A/N: Hello all! This chapter is a little shorter than normal, but the next chapter will be better, I hope. For those who celebrate, I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! As always, thank you for all your love and support! Hope you all enjoy chapter 21!
Chapter 21
"He's in the hospital" Those words kept repeating in her head over and over again. It couldn't be him. They were supposed to work things out. Everyone said things would be okay. They were going to be fine. God, she never should have left his apartment. She should have gone after him when he stormed out. All possibilities and questions were racing through her mind at lightning speed, she couldn't keep up. She didn't know anything. The outcomes were endless, but the one thing that kept repeating in her head was that it couldn't be him.
Haley looked out the window to hold back her tears. He had to be okay. He just had to be. She didn't even get to say goodbye. She had lost so much already, she couldn't lose him too.
As if she knew what her friend was thinking, Brooke reached over and grabbed Haley's hand and give it a light squeeze. "He's going to be okay, buddy."
Haley wanted to scream. How did she know that?! She didn't. No one did. No one knew anything about the accident. And it was rapidly eating her alive. Nathan could be dying, and it was all her fault. She let him walk away angry because of something stupid that she did. She wanted to scream, but she honestly didn't have the strength for it. All her energy and focus were on Nathan. She honestly didn't know if she could find the strength to do anything if he didn't make it through this.
Moving her gaze over to the man driving the vehicle, Haley asked slightly above a whisper, "How much longer?"
"Another 5 minutes." Lucas said as he pressed his foot on the accelerator a little harder.
The last ten minutes in the car had felt like ten years. The possibilities ran through her head, each one worse than the last, and she couldn't do this much longer. She just needed to see him. To hold his hand. To look at those breathtaking blue eyes and let the world fade away. The last time she looked into those eyes, they were darker and colder. If that was the last look she got of them, she could not live with herself. God, he had to be okay. He just had to.
As the car pulled into the parking lot, Lucas pulled up to the front doors and let Haley out. The young girl ran straight for the desk and said frantically, "My name is Haley James, and my boyfriend Nathan Scott was brought in. Can you please tell me what room he is in?"
The nurse looked at her chart and nodded her head, "Yes, Nathan Scott is here, but unless you are family, I cannot let you into see him."
Haley felt her world stop turning. No, she had to see him. He needed her. She needed him. She looked the nurse in the eyes with a pleading face, "Please, I'm his girlfriend. Is there any way I can see him?"
"I understand and I'm sorry but unless you are a blood relative, I can't let you in the room."
Haley's heart shattered. This isn't fair. He doesn't have anyone else. Don't they understand that?! "There's nothing I can do?"
The woman looked up from the computer screen, "Unless I get permission from a family member, I can't let you see Mr. Scott."
Haley's eyes welled with tears as she murmured a "thank you" and collapsed into a chair in the waiting room. She placed her head in her hands and cried. It was like the world was trying to keep them apart, all the odds were against them. His parents probably didn't even know, and even if they did, they hated her. She was at a loss. She knew that Nathan hated his parents and he would be pissed if he found out she called them, but it was her only hope. Maybe, just maybe, they would let her see him. And if not, at least someone would be with him and could tell her what was going on. She knew nothing about his condition, his state, if he was stable, nothing. The thought alone made more tears roll down her face.
"I'm sorry, Nathan…but I don't know what else to do." Haley whispered as she whipped out her phone and dialed Dan's number.
Her legs were bouncing up and down as her fingers pressed the numbers. She placed her hand on her knee to steady herself as the dial tone started. For a spilt second, she hoped it would go straight to voicemail. She always got nerves when it came to Dan Scott, but this was what she had to do. Not for her, but her Nathan. She couldn't bear the thought of him being in there alone. He needed someone, if not her, then someone. He was in the dark, alone, and she couldn't be there to hold his hand. He deserved better than that. She heard the dial twice before a man answered, "Dan Scott."
Taking a deep breath, Haley said, "Mr. Scott, this is Haley, Nathan's girlfriend."
She could feel the eye roll as he spoke, "Is this important? I have things to do."
Haley thought about how to break the news to him as nice as possible. It soon came to her that this wasn't about him. This was about Nathan and that he was alone. "Mr. Scott, Nathan got into an accident tonight and is in the hospital and I-"
She was cut off when the man replied with, "What hospital is he at?"
Haley didn't even pay attention to what hospital they drove to, as she was too consumed in her thoughts about her boyfriend. She looked around and found a big sign hanging in the front. "Umm the Duke University Hospital but Mr. Scott, I-"
"I'll be there late tonight."
Haley sat up as she tried to ask once again, "Mr. Scott, I nee-"
"What doctor is tending to him?"
At this point, Haley was getting aggravated. He wasn't even listening to her. He was only hearing what he wanted to hear. He didn't even realize that she was doing all that she could. "I don't know."
"How can you not know? Some girlfriend you are, not even knowing if my son is taken proper care of. I shou-"
Now she was done. He didn't have the right to accuse her of things that weren't true. She was trying to be the best for Nathan but there were things he didn't know. "Mr. Scott!" Haley yelled as he stopped talking, "I don't know because they won't let me in to see him because I'm not family."
"Oh."
She could practically hear him smiling, but she had to ignore that. She needed to focus on what is important, for Nathan. And as much as she hated begging, she felt it was her only option. "I need your permission to get into his room."
"Mmm if they only allow family in there, it must be for good reason."
Haley could feel the tears rolling down her face, "Please, Mr. Scott. I'm begging you. I can't stand sitting here knowing he's alone."
"Well, I'll be there soon, so he won't be alone."
Haley was getting disparate. She knew Dan Scott was ruthless, but she didn't realize just how heartless he could be. "Mr. Scott, please. Once you get here, I'll give you all the time you want with him, but until then, he needs someone. Please…don't leave him alone like this."
"He won't be alone for long. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to hang up, so I can get to my son faster."
Not even saying bye, Haley hang up the phone and cried in her seat. This was literally her worst nightmare. Why did his father have to be such a dick? Nathan didn't deserve that. He was the best thing in her life that it was hard to believe where he came from on some days. She was going crazy just sitting here, waiting, wondering, wanting someone to tell her something, anything. She just needed to hear the words that he was alive, and it would make her feel so much better.
"Haley?"
The blonde-haired girl looked up to see Brooke and Lucas walking towards her.
Brooke continued to say, "What are you doing out here? Why aren't you with Nathan?"
Haley sniffed back some tears to say, "They won't let me see him because I'm not blood related."
"Are you serious?" Brooke questioned.
Haley nodded as she fought back more tears. "I even called Dan to beg him to let me see Nathan and all I got was the normal dick he always is and more drama because he's coming down here."
Lucas shook his head and asked, "Wait, why did you call Dan?"
"They said they could only let me in if I got permission from a family member, so I called Dan to see if he had a small piece of heart. Apparently not."
Haley threw her head back in her hands as she cried, "God, what am I going to do? I just want someone to tell me that he's okay."
Lucas stood up as he said, "Did they say it had to be his parent's permission?"
Haley looked up at Lucas and shook her head. "No, why?"
"He's my brother, Haley. I'll give my permission."
Haley stood up so fast, she swore she got dizzy. In the mist of all adrenaline, Haley had forgotten that Nathan and Lucas were brothers. "Oh, Lucas, really?!"
He nodded, "Of course."
She through her arms around his neck and hugged him tight, "Thank you so much!"
"Come on." He nudged as he led them over to the desk.
The same woman that spoke to Haley looked up and said, "Can I help you?"
"Hi, my name is Lucas Scott and my brother Nathan Scott is here."
She didn't even look down and she replied with, "Yes, sir."
"I want to give Haley James permission to see him."
The lady eyed them down before asking, "Can I see some ID?"
The Scott man pulled out his wallet and handed the women his license. "Alright. He's in room 233."
"Thank you so much." Haley said as she sprinted down the hallway to the elevator.
As she waited for the machine, she could feel all the worry come back as she worried about what had happened. What he looked like? If he was awake? If he could hear her? All the possibilities started filling her head again as she became nervous. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of his door. She took a deep breath before opening it and walking in.
When she saw him, all the tears immediately filled her eyes again. She raced to his side as she grabbed his hand and collapsed it with her smaller one. His face was bruised all over, he had machines hooked everywhere it was hard to locate them all. The thing she noticed the most was the blood stains on his hospital gown. Her heartrate sped up and the tears spilled faster and faster down her cheeks.
What happened? What were his risks? His chances? It occurred to her once again that she still had no idea what happened to the man in the bed.
Her thoughts were interrupted when a man walked in the room. "Hi, I'm Dr. Alexander. Who are you?"
Haley stood up, not letting go of Nathan's hand to introduce herself. "I'm Haley James, Nathan's girlfriend."
The man flipped through the charts as he said, "You got permission from a family member to see him?"
Haley nodded before she asked, "Can you tell me what happened?"
The man placed the chart under his arm as he looked the young girl in the eyes. "Nathan was involved in a car accident. He has broken ribs, internal bleeding, a good deal of bruising all over."
Haley looked at Nathan again before glancing back at the older man to ask, "Is he going to be okay?"
"From what I can see, he's going to be fine, although I would like to do surgery to stop the bleeding."
Haley nodded, "Okay, then do it."
The man nodded, "I came in here to check on him one more time before wheeling him away. You're lucky you got here in time to see him before then."
Haley kept her gaze on Nathan as she asked, "How long will the surgery last?"
The man shrugged his shoulders, "Probably a couple hours. It's different with every patient, but Nathan is strong, there's nothing to worry about. I'll come get you in the waiting room when I'm finished."
Haley nodded, "Thank you."
"I'm going to get the nurses to wheel him out."
Haley nodded and waited for the man to leave. When she and Nathan were alone again, she placed her head on his shoulder as she cried, "You have to be strong now, Nathan. I know you can do this, so just don't make anyone worry, okay? I'll be here when you get back, okay? I'm not going anywhere."
The nurses came in and started to prep the man and pry Haley away. The woman leaned up and whispered, "I love you." Before kissing his check and letting them roll him away.
Haley took a deep breath as she watched her boyfriend be rolled down the hallway. He had to make it. They still had so many things to do together. They were planning a trip with Lucas and Brooke to Florida for spring break. They had memories to make and futures to build. He was the first person she fell in love with. He was the first person she thought about in the morning and the last thing she thought about before she went to sleep. He was her life. As she watched him turn the corner, it was like all of her strength and energy went with him. She wouldn't be able to do anything until she knew he was going to be okay. He had to make it. He just had to.