This chapter was incredibly hard to write, so I've posted it now mainly because I don't want to work on it anymore! It contains a character that's too horrible and unrealistic, and I didn't want to write it. I've done the best I can and I hope I've gotten the point of this chapter across without making too much of a hash of it. I'm really sorry.

Obviously, the words from 2x01 that I used here aren't mine. If you're still reading this, thank you for your incredible support and patience! Your reviews mean so much to me.

It surprised Haley how quickly she had fallen into a routine since living with Nathan. Between volunteering at the youth center, her therapy appointments and dutifully making time to follow the pamphlets' advice on doing things she loved, Haley's days were filling up. She never felt at a loss for things to do, with long periods of time stretching on for infinity and plaguing her troubled mind, like how she used to feel in Tree Hill. Charlotte could, Haley had discovered, grow on you very quickly.

Quinn evidently felt the same way, as she chatted away to Haley about her upcoming weekend meeting Clay's parents. While she hadn't specifically told her how long she would be staying with Clay - and Haley assumed it was a topic that the new couple hadn't wanted to examine just yet - the two sisters had gotten into a pattern of spending time together each day. While Clay and Nathan were at work, and in between Haley's existing routine, Haley and Quinn had spent more time with each other than they had in years. Sometimes talking about their parents, but usually talking about everything and nothing at all. For the first time since she was a little girl, Haley finally felt like she had a sister and a friend.

Quinn's nervous rambling about making a good impression on Clay's parents was interrupted by the sound of the door shutting. The sisters looked up to see Nathan walk past, idly flicking through the day's mail. He glanced up, as if surprised to see the two women curled up on his couch, raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement and made a hasty retreat from the lounge.

Haley frowned. It wasn't the first time that week Nathan had behaved this way. It was as if he was trying to put as much distance between them as possible. This week, he had suddenly become too busy to run with her in the morning, and often disappeared as fast as he could after dinner.

"Ooh, if Nathan's home now, that must mean that Clay isn't far away," Quinn eagerly reached for her phone.

Haley was barely listening, watching the hallway where Nathan had disappeared down.

"Nathan has been acting really strangely this week..." she voiced her thoughts. "He's barely spoken to me, he's always rushing out of the room, saying he's busy..." She looked at her sister, whose thumbs were tapping against her phone screen.

"Maybe he is busy," Quinn replied, absently. "Clay said he signed some huge player recently."

"Yeah..." Haley was unconvinced. "It's just that even when he's been really busy, he's always been around to go for a run in the morning with me, or hang out after dinner. Now it seems like he bolts out of every room I'm in. Seriously, did he not seem weird to you just now?"

"You run?" Quinn looked up from her phone, amused. "And I don't know if he's been acting weird, I only met the guy last week at the charity gala; I hardly know him."

The lightbulb that went off in Haley's head was shockingly bright, as her eyes widened in realization. "Of course! The charity gala, how could I have been so stupid? He's trying to start a relationship with Daytona, and here I am in his house, cramping his style... No wonder he's been avoiding me lately."

"What?" Quinn's brow creased in confusion. "Daytona? But..."

The trill of Quinn's iPhone cut in between them, and her voice trailed off as she spotted the name and image on the illuminated screen. "Oooh, its Clay!"

Haley rolled her eyes as her sister snatched up her phone and started gushing to her new boyfriend, as if they hadn't just seen each other that morning. As Quinn spoke, Haley mentally validated her thoughts about Nathan's behavior. She had said herself that a relationship with an old friend was one with promise, and knew that Nathan was looking for something serious. Surely after their date at the charity gala, Nathan and Daytona had become closer and wanted to pursue a relationship? And here she was, taking up space in Nathan's home, a place where she knew he considered his sanctuary and safe place. She felt bad and guilty for not understanding Nathan's change in behavior sooner.

"Clay's on his way home, so I'm going to meet him with our bags. Love you, sis, see you on Monday!"

Haley barely had time to register that Quinn was off the phone before, with a kiss on the cheek and an excited wave, Quinn was skipping out of the room. Moments later, Haley heard the front door shut. Sighing, she heaved herself up from the couch, wandering out into the hallway to find Nathan. It was a conversation they needed to have, no matter how hard it would be.

She heard muffled noises from the back of the house, and following the sound, she headed towards his office/home gym. Nathan was grunting with the effort of lifting weights up and down over his chest. Haley didn't know a lot about gym equipment, but the round black discs on the end of the silver bar he was holding looked big and heavy, and pronounced veins snaked their way through the hard muscle of his straining biceps.

Sucking in a deep breath, she spoke up. "Nathan, we need to talk."

Metal clanked harshly as Nathan struggled to put the bar back into place. "Jesus, Hales..." he was gasping for breath. "Don't sneak up on a guy when he's lifting weights, you scared the shit out of me."

"I wasn't sneaking... you saw me in the living room. You know I'm here in the house ... or is that a problem for you now?"

Nathan sat up, slowly, wiping his face with a small towel. He took a long drink from the water bottle that had been sitting by his feet, before looking up at her with a frown. "What are you talking about?"

Haley took a deep breath, not meaning to sound so sharp and accusatory. She needed to be brave to have this conversation and potentially hear something she didn't necessarily want to hear. If Nathan wanted her to leave, then she would have to work something out.

"If you don't want me here, you need to tell me. We're both grown-ups here, Nathan. I know I haven't been well, but I'm not a child and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't treat me like one."

Nathan's expression didn't change. "Once again ... what are you talking about?"

"I know why you've been acting strangely lately, and I understand if things are different now between you and Daytona... I know you're trying to be supportive and helpful and you wouldn't in this position if you weren't helping out your brother, but..."

"Haley, what are you talking about?"

Nathan's voice had cut through her nervous stammering, so loud and demanding that, for a moment, it scared her. It took Haley a second to realize that her thoughts were a jumble and were coming out of her mouth that way. She took another deep breath, willing her brain and her mouth to work together.

"What I'm trying to say," she began again, shakily, "is that if you and Daytona are becoming more serious and having me around the house is going to be a problem, then I just want you to be open about it and tell me. I can work something out ... maybe I could spend a night or two at Clay's, you know, now that Quinn's there, if you need some privacy, or ..."

Haley was still talking when the loud chime of the doorbell rang throughout the house. Her roommate stood, towering above her as he moved towards the door.

"Haley, you don't..." Nathan stopped, abruptly, before shaking his head. "We'll sort this out later."

As Nathan walked past her, Haley turned to watch him walk down the hall towards the front door. Amidst the nerves that swirled inside her stomach, she hadn't missed the look of relief that crossed his face.

Nathan hurried towards the door, never more grateful for the noisy interruption and whoever was causing it. He had been terrified when Haley had first started talking, certain that Quinn had divulged to her younger sister what had been said between them at the charity gala last week. While he was glad that Quinn was around - and Haley certainly seemed happier - it was nerve-wracking, knowing the two sisters spent so much time together. Growing up as an only child, he'd never fully understood the relationship siblings could have with each other, and he wasn't sure if he could trust Quinn to keep her thoughts to herself. It was that fear that had caused him to panic, to raise his voice the moment she had mentioned Daytona's name. He had felt borderline hysterical with relief when he had discovered that Haley's rambling was so far off the mark, and the ringing of the doorbell had given him a welcome reprieve. Regardless of who was on the other side, Nathan felt like he had dodged a bullet. He knew, at some stage, he would have to admit to Haley that his relationship with Daytona had ended well before it had even started, but he figured that could wait.

Relief was still running through him, slowing his speeding heart rate as he opened the door to an unfamiliar face. The man on the other side was paunchy with a stern expression and rumpled clothes. He looked older than Nathan, and not like the type of basketball fanatic that ever so occasionally found their way to his front door.

Nathan frowned. "Can I help you?"

The surly expression didn't change, and reminded Nathan of the teachers he'd had, who'd been wholly unimpressed with him and his behavior at school.

"Yes. I'm looking for my sister."

Although he could undoubtedly be referring to anyone else, Nathan was still surprised when Haley's astonished, but delighted, voice spoke up from behind them. "Drew! What are you doing here?!"

The man's frown got deeper, causing Nathan to frown. It wasn't a common expression people used when seeing Haley. In fact, he wondered up until now if Haley did anything other than make people smile when they saw her. This man was her brother?

"Come in, come in..." Haley stepped in front of Nathan to open the door wider, nervously casting her eye back at him, presumably to ask permission to allow this man into Nathan's home. Nathan just shrugged and walked off to give them space. He was hardly in a position to stop Haley from seeing her own brother, no matter how grumpy the guy seemed to be. He wasn't sure if it was curiosity or hunch, though that had him stopping out of sight, but within earshot, as the siblings moved into the lounge.

"It's so good to see you, Drew." Haley gushed. "How are you? How are the kids?"

"I've spoken to Vivian." Haley's brother's voice even sounded gruff, and Nathan couldn't get the disgruntled teacher image out of his mind. "This nonsense has got to stop, Haley."

Haley was clearly as thrown by her brother's response as Nathan was. "What ... what do you mean?"

"You were asked to start clearing out Mom and Dad's house, and here you are, living it up in some mansion with some NBA has-been." The words made the frown on Nathan's face deepen to a scowl. "I don't have time for this, Haley."

"I'm not ... I mean..." Haley sounded helpless. "What did Vivian say to you?"

"That even though you lost your job and have no income at the moment, you want to buy Mom and Dad's house... but you can't possibly live there right now and do what you were asked to do, because, no, that would be far too difficult for little Haley to do. Haley, when are you going to stop forcing yourself onto the God-damned Scott family and pay attention to your own flesh and blood?"

"Drew..."

"You're behaving like a child, Haley. I don't have time to traipse around the country to collect my flaky sister. I'm not your father."

Nathan had never met Haley's dad before, but something told him that he was nothing like the man that was berating Haley in his living room.

"You're right, you're not Dad," Haley emphasized, angrily. "And I didn't ask you to come to collect me! I told Viv that I just needed some space and some time away from the house. It's too much, being there right now... Stop treating me like... like I'm Taylor or something!"

Haley's voice cracked and Nathan felt a weight in his stomach. Even though he couldn't see her, he could hear the tears in her voice, and it physically hurt him.

"No, you're not Taylor... because even she understands how we all benefit from selling the house. And you're the only one, with nothing better to do, who can help clear it out so we can get it on the market as soon as possible. Some of us, Haley, can't live off other people to survive. Some of us are in the real world where we have mortgages to pay and mouths to feed and have to work for an income to provide for all that."

Nathan was fuming as he stood silently beside the doorway, fists clenched.

"You're making a fool of yourself, Haley. And of this family. It's one thing to throw away a perfectly decent and respectable career, but live off some basketballer like you're his whore..."

"That's enough!"

Nathan didn't even feel his feet propel him forward and into the room. The thundering in his ears as his blood swirled was deafening. He mind cleared enough to take in Haley's wide, frightened brown eyes and the shocked face of her brother next to her.

"You don't get to come into my house and talk to her that way," Nathan raged. "Get. Out."

"Nathan..."

Haley's voice was alarmed, but Nathan ignored her as his anger and his clenched right fist propelled Drew towards the door and out of the house. Nathan followed, slamming the door behind him and walking forward until he was less than a foot away from the other man cowering beside the rented sports car that sat in the drive. He wished there was a wall he could push Haley's brother against, but his obvious fitness and strength, as well as his height, seemed to be doing an effective job of physically intimidating the older man.

"Who the hell do you think you are? Talking to Haley like that? She's your sister."

"I..." The arrogance and confidence of Haley's brother appeared to have seeped away at the sight of Nathan's rage.

"Do you think your parents raised you to talk to a woman like that? To call your sister a whore?! Fuck you, man," Nathan spat. "She's depressed, she just wants to feel safe and loved and her own fucking family treat her like shit."

Drew James opened his mouth to speak, but Nathan steam-rolled ahead. "If you can't provide for your own family, that's your own fucking fault. But don't blame Haley, you heartless, money-grubbing bastard... she's just trying to keep what's left of your parents' memory. She doesn't want to lose the house."

Nathan's breathing, harsh to his ears, filled the space between the two men.

"I just ... I just..." Drew stammered.

"Spit it out." Nathan stepped back a few paces, allowing his anger to simmer down as he realized that Haley probably wouldn't condone him beating the lights out of her oldest brother.

"I didn't want Haley to be burden on you..."

"Haley could never be a burden on anyone," Nathan shot back. "All you're concerned about is money, not about your sister. That's pathetic."

"I'm, I'm sorry... things are tough, man..." It gave Nathan little pleasure to see how dramatically contrite the other man was now being, given what an asshole he had been to Haley before Nathan's fist had been in his face. "I just thought ... Mom and Dad... they'd want to help... selling the house..." Drew trailed off, helplessly.

Nathan stared into the man's brown eyes, the same shade as Haley's but otherwise the complete opposite of the kindness and warmth that resided in his sister's. A vision flashed in Nathan's mind - the former tutor and her old student, sitting under the setting stars a week ago on Haley's birthday, the look on her face before he stood up to leave. It was that look that unhinged his mouth open before his brain could think of anything else.

"I'll buy the house."

"You'll ... what?"

"I'll buy the house," Nathan repeated, with more conviction as the idea cemented itself in his brain.

Drew's beady eyes narrowed with uncertainty. "How much?" he challenged.

Nathan named a price. Significantly more than the house was worth, he was certain, especially when he saw how bright the greedy eyes of Haley's brother shone at the amount.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. But on two conditions."

Drew's body cringed, like a child asked to share his favorite toy. "What's that?"

"You're going to get into that ridiculous rental of yours and get the hell out of here. Then you're going to call Haley and apologize and beg for her forgiveness as if your life depended on it. She's going to forgive you, because that's who she is - always giving the least-deserving scum a second chance."

"And the second condition?"

"You're not going to tell her that I bought the house. You're going to tell her not to worry about it and that she can have all the time she needs."

The beady eyes narrowed. "What do you get out of this?"

"I get to do something that will actually help Haley."

The two men watched each other warily, waiting for the next move. A small voice in Nathan's head told him that Haley would probably be mad at him for the gesture, but he quietened it, telling himself that he was just buying Haley some time. Time had no price value, right?

"Deal," Drew stuck out a pudgy hand and Nathan shook it, immediately wiping the residue of sweat off on his shorts with a shudder.

"Now, get out of here. My lawyer will call you to sort out the house stuff - after I hear that Haley has forgiven you and is happy again."

Drew moved into the car at a speed that Nathan surmised he hadn't used before. He watched it retreat down the driveway, before he turned back towards his house. He had a feeling in deep in his stomach, that feeling like he was falling.

He just didn't know what he was falling into.

Haley's vision was blurred as she tossed her clothes into the small bag she had brought with her from Tree Hill. As quickly as the tears overflowed and dripped down her cheeks, her eyes filled again. Her new COB jeans filled the top of the bag and she threw them back on the bed; her mind was whirring too fast to deal with having more clothes than she arrived with. She pried the plastic Cracker Jack bracelet off her wrist, the elastic band snagging against the edge of her fingernail as she placed it on the bed, with more care than the jeans. It was a symbol of hope that she no longer had.

"What's going on here?"

Nathan's voice was deep and confused. Haley turned, the movement causing a fresh sheet of tears to spill over, to see Nathan leaning against her doorframe with a frown on his face.

"I have to leave ... I can't stay here, I can't keep..."

"You can't keep what?" Nathan prompted.

"I can't keep burdening you with my mess of a family... you didn't ask for this - for me, to have Quinn hanging around, my brother turning up... I just... I saw the look on your face, when I had finally caught on about Daytona. You need your life back Nathan and I need to get out of your way. I have to go."

Haley pressed the back of her hand to her nose to stem the unattractive flow, as she closed her eyes in an attempt at composure. She just wanted everything to stop, to rewind to last week to sitting on Nathan's back porch, or to last year before her father had staggered to the dusty ground of the local hardware store.

"I never said you were a burden."

Haley just shook her head, her mind so convinced of Nathan's feelings that she wouldn't hear otherwise. "Did you hit my brother?"

"No," Nathan confessed, stepping further into the room. "I wanted to, believe me. But I thought you'd be mad if I did... you know, in high school I always thought that it was pretty sad that you wanted Lucas as your big brother, but now I get it. Your actual big brother is a -"

"Nathan!" Haley admonished him, a preemptive strike that cut off the adjective that he had been about to say. "Drew is my brother!"

"He called you a whore!"

Haley felt the air escape her body in a huff. She sat on the edge of the bed and gripped her head in her hands, squeezing tight as if it would make everything go away. After several deep breaths, she lifted her head. Nathan was still standing a few feet away, watching.

"What did you say to him?"

Nathan's voice was matter-of-fact when he replied, "I told him that he couldn't come here and speak to you like that ... that he couldn't speak to anyone like that. And I told him to leave and call you when he's ready to apologize."

"Is that all you said?"

Nathan's eyes shifted around the room. "More or less..."

"Nathan..."

"Look, Haley, I don't care if he's your brother. No one gets to come here and upset you."

Haley's body shuddered with fresh tears, as if demonstrating how unsuccessful his statement was.

"Haley, you could never be a burden on anyone," Nathan stated, and Haley was unaware that he had spoken the same words to her older brother just minutes before. "I like having you here. I'm sorry if I made you feel like I didn't, but that's not the case. Look, I'm sorry if I've been more ... distant... this past week, but that will change." She felt the mattress underneath her dip as Nathan settled next to her. "It's got nothing to do with Daytona or ... or anyone. I don't know what else to say to convince you that you don't have to leave, that I don't want you to."

Haley sniffed violently, raising her hand to wipe at her face before dropping it back to her lap. Seconds later, she felt the rough pads of Nathan's fingers on her wrist. She saw that he was holding her discarded bracelet in his other hand, poised at her fingers of the hand he was holding

"I promise you, Haley, I will always be there for you. I will always protect you." Nathan's voice, filled with such determined conviction, caused Haley to raise her wet eyes to him.

"I will always protect you."

Haley swallowed down the tight restriction that had swollen her throat, unable to stop staring. Nathan was watching her as if the intensity of his stare could influence her mind, could force her to calm down and believe everything would be ok. She nodded, her eyes like a deer's in the headlights of his aquamarine beam, and felt the cool brush of plastic as Nathan slipped the Cracker Jack bracelet over her fingers and back onto her wrist where it belonged.