First of all…I AM SO SORRY for the delay in the update of this story. This was the busiest, most difficult semester ever!! And because of it, I had no time to write to get over the writer's block I have had with this story for so long. But thankfully, the semester is finally over and I finally had some time to sit down and write. And last night, I just started writing, and writing and I finally broke through my block! Woohoo!!! I cracked down an entire chapter last night!!! Granted, it is short, but it is a chapter nonetheless. And it continues from where chapter 16 left off. So here goes…let me know what you think!
Chapter 17: The Truth
"So how have you been feeling, Haley?"
Haley pulled herself up on the exam table while her doctor, Dr. Martin, washed her hands in the sink at the counter.
Haley sighed. "Tired…very, very tired. But that's to be expected, right?"
"Well, yes," Dr. Martin said as she dried her hands and reached for a pair of gloves from a box off of the wall. "But you still want to make sure you take it easy. You don't want to tire yourself out to the point of exhaustion. It's not healthy for you or the baby."
Haley nodded. "I know. And I am taking it easy. I've just been a little stressed lately."
Dr. Martin sat down on her stool near the exam table. "Is your husband still playing in Detroit?"
Haley nodded. "Yeah. He was just home for a short visit for Jamie's birthday, but the visit was so short it's almost like he wasn't home at all. I just miss him."
Dr. Martin motioned to Haley and the table. "Okay, go ahead and lie back."
Haley lied back on the table, and Dr. Martin began to gently assess Haley's abdomen. She continued the conversation while she measured the girth. After taking the measurements, Dr. Martin sat back down on her stool at the end of the table. She moved the ultrasound machine closer to the table.
"Have you had anymore morning sickness?" Dr. Martin asked as she prepared the transducer with gel.
"Um, a little," Haley answered. "But it hasn't really been too bad, thankfully. I think it was worse when I was pregnant with Jamie."
"Good. Okay, we're all set here for the ultrasound. Remember, this gel will be a little cold."
Haley pulled her gown up a little higher to expose her belly. Both she and the doctor were quiet for the next few minutes as Dr. Martin moved the transducer around Haley's belly, looking for a good picture and listening for the heartbeat.
"There we go," Dr. Martin said when she found a good picture. "Everything looks like it is right on track, moving right along toward November."
Haley smiled. "Good."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Brooke looked toward the door when she heard it open. Dr. Howard entered the room with her chart in his hands.
"Hello, Brooke," he greeted her with a smile.
"Hi, Dr. Howard," Brooke greeted in return, offering a short smile.
Dr. Howard sent the chart down on the counter and moved toward the sink to wash his hands.
"So you said you've been having some cramping?"
Brooke straightened up in her seat on top of the exam table. "Yeah," she answered. "A little. That's why I made the appointment today on short notice. I want to make sure that there isn't anything wrong."
"You did the right thing coming in." The doctor snapped on his gloves.
Brooke watched him, anxious.
"You don't think there's something wrong, do you?" She asked.
"Well, let's just take a look, okay? Go ahead and lie back, and try to relax."
Brooke did as her doctor said. A few minutes later, she and Dr. Howard were looking at the ultrasound screen.
"Everything looks normal, Brooke. The baby's weight, length…it all looks as it should at this stage. There doesn't appear to be any abnormalities at this point.
Dr. Howard fiddled with a few buttons and knobs on the machine. Brooke listened as she heard her baby's rapid heartbeat fill the room.
"And there's a good, strong heartbeat, see?" Dr. Howard looked over at Brooke and smiled.
"So the baby's okay?" Brooke asked, needing to hear the doctor say so himself.
"By the looks of things right now, yes. Everything is fine."
Brooke closed her eyes and sighed relief. The doctor removed his gloves and flipped on the lights. Brooke sat up on the table.
"So why was I cramping this morning?"
"Well, it could have been the baby moving, or—"
"—This early? I don't think I felt movement this early with last two pregnancies."
"Well, every pregnancy is different. But it may not have been movement either. Have you been under a lot of stress lately?"
Brooke glanced away. "You could say that."
She looked back up at the doctor. "My husband and I are getting a divorce."
Dr. Howard nodded slowly. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that. Having been through a divorce myself, I understand how stressful that can be. But I want you to try and take it easy, all right? Try and eliminate as much as stress as you can. And we'll continue to monitor you and the baby with monthly checkups."
Brooke nodded.
"Do you have any other questions or concerns?"
Brooke shook her head. "No. I, um…I think that is all for now. Thank you again for making the time for me today."
"Of course." The doctor grabbed the chart from the counter.
"I will see you in a few weeks then."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After scheduling her next appointment with her doctor, Haley left the doctor's office and headed toward the elevator. As she waited on the elevator for it to descend, she pulled out her cell and checked it again. There were no new messages from Nathan or anyone else. She stared at her phone for a moment, wondering whether she should call him back. She wanted to, but she was still unsure of what to say to him. And she really wasn't in the mood to argue with him or beg him to come home. So she slipped her phone back in her purse and decided she would talk to him later. Maybe.
As she stepped out onto the first floor, Haley caught sight of a familiar person.
"Brooke?"
Haley smiled when her friend turned and noticed her too.
"Hey, Hales," Brooke said with a smile as they walked toward one another.
"Hey yourself." Haley smiled as she leaned in for a hug. "What are you doing here?"
Brooke shrugged. "Well, I suppose I could ask you the same thing."
Haley smiled. She glanced at her feet before answering.
"Well, I guess I can't really hide it anymore." Haley smiled and touched a hand to her belly. "I'm pregnant. I just left a check up with my OB."
Brooke smiled. Surprised, she said, "Wow, congrats, Haley. I had no idea. Although, if I'd paid closer attention, I probably would have noticed that gorgeous baby bump that I see now. How far along are you?"
"Seventeen weeks."
"Wow, Hales…Does Nathan—"
"—Yeah, he does." Haley frowned a little. "I told him after his last visit home. I tried to tell him before he went back to Detroit, but…"
Haley felt tears beginning to form, though she wasn't sure why. Damn hormones, she thought.
Brooke touched her friend's arm. "Oh, Hales…don't cry. It's okay. You don't have to explain."
Haley shook her head and wiped the tears from her face.
"No. Actually, I really could use someone to talk to about this. But first…what's going on with you? This is the first I've seen or heard from you in over a week. Is everything okay?"
Brooke glanced away briefly. "Yeah…everything's fine. That's what the doctor just told me anyway." Brooke paused. "I'm pregnant, too. Thirteen weeks."
Haley looked surprised. "Wow…congratulations. I guess I had no idea either. Were you and Chase trying again?"
Brooke looked away again. When she looked back at Haley, there were tears in her eyes; and her voice was also week.
"Haley, I…"She shook her head. "Please don't judge me."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lucas stepped inside the kitchen through the backdoor.
"Hey, Mom," he greeted as he closed the door.
His mother was sitting at the table looking through her mail.
"Hi, honey," Karen said, glancing up at him with a smile. "Did you get Ellie home okay?"
"Yeah." Lucas sighed as he sat down in the empty chair across from his mother. "Where's Lily?"
"She's at a slumber party for one of the little girls from her class."
Lucas nodded. "Ah, so I guess you'll have the house to yourself then."
Karen looked up at him again.
"Are you going out again?"
"Yeah. I'm going to go look at a couple of potential apartments, and then I'm supposed to meet Brooke a little later on."
Karen stared at her son quietly for a minute.
"Lucas…" she spoke, glancing away briefly.
Lucas turned and looked at her.
Karen looked directly into her son's eyes as she spoke. She folded her hands on top of the table.
"I've been quiet about this for a couple of weeks now because I know that you were trying to sort things out with Peyton and with Ellie's recent check up. And you are a grown man now, so I have tried to sit back and avoid giving you any advice unless you asked for it. But…you've been sulking around here a lot lately, and you haven't been writing, and I'm worried about you."
Lucas reached over and touched his mother's hands. "Mom, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. But I promise that I'm really okay. I'm just…I'm still trying to figure things out."
"Figure things out…with Brooke, maybe?"
Lucas was quiet as he stared back at his mother.
"Did something happen between you two?" Karen asked him.
Lucas glanced away briefly. He pulled his hands away and looked back up at his mother.
"Brooke and I slept together, Mom." He paused as he sat back in his chair. "We slept together three months ago, and now she's pregnant."
Lucas looked back at his mother. She didn't look angry, but she didn't look happy, either. Instead, she looked as Lucas had expected. She looked disappointed.
"It was while Peyton and I were broken up," Lucas continued. "But it was still wrong. We both realize that. I mean, Brooke was still married. She is still married. It was wrong, what we did…"
Karen watched her son as he explained. She saw the feeling in his eyes as he spoke.
"But you don't regret it?" she asked.
Lucas considered the question for a moment. He looked back at Karen when he answered.
"I regret not using better judgment. When Brooke came to me, she was upset and vulnerable. And maybe I took advantage of that, but…it still meant something to me, Mom. She still means something to me. And I think, maybe…that's why I haven't been able to get closer to Peyton again."
Karen glanced down briefly. She leaned forward with her arms on the table.
"Have you told Brooke how you feel?"
Lucas shook his head. "No. She's, um…she's really confused right now. And she's trying to deal with Chase still. She filed for divorce, and Chase moved out, but…I don't know. We haven't really talked about it much. Like I said…she's still really confused right now."
Karen nodded. She stood up with her coffee mug then, and walked over to the counter. Lucas watched her, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"Is that all you're going to say?" He asked, watching as she poured another cup of coffee.
Karen turned and looked back at her son.
"Is there something more that you wanted me to say?"
"Well…I don't know. I guess I expected you to tell me how disappointed this makes you."
Karen sat back down across from her son.
"Lucas, you are my son, and you always will be. But you are also a man now, a father. You are responsible and make your own decisions now. When you were younger, it was my responsibility to teach you what the right choices were. Now that you are a grown up, it is my responsibility to support you. It's not my job to tell you what to do anymore. And from everything you've just told me, you don't need me to tell you what to do. You already know what the right and wrong decisions are. And that makes me proud of you, not disappointed."
Karen smiled and touched her son's cheek.
"I love you, Lucas."
Lucas returned the smile. " I love you too, Mom."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"It shouldn't have happened that way it did," Brooke said after she had explained to Haley what had happened between her and Chase, and her and Lucas. After running into each other at the doctor's office, Brooke and Haley walked across the street to a park bench.
"I was just so angry and so hurt by Chase, I didn't know where else to go. And Lucas…he was there for me. I just wasn't thinking."
Haley let the quiet set in for a moment before she spoke. "Brooke, you don't have to explain anything to me."
Brooke nodded. "I know. But I'm just so ashamed. I acted irresponsibly, and I hurt Chase. And in the process, I realize I hurt my daughter too because I slept with Lucas while I was married to her father."
"Well," Haley paused and leaned forward. "In all honesty, you don't deserve all the blame you're putting on yourself. Chase hurt you too. He acted irresponsibly too."
"Maybe, but he didn't sleep with that woman, at least he never admitted to sleeping with her. I, however, did sleep with Lucas."
"Yes, but it's not like you did it to get back at him."
"He thinks I did."
"Well, he should know you better than that."
Brooke looked over at Haley. "Why are you being so kind and nonjudgmental about this?"
"Well, because you're my friend and I love you. And because you asked me not to judge you."
Haley paused and looked away briefly. "And because I think there is a much bigger difference between what you did and what Chase did. I mean, besides the fact that you slept with Lucas."
"What's that?"
Haley started directly into her friend's eyes.
"Chase did what he did out of cowardice, and with someone that he barely new. But you…you went to a friend out of a need for comfort. You went to someone who you've known for years."
"That doesn't make what I did right, Haley."
"No, you're right, it doesn't. But I think there was more feeling in what you did."
Brooke shook her head. "I don't understand what you mean."
"Chase turned to someone he barely knew because he couldn't bring himself to connect with you again. He gave up on trying. From what you told me about what happened that night, it sounds like you were going to talk to Chase, to try and fix things between you two. And after you caught him, after he hurt you, you turned to someone that you knew…someone that you love; someone that you had feelings for."
Haley paused as she watched Brooke's face change, taking in what she was saying.
"And you still have feelings for him, don't you?"
Brooke glanced away as she pondered the question. Again. Haley was the second person to ask her that. Brooke found herself wondering, how was it that everyone else had figured out how she felt before she herself did?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There you have chapter 17. that is everything that I got cracked out in about 5 hours last night. I know it's not much, but it took me about an hour or so of staring at my notebook and rereading everything I had written before to figure out where I wanted to go next with this story. And I am just glad to finally have something to give you guys. I am going to keep working on this story during my nice month off from school. Hopefully, I will be able to give you at least one more update before school starts back up again. Until then, please review and let me know what you think. That is, if any of my readers are still interested in reading this. Lol. Thanks so much for all of your patience. I appreciate it very much!
-Maureen