Okay, not too happy with this chapter, but it's the only think I could think of. Just sit tight, Brooke will be back soon enough. I'm not going to say when and where, it's a surprise!
Waking up from this nightmare
How's your life, what's it like there?
Is it all what you want it to be?
Does it hurt when you think about me?
And how broken my heart is
Haley scribbled aimlessly on the notebook in front of her, letting out a heavy sigh when the words stopped coming out of her mouth. It had been two and a half weeks since Brooke left and she had done nothing but sit in her room all day and mope. Both Peyton and Taylor tried their best to get Haley to venture out once in a while, but they both failed, hoping she would come around one of these days. But from the looks of things, it didn't look like it.
"Brooke, I don't know," Taylor's distant voice said from down the hall, making Haley roll her eyes. Taylor had been trying to get Haley to talk to Brooke for a week now and it just wasn't happening. "Well, how do you think she is, Brooke?"
Haley got off the bed and shut the door with her foot, jumping back on the bed and groaning when the door flung open. "Don't you knock?"
Taylor rolled her eyes and reached out the phone for Haley to grab. "Somebody wants to talk to you."
"Tell that somebody I don't want to talk to them," Haley muttered, pushing the phone away from her. Taylor sighed and took a deep breath before forcing the phone into her sister's hands. "I don't want to talk to you," Haley grumbled into the phone, hanging up before Brooke could say anything.
"Like it or not, you're going to have to talk to her sometimes." Taylor told her, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. Haley shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, indicating she didn't think so. "Haley, it's the summer before your senior year, you can't just sit in your room and mope all day."
Haley snorted and nodded her head. "Oh yes I can. And I will, and there's nothing you or Peyton can say to make me change my mind." The phone rang again and Haley grabbed it from beside her. "I said I don't want to talk to you."
"Haley, will you just listen to me?" Brooke said quickly, trying to get her point across before Haley hung up the phone.
"Fine," Haley mumbled, "Two minutes." Taylor let out another sigh before getting off the bed, taking one last look at Haley before leaving the room, figuring she would like to be alone.
"Look, I'm sorry I left and I'm sorry that you're mad at me. I miss you," Brooke said, her voice trailing off. Haley looked up at the ceiling and tried to think of something to say. She was silent for a minute, coming up short. "Hales?"
"Yeah well, you shouldn't have left if you were going to miss me," Haley snapped, proud of herself for coming up with something to say so quickly. She heard Brooke sigh on the other end and felt no remorse. "Is there any point to this call?"
On the other end, Brooke ran a frustrated hand through her hair and held herself back from slamming her head against the table. "I just wanted to see how you were. Taylor told me you weren't doing too well."
"Well next time I'll be sure to tell her to lie," Haley said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at the current conversation. "Your two minutes is up."
"Fine, I'm not going to talk to you when you're being a little bitch," Brooke said, hanging up the phone this time before Haley could reply.
Haley threw the phone at the end of the bed and glanced around the room, longing for Mr. Waffles. She knew giving him to Brooke was a bad idea and regretted it the instant she drove away. She looked up to see Taylor standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. "What?"
"What?" Taylor asked in disbelief, walking into the room. "What? Haley, you don't have to be such a bitch to her! She's calling to make sure you're okay."
"Leave me alone, Taylor."
Taylor threw her hands up in the air, ready to strangle Haley at any moment in time. "Oh my god, Haley, I, I just want to strangle you! You're being so stubborn and it's pissing me off." Haley rolled over, trying to avoid any more possible lectures. "She's gone, okay? And she might not be coming back. You have to realize you're not the only one who lost someone, Haley. Incase you forgot, she's my sister too."
Haley felt the tears well up in her eyes and she did her best to bite them back. Taylor sighed, realizing she had gone too far and sat down on the bed. "I'm sorry."
Don't be sorry, Hay," Taylor said, smiling slightly when Haley rolled back over to face her. "You just miss her. But you have to realize I feel the same way you do. You can't shut me out like this, otherwise I won't be able to help you."
Haley sat up and took a deep breath, fiddling with bed covers. "It's hard. And when I'm ready to talk about it, I'll let you know."
Taylor nodded, taking what she could get. "It's a nice day out, are you up for going to the beach?" Haley shrugged her shoulders and fell silent. "Oh come on, Hay. It'll be fun!"
xxxx
"I look ridiculous," Haley stated, staring at herself in the mirror. She had on a white bikini with pink and purple polka dots on courtesy of Taylor. She covered herself up with her hands and blushed when Taylor swatted them away.
"You do not," Taylor told her, standing behind her in a black bikini, leaving little to the imagination. "You look hot."
"I do not," Haley whispered shyly, turning away from her reflection. "You can see things," she squeaked, covering herself up again. Taylor rolled her eyes, glancing at the red line which stood out on Haley's pale stomach. Haley caught Taylor's look and sighed. "Including this stupid scratch I got from the neighbor's cat. He was about to run into the street, so I grabbed him and he scratched me with his hind leg."
"Oh," Taylor blinked, cursing herself for thinking it was something else. "It looks fine. Can we go now? If we don't leave now the traffic will be hell."
"Fine," Haley said, grabbing a shirt from the drawer and throwing it over her head. Taylor rolled her eyes and Haley shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not going out of the house in this bikini!"
"Let's just go," Taylor said, grabbing Haley's arm and leading her out of the room.
The ride to the beach was pretty quiet, with the occasional conversation about the traffic and how hot and sticky it was. Haley looked out the window, feeling the wind whip through her hair, trying to take her mind off Brooke and the conversation they had earlier.
When they were younger, they used to beg their parents to take them to the beach. Their parents were always too busy of course, but the one day they did was like heaven to them. It was the summer before 2nd grade and Brooke was 7 and Haley was 6 and a half. They didn't stay too long because it ended up raining but those two hours they spent at the beach were probably the happiest two hours in their short lives at the time.
"Do you want to go in the water, Brooke?" Haley asked, staring wide-eyed at the ocean in front of her. Brooke put down her shovel and shrugged, standing up to her feet.
"You don't want to do that," Taylor told them with an evil glint in her eye. Their parents were currently passed out on their chairs, both trying to get some sort of tan. "Don't you know what lives in the water?" Brooke and Haley looked at each other before looking back up at Taylor.
"What?" Brooke asked slowly, glancing at the ocean in back of her before looking back at her sister. "Is it something bad?" Taylor nodded slowly, thoroughly enjoying scaring her little sisters.
"It is, Brookie. It's called the water monster and it likes to eat little girls like you two."
Haley gasped and gazed at her sleeping parents. "Will, will it come up on shore and try to eat us?" Taylor shook her head and the younger girls let out a sigh of relief.
"Let's just stay and play in the sand then, Hales," Brooke told her sister, bending back down and picking up the blue shovel in front of her. Haley knelt down in front of Taylor and held the sand bucket as Brooke poured the sand in.
"Good idea girls," Taylor told them, smirking to herself and checking one last time to make sure her parents were still asleep. She bent down and placed her arm around Haley's waist, lifting her up off the ground. Brooke watched in confusion as Taylor threw Haley over her shoulder and began to walk towards the water. "I love you and everything Haley-bub, but the water monster is getting hungry and we don't want him to come up on shore and try to eat innocent people."
"What?" Haley screamed as she realized what Taylor was going to do. "Put me down!" Brooke too realized what was going to happen and ran up to catch up to Taylor and Haley.
"Taylor, what are you doing?" Brooke asked, trying her best to keep up with Haley. Taylor laughed and tightened her grip around Haley. "Are you going to feed her to the water monster?"
Haley let out a small whimper and began to kick Taylor so she could try and get down. "Don't, I'm too young to die!"
"Taylor, don't you dare!" Brooke yelled as they got to the shore. "Put her down right now!" Brooke reached up and tried to pull Haley down by her legs. Taylor swatted her hands away and lifted Brooke up by her waist with her free hand.
"Well, it looks like the water monster is getting 2 for 1 today," Taylor giggled, taking slow steps into the water, trying her best to keep a firm grip on her two squirming sisters. "Okay, who wants to go first?" She shifted Haley so her arm was now around her waist as she dangled the two girls just feet above the water.
"Stop!" Brooke cried, glancing down at the water. Taylor walked further and further our out until the water reached her knees. The water had reached up to Brooke and Haley's waist and they were holding on to Taylor's arm for dear life.
"Don't drop us," Haley whispered in a shaky voice.
"I'm sorry, but I have to do it," Taylor told them in a serious tone. She waited for the big wave that was advancing towards them and threw her two sisters into it as it crashed down on them. She watched in amusement as the two little girls flailed about in the water, scared for their life.
"I can't swim!" Haley said, desperate to keep her head afloat as the waves crashed down on them. "Help me!" Taylor's eyes widened, remembering how Haley had just started swimming lessons a week ago. Brooke grabbed Haley's arm and breathed out a sigh of relief when she could touch the bottom and stand up.
"It's okay, I got you Haley," Brooke told her, pulling her towards her. "You can touch the ground, see?" Haley sniffled and clung to Brooke as her foot touched the sand below. They held onto each other as one last wave hit them, happy to be alive.
"I'm sorry," Taylor said apologetically, lifting Haley out of the water and holding her in her arms. "I forgot you couldn't swim, Haley-bub." Haley wrapped her legs around Taylor's waist and wrapped her arms around her neck. "There's no water monster, I just made it up to scare you guys."
"You're a loser face," Brooke told her, sticking her tongue out and whacking Taylor on the leg. "I wasn't scared at all," she informed them as they made their way back onto land, Haley still clinging to Taylor.
"Me neither," Haley told them in the best confidant voice she could muster. Taylor and Brooke both looked at her and started to laugh.
"Then why are you still shaking?" Taylor asked, attempting to put Haley back down. Haley refused to let go and happy obliged the free ride back to their spot.
"I'm freezing!"
"Haley?" Taylor said, snapping Haley out of her daze. "We're here." Haley shook her head and glanced at Taylor in confusion. "What's up?"
"Nothing," Haley mumbled, "I was just thinking," she said as they got out of the car and walked over to the trunk to grab their stuff.
"About?"
"Stuff," Haley told her sister simply as she shut the trunk. Taylor sighed, realizing she wasn't going to get a better answer out of her just yet. They dragged their beach chairs behind them and carefully made their way over to a free spot, feeling the hot sand between their toes.
"Here?" Taylor asked, setting down her beach chair and cooler. Haley nodded and did the same, watching Taylor take off her cover up. When Haley didn't do the same, she stared at her with her hands on her hips. "Aren't going to take that thing off? You won't get much of a tan wearing a shirt."
Haley glanced down at the shirt and tugged at it gently. "I'm fine. Besides, I don't really tan anyways, remember? I was blessed with Mom's burning gene. And I don't want to spend the rest of the summer looking like a crab or whatever."
"Well look on the brightside," Taylor said, putting on her sunglasses and looking at Haley with a smirk. "You can get a job at Carl's crab shack and not wear the crab uniform. I mean you'll already look like one anyway. It could save you from sweating."
"Shutup," Haley said, rolling her eyes. "I don't see you getting off your ass and getting a job. We can't mooch off the money mom and dad left us for the rest of our lives."
"Like I said before, leave the money issue to me, okay?" Taylor told her sternly, not wanting to bring up the money issue. Their parent's did leave a large portion of money for them, where they got it Taylor didn't know, but she did know it would make them okay for a good 10 years of their lives. Their house was paid off, all of their cars were paid off and Mike was still taking care of the rest of the bills. Taylor never thought the last part was very important to mention and intended to keep her mouth shut about it.
"What, are you like a stripper or something?" Haley asked with a small giggle, wincing when Taylor leaned over and whacked her in the arm. "I'm kidding, god. Can't you take a joke?" Taylor rolled her eyes and let the warm sun beat down on her body.
"Taylor?"
Taylor sighed heavily and sat up when she realized that wasn't Haley's voice. She gazed at the male standing in front of her, blocking the sun. It took her a few moments to realize who it was before she jumped up and gave him a hug. "Ben? Oh my god, hi!"
Haley watched in confusion as the two exchanged another hug. She felt a tad uncomfortable with their display and let out a small cough. "Um, Tay?"
"Oh," Taylor said, sitting back down in her chair. "Ben this is my sister, Haley. Haley, this is Ben, he was the social worker involved with you know who."
"Nice to meet you," Ben said with a wide small. He held out his hand for her to shake and she reluctantly shook it. "I heard about what happened, Taylor, I'm very sorry." She gave him a small smile and shrugged it off. He could tell the subject was still touchy and decided to move on. "So, Haley, you're a lot older than I expected."
Haley rolled her eyes, figuring the way Taylor talked about her. It made it seem like she was 4 or 5 years old. "It's a most shock to people when they find out I'm a teenager and not a kid." She stood up to her feet and motioned for Ben to sit down in it. "I'm going to go for a walk, I'll you leave you two alone to talk."
"Hay, you don't have to," Taylor said, letting out a sigh when Haley waved her off and disappeared down the beach. "Watch out for the water monster," she called out with a giggle, laughing harder when Haley flipped her off. "So, what have you been up to?"
xxxx
Haley walked along the beach, weaving in and out of the people that were stretched across their blankets, desperate for a tan. She spotted a few people from school and quickly turned her head so they wouldn't notice her. Various couples were spread out across the beach, kissing each other and making goofy faces. She sighed, and stopped short when someone stepped in front of her.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the girl that put my son in jail," Dan sneered, finding amusement in Haley's shocked expression. "What brings you here?"
"Dan," Deb hissed, getting up from their blanket and pulling his arm towards her. "How are you, Haley?"
Haley shrugged her shoulders and wished for the two of them to go away.
"I heard you threw another guy in jail, are you planning on doing this to anyone else anytime soon? I'd like to be the first to know." Dan snickered, ignoring the silent protests from his wife. "Okay, so maybe that Young kid wasn't your entire fault, but you had something to do with it, right?"
"Just leave me alone," Haley said, looking at him pleadingly. Deb sighed and did her best to pull Dan away, but he was just too strong and barely budged when he tried. "Please, just go away."
"And then your sister left too, right?" Dan went on, enjoying this immensely. Deb shook her head and watched the tears well up in Haley's eyes. "She moved away to get away from you, huh? Boy, Haley, that's got to be tough when your own sister can't be around you anymore."
"Shutup!" Haley yelled, finding herself slapping Dan across the cheek. "Don't ever talk about my sister again. You have no right, no right." Dan laughed and turned around on his heel, satisfied with himself.
"Haley, honey," Deb whispered, gently pulling Haley into a hug once Dan left. Haley tried to pull back but Deb had a tight grip on her. "It's okay, don't listen to him."
"It's not okay," Haley sobbed, "Brooke left to get away from me. I drove her away, it's my own fault she left."
"No, no, no." Deb told her soothingly, gently letting her go. "Haley, don't listen to Dan. He's one sadistic man and if you let him poison your mind then it's only going to make things worse." Haley sniffled a few times and wiped her eyes, leaving Deb to sigh as Haley looked like a lost little girl trying to find her parents. "Who are you here with?"
"Taylor," Haley whispered, looking back up at Deb.
"Come on," Deb whispered, holding out her hand for Haley, "I'll take you back to her." Haley reluctantly took it and followed the blonde woman as they slowly made their way over to Taylor.
"And so afterwards, I took some time off from work and wound up back here," Ben said, as Taylor listened contently, both unaware of the two standing in front of them.
"I think I have something that belongs to you," Deb said with a small smile. Taylor looked up and saw Haley and immediately shot out of her seat.
"Hay? What happened, honey?" She asked as Haley practically fell into her arms. "Deb, what happened?" Taylor asked the blonde once Haley didn't respond. Deb shook her head sadly and listened to Haley's small sobs.
"Why don't you just take her home," she told the younger blonde with a smile, not wanting to get into right then and there. Ben stood up and placed his hand on Taylor's shoulder as she held Haley close. "Just take her home," Deb said more firmly when she saw Taylor was going to say something.
Taylor nodded her head and watched as Deb disappeared into the crowed. "Haley, can you tell me what happened?" She asked once again, trying to loosen Haley's grip. Haley whimpered and held on tighter, leaving Ben to stare at her in confusion. "Okay, okay. Look, Ben, it was nice catching up with you again."
"You too," Ben said, grabbing the two chairs and cooler for Taylor seeing as Haley showed no intention of letting her go. "I've got them."
Taylor smiled and followed Ben into the parking lot thanking him as he loaded the things into the trunk. "Is she going to be okay?" He asked as Haley sat in the passenger side, her legs curled up beneath her and her head resting on the window.
"Soon enough," Taylor said with a small smile, hoping Haley was willing to tell her what happened once they got home. "Like I said, it was nice seeing you."
Ben nodded and gently gave the blonde a hug. "How about dinner? Friday night, around 8?"
"I'll be waiting," Taylor said with a wink, waving to him as he headed back for the beach. She got into the car and stared at Haley. "Can I get you anything?"
Haley slowly lifted her head up off the window and nodded at Taylor. "Yeah," she whispered, placing her legs on the floor. "Brooke."
xxxx
"It's the best I can do," Taylor said, handing the phone to Haley, who was lying on the couch, still clad in the bikini and long t-shirt. Haley sniffled and took the phone, listening to it ring as Taylor patted her on the head and left the room.
"Hello?" Brooke said on the other night, sending a chill down Haley's spine. "Hello?" Brooke asked once again when no one replied, just hearing steady breathing.
"Brooke?" Haley said finally, her voice cracking and her eyes filling up with tears again. "Hi." A smile graced Brooke's lips as she heard the sound of her sister's voice. She was happy that she had called back and wasn't mad at her for calling her a bitch.
"Hey, baby." She said, her smile turning into a frown when she heard the sniffles coming from the other line. "What's wrong?"
"I miss you," Haley whispered, ignoring Brooke's question.
"I miss you too," Brooke said, "but, what's wrong?" She asked, going back to her previous question. Haley sat there in silence, fiddling with the shirt and looking up at the ceiling. "Haley?"
Haley gulped and tried to choke back the sob that was forming in her throat. She hated herself for even thinking what Dan said could be true. "You didn't leave because you wanted to get away from me, did you?"
"Of course not," Brooke was quick to say, in disbelief that Haley would think such a thing. "Baby, that's not true at all. Who told you that?"
"No one," Haley whispered, glancing at Taylor as she sat down on the end of the couch. She brought her legs closer to her body so she would have more room. "If I asked you to come home, what would you say?"
"Haley," Brooke sighed, flopping down on the couch and running her hands through her hair. "Baby, you know I'm not ready to come home yet."
"Oh," Haley said quietly, snuggling up to Taylor for comfort. "Could you do me a favor? Will you send Mr. Waffles back? I need him."
Brooke laughed lightly and fiddled with the bear that was sitting beside her. "Sure. Are you going to be okay now?" It seemed like Haley's tears had subsided and she was hoping it was true.
"I don't know," Haley whispered, her voice cracking again. She managed to hold back her sob and sighed heavily as Taylor began to run her hands through her hair. "Can, can I call you before I go to bed?"
"Of course," Brooke said with a smile, picturing the look on Haley's face. "I love you, baby."
"I love you too," Haley said, looking up at Taylor. "Do you want to talk to Taylor?" When Brooke said yes, Haley held the phone out for Taylor. "She wants to talk to you."
Taylor nodded and gently took the phone from Haley's hands and continued to run her fingers through her hair. "Hey, Brooke."
"Hi," Brooke whispered, pausing for a minute. "Tay, she wants me to come home."
"Are you?" Taylor asked, her voice dropping into a whisper as she saw Haley close her eyes. "I'm not going to make you, but I think it would be best if you did come home. It's been two weeks, Haley needs her Brookie."
Brooke sighed heavily and bit her lip. "I can't come home, it's, it's too soon. No one down here knows who I am. No one knows about the crap with Lucas and Theresa, no one knows about mom and dad. And no one especially knows about the hell we've been through."
"That's great, Brooke." Taylor said, getting annoyed with the stubbornness Brooke was blessed with. "But think about Haley here, she's falling apart. Please, just think about it?"
"Okay," Brooke whispered, tears forming in her eyes. "I'll call you back later, I'm not promising anything."
Taylor hung up the phone and tossed it beside her, leaning her head back on the couch. Haley opened her eyes and looked up at Taylor hopefully. Taylor sighed and gave her the best smile she can muster. "She's going to think about it. But, she's not promising anything, Hay."
Haley nodded, hoping with all her heart Brooke would consider coming home and she waited patiently for that phone call, in hopes of Brooke's return home. And when she wasn't going to get that phone call, Taylor was going to be there for her, waiting with open arms.