Chapter 29: A Tree Hill Raven always knows sometimes the best way to win an uphill battle is to stop climbing.

Earlier That Afternoon - Present

Nathan walks between the closet and his duffle bag, packing as fast as he can before he losses his nerve. As he zips the bag, and grabs for his hanging suit, Rachel enters.

"You're leaving? It's only Friday," She asks, her lips parted in surprise.

"Not quite," Nathan sighs. "I'm going to go stay with my brother."

"And Brooke?" Rachel scoffs. "That's a cozy trio."

"Gross," Nathan says, scrunching his nose. "No, there's been some rearranging. Brooke's staying with Peyton, I'm staying with Lucas –"

"And I'm staying alone," Rachel notes, a glimmer of hurt in her eyes.

"Yeah," Nathan says apologetically.

"Does this mean you and Hades are back on?" Rachel asks.

"Seriously?" Nathan replies rolling his eyes. "I really don't know. But coming here with you was a mistake… no offense."

"And here I thought you'd never come to your senses," Rachel kids, taking a seat on the end of the bed.

"You knew?" Nathan asks.

"Nathan, who doesn't," Rachel chides. "I am not a forever person. That's not my thing. I don't believe in 'till death do us part', or really monogamy even. We never had a future, that's what you liked."

Nathan doesn't say anything, a little ashamed. Finally, he admits, "No, we didn't."

"Plus I'm hot," Rachel shrugs.

"Thank you for taking this so graciously," Nathan states. "I really am sorry."

"Hey, don't feel bad," Rachel states, her voice quivering as her strength starts to falter. "I wanted this. I guess after all these years, I just hadn't prepared myself for the end of our nothing."

"For what it's worth, I had fun doing nothing with you," Nathan says with a small smile. He hikes his duffle bag up on his shoulder.

"I would hope so," Rachel laughs, swiping at the stray tears in her eyes. She stands up, walking towards Nathan to give him a kiss on the cheek. She squeezes his bicep. "Don't take yourself so seriously, OK?"

Nathan nods, watching as she walks towards the bathroom.

"And by the way," Rachel says, standing against the doorframe. "Your team completely sucked at the second half of the field games. You better bring your A-game for trivia!"

"Really," Nathan laughs. "We couldn't have one nice moment?"

"Not my style," Rachel says. "Good luck Nate."

"Thanks Rach," Nathan states, giving her a wink. "For everything."

She nods, watching him leave into the hallway. Nathan walks towards the stairs, surprised to find Brooke climbing up the steps.

"You are the last person I want to see right now," Nathan says, his jaw clenching.

Brooke ignores him. "Are you leaving? You can't leave. Please Nate. I was coming to see you. Look, I'm sorry."

"You're sorry Brooke? For what? For hiding the truth or for lying to me the last decade?"

Brooke doesn't say anything, her lips curling in an attempt to suppress the cries welling in her throat.

"Or was this some plan of yours, huh? Some Munchausen by Proxy so the Scotts still need you," Nathan bites.

"I was trying to help you!" Brooke says. "Whose father does that, OK? It would have broken your hearts."

"It would have broken Lucas' heart," Nathan sighs. "I knew my dad was an ass. You weren't protecting me. You were protecting him."

Nathan pushes past Brooke and makes his way down the stairs.

"Nathan I'm sorry!" She begs.

He stops at the top of the next flight of stairs and looks at her, his face cold.

"I would have done everything different," Nathan says, his eyes softening. "And you took that from me."

Brooke can't refute it, so she watches him disappear down the grandest of staircases.

…

Haley sits on the edge of the tub in her bathroom, knee to knee with Brooke who is applying a smoky eye on her. Peyton stands behind them, curling Haley's hair into effortless waves. It's a familiar sight from their youth, one Haley's always cherished since being estranged from her sisters. The naturalness of it warms her aching heart.

"So," Haley pauses, hesitant to break the harmonious spell. "What exactly does a truce mean?"

"I don't know, you're tutor girl," Brooke says instinctively. Peyton laughs as Haley rolls her eyes.

"No, I mean, for us three. What is this truce?" Haley asks.

"Oh," Brooke says, shying away from an answer. "I don't know."

Peyton eyes her, the pain she's trying to mask visible. She looks between the two women, before clearing her throat. "Um, I think it just means we put all this shit on pause. Obviously there are things to talk about, but maybe it's not the time. Maybe what we all deserve is a few nights of fun, all in a row."

Haley nods, listening. She looks at Brooke, "Do you agree?"

"I'd try. I'm not exactly the most upstanding citizen at the moment either," Brooke sighs.

"All right, pinkies up," Haley commands, holding one of her pinky fingers up in the air. Peyton reaches over and links her pinky with Haley's. They look to Brooke.

"You know how I feel about pinky promises," Brooke huffs.

"I sure do," Haley smiles.

"They absolutely, 100%, cannot be broken," Brooke reminds.

"Well then I guess the Brookie Monster will have to be on her best behavior," Peyton jokes. Brooke rolls her eyes.

"Please Brooke," Haley says, shaking her and Peyton's intertwined fingers. "You're the one who convinced me to stay. It's just until Sunday. Then you can go back to hating me."

"How early on Sunday?" Brooke grumbles.

"Brooke!" Peyton says, laughing "Give us your damn pinky."

Begrudgingly, Brooke wraps her pinky around Peyton and Haley's, like the tiniest of hugs.

"Let the truce officially begin," Haley announces. She tries to hide the beaming smile.

"Sunday will be here before you know it," Brooke chirps, leaning back in to finish Haley's eye make-up.

"But it's not here yet," Haley smiles. She needed this. She needed another reminder to fight.

…

"Beer me," Jake says, propped on the windowsill in Lucas' room.

Lucas reaches down from his place at the mini-fridge and tosses one to Jake.

"You want one?" He offers to Nathan, he shakes his head 'no' from his place on the bed.

"Join the party man," Jake says, cracking his beer open as the carbonation bubbles over. He brings the can to his lips, sucking on the foam.

"I think Nate's all partied out thanks to you," Lucas jokes.

Jake cringes. "About earlier…"

"Don't worry about it," Nathan responds. He looks at his friend, regret in his features.

"I feel awful," Jake admits. "Figuratively. I actually feel great, I took a nap this afternoon while you guys sorted your shit."

"Dude you suck," Lucas laughs, throwing a pillow at Jake.

"My beer!" Jake laughs, hitting the pillow away from himself.

Nathan looks between his brother and his best friend, amused. It would be nice to give so little fucks. And then, he realizes, why can't he?

"Beer me," Nathan says. Lucas turns to him, surprised.

"But I thought you wanted to –"

Nathan cuts him off. "What I want to do is have a good time with my boys. We're never here. This never happens. I'm done with the drama tonight."

"And just to be clear, you think getting drunk and then playing trivia with the girls will be low-key," Lucas questions, still grabbing for the beer. Jake laughs.

"Uh huh," Nathan says. "I mean, the worst has already happened, right?"

"Let's hope," Jake says, cheers-ing his can with Nathan.

…

Haley sits at the check-in table with Brooke and Peyton, somehow wrangled in to help greet everyone for the night's Trivia event. She pulls up at her top, a little self-conscious. Brooke had promised the works, and she delivered. When Haley turned around in the mirror earlier, she felt like a star. Her cheeks rosy with life, her eyes vibrant with a gold shimmer and a smoky edge, and she felt confident – Brooke had paired an off-white, cropped peasant top with a high-waisted, faux-leather mini-skirt.

The top shows a little more cleavage than her usual attire, forever self-conscious of her incision scars, but it made her smile how they subtly peaked out her neckline. A form of acceptance, she supposed. And well, the skirt surprised her. She'd have never bought it for herself, too short and too accentuating, and yet, she didn't feel either right now. She felt beautiful. She was Haley on full display – totally vulnerable with her head, her heart, and in her skin.

"Hellooo," Tim says impatiently, snapping Haley back to reality. She looks at him, his face not amused.

"Sorry!" Haley said, pulling his name card from the stack. "Here you go."

She hands it to Tim, who quickly pulls it from her hands. "For the record, I'm Team Nate."

"Good to know," Haley says with a little nod, the nagging reminder she was the outsider.

"Someone's feeling testy tonight," Peyton says, trying to lighten the mood as Tim stalks into the doors behind them.

"I would brace yourself for the man himself," Brooke retorts. She instantly regrets it as she sees the panic in Haley's eyes. "Just kidding. I'm sure he's fine. I'm sure he's -"

"Drunk," Peyton cuts in. "Look at that bob."

Haley and Brooke turn to look ahead at the stone walkway leading up to the Dining Hall. Nathan's hands were in his pockets, and his head bobbed with his stride, the telltale, tipsy giveaway of Nathan Scott. He follows Lucas and Jake whose spirits are much higher than their own.

"Peyty-baby!" Jake hollers, running up to join her at the table. "Don't tell anyone but we're a liiiittle drunk."

"Wow," Peyton says, stifling a laugh. "Couldn't tell."

"Ladies," Lucas acknowledges, tipping his chin to them. He doesn't look directly at Brooke. She winces, grabbing the stack of name cards from in front of Haley.

"We're all at Table 6," Brooke states, handling the cards to Lucas. He grabs it, their thumbs overlapping. Brooke doesn't let go.

"See you inside, Cheery," Lucas says on instinct, instantly regretting it, his betrayal still simmering. He tries to save himself, turning to Peyton and Haley. "Sawyer. Scott."

Haley's eyes bulge.

"JAMES! I meant James," Lucas stammers. "Haley James."

"The one and only," Haley says, giving Lucas a salute, her body succumbing to a deep crimson. He walks inside, followed by Jake. Nathan hangs back, not moving from his spot. Haley glances his way, wanting to die, unnerved to find him staring at her.

"Your earrings," Nathan observes. Haley reaches for her earrings, running her hand over them. To be honest, she didn't even remember what pair she had on. They'd been an afterthought on her way out the door after Brooke was done with her. She realizes they're her grandmother's earrings – gold hoops with subtle sapphire stones set into it. One of her favorite pairs, and one she wears often…

Nathan sees the realization come over Haley, and walks away before she can speak.

"Okay, that was weird," Peyton observes, watching pod-Nathan go inside. She turns to find Haley beaming.

"I wore these on our wedding day," Haley says, unable to contain her smile. "They were my something old, something borrowed, and something blue. He remembered."

"Remembers," Brook corrects. "You said remembered, past tense. Nothing about that seemed past tense, not even to me."

Haley nods in acknowledgement, looking up at the sky as she took it all in. There was a crackle in the air tonight, a tension she hadn't felt in years, as if the stars were aligning for her to get everything she'd ever wanted.

…

Graduation Day – 10 Years Ago

Haley weaves through the crowd, searching for Lydia. She finds her slowly coming down the stairs of the wooden bleachers, a sullen look on her face. When she spots Haley, her eyes brighten – a gesture Haley had seen many times over the years whenever her mother was caught worrying about her father.

Haley rushes to her mother, squeezing her tightly, "We did it!"

Lydia pulls back, kissing her on the cheek. "No my dear, you did it! You did it all."

A tear falls down Lydia's cheek. Haley notices, wiping it away with her thumb. "Please tell me these are happy tears, Mom?"

"The happiest," Lydia smiles. "You know there was a time we weren't sure you'd ever…"

"I know," Haley says, emotional. "I know."

"But here you are, happy and healthy and conquering the world," Lydia smiles. "You lead with your heart, and there's something very metaphorical about that."

"I think so too," Haley says. Lydia leans in, rubbing noses in an eskimo kiss.

"I love you, Haley-Bob," Lydia states.

"I love you more," Haley says, grabbing her mom's hand. "Now, come meet the Scott's."

Haley tugs her mom back into the crowd, feeling a little resistance at first. Finally, her mom keeps pace.

"Actually sweetheart. I have something for you. It's back at the car," Lydia states. "Let's go grab it."

"Mom…" Haley whines. "I really want to get back to Nathan. I want you to meet his parents."

"Honey, it will just take a moment," Lydia sighs. "As if you don't spend enough time with that boy."

"With my husband," Haley corrects.

"With your husband," Lydia smiles. "Now come humor dear old mom for a second."

Lydia loops her arm in Haley's, guiding her up the hill back to campus and over to the parking lot. When they get to her rental, Lydia unlocks it, getting in the driver's seat. She doesn't come back out, prompting Haley to get in the passenger's seat.

"Mom?" Haley says, closing the passenger's door. Lydia looks at her, eyes red-rimmed. "What's the matter?"

"I'm sorry," Lydia states. "I'm so sorry."

"What are you talking about, Mom?" Haley asks.

"You have to come back to San Diego sweetheart," Lydia states.

"I'm – no. What is this? You know I'm staying here with Nathan," Haley responds.

"You can't," Lydia pleads. "I need you to come home with me."

"I love you, and I miss you, but my life is in North Carolina now. I'm free," Haley states. "I finally feel like me."

And this breaks Lydia's heart, because she knows it's absolutely true. And that her next ask will ruin her child's life as she knows it.

"The woman you've become has made me so proud. You have finally found yourself as Haley, no longer hidden behind your sickness or your worries. But the transformation you've found in Tree Hill, doesn't change what's happening at home."

"What do you mean?" Haley asks.

"I mean your father is still in jail," Lydia states.

"I know that," Haley sighs. "Of course I know that."

"Well you don't know everything," Lydia sighs. "The only reason he's alive and well in there, is because we cut a deal with the cartel. We pay them each month to show our good faith in repaying our debts with interest. And they, in turn, leave your father be."

"Why wouldn't you tell me that?" Haley asks, frustrated.

"Because you're a kid," Lydia observes. "It's not your worry."

"It's not my worry until it is, apparently," Haley quips.

"Part of why they allow our monthly payments, is because they're aware of our financial situation. They have access to our accounts…" Lydia alludes.

"Mom, what?" Haley gasps.

"I'm not proud of it OK? But it's the only way we could protect the little family we have left," Lydia says, upset. "If they were to find out you married into money. Our situation would be very different."

"They'd come after Nathan?"

"They'd come after Nathan, and they'd come for more," Lydia sighs.

"Why are you telling me this? Why now? It's my graduation!" Haley cries, the fear of what's next slowly weaving it's way up her spine.

Lydia quiets, bracing herself for the heartbreak of the truth. She felt horrible, but this is what you do for family. Whatever it takes to keep them safe.

"Mom?" Haley says.

"I've met Mr. Scott, honey," Lydia admits. "We've been talking pretty much since we found out you'd gotten married."

"OK," Haley says, skeptical.

"We were concerned, like any parent would be," Lydia admits. "And he said you and Nathan are great kids, but you're kids."

"We're eighteen," Haley says defensively.

"But you're too young to know that marriage has consequences. It's binding. And you my Bob, have baggage. It's not your fault, but it's there. And Nathan does too…" Lydia says, her voice quiet. Ashamed. "And his father ran a background check, rightfully having some concerns on your intention."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Haley says, frustrated. "Rightfully concerned?"

"I'm just saying our history looks bad," Lydia states.

"That's b-s and you know it. I love Nathan, Mom. I'm in love with him. That's why we got married," Haley argues. "And for you to even consider what Mr. Scott is saying, is really insulting."

"I never said I agreed with him, I just understand his concerns," Lydia corrects. "And I had concerns of my own, which I shared with him."

"You told him about Dad and the debts, I presume?" Haley retorts.

"I told him everything," Lydia admits. "He had a right to know what his son was caught up in."

"Nathan isn't caught up in anything! He doesn't even know about our family," Haley cries. "I don't talk about it. This, Nathan, is my bubble. Everything else, it doesn't touch him. It never will."

"Your father didn't think his side work would touch us either," Lydia points out, watching as her daughter crumbles at the realization. She rubs Haley's shoulders, holding back her own tears.

Finally, Haley speaks. "I love Nathan. I can't – there's not a world where I live without him."

"I know it feels that way now, but –" Lydia begins.

"It's a fact," Haley cuts.

"OK, then I'll cut to the chase," Lydia says, bracing herself. "Mr. Scott has offered to use his political connections to get a transfer for your father out of state. Apparently that's possible in California and your father is a good candidate given the intimidation by the cartel."

"OK…" Haley says listening.

"And he's offered to pay our debt to the cartel in full. We could set it up that I win a contest or something so they won't question where the funds came from. It would change everything," Lydia says hopefully. "Our family could start over. Your father could officially be done with everything. And once he's out in a few years, he could get his life back."

"Mom that's too much," Haley sighs. "I don't want their money. Taking advantage of the Scott's is exactly what you said Mr. Scott expected of me."

"We wouldn't be taking advantage of the Scott's. We'd be doing something too," Lydia says, her voice a whisper.

"What would we have to do, Mom?" Haley asks. Lydia shakes her head, she can't say it. "Tell me."

Lydia looks at her daughter, wishing the car would just implode. Finally, she states, "You would divorce Nathan and never contact him again."

Haley jumps back, her back hitting the passenger door. She welcomes the sting of the handle in her spine. The burn echoing the betrayal she felt in her chest. She pulls her knees to her chest and hugs them.

"Haley," Lydia tries to coax a response from her daughter.

"No," Haley cries. "No, no, no, no, no."

"I'm so sorry Bob," Lydia cries, reaching to place a hand on one of Haley's curled up knee. "You have to believe me. I wouldn't be asking this if I didn't have to."

"You don't," Haley cries. "You don't have to ask me! You could have said no, absolutely not. You could have said you trust your daughter and her decisions. Because you know what? I can't say the same for you and dad."

Lydia gasps. "Your father and I have sacrificed almost everything for you."

"I know you've done so much. You made sure I got everything I needed, which was a lot. My heart condition was a lot. It's not lost on me all the time and money and effort you've put into making sure I was OK," Haley cries, pausing before she continues. She lets out an uneasy breath before speaking again. "But the thing is, you did it because you're my parents. You're supposed to. And this isn't me being ungrateful, it's just the truth. But a child… you can't expect a child to divorce their husband to pay their family's debts. I'm sorry, but it's not right."

"I never said it was right," Lydia admits. "But nothing about our family has been right for a very long time. It's just what needs to be done. We need your help Haley-Bob, to be done with the cartel for good."

Haley cries, resting her head on her knees. "This will kill Nathan, you know."

"I know," Lydia sympathizes.

"It will kill me," Haley sobs.

"I know," Lydia says, her voice breaking again. "But it will keep everyone safe. Nathan included."

"Can I at least say goodbye?" Haley cries.

"I'm afraid not," Lydia sighs. "For this to work, we need a clean break. There's nothing clean about saying goodbye or Nathan knowing why you're really leaving."

"And he'd change my mind," Haley cries.

"Yes," Lydia agrees.

"So ten minutes ago was the last time I'll ever see Nathan? Hug Nathan? My friends? And he's suppose to think, what? That I don't love him? That I'm leaving because I don't want to be with him?"

"Yes," Lydia confirms.

Haley's head snaps up, her anger visible. "I'll never forgive you."

"I know," Lydia says. She's beside herself, the hard choice even harder than she could have prepared for.

Haley notices a hotel pad and pen in the cup holder in the center console. She grabs it, opening her door.

"Haley, please!"

Haley gets out the door, poking her head back in. "I need to do something first."