hair pulled up in a messy bun she still loved sexy. Usually when she was working out in the gym a lot of the guys would be down here gawking at her as they pretended to work out. More than a few times he had caught some of the guys staring at her. Haley never seemed to notice. She really didn't know the affect she had on men.
Nathan shook his head softly, trying to clear his hazy mind.
He took off walking slowly. When he did finally make it next to the punching bag and she noticed him, she didn't stop. Haley continued hitting the bag as hard as she could, probably harder since she noticed him standing there. Nathan watched her for a few minutes before walking off towards the boxing ring and getting himself ready. He placed on the boxing gear. Then he made his way into the ring.
Nathan stood in the corner of the ring as he waited for her. It wasn't long before Haley joined him, her body covered in sweat, and she was breathing hard. Her small black top was soaked with sweat and her abdomen was glistening. And god she looked incredibly sexy and he was finding it hard to concentrate. He tried his best to not look at her exposed skin. Haley stood in the middle of the ring waiting for him. Nathan sighed heavily before joining her. He hit his boxing gloves together and tried to clear his mind before they started moving in a circle. When Haley took her first swing he didn't try to block it. Haley hit him hard and he felt pain rippling through his body.
For such a small girl she packed a lot of power.
Each hit Nathan took and before he knew it she had backed him into a corner and was pounding relentlessly into his chest and face. With his arms at his sides he took it. He deserved this. He couldn't even find the energy to defend himself. He just took it. He couldn't hit her back. He never could. She was so much smaller than him.
"Fight back," Haley shouted angrily.
Nathan could hear the fury in her voice and he cringed as she hit him harder. His abs were starting to hurt. Haley kept on jabbing them repeatedly and they were stinging in pain. His eyes stayed glued to hers. It didn't surprise him that hers were swirling with rage and fire. He felt it in every swing she took at him.
"You know I won't," Nathan gritted out.
"Fight back," Haley repeated louder. "Where were you?"
Nathan didn't answer as she continued to throw punch after punch. When she started crying and hitting him harder he tried his best to make her stop hitting him. It didn't work. She was swinging furiously now. He waited and tried his best to ignore her tears. When Haley couldn't go anymore, she took a few steps back still crying. Nathan followed her before opening his arms and hugging her. They were both breathing hard, their chests heaving.
Haley continued to cry and it almost made him feel bad for not being there. But he had made a choice and he wasn't going to regret it now, no matter how much she was hurting. He couldn't afford to let her get to him. It was bad enough that he'd regret this later.
Yeah, Tim had been a good friend. He couldn't lie about that. And Nathan did feel bad that he died. But it happened. That wasn't going to change. Tim wasn't going to suddenly come back. Life was a bitch sometimes.
When Haley finally stopped crying and pulled away he forced a smile. "Feel better?"
It was only then that Haley punched him as hard as she could and he stumbled back and fell down hard. He hadn't been expecting that and it took him by surprise. Even then he smiled proudly at her as she stood in the same spot glaring at him with fire in her eyes. The girl was always surprising him.
"Now I do," Haley spoke up before making it out of the ring. As Nathan watched her go he couldn't help but laugh quietly to himself. He was just glad that they dealt with things and now it was out of the way. He needed to stay focused on work.
Nathan stayed in the ring as he waited for his breathing to calm down.
With his body aching he headed for the men's locker room. He took a quick shower and he wondered if she left by now. Maybe she was still taking a shower. He smirked as a flash of her naked and wet body entered his mind. He took a long cold shower before getting himself changed. He sat down in front of his locker as he placed on his boots. Once he was fully dressed he reached for his helmet and his key card. Then he made his way out of the building.
Nathan reached his bike and took a seat on it before starting it up. It was only then that he noticed Haley walking out of the building. He took off slowly with his helmet still in one hand. He pulled up in front of the building right in front of her before holding out the helmet for her.
"Get on," Nathan ordered.
Haley glared at him, holding her purse tight against her side. He met her intense gaze as she debated what to do. He knew being with him was something that she didn't want to do. He didn't even know why he asked her. It's not like he wanted to be around her either. Sometimes he just couldn't help himself and after a week of being away from her he kind of missed her. Well, not really her. He knew that if he thought about it he missed their fighting. He didn't really miss her. No, he didn't he decided. There was no way that he would ever miss her. He only missed pissing her off.
"I hate you," Haley declared.
Nathan knew he had her as she said those words. He smiled smugly as she took the helmet angrily from his hands. She was so easy sometimes. Either way he was happy. He didn't feel like being alone and for some stupid reason he was happy that she the only one around.
"I know," Nathan smirked.
Haley placed on the helmet before getting on behind him. Nathan moved a little up to give her more room. When she wrapped her arms tightly around him he glanced back over his shoulder. This was the first time he had ever let someone else on his bike. He wasn't sure if she had ever been on one before. But he knew her and he was sure that she hadn't. Good girls like Haley didn't have a wild side.
He ignored the fact that he could feel her breasts pushed up against his back.
"Keep your feet on that. Don't move them or you'll get burned," Nathan instructed loudly over the bike. He knew she understood. He took off slowly and she leaned further into him, her front completely against his back as she gripped her arms tighter around his body. Nathan tried his best to relax. He wasn't used to having her this close to him. This was a really bad idea.
Haley had to admit when she first got on she had been terrified. In fact, she didn't remember being so scared in her life. Not even a gun pointed at her had scared her as much as this. Nathan had taken off slow and she was thankful. It was almost as if he was letting her get used to it.
But now he was going fast down the narrow road. She didn't know where they were or how far they had driven. At first the only thing she focused on was holding him tight afraid that she might fall off. It was worse when they turned. She hated it. She felt like they would fall over. Her stomach was in knots.
But after being on the bike for so long she wasn't as scared anymore and she kind of liked it. He was going really fast and everything that they passed by was a blur to her. It felt exhilarating. This was new and she never dreamed of ever getting on one of these. Her mother would kill her if she knew. These things were so dangerous.
Haley felt free. The wind was blowing hard against her body pushing her shirt and jacket against her skin as if trying to pull it off of her. Nathan's body was protecting her but they were going so fast that the wind was still hitting her hard. At times she felt like the helmet wanted to just fly off of her head and shatter on the ground. It even felt like the wind could take her with it.
This felt so different. Throughout the whole ride she hadn't taken her hands off from around him. She might have been enjoying this but she wasn't stupid. She knew if she let go of him then she'd probably just fly off and that would be it for her. Haley James dies in tragic motorcycle accident. She wasn't going out like that. There was no way she was letting go of him. Maybe that's why he made her get on. Maybe he wanted her to fall off…
They continued on their journey. It wasn't long before he slowed down and then pulled them over to the side of the road. Nathan stopped the bike and placed his feet on the ground. It was only then that she let her arms go from the death grip she had around him. She sat up straight, took off the helmet, and glanced around. They were in the middle of nowhere she decided.
"Did you bring me out here to kill me?" Haley wondered.
Nathan chuckled. "Now don't give me any ideas."
"Why did you stop?"
"Are you having fun?"
Haley glanced at the open field. "It's ok." He didn't need to know how much she really enjoyed it. He would only use it against her somehow and she wasn't about to give him the upper hand. No freaking way. She was still pissed at him.
"Just ok?" Nathan asked in disbelief.
"Yeah," Haley nodded.
"You loved it and you know it," Nathan decided a second later before shaking his head.
"You still didn't answer my question."
"What?" Nathan sighed in frustration. "You're so damn annoying, you know."
Haley rolled her eyes. "Why did we stop?" They couldn't go five minutes without fighting about something.
"Oh right," Nathan smirked. "Do you want to drive?"
"Are you crazy? No way. I don't know the first thing about driving one of these things." She shook her head repeatedly and folded her arms over her chest. He was out of his mind if he thought that she was actually going to drive his bike. She didn't know the first thing about a motorbike much less how to drive it. He wanted her dead that was for sure.
"I'll teach you," Nathan chuckled as he got off.
Haley continued to shake her head. "You'll never get me to drive this thing. You might as well pull out your gun and shoot me now. I am not driving it."
"I'll be fun," Nathan insisted. "I promise."
"No freaking way, Nathan. You're out of your mind," Haley stated while glancing away from him. There was just no way that this was happening. He was seriously out of his mind. She continued to glance off into the open fields that surrounded them. Where the hell had he taken her? She had never been here before. It was sort of beautiful. Reaching down she zipped up her jacket. She didn't know why he was still standing there looking at her. This just wasn't going to happen. He was never going to get her to drive this thing.
Somehow, thirty minutes later she was. Haley didn't know how he did it but he annoyed her until she gave in, like he always did. God, she hated him. She was driving slowly down the long narrow road and his hands were covering hers. It felt weird to be riding but he had showed her how and it didn't seem that hard. She was just thankful that no one else was around to witness this.
They had taken off twice before this and when she always ended up almost wrecking he had a heart attack over his stupid bike threatening to kill her if she scratched it. She rolled her eyes. He was so dramatic sometimes. But after that she had been more careful and made sure not to make the same mistakes that she had done before. She was a fast learner, always had been.
"You're doing great," Nathan shouted.
Haley could barely hear him with the helmet over her head and the wind. She continued to focus on the pavement in front of them. She didn't realize how much fun this would be. She was really enjoying this but she was still nervous. It helped that his hands were covering hers. It felt weird to have his body pressed against hers like this, but she tried to ignore it.
"Go faster. It won't kill you."
Haley heard him again and she rolled her eyes. It was only then that he moved his hand over hers and made her go faster. He held his hand tight over hers and she felt anger bubbling up in the pit of her stomach like it always did when he was around. She should have expected him to do something like this. She tried to relax and concentrate on driving as they started going faster. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that she was nervous as hell and her stomach was still in knots.
By the time they made it to the next town the sun was starting to set in the sky. She slowed down to the speed limit as Nathan instructed her on where to go. They pulled up to an old diner and she parked the bike safely before his hands left hers and he turned off the bike. He got off a second later before placing the key in his pocket. Nathan kept the bike steady as she got off. She stood up and was thankful to be off of it. It felt like they had been riding forever. She didn't wait for him to go inside. She took off. It was starting to get colder than it already was. She took a seat in a booth and it wasn't long before he joined her. Nathan sat right across from her.
Nathan looked at her expectantly.
"Well?"
"Well, what?" Haley questioned as she glanced up from her menu.
Nathan rolled his eyes before glaring at her. "Did you like it?"
"It was ok," Haley shrugged before looking at the menu once again.
"You're impossible!"
"Something wrong, Iceman?" Haley questioned as she raised her eyebrows and glanced at him once again. He seemed completely pissed at them moment and she couldn't help but smile.
"You know, I try to do something nice and…"
Haley ignored him after that and went back to looking at the menu. This morning she had been so furious with him and somehow he had managed to make her forget all about that. She realized how hungry she was when her stomach growled. When Nathan started laughing she kicked him under the table and he cursed her out once again. A few people in the diner kept looking their way but it didn't bother her. It was nothing new.
They ordered their food and once her plate was placed in front of her she nearly devoured it she was so hungry. She sat back stuffed once she was finished. She pulled out her cell phone and checked her messages. She'd have to call Peyton back once she made it home. She knew that Peyton had been worried about her lately.
Haley glanced up and noticed Nathan still eating.
"What?" Nathan asked with a mouth full of food.
She rolled her eyes. He was so disgusting. "Mind telling me where the hell you've been?"
"We're back to this? I thought we dealt with this earlier…?"
"Tell me where the hell you've been and then maybe –"
"That's my business," Nathan snapped back as he tossed his burger back into his plate angrily. He finished off his drink before wiping his mouth. He suddenly wasn't hungry anymore.
"I saw you at the burial," Haley spoke up minutes later. "Why didn't you come stand with us?"
Nathan clenched his jaw. "You must have been seeing things then. I wasn't there."
"Yes, you were," Haley disagreed. She wasn't crazy. "I saw you by the cars. You were there. You like to pretend you don't care but we both know that you do. I don't know why you feel the need to act like an insensitive jackass all of the time."
"Mind your own business."
"The only thing I can come up with is that you want to be hated."
"Well, you got me all figured out," Nathan stated dryly.
"That was really fucked up of you not to be there for Bevin and Nate. I mean you were really close to Tim. He named his son after you, Nathan. You should've been there. They could have used you. This is really hard for them and –"
"Of course it's hard for them," Nathan cut her off angrily. "They just fucking lost him."
"Then why weren't you there?" Haley fired back.
Nathan opened his mouth to answer her before closing it and looking down angrily. He had his fists balled up on the table but she wasn't backing down from him. Not this time. He was always doing this and she hated it –hated him.
"Why do you feel the need to close yourself off and keep a distance from everyone?"
"Let it go," Nathan growled.
"No, I'm not," Haley said heatedly. "You always do this. Anytime anything gets too real you back off and remove yourself. Were you always this way? Is this how your family dealt with things when you were young?"
"I'm warning you, Haley," Nathan gritted out. "If you know what's good for you, you'll let it go."
"No, I want to know. Why do you never talk about your past or your family? Maybe if you tell me then it would give me a little insight as to why you are the way that you are. Just tell me." She hated how pleading her voice sounded. She didn't know why it bothered her or why she cared, but it did. She hated that he was so guarded. Was she that horrible of a person that he couldn't trust her?
"One more word about it and you'll be finding your own ride back home," Nathan sneered.
Haley folded her arms over her chest in defiance. "You would really leave me here?"
"In a heartbeat," Nathan answered angrily. "Just shut the fuck up and stop asking questions about my life. It's none of your business and you're the last person that I want to talk to. You don't know me so don't pretend that you do."
Haley met his intense glare. There was a fire in his eyes that she never noticed before and she knew Nathan was right. She didn't know him. She really didn't know anything about him. She had no idea about his life or how he felt about it. She really didn't know why it bothered her so much. If she had been Julian or Lucas would he still have acted this way? She didn't understand him at all. She felt a weird sharp pain in her chest but quickly pushed it away. She couldn't let him get to her. She wouldn't.
"What made you this way?" Haley whispered. What made him so cold and uncaring?
Without a word Nathan stood up and left her sitting there at the table just like he said he would. It was minutes later that she heard the loud sound of his bike, louder than she had ever heard it before. He took off. She sat there shaking her head softly. She wasn't even surprised that he left her. This whole day had been a mistake. She didn't know what she had been thinking when she had agreed to leave with him. It was just one huge mistake. They couldn't get along for a few minutes much less the whole day.
She needed to keep her distance from him and she was sure that after today it wouldn't be a problem. She had pissed him off enough to leave her stranded in the middle of nowhere. She really needed to keep her distance. Spending time with him only made her want to know about him and why he was the way he was. She was never going to get answers so why even try with him? It wasn't worth it. This just wasn't worth it.
They were partners and that was it. If it was something to do with work then fine but anything else was out of the question. They obviously couldn't even be friends, not like she wanted them. It was work and nothing else. Nate Hargrove was just too complicated. She had enough shit to deal with she didn't need to deal with him to.
She pulled some money out of her purse and placed it on the table. She tried her best to ignore the stares that the waitresses were sending her. They were all looking at her like they were sorry for her. She stood up and glanced down at the helmet. A part of her wanted to leave it right there because he left her but she decided against it and lifted it up. Before she made it out of the diner she pulled out her cell phone and dialed the first number she could think of.
She walked outside just when he answered.
"Hales, where have you been? You were supposed to be back from the gym hours ago. I made us dinner and got a movie," Lucas told her.
"Luke," Haley smiled. "I need like a huge favor."
"Anything."
"I kind of need a ride," Haley told him. They sight of a homeless man sitting against the side of the diner had her reaching inside of her purse and pulling out all the cash she had. She walked over to him with a smile on her face before holding out the money. The man glanced at her confused for a second before quickly reaching for the money. She heard him say a quick thank you. She continued to smile at him before moving away from him.
"Sure, where are you?"
"I don't really know," Haley muttered before glancing around for some kind of indication as to where she was. It was only then that she noticed Nathan pulling back up into the parking lot. She watched as he rolled the bike right in front of her before stopping. He didn't say a word or even look at her. His face was set in stone and she never remembered him looking so cold before. Anger was radiating off of him.
"Hales, you still there?"
"Uh, yeah," Haley muttered absentmindedly. "Never mind. I'll be home soon." She hung up before he could say anything else. She placed her phone back in her purse before placing on the helmet and getting on the bike. His whole body seemed tense as she held him and it hadn't been that way before. He took off fast this time and didn't slow down the whole way to her apartment building. Whatever. She was just wanted to get home and away from him.
Once they were there she got off quickly before shoving his helmet at him and turning away from him. Unlike all the other times before when he had brought her home, this time he didn't wait for her to get inside the building. He took off fast and as she glanced over her shoulder and watched him go, she noticed that he didn't look back like he usually did. Whatever. She didn't care.
Then, as if someone above felt his fury, it started raining hard as thunder boomed in the distance. She turned quickly and rushed into her building ready to get away from him and the raging storm.