1Sorry it took me forever to update one stupid chapter. Thank you guys for all your comments and thanks for reading! Here ya go!
Chapter 3 - "Julius Caesar vs. Napoleon Dynamite"
Monday. It was a Monday and it was time for school, but I couldn't bring myself to get out of bed. It had been two days since we buried my mother. Two days of seclusion I had spent locked in my room, the attempts of my brothers and father had not succeeded into opening the barricade I had up against my room... and my heart. Bram had stopped by to talk to me first–unsuccessfully–and then the second time he brought my stuff by.
There was a knock on my door, in which I responded with my usual silence. "Haley, it's me," Drew said in a soft voice. "It's Dad. I just want to talk to you for a second... I'm not going to come in there trying to help you cope or reminisce with you. I'm here to talk to you about maybe moving."
My sleepy eyes shot up towards the door as his words jolted me awake, "what are you talking about?" I asked, my voice crackling and rusty.
"Well, I was thinking about moving us–well, me and you–to Tree Hill, North Carolina. I grew up there when I was a boy and it was just small and quaint. Inconspicuous. I think that's really what we need right now. What do ya say, kiddo?"
I swung my legs out of the bed and threw the covers back, getting up and walking to the door. I lifted my hand to unlock the door and waited for Drew to open it. "We're moving?" I asked.
"I don't know... what do you think?"
I shrugged, "it would be better than having to see the same exact people everyday, you know. I mean, I don't want people to take pity on me."
he nodded his head, "then I think Tree Hill is just what we need."
I nodded, "I guess so."
"You'll really like it there, Haley. I mean, I spent five years of my life there. It hasn't changed any, either, as far as I've heard, and it would be just the place to... recover from all of this."
"Recover..." I sighed. It wasn't like it had been me in some accident and I'd gotten hurt and I could just fix my wounds. I couldn't heal them right up. My mom had died. I hadn't broken an arm.
"Well... we can learn to live," he sighed, drained. It was the first time I had ever noticed age marks on Drew's face. His eyes were bloodshot and droopy, he had huge circles under his eyes, the creases in his face were now visible... it looked like he was falling apart.
"If this will make you happy, then I will go. If your just doing it for me, then I'm staying put."
He just nodded at me, "I'm doing this for the both of us, Hales. I want us to learn to smile again. To laugh again. To love again."
"Then I'll do it."
he smiled weakly and moved forward, hugging me. His strong arms grasped my neck as I felt wet tears on my shoulder, "we can do this together, Haley. Your mom would have wanted us to try and be happy again."
I pulled away, "I know she would have wanted that, but it just seems so wrong. Moving away to try and get over her."
"No, Haley, no. we're not moving away to try and get over her, we're moving away to try and cope with her not being with us anymore. There is no way we're ever going to forget about her. No, we're just simply trying to get past the dark times and embrace the new ones."
"I don't know if I can embrace the new ones."
"You are the strongest, bravest young woman I know of, Haley Elizabeth James. You can do this. You have the soul of your mother inside of you," he smiled. "I know deep down in my heart that you can do this. You can believe again..." his sentence trailed off as he just looked at me for a minute or so, "now get packed," he snapped out of his trance-like state. "We have a long ride ahead of us."
"Hales, wake up," somebody shook me as I awoke with a start.
"Wha.." I said groggily, looking around. All I could see were small lights here and there. Some businesses, but mostly it was all dark and empty.
"We're here," Drew said, smiling. He reached over and tousled my hair, "you awake sleepy head?"
I rolled my eyes, "no."
"Well, get up. You can go to sleep in the hotel room. First we're going to stop by a café and get something to eat."
"Dude, it's like 10 at night! Nothing is going to be ope..." my voice trailed off as I saw the lights to a café still on. Karen's Café, to be exact.
"You were saying," Drew raised his eyebrows.
I rolled my eyes and unbuckled my seatbelt. Drew parked and we both got out and walked into the cute, little café. It was decorated normally, though it seemed so comely and wholesome.
"Hi, can I help you?" a black-headed woman spoke up, breaking off her conversation with a sandy blonde sitting on the bar. I followed Drew up to the bar and sat down beside him–also sitting beside the dirty blonde who smiled nicely at me.
I nodded and gave him the best smile I could muster. I probably looked like a mess, but if I did, the guy didn't notice... or both to tell me. Either way, I was glad he hadn't. "Can I have a cup of coffee and something warm... and Haley?" he asked, looking at me.
"Oh... um..." I looked around, trying to think of something to order. "A piece of pie, please, and some sweet tea."
"Sure thing," she nodded and went to fixing our food. "Just traveling by?" the woman asked, making small talk while putting a piece of pie on a purple plate and placing it on the place mate in front of me.
"We were actually thinking about moving," Drew spoke up.
"Oh really?" the woman raised her eyebrows. "Well, it's always a nice surprise when this sleepy old town gets new neighbors."
Drew laughed politely while I hung my head over the pie and played with it with my fork. I had developed a slight bitch of a headache between the time we left the car to now, "I'm Drew Wilson, by the way," he smiled, reaching out his hand.
"Karen Roe," the woman smiled graciously and shook his hand, "and this is my son, Lucas Scott."
"This is my daughter, Haley James."
"It's nice to meet the both of you," I sighed to myself, not wanting to be mean, as I gave her a polite smile and shook her soft hand.
"Hey," Lucas nodded, a pencil in his ear as he read a thick book. I glanced at the title of it: "Julius Caesar."
"A tide in the affairs of men," I nodded.
Lucas looked up at me, his forehead furrowed, "Julius Caesar?"
I nodded, smiling, "I had to read it my tenth grade year."
"We're actually reading it now and I'm a junior," he laughed.
I smiled and nodded, "Caesar is no Napoleon Dynamite, but the book is alright."
"Napoleon Dynamite?" he laughed.
"My hero," I confessed, putting my right hand up in seriousness.
Lucas just laughed, shaking his head, "you mean Julius Caesar doesn't hold a candle to Napoleon Dynamite?"
"Exactly."
"You have got to be kidding me!"
I shook my head, "certainly not."
"Your not kidding?"
I looked at him, "serious as serious gets," I laughed. "How can he not be every teenage guys, as well as girls, hero? He's the epiphany of what all high school kids should be."
"And your saying that every high school kid should look so doped up all the time and be so... stupid, for lack of better term... he's a moron! I can't believe I even watched the first 20 minutes of the movie. It was just... stupid!"
"Gosh, you freaking idiot!" I quoted him, smiling as Lucas rolled his eyes.
"I can't believe we're sitting here comparing Julius Caesar–probably the most world-known Roman man–to Napoleon Dynamite who is... nobody!"
"See, where as your nobody is my somebody, your somebody is my nobody."
"So your saying Julius Caesar is nobody?"
"Nobody interesting."
"Dude!"
I laughed, rolling my eyes, "I have the DVD if you want to borrow it and finish the whole thing. It gets better in the end, trust me."
"And once I get through reading this book, I will loan it to you and you can actually read it."
"Hey, I never–"
"Never what? You insinuated that you wanted me to watch Napoleon Dynamite. Why can't you read Julius Caesar?"
"I've already read the book."
"Obviously not."
"Some people can read the book and absolutely hate it."
"Some people can watch a stupid ass movie and absolutely hate it."
"Lucas!" Karen finally cut in.
He laughed, looking at me, "sorry, Mom. And, Haley, we'll continue this some other time, what do you say?"
I smiled and nodded, "I'd love to prove I'm right and your wrong. It gives me no other pleasure."
"Haley!" it was Drew's time to hiss my name this time.
"Sorry, Dad," I laughed.
"Bye. Mr. Wilson, it was nice meeting you," Lucas stuck out his hand to my dad.
"You too, Lucas, but call me Drew."
he nodded, "I will see you later, Drew.. Mom," he nodded at both of them and then looked at me, "Haley."
"See you, Lucas." I smiled and watched as he left the café, the door closing with a jingle.
