Hey everyone. I'm so terribly sorry for taking this long with this update. Life got extremely hectic for these past few months and I just needed a break. I hope you can all understand that, and also the fact that this chapter is quite short. I wanted to write and give you something, but I promise next chapter will get much better. I'll try to have one or two more chapters before New Year's so .. fingers crossed! Anyway ... I'll stop rambling now. Just please review so I can know what you think of the story, and the chapter itself. Thanks :)
Chapter Nine: The Infallible Plan
"How about this one? it's kinda cute" Asked Haley while holding a 'Dolphins' t-shirt with the lamest dad joke on earth.
Peyton scrunched her nose as she saw the god-awful blue shirt that she knew could only make fun of on a regular basis. "Yeah, I don't think so".
"Come on, it's funny and nice, just like your old man" Joked Haley, as she cooed when she noticed the baby section of the store.
Just when Peyton was about to tease her for being so weird, she realized her friend had completely zooned out on a pair of tiny shoes. "Haley" She asked in a questioning tone, "Anything you want to tell me?"
"What?" Peyton's words knocked her out of her trance "What the heck do you mean?"
"I mean… is there a reason why I should get one of those mini tracksuits for, I don't know, say… a little addition to our friend group?" She couldn't help but ask, lord knows Nathan and Haley were getting at it like bunnies, something she had unfortunately experienced more times than necessary.
Haley gave her a pointed look when she realized what her point was. "Of course not, I just thought they're cute" She noticed Peyton's unconvinced expression, so she had to elaborate, "I had a scare last week, and didn't even tell Nathan. After our fight a couple of months ago, I wasn't all that eager to open that door again, but then the doctor said my test was just a false positive, so I kept my mouth shut".
"Ok but, you're like… protecting yourself and all, right?" Questioned Peyton. One can't be too careful.
"Yeah, absolutely. I mean, the last thing our marriage, or relationship, or whatever this is, needs is a kid. I guess we're still pretty broken" Answered Haley with a sad tone falling from her lips.
"You're not broken Hales, it's just… we're all still trying to figure ourselves out. It sucks most of the time, but you can't break something that wasn't complete from the first place".
"So, you're saying we weren't right for each other from the start?"
"Trust me, I was his girlfriend and even I could see that you were. Everyone did, it was pretty obvious. Like, written in enormous letter on the clouds, kind of obvious". She added as she put her arm around Haley. "I meant that we're young, and inexperienced, and bound to screw up, even the best of us. So, don't kick yourself for it, Hales, it's not really necessary".
"I just…" Haley tried to reason but her doubts kept getting the best of her, "I just want him to let me in, you know? Like truly in. Maybe then we can heal together or something" she confessed to Peyton in what seemed like a rush of honesty. She hadn't had one of those in a while, but she figured if someone knew how to get back on their feet after misfortune, it was Peyton. "Maybe it's dumb but, I need to know that we can still trust each other like before, not this lousy parade of half-truths."
"Haley, you can heal apart. If there is one certainty in this world it's that you and Nathan can recover from anything, but you need to work on yourself, because when you've done that, the together part will solve itself". Said Peyton as she squeezed Haley's hand in hers. "We all went through hell in that school, but that boy of yours? The moron ran back to make sure that the love of his life was safe from any danger." Haley's eyes started to water at the mention of Nathan's reaction when he realized someone had a gun at the school. "That alone seems like enough to convince you that Nathan Scott would do anything possible to make sure you're ok, so then be ok Hales. For him, for you, even for us, you know… those awesome friends that have been rooting for the both of you since day 1." She added, now in a lighter tone. "Ok, maybe since day 2".
Haley couldn't help but laugh at Peyton's remark. It truly had been a bumpy start to their group's friendship, but now they couldn't imagine life without each other. This whole trip was enough proof of how much they needed their friends' help. As broken as they still were, they always managed to find hope amongst themselves.
"Thanks Peyton" Replied Haley while playfully nudging Peyton's shoulder. "Now let's get your dad the best birthday present ever" She cheerfully said while pointing towards an actual dolphin shaped hat.
"Nathan, would you stand still please? Lord you act like an eight-year-old" Brooke scolded him while she was taking his measurements.
"Brooke, could you just hurry? I'm supposed to pick up Haley in like an hour and you're still not done with this crap." She had him standing in the middle of a store for the past 45 minutes. They were trying to find the perfect suit for him, and it was being rather difficult to find the perfect one. Originally, Brooke thought it'd be faster in this Miami store to have him put on different suits to get it just right, but none did the trick. Nathan's back was too damn large, and she had to take some extreme measures, which ended up being actual measures.
"Crap? Did you just call a Tom Ford crap? You're crossing a line there, my friend." She admonished while pinching him by 'accident'. "Do you want to look good for Haley tonight? Because with what I planned with Peyton, she's gonna look drop dead gorgeous and then you'll have to get out of your way to keep guys off of her. But, if you stay still, and respect my art and religion, then you'll both look hot as hell and will be equally threatened."
"I hardly think making me look good is gonna be a problem" Interjected Nathan smugly, but then he got curious by her other remark. "How hot are we talking about?" He noticed Brooke's smirk. Not good. "Exactly how revealing are Haley's clothes?" He knew Haley would look good with absolutely everything and anything, but he still wanted to make it to their date before having to take her dress off of her. Also, he wasn't in the mood of getting crazy jealous or crazy angry.
"Oh Boy Toy, you're in for a freaking heart attack".
After leaving Wilson's office, Lucas was in complete and utter shock. All these intrusive thoughts kept sweeping through his mind, so now his body moved in autopilot. He couldn't remember how he managed to cross the street, let alone arrive at the hotel, but he did, and all he wanted to do was write down everything he just heard for the past 2 hours, to make sure he would absorb it all and digest it thoroughly. He couldn't believe any of it, the money, the battle, the lawyers, the secrets, it seemed like he was living in one of those John Grisham books that he hated with passion.
It had to be some kind of sick joke. Yes, just a big, fat, sick, joke that stopped being funny ages ago. That's the only logical explanation for all this bullshit. He wanted to make sense of it all, but the pieces were right there in front of him, it was the truth, and he knew it. It wasn't a joke, it'd be easier if that were the case, but it wasn't. How come every time I go all Sherlock Holmes; life finds a way for it to come back and bite me in the ass?
He just wanted it all to be over. Even though the inheritance part didn't sound exactly appalling, the idea of his mom having to relive that day, that moment? For her to discover the father of her child, the man she was getting close to again was responsible for something so horrible? And for it to be just about money? That idea killed him inside. It hurt worse than anything, that he felt as though he had stepped on Keith's memory and dishonor it. He just wanted to give Dan a second chance. He wanted to see what it was like to have a father, so he was slowly letting him back in. Such a damn idiot, I already had a father. He felt guilty, and sad, and incredibly angry … no, scratch that. He was heartbroken. Heartbroken for the man he lost, a man he apparently hardly even knew, and heartbroken for his mother, his brother, his sister-in-law, his soon to be sister and for himself. They were all getting caught up in this god damn mess, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Unless… The wheels in his head started turning and turning. His desire to protect them was most likely clouding his better judgement, he knew that, but still didn't stop him from going there. He wanted it to be over, he didn't want to be the one who sat down with Nathan and explain to him that the man who raised him, for better or for worse, killed his own brother in cold blood, led an emotionally unstable dead teen take the fall, just so he could pocket a few million dollars, even though the man was loaded himself. He didn't know how to tell his mother, or even Deb, who had far too much on her plate by now. The 'Unless' kept replaying in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the better it sounded.
He decided that the best thing for the Scott family was to just go to the police with the information, let them do the investigation, and when it was absolutely certain that Dan was going to prison, he'd tell his family, about all of it. This way, clause 17th of William's will, which stated that in the event that one of the direct beneficiaries of the will passed away (Dan and Keith), his remaining share would be reassigned to the other beneficiary, making him sole owner of his empire, would not take place. He was no lawyer himself, but Keith's attorney described the situation clear enough for him to comprehend that one of them dying because of the other would exempt them from the effects of the clause. It had to be proven first though, and a school shooting was best of the best as far as alibi's went, how can anyone prove anything if the only witnesses of that exact moment were dead?
Lucas made it his mission to figure it out himself then. Dan had too much power right now as the Mayor and a businessman with a well renowned team of lawyers for him to involve Tree Hill's Police Department in this, the information would easily become distorted, and that was a risk he wasn't willing to take. His plan was simple, get proof, take it to the police in another city in North Carolina, get him to face a trial, then confess it all to his family and lastly celebrate in some island in South Pacific with Keith's money, and obviously get it somewhere safe. Pretty solid plan if you ask me. What could possibly go wrong?