Hello, everyone! Thank you ALL so much for reviewing. It really makes my world. So, we're finally coming close to the end of this lil' story. This is the last chapter before the epilogue. Hope you enjoy and don't forget to let me know what you think about it. :)

Chapter 13

Haley, Tim and Peter spent the entire night packing most of her stuff. She left few unused clothes and unread books but other than that, she packed most of it. And being a girl and having traveled the world, she had A LOT of stuff.

"Are you sure you need this?" Tim asked holding a gorgeous golden top in the air.

"Yes! I bought that from Helsinki. It's important." She said and took it from Tim. She folded it and put it on top of the other clothes in the suitcase. "I'm not gonna be able to fit the rest of my clothes here. I need a new one."

"Honey, this is the 4th suitcase." Peter said while looking at the 4 suitcases on the floor that were filled with clothes, shoes, purses, books, etc.

"I know, dad." She said and gave him the puppy dog look.

"I've already bought you two extra ones." He said trying to resist.

"I know, dad." She said and sniffed a little.

"At 3 in the morning." He said. Haley just looked at him with those big eyes. "Fine, I'll go get a new one. But it's 6 am already. We gotta leave in two hours." He said before leaving. Tim looked at Haley and gave her another shirt.

"You want this?"

"Yeah, fold it." she said while folding a pair of jeans. They worked in silence till Peter came back with another new suitcase.

"Honey, I know this moving is a big thing for you but please promise me that I don't have to buy you a suitcase ever again." He said. Haley laughed a bit and smiled.

"I promise." She said and put the folded clothes in the suitcase with the help from Tim and her dad.

"Finished." She announced while zipping the suit case.

"You sure?" Tim asked.

"Yep." She said.

"Good, because we gotta leave soon or we'll miss the flight." He said and started to drag the suitcases towards the elevator. They loaded the suitcases in the elevator.

"I'm gonna take these to the lobby and talk to the receptionist and make sure he knows our situation." He said before the elevator doors closed. Haley and Tim walked back to the apartment to make sure she didn't forget anything important.

About 15 minutes later, Peter came back.

"You ready to go?" he asked from Haley who was sitting on her bed with Tim.

"Is the cab already here?" she asked a little bit sad.

"Yeah, it's waiting outside. But take your time." He said and left the room. Haley turned to look at Tim.

"Can you give me a minute?" she asked from Tim.

"Sure. If you need anything, I'll be outside." He said and left. Haley didn't move from her sitting position on the bed. She looked around her empty room. It used to be filled with clothes, books, pictures and energy. Now it was just another empty room filled with memories. She closed her eyes and let her memories take over.

"Haley, honey? You here?" Lydia asked without knocking.

"Ever heard of knocking? But yes, I'm here." Haley said smiling.

"You got everything packed?" Lydia asked looking at the two suitcases on her floor.

"Yes. Explain to me again why I need to leave my home and spend my very short summer break in Tree Hill, North Carolina?"

"Honey, I'm going to Europe for a month. I'm not leaving you here by yourself. Besides, when was the last time you saw your brother or your father?"

"Not long enough." She mumbled. "Look mom, I don't mind seeing dad but Tim just irritates the hell out of me."

"It's called sibling love."

"Well, love is nowhere near our relationship."

"They are your family." Lydia said sternly.

"No, you are my family." Haley said pouting. Lydia went to sit next to her on the bed while putting her arm around her daughter.

"Honey, if you really don't wanna leave, I can't make you to." She said. Haley turned to look at her with a smile. "But I'm not leaving you here by yourself. I'll cancel my flight and we'll spend the summer in the city." Haley's smile faded. Her mom had talked about that trip for over a year now.

"Mom, you're not cancelling your trip. It means too much to you." Haley said.

"Well, I'm not letting you stay here alone. What kind of a mother would I be?"

"The one that trusts her kid?" Haley asked smiling.

"Honey, I trust you with everything." Lydia said. "But I also value your life so no, you're not staying here by yourself." Lydia said.

"Fine, I'll go to Tree Hill." Haley said. "But you have to promise me that you will have fun in Europe." She said. "And buy me a lot of those authentic 'Mozart Kugelns' from that one cafe in Salzburg if you go there."

"I will." Lydia said and smiled. She had never been so proud of her daughter. "Haley, you do know that I love you, right?"

"Of course. And I love you too."

"I know I say this a lot but I couldn't have had a better daughter. You're so smart and such a good person. Don't ever forget that." She said hugging her.

"Yeah, I won't." Haley said. "Mom, are you ok?"

"Yes, of course. You know I get like this every time you go somewhere."

"Yeah, but this time you'll get to go too." Haley said.

"I know. How jealous are you when I call you from Saint Tropez while I'm surrounded by half naked French guys?" Lydia asked grinning.

"Very." Haley said smiling. Lydia looked at the clock on the wall.

"Oh, honey. You gotta go or you'll miss your plane."

"What a shame would that be." Haley muttered while getting up. Lydia followed her and walked her to the elevator.

"Send my love to Tim and Peter." Lydia said while pressing the button next to the elevator doors.

"I will."

"Oh, give me a hug, you big girl." Lydia said and hugged her daughter as hard as she could.

"Mom, trying to breathe."

"Oh sorry. Have fun in Tree Hill."

"Have fun in Europe." She said while stepping in the elevator. "Love you, mom."

"I love you too, Haley-bub."

"Don't call me that!" Haley yelled laughing right when the doors closed. All she could see was her mother's laughing face.

That was the last time Haley saw her mother. Haley wiped the few tears that had formed. She sniffed a little and got up from the bed. She walked to her desk and took a framed photo on her hands.

She looked at the picture that had her and Lydia in it. They were sitting on a coach on the backstage of her mother's club after Haley had performed her first gig. She was about 14 years old and grinning like an idiot while her mother was hugging her. Haley snapped out of her memories when she heard a knock on the door.

"Hales, you ready?" Tim asked worried. "You've been here for almost 15 minutes."

"Really?" Haley asked surprised. She hadn't realized it had been that long. She set the frame back on the desk. "Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go." She said and walked out of the room.

"Shit, I forgot my purse." She said.

"You get the elevator, I get the purse." Tim said and went to get it. He came back with the little black purse right when the doors to the elevator opened. Haley sighed and looked inside the apartment one more time before shutting the door and locking it. They both got inside the elevator.

Haley looked at the hallway remembering it was the last place where she saw her mother. When the elevator doors closed, Haley closed her eyes and sighed.

"You ok?" Tim asked.

"Yeah." She whispered while staring at the closed elevator doors.

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"Haley, you should try to get some sleep." Peter said. They were finally sitting in the plane on their way to North Carolina. Haley turned to look at Tim who was sitting between her and Peter. Tim had fallen asleep the minute he had sat down on the seat.

"Don't think so, dad." She said laughing while looking at Tim who was drooling and snoring loudly. Haley looked at him disgusted while wondering if she drooled when she slept. She made a mental note to ask Nathan when she saw him.

The thought of Nathan made her anxious. She hadn't called him yet to let her know she was coming back. She hadn't even called Brooke or Peyton to tell them that she had left in the first place.

She had been awake for almost 48 hours. The previous night she had spent packing and the night before that was the night she had broken down in Nathan's arms. Not to even mention that she had barely slept after her mother's death.

She could feel how tired her body was but her mind was like it had had 10 cups of coffee. She knew she couldn't sleep until she talked to Nathan.

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Nathan Scott was officially pissed. It had been less than 24 hours since Haley's departure but he was already missing her. In fact, the moment the cab had left the driveway, he had missed her.

He had went to his room and sat by his phone the whole day waiting for her call. By 6 pm he was worried. What if something had happened to her? What if there had been a car accident? A plane crash? An alien abduction perhaps?

So he had surfed the net till about midnight looking for all the accidents that had happened that day between North Carolina and California.

But there were no accidents involving a Grammy-nominated singer. He didn't know whether to be relieved or pissed. Relieved because she was ok. Pissed because she hadn't called.

By 3 am he was hitting himself for being so selfish. He kept reminding himself that she had a busy day with the lawyer about the business and everything. She probably didn't have time to call him while taking care of everything.

By 6 am he was just laying on his bed missing her, still wearing the same clothes from yesterday. He couldn't sleep, eat or talk until he heard from her. He had almost called her at least 30 times already but every time he had pressed cancel before it had time to ring. He kept thinking that she would call him if she wanted.

But what if she didn't?

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"Home sweet home." Tim muttered when he closed the front door. They carried Haley's suitcases to her room. Haley sat down on her bed and stared at the 5 suitcases with a smile.

She then turned to look at the empty room. Though she had been only gone for 24 hours, the room seemed different. Cozier and warmer. Haley smiled when she realized that the room hadn't changed.

She had.

She could feel the tiredness starting to creep in. She looked at the clock on the wall. 11 am. She quickly got up when another wave of tiredness hit her body. She had to talk to Nathan. She left her room without unpacking or changing and headed downstairs. Tim was sitting in the kitchen eating a sandwich when Haley came in.

"Where are you going?" Tim asked when Haley headed to the door.

"To Nathan's." She said while holding the door. She looked at him and bit her lip waiting for his response.

"Tell him I said hi." He said smiling. Haley grinned and gave him a hug before going through the door. She had officially gotten his blessing.

"I'm proud of you, son." Peter said from the doorway. He had heard the conversation.

"I want her to be happy but I can't help but want to rip every guy's eyes out when they look at her." Tim said. "Does that make me a bad person?"

"No." he paused. "That makes you her brother."

There was a short silence.

"So, if he breaks her heart, I can break his neck?"

"Exactly."

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"What do you mean she left!"

"Brooke, calm down." Nathan was sitting on his bed, talking on his cell phone with a very pissed off Brooke.

"You calm down! I can't believe she left without saying anything!"

"She had other things on her mind."

"Like what?"

"Like talking to the lawyers about her mom's business, apartment and her will."

"Oh."

"Look, I'm sure she'll call you as soon as she gets the chance."

"So, she's called you already?"

"No." he said quietly.

"Oh. Sorry."

"Look, Brooke. I haven't heard from her or Tim or anyone but I'll let you know when I do. Ok? Bye." He hung up the phone before she had time to respond. Nathan sighed angrily and stared at the clock on the wall.

11 am. He hadn't left his room in 24 hours. He put some angry rap music on and went back to his bed. He took a small basketball, laid down on the bed and started to throw the small ball in the air.

--------------

Haley walked through the wet grass and jumped over the small fence that separated the Smith and Scott yards. She walked to the front door and was about to knock when decided to just try the handle. It was open.

She stepped inside with a small smile. It felt like forever since she had gone through that door. She walked the familiar steps up and stopped in front of Nathan's room. The door was closed. She didn't know whether to knock or just open it. She could hear music coming from there so she knew he must have been there.

Haley took a deep breath and opened the door. The sight of a Nathan made her smile. He was laying on his bed, throwing a small basketball in the air and catching in. Then throwing it again in the air and catching. Haley just stared at him for god knows how long. The end of the song snapped her from her thoughts.

"Hey." She said after she couldn't figure out a snappy opening line. Nathan was about to catch the ball again when he heard her voice. He turned her head to look at her but forgot about the ball. It dropped on the side of his face.

"Goddammit." He muttered while getting up from the bed to take a better look at Haley who was laughing out load.

"I hope you're better on the court." She said smirking. Nathan smirked back.

"So, how was your flight?" Nathan asked smirking.

"It was good. My back's killing me for carrying all those suitcases. I never knew I had that many clothes." She said smirking. Nathan's eyes lit up and his smirk got bigger when he realized that Haley had decided Tree Hill over Los Angeles.

They stared at each other for a second before starting towards each other. Haley jumped on him and wrapped her legs around his waist in a very 'Notebook' kind of way.

Nathan held her as tight as he could against him while kissing her hungrily. Haley giggled when they fell on his bed, her on top. Haley pushed him down and started to suck his neck lightly.

"Oh, holy god." He said somewhere between moans. Haley moved from the neck to the mouth. She had missed those lips. She knew she could kiss him forever and not worry about anything.

After some more kissing, Haley gave him one more kiss before rolling on her side so she was snuggling to his chest. Nathan pulled her closer and stroked her hair. He knew she was still mourning.

Haley looked up at Nathan.

"I just need more time." She whispered.

"I know." He said holding her tightly. "I'm just really happy that you're back here."

"Me too." She said and kissed him in the lips. She looked at him in the eyes and stroked his cheek. "I love you." She whispered with a small smile while a small tear fell down her cheek.

"I love you too, baby." He said and wiped the tear away with his thumb. Haley put her head on his chest and listened to the steady heart beat.

"Don't worry, Hales. Everything will be fine." He whispered after a while. When she didn't answer he looked at her and smiled a bit when she noticed that her eyes were closed and she was breathing steadily.

Nathan pulled the blanket over them and kissed her on the top of her head before letting himself fall asleep too.

So, what do you think? I'll post the epilogue during the weekend. Until then... don't forget to review. ;)

-Fes-