A/N: This story has almost reached its end. There will only be one more chapter after this followed by the epilogue. You might get shocked and have a whole bunch of theories by the end of the chapter. Leave some words. Enjoy )
Chapter Six
Haley was sitting in the kitchen of her and Nathan's old house after she had received a cryptic note from Rachel to meet her at the café completely stunned by Rachel's admission. She couldn't figure out what she was feeling exactly at the news. She stared at Rachel for a second, opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it. "So, you're telling me that it was you?" she asked. Rachel nodded.
"Yeah, it was," Rachel repeated.
A week before, Haley followed Nathan into the ICU of Tree Hill Hospital and stood outside his mother's hospital room. Nathan leaned against the window and sighed. "What's wrong?" Haley asked.
"I don't know if I can go in there and see her," he said. He turned to face her and Haley softened at the tears streaming down his face. She cupped his cheek.
"You can and you will because she's your mother, Nathan," Haley said.
"That's exactly why this is so hard. I don't know if I can go in there and see her hooked up to all those machines. I couldn't bring myself to visit her while she was in rehab for drug abuse. Talking to her on the phone was hard enough because she sounded so weak. I'm not used to seeing my mother that way," Nathan said. Haley nodded in understanding.
"I'll go with you," Haley said. He looked up at her in surprise.
"Why would you do that?" he asked.
"Because I care. I've been where you are right now. I know how hard this is," she said. Nathan nodded as he remembered a year ago when Lydia James had been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. He had never seen Haley so devastated until the death of their son.
"Thanks," he said. "I know you don't want to be anywhere near me right now so I wanted to thank you for putting all that aside and helping us through this." Haley nodded. They walked into Deb's room together.
"What possessed you to hit an innocent woman like that?" Haley asked angrily. Rachel cowered, lowering her face in shame.
"I didn't want to hurt her," Rachel replied.
"That's not what I asked," Haley said.
"I did it for you," she said softly.
"For me? I don't want to hurt Deb," Haley said.
"For you and Nathan," Rachel said. Haley shook her head and looked at Rachel. "I wanted to help bring you together again and I figured helping him through this time with his mom would do the trick."
"Okay. What?" she asked.
"I feel guilty for my part in what happened to your marriage," Rachel said. "If I had not called Nathan that day, when I knew he was vulnerable, and given him that sob story, that kiss never would've happened." Haley laughed. "What?"
"Nathan did a whole lot worse than that kiss, Rachel. He slept with another woman before that. I found out about it and went into premature labour. Our son was still-borne and with him, I lost any chance of ever having another child of my own. And the anger and pain I went through because of that wins out over some confused kiss," Haley said.
"What are you saying?" Rachel asked.
"That kiss wasn't what ruined our relationship. It was the choices that Nathan made leading up to it that did," Haley said.
"I don't believe he slept with another woman," Rachel said dismissively.
"Well, he did," Haley said.
"How do you know?" Rachel asked.
"She came to me and told me," Haley said.
"And you believed her?" Rachel asked in disbelief.
"Why?" Haley asked.
"Haley, do you realize how many women would've killed to have your life back then?" Rachel asked.
"Connect the dots, will you?" Haley asked.
"Before you got remarried, Nathan was a famous basketball player. He was almost one of the most eligible bachelors and when it came out that he was married again, a lot of women were devastated. You were married to Nathan. You shared his bed and you were pregnant with his child. You have no idea what lengths someone will go to when they want something bad enough," Rachel said.
"You mean like you did?" Haley asked. Rachel rolled her eyes.
"That was low. Besides, I didn't want Nathan because he was famous. Like you, I knew him before he went pro," Rachel said.
"Then why were you so jealous of me?" Haley asked, remembering the time Rachel had pushed her out of the window to get her out of the way.
"You have his heart and you always did. Even when we were together in college. He said he cared me, but whatever he felt for me could not hold a candle to the passion and love he feels for you. And I've always wanted a man to feel that way about me," Rachel said.
"Then maybe you should've found one who did instead of trying to take the one who felt that for me away," Haley said bitterly. Rachel smiled.
"Someday maybe I will. But not until I make amends for what I did," Rachel said.
"To Deb?" Haley asked. Rachel shook her head. She looked down for a minute. Rachel took a deep breath and began to tell Haley the whole story.
