Chapter Eighty-Two: Collision
Nathan impatiently pulled the knot out of his silk tie and attempted to start again. He was never his best self before company functions.
"HALEY!" he called up the stairs, annoyed that she was spending so much time getting ready.
"Haley?" he said again, at the top of the stairs. Sighing, he ran down the rest of the hallway and into their room.
Expecting her to see her in front of her vanity mirror, he was surprised and slightly annoyed to find her curled up in bed, fast asleep.
"Haley," he said again. His sharp voice cut through her dreams and she slowly sat up.
"You're all dressed up," she said in surprise.
"Yeah, and you should be too. We're supposed to be out of here in ten minutes," he said.
"God, your formal thing. I completely forgot. I'm sorry Nate, I feel awful. I think I'm going to be sick," she said piteously.
"Haley, I have to go. I've been planning this for two months. There' a huge fundraiser and everything," he said.
"I know you do. You can go without me," she said, dropping back onto the bed.
Nathan stared at her for a moment longer, wondering whether she was really sick or if she was just being petulant.
"I can't go alone. We had to pay for every head, including yours. Everyone expects you to be there, and you haven't gone to one in weeks. Please just make an appearance, Hales," he said.
"Nathan, I'm seven months pregnant and I was awake all last night because of your child kicking. I can't handle going out in a maternity designer dress and having two hundred and fifty people second guessing the state of my marriage," she said staunchly.
"Why are you being such a brat?" he asked. Her temper flared. Not since the early days of their marriage, when she truly had been a brat, had he spoken to her in that tone.
"Why are you being such an asshole?" she fired back.
"Fine. Stay. Sleep. I'll find someone else to go with," he said, turning and leaving the room.
Haley watched him go, her heart slowly filling with dread.
After their confrontation, sleep did not come easily to Haley. After checking on her daughter she moved downstairs, content to wait until he got home.
She was fairly certain that he would not take anyone else, and that he'd come home early to take care of her. After all, it was Nathan. For over two years he'd made her his first priority, for four years she'd been his heart's desire. He wouldn't cheat on her, or intentionally hurt her. It just wasn't Nathan.
Her faith waned as the evening progressed. The evening grew still, interrupted only by the traffic outside. Her baby grew restless. Haley grew impatient. And steadily more angry.
At one, three hours after she'd expected him, she finally heard the front door open. Walking slowly to the front hall, she saw him enter, and crossed her arms with difficulty.
"You're home. Goodnight," she said curtly, preparing to ascend the stairs.
"Haley, what's wrong?" he asked. Haley stopped several steps up and looked down on him instead of up for once.
"Did you get a date?" she asked.
"Not exactly a date. She came with me," he said uncomfortably.
"Perfect," she muttered.
"What are you, jealous? Last time I checked you couldn't care less," he said.
"I don't care, Nathan. I'll never care, I've told you often enough," she shot back.
"Could have fooled me."
"Wouldn't be too hard. I'd rather you were more subtle, Nathan. If you're going to whore around behind my back I'd rather not know about it."
"What the hell do you even care... God, I could go out and screw half of New York and you wouldn't give a shit... except for how it affects your reputation."
"Truth hurts, doesn't it?"
"Without me you wouldn't even have a reputation, Haley. You'd be living in some flat with fucking Seamus, breeding his all-American offspring, putting up with his awkward groping every evening. And thinking of me," he said.
"Please, get over yourself. I didn't talk to you for two years, I could have lasted longer," she said.
"But you never got the chance to. You came running. Why does all this bother you so much?" he asked again.
"Because you're married to me! Do you know what people are going to say when this gets to the tabloids? Even before that, even tonight, everyone in New York who matters is going around saying that you're leaving me, that it's someone else's kid, that you've been screwing around behind my back," she said.
"Don't see how that tarnishes your reputation. And I couldn't care less about my own," he said.
"Then why don't we both screw around? Might relieve some pressure," she said tauntingly.
"Just tell me the truth, Haley."
"SHUT UP, Nathan!" she yelled.
"GET OVER YOURSELF! YOU'VE BEEN TORTURING ME FOR YEARS. YOU'VE USED ME AGAIN AND AGAIN, AND I'M GETTING TIRED OF IT. SO EITHER TELL ME THE TRUTH OR LEAVE ME ALONE. WHY DO YOU CARE?" he demanded. Haley, standing above him, looked down at her husband in amazement. Nothing could have stopped the words that burst out of your mouth.
"Are you really that clueless? BECAUSE I LOVE YOU, you MORON!"
Her own eyes widened in amazement. Nathan walked toward her, but she pushed him away as he reached her and ran as well as she could up the staircase.
After a moment he followed her, only to find she'd locked herself in the bathroom. He sighed in frustration and knocked for several moments before heading back downstairs and pouring himself a stiff drink.
Later, when he went back up, he expected her to still be in the bathroom. But she was lying in their bed, already asleep. And she didn't awaken even as he got in beside her and pulled her into his arms.
When he awoke the next morning, Nathan knew instantly that Haley was already awake. He didn't know how he knew. It could have been her breathing, or how tense she felt in his arms, or the feeling he felt when he was around her, the feeling that they were a single unit, feeling every emotion in sync.
"You awake?" she asked.
"Why did you act like that?" he asked.
"Like how?"
"Like a child. Like you were telling me something I didn't want to hear," he said.
"I knew you wanted to hear it. The much more horrifying aspect was having to hear it myself. Nathan, maybe I do love you. But I still don't like you very much," she said. To her relief, Nathan chuckled.
"Well, I didn't like you last night either. But I do love you," he said. Haley was silent, prolonging the moment he'd been waiting for for four years.
When Haley remained silent, he sat up in the bed, pulling her with him. Without his prompting she turned to face him. Nathan regarded her, her swollen breasts and stomach, her long blonde hair flowing around her shoulders, her eyes shiny as if she'd been crying. Never had she looked more beautiful to him.
"Let's try that again. Haley Elise Scott, I love you. I always have, I always will," he said. Haley looked at him entreatingly.
"Say it," he ordered gently. "It's like pulling off a band-aid, it will hurt less if you do it quickly.
"I love you," she said at last, looking surprised once again at hearing the words escape from her mouth.
Nathan leaned forward and pressed a kiss onto her lips.
"Didn't I tell you?" he asked.
"What, that it was band-aid like?" she asked.
"No, that you loved me. I totally called it," he said. She shushed him and kissed him again.
"Yes, you're a genius. And pull another stunt like last night and I'll definitely kill you," she said, standing up to attend to the now crying Eve.
"Love you too," he called after her, grinning to himself. Finally satisfied that his life was coming together in the way he'd always wanted it too