Disclaimer- I do not own One Tree Hill

Cause and Effect

Chapter Fourteen

It was amazing to Haley, even four hours away from Duke she couldn't get away from Nathan Scott. Over Thanksgiving break she heard about Nathan more times then she could count on both of her hands. Clay, Quinn's new boyfriend, was a sports agent who had his eye on Nathan. She heard Clay and her brothers talk about great a player Nathan Scott was, and he would surely turn pro. Haley had left Duke early, skipping a game in the process, to get away from Nathan. She had wanted to forget about him after breaking up with him. Only when she arrived home, all she heard was Nathan Scott did this or that. It was as bad as being at Duke, maybe even worse with her family's new found love of Duke Basketball. She was happy that she never told her family about hers and Nathan's relationship or she would have never heard the end of it.

The only thing better at home was no one noticed how skinny she was or how little she ate. Haley practically didn't eat her Thanksgiving meal, and no one even notice. How could her family notice her when her perfect siblings where constantly talking about their lives, or Nathan.

She was glad to be back at Duke though, being under the same roof as her family was just a little too much. They were a constant reminder on how she was not perfect. Her siblings seem to be so happy, so perfect, and she wasn't. Haley just wanted to be like them to have the picture perfect life that she had dreamed as a child.

"It's because you're not as pretty as your sisters that's why your family doesn't say anything about you starving. You're not skinny enough," The voice whispered as Haley walk to her English class on Thursday, the day before the game. Brooke surprisingly enough had left Haley a voicemail saying that she wouldn't be taking her spot as a flyer away, and she wouldn't be penalized for skipping the game on Saturday. She honestly didn't think she could still cheer anymore. Haley didn't know how she was going to stand being so close to Nathan. Haley loved him; even though she said she hated him she really loved him. Her anorexia just held an iron clasp grip on her, she couldn't escape. When he had confronted her, she automatically pushed him away fearing that he would make her get treatment.

Haley hated herself right after he walked out of her dorm room. She had pushed away the only man that had loved her anorexia and all; he still loved her even after she said she hated him. Haley was out control and she knew it. The whole fight with Nathan she had listened to the voice. It told her to say all those things, and she listened because she wasn't strong enough not to. She would never be.

The voice had taken control of her life in High school, during her first encounter with her eating disorder. It had took months of counseling just for it to quiet just enough for Haley to take control of her life again. She had promised herself that she wouldn't let it control her again. Its words where seemed so true when it compared her to her own family, to Rachel and even to Peyton and Brooke who had these perfect lives. Her two best friends knew exactly what they were doing in their lives. Peyton was going to be a social worker and help adopted children like herself and be an artist in her spare time. At twenty one the blonde artist already had the man of her dreams, and a wonderful future step-daughter. Brooke was determined to take over and forever change the world of fashion, and become Mrs. Lucas Scott.

Haley tried to push the voice back it was impossible. It was right she would never be perfect like her family, like her friends. She couldn't handle the stress of keeping her scholarship, tutoring, cheer, having friends, and dating at all. It was too much and everywhere she looked Haley saw people doing just as much as she was and more without breaking a sweat. So she listened to the voice and with ever skip meal she could feel her stress rolling away. It was suppose to just get her through a week, but just like before all it took for Haley to fall into its grasp was one meal.

The voice was now back in full control of her life, and it wasn't going to let Haley get help, or be with Nathan who would get her help. The cheerleader just wanted take all the things she said to Nathan back, she missed him so much. She hoped that she hadn't hurt him; she would never forgive herself if she did. That's why she let the voice talk her onto saying that she hated him, it said he would only get hurt by seeing her like this. Haley hoped that Nathan knew it wasn't her that was doing the talking during the argument it was her anorexia.

"Hey Haley," Luke hesitantly said as she sat in her seat next to him. Luke, like the rest of her and Nathan's friends, were extra carefully every time they talked her. They didn't alienate her, or treat her differently; they just seemed on edge, like they didn't know whose side to choose Nathan's or her's. What they didn't know it was really Nathan's or the Anorexia's sides they had to chose between. She was just caught in the middle.

Lucas. Haley eyes widen, he would know and would tell her how Nathan was. She didn't know why she didn't think of it earlier. "Hey Luke, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"How's Nathan?"

Luke didn't respond for a second, and it felt like forever for Haley. "He misses you Haley, a lot. Nate was worried sick when you left without telling anybody, he's still worried sick about you."

"He's okay though?"

"He's hurt Haley. I am not going to lie you broke his heart, when you told him it was over."

Haley was quiet, and she and Luke didn't talk for the rest of the class or after. She figured that Lucas probably thought she was jerk for asking about his brother after breaking his heart, and didn't blame him. The last thing she and ever wanted to do was hurt Nathan, but she did. Her anorexia was merciless and it would make her hurt not only herself but it would hurt anybody who got in its way. Nathan had just happened to cross its path. It knew he was the one person that could stop it, so it made sure he was gone and out her life. What it didn't realize was that Nathan Scott wasn't that easy to get rid of.

The stadium was jammed packed Friday night as Duke took on their rival the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. Nathan was playing his heart out, or what was left of it. He was taking all his frustrations out on the court, and was trying his hardest not to glance over towards the cheerleaders. If he saw Haley, Nathan knew he would break down right there in front of all the fans in Cameron Stadium. Even though he couldn't see her, he did have his teammates tell him she looked. Incredibly skinny, sad, she wore a fake smile on her face and his number on her cheek, is what they said.

He almost didn't believe she was wearing his number still, but then again apparently she was asking Lucas about him. So maybe, just maybe there was that sliver of hope that they would at least get back together soon, that she still cared. It was that sliver that gave him the strength he needed to dominate in the first half. He was playing better than he had ever before, knowing that Haley still cared about him even after thing she said, it just made him play that much better.

"Dude you might not want to look at the court," Trent, one of Nathan's teammates, suggested during a sixty second television time out in the third quarter.

"Too late," Nathan muttered as Haley and about ten other cheerleaders took the court. His breathe hitched in his throat as he watched Haley performed a perfect toe touch then landing and then swinging her arms back as she executed as back handspring. His heart stopped when he saw her gripped her wrist her face contorting in pain after performing only one back handspring while the other girls perform two more.

He didn't think twice before rushing toward her and wrapping his arms around her. For a split second he felt the pain in his heart go away it didn't matter that she said it was over; Haley, the girl he loved the girl he wanted to protect was in his arms. A feeling of relief surged through his body that she wasn't pushing him, and that he could finally admit that she was safe. The feeling quickly faded as he remembered that she was hurt.

"Haley, what's wrong?" Nathan asked he cupped the sides of her face with his calloused hands.

"It hurts Nathan," she cried as she gripped her left wrist tighter, tears falling down her face.

For a second, he didn't if she was referring to her wrist or something else, he just knew that he had make it stop whatever it was, because it hurt him seeing her pain. " 's going to be alright," he whispered, before scoping her up his arms. The action was rewarded with a loud chorus of 'aws' coming from the fans. Nathan didn't hear them; the only thing he heard was Haley's tears of pain.

"Doc, her wrist is hurt," Nathan said as he put Haley down on the team's sideline exam table. It was simple black cushion table that was surrounded by bags of medical equipment.

Doc, the team's trainer, nodded before grabbing a bag of supplies and approaching Haley, "Can I see your wrist?"

Haley sniffled and looked at Nathan who nodded at her, she then let go of her wrist and held it out so that the trainer could see.

"Nathan get over here! The time is out over!" Coach K yelled.

Nathan looked at Haley; he couldn't leave her not when she was hurt. Not after he had held her his arms, talked to her, seen her for the first time since their fight a week ago. She had avoided him like the plague, he and wanted to go after her several times, but his friends advise him to give her more time. But now she was in front of him, hurt and pain and he couldn't leave her.

"Coach-"

"Nathan go I'll be fine," Haley managed. She didn't want Nathan to leave her side, but he was in the middle of a game

"Haley I am not-"

"Go win the game for me please," Haley said.

Nathan reluctantly nodded and jogged back to the court, as Brooke made her way to the exam table.

"Is Haley going to be okay Doc?"Brooke asked concerned about her friend. Brooke had acted like nothing was wrong this whole week, and had continued to be the same hyper, perky, cheerful, Brooke Davis around Haley.

The grey hair trainer nodded as he began wrapping Haley's wrist, "Well Haley you probably broke your wrist and defiantly you pointer finger. You need to go to the ER after the game and get it set."

"I'm going to need a cast?" Haley asked, the voice was suddenly screaming in her head, telling her that she couldn't go the ER that they would discover that she was anorexic and hospitalize her.

"I'm afraid so, how did you do it?" he asked.

Haley shrugged, "I put my weight in my wrist instead my hand I guess when I did my back handspring, and I know my finger didn't lay flat when I went back."

"Well I would suggest no tumbling for the rest of the season and do you fly?" He asked.

"Yes," Haley answered as she felt Brooke put her hand on her shoulder.

"I would suggest not flying while you're in your cast, if you fall you may land on it or your may knock your partner out with it by accident," Doc explained. "I am going to give you some pain reliever and I want you to sit out for the rest the game."

Brooke sighed, "Doc all long do you think Haley is going to have that cast?"

"A month maybe more," the trainer replied. "I suggested you go to the ER and get an x-ray, the doctor there will be able to give you a better answer."

"I'll take you right after the game is over Haley," Brooke stated as Haley got up from the table.

The voice was screaming in Haley's head as she sat on the sideline in front of the cheerleaders, but she pushed it back. She had to go to the ER; the pain in her wrist was too much not to go. She only wished the doctors in the emergency room could fix the pain in heart that she had caused by breaking up with Nathan.

"You're going to get caught! I can't lie your way around everything!" the voice yelled. "You'll never get Nathan back if you go to the ER."

Haley sighed as she watched Nathan score another basket. He was hands down the best player on the court, but Haley didn't see him as the basketball star he was. She saw him as Nathan, the boy that loved her unconditionally. The boy that she loved but walked away from because her anorexia told her to. She had hoped he hated her after she broke up with him. It would make things easier, it would make the internal battle against the voice that much easier. She wouldn't go against it, she wouldn't spend all her energy trying to go against the voice but failing time after time; if she knew that Nathan didn't love her.

Haley didn't want him to love her, to care about her. She just wanted to be perfect, it was what she wanted her whole entire life until Nathan came along. Now she just wanted to be with him, she wanted to be happy with him. Haley had never been happy, or at least truly happy like she was when she was with Nathan. He made her feel alive, like she meant something. And in a stadium full of thousands of people who adored him, he still noticed her. He didn't forget her like her family did. Nathan told her she was beautiful, the voice had never told her that.

Why did she listen to the voice? It did nothing but put her down, and made her lie and starve herself. It made her push away people that honestly loved her and cared about her. It made her hurt them, it made her hurt Nathan. It made her hold her tongue every time she tried to cry out for help. Haley wondered why she even listened to it this time. Why did she listen to this voice that landed her in a hospital instead of Nathan?

"You're not strong enough," the voice said loud and clear in her head. "You never have been you never will be able to stop me."

Haley held back her tears as she watched the game. There was only two minutes left and Duke was ahead by two, she could feel the tension in the air. Her eyes didn't leave Nathan as he ran down the court, he was strong enough he was strong enough to save her.

"He doesn't love you enough to save you, he's just going to get you locked up in a hospital somewhere, and then in a couple months I'll be back," The voice declared.

The crowd erupted in roars of excitement and pure joy as the finally buzzer rang. Duke had won, Nathan had won, and Haley's anorexia was about to win another battle. Haley frowned as she watched Nathan with a huge smiled on his face made his way towards her. He ignored his teammates, his coaches, his fans, as he walked over.

"I won the game, how is your wrist?" He asked his voice shaky and full of hurt as he talked to her.

She had broken him; he should be bouncing of the walls happy that he won the game. He wasn't instead Nathan was worried about her, even after everything that happened. Haley shook her head in disbelief and began stepping back away from Nathan; he couldn't care about her still. He just couldn't, she was only going to hurt him more.

"Haley!" Nathan yelled as she run out of the stadium with tears streaming down her face.

How could he still care about her? She had told him she hated him when he was trying to help her; and yet he come to her rescue during the game. How could he not be strong enough to save her?

She stopped running once she was outside of the stadium. It was pouring down rain, and she instantly became drenched and her uniform became heavy from the water falling from the sky. Haley wrapped her arms around herself as she just stood in the rain crying. She didn't know what to do. Nathan still cared about her; he wasn't supposed to care about her still. He was supposed to hate her so she wouldn't drag him down with her.

"Haley!" Haley turned around and there behind her stood Nathan still in his uniform drenched from the rain just like she was. He had come after, just like some knight in shining amour would chase after a princess in a fairytale to rescue her from some monster. Except Haley wasn't a princess, and Nathan was no prince, and she needed rescuing from her anorexia not some mythological creature.

"Haley, why did you run?" Nathan asked.

Haley just stared at him, "Why do you still care?"

"I love you that's why Haley," Nathan replied as he stepped a little closer. "I love you and I don't care if I get pneumonia from standing out here in the rain, if that's what it takes to get you back, I will Haley. I love you, just at least let me back in your life."

"Is that all you have to say?" Haley asked, hoping he would say something about her anorexia. Hoping that he would try to save her, because this time she wasn't going let the voice talk her into pushing the man she loved away. She wasn't going to let the anorexia win.

"My mind says yes, because I am scared that I am going to push you away again. My heart tells me though not to stop fighting for you. And if means you pushing me away, to save you that I should do it. Because I can't live without you Haley, and I am scared that if you continue down the path your going down that I am going to wake up one morning and your gonna be gone for good. Just meet me half way here Hales, please. Let me help you," He begged.

Haley held back her sobs as she ran up and wrapped her arms around Nathan. "I am anorexic Nathan," Haley admitted as she felt Nathan kiss the top of head.

"I know Haley, but I am here for you. I am always going to be here for you. Always and forever," Nathan said.

"I love you Nathan, I never meant it when I said I hated you. I just, I couldn't-" Haley was interrupted as Nathan's lips pressed against hers. She suddenly felt free, free of the anorexia that had taken control of her life. Nathan may have not known, but in that moment he had freed of her of the anorexia's iron clasp grip. His loved had saved her from the monster that had controlled her life for so long, and now she was free to live it with him.

"I know Haley, now let's get you out of the rain," Nathan suggested as took Haley's non injured hand.

"Nathan can you take me to the doctor? For my hand and for that other thing?" Haley asked. She was ready, she was scared, but she was ready to get help. She was ready. Ready to be healthy so she could be with Nathan without pushing him away.

Nathan nodded, "Sure let's get out of these wet clothes though first."

"Thank you Nathan for not giving up on me," Haley said as they began walking back into the stadium. The anorexia had lost, and she, Haley James, was winning this battle against it.

A couple of hours later Haley laid in a hospital bed. Nathan had taken her to the emergency room after they changed out of their soaked uniforms. Once they arrived Haley had her wrist x-ray and put in a cast rather quickly, but the doctor and nurses had been alarmed by how little she weighed. Nathan had been too, he didn't realize how bad her disease was. The five foot and inch tall honey blonde girl only weighed eighty-six pounds. After Haley admitted to be anorexic to her doctor she had been admit to hospital so the doctor could run tests to see the extant of the damage the disease had caused.

"I hate IV's, and the cast they itch," Haley mumbled. She wasn't in the best mood. The doctor had just finish asking her questions about her past battle with her anorexia and her current one. Nathan had waited patiently outside, as Haley wanted to tell him in her own way about her fight with the disorder.

"Brooke texted me while you were talking to the doctor, she said she would rhinestone your cast for you," Nathan said from his spot in the chair next to Haley's bed Brooke, who was planning taking Haley to ER, had let Nathan on the condition she got an update every hour on Haley's condition.

Haley laughed a little, "I might let her. I am kind of mad they didn't have purple."

"The pink is really bright," Nathan replied. Haley's cast was a neon pink that covered the skin from halfway point on her left arm all the way her knuckles and it extended slightly on her pointer finger that had been broken,

"I probably should have gotten blue; I am going to be in this till Christmas at least. It's going to clash so much with my cheer uniforms," Haley said.

"You're going to be in it until Christmas?" Nathan asked.

Haley nodded, "That's what the doctor said, and I am here until at least until Monday."

"I thought they said you were just a little dehydrated," Nathan stated. The doctor, who confirmed that Haley was indeed anorexic, had told Nathan she was little dehydrated and that's why they had admitted her.

Haley sighed, "The doctor wants to keep me under observation. Nathan, this isn't the first time I've been diagnosis with anorexia. I've been anorexic since my senior year of high school, this is a relapse that's why their keeping me here."

Nathan was shocked, "You, you, you suffered from this since I meet you and you didn't tell me? Haley I could have helped you!"

"Nathan you have helped though, you're the reason why I am here. If you weren't here I would have just gotten my cast and talked my way out of getting admitted," Haley explained.

"Hales, your parents know don't they. You should have been getting help all this year from a therapist," Nathan said.

"Nathan I was," Haley paused. "I think you need to hear this story from the beginning so can you hold off from any questions for just like five minutes?"

Nathan nodded, "Yeah, but you don't have to tell me if you're not ready to."

"I am," Haley admitted before beginning her story starting from the end of junior year when it started all the way until the present where she was determined to end it. Haley explained to him how she wasn't in control a lot of the time but her anorexia was the one that control her. She told him, that he confronted her she wasn't in her right mind, the disease was in complete control of her, and she really didn't want to push him away. Haley told Nathan that she loved him countless times throughout the explanation trying to make up of reheat she had done to him. When she finished Nathan was quiet for a few minutes as he processed what she has said.

"Haley I don't know what to say," He began, "But I do know that I am going to do everything I can to make sure you get better and that you stay that way."

Haley smiled, "I love you, Nathan."

"I love you too, so do want to be my girl again?" Nathan asked.

"Only if you're my Boy-Toy again," Haley replied.

Nathan smirked as he leaned over and kissed Haley on the lips, "I am always going to be your Boy-Toy. Even if you don't want me, you're stuck with me Haley James."

"And you're stuck with me Nathan Scott, Always."

"And forever," Nathan added before kissing Haley again. He was happier then he has ever been in his life. He had his Haley back and she was going to be okay, he would make sure of it this time. He would the basketball player who saved the cheerleader from the monster named, Anorexia.

Author's Note:Sorry for the wrong chapter, I have no clue how that happened! Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Please review and let me know what you think, or if you have any questions about the story don't be afraid to ask. Also thanks for continuing to read this story and supports. Keep an eye out for the next chapter, I am not done yet! Thanks again- Bedazzlement