Chapter 11

"Nathan, what's going on?" Haley questioned as she walked in to find Nathan cooking.

"I cooked dinner for us" Nathan replied.

"Thanks."

"I figured we could sit and talk since Emily isn't here," Nathan offered.

"Oh" Haley said with a look of uncertainty.

Nathan and Haley both sat down at the table and began to eat. There was a long period of silence.

"Haley, I want to help you. It's obvious you need someone to talk to. I hear you crying at night, I see you jump when there's a loud noise. I'm really concerned for you but, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on, what happened with Connor" Nathan urged.

Haley visibly flinched at the mention of Connor's name. She sighed in resignation.

"Ok, I'll tell you. I met Connor when I was 17. It was March of my junior year and I was on a campus tour of NYU with a friend."

Flashback

"Connor, look at those hot girls over there" a guy pointed out to his friend as they walked out of their class.

Connor said nothing as he walked straight to the 2 girls, zeroing in on the short brunette.

"Hi" Connor said when he reached the girls.

"Hi" the brunette giggled.

"What's your name?" Connor questioned.

"I'm Haley, Haley James."

"Well, Haley James, I'm Connor McKenzie."

"Hey Hales, the tour's starting, you coming?" Haley's friend replied.

Haley didn't hear her friend because she and Connor were staring into each other's eyes. She felt her friend nudge her.

"Huh?" she snapped to attention.

"The tour, you coming?"

"How about I buy you a cup of coffee?" Connor suggested.

"Carrie, do you mind? I really don't need to go on the tour since I don't plan on going here" Haley questioned her friend.

"No, it's ok. I'll call your cell when I'm done and we can meet up again" Carrie replied.

"Thanks. See you later" Haley smiled.

She and Connor walked to the coffee house on campus. They ordered their drinks and found a table to sit at.

"So, Haley, how old are you?"

"Uh, I just turned 17 last month. What about you?"

"Man, you're just a baby Haley James. I'm 21" Connor replied.

"Umm…" Haley said not knowing how to take his comment.

"Maybe I like it" Connor said in a husky tone.

Haley blushed at this comment and put her head down so Connor couldn't see. Connor reached over, put his finger under her chin and gently lifted her head so she was looking at him.

"You know, you're even cuter when you blush" Connor smirked.

This made Haley blush even more.

"I heard you say you aren't going to NYU, where are you going to college?" Connor questioned as he brought his hand back to rest on the table.

"Hopefully Stanford. It's been my dream to go there for as long as I can remember. But, there's no way my parents can afford to send me there so I have to work my ass off to get a scholarship" Haley responded.

"So James…got a boyfriend?"

Before Haley could answer Connor's question her phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered as she flipped her phone open. "Ok, I'll meet you there in a few minutes."

Haley flipped her phone closed and began gathering her things.

"Sorry, that was Carrie, she's done with her tour and I've got to go meet her. Thanks for the coffee" Haley said.

Haley stood up to leave when Connor placed his hand on her arm to stop her.

"Would you like to go out with me Friday night?"

"Yeah, I'd like that" Haley smiled.

End Flashback

"So, I gave him my phone number, he called me and we went out that Friday night and we really hit it off."

"Ok, so that's how it got started, but how'd it get to now Haley? What happened? How'd it get so bad?" Nathan inquired.

"Well, it wasn't always bad Nate. In the beginning he was really good to me. He came from a rich family and he was always buying me things. We were always together, I was never home. My parents didn't care. Gabe and Claire were gone by then and they were tired of raising children so, they were always on some new vacation. I was so consumed with Connor that I grew distant from my friends. When I actually did spend time with my friends all we did was argue" Haley explained.

"Argued? Why did you guys argue?"

"They didn't like Connor. I didn't understand why, he had never done anything to them. It turns out that they were jealous because I was spending so much time with Connor and not with them. But, later on there were other reasons they didn't like him" Haley continued.

"What kind of reasons?" Nathan prodded.

"Well, one night Connor and I got in this huge fight. Of course I ran to my friends crying like all teenage girls do. Callie, April, Carrie and I were sitting in Ray's, a local restaurant, when Connor walked in with another girl. It broke my heart to see him with someone else. I ran out of the restaurant crying and my friends followed me. We were standing in the parking lot and they were trying to calm me down when Connor walked up and asked to speak to me alone. I agreed and my friends reluctantly left us alone. I immediately started shouting at him about hooking up with some other girl when we weren't even broken up. He said the girl meant nothing to him that it was a stupid mistake. I was hesitant to believe him but he gave me those puppy dog eyes, begged me to forgive him and told me he loved me. And, of course I forgave him. That was another reason my friends didn't like him. They didn't trust him, they said he was a charmer."

"He sounds like it" Nathan threw out.

"Everything was going great until August came around."

"What happened in August?"

"August of my senior year in high school is when I found out I was pregnant with Emily. It was a Saturday night and we were cuddling on his couch in his apartment watching TV…"

Flashback

"Connor?" Haley questioned hesitantly as she looked up at him.

"Yeah baby?" Connor replied putting his head down to look at Haley.

"Um, I have something to tell you."

"What is it? You know you can tell me anything Hales" Connor encouraged her.

"Well, you know how I haven't been feeling well lately?" Haley questioned.

"Haley, what's going on?" Connor questioned sounding worried.

Haley let out a breath she had been holding in.

"A few days ago I took a test and I went to the Dr. yesterday and he confirmed that I'm pregnant."

Connor didn't say anything. He just stared into thin air. Haley bit her lip, something she always did when she was nervous.

"Baby? It's gonna be alright though, right? I mean, we're in love and you're financially stable…"

"What the f uck are you trying to do to me Haley?" Connor erupted as he jumped up from the couch.

"What?" Haley jumped back in shock at his tone.

"You're pregnant? Are you trying to trap me?"

"Trap you? What do you mean?" Haley questioned confused.

"You know I'm getting drafted to the NFL."

"I know Connor and I, I just thought that I could put school off for a few years and stay with you. Me and the baby could move in with you. Your salary would be enough for us to live off…I can stay home with the baby and.."

"And what? Be some picture f ucking perfect family Haley? This is not going to work, I'm only 21 and you're only 17. I can't do this. How could you do this to me?" Connor interrupted.

"How, how could I do this to you? I didn't get myself pregnant Connor, Mr. I'll-Pull-Out-We-Don't-Need-A-Condom!" Haley yelled in frustration.

"Don't ever talk to me like that again! Here's what you're going to do. You're going to get on the phone and call the clinic and set up an abortion," Connor ordered.

"I will not! I am scared to have a baby, yes, but I am NOT going to kill my baby!" Haley shouted as tears rolled down her face.

"Then we're over" Connor bluntly stated.

Haley stood in front of Connor in shock. She stared in his eyes to see if he was serious, and he was.

"F uck you Connor" she grit out before walking out of the apartment and slamming the door behind her.

End Flashback

Haley looked back at Nathan and she could see him clenching and unclenching his fists.

"Nathan. Nate…are you ok?" she questioned, her voice full of concern.

Nathan blew out a long breath as he unclenched his fists.

"Obviously it didn't end there. So, what happened next?"

"I didn't see him until February 18, my birthday. I was 7 months pregnant at the time. It was nighttime and my friends had just dropped me off at my house. At first I didn't see him but as I walked closer to my house I saw him sitting on the steps of my porch" Haley started.

Flashback

"What the hell are you doing here Connor?" Haley spat out as she stood in front of him.

"That's…we…you're pregnant" he said in awe as he stood up and reached out to touch her stomach.

"Do NOT touch me" Haley gritted through her teeth as she slapped his hand away from her.

Haley walked around him and made her way to the door to her house. She took her keys out of her house. Before she unlocked the door she turned back around to face Connor.

"And, yes, I'm pregnant. I was pregnant 6 months ago when you told me to it was over because I wouldn't abort my little girl."

"A little girl? I'm gonna have a little girl?" Connor questioned as he once again reached out to touch Haley's stomach.

"I swear Connor, do NOT touch me" Haley backed away.

"Haley…" Connor sighed.

"What! What Connor? What the hell do you want?" Haley questioned, the anger evident in her voice.

"I just want to talk to you" Connor answered.

"I haven't heard from you or seen you in 6 months and now you just show up on my door step and you want to talk? I have nothing to say to you. Go away" Haley retorted as she let herself into her house.

Before she could completely shut the door Connor put his foot in the way.

"Please Haley. I just want to talk. I really missed you. And…I need you" he pleaded.

"Connor, don't do this to me" Haley said, her voice cracking.

"Baby, please let me in. I love you."

Haley hesitated for a second before she opened the door completely to let Connor in. Connor stared at Haley for a while before he entered the house. They walked to Haley's room and Haley sat on the bed. Connor knelt down in front of Haley and slowly put his arms around her waist and his head on her stomach.

"I'm sorry…I screwed up…I treated you…and our baby…horribly, but I love you Haley and I want to be with you. I want to be a dad," Connor whispered.

Haley put her hands on Connor's head. At her actions Connor looked up and stared into her eyes. He brought his hands from around her waist to her stomach.

"I wanna see you" Connor said.

Slowly he started to unbutton her shirt. He hesitated on one of the buttons but he noticed she wasn't moving to stop him so he continued to unbutton her shirt. Once he had her shirt completely unbuttoned he slid it off of her.

"You're beautiful…I'm so stupid," he whispered.

"But so am I" Haley said with a wistful smile.

"What? No you're not. Why do you say that?" Connor questioned confused.

"Because I believe you," Haley replied.

Connor leaned in and kissed Haley. The slow, gentle kiss quickly became heated. Before things went too far Connor pulled away. Haley looked at him questioningly.

"What…" she began.

"I wanna do this right baby" Connor cut her off.

Connor reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. He got down on one knee and Haley gasped and her hands flew to her mouth.

"Haley Elizabeth James, will you marry me?" Connor questioned.

As Connor looked into her eyes, tears were rolling down her cheeks. He reached out his hand and wiped the tears softly from her cheeks.

End flashback

"I think I know where it goes from there" Nathan winced.

Not wanting to think anymore about what happened next in Haley's story, Nathan got up and cleared the table since the both of them were finished eating. They both made their way over to the couch to get comfortable so Haley could continue her story.

"Ok, so, what happened next?" Nathan questioned, prodding her to continue on.

"Well, things were good until mid-March. That's when we had another problem," Haley answered.

Flashback

Haley rushed into Connor's apartment, her face brimming with excitement.

"Baby, I got in!" she hollered.

Connor came out of his room to see Haley with a piece of paper in her hand and a smile from ear to ear.

"What?" he questioned.

"Stanford. I got into Stanford, full scholarship!" Haley beamed.

"That's great but you're not going" Connor said.

"What?" Haley questioned confused.

"We're engaged and you're having my baby. You can't move to California, I'll be here playing pro ball," Connor explained.

"Connor, Stanford has been my dream since I was a kid. I have worked my ass off for years to get this and I got it! I don't have to worry about a place to stay, my parents already talk to my aunt Donna and she said the baby and I can stay with her. And about us being engaged, we love each other, we'll make it" Haley reasoned.

"You can not take my baby to California. I'll never see you or the baby. Hales, we're supposed to be a family. We can't be a family if you're in California and I'm here in New York" Connor countered.

"Connor, Stanford is my dream! I can't give that up! It's not like we'll break up if I go. You'll see me and the baby. We can make it work."

"Baby, I don't want you across the country away from me with our baby. We can't be a real family that way and I want to be a family. Don't you want to be a family?"

At that last statement Haley lost her resolve.

"Fine Connor, I won't go. I'll stay here so we can be a family."

Connor grinned from ear to ear, picked her up and spun her around.

"You won't regret it. We'll be so happy Hales," he promised.

End Flashback

"So you gave up your dreams of going to Stanford for him?" Nathan questioned.

"Yes. I loved him. I was engaged to him and pregnant with his child. I would've done anything for him" Haley replied.

"Ok, well, it sounds like things were ok, so what happened to bring you to where you are now?"

"It all started about 2 months after I had Emily. It started with name calling. He would call me fat and ugly and tell me I was lucky to have him cause no one else would want me. He completely tore me down like that. Then soon after he started hitting me. At first it was just shoving then it escalated to slapping then punching and worse. The last time he did it though was the worst. That's when I knew I had to leave or he'd kill me," Haley explained.

"God, how could anyone ever lay a hand on you? What happened the last time?" Nathan questioned through gritted teeth.

"Well, he came home from practice one day pissed off about something and Emily was excited to see him and wanted him to play with her. At the time he had a hurt knee and Emily latched on to that knee and hurt him and he blew up at her. He almost hit her and I stepped in. I put up with him hitting me but I would never let him lay a hand on my baby. That was the worst beating I ever got from him but after being out on the floor for a while I made myself get up, pack Emily and my stuff and got the hell out of there. I'm still not sure how I did it. But, thank God, He gave me the strength to" Haley finished.

"So, that's what all those bruises were on your arms and back that I saw in the café that day when you first started there" Nathan said reality finally dawning on him.

"Yes, that's what they were from. And at the beach when you guys saw the scars on my side and I said it was just from me being a clumsy teenager, that was a lie. That's one of my many scars from Connor. He came home pissed off one day about something and we got into an argument and he threw his cleats at me and as a result I have those lovely scars on my side" Haley explained as tears fell freely down her cheeks.

Nathan leaned in and gathered Haley into his arms. Haley finally let go and let the sobs flow freely. After a few minutes Haley pulled back and looked Nathan directly in the eyes. His eyes were so full of sympathy and love. Haley couldn't help herself, she reached up and kissed him. At first Nathan didn't respond because he was in shock but he quickly wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss. Haley locked her arms around Nathan's neck as they kissed. The kisses became more heated and soon Nathan's shirt was off and so was Haley's. Nathan pulled back finally realizing what was going on.

"Haley…" he began unsure.

"No. Don't. I need you Nathan. I want you" Haley silenced him by putting a finger on his lips.

She pressed her lips to his and they made their way off of the couch and into Nathan's bedroom. Nathan laid Haley back on the bed but as he did so she winced in pain. He quickly pulled back.

"Haley, what's wrong? Did I hurt you?" Nathan questioned, his voice filled with concern.

Haley sat up and turned her back to him.

"No, it wasn't you who hurt me" she replied softly.

Nathan gasped when he saw her back and neck. She had bruises that were a mixture of black, blue and purple all over her back from Connor slamming her against the wall. He reached his hand out and gently touched the bruises. He leaned in and lightly kissed the bruises on her neck.

"I wish I could kiss all the pain away," he said.

Haley turned around at his words and kissed him hard. The kisses became more intense, she couldn't get enough of him, she needed more of him. Nathan laid back and pulled her on top of him. She pulled her lips away from his mouth and trailed kisses down his jaw, his neck, collar bones, chest and stomach. Then she stopped and unbuttoned and unzipped his pants then took them and his boxers off. She looked up at Nathan and saw the love for her in his eyes. She stood up and took the rest of her clothes off as he watched then she laid back on top of him and they became one in the heat of their passion.

"I'm coming!" Brooke yelled at the non-stop ringing of the doorbell.

She was annoyed. It was 11 p.m. and there were 2 little girls sleeping upstairs that she didn't want woken up. Her annoyance soon faded as she opened the door to find her best friend standing on her doorstep in tears.

"Peyton! What's wrong?" she questioned her annoyance replaced with concern.

"I'm pregnant" Peyton sobbed.

"Oh baby, come in" Brooke said and ushered her to the sofa.

"And Luke doesn't want it" Peyton continued.

"Peyt, I'm sure Luke wants the baby it's just that…" Brooke began.

"Don't! Don't you dare defend him! I know his bulls hit reasons of 'we're too young and we just got married'. I don't need to hear you defend him," Peyton said angrily.

"Why don't you call Lucas and sit down and talk to him? I'll call him and he can come over here to meet you" Brooke suggested standing up.

"Brooke if you call him I swear I'm leaving. I do NOT want to be anywhere near him right now. He is the last person I want to talk to or even see right now!" Peyton threatened.

"Ok. Fine, I won't call him." Brooke said.

Before she could sit back down, the phone started ringing. She looked at the caller I.D. then at Peyton.

"It's Luke," she said.

"Don't tell him I'm here. Tell him you haven't seen or heard from me," Peyton instructed.

"Peyton, he's my best friend, I can't lie to him" Brooke said.

"Fine, you tell him I'm here then I'm gone and I don't know where I'm going."

Brooke sighed in defeat before picking up the phone.

"Hello?"

"B, it's Lucas. Peyt and I got into a huge fight and she left. I have no idea where she is and I tried calling her and she hung up on me then turned off her phone. Have you heard from her? Is she with you? I'm going out of my mind with worry," Lucas said.

Brooke looked at Peyton and saw the warning look Peyton was giving her before she sighed and answered Lucas.

"No, Luke, I'm sorry."

"Ok, well if you do please get her to call me and tell her I love her" Lucas said before hanging up.

Brooke walked back over to the sofa.

"I hate lying to him Peyton. You know that, he's like a brother to me. He's worried sick about you and he said to tell you to call him and to tell you he loves you" Brooke said as she sat down next to Peyton.

"Well, I'm not going home anytime soon so, he might as well get used to missing me" Peyton said.