Author's Note: Hello to all you readers out there in computer land! I know
that it has been almost forever since I've updated, I just got caught up
with everything else, my other stories included. I also wasn't sure if you
guys were even still interested, I'm not sure if you are, but I figured I'd
write another chapter to see. I hope I can get back into the flow of this
story, my other ones aren't as dark as this one, but I'll try my hardest.
So, here goes nothing....
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Karen's POV
They always say that a mother's love can heal all wounds, or at least that's what I choose to believe. There was a time that whenever one of my children fell and bumped their knee, all it took was for me to kiss it and everything was perfect again. It seems that as they grew up, so did their problems. When they were little, their biggest problem was not being able to find their favourite basketball or Barbie doll. Now it's cheating on your girlfriend with her best friend or getting raped by your boyfriend. Boy, how things have changed. No matter how much I tried to keep things the same, they soon became too big for me to handle. All I could do was sit there and watch the world go by. Now one of my babies is hurt and I have to be there to fix it. But even I can't fix this. What happened to Haley has got to be the worse thing that can ever happen to a person. How am I supposed to make that better? Some things can only be healed by time. They hurt for a while, so much so that you don't think it will ever get better. Then, slowly, sometimes without even knowing it, things start to hurt less and less everyday. Now don't get me wrong, I have absolutely no idea what Haley could possibly be going though, but I have had to deal with my fair share of pain. And do you know how I got through it? My family. And that is what Haley is, family. The only family I have left.
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"No problem," I tell Peyton, agreeing to go pick Brooke up at Haley's house. "We'll see you guys soon. Bye." I hang up the phone before she has the chance to say anything else. I hand the phone over to Keith so he can put it back on my nightstand. I stand up.
"Who was that?" he asks me. I can feel his eyes on me as I move around the room, trying to find something to wear. "Where are you going?"
"Hospital," I stated, without turning around to face him. I don't think I could survive the look I know is in his eyes. When he came over last night, he had no idea what was going on. He still doesn't, I never got the chance to tell him. I can hear him shifting in the bed. I grab a random shirt from my closet and put it on.
"Hospital?" he repeats with worry. I'm surprised that he didn't realize something was wrong last night when he came over. As soon as I saw him, all the pain I felt inside just burst. He used to be part of that family that I had so long ago lost. I was lonely, he was there. Things happened. Things that shouldn't have happened. "Karen, what's going on?" I can tell that he is starting to get dressed as well, ready to take me to the hospital if I needed.
"It's a long story," I answered lamely, not wanting to go through this all again. I quickly put a pair of jeans on and turn around, making sure not to look him in the face. He's putting his shirt on.
"Then give me the short version," he demands. He must have realized that what happened between us last night wasn't what he thought. I shake my head, grabbed my purse and walked past him to the kitchen. He was hot on my trail. "Is it Lucas?"
"For once, it's not," I answer, walking out the door. I start to get my keys out as I walk. I hear him running behind me. I unlock and open my car door, getting in. Before I can close it, he grabs it. I can tell that he isn't going to let me leave until I explain. I sigh. "There was a party last night. Things got out of hand with Haley and Nathan. She's in the hospital, he's in jail. I think you can figure the rest out on your own." He's so in shock that he doesn't realize that I've started the car and am beginning to back up.
"Wait!" he yelled out as he finally came to his senses. I ignore his calls and continue to pull out onto the street. I'm at Haley's house in no time flat. I park the car in front of the house and go to the front door. Without knocking, I make my way inside. I've been in here more times than I could possibly remember and the place looks just like it has for the past ten years. Just as I'm beginning to think that Brooke wasn't here anymore, I hear a huge crash coming from Haley's room. I jump at the sound and cautiously make my way to her room. When I get there, I see Brooke sobbing on the floor.
"Brooke, honey?" I call out, not wanting to frighten her any. I can't tell if she head me or not so I move further into the room until I'm kneeling beside her. I lay a soft hand on her shoulder. "Brooke?" She looks up at me with tears running down her face. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" The only answer I get is her falling into my arms. I do the only thing I can think of and rub her back, trying to calm her down somehow. After about five minutes of this, she begins to pull away, wiping her eyes.
"Thanks," she says with a fake, but watery smile. I give her another minute to collect herself before I ask her what was wrong. Either I'm that easy to read or she's a mind reader, because she answers the question before I can even ask it. "Just heard an old message. Got me going. I'm good now."
"Are you sure?" She nods. I leave it alone, deciding she doesn't want to talk about it.
"What are you doing here anyways?" she asks me, apparently just wondering what I was doing in the house in the first place.
"Peyton called," I inform her. "Told me that we were allowed to see Hales now. She asked if I could pick you up here on my way." She nods and starts to get up. I hold her elbow encase she wavers a bit. She seems okay and starts to gather the clothes that were left on the floor. "Those for Haley?"
"Yeah, just came to pick them up," she explains. Right, that would make sense. I nod and she looks around the room, making sure she has everything that she'll need. "Okay, I'm ready." We head downstairs and get into the car. Within five minutes, including our ice cream stop, we are at the hospital. We both get out, me carrying the ice cream and her with the clothes, and make our way inside. The first thing I see is two cops waiting in the lobby, talking to a nurse. "What's going on?" she asks me.
"Don't know." The nurse spots us and points in Brooke's direction. The policemen thank her and make their way over to us. "Can I help you?"
"Are you two related to Haley James?"
"Well, I'm her mother and she's her best friend," I answer with some confusion. His eyebrows rise in surprise.
"You're Mrs. James?" he asks. "I was told she wasn't in the country." I'm a little embarrassed at my mistake and shake my head.
"Oh, maybe not mother," I stammer. "I've known her forever. She's like my daughter," I explain protectively. I think he understands where I'm coming from. He smiles softly at me before his partner turns to Brooke.
"She said you are her best friend?"
"Yeah," Brooke replies glancing at them, trying to figure out what this was about.
"Where you with Ms. James at the party last night?" he asks. "When Mr. Scott...."
"Yeah," she answers quickly before the cop can finish his sentence. "I saw it happen. I walked in on them." They seemed to be surprised by her last confession. I frown at the look on her face. She looks so upset. She must be reliving it or something. I instinctively lay a supportive hand on her back.
"We're going to have to ask you a few question, Miss..."
"Davis," Brooke finishes for him. "Brooke Davis, but please call me Brooke."
"Okay, Brooke," the second cop begins. "If you just follow us over there..." She nods and hands me the clothes before following them over to the chairs. She turns around.
"She's in 314," she tells me. "Third floor." I smile at her and walk over to the elevator. I'm on the right floor before I know it and soon I'm walking down the hall. I find Haley's room easy enough and look inside. I can see Peyton and Haley talking. Haley doesn't look anything like I thought she would. If I didn't know her as well as I do, I would think that everything was fine. I take a deep breath and slowly open the door.
"I know, can you believe what would happen if..." she stops mid sentence as she sees me. Peyton follows her gaze and sees me too. We stay like this for a moment, not one of us moving until Peyton finally breaks the silence by standing up. She kisses Haley on the forehead and gives me a supportive smile as she walks past me and out the door. We're alone. Haley hasn't broken eye contact with me since I came in.
"Hey, mom," she whispers. I have her in my arms in an instant. We're both crying and holding on to each other. I feel so damn useless. My child is hurting and I can't do anything about it. I've never felt this bad in my entire life. She clings to me and I hold her tighter.
"It's going to be okay, baby," I whisper to her. She continues to cry. "I've got you, baby. I've got you." I hope she believes me. That things can be okay again. I want to believe it too. She has to be okay. She's all I've got.
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Okay, that's it for now. If you guys like it and review I'll continue to update. Please tell me what you think. I'm outtie.
OTH
Karen's POV
They always say that a mother's love can heal all wounds, or at least that's what I choose to believe. There was a time that whenever one of my children fell and bumped their knee, all it took was for me to kiss it and everything was perfect again. It seems that as they grew up, so did their problems. When they were little, their biggest problem was not being able to find their favourite basketball or Barbie doll. Now it's cheating on your girlfriend with her best friend or getting raped by your boyfriend. Boy, how things have changed. No matter how much I tried to keep things the same, they soon became too big for me to handle. All I could do was sit there and watch the world go by. Now one of my babies is hurt and I have to be there to fix it. But even I can't fix this. What happened to Haley has got to be the worse thing that can ever happen to a person. How am I supposed to make that better? Some things can only be healed by time. They hurt for a while, so much so that you don't think it will ever get better. Then, slowly, sometimes without even knowing it, things start to hurt less and less everyday. Now don't get me wrong, I have absolutely no idea what Haley could possibly be going though, but I have had to deal with my fair share of pain. And do you know how I got through it? My family. And that is what Haley is, family. The only family I have left.
OTH
"No problem," I tell Peyton, agreeing to go pick Brooke up at Haley's house. "We'll see you guys soon. Bye." I hang up the phone before she has the chance to say anything else. I hand the phone over to Keith so he can put it back on my nightstand. I stand up.
"Who was that?" he asks me. I can feel his eyes on me as I move around the room, trying to find something to wear. "Where are you going?"
"Hospital," I stated, without turning around to face him. I don't think I could survive the look I know is in his eyes. When he came over last night, he had no idea what was going on. He still doesn't, I never got the chance to tell him. I can hear him shifting in the bed. I grab a random shirt from my closet and put it on.
"Hospital?" he repeats with worry. I'm surprised that he didn't realize something was wrong last night when he came over. As soon as I saw him, all the pain I felt inside just burst. He used to be part of that family that I had so long ago lost. I was lonely, he was there. Things happened. Things that shouldn't have happened. "Karen, what's going on?" I can tell that he is starting to get dressed as well, ready to take me to the hospital if I needed.
"It's a long story," I answered lamely, not wanting to go through this all again. I quickly put a pair of jeans on and turn around, making sure not to look him in the face. He's putting his shirt on.
"Then give me the short version," he demands. He must have realized that what happened between us last night wasn't what he thought. I shake my head, grabbed my purse and walked past him to the kitchen. He was hot on my trail. "Is it Lucas?"
"For once, it's not," I answer, walking out the door. I start to get my keys out as I walk. I hear him running behind me. I unlock and open my car door, getting in. Before I can close it, he grabs it. I can tell that he isn't going to let me leave until I explain. I sigh. "There was a party last night. Things got out of hand with Haley and Nathan. She's in the hospital, he's in jail. I think you can figure the rest out on your own." He's so in shock that he doesn't realize that I've started the car and am beginning to back up.
"Wait!" he yelled out as he finally came to his senses. I ignore his calls and continue to pull out onto the street. I'm at Haley's house in no time flat. I park the car in front of the house and go to the front door. Without knocking, I make my way inside. I've been in here more times than I could possibly remember and the place looks just like it has for the past ten years. Just as I'm beginning to think that Brooke wasn't here anymore, I hear a huge crash coming from Haley's room. I jump at the sound and cautiously make my way to her room. When I get there, I see Brooke sobbing on the floor.
"Brooke, honey?" I call out, not wanting to frighten her any. I can't tell if she head me or not so I move further into the room until I'm kneeling beside her. I lay a soft hand on her shoulder. "Brooke?" She looks up at me with tears running down her face. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" The only answer I get is her falling into my arms. I do the only thing I can think of and rub her back, trying to calm her down somehow. After about five minutes of this, she begins to pull away, wiping her eyes.
"Thanks," she says with a fake, but watery smile. I give her another minute to collect herself before I ask her what was wrong. Either I'm that easy to read or she's a mind reader, because she answers the question before I can even ask it. "Just heard an old message. Got me going. I'm good now."
"Are you sure?" She nods. I leave it alone, deciding she doesn't want to talk about it.
"What are you doing here anyways?" she asks me, apparently just wondering what I was doing in the house in the first place.
"Peyton called," I inform her. "Told me that we were allowed to see Hales now. She asked if I could pick you up here on my way." She nods and starts to get up. I hold her elbow encase she wavers a bit. She seems okay and starts to gather the clothes that were left on the floor. "Those for Haley?"
"Yeah, just came to pick them up," she explains. Right, that would make sense. I nod and she looks around the room, making sure she has everything that she'll need. "Okay, I'm ready." We head downstairs and get into the car. Within five minutes, including our ice cream stop, we are at the hospital. We both get out, me carrying the ice cream and her with the clothes, and make our way inside. The first thing I see is two cops waiting in the lobby, talking to a nurse. "What's going on?" she asks me.
"Don't know." The nurse spots us and points in Brooke's direction. The policemen thank her and make their way over to us. "Can I help you?"
"Are you two related to Haley James?"
"Well, I'm her mother and she's her best friend," I answer with some confusion. His eyebrows rise in surprise.
"You're Mrs. James?" he asks. "I was told she wasn't in the country." I'm a little embarrassed at my mistake and shake my head.
"Oh, maybe not mother," I stammer. "I've known her forever. She's like my daughter," I explain protectively. I think he understands where I'm coming from. He smiles softly at me before his partner turns to Brooke.
"She said you are her best friend?"
"Yeah," Brooke replies glancing at them, trying to figure out what this was about.
"Where you with Ms. James at the party last night?" he asks. "When Mr. Scott...."
"Yeah," she answers quickly before the cop can finish his sentence. "I saw it happen. I walked in on them." They seemed to be surprised by her last confession. I frown at the look on her face. She looks so upset. She must be reliving it or something. I instinctively lay a supportive hand on her back.
"We're going to have to ask you a few question, Miss..."
"Davis," Brooke finishes for him. "Brooke Davis, but please call me Brooke."
"Okay, Brooke," the second cop begins. "If you just follow us over there..." She nods and hands me the clothes before following them over to the chairs. She turns around.
"She's in 314," she tells me. "Third floor." I smile at her and walk over to the elevator. I'm on the right floor before I know it and soon I'm walking down the hall. I find Haley's room easy enough and look inside. I can see Peyton and Haley talking. Haley doesn't look anything like I thought she would. If I didn't know her as well as I do, I would think that everything was fine. I take a deep breath and slowly open the door.
"I know, can you believe what would happen if..." she stops mid sentence as she sees me. Peyton follows her gaze and sees me too. We stay like this for a moment, not one of us moving until Peyton finally breaks the silence by standing up. She kisses Haley on the forehead and gives me a supportive smile as she walks past me and out the door. We're alone. Haley hasn't broken eye contact with me since I came in.
"Hey, mom," she whispers. I have her in my arms in an instant. We're both crying and holding on to each other. I feel so damn useless. My child is hurting and I can't do anything about it. I've never felt this bad in my entire life. She clings to me and I hold her tighter.
"It's going to be okay, baby," I whisper to her. She continues to cry. "I've got you, baby. I've got you." I hope she believes me. That things can be okay again. I want to believe it too. She has to be okay. She's all I've got.
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Okay, that's it for now. If you guys like it and review I'll continue to update. Please tell me what you think. I'm outtie.