Author's Note: Hey, everyone. Thanks for waiting so nicely for this update. I'm back and I hope that I don't disappoint you. A huge thank you to all of you that have replied, and to those of you who haven't, get on it! Enjoy.
-OTH-
"So, what exactly happened between you and Peyton?"
After Haley had stormed out of Nathan's apartment, leaving Peyton by herself, she didn't know where to go. She didn't want to go home because she was afraid to be alone and she couldn't go to the Café because there would be too many people there. Normally, when she was this upset, the first person she went to was Brooke, but she was angry at Brooke right now so that was out, and she couldn't go to Lucas like she used to do because he was more than likely sucking face with Brooke. She really had no desire to see either Tim or Lacy right now, and figured Nathan was with them anyway, so that left one person, Jake. When Jake answered the door to find a crying Haley, he didn't know what to think, the first thing he asked was if Peyton was okay, and after getting an icy glare, he let her in. They had been sitting in silence for almost an hour already.
"Oh, so you don't know?" Haley asked, feeling bad that she let some of her bitterness towards his girlfriend slip out. She wasn't mad at him, even if he did know, they weren't like best friends or anything.
"No," he answered simply. "Not that I know of." He tried to think hard about the past month, trying to think of anything that was out of the ordinary. His thoughts immediately drifted to that night at the club, when Peyton first starting acting weird around Nathan and Haley.
"Then you don't know." This was the kind of thing that you either knew all about or you had no idea. Jake definitely fell into the latter category it seemed. She shifted slightly in her seat on the couch and glanced over at Jake sitting in the chair.
"She has been acting weird the last little while," he commented, reaching forward to take a gulp of his Coke he had opened before Haley got there. He offered her a drink but she said she wouldn't be able to keep it down.
"What do you mean?"
"Just the general avoidance of Nathan," he explained, taking one more gulp and placing the can back on the table. He leaned back in his chair. "And she's been acting kind of weird around you too, like she's been snapping at you or something."
"Yeah." Haley nodded her, glad that someone else had noticed that Peyton had been less than nice towards her the past month. She was starting to think she was going insane. "And I thought I was the only one that caught that."
"I notice everything when it comes to Peyton," he answered. He looked down at his shirt and busied himself with a loose thread. Haley watched him, surprised that he looked nervous. She hadn't seen him this nervous since his first date with Peyton.
"Attentive," she commented, with a slight smile. She didn't know when this conversation turned around on her and she became the one doing the comforting, but it was fine with her. She was used to comforting Lucas, Brooke, Peyton, and occasionally Nathan after a blow up with his parents. This was the role she was more comfortable playing. Plus, it helped to get her mind off the newly discovered drama in her life.
"It's not just that," he finally answered. He wasn't sure if he should be talking about this, especially with his girlfriend's best friend, but he needed to talk about it with someone and the guys wouldn't be much help. Besides, this was Haley and she helped everyone. "It's just that...things between me and Peyton are going great, you know?"
"Yeah," Haley answered, nodding her head. She knew how in love they were; it actually made her a little jealous. Even before she knew about Nathan's cheating ways, she was always envious of them; their relationship just seemed so easy, like they never had to work hard at things like she and Nathan had to. "She really loves you."
"I love her too," he answered, with a sigh. "That's the problem." Haley raised an eyebrow at him, totally confused at what he was trying to say.
"I may be smart, but I'm not a mind reader," she teased lightly. She pushed herself forward on the couch. "What are you talking about? If you guys are in love than where's the bad?"
"This is exactly how things used to be with me and Jenny's mother," he explained. Haley's eyes widened, but she didn't say anything. Jake never talked about Jenny's mother, ever. Peyton didn't even know the girl's name, all she knew was that she ran out on them a few weeks after Jenny was born.
"Oh," she breathed. She didn't know what to say, what she could say, so she just kept her mouth shut and let him explain.
"Yeah." Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, but it was too late to back out now. Haley would torture him until he told her, so he should just get it over with. "When me and Nicki were together at first, things were just like this; we never fought, we were always kissing, and we always got along."
"And then Jenny?" Jake sighed and shook his head.
"It was before that," Jake answered. Ever since then he had tried to figure it out, when things started to go wrong or what he did to cause them, but he still didn't have an answer to give himself. "Even before she go pregnant, she just sort of started to drift away from me, you know? She started spending less time around me and started picking fights for no reason."
"And you're afraid that Peyton is going to start doing that?" Haley asked. It did make some sense in her head, but in her heart she wanted to yell at Jake for being so stupid about all of this.
"I don't know, maybe," he sighed. He pushed him up and walked over to Jenny's crib. "When Nicki left, I was devastated about losing her, but I felt even worse for Jenny because she would never have a mother." He reached down in the crib and pulled the blanket over Jenny's body. "Over the past year, Peyton's been like a mother to Jenny and I don't want her to have to lose two moms. I can't do that to her."
"So, what exactly are you telling me?"
"I've just been paying extra attention to the way Peyton acts," Jake explained, putting Jenny's favorite teddy bear beside her. If she woke up and it wasn't there, he would never hear the end of it. "So, if she starts acting the way Nicki was acting before she took off, then I can get out first. Save me and Jenny that kind of pain again."
"Jake," Haley stated, getting his attention away from his daughter. He looked over at Haley was surprised to find an angry expression on her face. "Right now I am pissed off at Peyton beyond the point of being able to see straight, but she's still Peyton and I still love her." Jake nodded his head. "She's my best friend, Jake, and I swear to God, if you hurt her than I'll kill you."
"I get it," he assured her, not wanting her to continue. Talking about his death was something he was comfortable with discussing. She shook her head.
"I don't think you do," she disagreed. "Right now, after what I found out, I really feel like gouging my eyes out just so I don't have to look at Nathan's face ever again because no matter how much I hate him, every time I look into those deep blue eyes, I know I'm still going to love him. And that is the worst feeling in the world."
"I know..."
"And if you make Peyton feel even one tenth what I'm feeling now, I'll beat you to death with a shovel." His eyes widened and he looked at her in surprise. "A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend."
"I'll remember that," he promised her. He had to smile at the protectiveness Haley was showing over Peyton even though she was mad at her right now, that just showed that there was hope for them yet.
"Good," she said, smiling tightly at him. "So, you need to stop blaming Peyton for Nicki's mistakes. I know Peyton, maybe better than anyone, and she's not that kind of girl. She's not going to just up and leave you like that, she just doesn't have it in her." Jake nodded. He took one last look at Jenny before walking back over to his chair.
"I thought you were here to talk about your problems," he teased, wanting to get the topic as far away from him and his untimely death. "How'd we get to me?"
"No offense, Jake," she started, with a little laugh. "But I would never come to you with this kind of problem, nothing personal, but it's kind of a girl thing."
"Then why'd you come here?"
"Because I can't be alone," she admitted. "That's really what this is all about." She looked down at her hands that were resting in her lap. "I'm terrified of being alone. That's why I'm always at Nathan's apartment or Brooke's house or Peyton's house because I can't stand the thought of being by myself."
"I didn't know," he spoke quietly. Haley smiled sadly at him and shrugged her shoulders.
"Nobody does," she told him. She had to laugh at the situation because if she didn't she might go insane. "I guess you can blame it on my parents, I have all these abandonment issues. I just can't stand the thought of being left behind."
"It's not a great feeling," he told her. He looked over and saw that she was starting to cry. He stood up and walked over to sit down beside her. He moved to put an arm around her, but she pulled away. He looked at her in surprise, confused at her actions.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, wiping the tears away from her eyes. "It's just, I'm pissed off at Peyton and Nathan right now, and I can't trust myself around you. I'm afraid I might go for the whole revenge scenario and I'll only regret it." She looked at him, hoping that he would understand. "I just think it would be better if we didn't get to close."
"Yeah," he agreed, getting up and moving back over to the chair. He tried not to feel hurt, she was just trying to do the responsible thing, but he still felt kind of rejected. They both sat in silence, neither knowing what to say.
"I should probably go," Haley decided, slowly getting up from the couch. Jake quickly jumped to his feet.
"You don't have to..." She laughed at him. He really was a good guy.
"It's okay," she assured him with a smile. She moved to the door. "I should probably get to the Café for my shift anyway. Now you can go help Peyton and the others find me. I know she was mad you didn't go."
"Yeah, she doesn't hide it well." They shared a laugh and Jake walked over to the door. He hesitated for a moment before bringing her into a hug. Even if she said didn't want it, he knew that she needed it. She didn't fight it and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Thank you," she whispered in his ear as she pulled back. He smiled at her, shaking his head to tell her that it wasn't any trouble. She poked him in the stomach. "You take good care of my Peyton, you hear, even if I can't stand the bitch at the moment."
"I promise," he said, holding his stomach where Haley had hit him. He reached passed her and opened the door. "Bye, Hales."
"Bye, Jake." With one last smile, she was out the door. When she heard the door close she let out a sigh. She didn't really feel a whole better, but at least she knew that she wouldn't hate Peyton forever. At that offered some kind of comfort. She shoved her hands in her pockets and walked down the driveway, going in the direction of the Café.
-OTH-
"I think I'm going to go insane," Tim exclaimed from his seat between Nathan and Lacy. They were all sitting on the couch in Lacy's house, waiting for the doctor's office to call.
"Calm down, baby," Lacy said, patting him on the leg. She found his hand and squeezed it, trying to calm him down a little. She was trying to put up a brave front for Tim's benefit, but she was going just as crazy as him. She wanted Tim to be the father so badly, but in her heart, if she was willing to admit it, she already knew who the father was. She just had this horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach that told her that Nathan was the father of her child.
"Calm down?" he repeated, not believing that she was actually telling him this. he knew that she was worried too, he knew her that well, and he did not like her telling him to do something that she wasn't doing herself. "I'm waiting to find out if I'm going to be a daddy or not. It's kind of hard to be calm."
"Look at Nathan," she suggested, pointing to him. He was sitting silently at the other end of the couch. He hadn't said a word since they got there. "He's going through the same thing and he's not freaking out."
"Cause I think he's in shock," Tim answered, giving his best friend a quick glance before turning back to Lacy. Tim didn't know how he felt about this. On one hand, he was in no way ready to be a father and if Nathan was the father, then he was off the hook. One the other hand, he was head over heels in love with Lacy and couldn't imagine not sharing this with her.
"Shut up, dude," Nathan spoke up. Before either of them could say anything, the shrill call of the phone interrupted them. All three teenagers stared at the phone, none of them able to make a move to answer it. Seeing that neither boy was going to answer it, she reached over and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Hello, is this Lacy Roberts?" the man asked, wanting to make sure that he had the right person this time. "It's Dr. Mitchell O'Neil from the free clinic."
"Yes, this is her," she answered. She was surprised that she was able to talk without her voice cracking. "Did you get the test results back yet?"
"Yes, we did," he answered, flipping through his papers. "We received them earlier today. We already called the father's apartment, but his girlfriend answered." Lacy closed her eyes. There was her answer. She wasn't surprised, she knew it all along. "I have to tell you that I told her. I thought she was you and now she knows everything. I'm sorry."
"Well, it was going to come out sooner or later," she sighed. She really was not looking forward to having that conversation with Haley, but right now there were more pressing matters, like breaking two hearts. "Thank you, doctor." She hung up the phone slowly and took a deep breath before turning to face the guys.
"So?" Tim asked. Her eyes locked with Nathan and she saw the realization come to his eyes. He didn't need to hear her say it, he already knew the moment she said she was pregnant that he was the father. He did horrible things and now he was paying for them. He nodded his head slightly and got up. Tim looked up at him in confusion and watched him walk to the door. "Hey, what's going on?"
"I'm sorry, man," he told him. He opened the door and walked out without looking back at them. As soon as the door was closed he leaned his back against it and let out a sigh. He closed his eyes and ran a hand over his face. He only let himself stay there for a few moments before pushing himself off the door and walking down the driveway. He had a girl to see.
-OTH-
That's all for now. I hope you all are okay with what happened. I like to try and spread things out, not have everything cramped into one chapter. Please tell me what you think.
