Silently, Haley wondered to herself if she should say something. It had been awhile since she made any comment and she felt as if she were miles away from the people that surrounded her though they were within a close physical proximity. Chris was to the side of her and apparently saying something relatively amusing based on the looks on the group.

Chris finished his story with a laugh and a collective one from the group followed. She could only smile awkwardly, opting to look down at the floor instead of facing the interrogating glance of his. He leaned in and whispered in her ear a few words that her muddled mind couldn't decipher. She watched the looks on the faces of the people around her instead, hating the knowing smiles that were forming.

We aren't together. She wanted so desperately to scream it. Why couldn't they figure that out and just accept it?

Chris touched her gently on the shoulder and she managed not to flinch. She muttered an excuse and walked off before she heard a response. He didn't follow her.

Nathan would have.

Sighing to herself, she sifted through the rest of the partygoers, finding a dark corner at the end of a long hallway. She leaned against the wall, drink in hand before closing her eyes. She needed to sort out her thoughts, but why here of all places? A party that was supposed to be held in celebration of her and her soon to be thriving music career was not the place where she was supposed to begin doubting her choice of leaving Tree Hill and Nathan. Her husband. Nathan.

She rolled the words around her tongue, they pushed against her lips, but she found that she couldn't say either out loud. It was almost as if she still held onto the childish belief that if she didn't say it, it didn't exist. But, it did. That 'it' was her husband, the one person that she was supposed to spend eternity with and dedicate her whole life to. And, she left him.

She hated it when people broke promises and she managed to break the ultimate of the bunch. Shaking her head, she dug into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She could call him and then… say what, exactly? I'm sorry? I miss you? I can't stop thinking about you?

I love you.

Haley bit the inside of her cheek, squeezing her cell phone tight within her palm before letting out a heavy sigh. She needed to say something to him. She couldn't just not return his call, only lord knows what he would think if she didn't. She needed to let him know that she was still there and she still cared. She was still holding on to… something.

The something that kept her heart beating rapidly though she was miles and miles away from the reason; the something that she had been hiding from for the past few days, the something that she had married him for and loved him for.

Why did it feel like he was the one who left and she was the one who was stuck in an empty apartment back in Tree Hill wondering where he was off to and what he was doing? Was he happy? No, of course not, she berated herself for being so foolish. He was angry and disappointed and worried and hurting. She found some sort of small comfort in that he still cared enough to call. He missed her. He wanted her back.

She could still go back. Albeit, he wouldn't be standing at the door with open arms but there was still a chance that things might be okay in the end, that they could be happy together again. She just didn't know if she had the strength to leave.

The major driving factor in her leaving Tree Hill in the first place was Nathan's ultimatum. She knew that he didn't mean it but the mere fact that he would even think it much less speak it to her scared her to pieces. He might actually leave her and then their relationship would've ended. It had scared her into action and somehow she ended up packing a bag and getting on a bus to New York with Chris. She knew it didn't make much sense or any sense whatsoever but she wasn't thinking at the time and though there were many times on the bus that she just wanted to get off and run back to Tree Hill, she didn't.

She had done the riskiest thing that she had ever done in her sixteen years of life and she didn't know if she could top it off by doing something even riskier, going back to him. So, she didn't. She stayed on the bus and tried to cope with her decision. She didn't call him out of cowardice.

And, she still couldn't. She was still reeling from that night and from his words and from her actions. She was still reeling and she was still falling.

Haley flipped open her phone and slowly, she began to dial the familiar numbers. So close, all she had to do now was press call. One button and then it would connect and she would hear his voice.

Closing her eyes, her thumb settled over the button but she found that she couldn't bring herself to push it. One action and yet again, things would change so drastically. She couldn't do it.

Shaking her head, she closed her phone and stuffed it back into her pocket.

She should've been proud of her makeup skills. Nobody even noticed the tear stains on her cheeks when she returned to the party.

"Did you know," Nathan slurred, nearly shoving his face into Lucas's, "that today is the official two week mark since my wife left me?"

Lucas cringed from the alcohol on his brother's breath. He struggled to move both his and Nathan's body up the stairs to his apartment. Sighing, he leaned against the railing on the stairs, "Nathan, you really have to stop doing this. You've been drinking for two weeks straight."

Nathan smiled blissfully, "I love that JD."

Lucas watched him with disappointed eyes. He shook his head and pushed them up the final stair, nearly stumbling to the door. Fumbling with the keys, he opened the door to what used to be his best friend's and his brother's apartment. Flinching from the smell wafting out of the abode, he turned on the light and laid Nathan on the couch, deciding it was a shorter and more doable distance than the master bedroom.

Nathan kicked off his shoes, settling into the couch, muttering a few nonsensical words.

Two weeks, Haley had been gone. Nathan wasn't the only one who felt the gap of her lack of presence. Though the emotional pain that he felt was different from Nathan's, the amount was by far, no less. In a way, he was just as betrayed as Nathan was but he preferred not speak of it. If he did, it would only make the situation worse and right now, he couldn't indulge himself with a bit of self pity.

He had to take care of his little brother.

He dimmed the lights, closed the door and began cleaning up Nathan's apartment. He was halfway done with the dishes when the phone rang. Not wanting the noise to wake Nathan, he bolted towards the phone and answered with a breathy whisper, "Hello?"

"Lucas?"

Lucas nearly dropped the phone at the sound of her voice. He smiled to himself, at least she still remembered what he sounded like. "Haley," he said softly.

"What are you-" Her voice sounded dejected, "Where's Nathan?"

"He's sleeping."

"Oh, well, I just-" He could hear her heavy sigh. She was probably biting her lip and fidgeting, wondering what to say next.

"How are you, Hales?" Lucas leaned against the counter, falling back into a easy conversation mode.

"Struggling," she answered honestly, "And, you?"

"I don't think I'm the one you really are about at the moment but I'm fine."

A few silent moments passed before she could bring herself to ask the next question, "How's Nathan?"

"Terrible. He needs you, I've told you this already."

"I'm scared," Haley said honestly, almost brutally, "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do from here. I've been mulling over my options and I just, I don't know. I've tried to stop thinking about him, you know? And, somehow I always fall back into the moment he proposed to me."

Lucas nodded, "You miss him and you love him. He's your husband, that's normal."

"Yeah," Haley said unsurely, "Why am I so scared to talk to him then? Shouldn't a conversation between a loving couple be easy and relaxed? It took me nearly an hour just to make this phone call."

"I don't think I need to explain to you the reason for that," Lucas replied simply, "You already know. You are, after all, the smarter one between us."

Haley laughed, "Then, why do I keep making these stupid decisions?"

"You can fix it though."

"Yeah," she said softly though her voice held uncertainty. She was silent for a few seconds, "Don't tell him I called, Lucas."

"Okay." He waited for the goodbye.

"I miss you."

"I miss you too, buddy."