THE NEXT DAY
Nathan and Haley walked into his parents' house and right away, Nathan felt as if cold air had hit him. He saw that there were a lot of people. "They're here!" Brooke exclaimed, coming over to them. She hugged Haley and then Nathan. Lucas came up behind her and hugged Haley tightly.
"Hey, future sis-in-law," he said. Haley laughed.
"I've already been your sister-in-law," she reminded him.
"Yes, but this time I'll actually get to see you get married," Lucas joked. Haley hit him in the ribs. Lucas nodded at Nathan.
"Hey, Nate. How's life in New York?" he asked. Nathan smiled.
"It's great," he said.
"The team still doing well?" Lucas asked.
"Of course we are," Nathan said.
"How are the Celtics doing?" he asked. Lucas shrugged.
"We're doing fine," he said.
"Haley, come on. Deb and Karen asked me to come and get you once you got in the door," Brooke said, dragging Haley away.
"What about Peyton?" Haley asked on the way.
"She's already in the kitchen with them and your friend, Lisa. Oh, and Taylor too," Brooke said, talking really quickly. Nathan laughed.
"Is Dan around?" Nathan asked. Lucas nodded.
"He's sitting on the couch with Keith and their dad," Lucas replied.
"My grandfather's here?" he asked. Lucas nodded.
"Your parents went all out with this party," he said.
"You mean, my mom did," he said.
"No, your dad is the one who invited most of the people," Lucas said. Nathan sighed as he walked into the living room.
"Hey, it's the man of the hour!" Dan exclaimed.
"Not very good manners to be late to your own party," his grandfather said.
"Nice to see you too, Grandpa," he said. "Besides, it's not my party," he added. He shook his dad's hand and his grandfather's. Keith got up and gave him a slap on the shoulder.
"Congratulations, Nathan. Honestly, I'm glad you and Haley are back together and back on track," Keith said.
"Thanks, Uncle Keith," Nathan said, sitting in a chair.
"So, are you still playing pro basketball or did you give it up?" Dan asked.
"No, I'm still playing. I just got back from an away game yesterday, actually," he replied.
"And how'd you do?" his grandfather asked. Great! They're tag-teaming me now, he thought to himself.
"What's Haley up to now?" Keith asked.
"She actually teaches piano and gives private voice lessons," Nathan said.
"That sounds like a good job," Keith said.
"Yeah, she's terrific at it," he said, nodding in agreement.
"I thought she was a professional singer," his grandfather said.
"She used to be," Nathan said.
"And why isn't she now? Did you finally make her realize that you're more important?" Dan asked. Nathan shook his head.
"She gave that up long before I ever saw her again," he said.
"And how did you run into her again?" Dan asked. Nathan sighed. He had promised Haley that he wouldn't tell anyone about her battle with leukemia.
"When Peyton got hit by a car a few years ago. They ran into each other at the hospital," Lucas replied for him. Nathan smiled at him appreciatively. Lucas looked at him and mouthed, "It's no problem." Nathan laughed and then the world went black as he dropped his glass and it shattered to the ground. "Nathan!" Lucas asked.
Haley smiled when she saw Karen, Lisa, Deb, Peyton, and Nathan's grandmother all in the kitchen. "Look who I found!" Brooke announced. Karen turned around and smiled.
"Oh, Haley! Come here. We missed you, kiddo," she said as she hugged Haley.
"I missed you too," she said. She moved over to hug Peyton and Lisa. She shook Nathan's grandmother's hand. Haley hugged Deb and whispered in her ear. "Thank you for doing this," she said. Deb smiled. Then, Deb's expression faltered. Haley fell against her and Deb almost lost her balance as she tried to keep Haley up. "Haley?" she asked. Peyton came around and gently lifted Haley's head off of Deb's shoulder.
"She's fainted. We need to call an ambulance," Peyton said.
"Nathan, come quick! Something's wrong with Haley!" Brooke exclaimed.
At the same time they heard, Lucas scream, "Haley, get in here! It's Nathan!"