A Guest reviewer asked about the length of the story: Initially, I wanted to make it two different stories (to cover junior/senior years), but I decided to merge it into one (although I'm working on them separately). At the moment, this first part of the tale (junior year) is 1000+ pages on Word. Eh, I'm rather ambitious about making it lengthy! By the time the entire story is done, it could have thrice as many chapters! I hope that doesn't make any of you weary…!
The antediluvian computer must date to the early years of the millennium. It whirrs like a fax machine, with a body the size of a radiator, and it has no backup power.
It is taking far much longer than she thought, precious time already lost when her father will return at any moment. Josie doesn't use the internet, which her son forcibly installed during a "working vacation" years ago, and she had forgotten where she put away the paper scrap with the written password.
Biting on her thumbnail, her knee bopping nervously, Haley darts a glance at the hallway outside the study like she expects to find her father staring down at her. Today he left when dark was creeping in, with a declaration that he would return in an hour. She didn't miss the pointed glare he gave her.
There's a bleep from the screen. The connection is complete. Speedily, she logs in to her email, for good measure opening a new tab for her social page. She's smiling as she reads the emails from Peyton, Lucas and her sisters. Nathan has forwarded a link to a hysterical video. After she's replied to and cleared out every email, she logs out and half-heartedly checks out her page. She doesn't use it regularly, but she checks in at least every fortnight.
The notifications are abundant, mostly shared pictures from Taylor, Vivian and Quinn, each one bragging about their project, their kids and their work. She's stunned at how fast Quinn's little daughter has grown.
If her page wasn't private, she wouldn't be surprised to find mentions of the tape from strangers and friends of those strangers. She's about to close the tab when something catches her attention. The source is not Nathan – he shut down his page after the tape debacle – but one of his friends. Vegas.
A chill wanders down her arms. Her hand coils around the mouse, and she leans forward to be closer to the screen. She clicks on one of the photos with the red-eye syndrome; half-naked bodies fill the screen. It was a pool party from the looks of it, Nathan in black swim trunks with the Nike logo embossed near the hem of the left leg.
She doesn't mind the sight of him, his sculpted muscles and toned stomach bared in all their blazing glory in the shot. Her problem is them. One of them has her arm slung around his waist, the other is tiptoeing, lips rucked up like she's going to kiss his cheek. Seniors.
A slick darkness snakes itself around her. She stares at the photo for another couple of seconds before clicking onto the next one. Different girls, all in bikinis, more of them, touching him, slobbering all over him.
Her fingers clench tightly, pushing so hard into the mouse that her nails hurt. Distress crawls over her at what she's seeing, not seeing, and the things she imagined happened when the camera's viewfinder wasn't looking. Is she starting to lose him?
"Shut it, Haley," she scolds herself through hardened jaws.
She's being foolish. It was just a party. He was having a good time with his friends. He looks happy. Did she expect him to be stuck at his apartment all alone all weekend?
There are more pictures on Vegas' page, and Nathan is in more of them than she can count, sometimes with girls, sometimes with guys, sometimes with a mixed group. The goofy smiles tell her that plenty of alcohol was flowing at the party.
Everything stalls at the mother of them all, what she was afraid of: He's in a lip lock with someone.
The red hair has her immediately thinking of Rachel, and with bated breath, she squints at the girl's face. Not Rachel or anyone she recognizes from school, but still quite attractive. It's a shoulders-up shot that fills the frame, their eyes are open, her hands are on his cheeks, their lips are…
The pointer hovers over the girl's face until her name comes up. She clicks on to see the girl's profile. She's in college at NCU Maple Hill, her status update late last night whooping in incorrect spelling and some random letters that translates to her having the best piña colada she's had in a while.
Haley breathes out heavily when she's done indulging her inner stalker. She stands fast from the chair and starts to pace. Her mind spins, creating a pounding headache. She jumps from fiddling with the ring to twirling the Cracker Jack bracelet around her wrist, wondering if there's more to the story in the pictures.
Her stomach coils with a stew of emotions. If she went around draping herself around half-naked guys or letting half-naked guys drape themselves around her, Nathan would lose his head. If she went around kissing a half-naked guy, no matter how innocent, he would lose his head.
She can't think of this any other way than betrayal, whatever the story is. Dammit, she is entitled to be furious.
"Haley, are you finished?"
Snapping out of her fog, she whirls around to face Josie. Her breathing tube and oxygen tank are in place, and her skin colour is better than it was this morning.
Haley gives her a watery smile. "I'm finished. Thank you."
"I'm sure you youngsters feel like you're asphyxiating without your gadgets."
Haley chuckles against a shuddering, calming breath. Josie casts her a worried glance. "Your daddy was angry that you left the house yesterday."
Ashamed at having some of that anger directed at Josie, Haley lowers her lashes. "I know. I'm sorry."
Josie shakes her head, her eyes shrouded with a seriousness that is unusual for her calm nature. "You've apologized enough. I just want to make sure that we don't upset him again."
He left to attend to matters about Josie's aide, and with doubtfulness about her not taking another road trip. If he could shackle her to the couch, she's certain he would.
Haley toddles over to the computer, clears out the history and shuts down the machine. She's itching with the mad need to get in touch with Nathan, to find out from him if there are any stories going untold. The disdain she has for herself right now is remarkable.
"Auntie, can I borrow your cell phone?" she blurts when the computer is done grinding itself shut.
She looks up, locking gazes with Josie's expressive eyes. "I won't ask for anything after this, I promise. I'll do anything if you let me call Nathan for a minute. Anything. I'll cook every hour if you want me to, I'll go to the garden, I'll mow the lawn. Anything. Please. I just…I need to talk to him."
She submits to her desperation, freely begging as her lower lip tremors.
Josie's compassionate smile enhances briefly before it fades. "Whoever this boy is, I certainly hope that he feels about you the same way you do for him."
With an otherworldly, dazzling grin, Haley leaps to her feet and carefully wraps her arms around Josie, giving her weathered cheek a couple of kisses. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Amused, Josie takes out the cell phone from the pocket of her grey khakis and lays it in her palm. "I wouldn't mind something with chicken today."
Haley nods eagerly, already keying in the digits for Nathan's number. "Anything you want!"
Josie's breathy yet tinkling laugh trails her as Haley rushes off to her room, phone held up to her ear. The device is as dated as the computer, a basic model that's designed to call and text. Just as long as it's a working phone.
She starts to pace back and forth at the third unanswered ring. He answers before the last ring onsets to voicemail.
"Haley James?"
She is amazingly in control when she speaks. "I'm here. How are you?"
He groans softly. "I think I'm still a little hung over."
She smiles effortlessly like she does when he laughs. "Lots of booze at the party?"
"Yeah, but I didn't even drink that much. I guess I haven't partied like that in a while. I forgot how exhausting it is."
"Did I wake you?" she asks. She's beating around the bush, trying to chase away her thoughts and have a normal conversation with him.
"No. I've been up for a while, but I haven't gotten out of bed yet. Did you sneak out again?"
"No. I'm using Josie's phone."
"How long do we have?"
Her back to the alarm clock, she cranes her neck to take a peek. Her father will be back soon.
"A few minutes." She clears her throat. "I was online and you…you looked like you were having a good time."
There's a pause. "Someone sent you pictures?"
She shakes her head even though he can't see her. "It's not like that. I got the feed from Vegas' profile."
Her next words possess an edge. "You looked awfully…captivated."
At that moment, it's the best and cavalier thing she can supply.
"I don't understand," he drags out, sounding clueless. "Is there some kind of problem?"
Her insecure frustration surges to manic levels, and she says dryly, "The problem is that there are half-naked girls wrapped around you, Nathan, and I doubt that it's for a team calendar."
"It was just some stupid party," he declares dully.
Unyielding, that doubtful voice drives her to ask, "Nothing happened?"
He's quiet for a moment, and then he retorts in a low voice, "Why would you even ask me that?"
She pauses, then, "Probably because I was looking at photos of you at a Girls Gone Wild party."
A ringing silence follows.
"That's cold, Haley. Why are you mad? You're taking those photos out of context."
"Right now I'm mad about a lot of things, Nathan," she says, her voice getting louder, "and these damn photos are just a scratch on the surface."
The silence crackles.
"You're unbelievable. What did you want me to do, push them into the pool? I don't know how many times you want me to say this, but I'm not lusting over anyone for the heck of it. I'm with you, remember?"
"Do you remember that you're with me?" she bites back in a reedy pitch. "I'm certain that if you did, you wouldn't have made out with a stranger!"
"What are you…?"
He doesn't finish the thought, like he's suddenly come to a realization.
"Was she a stranger?"
The words taste like ash, a recrimination like he has a secret girlfriend.
"Vegas took a shot of that?" he asks. "I'm going to kill him. It was nothing, just…"
She can't bring herself to urge him on when he breaks off.
"She thought I was her boyfriend."
Her teeth are so clenched from seething quietly that her jaws ache. "She thought you were her boyfriend."
He can detect the sardonicism lurking in her tone because he responds coldly and distantly. "Are you hinting at something?"
"Just clarifying the truth."
He barks a caustic laugh. "The truth? I just told it to you. Is that okay with you? Am I allowed to explain why a girl I don't even know kissed me without you jumping down my throat?"
She's as rigid as a block of wood, anxiety rising and burning through her. "I'm not going to apologize for wanting to know," she answers in a monotone, almost detached.
"Can you for once forget about your insane jealousy and take my word as it is?"
No longer keeping her cool, she makes a small noise in the back of her throat.
"Insane jealousy!?" she screeches like a siren. "Oh, right. I'm not justified to freak out when you're kissing some girl, but I reply to a text from Brandon, you have the right to be nasty?"
He makes a harsh noise that's halfway between an unintelligible curse and a grunt. "Don't say his name."
"Case in point."
He curses.
"I can accept the other pictures, but when your lips are on someone else's other than mine, I can't put up with that. I won't."
"Are you looking for me to change my story to something else? I told you, she thought I was her boyfriend, and that's it."
They are both sending off judgmental, biting tones that could cut glass, the argument sounding ridiculous as it rings in her head. But she keeps going, her fingertips on the phone so pressured that her forearm hurts.
Pushing off the mattress, Haley blows out a deep, steadying breath, bringing herself to say it. "I took a pregnancy test."
Her words sink into that spitting tension, echoing down the line, running into his sharp intake of breath. She can imagine the appalled shock, disbelief and horror flitting across his rapidly-paling face, his mouth gaping open like he can barely form a sentence.
"Yesterday," she carries on. "I'd just taken it when I called you and I…You had to get off the phone and you were excited about the team and I didn't want to ruin your mood and before you jump to conclusions, we're okay. I'm not pregnant."
His long breath comes out in a rush. "You're not?"
She shakes her head slowly, the silence between them stretching. "I'm not pregnant."
She walks over to the window seat, curling a leg under her thigh and looking out to the small orchard. Everything looks so bare and grey in the dusk, even though some of the leaves are green and sprouting.
"How sure are you?" he demands so dispassionately that she winces.
Heat crests over her cheeks at his frigid tone.
"Pretty sure," she throws at him through tightened lips. "I took three tests. All negative."
She turns away from the window. "We're good."
"We're good?" he roars. "We're not good if you had to take three pregnancy tests!"
His menacing tone stings, wrenching her apart. She expected this kind of reaction, but it still makes her throat throb.
"I wanted to be sure," she says, her voice almost blithe. "To be fair, it was a pack of three in one, not three different brands."
"This is not funny, Haley," he chides softly.
"I didn't say it was."
"Are you sure we're good? This is…Why didn't you tell me? Were you ever planning to tell me?" he explodes with dangerous contempt.
A flame of irrational rage glides up her spine. "Don't yell at me! Why are you making it sound like it's my fault?" she asks, her tone mirroring his.
"I worked up the nerve to handle things myself. I couldn't call you and ask you to come out here and hold my hand, could I? You know what, Nathan? Be mad all you want but I'm pretty damn blown away that we are not going to be parents."
He says nothing. She can hear him breathing. Blinking the tears back, she grits her teeth to keep a scream in. "Na—"
"I have to go," he cuts in crossly.
She snorts, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "Of course you do. What is it this time? Has someone come over for a video game tournament? Another party where some girl will inadvertently kiss you?"
He hisses out a breath. "You know what, Haley? Call me when you're done having crazy ideas about what I've been up to while you've been away."
He ends the call. Open-mouthed, she surges to her feet, staring in amazement at the screen until it fades to black. She feels pathetic, small and like she's been slapped in the face, but most of all, she's enraged.
Vibrating from head to toe, she mechanically punches in the number she's called many times, where it's a gamble between her call being picked up or going to voicemail.
By the time her mom finally picks up, on the fourth redial, she's in a downward spiral, her breath releasing in short huffs like she's been running.
"I want to go home. I miss Tree Hill."
Her mom releases a heavy, exasperated and impatient sigh. "You're going back tomorrow, for heaven's sake."
Wired, she crosses from one corner of the room to another, reminding herself to breathe. "It's not right for him to punish me like this. It's just not right. Why did you side with him? I didn't…We haven't done anything wrong."
In the silence, Haley holds in air as she waits for her mother to speak.
"You haven't done anything wrong? You were living with him while we were away, Haley. There's nothing right about that."
A twinge of shame and guilt crawls through her at her mother's curtness. "I wasn't living with him," she mumbles slowly through an exhalation.
"And you were having sex with him and displaying it like it's something to be proud of."
Her mother's tone has a furious edge to it now.
"Did Dad tell you that!?" she cries defensively in horror, heat creeping up her neck. "I wasn't displaying it! You would hear my side of the story if you asked me instead of just listening to him! Mom, I need you to understand that—"
"I don't have any reason not to listen to him. Haven't you learned anything from everything we've been through with your sister? I would think that you…"
She lets out a slow breath. "I expected more from you, Haley."
Leaning her forehead against the wall, Haley closes her eyes in frustration and gulps a lungful, the air stinging her tight chest on its way down. They've expected a lot from her, some that she was happy to oblige with, others that she simply had to do, others that she did out of not wanting to disappoint them. But she doesn't tell her mother any of it.
"Mom, please…"
Her mother sighs tiredly, like she can't take any more of this conversation that they've had several times before. "Haley, I—"
"I'm not happy," she pleads quietly, fighting to keep her voice steady. "Please. I'm begging you, Mom. Make him stop."
Her mother is so quiet that Haley's hoping she's changing her mind about letting her go home.
"Nobody's happy. You know what hurts me about all this?" her mother asks tersely. "Not once have you apologized. You have defended your actions even when you know that what you did was wrong, and you haven't shown remorse or apologized for it."
Her body tenses. She absorbs every jabbing word like she has with her father, the anger and disappointment and reproach that make her feel more guilty and ashamed than she ever has in her life.
"You know what hurts me?" she finally manages to say, her wavering voice bordering on yelling. "You never talk to me. You hardly pick up my calls, Mom. I have two parents but only one of them actually makes the effort to be there, but all he does is punish me."
Silence, then her mother heaves one of her loaded sighs of weariness. "Haley, I can't handle one of your tantrums right now. My—"
The tide of irritation gushes over her again. "Tantrums? I raise my objections and I'm having a tantrum?"
It's to be expected these days to get into confrontations with her parents, their conversations heated as they debate their insistence that Nathan is trouble. She has no failing grades, and other than the tiny matters of a tattoo and a negative pregnancy test, they have no need to worry.
"Can we talk about this later? I have a patient who needs assistance."
She can imagine her mom glaring and wanting to wring her neck through the phone. Later sounds promising, but it doesn't mean what it ought to with her parents anymore. Later means "end of discussion."
"I'll save you from having to listen to my next tantrum in real time and just leave it in a voicemail," she spews, then hangs up. She's used up her patience quota for the day.
She's forcing herself to breathe and stay calm but it's not working; she's not in the right frame of mind, unable to focus on anything other than the relentless, electrifying anger rocking through her.
She wanders to Josie's bedroom in something of a daze, like she's tipsy. When Josie's quiet voice answers her knock, she hustles into the room. Josie is leaning against the headboard, knitting. When her gaze flashes up, her head tilts in confusion as she really looks at her.
"Darling, what's wrong?"
She must look crazed as she finds her way to the bed, sidling up next to Josie on the soft pillows with their powdery scent. Josie's needles tap together as she twines the yarn around them, putting them away in a little woven basket on her nightstand.
The minutes span in a long pause, until Haley finally forces a painful breath out. "I'm not afraid of being with him, but they make me afraid. They make me doubt my common sense, judgment and trust, and I…"
With a loud sigh, her shoulders drop, and she shuts her eyes. "They're making me feel like a freak show."
Josie draws her hand to her lap, covering it with her own. "What is it, darling girl?"
Giving in, she starts talking, explaining Tim's harassment, Nathan's parents, her father's demands, her mother's avoidance, right down to the proposal and the fights with Nathan and her mother, but not mentioning the pregnancy test. Josie interjects with encouraging hums like she understands, lightly rubbing the back of her hand intermittently.
When she's finished, she feels better. "I just want to breathe, Auntie. If this is a mistake, I want to make it without Dad dragging himself along."
"Do you love him?"
Turning to Josie, her body feeling heavy and a little overwhelmed at sharing so much, she says, "I do. Through and through. He proposed to me and I'm so crazy about him that I said yes."
She laughs under her breath. "We're in high school."
Josie smiles at her. "It feels right, doesn't it?"
A wide grin crosses her face. "It does. There are times we'll be squeezed up on the couch, talking about silly things or telling stories about our childhood, or randomly mentioning our dreams, and I can't help wondering why…why it took us so long to be together."
The reality of their last conversation hits her hard. She sighs, closing her eyes again, remembering the anger that was born out of her petty weakness not to be able to handle inconsequential pictures. The kiss meant zero to him that he couldn't even remember it. That has to count for something.
"What does your heart tell you?"
Her eyes slide up to meet Josie's. "That he's worth it."
Her vision blurs with the attack of gushing emotions. Even when their tempers flare, when they struggle to make sense of the drama, when their anger and pain has eased, they know that they're a part of something great and extraordinary.
"H-he's always worth it no matter how many times our parents put us through the wringer. He's still worth it in the face of everyone who doesn't invest any kind of support in us."
Loosening their hands, Josie cups her face, looking into her eyes with certainty, sincerity and clarity. "There's a lot of hard work in your relationship right now, but you need to remember that you deserve to be happy. This could be your love of a lifetime."
She nods, the trail in her throat so tight and achy that she can't speak. Josie touches her cheek gently.
"Carve your own path, sweet girl. The unknown is half the fun, isn't it?"
Haley hugs her, resting her cheek against Josie's temple, breathing in her sweet scent. That relief that comes from just listening to Josie swamps her as she takes to heart the gracious woman's words. Josie has lived a hell of a lot longer than her parents, and her advice must have some more salt than theirs.
With a sniffle, she says, "I really love you, Auntie. Thank you."
Josie pats her arm with a soft, reassuring smile. "Oh, darling. I love you, too. And I would really like to meet this boy."
Lifting her head up, Haley can't stop a growing smile. "Easy fix. Maybe we can visit this summer."
Josie shows her a curious grin. "I'll be right here. Now tell me more about him."
"How about I make you something with chicken and I can tell you all about him as we eat?"
They share a smile, Josie saying, "Make it as unhealthy as possible."
Haley laughs, kissing her cheek softly, right where the line of the breathing tube curves to her ear. "I'll try."
Later that night, she kneels beside the tub after a quick shower to plug in the stopper and start the water. The bathroom at home has a tub, but she rarely takes advantage of it; it's time-consuming to draw a bath and take a soak.
She slides her hand under the faucet, adjusts the taps for the perfect temperature and adds in some bubble bath. The moment she lowers herself into the steaming water, she feels that thick layer of exhaustion and tension ease. The water is hot enough, enveloping her in its warmth, relaxing her, turning her muscles to jelly.
Half-asleep, it hits her how much she's going to miss Josie. They had a fun dinner in Josie's room because she wasn't up to walking, Josie telling her about her late husband Barry while she told her about Nathan.
Her thoughts turn to Nathan. She's been agonizing in snatches since he hang up on her. She hates fighting with him, but it can be difficult not to get so worked up that they end up arguing. She wanted answers, and eventually, she got so frustrated by those answers that she almost shed tears.
Worst of all, his reaction about the pregnancy test drove her crazy, and the logical part of her brain has her wishing that he's beating himself up about it. Yet she keeps wavering, telling herself to slow down for one second because that's just how hot-blooded he is. Be that as it may, he makes it so impossible for her not to want to shove him for responding however he wants when he's frustrated or angry. Clearly, her anger has still not fizzled out.
When the water turns cool, she steps out and dries off, drains the tub and rinses it off. Sapped of strength to stay awake, she's pulled under a minute after her head hits the pillow.
"Haley."
She feels like she's rocking on a boat, about to fall off as it tips to the side and drags her over with it.
"Haley."
She can barely open her eyes, and when she does, the room is way too bright for her liking.
"You have a phone call."
She sits up slowly, trying to clear her mind from sleep. He has the phone right in her face. "What?"
He pushes the cell phone towards her, nearly touching her nose. "Peyton is calling."
She takes it from him, glancing at the tiny numbers in the right hand corner of the screen: 12.17AM.
"Hello? Peyt, what's—"
"Haley! Hales! I didn't know how else to reach you!"
"Are you okay?"
Rubbing her eyes, she squints around the room like she's still trying to place where she is. Her dad has backed away, and he's by the open door, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.
"No. Something's happened, Hales."
Her stomach flutters. "Is it your dad?"
Peyton makes a sound like a moan. It takes a split second for Haley to be completely awake.
"No, it's…Luke…Luke and Nate are at Tree Hill Memorial Hospital."
Blood rushes in her ears. A razor-sharp feeling of panic buries itself into her chest. She pushes the covers off with her feet hurriedly. "What happened? Are they okay?"
She's imagining the worst, from tumours to seizures to comas to heart attacks.
"There was an accident. No one is telling me anything and Karen isn't here yet and I'm alone and I'm so scared," Peyton whispers. "C-can you come here?"
Her voice sounds so broken that a cold, dark sensation crawls through Haley. She shoots to her feet, frantically looking around. "I…I'm on my way."
Leaving the phone somewhere on the mattress, she dashes for her half-open suitcase, plucking it off the floor with both hands and dropping it on the bed.
"Where do you think you're going?"
She scoops up everything on the dresser with trembling hands and flings them into the suitcase. There's a soft thump as something drops to the floor, and blinded by hysteria, she snatches it up and tosses it in with everything else.
"Lucas and Nathan were in an accident," she says calmly, even though she's feeling like she's suffocating. "I'm going to see them."
"You are not driving out of here in the middle of the night for a four-hour drive to Tree Hill."
Clothes in arms, she swivels around to face him. Her mouth is slack, eyes bugging out. "Are you serious?"
His eyes shoot daggers at her. He's actually serious.
"What do you expect me to do, go back to bed and wait? That is ridiculous. No way."
He gives her one of his intimidating looks. "Don't you leave this house. I forbid it."
Worked up into a nasty panic, Haley shoves the clothes into the suitcase with force. "No! I'm done doing this on your terms!"
She's pissed him off, but she doesn't care about making rougher the already-rough things between them. "Nathan is hurt, he's in the hospital, and you want me to ignore that?"
"I'm sure he's fine," he says, standing in the doorway like to block her escape.
In disbelief, she blinks at him blankly. On the verge of tears, she shakes her head and closes her eyes. She's starting to shiver, and to give herself a moment of control, she grabs her hoodie and haphazardly puts it on.
"I'm leaving, Dad. You are not going to steal this away from me like you seem to do anything that involves Nathan."
His mouth and face tighten with that familiar blend of rage and impatience. "I won't say it again, Haley. You can wait for morning."
She completely loses it. "You proved your point! We are co-dependent and it's unhealthy! I'm not going to wait for daylight to get out of here! I don't care if you ground me for years but I'm leaving! I can't stay here! I'm not going to stay here! I'm going to Nathan!"
"What is going on here? Why are you yelling?"
Josie is looking hard at them with confusion, brow creased, no breathing tube.
Frantic, Haley walks over to Josie, asking urgently in a near-shrill tone, "Aunt Josie, can I borrow your car? I need to get home."
"To see her boyfriend," her dad states with righteous indignation.
She has never found him as insufferable as he is now. Any anger and detestation she's held towards him thus far has no comparison to now. "How can you say it like that? He's been in an accident!"
"Accident? A car accident?"
Her dad's face doesn't move. She turns away from him to Josie, prattling about Peyton's call and the few details she shared.
"I can't be here, Auntie, but Dad doesn't want me to go."
"It's the middle of the night. You are not driving back for hours on unknown roads."
Her eyes snap to him. A fresh prick of resentment stabs the pit of her stomach, and she directs a furious scowl at him. "I have my driving licence. Which Nathan helped me with, thank you very much. Are you going to drive me, then?"
He shakes his head, forehead creased. "Haley—"
"Let her go, Jimmy."
Josie cocks her head towards him and gives him a piercing look. He doesn't flinch.
"Enough is enough," Josie says as she steps forward to be between them, her voice low and measured. "Haley, go get the keys."
She's close to tears as she ambles away from the tense silence.
"God help me, Josie," she hears him start, his words lowering to a murmur that she can't quite make out.
The keys are clutched in her hand when she hurries back to the room.
"…my daughter and you're telling me to let it be?"
"Compared to what you're doing to her, Jimmy?"
The tension has heightened, but as wiry as Josie may appear in that ankle-length nightdress, there's a certain sharpness in her eyes that's a match to her father's pinched, disparaging expression.
"I'll be fine, Dad. Don't worry."
Her hands are noticeably shaking as she grabs the rest of everything she came with, dumping them into her bags without care.
"Are you going to be okay?" Josie asks.
"I'll be okay. Thank you so much," she says gratefully, throwing her arms around Josie in a quick, tight hug.
"Give me a call when you can."
She gives Josie a strained smile. "I will."
After exchanging a vacant glance with her father, she lets herself out, dragging her suitcase, and hanging on to the keys, her backpack and her purse. A minute after everything's put away, she's reversing out of Josie's drive.
She takes a deep breath of the sharp, night air as she cruises the car down the quiet suburban street. Tears spring to her eyes when she processes every word from Peyton's brief call. Thinking of him hooked up to machines makes her shudder with terror.
Her knuckles tighten around the steering wheel. The ragged fear closes in on her chest, curdling her blood, sending bile burning her throat. Their last chat was filled with mutual aggravation, and just like that, he could be taken away from her when they never got to hash it out. They didn't work things out.
