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What Happens Next
Chapter 6
Haley sat leaning forward, elbows on her knees. She chuckled softly and sat back, no longer startled by the arm Nathan had kept draped across the back of her seat all afternoon. Leaning in close she whispered, "That lady over there," and nodded her head in the general direction, not wanting to be rude by pointing.
"The one with the brown hat?" Nathan asked in his own whisper.
"Yeah. Five kids, the baby in daycare she can't really afford. Husband works double shifts in the evening at McDonalds and sleeps around. She wants to kick his ass to the curb, but is afraid to be on her own."
Nathan laughed, then covered his mouth when the woman looked in their direction, "Nah. Did you see that look she gave us? She's a teacher, and a single one at that. She dreams of a wonderful husband, and a few kids. But she's afraid of being an old maid. She's never had sex in her life."
Haley smiled, she'd always loved spending the afternoons riding the bus with Nathan. He'd started the tradition of making up stories about people during an afternoon trip to the city, and after that, they'd just get on the bus and ride around town, enjoying each other's company.
When the bus stopped Nathan stood and offered his hand to Haley, "This is our stop."
Haley looked at him, skeptical. They normally would've ridden back to the apartment. "What are we doing here?" Not that she was sure yet where here was.
"I'm craving food of the gods."
"Mmmmm," Haley moaned, "I haven't had good prime rib in ages."
Nathan chuckled, "What about good mac & cheese?"
Haley gave him an 'are you serious' look, "Of course. I practically live on it, since it's so cheap and all."
Nathan decided to drop the subject for now, but the thought of Haley living on mac & cheese scared him.
After being seated at the table, Haley smiled at Nathan and picked up the menu, scanning prices, not the actual items.
Nathan watched her silently, wondering what was causing her furrowed brow. Then she looked up and caught him starring, "Know what you want?" He saw their waited approaching.
"Um," Haley pretended to give the menu one last look-over, "yeah, just a salad."
Nathan raised his eyebrow, "Just a salad? I thought you wanted prime rib."
"Last time we were here, Brooke was paying. I can barely afford the salad."
Just then the waiter arrived, "Are you ready to order?"
"Two prime ribs, one medium, and one medium well. Oh, and a salad for the lady."
Haley glared at Nathan until the waiter was out of earshot, then she hissed, "Nathan! What did you do that for? I can't afford prime rib. What part of that didn't you understand?"
"I'm paying for dinner. So it's okay."
"No, it's not okay. I can't let you do that."
"Why not? I thought that's what a guy's supposed to do when he takes out a girl."
"Nathan, you can't afford it either."
"Actually," Nathan was getting frustrated, "you don't know that. I can, and I want to do this."
"But…"
"No buts," Nathan reached for her hand, "Did you really live on mac & cheese?"
"Not most months," Haley pulled her hand away.
Nathan looked at her in shock, "You were serious. I noticed that you looked thinner, but I thought maybe I was imagining things, or that you were working too hard. But you were starving yourself."
"I ate everyday, if that's what you're worried about," she hated that he was making such a big deal out of this. Damn her for mentioning the fact that she lived on mac & cheese.
"I'm worried about you Haley. How long have you been doing this to yourself?"
"I dunno," she shrugged her shoulders, "Three or four months. It's not that big of a deal."
"But it is Hales. It's not healthy. Why did you do it?"
"Because I had to," she spat. Haley sighed heavily, the last thing she wanted to do was fight with Nathan, "I had to choose between feeding myself and feeding my daughter."
Nathan sat quiet for a moment, "Why didn't you call someone for help?"
"Like who? You? Lucas? My parents? Yeah right."
"Lucas would've found a way to help you."
"Not without people…"
"Namely me," Nathan interrupted.
"Mostly you, finding out."
"Why couldn't you call your parents?" it had just hit him that they were on her 'yeah right' list.
"I haven't talked to them in six months."
"Something to do with Natalie? I know they said we should wait…"
"No, it's not as much Natalie as it is me. I didn't tell them right away about leaving for the tour. I called them one night after fighting with you on the phone. I had to tell someone that I was pregnant. They were a little surprised, and disappointed, but they said I had a good husband who would love and support me and our baby. Then I told them about what happened. They screamed at me a bit, saying that I was stupid and childish. That real people don't just leave behind their marriage and the person they love more than anything because something better came along."
"Wow. That's big."
"Yeah. I didn't talk to them again until the day Natalie was born. When I called to tell them the good news, they asked about you. I tried to explain things to them, and all they had to say was that they didn't blame you for acting they way you were, that I deserved it. The last thing my dad told me was that he didn't want to speak to me again until I patched things up with you."
"Wow," it was all Nathan could muster. That sounded more like his parents than hers, "I never would've thought."
"Me either. But, whatever, I managed."
"Not very well. You were starving."
"Can we just drop it, please?"
"If that's what you'd like."
"It is."
The pair sat quiet after that, neither sure what to say. Things had been going well until Nathan had pushed the issue.
Haley saw it as a sign that she'd been right before. That she and Nathan had grown apart in her absence, and their lives were definitely heading in different directions.
Nathan looked at Haley, and blamed him self for everything that had happened, to her. "Look Haley, I'm sorry."
"It's okay, I shouldn't have snapped at you."
"Not just for that, for everything."
"What are you talking about Nathan?"
"Everything that's happened to you in the last year and a half is my fault."
"Nathan, stop," Haley was pretty sure she didn't like where this conversation was heading any better than the last.
"I'm serious Hales. Had I never gone after you to get Lucas, you'd be finishing your senior year, preparing to attend an Ivy League school in the fall."
"Nathan," a tear trickled down her face.
He chose to ignore it, "Sure, you wouldn't have had the guts to go after your music, but you would've finished school."
"I don't regret being with you Nathan. Not for a minute. I love you. My only regret is that I left you."
"You should regret being with me. I ruined your life."
"No, you didn't."
"But I did. You were married, and separated, before the end of junior year. And instead of enjoying being a senior you're raising a baby on your own when you should've been filling out college applications."
Haley threw her napkin on the stable, stood up abruptly and screamed, "Stop it Nathan! Just stop!" before running from the restaurant.
"Haley!" Nathan watched after her in shock.