Author's Note: Hey, all. I'm back, and so soon! Aren't you guys all so happy to see me! You better be, Lizzie. Anyway, just dropped this off. After this, there's only 2 more chapters. And just to warn you, there isn't that much Naley in this chapter, it's mostly Jake/Peyton stuff, but it's needed for this story and for the sequel. Enjoy. And review.
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"Are you serious?"
The car had been completely silent since Nathan revealed his plan to Nicki. Neither knew what to say so they settled on saying nothing. Nathan wasn't sure how to take her silence and was scared that she thought it was a bad idea. Finally, after she stopped laughing at how pathetic his plan was, Nicki decided that she needed to say something.
"Yeah," Nathan answered, a little less unsure about his idea then he had been before. He glanced at her quickly before refocusing on the road. "Why, you don't think it will work?"
"I'm just not sure what you're trying to tell her," she answered. She didn't know what had gone on between Nathan and Haley; expect the fact that they used to go out. That much she had managed to figure out on her own. Then she remembered that he was the father of her sister's baby and put two and two together.
"I'm trying to tell her that I want us to be together," he explained. He had thought long and hard about it, trying to figure out the best way to prove to Haley that he was sorry about everything. "I really screw things up with her and I want her to know that she can trust me again. That I'm willing to make the commitment."
"And proposing is the best way to do that?"
"I just want her to know how sorry I am." He knew what Nicki was going to say so he continued before she could ask. "Yeah, I know that being sorry isn't the best reason for marriage, but I love her. God, more than anything, I love her."
"And yet you cheated on her," Nicki pointed out. She wasn't sure what he was expecting from her, but it wasn't going to be sympathy. Sure, she could be a cruel, cold-hearted bitch, but she was still a woman and they needed to stick together. "Got my sister pregnant, brought me up to the cabin when you knew she was going to be there…"
"Okay, I get it," Nathan sighed. "I know that my actions don't exactly show that I love her, but I do. You can even ask Peyton, she knows me better than anyone, even more than Haley, and she said that she knew I loved her."
"I really doesn't matter how you feel," she told him. "What matters is what you do and what you did was cheat on your girlfriend. There really isn't anything else that needs to be said."
Nathan rolled her words around in his head and let them sink in. He didn't want to hear that his plan wasn't going to work. Deep down, he knew that there was a chance that he had lost Haley forever, but he wasn't ready for that to happen yet. He had to believe that he could get Haley back, is he didn't he would go insane. Just the thought of losing Haley for good, having to see her with another guy… it was enough to kill him.
"What do you know?" he snapped. Listening to her was making him angry and he just wished he happened said anything to her in the first place. "You're just a slut."
"I may be a slut, but I'm not a cheater," she told him with a smile. "But you? You're both."
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"Would you please just tell me what's wrong?"
After Peyton left Haley and Brooke to sleep, she had followed Brooke's advice and went to talk to Jake. From what Lacy and Lucas said, something was wrong with Jake. Not to mention the things that he had said to Brooke last night. Peyton knew Jake better than anyone; he was not the type of guy to act like that. She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her that something was seriously wrong. It wasn't everyday that her boyfriend stood up for a jackass and she knew for a fact that Jake had been on Haley's side throughout this whole thing. Something must have happened while she was stranded with Haley and she was going to find out what it was if it was the last thing she did.
"I don't want to talk about it, Peyton," Jake sighed. Peyton slumped her shoulders but made no attempt to leave. At least he wasn't snapping at her anymore, that was a plus.
"Well, I do," Peyton replied in a tight voice. She was positive now that something was bothering him. She glanced behind her and closed the door so nobody would hear them talking before walking further into their room. "Something happened and it's obviously affecting you. What happened?"
"Trust me, you don't want to know," Jake mumbled, getting up from the chair he was sitting in to flop down on the bed. She eyed him for a moment, trying to decide how to play this. She could piss him off to the point were he just screams it out to get her to shut up or she can work around it, try to get a feel for it.
"Okay," she said simply. Jake raised an eyebrow at her, surprised that she was going to let this drop. Peyton Sawyer was never one to let anything drop. Normally she would drill and pry until she found everything out.
"Thank you," he replied, pushing himself up onto his elbows to watch her move around the room. A part of him wanted her to pry because that would save him the trouble of having to bring it up. He was going to have to tell her sometime and he couldn't help but think that now was a good of time than any.
"No problem," she smirked to herself as she turned her back to him to look out the window. This was going to be easier than she thought. After a moment, she turned around and sat down in the chair Jake was in before he got up.
"So," he began, sitting up completely to get a better look at her. "How's Haley doing? You guys just brought her home, right?"
"Yeah," she answered, not being able to hide the glare she was sending his way. She couldn't believe that he had the nerve to bring up Haley after standing up for Nathan last night. "She was a lot better after you and Nathan left."
"I take it Brooke told you?" He didn't even have to ask. He should have known that Brooke was going to tell Peyton about his behavior last night. He had never seen Brooke that angry with him, at anyone really. If she was that mad at him, he couldn't imagine what she was like when she talked to Nathan.
"Of course she did," Peyton answer coldly. There was nothing she would like more than to yell at him for saying those stupid ass things to Brooke about Haley and Nathan last night, but if she wanted to find out what cause the outburst, she was going to have to play it cool. "You know Brooke, she can't keep her mouth shut."
"Apparently either can I," Jake replied with a slight smile, hoping that she would forgive him. He finally looked up and met her gaze, looking her directly in the eyes.
He had to tell her.
He didn't want to. There was a part of him that was hoping he would be able to hide this whole thing and get it all sorted out and cleaned up without his girlfriend even knowing about it. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't believe he had been so foolish to actually think that would work. If this whole thing with Nathan, Haley and Lacy taught him anything, it was that secrets don't stay buried.
"That's not true," Peyton pointed out. She could practically see the wheels turning in Jake's head and couldn't help the victorious feeling that was rising up in her. She was breaking him down and she knew it. "You're doing a pretty good job with that secret you're hiding."
"You know the thing about secrets?" he began. He couldn't look at her, there was no way he was going to be able to tell her if she looked at him with those curious eyes. "They always come back up to bite you in the ass."
"You're telling me," Peyton snorted. If there was anyone that knew that it was her. She had almost lost of her best friend because of one stupid secret, in more ways then one. "I know all about secrets, so spill. It can't be that bad, can it?"
"Believe me, it can," he told her. He shook his head and got off the bed to stand in front of her. She looked up at him with humorous eyes. She found it funny that he was acting so serious about all of this. What could he be hiding that is so bad? "This isn't funny, Peyton."
"Then tell me and I'll stop smiling."
"It's about Nicki," he stated. That was all he had to say to whip that smirk right off her face. She mouth turned into a tight frown and she looked him straight in the eyes, telling him that he better explain himself and fast.
"What about her?" The first thought that came to her mind was that he had been seeing her behind her back, but then she thought about it some more and she knew it wasn't true. The look on his face and the tone of his voice when he had talked to her yesterday when they walked into the cabin told her that Jake hadn't seen her since she left him and Jenny over a year ago. "Do you have another kid running around or something?"
"It's not that," he said, finding it a little funny that both Nathan and Peyton had the same first reaction. As much as they both disliked each other, he wondered if they even realized how much they had in common. "Nathan asked the same thing."
"Nathan," she spat. "I should have known he had something to do with his. Did he knock her up too or something? Cause then at least Lacy's kid would have a little brother or sister to hang out with. Oh, or they could grow up to be another Lucas and Nathan before Haley and hate each other with a fiery passion. Yeah, that would be fun."
"It has nothing to do with Nathan," he assured her, smiling slightly at her little outburst. He loved it when she went off like that. Her doing something cute like that just made this harder to tell her. "This is between me and Nicki. Or… it was anyway."
"Okay," the blonde stated, taking a deep breath. She wasn't going to freak out about this until she knew what was going on. She was never one to jump to conclusions and she hated it when people did it to her. She took another deep breath and nodded her head, telling her to explain this to her. "What about you and Nicki?"
"There's something that I never told you about," Jake began to explain. He didn't think it was going to be this hard to tell her the truth. Peyton nodded her head, indicating that she was waiting for him to continue. "Back when Nicki was pregnant with Jenny, I think she was only like three months along…"
"Just spit it out, Jake," Peyton snapped. If she was willing to admit it, she knew where this was going. She had always kind of wondered about it, but never got up the nerve to ask him.
"We got married." His words hung in the air as Peyton tried to digest them. She couldn't say that she wasn't expecting that. She closed her eyes and nodded, still trying to figure out what this meant for their relationship. When she opened her eyes and looked back up at him, she knew there was more. "We're still married."
"I see," she answered. That part, she was not expecting. Her eyes quickly traveled to his hand to see if there was a ring that she just never noticed before. There was nothing there. "So what am I then? The other woman?"
"No," he answered quickly. "No, it's not like that at all, baby." He really should have explained this better. Finally, the anger of being lied to for over a year washed over Peyton and she stood up.
"Then what is it like, Jake?" He looked at her for a moment before taking a few steps back and walking further away to gather his thoughts. He ran a hand through his shaggy hair and let out a puff of breath. He turned around to face her again.
"We only got married because we were broke," he explained. "My parents barely had enough money to support themselves and me, they could never help us out when Jenny came. Nicki's parents hated the situation and even kicked her out of the house, but they still loved her and Jenny. They said that the only way they'd help us out was if we got married. That way it wasn't such an embarrassment for them."
"Cut to part where you're still married," she snapped. She didn't care why they got married; it wasn't any of her business. The only part that was her business was the fact that her boyfriend was someone else's husband.
"Alright," he nodded. "It wasn't long after Jenny was born that she bailed out on us. I asked her parents where she was, but they wouldn't tell me, I don't even know if they knew where she was.I had no place to send the divorce papers."
"If it wasn't your fault, then how come you lied to me this whole time?" she asked. As much as she hated to admit it, it really wasn't Jake's fault that Nicki left, but she couldn't forgive him for not telling her all of this.
"I just sorta hoped that it would all blow over," he answered. "I was hoping I'd eventually find her one day and we could work it out without you knowing."
"And what were you going to do if you didn't find her?" she asked. "What were you going to say to me when I asked you about us getting married one day? It's illegal to have two wives in this countrynowadays, you know?"
"Look," he sighed. This was going nowhere and he certainly didn't want to have this conversation when there were at least five other people around that could walk in at anytime. "After you ran off to go find Haley, I talked to Nicki. I told her that I still had the papers and she could sign them when we got back." He paused and shook his head. "She won't do it."
"What?"
"She said she won't sign them," Jake repeated. He couldn't bring himself to look at Peyton because he knew what was coming. He knew that when he finally told her that that would be it for them. He finally looked up at Peyton when he heard her moving passed him. "Wait, please, Peyton. Please, this isn't my fault."
"I can't date you when I know that you're still married to her," Peyton told him, stopping when she reached the door to look at him. The anger that she felt dies down a little when she saw the broken look on Jake's face. "I know that it's not your fault that she won't sign the papers, but… I just can't do this."
"So, you're saying we're over?" Even though he had been prepared for this, it still hurt to hear the words said out loud. The words hit Peyton hard to. She hated that she had to do this because it hurt so much, but she didn't have any other choice.
"Until you get Nicki to sign those papers," she told him in an empty voice. "Yeah, we are." She reached for the doorknob with a shaky hand, and opened the door. Before she stepped out though, she turned back around. "I love you, Jake, I always will, but I think we need to take a break while you sort this whole thing out."
"I understand," he told her. As much as it hurt him, he really did understand why she had to do this. "You know I love you, right?" Peyton gave him a sad smile and nodded.
"Tell Jenny I love her." He nodded. She stood there for a moment, trying to decide whether or not she should give him a goodbye kiss. She shook her head, figure that would just make this whole thing harder and walked out the door. Once she was out in the hall, she leaned her back against the wooden door and took a breath, trying to keep the tears in.
She stood there for few minutes until the tears finally won and she rushed across the hall and into Haley's bedroom where she knew Brooke and Haley were. When she walked in, she was surprised to find that both girls were asleep and huddled together. She quietly closed the door and walked over to the bed. She noticed that Brooke looked like she had been crying as well, but she shook it off and kicked off her shoes.
Pulling the covers back, she slipped in on the other side of Haley, and moved closer to her two best friends. Her silent cries fell upon deaf ears until she finally joined them in a restless sleep.
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Please don't throw things at me!That concludes the fun at the cabin. Well, I really don't think that 'fun' is the right word to use for what happened, right? Anyway, the next two chapters are the last ones, and there is lots of Naley in them, so, I'm sure you'll like that part. Anyway, please tell me what you think.
