Chapter Twenty-Five: The Minor Fall, The Major Lift
Two days later, having finally decided that despite her perfect haven at home there were still others who needed her, Ryan left the apartment to see Haley.
Haley's new apartment was in a different neighborhood than were Jake and Ryan lived, but quite close to the neighborhood of enormous townhouses for the old moneyed that Brooke, Lucas, and Nathan lived in. Ryan was still not used to visiting her there, and thoroughly despised having to go.
Ryan was able to go directly up. It was not a fact she was consciously aware of, but as a Scott she had an all access pass to the city. She was Manhattan royalty. She could have owned it more, been married young to a millionare and installed herself in a townhouse of her own.
At one point, it had seemed inevitable.
"Haley?" she called cautiously for her sister-in-law into the gloom of her apartment. She glanced around dismissively. Pictures of Eve, Nina, Kade, Jamie and Brooke and Lucas' five adorned the wall, but it was if Nathan had never existed. She smiled as she saw a picture of herself, Haley and Brooke the time they'd all been pregnant, Haley with Kade and Brooke with Connor. They'd all been huge at the same times, gone into labour within weeks of each other.
"Haley?" she called again.
A figure appeared but it was not her petite sister. It was someone else entirely.
"Seamus?" she said in disbelief. Her eyes flicked to Haley, who entered a moment later.
"Hey Ryan. Congratulations," he said smoothly.
"Seriously, Haley?" said Ryan, ignoring him. Sensing tension, he left. "As if Jake wasn't bad enough."
"You seem to forget that I'm no longer married to your brother," said Haley, annoyance flickering.
"You're still in love with him," countered Ryan.
"Anyway, I'm not sleeping with Seamus, or with Jake. I'm still pure and as close to virginal as any mother of three can get," she said.
"Please, you and Nathan have gotten so much more than the rest of us in the last eight years," said Ryan. A flicker of humour ran through her blue eyes, and Haley relaxed.
"Looks like we're about to be blown out of the running though," she said.
"I hope so," said Ryan. "So what's the deal with Seamus?"
"He's crashing here, because he was worried about me. He's not still in love with me. Or you, if you happened to be wondering," said Haley. Ryan wrinkled her nose.
"God, I so wasn't. Does anyone know?" asked Ryan eagerly.
"No, and they're not going to. Nathan almost killed Jake when he found him here, I don't want Seamus to suffer a similar fate," she said.
"My big brother is such an asshole," said Ryan fondly.
"Completely. Heard from Brooke lately?" she asked.
"Not very. I hope she's just being paranoid. It's not like she's ever been the model wife, anyway," said Ryan disloyally.
"He wouldn't love her like he does if she was," said Haley.
"I was so surprised when he introduced her. I never thought he'd end up with someone like her," said Ryan frankly.
"You were surprised? God, I'm still surprised. Who wouldn't believed that Brooke Davis would get married at eighteen, have five kids by twenty-seven, and an almost affair with a loser almost musician?" asked Haley.
"She hasn't been Davis in like a million years," said Ryan.
"Yeah. And how much longer are you going to be a Scott, girlie? asked Haley teasingly.
"I'm not pushing it," she admitted.
"Really? Haven't you been enscribing your notebooks with "Jake + Ryan Luv 4ever" since you were like seventeen?" she asked.
"I was seventeen, he was in love with somebody else and I pretty much forgot until he started hanging with us all the time. In the middle of your great disappearing act," said Ryan.
"My disappearing act? I'm not the one who left in the middle of the night," said Haley resentfully.
"I wish I didn't want you with him, sweetie. Part of me doesn't wish him on any woman in the world."
"It's not any woman. It's only ever going to be me," said Haley, looking wistful and a touch resentful.
"Yeah. And for you, it's only ever going to be him," said Ryan.
"I'm twenty-seven. This kind of thing should be just starting," said Haley.
"Yeah, but Nathan's getting totally old," said Ryan. Haley smiled.
"You're making me feel old. I remember when I met you you seemed so young, and now you're embarking on your own happily ever after with my best friend and you're going to have another baby," said Haley.
"I conceived the night I heard about Peyton," said Ryan. Part of it seemed so shameful, but on the other hand so symbolic, so right.
"Oh, you guys too?" she asked.
"Seriously? You moved out like two days later," said Ryan in disbelief.
"Trust me, that night almost made me change my mind," she said.
"Damn."
"Have you explained any of this to Jamie?" asked Haley.
"She probably doesn't see much of a difference from what she's always known. And the idea of pregnancy doesn't hold much weight with three year olds," said Ryan.
"She'll get it when you get big. Mine all did," said Haley.
"This is so weird. Jamie was an experiment, but this one means I'm being an actual grownup," said Ryan.
"Please, my whole marriage to Nathan was an experiment..."