Chapter Eleven –Like We Never Loved At All
July 21, 2011
Today had officially sucked and it was only eight in the morning. After waking up from another restless night, Haley had made her way into the kitchen only to find her father and Deb kissing. It was enough to make her turn quickly and run away like the coward she was. But good old Deb had called for her to join them. It would have been too rude to say no and walk away. With much hesitation she had joined them at the table. They seemed like they were in their own little world and for a second she was happy for them. That was until she realized what a mess her life was. Nothing, about sitting with them made her happy.
It seemed like an eternity as she sat there alone with them. Then, Jeremy made his presence now by kissing her cheek respectfully in front of her father, she was sure. He joined them and soon enough she felt comfortable. She listened as they got to know each other and she was surprised at how much her father liked him. He really hadn't taking a liking to any of the other boys she had dated, well, except for Nathan.
She didn't bother to ask her father if he knew about Jamie. It was certain that he had and along with almost everyone else in her life, he had kept it from her. She was too pissed to even ask. Too afraid that his answer would be yeah we did it for you. For now, she wanted to block it out of her mind. Soon enough she would be gone again and none of this would matter. They didn't want her in their life, that she was certain.
Soon breakfast was over and she was grateful. Brooke had ditched them last night for a late night booty call with Owen the bartender. It turns out Brooke hadn't changed much on her ways. She had filled Haley and Jeremy in on her plans to hide naked in the back of his car, while she waited for him to get off of work. It was so high school Haley had told her but then added that it was still a Brooke Davis thing to do. Brooke agreed before skipping out of Haley's room with a smile. Being left alone with Jeremy last night was great.
It was the first time since she had been back home that she felt so completely happy. With Jeremy there was no hidden agenda, there were no lies, and most importantly when he looked into her eyes she knew he would never hurt her. They had one of the hottest make out sessions last night. That was until her father knocked on the door and nicely offered to show Jeremy the room he would be staying in. It hadn't surprised Haley that he picked the one closest to his room, no doubt to make sure that Jeremy didn't sneak out to see her in the middle of the night.
Once he had left, that's when the night went from perfect to just horrible. She was left alone with her thoughts and that was never a good thing. It gave her too much time to think of him or now them. Nathan and Jamie. Thoughts of them kept her up all night and once she had finally fallen asleep all she did was dream about them. When she woken up, a thought of Jamie's sad little face entered her head and she couldn't get it out. Those sad little blue eyes boring into her just like his father's did. It was something that she couldn't shake.
The picture he had drew for her yesterday touched her heart deeply. Although, they hadn't really known each other, she was certain that the little boy kind of liked her. It could only explain the stares he sent her and the picture of course. He hadn't given one to Brooke. On that first night when they had first seen him she was positive that Jamie didn't like her. He hadn't said a word to her until he had walked into the house with his little cut knee. Brooke and she had talked about him after that first night. Brooke had gone on and on about how cute he was. Haley just sat back and listened, never revealing to Brooke her alone time with Jamie. She couldn't understand what she was feeling so how was she supposed to tell Brooke? No, she had to figure this out for herself. One thing she was certain of, she liked Jamie. In fact, she liked him a lot. She made a mental note to thank him the next time she saw him, for the picture.
She looked down at her hands and smiled as she noticed Jeremy's caressing hers. He was so different than any other guy she had met. He was tall, dark, and handsome, and yet the most down to earth guy ever. He was completely laid back, content with staying on the beach all day. With him things were so simple and she craved that. There was a softness about him that she couldn't admire more. On the outside he seemed like some stuck up trust fund baby. But once you looked into those beautiful green eyes, he melted your heart –at least hers.
Her eyes glanced up towards him and she smiled as she noticed him sitting there in his surf suit ready to go. He hadn't been in the ocean for a while now and she knew he was excited. Of the things he had brought to Tree Hill, his surfboard had been the only one he wanted.
Brooke smiled brightly as she parked her car. "We're here."
She noticed Jeremy's smile widen before he opened the door and let her out. He didn't waste anytime going to the back and grabbing his surfboard. The wind had been blowing and that was a good thing. The sun was beaming and she noticed that not too many people were already there. Brooke gathered her two bags. With one hand securely holding his bright yellow surfboard, Jeremy slung his free hand around Haley holding her tight as well.
"This is sweet," he admitted to both girls. In the distance Haley noticed a few people waving at them in the distance. As they got closer, she noticed that Lucas, Lindsey, Jake, Peyton, and Jenny were all sitting in a circle in the middle of the beach. Haley darted her eyes towards Brooke.
"I kind of invited them," Brooke said timidly.
"Who are the other two people?" Jeremy questioned. He had noticed Haley's brother and his wife and daughter. But the girl and the blonde headed man, he hadn't seen before. He pulled Haley closer towards him as he kissed her forehead.
"It's just an old high school friend," Haley told him. "Oh and the girl will be my new stepsister once my father marries her mother. But you know it's no big deal. Whatever!" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm and he found himself trying not to laugh. It was obvious that she didn't want to be around these people.
"Right," Jeremy said with a chuckle. "I'm sensing some latent anger here."
"No," Haley lied. She tried her best to give him a reassuring smile and it looked liked it worked as his eyes drifted back towards the people they were approaching. Noticing her brother's dark gaze upon her, she stopped dead in her tracks before pulling Jeremy down in a deep passionate kiss. Jake wanted to ruin her life. She could surely do her best to piss him off as often as possible. She smiled triumphantly as he looked away.
"Wow," she barely heard Jeremy say. She turned back towards him and gave him a halfhearted smile before bringing her hand to his cheek. In the distance she noticed Brooke take a seat next to Peyton and Lindsey.
"You go ahead," Haley told him. "I forgot the sun tan lotion in the backseat. And please don't let my dumbass brother intimidate you." She turned her gaze back to her brother as Peyton rubbed sun block on his back. "I'll deal with him if he says anything to you, just let me know. Go hit the waves. I'll be watching you in a second."
As much as Jeremy hated to admit it he knew Jake didn't like him. He had made it clear the first time they met. Something in his eyes darkened and scared him. For some reason Jake didn't want him anywhere near his sister. Jeremy couldn't quite put a finger on it but he knew it was something.
"Got it," Jeremy muttered nervously. Without a second though she lifted off her shirt revealing her black bikini top before handing it over to him. She watched Jake shake his head disapprovingly and it only made her smile. She let Jeremy gawk at her for a few seconds before turning and walking back towards the car. It was going to be fun messing with Jake's head. She planned on doing it until they left town.
The sand ended and she found herself a few feet away from the car. Her whole body froze as she heard a little boys' laughter and her heart stopped beating as she heard his voice. There was just no way that they were here. It was as if everything was against her today. Her eyes opened and suddenly her fear was a reality. There they were standing in front of her.
"Haley," Jamie said excitedly. "Daddy, look its Haley." He pushed his father's leg until Nathan looked down and acknowledged him. "Uncle Jake didn't say that Haley was going to be here, huh, daddy?"
"No, buddy," Nathan finally answered before bending down to Jamie's height. In his hands he held two beach bags and it didn't go unnoticed by Haley that he wasn't wearing a shirt. Of course he wasn't. "Why don't you go run to your Uncle Lucas? Tell him I said to watch you until I get there." Nodding his head, the little boy took off running.
"Bye, Haley," Jamie shouted in his high pitched little boy voice.
Once Jamie was gone, Haley didn't feel the need to hold anything back. She didn't have to hold her words in. The fear of him hearing was gone once she turned and noticed him in Lucas's arms. Turning back towards Nathan, her hands instantly went to her hips.
"What are you doing here?"
"Well, it's nice to see you, too," Nathan snickered knowing it would piss her off. He noticed the anger that swirled in her eyes and it made him smirk. For some reason he was taking great pride in still having some kind of affect on her.
"You did this on purpose," Haley shouted the accusation at him harshly. "Are you stalking me? Because I got to tell you Nathan, its' pathetic. You're pathetic." His laughter filled the air, mocking her. In the distance he noticed her boyfriend run into the water with his surfboard.
"You may not believe this but my life doesn't revolve around you anymore," Nathan stated while glaring at her. All traces of his laughter gone and his face darkened as did his eyes. "Jake invited us and I was about to tell him no. I know you don't want me here, okay. But Jamie heard and he got really excited about it. I couldn't tell him no, so I'm sorry. If you want us to leave then we'll leave." He silently prayed that she would tell him to leave. He so didn't want to be by her and her boyfriend all day.
"Just stay the hell away from me," Haley hissed as her hands gripped her hips harder.
"Not a problem," Nathan mumbled as his smile returned. "I guess pretty boy is in town, huh?"
"Nathan, I'm warning you," Haley said heatedly. "I don't want him knowing about us."
"There is no us," Nathan said with a crooked smile. "Remember?"
"Just the way I like it," Haley told him, a smile playing on her own lips as his eyes darkened once again. She watched as his jaw clenched shut and his fists balled up. "Stay the hell away from me and stay the hell away from my boyfriend." She warned him.
"Like I said not a problem," Nathan mumbled once again. "You think I want to fucking be here? You think I want to fucking watch you with him? Huh? Is that what you think? How about you leave me the fuck alone for a chance? This is just like fucking high school. Little Miss Perfect doesn't get her way so she pissed off at the world. Well, guess what? This isn't about you. I'm not here for you and I sure as hell am not here for your fucking boyfriend…Lindsey said you would act like this to protect yourself…I didn't know you would be such a bitch about it. How about you stay the fuck away from me?"
"Fine," Haley shouted even though she was taking back by his words. Not once had Nathan ever talked to her that way.
"Fine," Nathan replied back. She looked away and he dropped his head. He hadn't meant to say all those things. The thought of that other guy touching her infuriated him. He couldn't for the life of him think of anything else. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."
"Whatever," Haley mumbled clearly bored with the direction of this conversation.
"So it's going to be like that, now?" Nathan questioned. "You're acting like a child. I thought maybe we could handle this like adults and become friends again but I was clearly mistaken."
"That you were," Haley told him as her eyes locked with his. "I'll never be friends with you again." Even as she said these words, she herself didn't believe them.
"You want to act like a child, fine," Nathan said holding up his hands in surrender. "You can hate me all you want, Haley. I don't expect you to forgive me and I promise that I'll do my best to keep myself and my son away from you." With that he walked past her and started his way towards the beach.
She held back the tears that were threatening to spill as she retrieved the sun tan lotion. She took her time walking back towards her friends. For some reason Nathan's words replayed in her mind and she struggled to understand what just happened. For some reason every time he was around now her guard went up and her heart would stop at nothing to push him away. It was the only way to protect herself. She was certain that if they became friends again, Nathan Scott would find a way back into her heart and that she couldn't let happen. Getting over him the first time had been the hardest thing she ever had to do. She was sure she wouldn't survive a second time.
Once she was close enough, she noticed Jeremy sitting on his board waiting for a wave to come. She was absolutely dreading Jeremy meeting Nathan. In fact, she prayed that he would leave before Jeremy came out of the water. But in the distance she watched her traitor of a brother and Nathan tossing around a football. Brooke in typical Brooke fashion was laid out on a beach towel soaking up the sun. Her sunglass stayed on her eyes as she held a beer bottle in her hands. Peyton, Jenny, and Jamie were playing in the sand. In the distance she noticed Lindsey and Lucas walking along the shore of the beach. They seemed so happy together. It should have made her happy for them and she probably would have been if it had been anyone other than Lindsey. She wasn't ready to forget that Lindsey had stolen her life. It might have been unintentional but it still happened.
Sitting alone, she watched Jeremy. It was seconds later that Jamie sat next to her in the sand. In his hands, he dropped his little plastic blue bucket and the matching shovel.
"Hi, Jamie," Haley said smiling down at him. "I wanted to thank you for the picture that you drew me. I liked it very much." He nodded his head as he looked out at the water. She watched him as he didn't seem to say anything or be interested in what she was saying. "Are you having fun?"
He nodded his head again. He glanced over at Peyton and Jenny before looking up at Haley. His smile brightened as he held up his shovel. "You wanna help me build a sandcastle?"
"I'd love too," Haley said sitting on her knees as she started pushing sand around. They started working in silence as Jamie filled the bucket before flipping it over and making part of the castle. Haley did her best digging a big square around the part that he was building.
"Is that your boyfriend?" Jamie asked softly. She followed his eyeshight and noticed Jeremy still sitting on his surfboard waiting for a big enough wave.
"Yeah," Haley answered honestly. She watched as he went straight back to building the sandcastle like it was no big deal. Jenny was the same way, once she got your answer she went back into her own little word. In that moment Haley felt uncomfortable talking about that with him.
"I forgot Jackson again," Jamie told her as he looked up.
"Where?" Haley questioned. She remembered Deb handing it over to Jamie the day before at lunch.
"I don't know," Jamie said shrugging his shoulders. "Daddy promised that he would find him. Do you think he's going to be alright, Haley?" Surprisingly, Haley didn't think he sounded crazy worrying about his fake stuffed bear. She was the same way with Mr. Waffles.
"He's going to be just fine," Haley told him with a smile.
"Okay," Jamie mumbled before scooping up more sand into his little bucket. A few minutes pasted and before Haley knew it their sandcastle was getting pretty big. It was obvious that this wasn't Jamie's first trip to the beach.
"Jamie," Nathan called out for him. It was seconds later that Nathan approached the two of them. He made sure to keep his distance from Haley. "Let's go. Let's leave Haley alone."
"Why?" Jamie asked curiously as he glanced up at his father.
"I'm sure she has better things to do," Nathan said before walking over and lifting Jamie in his arms. He then grabbed the bucket and the shovel.
"Nathan –"
"Its fine," Nathan quickly told her. "Sorry, if he was bothering you." With that they both walked away. She let her hands grip the sand hard in her hands as she watched them go. He certainly was making her job of hating him pretty damn easily. She noticed Jeremy paddling back in. Standing up, she walked over to the edge of the water waiting for him. Once he made it to her side, he kissed her on the lips as they walked back towards Brooke.
"You enjoyed yourself?" Haley questioned as she glanced up at him.
"Yeah," Jeremy said with a huge grin. "I haven't felt that free in a while." With that he stuck his board in the sand before pulling the top of his surfing suit down revealing his perfect chest. Just like Chris had told Nathan, there on Jeremy's back was huge tattooed surfboard.
"That's great," Haley said.
"I love the sun," Brooke mumbled. "Why did I ever leave this for the city life?"
"Because you are absolutely crazy," Jeremy stated while reaching down and grabbing a handful of sand. He released it slowly, loving the feeling of it in his hands.
"I know," Brooke agreed. "I need to have all the fun I can today. Tomorrow Millicent will finally be here and I can get started on my plans for my opening night. I can't do anything without her."
"We know," they both said in unison. Haley smiled as she watched Brooke turn on her stomach. She noticed Lucas approaching them and she felt a sense of fear wash over her.
"Hey, Jeremy," Lucas stated while he walked closer. "You want to play and little football game with us? Two on two." He tossed the football up in the air and caught it effortlessly. He was just as Haley remembered with an addition of several tattoos on his arms. He was perfectly built and tan as the day she left Tree Hill. His sparkling blue had always been the same and as always lighter than his brothers. Unlike Nathan, Lucas didn't feel the weight of the world on his shoulders.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Haley stated quickly. In the distance she watched Jamie, Nathan, and Jake all watching on, no doubt in her mind that they were talking about Jeremy.
"Come on," Lucas said with a chuckle. "I'll even be on your team. I'm the best."
"Listen to him," Brooke said lifting her face off of the beach towel. "He's really good."
"Thank you," Lucas said with a smirk as he glanced towards Brooke.
"Sure," Jeremy said nodding his head. Lucas walked away with a smile on his face and it wasn't long before he joined the other guys. "How about you walk me?" Nodding her head she heard the laughter of Brooke in the background. Oh, how she wanted to be Brooke right about now. It was a few minutes later when they finally made it towards Jake and Nathan. Lucas had Jamie on his shoulders running with him down the beach.
"Glad you decided to join us," Jake said with a grin as he held onto the football. "There's nothing like a good game of football." Haley rolled her eyes as she noticed her brother's motives. This wasn't about some stupid football game.
Nathan watched this skinny punk standing next to Haley. Every fiber of his being wanted nothing more than to throw his famous right hook and lay the guy out. His whole body was cold and he held back his rage. He knew in the back of his mind that this was his punishment for pushing her away. But he knew how to deal with this. It was just like high school, Haley with someone that wasn't him. He kept his anger in check just like he did back then.
"We haven't met," Jeremy said sticking out his hands towards Nathan. "I'm Jeremy, Haley's boyfriend." She felt her heart literally stop beating as Nathan put on a smug grin and accepted Jeremy's hand.
"I'm Nathan," Nathan replied.
"Wow," Jeremy said with a chuckle as Nathan finally let his hand go. "That's some strong handshake you got there." He held his hurt hand with the other one. Haley rolled her eyes as she glared at Nathan. And he had the nerve to tell her she was acting like a child.
"I hadn't really noticed," Nathan replied nonchalantly.
"You one of Haley's old friends?" Jeremy questioned as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into him. Haley watched Nathan's eyes travel down to Jeremy's hand on her side. She prayed that she was the only one to notice him clench his jaw shut. She started to panic as Nathan looked her in the eyes with a smirk. Fear fell over her and she prayed that he wouldn't tell Jeremy about them.
"No," Nathan said shaking his head before turning his attention back towards Jeremy. He tried his best to focus his attention on anything but them touching. "Haley and I were never friends. I was just friends with her brother here." He pointed towards Jake and he noticed that Jeremy seemed relieved by his answer.
"Oh," Jeremy said with a smile.
She hated that it bothered her, the way Nathan answered Jeremy's questioned. They were never friends at all. She was thankful that he hadn't revealed their past to Jeremy. It was something she didn't want him knowing about.
"I'll just be sitting right here," Haley pointed to a few feet away as she glared at her brother and Nathan. If they thought they were going to rough Jeremy up they had another thing coming. She kissed Jeremy softly before walking away. She made it far enough before sitting on the ground. She watched as they started tossing the ball around. Seconds later Jamie started running towards her. He stopped right before he reached her.
"Can I sit with you, Haley?" Jamie asked her.
"I would love that," Haley replied sweetly. Jamie smiled before sitting his body right in front of Haley's. He moved himself back until he was right in front of her. As the game started she felt his little head resting on her stomach as they watched the game.
"You can do it, daddy!" Jamie shouted as he watched his father run away from Lucas. Haley was thankful that Jake had been the one guarding Jeremy. She felt Jamie's little hands on her legs holding himself up as he continued to cheer for his daddy. She couldn't help but think how adorable it was. They both clapped as Jake and Nathan scored a touch down or whatever. Haley wasn't sure what it was called. She noticed someone sitting beside her and she turned to find Lindsey.
"You enjoying the game, J Luke?" Lindsey questioned as she smiled over at him.
"Uh-huh," Jamie said nodding his head, his eyes never leaving the boys playing.
"Who's winning?" Lindsey questioned as she glanced up at Haley.
"I think Jeremy and Luke but I'm really not sure," Haley said with a nervous laugh. She felt stupid. She didn't know a thing about football and here Lindsey was, tall, beautiful, and looking like she was in full knowledge of a game.
"Jeremy seems really nice," Lindsey said smiling. "I met him while you were at the car."
"Yeah," Haley said watching him run with the ball. Jeremy seemed to be handling himself really well in the game. No one had tried hitting him or anything. It was a good thing they were playing touch football. "He's great." Jamie leaned his head back on Haley's stomach. She smiled before turning her attention back towards the game.
"Are you two coming to the burning of the boat ceremony tonight?" Lindsey questioned. She knew that Haley didn't like her very much. But that didn't mean that she couldn't try and be friends with her. She really thought that they would make great friends.
"My dad was telling me about that earlier," Haley replied. "Yeah, we were planning on going. Brooke's excited to see Owen again. He said he would be there."
"Go Luke!" Lindsey shouted as he scored. To Haley's surprise all the guys seemed to be getting along very well. Lindsey noticed what she was looking at and smiled.
"Surprised?"
Looking over she noticed that Lindsey had been reading her thoughts. "A little."
"There not that bad," Lindsey said with a smile. She noticed Jamie's eyes closed and she touched Haley's shoulder making Haley turn to look at her. "I think he fell asleep on you." Looking down she noticed Jamie's head turned to the side on her stomach. Her heart became overwhelmed with warmness as she put him in a more comfortable position. She placed his head on her thigh and she put her hand on his back rubbing it softly.
She let a chuckle escape her lips. "He has more nicknames then I've ever known anyone to have." Lindsey laughed along with her nodding her head.
"Yeah," Lindsey agreed. "Lets see. There's Jamie, J Luke, and Jimmy Jam, which is his favorite by the way. Um…Skills calls him Big Game James."
"That's a lot," Haley smiled.
"Yeah," Lindsey said smiling out onto the field. "He named him after you, ya know."
Haley didn't face her as her eyes stayed glued to Jamie. She didn't feel the need to respond to Lindsey's confession.
"He's so cute," Haley confessed as her eyes stayed glued to him. His sandy blonde hair was spiked up. He had on a pair of batman swimming shorts and a plain white t-shirt covering his little chest.
"He's smart, too," Lindsey added. "He's got a birthday coming up." Haley nodded her head before turning her attention back to the game. She had figured he did. After she had first found out about him she had overanalyzed everything in her head that night. She figured since Nathan and Nikki slept together on New Years Eve night then he would have a birthday coming up.
The thought of Nathan sleeping with someone else turned her stomach upside down and she felt like she had been punched in the gut. But still she didn't move as she continually soothed Jamie's back as he slept.
"You should go easy on him," Lindsey said softly after minutes of silence. Haley followed her line of sight and came into contact with Nathan. He stood there hands on his hips, clearly out of breath, and looking more sexy than ever. She felt herself getting hot and quickly looked away from him.
"Why?" Haley questioned. She found herself waiting impatiently for Lindsey's answer.
Lindsey just shrugged her shoulders. "Because he's still in love with you."
AN: Please review. Next chapter will find everyone at the burning of the boat. I have a very funny storyline planned for Brooke that starts next chapter.