Yes, I know. I suck. I'm sorry for taking forever update. And I want to say I'm really really really sorry to Tutor Gurl. I know we had a deal and I'm sorry I made you upset!
Brooke awoke the next morning to her clock radio blasting Britney Spears' 'Do Somethin.' She groaned and rolled over, slamming her hand down on the snooze button.
"That song sucks," Haley commented from behind her. She was leaning against the wall in a stiff position.
"I'm sorry," Brooke said, sitting up beside her sister, "I forgot to turn the alarm off last night before I went to sleep. It didn't wake you, did it?"
Haley shook her head tilted her head towards the door. "No. The yelling did."
"What yelling?" Brooke asked in confusion. All she heard was silence, but was soon clued in when she heard two loud male voices downstairs. "What the hell is that?"
Haley shrugged and got out of the bed. "I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Brooke nodded and followed down the hall. They went down a few steps and sat down, exchanging looks with each other. They recognized one voice being their brother, but the other voice was unidentifiable.
"Why does that sound so familiar?" Brooke asked in a whisper. Where had she heard that voice before? Before she could think about it any more, Haley snapped her finger.
"I know exactly who it is," She said, getting up and running down the stairs before Brooke could stop her. She marched into the kitchen, interrupting the yelling match between Mike and the devil himself. His name was Dan Scott, but with his history, he could easily pass for Lucifer himself. "What the hell are you doing here?" She spat, lunging herself at him. Mike caught her just in time, wrapping his arm around her waist.
Dan laughed and patted her on the head. "Aw, is this the little guard dog?" He snickered and continued, "you know, little girls like you shouldn't go around sticking their nose in other people's business." Haley squirmed, desperately trying to get out of her brother's strong grip.
"Just shut up Dan," Mike said, sending an icy glare towards the man in front of him. "Get out of my house before I call the cops."
Dan laughed again. An evil, bitter laugh that sent a shiver down Haley's spine. "You're going to call the cops on me? Huh, taking a page out of your little sister's book here I see." Haley somehow found the strength to kick Dan in the knee. He acted like it didn't phase him, but inside he was hurting.
"Crying to the cops, saying my son tried to rape you." Dan fumed, quickly rubbing his throbbing knee. He had numerous surgeries to fix his now fragile knee when he injured it in College. He could never play again, leading him to live vicariously through his son, Nathan.
"You think I'm lying?" Haley fumed right back at him. Mike's grip on her loosened, but he still had a firm hand around her tiny waist. "Your son is an asshole and quite frankly it's no wonder why he wanted to move away from a dick like you."
Dan blinked a few times, trying to rid himself of the shock he just experienced. "Who the hell do you think you are, little girl? Michael, I don't appreciate your sister talking to me like this."
Mike sighed and shook his head. "That's enough, Haley." Haley turned around in his grip and looked at him in disbelief. She never really had a real relationship with her brother. He was 10 years older and was out of the house by the time she was 8.
"Enough? Whose side are you on anyways?" She spat, turning back around and stared at Dan. "His son should be locked up for the rest of his life."
Dan threw his head back and let out a laugh. "Honey, I bet your parent's are turning in their grave listening to the way you're talking to me."
Without even thinking, Haley lunged herself at him again. Mike pulled her back and tightened his grip, digging his big hand into the bruise that covered her abdomen. She flailed about in his arms, trying to break free while Dan stood there amused.
"Let me go," She yelled, trying to rid herself of the pain shooting through her body. Mike looked at her in confusion and gently released her. She clutched her stomach and closed her eyes, hoping the pain would subside.
"What? What's wrong?" He asked, watching his sister walk around the room with her right arm draped over her stomach. She waved him off and disappeared out of the room.
"Pretty sad if you ask me," Dan sneered, fiddling with his tie. Mike turned around and glared at him.
"What's sad?" He asked, afraid of Dan's possible answer. He knew he was going to tell him he was a bad 'parent'. Mike had to admit he knew absolutely nothing about his sisters, but he always made sure they were safe and well.
Dan shrugged and shook his head. "Well if you don't know, how should I?" Mike rolled his eyes and also shook his head. "Think about what I said about Nathan," Dan added, pointing his finger at him. "I'll pay you top notch, anything you want, you got it. You make sure my kid's record is cleaned."
"Dan," Mike groaned in frustration, "I'm not defending Nathan if he goes to court."
"And why not?"
"Why not? Why not?" Mike exploded; he had enough of Dan and wanted him out of his sight. "Because he tried to rape my sister, that's why."
"Michael, you were his age once. You know how teenage boys get. He probably couldn't keep it in his pants, I'm sure little Haley was just confused."
"Just get out," Mike said, pointing to the back door. Dan walked up to him and stared him down.
"You refuse my offer and I'll ruin you." He threatened, while walking past him and bumping his shoulder. "Think about it and let me know." Mike banged his fist on the table as the door slammed shut. He looked up at the ceiling and shook his head.
"We're in deep trouble."
Brooke peered out her window and watched as Dan unlocked his car. She raised her eyebrow in confusion and shrugged. What could Dan Scott want? Whatever it was, it was probably not good. When Dan Scott paid a visit to your house you were in trouble.
"What could he want?" Brooke muttered to herself trying to weigh out the possibilities of his little visit.
"Who the heck knows," Haley said walking into the room. Brooke turned around in shock, her left hand covering her racing heart.
"God, Hales, you scared me!" Brooke exclaimed, putting her hand down by her side. Haley laughed and fell onto the bed, soon followed by Brooke. "What do you want to do today?" She asked while glancing at the clock. It was only 8:15 which probably meant nothing was really open yet.
Haley shrugged and leant against the headboard. "I don't know. We could think about all the poor people stuck at school?" Truth was, Haley would have rather been one of those people stuck at school. As sad as it was, she liked school. It took her mind off things and gave her something to do during the day.
"Yeah..or we could go shopping!" Brooke exclaimed while sitting up in excitement. Brooke believed shopping could cure anything; nerves, boredom, anxiousness, or in their case, something to do.
"Brooke," Haley laughed, glancing at the clock. "It's 8:17 in the morning, the malls probably not open yet."
Brooke frowned and tucked a piece of stray hair behind her ear. "True, but it does open at 9, we could go out for breakfast and then go." She smiled triumphantly as Haley smiled nervously. The last time Peyton forced the two to go to the mall together. Brooke ended up ditching Haley for her friends, leaving Haley in another town 45 minutes away. Brooke picked up on the silenced and nudged Haley's foot with hers. "What? Are you embarrassed to be seen with your big sister in public?"
Haley was quick to shake her head. It was the complete opposite. "No, Tiger, it's just," she stuttered, trying to find the right words. She and sighed shrugged when she came up with nothing. "It's nothing."
"Haley," Brooke said in a warning tone. She knew Haley was hiding something. "What is it? And don't tell me nothing, you suck at lying."
"So it seems," Haley mumbled, turning away from Brooke's face. She took a deep breath before turning back around. "I don't know, it's just weird." She finally confessed throwing her hands up in the air.
"What's weird?" Brooke asked in somewhat disappointment. She was really starting to get the impression Haley didn't want to be seen with her.
"This," Haley said while gesturing to the two of them. "Us, it's a little weird, okay? It was like last month you wanted me out of your life and now? Now you want to hang out all of a sudden? If it's only out of pity.."
"Haley." Brooke cut her off, trying to hide the surprise and hurt in her voice. She sighed and shook her head at a loss for words. It was true, all true. At first she pretended to care out of pity. They were family after all.
Judging by the silence her sister created, Haley jumped off the bed and glared at her. "Oh my god, it's true."
Brooke got off the bed and shook her head frantically. "Haley it's not like that at all." She said a bit coldly. Haley blushed and was quick to apologize. "Look, I know it feels weird but you've got to realize, I, Brooke Allison James was a total bitch back then. But Bitch Brooke is gone. For good."
Haley smiled, feeling reassured Brooke was being genuine. "Good. I hated Bitch Brooke. She was mean." Brooke laughed and nodded. It was true after all.
It had been a few hours since the girls went shopping. Haley was still worried they were going to see someone from school. She didn't know how Brooke would react. They headed into Aeropostale and looked around for a bit.
"Brooke!" Theresa called out from behind her. Brooke cringed and turned around to see Claire and Bevin standing behind her.
"Theresa, hi," Brooke said, plastering a fake smile on her face. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?"
"I could ask you the same thing." Theresa said looking at Haley. Haley looked away and sighed. 'Here it comes' she thought. "Some idiot called in a bomb threat so Turner sent us all home. What are you doing here?"
Brooke laughed nervously and looked around. "Oh, you know, just taking the day off."
"And you're spending it with Tutor Girl?" Theresa sneered, making Bevin laugh. "If you joined some adopt a geek program then I think you should have warned us. It must be embarrassing hanging out with a loser like that."
"You know what?" Brooke seethed looking back at Haley. She took a shirt off the rack and forced it into Haley's hands. "Go try that on, Hales," she commanded, pushing her towards the dressing room area.
"Alright, Brooke. I knew you had it in you. It must have been torture hanging out with Tutor Girl all day." Bevin said from behind Theresa.
"Yeah just the thought alone makes me sick." Brooke rolled her eyes. Theresa was a bigger drama queen than she was. Brooke noticed Claire wasn't her usual snarky self, but was too annoyed to comment on it.
"Look, it's okay really. Tutor, Haley's my sister and if you can't accept that then we can't be friends anymore." Theresa and Bevin exchanged glances before bursting into laughter.
"Oh, Brooke. Hanging out with geeks all day is really doing something to your head so we'll see you later." Theresa said with another laugh. Brooke rolled her eyes and watched as Theresa and Bevin left. She noticed Claire was still standing there.
"I suppose you have something to say too? Or did your hoe posse cover everything?"
Claire shook her head, which made Brooke surprised. Claire had a comment about everything and anything. "I think it's nice that you're hanging out with your little sister. My brother told me what happened. I'm really sorry."
"Thanks, Claire," Brooke said, still in disbelief over what she was hearing. Claire smiled back at her and started to walk away. Was it true? Did Claire Young actually have a heart?"
"Oh," she said turning back around, "if you tell anyone I was nice to you, I'll send you to hell in a hand basket."
No guess not..
Brooke rolled her eyes and walked over to the other side of the store, completely forgetting about Haley.
"Brooke?" Haley called out before coming out of the dressing room. She glanced around and sighed sadly when Brooke was nowhere in sight. "Great."
"May I help you?" A sales lady asked, coming over to Haley. "You look a bit lost."
Haley tried her best to muster a smile upon her face. "I was just actually looking for my sister. Have you seen her? She has brown hair and is about your height." The sales lady thought about it for a moment, trying to remember all the brunette clients she had seen.
"I did see a brunette girl leave the store with a another group of girls a minute or two ago"
Haley nodded and smiled. "Oh, thank you." She sighed again and put the shirt back on the rack and walking out the door. "Once again, the smart girl is really stupid," she mumbled to herself, glancing at each store she passed by. Brooke had to be around somewhere. Haley stopped outside of Victoria's Secret. That was Brooke's favorite store so she was bound to be in there.
"Brooke?" Haley called out while stepping into the store. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around, thinking it was Brooke. Instead it was Theresa, Claire and Bevin standing behind her. They were the epitome of perfect. Perfect hair, perfect skin, and perfect tan line. They had it all, but Haley knew deep down they were just lost souls trying to keep up with pop culture.
"Tutor Girl?" Theresa said in disbelief. She would have never thought Haley would be in a shop like Victoria's Secret. "Are you a little lost?"
Haley shook her head, trying her best to not let the bitch in front of her get under her skin. Brooke told her numerous times to just ignore them, but somehow Theresa's whiny voice got to her. "No," Haley bit back coldly. She wasn't going to let the primadonna in front of her push her around. "I'm just looking around, didn't know that was a problem."
"It's not," Theresa said raising her eyebrow. "But you spending time with Brooke is. Seeing as Claire here has stepped down from her position as co-captain, I'm taking over for a while. And while Brooke is missing practice and games, her captain title is in danger of being ceased. So either you back off, or you'll be sorry." Haley bit her lip in an effort to stop herself from laughing. She had never met anyone more obsessed with cheerleading than Theresa Williams.
"Haley!" Brooke's called out in an annoyed tone. She marched into the store and walked up next to her. "Thanks for leaving me in the store! I thought you were still in the changing room so I went in and nearly gave the woman in there a heart attack." Before Haley could say something, Brooke looked her 'friends' standing in front of her. "Hi, again."
"We were just telling Tutor Girl to back away from you. Brooke, you're missing practices and it's affecting your social life." Theresa said matter-of-factly. Brooke rolled her eyes in utter disgust. She stepped in front of Haley in a protective manner and crossed her arms.
"Let me tell you something, Theresa, the next time you harass my sister, I'll kick you off the team so fast it'll make your head spin."
Theresa looked nervous but quickly shook it off. "You can't do that, Brooke. I'm the new co-captain." She caught Brooke's surprised look and went on with a smirk. "That's right Brookie, Claire here has stepped down and appointed me new co-captain. So this thing between you and me is a partnership. You kick me off, I kick you off, understand?"
Brooke laughed in amusement and watched as Claire rolled her eyes at Theresa. "Theresa, I thought I told you to stop talking out of your ass. It's not very flattering." Brooke said with a grin, patting Theresa on the head as she walked past her. "Come on, Haley." She called out over her shoulder. Haley laughed a little when she saw the look on Theresa's face.
With numerous shopping bags in their hands, the girls finally made it home to a very loud house. Taylor and Mike were arguing about something in the living room but quickly stopped when the front door opened.
"What did Devil Dan want?" Brooke asked the minute she got in. She sat on the couch and propped her legs up on the coffee table. Haley sat further down the couch and crossed her arms.
"Yeah what did he want?"
Mike sighed and looked at each one of his sisters. "Nothing, let's just forget he was here." He took a deep breath as the room became silent. "Um, well seeing as we're all here," his voice began to trail off making the girls nervous. "I, I have to tell you something. It's about Mom and Dad."
Brooke and Haley immediately tensed up while Taylor sighed. She knew this was going to break their hearts, but nevertheless she listened carefully as Mike went on.
"What about them?" Brooke asked quietly, remembering their conversation last night. The last 24 hours were hard and she didn't know how much more she and Haley could take.
"They weren't the people you thought they were." Mike whispered while looking away.
"What are you trying to say?" Brooke asked again. This time she had found her voice and it was not going to be pretty. She glanced at Haley, who was looking at the floor, and looked back at Mike. "Mike, you're scaring me."
"Brooke, just calm down. Let him talk." Taylor said from behind her. Brooke turned around and glared at her.
"No I will not calm down!" She roared, getting off the couch. Haley stared at her nervously and got up too. "What the hell is going on? Why is everyone in this family so damn secretive."
"Just sit down and I'll tell you," Mike demanded, watching the two sit down together with a sulking face. "You want to know the truth? Here's the truth. Mom and Dad weren't on their way to pick Haley up that day. They were on their way to finalize their divorce."
"Divorce?" Brooke asked in disbelief. Her parents would never get a divorce; they were so in love it made her sick. "No, that's not true."
Mike shook his head sadly and looked at Taylor for help. She just shrugged and motioned for him to go on. "It is true. They didn't want you to know until it was final. They had too many problems to deal with."
"Problems?" Haley spoke up for the first time they had came home. She was getting angry and she was going to make her opinion known. "They didn't have problems."
"Haley," Mike groaned in frustration. "They had problems, okay? Dad cheated on Mom numerous times. See? That's why I didn't want to tell you, I knew you'd get upset."
Haley got off the couch and shook her head. She had a nice day and now it was all going to be ruined. "You're lying!" She spat angrily, breathing heavily.
"Haley he's not lying." Taylor said gently from behind her. Haley looked at Brooke for help, but Brooke was still trying to let it all sink in. D-I-V-O-R-C-E. It seemed like a foreign word to her. Most of her friends had divorced parents for the exact same reason as her now.
"Oh, what do you know? You were never around anyways." Haley said bitterly, storming up the stairs in a rage. Brooke winced as the door slammed shut, shaking the whole house. Mike sighed and muttered something under his breath as he left the room.
"Well," Taylor said in an attempt to make conversation with her sister. Brooke looked at her and shrugged.
"I guess it all makes sense. Dad's late nights at work, the constant yelling when we came home from school. And I did catch Dad sneaking out once too." Brooke said, her voice trailing off. Taylor knew she was trying hard not to cry, the both of them hated crying in front of people.
"Brooke, it's okay you know. It's okay to cry. You don't need to be so strong." Taylor said looking at her sister sadly. Brooke took a deep breath and shook her head.
"No, I'm fine. I'm strong as an ox, remember? Can I just ask you a question? Who, who was the woman Dad cheated on Mom with?"
Taylor thought about it for a moment before answering it. She didn't know the woman's exact name, nor she wanted to. "Um, I think it was something like Mary Young? I can't really remember. But she was a total screw up. Raging alcoholic, abused her kids, husband never came home. DSS took the kids away and she ended up in jail somewhere in Alabama."
"Oh my god," Brooke gasped at a loss for words. Taylor looked at her as if she was crazy.
"What did you know her or something?"
"Claire and Christian. Holy shit, they go to school with us. That's why Claire hates me, that's why she gives Haley crap. It all makes sense now."
"Brooke, you're babbling, calm down. Who the heck are Claire and Christian? Her kids?"
"Yeah, her kids. I remember Haley telling me Christian said his mother was an alcoholic and she used to hit him and Claire. This, this is not happening. I need to, I need to go upstairs and, and do something." Taylor watched Brooke make her up the stairs in a state of confusion. The name Christian was ringing through her head. Was it the same guy that hit Haley? She shrugged and followed Brooke up the stairs, hoping to get some answers out of Haley.
"Haley?" She said while gently tapping on the door. Judging by the silence on the other end, Taylor assumed Haley wasn't in the mood for talking. "Haley?" She tried again knocking harder. Brooke walked over and looked at her sadly.
"She won't come out, Tay." Brooke stated while looking down at the floor. "Just leave her alone for now."
Taylor sighed and shook her head. "Brooke, you of all people know she needs someone right now. Please just help?"
"Okay," Brooke muttered before pounding on the door. "Hales, open up." They heard a shuffle and soon the doorknob clicked and Haley opened the door. She looked dazed and confused.
"Leave me alone," She said before closing the door again. But Brooke pushed it open with her hip and went into the room soon followed by Taylor.
"Haley, you're a mess. Just let us help you." Taylor said trying to reason with her youngest sister. She didn't know why she bothered though; Haley was too stubborn to reason with anyone.
"Gee thanks. You really know how to cheer people up when they're feeling down." Haley snapped. "I don't need your pity, so you might as well save the whole 'I'm here for you speech.' You've obviously got Brooke fooled, but not me Taylor."
"Haley!" Brooke said incredulously. "What the hell is your problem?"
"My problem, Brooke? My problem? What the hell do you think my problem is?" Haley bit back coldly. She was in no mood to talk and she sure as hell wasn't going to explain herself for her actions. Taylor walked further into the room and looked at her sister in disbelief.
"Haley, I know you're upset, but there is no need for you to be acting like this. " Taylor said in a caring voice. Haley just rolled her eyes at Taylor's pathetic attempt to pretend to care.
"Save it. You're never around anyways. I'm actually surprised you stuck around this long. What are going to do next? Milk us all for cash then high tail it out of here when we're all asleep."
"Seriously, Haley stop right now." Brooke said lowering her voice. She stared at Taylor hoping she would have the answer, but she didn't. She had no clue what was going on and it was scaring her.
"No," Taylor said closing her eyes. She then realized it was the time to tell them why she went away. Why he sent her away. "Do you want to know why I left? I'll tell you," she said bitterly before leaving the room. She returned seconds later with a picture in her hand. She forced it into Haley's hands and watched as confusion spread across her sister's face.
"Tay, what is this?" Brooke asked taking the picture from Haley's hand. She stared at the little baby in the picture and looked back up at her sister.
"Her name's Emily. She's 4 and a half and lives in Oregon." Taylor said as her eyes welled up with tears.
"Okay," Brooke said confused. "Color me confused, but what does this girl have to do with you leaving?"
"Oh my god," Haley said in disbelief. It was Taylor's daughter, her niece. "She's yours isn't she?"
Taylor let the tears flow down her cheek and nodded. "Well she was. I gave her up for adoption."
"But when did this happen?" Brooke asked, still trying to take it all in. She never heard about Taylor being pregnant or heard her mention it.
"Senior year. It was a stupid mistake. That's why I leave every now and then. I go and see her, I see her." Taylor said before collapsing into a fit of sobs. Haley stood there frozen, realizing her problems seemed so minimal now.
"Who's the father?" Haley asked breaking the silence that lingered in the air. Taylor wiped her eyes and shook her head.
"It doesn't matter-"
"Who's the father?" Haley asked one more time with force. She had a hunch as to who it was and felt her body begin to tremble. "It's him isn't it?" She asked quietly, her eyes beginning to water at the pure thought of Nathan.
"Like I said it was a stupid mistake. Who knew he would get me pregnant on his first time-"
"That monster fathered your child!" Haley yelled out in anger. Taylor nodded and looked down at the ground, her whole world was falling apart and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
"Tay," Brooke said, laying a shaking hand on her sister's trembling shoulder. "Dan Scott sent you away didn't he?"
"He said if I told Nathan that I was pregnant he would, he would expose Dad's affair to you guys. He sent me away to some place in Oregon where they found a nice family to adopt the baby from. I didn't want to go, but he made me."
Brooke and Haley looked at each other, not knowing what to do next. They had never seen Taylor cry so hard before. Brooke noticed Haley was crying too and put her other hand on her shoulder. But Haley shook it off and took a step back.
"I need, I need to go away," Haley said covering her mouth before running out of the room. Brooke tried to stop her but it was no use. She walked over to Taylor and hugged her tight. Everything was piling up on her shoulders and she was starting to break.
Haley walked to the door and quietly slipped out, shutting it behind her. It was a cold spring night and she shivered as she began to walk down the street to the only person who could comfort her at this time.
The bell jingled inside Karen's Café and Karen found herself letting out a heavy sigh. It had been a long day and all she wanted to do was to go home and go to bed.
"I'm sorry, but we're closed." Karen said without even turning around to see who was behind her.
"Karen?" Haley whispered in a broken voice. Karen immediately turned around and felt her heart skip a beat as she saw Haley standing there.
"Haley? What's wrong, honey?" Karen's voice cracked at the sight of the girl in front of her. She was wrapped in a small blanket, her hair was in a messy bun and her eyes were all red and puffy.
"Everything," Haley said before breaking down into tears. Karen quickly took Haley in her arms and gently led her over to the couch. Karen didn't bother to say anything; instead she let Haley sob into her arms and gently stroked her hair.
She rubbed her back comfortingly in hopes of getting the sobs to subside. But with everything Haley had been through it didn't seem like it was going to stop.
"Karen, is everything alright?" Deb asked coming out from the back. She stopped when she saw Haley. "Haley, what's wrong?" She tried to walk over to her but Karen put her hand up and shook her head sadly. Deb nodded and headed back into the kitchen.
"Are you ready to tell me what's wrong?" Karen asked, gently pulling Haley up so she could see her face.
"Did you know about my parents?" Haley whispered, slowly calming down. Karen sighed and nodded. "You knew and you didn't tell me?" Haley yelled, getting off the couch. Deb came out to see what was wrong again.
"Haley, they were just trying to protect you." Karen said, her own voice breaking up. It broke her heart when she found about Lydia and Jimmy, she always thought they were so in love.
"Protect me?" Haley screamed in a fit of rage. "Why does everyone think keeping secrets from me is going to protect me?"
"Haley-" Deb started but was soon cut off.
"Don't you talk to me! Your son did this to me. He did this!" She yelled, tears and tears pouring out of her eyes. "He broke me."
Deb was taken aback and Haley's outburst and confused at the same time. "Honey, what are you talking about? How is this Nathan's fault?"
Haley tilted her head back and then fixed her gazes towards the two women. "Your perfect son tried to rape me, are you happy?"
Both Deb and Karen put their hands over their mouth in shock. They didn't know what to say or do next. Lucas stood at the door contemplating whether or not to go in. He took a deep breath and opened the door, preparing for what she was going to throw at him.
Well that was it. Although it may be too much drama for one chapter, but oh well. The Brooke story line that I had didn't really fit into this very well so I'm going to save that for later. And just be prepared for a new Haley. It's not going to be pretty. Thanks for reading and reviewing! And I swear I won't take as long to update.
Kristin