this chapter is highly angsty. i cried while writing it, because i hate writing Naley trouble. But it had to happen. Hope you enjoy the chapter. it was hard to write.
PS i own nothing.
Brooke spent the next several hours sitting outside Haley's bedroom door, urging her to open it up.
"Come on Hales. You need to talk to someone." she begged.
"Brooke I just want to be alone, for a while." she said softly.
"We need to talk Haley. You cant keep this inside." Brooke insisted.
"Not right now Brooke. I just want to sleep." she said.
"Fine. But you know where I am, if you ever want to talk." Brooke said softly before retreating to her room. Haley laid back on her bed, and cried. She cried over what she's losing, she cried over what she's already lost. She couldn't believe that a baby, the one sign that was supposed to show how much someone loved someone else, would be the end of her relationship. It didn't make sense to her, but yet it happened. Haley didn't know what to do about that, so right now she decided to just stay here and not see anyone.
Nathan sat at home trying to cool down after his fight with Haley. He couldn't believe she was pregnant. He was still angry at the way she handled it, but she was carrying his baby. The idea of that excited him a little bit. He was going to be a father. He glanced at Lucas sitting beside him, obviously worried.
"Luke I'm fine. Just a little pissed. I'm gonna talk to Haley at school tomorrow. Then everything will be fine." Nathan tried convincing himself as much as Lucas.
"I hope you're right." Lucas said.
"Me too. I love her." Nathan said.
The next morning, Nathan paced the parking lot waiting for Haley to show up. He knew she always came with Brooke, so he watched for Brooke's car. His heart rate picked up when he saw Brooke's beetle pull into the parking lot, but was disappointed when Haley wasn't in the car.
"Brooke! Where's Haley?" he asked.
"At home. She's not coming today." Brooke said.
"This isn't like her. I mean she came to school after she got raped." Nathan said.
"Yeah, but the person she was avoiding wasn't at this school after she got raped." Brooke reminded him.
"True. Have you talked to her?" Nathan asked worried.
"No. She's avoiding everyone. She tends to retreat into her shell when something traumatic happens. I haven't talked to her." Brooke said sadly.
"Do you think she'll talk to me?" Nathan asked hopefully.
"No. She wont talk to me, and I was just an innocent bystander in the whole drama." Brooke said.
"So what do I do?" Nathan asked helplessly.
"Just let her come back on her own terms She's not depressed. She's just pissed at the world. Just give her time." Brooke suggested.
"I'll try." Nathan said before walking towards their table. The whole table was visibly worried about Haley.
Haley sat at home, not wanting to see anyone. She only left her room long enough to get food, or water. She couldn't believe that this situation was making her miss school. But she knew she couldn't go. She couldn't see Nathan yet. She was still too hurt, too pissed, too emotional. She knew it would be a while before she could let someone in again. There was no doubt in her mind that she loved Nathan, and that she wanted to raise their baby with him, but right now she needed space. She couldn't be around him, nor did she want to. Haley laid in bed watching sad movies all day, and was faintly aware of Brooke walking in the front door.
"Haley? How are you feeling?" Brooke asked at her bedroom door.
"Fine." Haley said unconvincingly.
"Do you want anything to eat or drink?" Brooke asked concerned.
"No its okay. I ate something earlier." she said.
"Okay. Call me if you need anything." Brooke called in, before walking to her own bedroom. Haley wished she could let Brooke in, she didn't know why she couldn't. There was just something inside of her that was keeping everyone at a distance, even Brooke. Brooke who was there for her for everything. Brooke who was her best friend, and the only person in the world she could rely on everything for. Haley knew that Brooke would do anything for her, and she loved her for that. But still for whatever reason it wasn't enough. Haley laid down, and tried to lapse into sleep, but every time she feel into a deep slumber, a horrible dream would come to mind. Because of the nightmares Haley had a restless nights sleep.
The next morning Nathan waited in the parking lot for Haley again, but yet again was disappointed when Brooke showed up alone.
"Where's Haley? Nathan asked.
"At home She didn't want to come today." Brooke explained.
"She is definitely avoiding me." Nathan muttered.
"She's avoiding me too, so don't complain." she said back to him, before heading to their table.
"Still no Haley?" Lucas asked when Nathan and Brooke sat down.
"No. She's still not talking to anyone." Brooke said.
"Not even you?" Lucas asked his girlfriend.
"No. Not even me. I miss her so much. This is the longest we've ever went without speaking." Brooke said tearing up a little.
"Brooke, its gonna be okay." Lucas said reassuring his girlfriend.
"I really hope so." Brooke said sadly. Lucas just squeezed her hand reassuringly.
Later that afternoon, when Brooke got home she immediately went upstairs to see Haley.
"Hales, I'm coming in, whether you like it or not." Brooke said before opening up the door. Haley sat on her bed, and smiled slightly at Brooke when she opened the door.
"I'm sorry Brooke. I miss you, best friend." she said tears falling freely down her face.
"It's okay Haley." Brooke said walking over to the bed, and taking her friend in her arms.
"I feel so lost." Haley sobbed on Brooke's shoulder.
"It'll be okay. I promise." Brooke assured Haley. The girls clung to each other for what seemed like forever.
"You really need to come back to school." Brooke said once Haley had calmed down.
"I know. I just need to find the guts to do what I need to do." Haley said.
"About Nathan?" Brooke asked.
"Yeah. For reasons I cant explain, I cant be with him. I need to end it." Haley said.
"What? Why?" Brooke asked shocked.
"Because I have grown too close to him. I love him too much. The only person I loved like this was Grant, and look where that got me." Haley explained.
"Nathan is not Grant. Nathan wont hurt you." Brooke said adamantly.
"I don't know that, and I cant go through that again. Especially since I'm pregnant." Haley explained.
"So you're just going to cut him out of the baby's life?" Brooke asked.
"No. I want him in our baby's life. I want him to be a good father to him or her." Haley stated.
"I think you're making a mistake. But if its what you need to do, then that's what you should do." Brooke said reluctantly.
"Thanks for understanding. Its times like this that I remember why you're my best friend." she said hugging Brooke again.
The next morning, Haley awoke with a feeling of dread hanging over her. She didn't want to break up with Nathan, but she knew she had to. He had a power over her now that she had fallen head over heels, madly in love with him, and that meant that he could hurt her. She had known for a long time that she had loved him, she just didn't know how much until recently. She texted Nathan, before she left for school.
"Hey can you meet me at school a little early? I need to talk to you." she wrote to him.
"Sure. I'll be there." was his instant reply.
Haley paced around the school grounds waiting for Nathan to show up. She wanted to have this conversation when there was no one at the school. It wasn't something that everyone needed to hear. Her breathing picked up when she saw him walking across the parking lot. She thought that he looked tired and worried, and she couldn't blame him. She had kept him in the dark for three days, and that wasn't fair to him.
"Hey." she said cursing her lame opening line.
"Hi, how are you?" he asked hating the formality in their talking.
"I'm better. Getting accustomed to the pregnancy. But I called you here early because we need to talk." she said nervously.
"About?" Nathan asked nervously.
"I cant do this anymore. Our fight the other night, showed me that we arent meant to be together. I'm sorry, but we cant be together. This has to end." she said tears flooding her eyes.
"You breaking up with me, because of a stupid fight?" he asked.
"The fight was the catalyst yes. But I just know its not going to work out." she lied.
"What about the baby?" he asked quietly, not really wanting to hear the answer.
"I want you in its life. I want you to be the father. I want to raise the baby with you, I just don't want to be with you." Haley explained.
"If its what you want." he said resigned.
"It is. Goodbye Nathan. Please know that I will always love you.