Chapter 5Love and War
Nathan bolted upright in his bed, waking Haley up in the process. "Jes, calm down. Tell me what happened. Why do you need help?" He said a little panic starting to creep into his voice. He could feel deep down inside that something was really wrong. It was strange but he had a connection to Jes. Not a romantic connection like he had to Haley, the love of his life, but a connection all the same. He Jes trying to calm herself down enough to talk to him on the other end of the line. Then finally he heard the words that ignited a rage deep down within him, a rage that he had only truly felt once before. "He...He...He hit me..." Jes choked out between sobs. "I be right there," he heard himself. He jumped out of bed and felt Haley's eyes down on him. "That was Jes" "Well, I know it was Jes, I heard you say her name," Haley said her voice just a little icy. "Her dad hit her Hales." "Well, why did she call you, why didn't she call the police or any other of the numerous guys in town?" Nathan stared at his wife. For the first time in a long time he was at a complete loss for words. "Haley, I said he hit her, she needs help. We are supposed to be her friends, we need to help her. Now is not the time to get jealous. I don't have feelings for her, I just understand her that's all." "Understand her Nathan? What is that supposed to mean?" Nathan stood for a second trying to formulate the words that would make Haley understand. "We have a brother/sister type bond, I know that sounds crazy but that is it Haley. Now I'm calling Lucas. I've seen her dad and I can't take him alone." Nathan dialed his brothers number "Nathan, what the hell are you calling this late for?" Lucas said barely awake. "Meet me at Jes' in 5 minutes, I'll explain then." Nathan continued to throw his clothes on. "Nate," Haley said quietly "Isn't your dad Sam's bestfriend. I mean I know you don't like your dad, but maybe in this situation it would be best if you called him." Nathan looked at her and shook his head, he knew she was right, Haley was always right. Haley put on her clothes while Nathan dialed a number that he wished he didn't have to dial.
"Hello?" Dan answered after the second ring, and unlike Lucas he sounded very awake. "Dad, It's Nathan, I need some help with something or someone rather." Dan could hear the slight trace of fear in his younger son's voice. "Nate, what is the matter." Nathan took a deep breath and then said in a rush. "Jes' dad hit her and Lucas and I are going over there but you're his bestfriend and I thought that you might be able to help." "I'll be right there. Nathan listen to me, I want you and your brother to do nothing until I get there. Do you understand? Do nothing."
About 5 minutes later the three Scott men stood outside the Langley house. Haley and Brooke were waiting in Lucas' car with medical supplies to take care of Jes once they got her out of there. Dan walked up to the door, flanked by a son on either side. Dan knocked on the door only once before it swung open. Sam Langley was standing on the other side with a beer in one hand and a baseball bat in the other. "Well, what do we have here Danny boy? Did you come to collect the rest of your offspring?" Sam said slurring his words slightly. Nathan and Lucas looked at each other with suprised looks. What exactly did he mean by that? Maybe he was just drunk. However, the words that left their fathers' mouth answered the question. "This is not the time or place to discuss that matter Sam. We should sit down and talk like adults, when you are sober prehaps." Sam stared at Dan, disgust crossing his face "I always took the blame for you Dan. What did you do screw every girl in the state of North Carolina?" "Boys, go get Jes. Sam I said we would discuss this later."
Lucas and Nathan sprinted past Sam and up the stairs. There were four main hallways that came off the top of the stairs. Lucas looked at Nathan. "Which way do we go now?" Nathan stood quietly for a moment and trusted his gut feeling that he now understood to be a brotherly gut feeling. "This one," he said pointing to hallway directly over Lucas' shoulder. Sure enough, the second door down the hall they heard someone crying. "Jes, is that you?" Nathan yelled. There was no response. "Jes, It's Lucas and Nathan. Open up." They heard a fresh round of sobs start. "You can't see me like this." "Jes please open up the door, I'm sure how much time we have." Nathan implored. Finally, Jes opened the door. Both boys were shocked by what they saw. The entire right side of her face was bruised, and the point of impact was bloody. It was easy to tell that at least her cheek bone had been broken. Nathan picked her up and ran back downstairs, Lucas following close behind. THe front door was open and the could hear the voices of the two men coming from another room. However, as the boys made a run for the door, Sam blocked their path. "Where do you think you are taking her," he slurred. "Far away from you," both boys replied at the same time. "You can't do that I am her legal guardian." Dan reappeared in the doorway. "He's right boys you can't take her. But she is may daughter so I can." With that Dan lifted the now passed out Jes out of Nathan's arms and into his own. He shook his head sadly as he saw her injuries for the first time. "I can't believe how much you have changed Sam. You used to be the kind of person who would never do this." And with that Dan walked out of the Langley house. "Boys, I know I have a lot to explain to you and to Jes, but right now we need to get her to a hospital." Both Scott boys just nodded their heads as they got into their seperate vehicles and followed their father to the hospital.