2016
Los Angeles, California
(The Morning After)
The sound engineer checked all the equipment before giving the thumbs up sign. Then she disappeared into the booth and put on the headphones as the music began to feed in her ear.
"Ready? 5…4…3…2…1…"
I never promised you a ray of light
I never promised there'd be sunshine everyday
I gave you everything I have
The good, the bad
Why do you put me on a pedestal?
I'm so high up I that I can't see the ground below
So help me down, you've got it wrong
I don't belong to this
One thing is clear
I wear a halo,
I wear a halo when you look at me
But standing so near
You wouldn't say so
You wouldn't say so if you were me and I
I just wanna love you
I always knew that I would make mistakes
I'm only human and that's my saving grace
"Cut!"
The music stopped and she removed the sound devices, emerging from the booth, worried look on her face, hands on her hips.
"Was it that bad?" she asked meekly.
The music producer looked at her and just shook his head.
"After all these years, nothing has changed. Still coming into the studio scared and timid. When are you gonna learn, James?"
She rolled her eyes.
"It's Scott. In fact, it's always been Scott, ever since you have known me."
"Oh yeah", he nodded. "Chris Keller just always liked James better."
She shot him an exasperated look and that was all she could do. Chris Keller. He was right about one thing…after all the years, nothing had changed. At least he hadn't. He was still the cocky, skinny kid with way too much mouth. He was also still super talented. That would never be up for debate.
She had known him for years. He had worked in the record store downtown and when Lucas' mother, Karen Roe, and Nathan's mother, Deb Scott, put Peyton in charge of music when they opened their nightclub, TRIC, after days of futile searching for someone who could at least carry a tune in a bucket, at her wits end she had discovered, a guitar plucking, attitude giving, spiky haired musical genius. He and Haley, bonded by music had quickly developed a special connection as they began working together. For Haley it was always about the music but initially for Chris it was having a little fun. He had tried to seduce her partly just to see if he could, partly because he did like her. But nothing sexual had happened. It made Haley terminate their professional partnership and it caused him nearly the ass whipping of his life as an irate Nathan Scott had almost made good on several threats to kill him.
He had disappeared to New York City for a showcase and later returned to Tree Hill as the opening act for Gavin DeGraw and The Wreckers. But he had never stopped thinking of Haley or believing in her talent. He had secured her a place on the tour as well and in a hasty decision, she had left her heartbroken husband and friends behind in the middle of the night.
The tour had been magical. For her whole life she had been Haley James. She was Tutor Girl. She was Lucas Scott's best friend. She was a part time waitress at Karen's Café. She was known for being clumsy and wearing gaudy clothes. She wasn't pretty or popular or cool. That had been Haley James.
Enter Haley Scott…
She had tutored the arrogant jock via a deal to convince him to stop torturing his half brother and her best friend, Luke. Then they had fallen in love. They dated. He emancipated himself from his parents. They fought and made up…often. She tattooed his jersey number, 23, above her ass. Then he asked her to marry him. She said yes…and so did her parents. There was a brief, romantic beachside ceremony. Then he had carried her over the threshold of their small apartment and made sweet love to her. And they became the reigning king and queen of Tree Hill High School. Suddenly she was pretty and popular and cool. Suddenly, she had a new identity. She was Nathan Scott's wife. She was Haley Scott.
Meet Haley James Scott…
It was like being two different people almost. She would unzip the body that was this confident rocker chick who everyone loved. Then she would climb in and go out on that stage and for an hour every night, make a dream come true. She had talent and she had fans. She had a duet in the top ten on the charts with Chris Keller. She ate lunch with Gavin DeGraw and slept on a bus next to Michelle Branch and Jessica Harp. Her face was on TV and posters and billboards. Her songs were on the radio. She was destined for stardom but without the beloved husband she missed, it meant nothing. Her soul was torn, her heart in limbo. She was Haley James Scott.
She made a choice to come home, to be normal. Her commitment to Nathan in the end took precedence over her commitment to anything else. So she had flown back to Tree Hill in the middle of a muggy summer night. But their apartment was empty. Her personal belongings and furniture were gone. The wedding wall, Peyton's amazing artistic tribute to the married couple's love was gone, in its place, a dreadful splash of pink paint and above all else, the picture of a creepy clown.
So she had gone to the main house, the Scott mansion. He opened the door and was more handsome, more striking than she had remembered. "Hi", she had said softly. "I want to come home." He had asked her what she was doing there and he had let her stoically know that her return had come in bad timing. But there was no time to argue as Deb had come rushing down the stairs. They had to go. It had been a terrible accident.
Standing in the parking lot, they could feel the intense heat from the raging flames. In the reserved space was Dan's SUV and the couple swallowed hard, fearing the worst. Their suspicions were confirmed and it seemed surreal. He was like the evil villain in all those teen horror flicks…no matter what, you couldn't kill Dan Scott! Or so it had seemed. But a fire had killed him.
She had stayed with Nathan that night, being silent when needed, offering a loving embrace of comfort ever so often. Two days later had been the memorial service and Nathan, taking little time out to grieve, had gone off to the High Flyers camp. She had written him letters every week but she received no response. So for a while she had joined her parents in the RV traveling across the country until it was time for senior year. She and Brooke shared the marital apartment and over time, through a lot of patience and soul searching, Nathan and Haley had reconciled and moved past their differences.
They had grown up. Haley had made the point to be a loving and devoted wife taking priority over any and everything else. Nathan had vowed to make his dreams come true on his own. He and Haley would start over and make it on their own, without the influence of others, without the money of others, including the inheritance from his father's death that set largely untouched in a bank accumulating interest.
Married life had had its up and downs. Haley and Nathan had been together a long time. They had been though a lot. There had been good times and bad. Hurt and disappointment, triumph and joy. She had cherished her roles as a wife first then as a mother but the music had remained very much apart of her, a part that wouldn't go away quite so easily...
"Well, I prefer Scott and please, after 11 and a half years of knowing you, could you please stop referring to yourself in the third person. That is so freaking annoying!"
"The last thing Chris Keller wants to do is annoy Haley James Scott…"
"Chris! You're not funny, now stop it!" she checked her watch. "I don't have a whole hell of a lot of time here. Whatever was wrong with the song, let me know so I can fix it and we can finish it."
He shrugged.
"Who said something was wrong?"
"What?"
"It was perfect. Both that and the last take. As a matter of fact, since we can't seem to agree on James or Scott, I'm just gonna start calling you 'One Take Haley'."
"Are, are you serious?"
"Yep. Don't get all diva on me but that was brilliant. Perfect. I'm really proud of you. The songwriting, the music, the delivery…everything was right on point. That song is gonna be a hit, mark my words."
Haley smiled as she wrapped her arms around herself.
"Wow. A hit? You really think so?"
"I know so."
"Oh my God. I…I haven't had a hit in over a decade."
"And whose fault is that?"
"Don't start, please."
"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, one down, nine more to go."
Haley's eyes grew as big as saucers.
"Nine? Oh gosh. Um, that…that's a lot of work, Chris."
"Well, how many songs do you have written?"
She made a face.
"Kind of like, none."
"None? Look, James…"
"I mean, I am working my butt off to write and I swear I will but I only recently decided to totally commit myself to this music thing again. I have a few ideas and I've come up with some lines but Halo was the only thing that really clicked for me."
"Haley…"
"Now that we've recorded it and it's great…I, I don't know. I really feel good about this, you know?"
"So you haven't written a song or been in a studio in over four years, you haven't released anything or been on a stage in 11. And you're gonna look at me and tell me you can write nine more songs just as good as Halo, good enough to be chart topping singles, good enough to not be a joke, good enough to make you a serious artist instead of Haley James Scott, that one hit wonder?"
She looked right at him.
"That's exactly what I'm saying."
His lips curved into a smile.
"Then that's exactly what I want to hear. I know you can do it, you just need to know it. I have faith in you. If I didn't, I wouldn't be putting my money and effort into producing this album for you. Besides, I think we still have a few tunes in the archives from a few years ago that you can rerecord for release. Too bad they never got put out there in the first place."
"Yeah, that is too bad but thank you. For everything, I really mean it. Your faith and support mean a lot…and so does your clout with the record labels", she smiled.
Chris had had several number one CDs over the years. In the last two years, he had semi retired from performing in order to start producing other artists. His success over time gained him fame, fortune and above all respect in the industry.
"Well, today was productive. At least I know you're serious about a comeback. I'm headed overseas and you were able to fly all the way out here to my studio to do one recording. That says a lot."
"I'm in this for the long haul, Chris."
He smirked.
"I'm just surprised Nathan let you come."
She rolled her eyes.
"Trust me, he's not happy that I'm here. Even if you weren't flying out today, I couldn't stay on."
"Hubby enforcing a curfew?" Chris quipped.
"No. Nathan isn't going to give me ultimatums about what I can or can't do or where I can or can't go. But he does, unfortunately, have a say in what our son does and where he goes. So that's his game now, that's his leverage. Last night when I told him I had to fly out here to L.A. I wanted to bring Landon with me but Nathan refused of course. And he knows I can't stand being away from my son. I hate leaving my little boy alone with him, that's for sure. I know my baby woke up this morning asking for his mommy. God knows what his father told him."
"Sounds like someone else I know."
"Oh yeah. Dan Scott lives on."
"Scary", Chris shivered. "But it's your own fault, you know."
"Excuse me?"
"There's more to a marriage than good looks and good sex. Maybe you should have thought about that before you said 'I do'."
Haley folded her arms.
"You're one to talk. I have two words for you, no, make that three. Rachel. Getina. Keller."
Chris shuddered.
"That was a low blow."
"Low blow?" Haley smiled. "Of all the groupies and the models and the singers and the actresses you dated, all the people you met while living in New York City, you reconnected with her? That's the one you married?"
He shrugged.
"Like I said, good looks and good sex will get you every time. It's a trap, I tell you. But I always had a thing for dancers and when I saw her on Broadway…"
"Speaking of, where is Mrs. Keller now?"
Chris sighed.
"The ex Mrs. Keller is vacationing with her new 19 year old boy toy, some lifeguard she met in San Francisco, in my ex loft in Paris, with my ex dog, my ex cat and my ex kid. Oh and don't forget my ex money…half of everything I made from 2011 through 2015."
"Sorry", Haley giggled. "Bitter, much?"
"Just enough to wish I had put a little antifreeze in her Vodka Tonics when I had the chance."
"Well, I'm sure we'd all like to kill our spouses at one time or another. Look at the bright side. I have Landon and you have Christiana."
Chris smiled at the mention of his daughter's name.
"Yeah, she is pretty cool. And you should see her on acoustic guitar. I swear I have the most talented four year old on the planet."
Haley grinned.
"Well, hopefully next go round we'll have more time and maybe I'll get to bring Lan and you'll have Christi. I'm sure they'd love to play together."
"Sounds good", he hugged her. "Now you have a safe, comfortable ride home on your private jet, Mrs. Rockefeller. Make sure you write some good songs and we're gonna get together soon and make this thing happen."
She nodded as her cell phone rang and she dug it out of her purse. It was her husband.
"Nathan, I am about to fly back as we speak…"
Chris could tell he had cut her off. He couldn't make out the words of the seemingly loud and angry voice on the other end but it was nothing good judging by Haley's pale and blank expression. After a few more minutes, she hung up. She then tried to walk but her legs wouldn't cooperate. She stumbled and Chris caught her.
"Verbal reprimand from the old ball and chain too much for you?" he tried to joke as he helped her in a chair.
Haley stared up at him, tears streaming down her face.
"That was Nathan. Lucas…"
"How is the other Scott brother? Still pissed at me for boning Brooke that one time?"
She could barely speak. She felt like she might faint.
"Luke…oh my God! Lucas is dead!"
Author's Note: Don't own "Halo". Not sure if Bethany Joy Galeotti is the original composer but I know I'm not so just wanted to throw the disclaimer out there…
