The phone rang.
Chapter 17
Nathan glanced sideways at Haley before lifting the phone from the receiver. He knew it would be bad news—after all, Karen was the only person who would be calling, and she wouldn't call unless something terrible had happened.
"Hello?" he said into the phone, surprising himself with his confident sounding voice. What followed was indecipherable. It was obvious that the person on the other end of the conversation was crying, so much so that he couldn't understand her. "Karen? Is that you? I can't understand you...take a deep breath, it'll be ok."
After a moment, she had composed herself somewhat. "Oh, Nathan," Karen sobbed. "You all should come down here now...the doctors are saying...they're saying that this may be it." With that, Karen's composure once again dissolved into incoherent sobbing.
"Alright Karen, hold on," Nathan said, trying to remain calm. "We'll be right there." He hung up the phone, and then turned to Haley. She was sleeping so peacefully...and he was about to upset her again, he knew.
"Hales," he said, touching her shoulder gently. "Hales, wake up." Slowly, her eyes opened. "Haley, we have to go back to the hospital now."
"Is it morning already?" she yawned in response.
"No, it's not," Nathan said. "Karen just called. The doctors are telling her that...that this might be it. We need to go."
A few minutes later, after alerting Peyton and Brooke to the new developments, Nathan drove the girls back toward the hospital. The silence in the small car was oppressive, with each lost in their own thoughts.
"Nathan?" Haley said softly, just as they pulled into the parking lot. "Is Lucas going to die?"
Nathan sighed. "I hope not Haley. I certainly hope not."