Title: "Just Hold My Hand"
Author: Kristen a.k.a Italian Kitty
Rating: PG-13, R
Chapter 4
{AN: I disclaim all chapters past and after. Also, Sooo sorry for the absurd amount of time it takes me to update, I'm really bad at that. Anyway, I left you guys with a longer chapter than normal so hopefully that can make up for something! Anyway, Enjoy and tell me what you think!}
The drive over to the Scott's home was done in an extreme awkward silence, at least to Haley anyway.
Haley looked over at Nathan to find him concentrating on nothing but the endless stretch of road in front of them. She could tell he was thinking about something by the way the muscles in his cheek twitched from inner stress. Letting out a tired sigh, she rubbed her temples to ease the small ache that was starting to form. Looks like things weren't going so smoothly after all. Continually rubbing her temples she asked, "Nathan, are you ever going to tell me what happened?" At his prolonged silence she brought her hands down from her face and turned to look at him. Not taking his eyes off the road, she noticed his hands grip the wheel tighter. "We'll talk about it later", was his clipped reply.
She raised an elegant eyebrow. Figures...
Shaking her head, she could still remember the massive flames of the fire ripping through her kitchen, mutilating the beautiful new wood, eating up everything in its path, just simple burning her kitchen to the ground. What on earth was he doing that had caused such a catastrophe? Casting a small glance at him from the corner of her eye, she bit her lip in contemplation. She was really too tired to fight about this, but if it was someone else in her position she just knew they would have acted totally differently in this situation. They would have become totally deranged after coming home from working a 12 hour shift serving musty, disgusting, ungrateful customers all day, not to mention spilling coffee on yourself three times. The sheer number of colorful words floating through her mind just aching to be spit out like venom at her so called wonderful boyfriend made her let out a wry smile.
Well, he might not want to talk about it now, but he was right about one thing, they would definitely talk about it later. After he has cooled off, of course, and allowed time to think about things. She figured he must be feeling really guilty about the whole thing, and that was the one thing she feared the most. His guilt and pride, which basically went hand in hand. They were the two things that would ultimately damage their relationship in the end. He would take his guilt, push it so far inside himself even he wouldn't be able to find it, but it would always be there slowly eat away at his soul, and would eventually break free.
It would explode. He would explode.
He would shut her out, like he always did. The one thing she hated about him. He always shut her out when he needed her the most. Why did he always have to be so stubborn about everything? Knitting her brow in aggravation, she came to the conclusion that if he wanted to tell her, then he would have to do it on his own. She wasn't just going to dance around him and beg him to answer her. She was too tired for that, and she was also too tired to stay awake and think about everything.
Nathan took his eyes off the road for the first time the whole car ride, and glanced at his girlfriend. She was sound asleep, lightly snoring, which he had always found adorable. His eyes went back to the road again after what seemed like an eternity. He never remembered it taking this long to get to his parent's home. Maybe it was dreading the ride over that was making the time pass so slowly.
Finally letting the thoughts overcrowding his head to dissipate, he took in everything around him. He could hear the wind slapping against the car, and he could hear Haley's deep breathing, and then the rest was total silence. The silence only caused him to return to his angry thoughts and he couldn't take it anymore. Looking over at Haley, he cautiously tested turning the radio on low, seeing if it would wake her up.
"I took a ride
To meet an enemy"
She made an inaudible moan and turned slightly. Seeing the music's effect, he quickly turned it off not wanting to disturb her. He let out a small smile at her sleeping form and continued to drive. Little did he know, the foreshadowing those few lines that were heard would turn out to show.
It was way past the midnight hour before Nathan and Haley pulled into the Scott estate that night. With the slight jolt of the halting car Haley awakened from her pleasant slumber. Nathan turned the car off, and sat there for a second. Perhaps to just gather his thoughts, or maybe he was waiting for her to speak? "Well, we're here, so...let's just get this over with." Haley nodded her head and got out of the car.
They walked along the pea gravel walkway and passed the ornately sculpted statues that peered menacingly at them guarding the front door of the house. Haley raised a skeptical eyebrow as she looked at the house. She never remembered how awkward and almost scary the house looked at night. She looked at Nathan and as if reading her thoughts he just shrugged and took a hold of her elbow, guiding her with him to the front door.
With a knock, he just opened the door and walked inside. Upon entering the foyer he saw his parents standing there waiting for him. His mom rushed up with a concerned look on her face, but then his gaze switched towards the scowl plastered on his father's face, and he knew this had been a bad idea.
"Nathan, I'm sure you both are tired so..." Nathan's mother started, but was cut off by Nathan's father. "Deb, I want to talk to Nathan."
The muscles in his jaw twitched and from the look in his eyes, Nathan knew his father wasn't happy. He felt a warm hand slide gently into his, offering what little comfort it could. Nathan glanced to his side and gave Haley a small smile assuring her everything was all right. So with a small squeeze her hand glided smoothly out of his and she followed his mother out of the room.
"Nathan! What the hell happened? You mean to tell me that the huge, and let's not forget expensive house we just bought you not six months ago...has just been burned to the ground?! How could you have been so damn stupid?"
Nathan broke his father's gaze and felt his hands ball into fists at his side. He really didn't need this right now. Just like his father to drive the nail in deeper by reminding him was a failure.
"Can you do nothing right? Or was it Haley who did something stupid? Figures...too stupid people belong together. Well, don't get too comfortable here mister, because you will be paying for the repairs all on your own. Now tell me what happened."
"It's none of your damn business." Nathan's voice was low and icy as his dark glare cut straight through Dan. "The hell it isn't! I paid for that damn house so you better just get over your pride and tell me what happened!" Dan shouted and took an intimidating step closer.
"Look! I was making some dinner and I fell and blacked out. Last thing I remember is being pulled out the fire fighters! Yeah, that's right. I can't even fucking cook for my girlfriend without messing everything up! So take a real good look dad, cause this is your failure son!
His dad took a step back and crossed his arms, taking everything in. Nathan shook his head and let out a frustrated breath. All the sudden he heard it. That condescending, cocky laugh that assaulted his ears and burned them with their viscous venom. He was laughing at him! His own father!
Still laughing all Dan heard was a growled "Son of a Bitch!" as Nathan fled the room.
Haley jumped when she heard the loud SLAM of the door. Nathan leaned against it and breathed a few times just to calm himself. Haley gave him a sympathetic almost pitying stare and he knew he needed to get out. He didn't want her sympathy and he definitely didn't need her pity. Haley uncurled her legs and got up from the bed. She made her way over to Nathan and gave him a warm smile, but he didn't seem to be in the mood by the scowl that marred his handsome features.
"Oh Nathan, stop being such a baby! You knew your father was going to be angry. What did you expect?"
"You know what Haley, I really don't need this right now." He pushed past her and pulled his shirt off. Haley turned to watch him rip the shirt from his body and throw it to the floor in disgust. He moved to sit on the side of the bed, head down, hands clasped together. Slowly walking over to the bed she studied him a second before shrugging and lying down on 'her' side of the bed.
A few hours later Haley's sleepy eyes opened wearily to peer at the clock on the bedside table. Groggily she flipped over to find the usual warm body of her boyfriend to be gone. Heaving a great sigh she turned back over. Shaking her head all she felt was her stomach clench and that odd sort of stinging ache begin to form. Her eyes started to prick from that familiar feeling of liquid that would soon spill over and slowly glide their way down her face. "What is wrong with you Nathan?" The whispered question her soul asked to the silent night was heard by no one and left unanswered.
For now...
Song credit: Eve 6 "Enemy"
{AN: I disclaim all chapters past and after. Also, Sooo sorry for the absurd amount of time it takes me to update, I'm really bad at that. Anyway, I left you guys with a longer chapter than normal so hopefully that can make up for something! Anyway, Enjoy and tell me what you think!}
The drive over to the Scott's home was done in an extreme awkward silence, at least to Haley anyway.
Haley looked over at Nathan to find him concentrating on nothing but the endless stretch of road in front of them. She could tell he was thinking about something by the way the muscles in his cheek twitched from inner stress. Letting out a tired sigh, she rubbed her temples to ease the small ache that was starting to form. Looks like things weren't going so smoothly after all. Continually rubbing her temples she asked, "Nathan, are you ever going to tell me what happened?" At his prolonged silence she brought her hands down from her face and turned to look at him. Not taking his eyes off the road, she noticed his hands grip the wheel tighter. "We'll talk about it later", was his clipped reply.
She raised an elegant eyebrow. Figures...
Shaking her head, she could still remember the massive flames of the fire ripping through her kitchen, mutilating the beautiful new wood, eating up everything in its path, just simple burning her kitchen to the ground. What on earth was he doing that had caused such a catastrophe? Casting a small glance at him from the corner of her eye, she bit her lip in contemplation. She was really too tired to fight about this, but if it was someone else in her position she just knew they would have acted totally differently in this situation. They would have become totally deranged after coming home from working a 12 hour shift serving musty, disgusting, ungrateful customers all day, not to mention spilling coffee on yourself three times. The sheer number of colorful words floating through her mind just aching to be spit out like venom at her so called wonderful boyfriend made her let out a wry smile.
Well, he might not want to talk about it now, but he was right about one thing, they would definitely talk about it later. After he has cooled off, of course, and allowed time to think about things. She figured he must be feeling really guilty about the whole thing, and that was the one thing she feared the most. His guilt and pride, which basically went hand in hand. They were the two things that would ultimately damage their relationship in the end. He would take his guilt, push it so far inside himself even he wouldn't be able to find it, but it would always be there slowly eat away at his soul, and would eventually break free.
It would explode. He would explode.
He would shut her out, like he always did. The one thing she hated about him. He always shut her out when he needed her the most. Why did he always have to be so stubborn about everything? Knitting her brow in aggravation, she came to the conclusion that if he wanted to tell her, then he would have to do it on his own. She wasn't just going to dance around him and beg him to answer her. She was too tired for that, and she was also too tired to stay awake and think about everything.
Nathan took his eyes off the road for the first time the whole car ride, and glanced at his girlfriend. She was sound asleep, lightly snoring, which he had always found adorable. His eyes went back to the road again after what seemed like an eternity. He never remembered it taking this long to get to his parent's home. Maybe it was dreading the ride over that was making the time pass so slowly.
Finally letting the thoughts overcrowding his head to dissipate, he took in everything around him. He could hear the wind slapping against the car, and he could hear Haley's deep breathing, and then the rest was total silence. The silence only caused him to return to his angry thoughts and he couldn't take it anymore. Looking over at Haley, he cautiously tested turning the radio on low, seeing if it would wake her up.
"I took a ride
To meet an enemy"
She made an inaudible moan and turned slightly. Seeing the music's effect, he quickly turned it off not wanting to disturb her. He let out a small smile at her sleeping form and continued to drive. Little did he know, the foreshadowing those few lines that were heard would turn out to show.
It was way past the midnight hour before Nathan and Haley pulled into the Scott estate that night. With the slight jolt of the halting car Haley awakened from her pleasant slumber. Nathan turned the car off, and sat there for a second. Perhaps to just gather his thoughts, or maybe he was waiting for her to speak? "Well, we're here, so...let's just get this over with." Haley nodded her head and got out of the car.
They walked along the pea gravel walkway and passed the ornately sculpted statues that peered menacingly at them guarding the front door of the house. Haley raised a skeptical eyebrow as she looked at the house. She never remembered how awkward and almost scary the house looked at night. She looked at Nathan and as if reading her thoughts he just shrugged and took a hold of her elbow, guiding her with him to the front door.
With a knock, he just opened the door and walked inside. Upon entering the foyer he saw his parents standing there waiting for him. His mom rushed up with a concerned look on her face, but then his gaze switched towards the scowl plastered on his father's face, and he knew this had been a bad idea.
"Nathan, I'm sure you both are tired so..." Nathan's mother started, but was cut off by Nathan's father. "Deb, I want to talk to Nathan."
The muscles in his jaw twitched and from the look in his eyes, Nathan knew his father wasn't happy. He felt a warm hand slide gently into his, offering what little comfort it could. Nathan glanced to his side and gave Haley a small smile assuring her everything was all right. So with a small squeeze her hand glided smoothly out of his and she followed his mother out of the room.
"Nathan! What the hell happened? You mean to tell me that the huge, and let's not forget expensive house we just bought you not six months ago...has just been burned to the ground?! How could you have been so damn stupid?"
Nathan broke his father's gaze and felt his hands ball into fists at his side. He really didn't need this right now. Just like his father to drive the nail in deeper by reminding him was a failure.
"Can you do nothing right? Or was it Haley who did something stupid? Figures...too stupid people belong together. Well, don't get too comfortable here mister, because you will be paying for the repairs all on your own. Now tell me what happened."
"It's none of your damn business." Nathan's voice was low and icy as his dark glare cut straight through Dan. "The hell it isn't! I paid for that damn house so you better just get over your pride and tell me what happened!" Dan shouted and took an intimidating step closer.
"Look! I was making some dinner and I fell and blacked out. Last thing I remember is being pulled out the fire fighters! Yeah, that's right. I can't even fucking cook for my girlfriend without messing everything up! So take a real good look dad, cause this is your failure son!
His dad took a step back and crossed his arms, taking everything in. Nathan shook his head and let out a frustrated breath. All the sudden he heard it. That condescending, cocky laugh that assaulted his ears and burned them with their viscous venom. He was laughing at him! His own father!
Still laughing all Dan heard was a growled "Son of a Bitch!" as Nathan fled the room.
Haley jumped when she heard the loud SLAM of the door. Nathan leaned against it and breathed a few times just to calm himself. Haley gave him a sympathetic almost pitying stare and he knew he needed to get out. He didn't want her sympathy and he definitely didn't need her pity. Haley uncurled her legs and got up from the bed. She made her way over to Nathan and gave him a warm smile, but he didn't seem to be in the mood by the scowl that marred his handsome features.
"Oh Nathan, stop being such a baby! You knew your father was going to be angry. What did you expect?"
"You know what Haley, I really don't need this right now." He pushed past her and pulled his shirt off. Haley turned to watch him rip the shirt from his body and throw it to the floor in disgust. He moved to sit on the side of the bed, head down, hands clasped together. Slowly walking over to the bed she studied him a second before shrugging and lying down on 'her' side of the bed.
A few hours later Haley's sleepy eyes opened wearily to peer at the clock on the bedside table. Groggily she flipped over to find the usual warm body of her boyfriend to be gone. Heaving a great sigh she turned back over. Shaking her head all she felt was her stomach clench and that odd sort of stinging ache begin to form. Her eyes started to prick from that familiar feeling of liquid that would soon spill over and slowly glide their way down her face. "What is wrong with you Nathan?" The whispered question her soul asked to the silent night was heard by no one and left unanswered.
For now...
Song credit: Eve 6 "Enemy"