Author's Notes: Alright check it- first off I wanted to say thanks to all of my reviewers and to take time to say thank you to some of the new ones I have. Browneyes1980, lilbaby6688, xsmile- I'm glad you're enjoying this. I hope this chapter doesn't disapoint. Onto the next peice of buisness... I am going to be updating this story for the next couple of days to finish it off. You can all tell that it's coming to a close and I want to concentrate on only this story to make the ending PERFECT. After that I will be switching back and forth again between my other stories. By the end of the week a friend of mine and I will have another story out, this one taking place during the gang's sixth grade. It's a romantic/friendship fic and it's going to be great. We hope to see your reviews for that as well as all my others :-) Now onto the update.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Praying for Rain
by: D.Sollers
Nathan turned over in his sleep and fell off of Haley's couch. He groaned and opened his eyes to the familiar sound of Haley singing in the background. The last weeks events had surprised him, first Lucas coming back home and then him moving out of his house with Brooke… to moving in with Haley. Granted he was only sleeping on the couch and his clothes were in the corner of her bedroom- he was nevertheless Haley's roommate.
He stood up and stripped out of the wife beater he was wearing and walked towards the bathroom to take his morning shower. Nathan turned the doorknob before realizing that Haley had actually been in the bathroom. The shower stall was steamed up and he could only make the faint outline of Haley's body. "Oh I'm sorry Haley," he groaned softly.
Nathan was happy that Haley hadn't heard him enter the room, so he quickly tried to make an exit. But he bumped into the door, causing Haley to open the sliding door to the shower. "What the hell… Nathan?" Haley asked as she leaned behind it. Nathan adverted his eyes anywhere he could but couldn't help the blush that spread across his face. She could tell that she had been too late, he had caught her and managed to see her naked.
"Oh my God Nathan," Haley whispered as she shut the door.
Nathan bumped back into the door and muttered an I'm sorry before walking back into the front room. He sat down on the couch and stared at the floor, remembering a night from a long time ago.
"I've been think about things," Haley said as she turned towards Nate.
He looked up from their desk and smirked. "And what's that Hales?" He asked curiously. They had been studying for an hour already and he wasn't making any headway. It had been four months since she had started to tutor him and much to his surprise, he had really started to enjoy it.
"I'm not going to stay a virgin till marriage."
Nathan raised an eyebrow. He had teased her, back when they had first met about her virginity. Now looking at the situation, he was glad she was a virgin. Haley deserved better. She deserved to have someone take care of her and love her the way she wanted. "Hales…"
"I mean it Nathan. How pathetic am I? I'm a junior and I haven't even kissed a boy yet…"
He couldn't help the chuckle that burst out of him and watched in desperation as Haley's eyes began to glass over. She got up from the table and shook her head. "I should have known Nathan," she muttered before slamming the chair under the table and running out of the tutoring center. She ran outside, only to find her stranded in the parking lot with rain falling down on her. "Shit!" She screamed to no one and turned back towards the building but saw Nathan.
"Haley I didn't mean to laugh at you," Nathan sighed as he walked towards her. She was about to say something when he cut her off. "It's a big deal to you about staying a virgin, if I was your boyfriend…. It wouldn't bother me."
Haley shook her head. "I don't believe you Nathan."
He wasn't sure what he could say but as they were standing in the rain, he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked. Her brown doe eyes stared up at him and her hair was tangled from the rain. He closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her, bringing her in for a passionate kiss. Nathan slipped his tongue into her parted mouth and caressed it with his own as she moaned into his mouth. After several seconds, he realized what he had done and backed away.
"I'm sorry Haley…" he said before running away from her.
Haley toweled herself off in the bathroom and pulled the robe around her. She wondered if Nathan was still in the apartment, or if he had made a quick exit to prevent any embarrassment. As she opened the door, she saw Nathan sitting on the couch and knew she had no way of sneaking past him. Braving herself for the worst, she opened the door and walked out of the bathroom.
"Haley I am so sorry," Nathan said making his way towards her.
She backed away as fast as he had walked towards her and smiled slightly. "It's no big deal Nate. We're both adults," Haley reminded him. He nodded his head and she squeezed past him, making her way into her bedroom. Nathan stared at the closed door and he leaned his head against the wall.
He needed to get the hell out of there.
……
"Can I watch you play?" Isabella asked as Lucas nodded his head. They were standing in the center of the basketball court by the river and he was dribbling the ball in front of him. He made his shot and turned towards his daughter who grinned from ear to ear. "You are good," she squealed. He nodded his head slightly and took another shot. When it sunk into the hoop, Isabella did a victory dance.
"Dad?"
Her seriousness in her voice was enough to break his concentration and he missed the shot. He looked back at her and raised an eyebrow. "What's up kiddo?" He asked, slipping his arm over her shoulders and walking her towards the picnic table.
"I have a question and I want you to be honest with me," Isabella said. She didn't look up at him but continued anyway. "Promise me you'll be honest."
Lucas shook his head. "I'd never lie to you."
She looked up and stared into her father's blue eyes. Her mother had always described her father as a honest, loyal man but Isabella was having trouble coming to terms with the fact that he wasn't around for most of her life. But his eyes had the same look in them that her mothers had, and she knew she could trust it. She nodded her head softly.
"Do you love my mother?"
Lucas' mouth fell open and he struggled to come up with the right words. He had loved Brooke everyday of his life. There was no denying it and he didn't want to. But he didn't want to burden his daughter with the truth if things weren't going to work out between him and Brooke. "Of course. Your mom will always have a special part of me," he whispered.
"I mean do you love her now?" She placed her hand on her hip.
He nodded his head. "Very much," he replied.
"Then why aren't we a family?"
Lucas looked down at the table and noticed the faint initials carved on it. He ran his fingers over the wood and smiled slightly.
Brooke and Lucas always.
If he shut his eyes, he could go back to the moment he had done it. It was one of their first dates but something had taken over him. His feelings were strong for her even then and that had always scared him. The normally rational boy was doing crazy things he had never pictured himself doing.
"Baby, we are a family. You, me, your mom, your grandmother and uncle Nathan…" he tried to calm her down. She shook her head and he knew what she meant. "I hurt your mom really bad. And I hurt you too Isabella. I have a lot of time to make up for and I have to prove to both of you I'm not going to hurt you both again."
Isabella looked at him. "But are you going to leave again?"
"No."
Isabella's eyes filled with tears. "Do you promise? Promise me daddy," she whispered.
"I promise," Lucas said as he brought his daughter into a hug and dropped a small kiss in her hair. He repeated his words before shutting his eyes.
……
Three hours later and after Brooke had picked Isabella up from the river court, Lucas still stood in the middle staring up at the sky. He was thinking to himself about the decisions he had made and he found himself feeling guilty all over again. His selfishness had gotten the best of him.
The relationship between him and Brooke had taken over his entire teenage years. And when they had entered college and she had gotten pregnant… something inside of Lucas changed. He had become his worst enemy. If he had looked into the mirror he would have seen his father and he hated it. He didn't want to do that for Brooke or himself. Or his daughter.
So after their argument that night, he had packed his things and headed out of Tree Hill. He was going to reinvent himself and make himself feel better about things. A few years later, when he had managed to become the person he once was, he had realized it had been too late. He had driven home that Christmas and even managed to get Jake to place a present under Brooke's Christmas tree.
Lucas remembered staring into their living room window at the group of friends, surrounding his daughter and the love of his life and feeling heartbroken. What had he given up? His fingers wanted to reach the door knob and ring it but wasn't able to.
He couldn't.
His heart had caught in his chest as she turned around and stared down at her daughter. She had beamed proudly at her and Lucas had turned to walk away. He had thought Brooke had been so happy. She looked so happy.
How was he supposed to have known that she wasn't?
"What are we thinking about now?"
Lucas turned around to see his brother smirking at him. "Brooke," he said simply. Nathan nodded his head, knowing the feeling of thinking constantly of someone. Somehow thoughts of Brooke had entered his head less and less and were being replaced by thoughts of Haley.
Haley smiling and playing with Isabella.
Haley singing a song.
Haley naked in the shower.
"Fuck," he muttered out loud causing Lucas to give him a confused glance. He shrugged his shoulders and stared at his brother. He knew his brother was in pain by the expression on his face and he wanted to change that.
Lucas stared at the ball in his hands and turned towards the hoop. "I'll play you for her?" He asked. Nathan knew he was kidding but still couldn't help but laugh. Lucas looked desperate as if this whole situation was killing him. He wanted his love back and he didn't know how to get her.
"I'll talk to her."
Lucas shook his head. "Yeah and tell her what? You'll marry her?" He smirked as Nathan shook his head no.
"All I have ever done was protect her. And love her and Isabella. I guess I always knew deep down you'd come back and I wanted her to be safe till then," Nathan explained. "Let me talk to her."
Lucas nodded his head. "Thanks…"
"No problem," Nathan said as he took the ball from his brother. "Now. How about that game?"
……
Nathan knocked softly on Brooke's bedroom door and entered as she called out. Her smile fell from her face as she stared up at him and tears entered her eyes. "Nathan," she said as she flung her arms around him. She held on to him as hard as she could before looking up at him. "I miss you so much."
"I know Brooke. That's why I am here. Lets sit down okay?"
Brooke walked nervously to the bed and sat down next to Nathan. He looked at her funny before turning to look around the room. She had changed it, gone was the lavender bed setting and in its place was a burgundy color. He smiled at the pick that he knew was probably inspired by Lucas and groaned as mental images came to mind.
"What's wrong?" Brooke asked, concerned for her friend.
Nathan shrugged his shoulders. "Mental pictures. That's not why I am here Brooke. There are things you need to know. First off, about this house. We've been splitting everything for as long as I can remember and even though this is my house too… I want you to stay. We'll work out the details later but this is where Isabella grew up. She deserves this home."
Brooke looked down sadly at the floor.
"Also for the time being, I am staying at Haley's new apartment. She has a couch in the living room that's a pull out mattress and I've been sleeping on that."
Brooke took in a deep breath. "Haley's?" She questioned.
He smiled at her name and Brooke watched. She knew a part of her should have felt jealous but she couldn't help but smile back at him. Perhaps it was a good thing Nathan and Haley were around each other so much. Maybe their friendship was doing each of them some good.
"Secondly, I want you to think about taking Lucas back."
Brooke sat up straight and shook her head. "What? How can you even say that Nathan? After everything?" She questioned. She played with the ring on her finger and looked back at him.
"Because Brooke. He hasn't ever left. He might not have been here in person but he was always here," Nathan said. He pointed towards her ring and reached out to touch it. "Think about it Brooke, really think. Answers will come to you and you won't be able to turn away from him."
Brooke looked down at the floor. "What about us?"
"We've been over since before we even got together," he replied simply. The words stung her, even though she knew they were true. "Your heart is somewhere else. It always has been. And mine…"
"Yours?" Brooke choked out.
He shrugged his shoulders. "I have to get back to you on that one."
Brooke looked down at his hands and took them within her own. "I'm sorry Nathan. I love you so much and can't imagine my life without you," Brooke said. She leaned over and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
It would go unnoticed to them, that his brother had stood in their hallway. Flowers were in his hands and as he heard her whisper I love you to his brother, they fell from his hands. He walked down the hall, ignoring the questioning look he was getting from his daughter.
……
"Hi Nate," Haley whispered as she walked out onto her apartment balcony. He turned to see her and nodded his head, ignoring the images that were coming to his mind. Nathan had left Brooke's an hour ago and had spent that time out on the balcony looking up at the stars. "About before…"
He turned to look at her. "We're adults remember? It's okay."
She leaned against the railing and stared up at the sky, running her own hands up and down her arms. Nathan took the opportunity to wrap his jacket around her shoulders and looked up at the sky with her. "What are you doing out here?" Haley asked quietly.
Nathan shrugged his shoulders and looked down at her softly. Under the moonlight, her eyes twinkled. He ran a finger nervously through a lock of her hair before whispering into her ear.
"Just praying for rain."
Haley stared up at him, unaware of what he meant by his words but was taken out of the moment by a gentle kiss being placed on her lips. She hesitated for only a moment, before slipping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer to her. "Nathan," she moaned into him as he deepened the kiss.
As if the sky from above them were answering prayers, rain started to pour. Haley broke the kiss and held out her hands to feel the rain. She laughed and he smiled down at her. "Can you believe it? Rain," she grinned.
He nodded his head and brought his lips down to hers again.
"I can believe it."
Tbc.
Alrighty... that was a major Naley chapter! Did you guys enjoy it? It was fun to write and hopefully everyone will love it. To all my Brucas fans- next chapter will be great for you all. Please read and review!