Hey! Sorry for the delay. Technical difficulties again. I thought I posted, but turns out I didn't... it's just a mess. And it sucks, but what can you do? So, it's finally here.
To Sophie: Thank you once again for reviewing for the chapters you missed. Seriously, it means so much that you would take the time to do that. :) And you're welcome for the shout out. Wish there was more I could do to repay you. :( Sadly, all I can do is thank you some more. lol.
To daddyzangel108: Once again, thank you for the kind review. And yes, you got it right about why Haley left. Guess it's just her being scared, as always. :) Well, I would hope you don't sue me when the story's over... we may have to do something to stop that... perhaps a sequel will do? What do you think?
Well, sorry again for not putting this up sooner guys, but here it is. Enjoy.
Chapter 14:
Tim and Michelle sneaked back into their rooms around 1:00 AM, giving each other one last passionate kiss. What they couldn't get with Nathan and Haley, they'd tried to find in each other. They knew it was wrong, that they weren't in love, but it felt so good to be wanted, needed by someone again. It felt good to be held in someone's arms. For an hour, they could pretend everything was OK. And it almost worked.
Haley had been sitting in bed thinking about Tim and Michelle. And, while she knew that she and Nathan were doing the exact same thing, she was angry. Tim and Michelle probably didn't even know, she and Nathan had done a pretty good job of hiding it, of pretending there was nothing going on. They had miraculously managed to act like they still semi hated each other.
So, what right did Tim have to cheat on her? She was pissed. As she heard the guest door open and close, she considered just laying back down and pretending to have been asleep the whole time, pretending that everything was OK. But then she realized that's what she'd been doing for a year now. Pretending. Pretending she loved Tim, pretending she was over Nathan, pretending Michelle didn't bother her, pretending nothing was going on. And she couldn't keep pretending. It wasn't how she wanted to live the rest of her life. She'd had enough of the lies, of pretending.
It felt like nothing was real anymore, like there was no dividing line between fiction and fact anymore. And it needed to stop.
So, as Tim quietly entered the room and carefully closed the door behind him, she flipped on the lamp, flooding the room with light. Tim was surprised, turning to face her on the bed. He looked into her eyes. He saw the fury there. And he knew that she knew. She knew everything.
He crept cautiously toward her, but as he tried to lay his hand on her shoulder, she flinched away from his touch. "Don't touch me!" It was an accusation, an order, yet her voice remained low. He could hear the anger in it, but could tell she was trying to remain in control of her emotions.
He sat next to her, but not too close, knowing it would only infuriate her further. "Haley, what's going on?"
But he already knew. And she could see it in his eyes; that he was only asking to try to stop the fight that would ensue. But he knew he couldn't.
She glowered at him. "Tim, where were you tonight?"
"I was……" he stuttered.
She cut him off angrily. "I wasn't asleep you know. When you two came in. I noticed the tension and I had an idea of what was going on."
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In the room Michelle and Nathan were residing in, Michelle heard the start of the fight. Nathan had just woken up, squinting against the light of the lamp Michelle had turned on before climbing into the bed. He awoke to the muffled sound of Haley's voice, hearing her say. "Don't touch me!" Now wide awake, he shot into an upright position and jumped out of bed to confront her and Tim, whom it was obvious she was talking to.
But Michelle grabbed his arm. He looked back into her eyes and saw the fear there. He slowly sank back onto the bed. She spoke in a quiet voice, "I don't think we should go in there right now. They're having a big fight."
They sat and listened in silence to the interaction of the two people in the next room over.
"Haley, what's going on?"
"Tim, where were you tonight?"
"I was……"
"I wasn't asleep you know. When you two came in. I noticed the tension and I had an idea of what was going on."
Nathan looked at Michelle angrily, sensing what had been going on while he was asleep, predicting her treachery from the words Haley spoke.
"And then, when you left the room, I knew where you were going. I'm not stupid, you know!"
His voice sounded small and weak to Nathan and Michelle. "I know, baby……"
"No! Don't try to defend yourself. Nothing can excuse what you've done. I thought you loved me, Tim. And then you go and screw someone else! That is so beneath you."
Michelle grimaced, knowing that would trigger a reaction from him. Sure enough, he exploded.
"What the hell! Haley, you've been doing the same thing. So don't tell me how wrong I am by doing this once. You and Nathan have been screwing ever since he got here. You think me and Michelle didn't know? Well, we did. Like you said, we're not stupid. And I know you don't love me. I mean, come on. Did you really think we couldn't see it? Everyone could. You've always loved him. Me and Michelle, well, we needed to feel loved, wanted again. Because we weren't getting any of those feelings from you guys. And you know what, we deserve better."
"You're right, you do. But so do I! You knew I was fucked up before we ever started dating. You knew and it was your choice to get involved with me. It was your choice. I even warned you that it would be hard for me to see you and you know what you said? That's OK, we'll work through it. Well, if you'd meant that, you would've known that I am really confused right now. You would've given me time to work all this out and you would not have cheated on me."
By now they were screaming. Tim's voice sounded again. "What did you expect, Haley! I love you so damn much. I have for a year now. And knowing you didn't love me, that you were still in love with my best friend…… it killed me. I just couldn't take it anymore!"
"If you couldn't take it anymore, you should've just ended things."
Then, they heard the door slam. Nathan grabbed his keys and ran from the room, knowing by instinct it was Haley who had left. Just before he reached the bedroom door, he stopped abruptly, turned and stalked back to the bed, glaring at her. "Michelle, we're through."
Tears sprang to her eyes. "But, Nathan……"
He stopped her. "No buts. Maybe one day, I'll be able to forgive you. Maybe one day, I can even be your friend. But I can't take this anymore. We both know this stopped being about love a long time ago. And now, after what you've done, I can't be with you anymore."
She nodded slowly, turning away to hide her tears.
"I'm keeping the house in California since I'm the one who pays for it. You can find a new place anywhere and I will pay for it until you get settled. I just, I need to keep that house. It's mine."
She turned back to him, sniffing. "When will I know it's OK to talk to you?"
He paused for a moment, his anger subsiding, but only for a moment. Then, the shadows returned to his eyes. "Let me come to you. I'll contact you and we'll try to work through this. I just, I need some time to cool off."
Again, she nodded. "Bye," she whispered, but he was already gone, out the door before she had a chance to say anything more.
He sprinted through the house past Haley and Tim's room, not bothering to look in on Tim, knowing his anger would overtake him.
As he ran out the door and fumbled with his car keys, he thought about what he'd done. He knew breaking up with her was the right thing to do, not only for him, but for her also. But wouldn't it be the gentlemanly thing to do, to let her keep the house? It was just that, that house meant so much to him. He'd never told anyone before, but it was his and Haley's dream home.
FLASHBACK
It was now summer and Haley had moved into Nathan's apartment a few weeks ago. They'd just finished unpacking the last of her stuff a few hours before and were now relaxing together on the couch, the TV turned on, but the volume low.
He had his arms tightly around her and nuzzled his face into her shoulder, breathing in her scent. "I'm so glad you're here," he whispered.
She smiled and turned her head to the side, kissing his shoulder. "Me too."
His hand dropped to hers and she gave it a squeeze. Knowing intuitively that this would be a serious conversation, she muted the TV and turned in his arms so they were face to face.
"I don't ever want to live without you again." At first, she thought he was saying it jokingly, but as she looked into his eyes, she realized he had said it in all seriousness.
She kissed him lovingly. "Well, now, you don't ever have to."
He brushed some hair out of her face. "I love this, me and you. I love knowing you'll be her when I wake up and I love falling asleep with you in my arms. I don't ever want us to be apart again."
She hugged him to her. "Baby, where's this coming from? Because you know, I'm not going anywhere."
He sighed and held her tighter. "I know, I was just thinking about the future. And I can't imagine a future without you in it."
She kissed him again. "Baby, you'll always have me. I promise, I will always love you. In fact, I bet when we graduate, we're gonna find a nice little house together. Somewhere right on the ocean. And you'll have a good job, but you'll be home every night so we can spend time with each other. And after college, we'll get married, then wait a few years and have a couple kids. But we'll always come first to each other. Even when we grow old, we'll still be just as in love with each other was we are now. That's the future I see for us."
He grinned. "That sounds amazing, Haley. There's just one thing I would change. I want a big house filled with lots of kids. I'll have to work hard to support us, but it'll be worth it because every day, I'll come home to a house full of love. And no matter what, we'll always make time for each other."
She didn't argue with him about having a lot of kids. She wanted one or two, but she knew why Nathan wanted so many. He grew up in a house with no love, where his own parents had no love for him or each other, where it was always lonely. And while it was true that her childhood was much the same, she felt that they would have a home filled with love no matter how many kids they had. But she could agree with Nathan that she never wanted their children to go through that. So she didn't argue.
They stayed up late into the night, planning out their house, their future together, somehow, never thinking of the possibility that their futures would lead them in separate directions, away from each other and their love.
END FLASHBACK
Even Michelle didn't know, but the house they had in California; it was the very same house they had planned on that warm summer night in Tree Hill. No detail was left out, no piece forgotten. Everything had been completed to perfection, from the medium size they'd compromised to the color of the walls for each room to the little blue curtains in the kitchen.
He couldn't let Michelle have the house. He needed it for himself. Somehow, it had given him hope that someday, they would end up their together; that if he did his part and made their home, she would do hers and come back to him. She never had. But he still refused to give up the house, because now that he was so close to the future they'd wanted together, he wouldn't let it go.
Another reason he was chasing after Haley, he thought as he started his car and roared out of the driveway, keeping his eyes peeled for a certain brunette. 'She can't have gotten very far,' he thought.
And there she was. He had only to reach the end of the street when he found her, sitting on the grass in front of the stop sign.
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Back at the house, all was once again silent. Michelle crept quietly out of her and Nathan's room and into Haley and Tim's, where Tim still sat in the exact same position in the exact same spot on their bed. She knew he was shocked, but she sat next to him anyway.
He turned to look at her. "I can't believe it's really over. After all this time, everyone's finally gotten fed up and it's just over. You know, I think I knew from the moment we entered high school that I couldn't possibly be the guy who ends up getting the girl. But I wanted so badly to be that guy."
She brushed a few tears from her eyes. "Yeah, when I met Nathan, I never anticipated this. I mean, I didn't expect to fall in love with him, but I did. And I think that I knew from the beginning that we weren't meant to be. I could just tell he'd be the guy who broke my heart. And, he did."
Tim kissed her cheek. "I don't know how I'll ever work this out with Haley, but thank you for being there."
She kissed his forehead. "Well, I'm not too sure me and Nathan will be able to fix this, but thank you for making me feel better. You don't know how much you helped."
They smiled bitterly at each other. Michelle lowered her head. "Um, Nathan wants me to clear out of our house back in California. He, uh, he said he'd pay for a house til I can get settled. But I, I better go. Goodbye, Tim." She got up and moved to leave the room.
"Hey!" he called after her. "You're welcome to stay here. I mean, go get your stuff if you need to, but you can come back and live here for awhile. I have a feeling Haley won't want to live with me anymore."
She looked at him with sad eyes. "I don't think that's such a good idea right now, I'm sorry. But thank you. And goodbye." She gave him a tight hug and then she was gone, slipping out as quietly as she had entered.
His head dropped to his hands. What had he done?
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Nathan stopped his car right next to the curb Haley was sitting behind and turned the engine off, stepping out and taking a seat next to her. "You know, if you were trying to get away, you didn't get very far. Not exactly the best hiding place either. You're in plain view. I mean, any old person could find you out here."
She let out a small smile, but it disappeared quickly. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
He shook his head. "We are one screwed up group of people, I'll tell you that. But don't apologize. Not yet, we need to figure a few things out first. So, what do you say, we go back to the house?"
She shook her head vigorously. "I can't go back there, Nathan. I can't live there anymore. After everything that's happened. I just, I can't deal with that right now. I don't have the patience to, and I definitely don't have the strength too."
He blew out a frosty breath of air. "What about you and Tim?"
"It's over. There's nothing left between us. We're both just so angry, we've both said and done too much."
"Have you told him it's over? I mean, he might not understand that, Haley."
She looked at him. "He knows. Trust me, he knows it's over."
Nathan stared back at her. "Where will you go? I mean, if you guys are through, obviously it's his house, so you'll need somewhere to live. Who will you stay with?"
She sighed. "I can always call Rebecca or Andrea, even Alex or Sam. Maybe Steve, I'm sure he'd be happy to have me."
"Yeah, maybe a little too happy," Nathan muttered.
She gave him a strange look. "What was that?"
"Oh, nothing, but you know, why don't you just come live with me for awhile? I mean, I would feel better knowing you were safe and that I could protect you. I mean, Andrea and Rebecca, I love those girls, but they wouldn't be much help if someone broke into the house."
She laughed quietly. "What about the guys?"
"Well, you know, I like them too, but I don't necessarily trust them with you."
She sighed again. "No, I can't impose. Besides, that would be too awkward with Michelle there; you haven't even asked her opinion about any of this."
He looked away. "Michelle and I are through."
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
He looked back at her. "Don't be."
She could see the loneliness; the desperation in his eyes. She could tell he wanted so badly for her to agree, to come stay with him. He needed her to.
She nodded. "Alright, take me back. I'll pack my stuff up real quick and tell Tim where I'm going."
He offered his hand to her. She glanced up at him slowly and took it, for the first time, feeling as though things could work out for them after all.
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So, did you guys like? Anyone happy with this new turn in events? Let me know. This might be my last update for the night, but maybe another in exchange for some good reviews?...