Back for another update. I just want to apologize when you get to the part where there's a song. I kept trying to format it better, so it would be easier to read. But for some reason, it kept putting it back to how it was before. But, anyway, the song is I Never Told You by Colbie Caillat. Happy reading.
Haley had effectively locked herself in the guest bedroom. The house was completely silent. She looked over to the clock and saw it read 12:45 PM. She sighed before turning her head back to the ceiling. She briefly wondered if Nathan was still in bed. She's been up since around five in the morning. She hasn't heard his bedroom door open at all. In fact, she hasn't heard a single sound all morning except for her quiet, labored breathing. She needed to get out of the bed, but she could not seem to find the strength to do so. Instead, she decided that it was better to get some much needed rest-or to hide out. A beep sounded causing Haley to break out of her thoughts. She reached for her cellphone on the nightstand. She looked and saw a text message from Mark. She hesitated before opening it.
Haley, I took my stuff, and I'm all moved out of your house. I still think there's a chance for us in the future, but for now, I will respect your decision. I'm sorry, and I love you.
-Mark
She felt a wave of relief pass through her body. That message was just what she needed right now. She found the strength and climbed out of the bed. She was just about to walk out of the bedroom when she realized she was still in her outfit from the previous night. 'Yeah, this is probably not such a good idea.' She thought to herself before quickly finding some pajama pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt. She opened the door and headed to the kitchen. She made some coffee and searched for something to eat. She stopped her movements when she heard the faint sound of a door closing. She took a deep breath and turned around just in time to see Nathan coming into the kitchen. "Hey." She greeted timidly.
"Hey." He greeted in the same manner. An awkward silence fell over them. Haley noticed him looking anywhere but at her. It wasn't long before he took a step and headed to the cabinet and pulled out a coffee mug. "Nathan, I'm sorry about last night." She said quietly.
"It's cool. Like you said, it was a mistake, right." He said. She definitely noticed the slight edge to his tone.
"Right." She said with uncertainty. "Nathan, I, umm..." She stammered.
"You what, Haley?" He asked raising his voice a bit. He wasn't intending to sound harsh, but he wasn't in the mood to deal with this right now. He knew he caught Haley off gaurd by the look on her face. "I'm moving back home today, Nathan." She revealed. Now it was Nathan who was caught off gaurd. "Why?" He managed to ask.
"Mark's gone. So, I can go home. That was the agreement, right?" She said. She waited for Nathan to respond, but instead, he said nothing. He just stared at her with a look she couldn't decipher. "I'm going to go get my stuff together. I'll be out of here by tonight. Thanks for doing this for me, Nathan. I really appreciate it more than I can say. Now, you can get back to your normal life." She said with a small laugh. Still, Nathan said nothing. "Okay, well, I'm gonna go start packing." She stated making her way out of the kitchen.
"You're running away." Nathan finally spoke ceasing her movements.
"I'm sorry, what?" She asked turning back to face him.
"You're running away. You're running away from me and what happened last night. You're running away from everything that's been happening between us since you came back to Tree Hill." He said.
"I'm not running from anything, Nathan. We made an agreement. It's time for me to move back home." She said.
"God, Haley! Will you quit lying to me and to yourself?" He said exasperated.
"I'm not, I..."
"Yes, you are!" He cut her off. "You still feel something for me, Haley. I know you do, because I can feel it. And I can feel it because I still feel something for you. I can't hide away from it anymore. What happened between us last night, Haley, I wanted it. I wasn't going to stop, because I wanted you. I have wanted you since I was sixteen. It hasn't went away. I know what I want. You need to figure out what the hell you want." He said.
"What do you want me to say, Nathan? Of course, I still feel something for you. But Nathan, I did move on. You will always have a piece of my heart, but I can't...I fell in love with someone else. And even though, I'm over him, I'm not over the situation. Mark and I were together for a long time, and I'm still dealing with what happened between us. I'm not ready to deal with you and me. I'm a mess right now, and my emotions are all over the place. I'm confused about what I'm feeling for you and what I'm feeling for Mark. You want the truth-I don't know, okay. I don't know what I want. You're right about last night-it wasn't a mistake. I'm not going to cheapen it and say it meant nothing. But, I don't know what it meant for me. I don't know what I'm feeling." She cried.
"I'm tired of this, Haley. And if you don't know what you're feeling, maybe that's the answer. Maybe you really don't want me...don't want us anymore. But I need to know, because I can't keep putting my life on hold because of you. I need to move on. Do you still want us?" He asked and waited for an answer. She remained silent. "Do you?" He yelled. She jumped back as her tears fell harder. "I guess, I have my answer." He said defeated before hastily leaving the kitchen. She stood there silently still crying. She heard his bedroom door slam shut followed by the front door. It wasn't long before she sunk to the floor and just cried.
Nathan drove around for what seemed like hours. He didn't know where he was going. He didn't know how long he'd been gone. He just drove. He needed an escape. He needed to be away from Haley. He stopped his SUV and gripped the steering wheel hard-so hard hs knuckles were almost bleeding. He looked up and noticed he was sitting in Lucas' driveway. He stepped out of the vehicle and made his way up the walkway. He knocked and waited a few moments before the door swung open. "Hey, Nathan. What brings you over?" Lucas greeted.
"I just needed to get out of the house." He stated somberly. Lucas noticed the look on his brother's face. He nodded and stepped aside to let him pass through. "Is Lindsey home?" Nathan asked as the two headed into the living room.
"No, she's going over wedding details with my mom." Lucas answered. "So, what's going on, Nate?" He asked as they sat down on the couch.
"Haley." Nathan simply said.
"Uh oh. What happened?" Lucas questioned. Nathan proceeded to tell him everything that happened starting with the night before up until this afternoon. "Wow." Lucas stated.
"Wow? That's all you have to say to me." Nathan said incredulously.
"I'm sorry, Nate." Lucas said.
"I don't know what to do." Nathan confessed.
"Okay, I completely understand your side to all of this." Lucas said.
"But..." Nathan said.
"But try looking at it from Haley's side for a moment. Nate, she just got out of a year long relationship which didn't end on the best of terms. I believe she still has feelings for you. But she's probably terrified of taking that chance and jumping into another relationship so soon-even if it's with you. I don't think she's ready to make any serious decisions right now." Lucas said softly.
"You have a point. I'm just tired of waiting, Luke. I've been waiting for six years. I want her. I love her." Nathan said.
"Nathan, have you told Haley that?" Lucas asked.
"Have you not listened to me? I told her I want her this..."
"No. Have you told Haley that you love her?" Lucas clearified.
"She knows, Luke." Nathan stated.
"Maybe, but maybe she wants to hear it." Lucas said.
Nathan returned home a little after seven. He noticed all the lights off. He headed straight to the guest bedroom and flipped on the light. He already knew what he'd find there, but he was still hopeful. He sighed when he saw the bed neatly made and all of Haley's clothes and stuff gone. He headed to his bedroom to take a relaxing shower and wash this day away from him. He noticed a folded piece of paper on his nightstand. He picked it up and began reading.
Dear Nathan,
Thank you so much for allowing me to stay here. I am so grateful for you. I'm sorry about last night. I never wanted it to end the way it did. And I'm sorry about today. I'm sorry for not being able to give you the answer you wanted and deserved. I wish I had the answer myself. I don't know what more to say other than I'm so sorry. Thanks again for letting me stay with you this passed week.
Love,
Haley
Nathan folded up the paper and set it right back down on his nightstand. He sighed before heading into his bathroom and shutting the door behind him.
The rest of the week flew by quickly. It was now Friday, and everyone was getting together at Tric. Haley walked into the club nervously. She hadn't seen Nathan or anyone else really, except Rachel, since the previous week. She scanned the club and saw all of her friends. She made her way over to the table and greeted everyone. She couldn't help but notice the way Nathan quickly walked over to the bar. She made some small talk before announcing she was going to get a drink. She stood right beside Nathan at the bar and ordered a drink. It was amazing how loud and booming the club was, yet there was a silance that hung over the two of them. "How have you been?" Nathan asked hesitantly.
"I've been good. You?" She asked.
"Good." He answered.
"That's good." She said lamely as the silence reappeared. Nathan watched her movements. She was looking everywhere but at him. His eyes traveled down her body. She was wearing a dark pair of nice fitting jeans. She had it paired with a simply light pink v-neck sweater. Her hair was left down with just a slight curl to it. She was beautiful. That was what he loved most about her. She didn't need to get all dressed up with lots of makeup and jewelry. She was a simple girl with a simple look. And that's what appealed to him the most in terms of his attraction towards her. "You look beautiful, Haley." He stated.
"Thank you, Nathan." She said softly tilting her head down staring at the bar counter. He smiled at the slight blush that covered her face.
"Haley, did you maybe want to go somewhere we could talk? Not fight-just talk." He asked as they both let out a small laugh. He really wanted to talk to her about everything. After his talk with Lucas, he realized maybe he was pushing her a little too fast. Maybe she really just wasn't ready.
"Yeah, Nathan, I would really like that." She answered. Nathan stood up from the bar stool and the two were about to walk away to somewhere more private, Peyton interrupted. "Hey, Hales, I need you for something." She said before walking away. Haley sent Nathan an apologetic look before disappearing into the crowd. Nathan sighed before making his way back to their friends.
A half hour later, Nathan looked around for any sign of Haley or Peyton. Neither of them had returned since taking off earlier. Just then, he noticed Peyton making her way to the stage after the band finished. He focused his attention to what she was going to say. "Hey, everbody. Well, we have a new performer singing tonight. She's not really new, but she hasn't sang here in longer than six years. We were hanging out the other day, and I asked her to sing tonight. She was hesitant but agreed. So, everyone please help me in welcoming Haley James to the stage." She exclaimed as Haley appeared on the stage. She was nervous. Nathan could tell by her whole demeanor. He watched as the two girls hugged quickly before Peyton stepped off of the stage. Haley sat down on the stool on the stage. "Hi, everyone. Umm, I'm kind of nervous to be here again singing. It's been awhile. I wrote this song a few months after I moved back to Tree Hill." She said before the music began to play.
I miss those blue eyes How you kiss me at night I miss the way we sleep
Like there's no sunrise Like the taste of your smile I miss the way we breathe
But I never told you What I should have said No, I never told you I just held it in
And now, I miss everything about you Can't believe that I still want you And after all the things we've been through I miss everything about you Without you
I see your blue eyes Everytime I close mine You make it hard to see Where I belong to When I'm not around you It's like I'm alone with me
But I never told you What I should have said No, I never told you I just held it in
And now, I miss everything about you Can't believe that I still want you And after all the things we've been through I miss everything about you Without you
But I never told you What I should have said No, I never told you I just held it in
And now, I miss everything about you Can't believe that I still want you And after all the things we've been through I miss everything about you Without you
The music stopped and she looked up to catch Nathan's gaze. The two stared at one another before she muttered out a quiet thank you before walking off of the stage.
Haley had just returned home from Tric. After she sang, she couldn't stay there anymore. She thanked Peyton before quickly making her way home. She set her stuff down and went to take a shower. She stopped when she heard a soft knock at her door. She opened it and saw Nathan on the other side. "Hi." He greeted.
"Hi." She returned quietly.
"I love you, Haley." He said not wasting another second. He stepped into her house shutting the door behind him. "I've loved you since I was sixteen. Even after everything we put each other through, I never stopped loving you. You are everything to me. I let you go six years ago, but you came back. And I've known what I've wanted since that day in the cafe when you came breezing through that door. I've wanted you. It's always been you, Haley. I've waited this long. I can wait a little longer for you to sort through whatever you are dealing with. It wasn't fair of me to throw all of that at you the other day. I know you are still dealing with Mark and everything else. I will give you time to figure out what you want. I just want you to know that I love you so much. I will never stop loving you." He said before turning to walk out the door.
"I love you." She said quietly stopping his movements. He turned around and looked at her. She walked until she was right in front of him. "I love you, Nathan. I never stopped-even when I was with Mark. My feelings for him weren't a lie, but I knew deep down, it was you. It's alway been you." She said looking into his eyes. He reached out and brushed away the tears that were rolling down her cheek. She closed her eyes before she opened them again and cupped his cheeks into her hands and brought him into a kiss. They broke apart and rested their foreheads against one another. "I love you so much, Haley." He whispered.
"I love you, too." She whispered back. They kissed each other once again. The kiss was slow but passionate and loving. It represented exactly what they were both feeling in that moment. Haley was slightly confused when Nathan pulled back breaking their kiss. "Go on a date with me, Haley." He ordered softly.
"I would love to." She responded quietly smiling. He kissed her once again before walking away. "Tomorrow night? I'll pick you up at six." He said making his way to the door.
"Okay, I'll be ready." She said quietly. He smiled before walking out the door completely. After the door was shut, Haley couldn't help the smile that overtook her face.
There you go. Hopefully, I will have another chapter up either Friday or Saturday. I have my nephew all day tomorrow, and he's in that stage where he wants your constant attention. So, I probably won't be able to do anything. But, hopefully on Friday or Saturday.