A/N: On here it seems to say that it has more words than the file I uploaded actually does, which is strange. Let me know if it shows up strange somehow
Lately, Ch. 28
Haley broke down into tears as she collapsed on her bed. Lucas continued to pound on the door, and so she put on her stereo to block the sound of his yelling and pleading.
Lucas heard the music switch on, and announced, "Okay, you leave me no choice!" He turned so his shoulder was against the door and backed up and slammed into it once, and then again. Hearing the slams, Haley turned off her stereo and shouted, "Okay, stop it Lucas! I'm opening the door- God!" The pounding subsided as Lucas waited for the door to open.
Wiping her tears, Haley opened the door to face him, "Someone's going to complain about the noise if you don't keep it down!" she hissed, one arm still holding her door open.
"I'm not going to walk away from this, Haley. I refuse to walk away from us." Lucas answered.
"Why do you keep saying that? 'Us'! There is no us, Luke. We had a good time while it lasted- sex between friends- it's not a new concept."
"Just stop it! That's not all this is and you know it. Sex isn't the only thing that we have with each other, and we both know it." Lucas insisted, and Haley laughed bitterly.
"Well, I guess it's something you also have with whoever the girl was last night." she shot back at him, "Obviously, since we never really discussed any kind of commitment, you didn't feel the need to turn her down."
Lucas tried to grab Haley's hands, but she pulled back, "We both knew what we were getting into when we made love," he said.
"Don't! Don't try to get sentimental with me-"
"That's what it was, Haley. We made love- we have something so amazing… don't ignore it." he pleaded.
"Why are you doing this?" Haley asked, her voice breaking and tears streaming down her cheeks. Lucas reached up to her cheeks with his hands to wipe her tears with his thumbs. Haley's hands reached up to prevent this, but he held on, her fingers gripping his.
"You know you feel the same way. We have this connection, Hales- something that no one else has with us- I'm not giving it up."
"You already did."
"You are the most important thing in my life. You're my other half… the other half of my heart, my soul, my life." he said, continuing to talk even as Haley cried.
"I can't do this, Luke- I can't!" she closed her eyes, her hands wrapped around his wrists.
"When I kiss you- God, Haley, when I touch you- I'm home. You're my home." his voice broke and now he was crying, too.
He let her go and she sat on her bed, unable to stand. He knelt in front of her, still talking, "That girl that was here last night. She lives on the first floor. Her boyfriend was arguing with her when I came back from my drinks with the guys. I could hear them from the hallway by the elevator. I went to the door… she opened it, screaming and crying- her clothes were ripped." he paused. Haley watched him, waiting for him to continue.
"The guy tried to pull her back in. I stepped forward, trying to stop him. He started swinging, grabbing at me. He ripped my shirt- I managed to get her away from him- he was too drunk to follow us. By then the police had shown up. Someone had obviously called but no one had gone over to help. The guy was arrested, and Mindy- she was so shaken up, I took her over to the apartment to calm down while she waited for her mother to pick her up. She changed into my shirt because she was such a mess. That's all that happened, I swear it." he finished, looking up at her.
Haley closed her eyes, feeling foolish and horrible, "I'm sorry." she said in a small voice, her hand covering her mouth.
"I am so sorry that I hurt you- I know what it looked like when you walked in, but you left so quickly, I didn't have time to explain." he apologized, and Haley shook her head, "You don't have to say you're sorry. You didn't do anything wrong."
"I saw your face, Haley, and it killed me. I would never do something like that to you- ever." he swore.
Haley swallowed, "This is all so crazy-"
"But now you know the truth," he said, his hands taking hers again. Haley said nothing for a moment, "Maybe this is just a sign… maybe it's not the right time-" she said haltingly.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I walk in and just jump to the conclusion that… It was all so much simpler when we were just friends. Maybe-"
"No, Haley." Lucas already knew what she was going to say.
"Maybe we should just put a hold on all of this. Get our heads together."
"Haley, we can't go back- things have already changed-"
"Luke, these feelings… they scare me. They're happening so fast-"
"I know, but we can't stop it- we can't rewind and go back to the way things were. Haley, God, when I look at you- I want you. I look at you, and I want to kiss you- touch you. Please…Just tell me what you need. I just need to know that we can do this." He pleaded, and leaned forward to kiss her. This kiss was desperate and powerful, and Haley felt herself falling into it.
She clung to him, and almost as suddenly, pulled away, "What do we do, Luke?"
"I won't let us give this up, Haley. This is everything- you are everything. Just looking at you- my heart is- God, Haley, I love you so much." He kissed her face, tasting her tears, mixing her with his own.
