I apologize for not posting an update last Thursday. I think I've mentioned this before, but I am writing about two chapters ahead (meaning chapters 20 and 21 are already written) and I like to finish a chapter before I post the next. I had some unforeseen circumstances come up last week that prevented me from finishing chapter 21 in time to post chapter 19. I guess I could have still posted, but I didn't want to mess up the system I had going for myself. I hope you guys understand!.

I meant to say this in my author's note in the last chapter, but I forgot. The last chapter was essentially setting the stage for what I like to call the second phase of this story and there was a TON of foreshadowing. With this chapter, it's a little shorter than normal because I felt as if the events that happened needed and deserved to have a stand-alone.

An Interlude

Gravel flies as she pulls into the river court lot, parking haphazardly across several spots. There's no one else there and even if there was, she wouldn't care. Bouncing between all the wild scenarios her imagination conjured up is the sound of Nathan's struggling voice. She lost count of how many stop signs she blew and how many illegal turns she made on her way there.

Her head whips around as she searches for Nathan, her eyes straining against the darkness of the court. After a few seconds, she spots him huddled on the last row of the small, run downed bleachers. Before the beating of her heart can catch up to the rest of her body, she's bolting across the court.

The closer she gets to him, the more her heart sinks and pounds. He's doubled over, his hands clutching his side and she can't be certain, but he looks as if he's shaking.

"Nathan?" she calls out.

Nathan looks up and all breath leaves her. In the shadowy light of the moon and nearby lamp posts, she can make out his busted bottom lip. It's swollen, a trickle of blood falling down his chin. His left eye looks sunken in, a bruise around forming around it.

"Nathan!" she squeaks, not recognizing the sound of her own voice. She rushes to his side, placing a gentle hand on his trembling shoulder. "What happened?!"

But she fears that she already knows.

Nathan meets her beseeching gaze and she inhales sharply at his bloodshot eyes, unshed tears shining in his eyes. He opens his mouth to say something, only to close it a moment later. It looks as if he wants to say something, he just doesn't know how.

She changes the subject to give him more time.

"Can I see?" she motions towards his torso and he gives a shaky nod.

Her knees buckle as she stands, crouching herself in front of him. Carefully, he lifts his grey sweatshirt, revealing his stomach. It feels like someone punched her in the gut as she stares at the red, angry skin. Nasty bruises are already starting to form over the bruise that was almost completely healed.

Without thinking, she presses her fingers gently against him and he jumps away, sucking in a deep breath of air threw his clenched teeth.

"We need to get you to the hospital," she says hastily, standing up. Her mind is already churning with the possibilities of what internal injuries he might have.

"No…no," Nathan vigorously protests. "They'll just call my dad and he's the last person I want to see."

She wants to fight him, to demand that he go get checked out, but the look in his eyes tells her that it's a lost cause.

Her greatest fear—the one that no matter how deep down she knew to be true—is getting closer and closer to being confirmed.

"Nathan, what happened?" she asks again, her voice soft. She tries to keep it steady—she's there for him, not the other way around.

His breathing is ragged, lips parted as he stares up at her. A few stray tears fall from the pool in his eyes and her heart aches and cracks and shatters like it never has before.

She palms his cheek, using the pad of her thumb to wipe away his tears. "Please, tell me."

His hesitation melts away at her soft touch and imploring gaze.

"My dad was drinking." He speaks in heavy puffs, occasional hisses of pain passing his clenched teeth. Her insides twist.

"I don't…I don't even know what happened. I was sleeping and the next thing I knew, my bedroom door bursts open."

His eyes shift back and forth like he's trying to make sense of the words that are coming out of his mouth. Her hand finds its way to his back, rubbing his back in comforting circles.

"He dragged me. He dragged me out of bed and just…started wailing on me."

She sucks in a painful breath. She can tell he's struggling not to completely break down. Through the cracks in his voice, she hears the raw pain and desperation, something she'd never heard in Nathan before. It rocks her and twists her in ways she didn't think were possible.

"I was too disorientated to fight back. I don't…I don't even remember how I got out of there or how I got here. I just kept running, ignoring the pain in my body and I just…."

The trembling of his body seems to increase in magnitude and her fear grows. She really needs to get him checked out at a hospital, but she doesn't know how to convince him.

"I can't, Hales. I don't…I don't know."

Haley doesn't know what to say to comfort him, fearful that her words won't be enough. So, she wraps her arms around him, careful not to apply too much pressure. When her arms wrap around him, she swears she hears a soft sound of relief before he breaks.

Nathan buries his head into the crook of her neck, his arms holding her body as close as possible without adding pressure to his injuries. His body shakes against hers in silent sobs, tears wetting her neck. She clings on to him tighter as tears pool in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry that I lied to you," he croaks, his voice muffled by her neck. "I shouldn't have."

At one point, she was annoyed at his avoidance and blatant lying. But now, that seizes to exist.

"Shh, it's okay," she tries to soothe him, running her fingers through his hair and over his back.

She loses track of time as they sit there in each other's arms. The entire time, the only solid thought she can focus on is how much she wishes she could take him away from this. She hates that her gut feeling was right and she hates that Dan Scott could do this to his son. She hates that any parent could do this to their child.

Nathan loosens his grip around her, pulling away from her slightly. She repositions herself so that she's pressed against his side, hand still on his cheek.

"I need to get away from him, Haley."

"You can."

The question is clear in Nathan's eyes.

"You have FSU," she reminds him.

Her words hang heavy in the air for several seconds. But he passes over them as if they carry too much weight and he doesn't have the strength.

"Can I stay with you tonight? I just… can't go back. Not tonight."

Haley nods. She doesn't know how she's going to get her parents to agree to him staying the night, but she's just gonna have to figure it out.

~x~

Haley leads Nathan up to her bedroom. Her dad's car is still missing from the driveway and the house is quiet with the exception of hushed voices coming from the TV in the living room. She assumes that her mom is already asleep.

Nathan winces as he sits down on the edge of her bed, his hand still gripping at his side. She clicks the lamp next to her bed on and tries to conceal her gasp. His bottom lip is almost twice it's normal size, the blood dried on his chin. The bruise forming around his eye just misses his eyelid, but the upper part of his cheek is starting to swell.

She swallows the sudden dryness in her throat. "I'm gonna get some ice and gauze and tell my mom."

Nathan nods and she rushes out of her bedroom. She decides to go to her mom first. She still hasn't figured out how she's going to convince her mom to let Nathan stay, but she hopes that Lydia maintains the cool nature she usually has.

"Mom," Haley whispers, shaking Lydia's shoulder gently. She's fast asleep on the recliner in the living room, blue and white shadows playing on her face from the TV.

"Mom," she tries again, shaking a little harder.

It takes a couple of more shakes before Lydia jumps awake. She blinks a few times, clearly startled.

"What?" her voice is like paste, thick with sleep.

"Can Nathan stay the night tonight?" Haley asks.

"What?" Lydia mumbles again, resting back against the recliner. Her eyes are fluttering shut again and Haley sighs loudly. Out of the corner of her eye, Haley spots a wine glass on the coffee table. There are only a couple of sips of red wine left at the bottom.

Haley tries one more time to wake her mom up, but she reaches no avail. Deciding that she doesn't have time for this and that she'll just deal with the consequences in the morning, Haley walks towards the linen closet in the hallway. After grabbing a stack of gauze and some alcohol, she trots to the kitchen and grabs some ice and a towel. It takes careful concentration on her part, but she manages to carry everything up the stairs without dropping it.

"What did your mom say?" Nathan asks when she returns, still sitting in the same position.

"She went a little heavy on the wine so I didn't get a chance to ask her." She dumps the contents in her arms on to her bed.

"I'm not going to get you in trouble, am I?"

Nathan's small and unsure voice stops her in her tracks. He looks so fragile sitting on her bed with his shoulders slumped and the color drained from his face. The sight breaks her heart all over again.

Walking over to him, she wraps her arms around his neck and threads her fingers through the hair on the back of his neck. The way he looks at her is so tender like she's the only thing holding him together.

"I don't care about that right now. How are you feeling?"

Color is slowly starting to return to his face, despite the unpleasant bruise forming around and on his eye. He stopped shaking on the drive back to her house, but his hand never once left his side. She prays to God that he doesn't have any serious injuries that are going to make her regret not dragging his ass to the hospital.

"Really sore," he says steadily. She searches his face, looking for any signs that he's diminishing his pain for her sake. She doesn't find any, but she's still leery.

"I still think we should go get you checked out."

Nathan shakes his head. "I just need some ice and Tylenol and I'll be fine."

"Are you sure? I'm not trying to be annoying or overbearing, but I also don't want you downplaying how much pain you're in for my sake or because you think you can handle it or because you're trying to avoid your dad."

She's rambling and the untouched corner of Nathan's mouth twitches. He lets go of his side, a brief flash of discomfort on his face and wraps his arms around her waist. It's hard to look at him with lacerations on his face without feeling any pinch or pull of pain.

"I promise I'm not."

"Okay."

Untangling herself from his grip, she grabs the ice packs and wraps the towel around them. She hands them over to Nathan to put on his injuries.

"Thank you," Nathan says softly when they meet eyes again, pressing the ice to his torso. It doesn't take much for her to realize that he means his gratitude about more than the ice. She smiles back at him.

She didn't have to think about anything that she's doing right now—it felt like the most natural and obvious thing to do.

Ripping open the gauze, she dabs a little bit of alcohol on to the material.

"This is going to sting a little," she warns him before brushing the gauze along his cracked lip.

Nathan flinches, hissing an expletive through clenched teeth. She gives him a few seconds to adjust before she goes back to dabbing. She's careful in her movements, applying light strokes. The entire time, she feels his eyes on her, watching her every move.

"I have something else I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

He hesitates for a brief moment, taking in a shaky breath.

"My car isn't in the shop because of my breaks," he reveals.

Haley pauses, fear creeps up inside of her and she's not sure she wants to know what he's about to tell her.

Her mouth is too quick and she's asking anyway.

"Then, why is it?"

Nathan swallows hard, flinching slightly from the pain. He holds her gaze, pleading with her to stay with him.

"There were a couple of dents in the side paneling that needed to be fixed. And I needed a new windshield and a new rearview mirror."

He's giving her one vague detail at a time and she's chomping at the bit. The pounding in her ears and the quickness of her breathing are increasing with every passing second. She wants to push him to just tell her all at once, but she knows that he needs to do this at his own pace.

"What's the damage from?"

Nathan discards the ice and reaches out for her, his hands sliding around her hips to her lower back. He pulls her closer, again, like he physically can't speak without her support. His shaking returns, but something tells her it's not from the pain. At least, not physical pain.

"My dad…he was drunk and…" He pauses to swallow. Every story with his dad seems to start the same way. "We got into a fight because of the shot I missed against Richards and he…he slammed me into my car, but not after taking a baseball bat to the rest of it."

She's going to be sick.

"That's how I got the bruise on my side."

"Oh, my God…" Her jaw is unhinged, the muscles in her eyes straining from how much she's stretching them. The truth is even worse than she anticipated and every part of her aches for the man in front of her.

"You could have broken a rib or done some serious damage. How did you…"

"I popped a few of my mom's pain pills and masked the pain as best as I could."

"Nathan!" she scolds, the gauze dropping out of her hands and on to her bed. He grips on to her tighter like he's scared she's going to disappear.

Haley can't wrap her head around the things she's hearing, even though it is something that she suspected for the longest time. But now that it is laid out in front of her…it's surreal and she can't get her brain to function past how she can possibly make this better for him.

"It was stupid, I know."

She shakes her head. "No. Don't say that."

Despite his injuries, he manages the smallest hint of a smile.

"I wish I could…" Her fingers dip below the hem of his sweatshirt and press against the heated skin of his upper back. "I wish there was something that I could do or say to make this go away or to make this better for you."

Nathan squeezes her hip, eyes shining with admiration. "Everything you're doing…just by being here, you're doing all that I need. If I didn't have you, I honestly don't know how I would be handling this right now."

The sentiment warms her down to her toes, but she can't take all the credit. "You've always been a lot stronger than you think you are."

Nathan shrugs, not quite meeting her gaze.

"I know I shouldn't have hidden any of this from you," he mumbles. "I knew you were getting suspicious, but I could never find the words or the guts to even admit it to myself."

She opens her mouth to respond but closes it when she realizes that he's not finished yet.

"My dad has done and said a lot of shitty things, and even when he's taken his anger out on me, I never wanted to believe that he could do something like that. It didn't seem possible. And there are moments where it still doesn't."

His body tenses against hers and she flashes a reassuring smile. She hopes her warring emotions don't seep through the cracks of her smile. Right now, it's not about her shock, anger, or even fear. It's about him.

"I guess maybe I foolishly still held out hope that he would one day turn around and be the dad I always wanted him to be. Or that, maybe there was some reasonable explanation as to why he's acting the way that he is. How fucked up is that?"

She frowns. "There's nothing wrong with having a little hope."

He doesn't seem convinced.

"Have you ever thought about telling someone?" she offers.

"I told you." If his face wasn't messed up, she imagines him shooting her a cheeky grin.

"No, I mean, like a teacher or a counselor. What about your mom? She has to know, right?"

"She pretends that it's not happening," he says with a snort. "I guess we both have that in common."

Haley's frown only becomes more prominent. She used to believe that there was good in everybody, that even the darkest souls had specks of light. She's not so sure anymore, not when a father can lay a hand on his child and a mother turns her back.

"If I tell someone, there's probably going to be an investigation of some sort and it just doesn't seem worth it," Nathan continues. "I turn eighteen in a couple of months and then I'll be off to college where he hopefully can't touch me anymore."

He has a point, but she's still uneasy. The thought of Nathan being in that house where Dan can snap at any time doesn't sit well with her. He's already done unspeakable damage, what if he doesn't stop? What if it gets worse?"

"What if it gets worse?" The question flies out of her mouth before she can stop it.

"I just have to make it a couple of more months," Nathan says.

She wants to argue, but she doesn't know what she would be arguing for. The things that she wants—like his safety and for his pain to be gone—aren't so clear cut.

"Come on, let's go to bed." He interrupts her thoughts.

Haley nods, slipping out of his embrace. Walking over to her dresser, she pulls out a long t-shirt. She quickly changes, ignoring her thoughts of insecurity as she does so. Nathan has told her time and time again what he thinks of her body, she just needs to find a way to get herself to believe it.

When she turns back around, Nathan had removed his sweatshirt, leaving him in a white t-shirt and a pair of black shorts.

Nathan lays back on her bed and places the ice pack on her bedside table as she cuts the light. She crawls into bed next to him, sliding beneath the covers. This isn't the first time they've shared a bed, but it feels different.

"Why are you sleeping so far away from me?" Nathan's voice cuts through the dark, a teasing glint to it. The moonlight streaming in through her blinds allows her just enough light to see the smirk on his face and the confusion in his gaze.

She glances at the distance between them.

"I wasn't sure…," she trails off. "I didn't want to hurt you."

"Come here," he beckons, raising his arm. She snuggles into his side, tucking her arms against herself. It's not the most comfortable position, but she doesn't want to risk hurting him further by wrapping her arms around him.

She sighs as his lips press against the top of her forehead. "Goodnight, beautiful."

Three small, yet powerful words are sitting on the tip of her tongue. It surprises her how badly she wants to say them and how strong the sudden urge is, but she's too afraid to. Telling someone you love them…it's not something to be taken lightly. She sees it as an act of giving away a piece of your heart and soul to another person. She doesn't know if she's ready for that.

She swallows them down. "Goodnight."

~x~

The sunlight streaming in from her bedroom window pulls her out of deep sleep. She blinks harshly against the intrusion, snuggling further into her bed. The object she's laying on isn't a fluffy pillow or even the mattress of her bed, it's Nathan's arm. Careful not to cause too much movement, she turns over to face him.

The sunlight illuminates his face. Dark and thick eyelashes are resting on pale cheeks, his mouth slightly parted as he breaths steadily. The bruise around his eye isn't nearly as bad as she expected, the mark a mixture of light purple and spots of yellow. His lip is still swollen, the gash barely starting to scab over. She would hate to see how his side is looking.

She spends a couple of more minutes admiring his features. Her heart aches at both the marks on his face and at the sheer beauty of him. It's moments like these where she can't believe that someone like him would want to be with someone like her.

The grumbling of her stomach interrupts her admiring. She glances over Nathan's shoulder at her alarm clock, sighing when she sees that it's barely eight in the morning. Trying not to wake him, she slides out of bed. His arm twitches a little at the loss of her body, but he doesn't wake up.

Padding down the stairs, she hears movement in the kitchen, and her anxiety rises. Knowing her mom, she probably doesn't remember a word of their conversation last night and probably won't be thrilled to find out a boy slept over last night.

Haley rounds the corner and stops dead in her tracks when she sees her dad standing in the kitchen. Shit.

Jimmy's wearing the same clothes that he was yesterday, lazily stirring a cup of coffee. His outward appearance doesn't suggest that he knows Nathan is sleeping in her bed, but he's known for hiding his emotions.

"Where's mom?" she asks, breaking the silence. Walking over to the cabinet, she pulls out two mugs.

"The store. We needed milk," he answers, his voice monotone.

Awkwardness crawls up her spine as she pours two cups of coffee. She waits for the other shoe to drop, for him to give some kind of sign that he knows. She prays to God that he hasn't made his way up to her bedroom yet, because judging by the dark circles under his eyes, he just got home not too long ago.

"Why is there a boy in my house?"

…and there it is.

Her entire body tenses as she puts down the container of creamer she'd just picked up. Slowly, she turns to face him. His expression is blank and that makes her nervous. His calm nature is usually a warning sign that he's about to blow up.

"Did you your mom say it was okay?" His follow up question sounds more like an insult than it does out of curiosity.

Haley shakes her head.

Jimmy stares at her with hard eyes and she holds her breath. Her dad is old-fashioned, the type of guy who would tell his daughter at a young age that you shouldn't have sex if you're not married and that all men are pigs.

"So, you snuck him into my house then?"

She gulps, his icy tone causes the hairs on her body to stand straight up. "He needed somewhere to stay last night."

Jimmy picks up his coffee mug and starts to head out of the kitchen without so much as looking at her. "My house isn't a homeless shelter. He needs to be gone within the hour."

She blinks a few times. She expected him to blow up at her and stomp up the stairs, dragging Nathan out of her room by the ear. The only explanation that she can think of for him not doing that is that he's nursing one hell of a hangover. Still, his cold tone and demanding words pierce her deeply.

Pushing the thoughts of her father to the back of her mind, she makes her way back up to her room. She's surprised to see Nathan awake, sitting up in her bed and running his fingers through his hair. It's possible that he looks even better with bedhead and eyes glossed over with sleep.

"Morning," she greets.

He looks up at the sound of her voice, managing as much of a smile as he can with his busted lip.

"Morning. How'd you sleep?" His voice is raspy and thick with sleep—it's highly attractive.

She clears her throat and the thoughts in her head.

"Pretty good. How are you feeling?" She walks over to the side of the bed that he's sitting on and hands him a cup of coffee before claiming the spot next to him.

"Thanks." He takes a sip. "Sore as fuck. I think laying stationary in this bed for so long made it worse."

Haley frowns, cupping her hands around her mug. She almost says another comment about getting checked out by a doctor, but she knows it's useless. "There's some Tylenol in the top drawer if you want."

Nathan shakes his head. "I, um, actually should get going. I wish I could stay but…"

She doesn't want him to leave. She wishes that they could spend the day together, cuddled in her bed talking and watching cheesy sitcoms. It sounds like something out of a rom-com, but she wants the fun and comedic part of those movies instead of the drama for once.

"No, I get it," Haley sighs. "It's probably a good thing anyway—my dad knows you're here."

Nathan's back straightens at her reveal, his eyes going wide. If the circumstances were different, she'd laugh at his obvious panic.

"Is he mad?"

"Yes, I guess? I don't know." Haley shrugs, still bewildered by her dad's reaction. "I thought he would blow up about it but all he really said was you needed to leave."

"I'm sorry, Hales."

"Don't worry about it." She waves her hand in dismissal. She supposes that she should be more concerned with what her dad's going to say once he does unleash, but she's not. "I'm glad you called me last night and I hope you know that you can always call me."

He nods, smiling at her. "I know."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah. Usually, when my dad goes on a bender, he's out of it for two days. I'm just gonna lay low."

"Okay."

She still hates the fact that Nathan is going to continue to be near Dan. It's like sending him off to war and she has no idea if she's going to see him again.

He downs the rest of the coffee, placing the cup on her bedside table. Walking over to her, he circles his arms around her waist and pulls her into him. Haley responds, wrapping her arms around his neck as he buries his head in the mess of her hair. Their hug silences all of her loud thoughts and based on the way Nathan relaxes against her, he feels the same.

"Thank you, again," he whispers into her hair.

She pulls back a bit presses her body up on the tips of her toes and kisses him. It's a chaste kiss, but it still says everything that they aren't.