Author's note: I realized that I haven't been paying much attention to Haley's relationship with Brooke and Peyton. I kind of let all that take a back burner and that was never my intention, they, along with Lucas, will begin to have a stronger presence in the story. I just wanted to say thanks for everyone that reads this. It truly is a labor of love. I do still wish for more reviews, but I don't really know what to do to entice you guys to review?
Chapter 21- Last Chance
Haley sat on the couch anxiously staring between her mother and the clock. With each passing minute, the tension in the room increased. Haley knew that her father would be home any minute and that it wasn't going to be pretty. Haley knew that every father's nightmare was discovering that his daughter was having sex.
Haley had always been a daddy's little girl, being that she was the youngest of 6 kids. She and her father fought to no end, but it was only because they were so much alike. They were both stubborn and that made arguments between them sometimes continue much longer than necessary. No matter how much they fought, it was obvious to everyone that Haley's father loved his little girl to no end. It was only because of this love that he tended to be more than a little overprotective.
Haley didn't know it, but it had been hard for her father to accept her relationship with Nathan. Jimmy knew from the minute he saw the way Haley looked at Nathan that it wasn't just a school girl crush. He knew that his daughter was falling in love with Nathan, and fast. Jimmy knew that that would require him to begin to let Haley go. After all, he couldn't be the main man in her life forever.
"Honey, I'm home." Jimmy proclaimed as he walked in the door. His happy demeanor quickly went away the second he saw the look on his wife's face. It was at telling look, and he knew that all wasn't well in the James' house. "What's going on?"
"Well, I was cleaning this afternoon and I found this stuck in between the couch cushions in the living room." Lydia held up the condom wrapper as she spoke.
Jimmy's eyes widened with shock. In his wildest dreams he never thought that he would be having this conversation to soon, especially with Haley. "Haley, what part of no more secrets were you confused on?"
"No part of it Daddy. It just never seemed like the right time to tell you. I thought that the whole drug dealing was enough to deal with, I didn't want to make things worse." Haley looked anywhere besides in her father's eyes as she spoke. She was ashamed, not only because of the sex part, but mostly because she knew she had disappointed her father.
"It may have added another layer to the situation, but it would've been better than lying." Jimmy looked to his wife to take over, he needed a minute to process all of this.
"It isn't only the lying that we are upset with Haley, it is the fact that you disrespected us by having sex in our house." Lydia paused for a minute, "What I want to know is how you managed to get Nathan in here when your father and I weren't home? Do we have to do away with him driving you to and from school? That seems like it may be the only solution if he is sneaking in here when he is supposed to just be dropping you off."
"No Mom, please don't do that. He doesn't sneak in here." Haley's cheeks reddened with embarrassment, she tried to look into her parents' eyes as she spoke with them, but was unable to. "It happened when Nathan was here Saturday night."
"Oh and that makes it better?" Jimmy prodded as his voice rose with anger. "Now this really is a toss up; which is more disrespectful, you sneaking Nathan into the house or you having sex with him while your mother and I are in the other room?" Jimmy scratched his chin for emphasis, "Neither option really appeals to me Haley."
"I understand. I'm sorry. It was wrong, I knew it. I just don't know, I lost my head I guess. Things have been so hard with Nathan dealing with all of this and with us not getting to see each other a lot. I didn't use my better judgment." Haley held her breath, hoping that the punishment wouldn't be too terrible.
"I'm inclined to tell you that you can't see Nathan anymore…"
Haley jumped to her feet and interrupted, "Whatever you do, don't do that. Please Daddy. That would be the worst thing ever. I love him, so much, I really do. I never expected to feel like this at my age but I do and I can't stop it. I can't not be with him, I don't know what I would do. I would be miserable. He means so much to me, I really don't want to even think about what my life would be like without him."
"Haley, I think that you're being a little over dramatic." Lydia crossed her arms and looked her daughter in the eye, "He's just a boy, it wouldn't be the end of the world."
"No, he isn't just a boy, not to me. He has changed my life. Before I met him I just went along with my life, I wasn't happy really but I wasn't unhappy, I was just content. But then I met Nathan, and it all changed. I learned what true happiness was. I really started living. Everyday with him is better than the one before it. And after having that, well, I don't know if I can go back."
"We could sit here and argue about whether you're exaggerating or not, but that will get us nowhere. I don't think that making you guys break up is the solution. I think that that will just cause you to sneak around and lie to us even more. That's the last thing that your mother and I want to see happen. With that being said, you're grounded for two weeks. I mean grounded, no phone, no tv, no going out, nothing. You will not see Nathan at all for those two weeks. Your mother and I will drive you to and from school during those two weeks. After the two weeks are up you can continue riding with Nathan to and from school and he can come over one night a week as we previously agreed on. But this is it Haley, this is the last chance, and I mean that. I'm already being more lenient than I'm inclined to be. Anything else happens and I don't think we'll be able to allow you to see Nathan anymore." Jimmy looked to his wife, who nodded in agreement.
"Okay." Haley knew that arguing would do nothing but would do nothing but prolong the grounding.
Jimmy stood up and walked to the phone, picked it up and then walked over to Haley. "You can quickly call Nathan and tell him that you're grounded and that we will be driving you to and from school. That's it, five minutes tops. The clock starts now."
Haley hopped off the couch and walked out of the room as she dialed Nathan's house.
"Hello?"
"Hey Nathan, it's me. I'm just calling to tell you that I'm grounded. For two weeks, I can't really talk about it now, but while I'm grounded my mom and dad will be taking me to school."
"Haley what happened?"
"I can't really talk now Nathan." Haley said as she looked over her shoulder, she saw that her mom was standing there listening to every word.
"Okay, I'll meet you at your locker tomorrow morning and we can talk about what happened."
"Sounds good Nathan. Bye." With that Haley hung up the phone. Her mother held out her hand and Haley handed her the phone, knowing she wouldn't be touching it again for two whole weeks.
ooooOoooo
As Haley walked towards her locker the next morning she saw Nathan leaning up against it. Haley was surprised that he was already there, he didn't usually get to school this early without Haley threatening him.
Nathan had worried all night. This grounding seemed to come out of nowhere. He and Haley had already gone through so much to be together, he wondered what it was that was standing in they way now.
"Hey Nathan." Haley leaned forward to quickly kiss Nathan.
"What happened Hales?" Nathan looked concerned.
"My parents found a condom wrapper in between the couch cushions. So, I'm grounded for two weeks."
Nathan's face turned from concern into embarrassment. "That's all my fault Haley. I honestly forgot all about the wrapper." Nathan felt terrible. He had been so worried about rushing to the bathroom to get rid of the condom, he had forgotten all about the wrapper.
"It's okay Nathan. It isn't your fault, I could have taken care of it myself. There isn't any point in blaming each other, it is what it is. In two weeks it can go back to normal, even though normal kind of sucks." Haley had to admit it, seeing each other one day a week really wasn't all that incredible, but it was definitely better than nothing.
"They won't even let you ride with me to school?"
"Nope, when they say grounded, they mean grounded. I know this sucks. I mean, who wants a girlfriend that they can never even spend time with?" Haley asked nervously, she worried that Nathan wouldn't want to put up with all the obstacles her parents placed between them.
"You're asking the wrong question Haley. To me the question is who wants a girlfriend who is there for them when they need them the most?" Nathan reached out and took Haley's hands and held them tight as he looked into her eyes, "You were there for me when I needed it so now it's my turn. It won't be like this forever. We just have to be patient with each other and wait for the day when things get better."
"That day seems awfully far off Nathan. I feel like my parents will never let up."
"They will Haley, they will. All we can do is follow their rules and hope it is sooner rather than later."
"And if it's later?" Haley asked, hoping she wouldn't come to regret it.
"Then we'll wait for later together."
ooooOoooo
"Are we going to talk about why everything is so tense in your house?" Peyton asked curiously.
Haley had had to beg, but her parents had finally agreed to let Peyton come over to "study." Haley hadn't seen either her or Brooke in quite a while and she was in serious need of some girl time.
"It's that noticeable huh?" Haley looked towards Peyton who nodded. "Well, my parents were already having a hard time adjusting to the fact that Nathan got arrested and then, to make it worse, they found a condom wrapper in between the couch cushions." Haley sighed deeply at the memory of that conversation with her parents.
"Whew, that really sucks Haley. How long are you grounded for?" Peyton knew that Haley's parents were quick to hand out groundings, and after having gone through 5 older brothers and sisters before Haley, they didn't mess around. When they said grounded they meant it.
"Two weeks. Nathan can't even drive me to and from school. I have to ride with my parents." Haley wrinkled her nose for emphasis.
"Are we ever going to talk about how you and Nathan like never even get to see each other anymore? Is it all really worth all of this? The groundings, your parents not trusting you, is all of it worth it?"
Haley thought to herself for a minute, and instead of all of those bad things that Peyton had mentioned, she remembered the good stuff. The late night phone conversations, the dinner dates, making out at Haley's locker, goofing around at work. It was weird, but whenever Haley thought about her and Nathan, those were the things she thought of, not the groundings and the sneaking around.
"It's all worth it, every minute of it. I don't know how to describe it Pey, but when I'm with him, I don't know, I just feel so alive. If I have to put up with being grounded for a couple of weeks, and put up with my parents watching our every move, well it's still worth it. Really, it is. I'm in love and I realize that there are sacrifices that come with that."
Peyton looked thoughtful for a moment. She had never experienced anything like what Haley was describing. Feeling alive? Peyton rarely felt that. Her life had been upside down lately. Her father was always away, she saw Haley less and less, and Brooke, well she was Brooke. Peyton loved Brooke to death, but Peyton just didn't think Brooke would understand how Peyton sometimes felt.
"It just seems crazy, we dreamed about this for years, finding amazing boys and falling in love. And here you are, you have it Haley, you have all of it. And the fact that you're willing to make sacrifices to have that love, well that just shows how real it is. I just never thought that any of us would find love this soon. I really didn't."
"I didn't either Peyton. But Nathan just swooped in and swept me off my feet and since then everything has been different."
"I'm happy for you Haley, I really am. I just miss my best friend. I feel like we never get to hang out anymore." Peyton hated to admit it, but she really did miss Haley. "I need you Haley, even though it's hard for me to admit, I really do need you."
"I need you too, I guess I just kind of let everything besides Nathan take a back burner." Haley looked towards Peyton, who was close to tears. She realized just how much time the two hadn't spent together. It was the same with Brooke, outside of school, the girls rarely saw each other. And then even when they were in school, well, Haley tried to see Nathan as much as possible. "That won't happen anymore Peyton, I promise. As soon as this grounding is over you, me, and Brooke are going to have an old fashioned girls' night. I'll try harder Peyton, I promise."