Chapter 47

"Please don't pick up... Please don't pick up..."

Nathan mumbled to himself, glancing around the empty house. Haley had flown to New York to spend some time with Quinn.

"Clothes over Bro's, this is Millicent. How many I help you?"

Dammit.

"Uh, hey," Nathan cleared his throat, leaning against the kitchen counter and sighing softly. "I'm wondering if I could possibly speak to Brooke Davis?"

"I'm sorry, but she's unavailable at the moment. Can I take a message to her? Or is there maybe something I can help you with?" Millicent asked in a sweet tone.

Relief washed over him. Okay. He wouldn't have to do this right now.

"No, that's alright. I just tried her cell and she didn't answer so I figured she was busy. Can you just let her know that Nathan Scott called?"

There was a pause. About twenty seconds or so, but Nathan could still hear background noise.

"Please hold," Millicent finally said.

He ran his hand through his hair, letting out a deep breath.

The raspy voice of the one and only Brooke Davis rang through his phone.

"Nathan Scott. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Brooke hummed out.

Great. So he was going to have to do this now.

"I thought you were busy?" Nathan questioned, clearing his throat.

"That's what I usually have Millie say when people call for me. I just happened to be sitting right next to her when you called and I heard you introduce yourself," Brooke hummed out. "What can I help you with, Scott?"

Nathan sighed, pushing his hand through his hair and looking around the kitchen.

"I'm only running a business. Take your time," Brooke joked.

Nathan offered a laugh, before letting out another deep breath. "Do you and Lucas talk about getting married and stuff?"

"What?" Brooke asked him, a confused twinge in her tone.

"I mean... Do you want to get married? Do you guys talk about it?" He asked, rubbing his neck.

He felt so stupid asking her this. But he just knew she would know all.

"I mean, not really... We've only been going out a little while. We just barely dropped the love bomb. We talk about the future a little bit, but it's more of a casual thing. Right now, we still live on opposite sides of the country. I don't think us getting married is the next step," Brooke informed him. "Why? Did he say something?"

"No," Nathan said quickly, "No, Lucas didn't say anything about marriage or anything like that to me. I just kinda... Wanted to hear your thoughts."

"Well, yes. If you're asking if I think about marriage, I do. But I think about it more in the future. Whether it will be Lucas, I can't say. I'd like it to be him, but who really knows?" Brooke said, clearing her throat. "Of course, you'd be the best brother-in-law."

"When you say who really knows, what do you mean?" Nathan asked her, raising his eyebrows.

"I mean right now, ideally, I'd marry Lucas. But I don't know when I'll be ready to settle down. There are a lot of factors that we'd still have to discuss," Brooke hummed. "But I'm sure you're not calling to talk to me about Lucas and me getting married."

"Do you and Haley ever talk about it?" He finally asked, swallowing thickly.

"About us getting married? Did she say something? If I knew Haley James wanted to marry me, I'd drop Lucas so quick and jump on that train," Brooke joked.

"Funny," Nathan mumbled, rubbing his hand down his face. "Does she ever talk about marriage, Brooke?"

"Did she say something to you, Nathan?" Brooke asked him.

"Well... I'm sure you know all the shit about her job that happened last week," Nathan began, clearing his throat.

"Of course," She replied.

"I kinda, sorta encouraged her to take up drinking for a night," Nathan chuckled, shrugging slightly.

"Awesome," Brooke laughed.

"She said she'd marry me tomorrow if I asked her to," He informed her, closing his eyes.

Brooke was quiet for a moment. Nathan could almost hear her contemplating how to respond.

"No," Brooke finally hummed out. "She hasn't said anything."

"She hasn't?" He asked, raising her eyebrows.

"No. I mean, she's implied that someday you'll get married and have kids and stuff, but she's never talked about you proposing, or wanting you to propose," Brooke informed him. "So you can relax a little."

Nathan did just that. Before he tensed up again.

"What do you mean?" He asked her quickly, scowling. "I can relax a little?"

"Well, you're clearly nervous and tense about what she said. So you can breathe again," She assured him.

"Should I be more stressed out that she hasn't talked to her best friend about wanting to marry me?" He asked her defensively.

"Nathan, chill," Brooke said, clearing her throat. "I didn't mean anything by it, sorry... I just don't think she's expecting it anytime soon."

"But does she want it sometime soon?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I just don't think that she thinks you're ready, that's all," Brooke said slowly.

"Do you think she's ready? Because I can-"

"Nathan, you're getting yourself super worked up over this," Brooke said calmly, clearing her throat.

"Brooke, she said she'd marry me tomorrow. Don't you think that means she's ready?" Nathan asked her, letting out a deep breath.

"I really don't know, Nathan. She was drunk. You were there, taking care of her when she was feeling fragile. There are a lot of factors that can play into it," She told him.

"Brooke, do you think she's ready?" He asked her quickly.

"I think she knows that you're not ready," She said, letting out a sigh.

"Just answer the damn question, Davis," He said in a slightly snappy tone.

Suddenly he felt more fidgety and nervous than he did at the beginning of the call.

"Nathan, I think that she'd wait for you to be ready. I think she knows it's you, and she knows that you know it's going to be her," Brooke began, sighing again. "But I also think she knows it's a big commitment, and you two really haven't been going out for that long. Yes, things have escalated quickly, and yeah, probably your next logical step is this one. But why rush it? She doesn't want you to feel like you have to propose to her. She doesn't want you to propose when you aren't ready," She told him quietly. "So just enjoy what you have and do it when the time is right. She can be patient, as long as you acknowledge your own feelings and don't put things off just because of the huge commitment."

"But-"

"Stop it. Or I'm going to call her and make her tell you all of this herself," Brooke laughed.

"I'll let you get back to work," Nathan said, running his hand through his hair. Without another word, he hung up the phone and let out a frustrated sigh.

He reached into his pocket, out a small, velvet box.

He flipped it open, revealing a fairly simple ring. A white gold band with a diamond resting on it.

It was an impulse buy, really. He'd finished up class, and just drove to clear his mind and ended up with an engagement ring.

An engagement ring that he definitely wasn't ready to use...

But Haley had sacrificed so much for him. If she wanted him to propose, he would do it.

He looked at his phone when it started to vibrate again.

Haley's name popped up on the screen, his eyes quickly moving back to the ring in the box.

He looked out a deep breath, setting his phone on the counter. He'd call her back.

He just felt like she thought of him as damaged goods, and that he controlled the relationship. It should be both of them in control. It wasn't fair to her.

He snapped it shut quickly, shoving it in his pocket and shaking his head.

This was ridiculous. He wasn't going to propose based off what she said when she was drunk. Brooke was right, there were many factors that came into play.

He walked upstairs to their room quickly, deciding to leave his phone on the countertop. He just couldn't talk to anyone right now. He felt too anxious.

So, to calm his nerves, he was going to do school work.

Damn, Haley was rubbing off on him.

He sat on the bed, beginning to do homework, trying to force the thought of the ring that he'd hidden back in his gym bag out of his mind.

xxxx

Haley frowned as she glanced at her phone after Nathan had not answered her for the fifth time today. She'd given time between each call, figuring that he'd just been busy. But he had not answered anything. No calls, texts, total silence.

And it wasn't just her. Clay'd messaged him too with no response.

"Still nothing?" Quinn asked, raising her eyebrows at her.

"Nothing," Haley confirmed, shaking her head. "That's weird, right? I talked to him this morning for just a second before his class, but after that he hasn't answered anything. But I know he's been on his phone because he's been active on Facebook."

"Maybe he's just busy," Quinn said, clearing her throat.

"Quinn, come on. He's ignoring us on purpose, you know that," Clay said, shaking his head.

"Brooke is calling me," Haley said, sighing softly. "Do you guys mind if I...?"

"Go ahead," Clay said, nodding at her.

Haley stepped out of the room, walking to the guest room that she'd been staying in.

"Brooke Davis," Haley hummed, a smile forming on her face.

"Haley!" Brooke greeted her, letting out a deep breath. "I feel like we haven't talked in forever."

"It's been like a week, but I oddly understand what you mean," Haley laughed, sitting down on the bed.

"I can't talk long. I have a phone call scheduled with Lucas, if you catch my drift," Brooke hummed out.

"Oh, lord. Why are you even calling me then?" Haley asked, rolling her eyes.

"Have you talked to Nathan today?" Brooke asked her, clearing her throat.

"A little bit this morning, but he's kinda been dodging my calls," Haley said, frowning slightly. "Why?"

"Well, he called me a few hours ago," Brooke informed her, sighing quietly.

"Why did he call you? When?" Haley asked her quickly.

"I don't know, a few hours ago. Hours blur together," Brooke said, sighing softly. "Anyways, he was pretty touchy, so I just wanted to check in with you."

"Touchy?" Haley questioned, a frown forming on her face. "What was wrong with him?"

"He just seemed stressed," Brooke said, clearing her throat. "Oh, Luke is calling me. I have to go."

"Yeah, okay..." Haley trailed off, "Call me later?"

"Of course," Brooke hummed, before hanging up the phone.

Haley's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion at the conversation she'd just had. Why would Nathan call Brooke when he's upset? Unless he was upset with her?

Almost as if he could sense her confusion, her phone started to ring again.

She glanced down and saw the man that had consumed her thoughts all day's name on the screen.

She quickly answered, laying back against the bed and letting out a deep breath. "Hello?"

"Hi," He hummed out, clearing his throat. "Sorry, babe. I left my phone downstairs on silent and I've been doing homework for a couple hours."

"Is everything okay, Nathan?" Haley asked him, raising her eyebrows. "You'd tell me if I did something to upset you, right?"

"What are you talking about, Hales?" He let out a laugh. "Of course, everything is fine."

"See, you're saying the words but I'm not receiving the message," She said, clearing her throat.

"Well, everything is cool," He said, letting out a deep breath. "So, what are you wearing?"

"Contrary to your own thoughts, I can call you for other reasons besides that one," She hummed, shaking her head. "You've been ignoring me."

"No, I've been busy. There's a difference," He said softly.

"Yeah, there is. But you, sir, have been ignoring me," Haley informed him, rolling her eyes.

"I haven't answered anyone. Just ask Evans. I've been busy," Nathan said quickly, clearing his throat.

"What have you been doing that's kept you busy all day?" She asked him quickly.

"Homework. Classes. Sleep," He said, chuckling quietly. "I'm tired."

"You've been really tired lately," She said quietly, a frown forming on her face.

"Yeah, that's what happens when you're gone. I sleep poorly," He hummed out.

"Are you feeling alright?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows.

She couldn't help but worry. What had he called Brooke to say that he didn't feel comfortable telling her?

"I feel fine. Just tired," He assured her.

"Well when I get home we can make you a doctor's appointment," She said slowly, brushing her hand across the duvet on the bed.

"No, Haley. I'm alright, really. I just haven't been sleeping well," He said quickly, letting out a brief laugh.

"I miss you," She said softly, letting out a sigh.

"I miss you too," He responded, smiling slightly.

"I'll be home in a few days, maybe you can get some good sleep then," She hummed, glancing at the clock on the wall, squeezing her eyes shut.

Why was Nathan lying to her? Why was he saying that everything was fine? Now that she thought about it... He was the one that encouraged her to come stay with Quinn for the week.

"Hopefully," He said, clearing his throat. "What have you been up to today?"

"Just hanging out," Haley hummed, brushing her fingers through her hair. "Why don't you fly up here on Thursday night?"

"Miss me that much?" He asked her, laughing.

"I've missed you an impossible amount. I know it was a good idea for me to get away from Tree Hill this week but..." She trailed off, sighing softly.

"Things are quiet around here without you. I think Scout misses you, maybe more than I do," He joked, laughing quietly.

Haley laughed along with him but the insecure part of her brain couldn't help but wonder if there was some truth to his words.

"Well, I sure miss him," She informed him, letting out a sigh. "What do you say? Thursday?"

"I can't," He said, clearing his throat.

"Why not?" She asked him, frowning slightly.

"Because I made the house a mess and I'm going to be cleaning it from Friday to Sunday," He joked.

"I bet you've hardly even eaten," She said, shaking her head. "I bet there are like three dishes in the sink."

"Are you spying on me?" He asked her, laughing quietly.

"I just know you, and clearly something is bothering you and when that happens, you hardly have an appetite so I have to force you to eat," She said, letting out a deep breath.

"You make it sound like I'm a kid," He informed her, clearing his throat.

"Sometimes you are," She said, shaking her head and letting out a deep breath. "I'm just worried about you, Nathan. You're not acting like yourself."

"Well maybe I'm worried about you, Haley. You're on vacation to be on vacation. You had a bad week last week, so just relax," He said softly. "Everything is fine here. I've finished up all my homework, I've been taking Scout on walks... Just hang out with Quinn and don't worry about anything happening in Tree Hill."

"Now that makes me even more suspicious..." She trailed off, sighing softly.

"Look, babe, I have to go. Just relax, and I'm not going to call you again until I see a picture of you on the couch with snack food all around you, yoga pants on, watching a movie," He said, chuckling. "Love you."

Before Haley could answer, the phone clicked to show that he'd hung up.

Why was Nathan acting so weird?