Chapter Four

Lucas parked in the school parking lot and took of his seatbelt. He walked over to the back seat and took Felix out of his car seat. He grabbed the stroller that Brooke had just bought and carefully put Felix in it. His son was sound asleep as Lucas walked through the halls. It still felt weird to be here and not be working. He headed to the gymnasium. He went to Nathan's office and walked in. He never knocked on the door. Nathan smirked at Lucas and held up a finger to signal that he needed a minute. He finished drawing on the paper and then put the playbook down. Luke sighed. "Hey, Luke. Glad to see my nephew is still in one piece," Nathan said. Luke laughed at him.

"Where's Brooke?" Nathan asked.

"She's at your house with Haley," Luke replied. Nathan nodded and yawned.

"So, where's the team?" Luke asked.

"Running laps," Nathan replied.

"I just came from the hall, Nate. They're not there," Luke said. That's where they always ran their laps. They went around the gym, out one door, up the stairs, down the upstairs hallway, down the stairs, and then through the other set of doors of the gym.

"Oh, I told them to go as far as the music room this time," Nathan said. Luke's jaw dropped.

"Nathan, that's on the other side of the school! Are you trying to tire them out?" Luke asked.

"No, I'm teaching them that I don't tolerate tardiness," he said. Luke's brow furrowed. "All but one person was late to practice," Nathan explained. Luke nodded.

"Ok. But don't you think that the music room was a little far?" he asked.

"That was where Jake told them to go to. I was going to make them run to the Tutoring Centre," Nathan replied. The Tutoring Centre was even farther than the music room and then they'd have to go down and up the stairs an extra time since it was downstairs. Luke shook his head in amusement.

"And you said Whitey was a hard-ass," Luke said. Nathan glared at him.

"I think Whitey was as tough as he needed to be," Nathan said.

"That's not what you said when we were on the team," Luke said.

"I was a wise-ass back then," Nathan said.

Luke nodded and said, "Can't argue with that." "So, how's Haley?" Luke asked.

"Why don't you ask your friend, Jake, big mouth?" Nathan replied. Luke gulped.

"Sorry about that," he said. Nathan nodded.

"It's alright. Jake has sworn that he won't say a word to Peyton or Haley about the fact that I proposed to her," Nathan said. Luke nodded. "Now you need to swear not to tell Brooke," Nathan said. Luke nodded. "I mean it, Luke," he said.

"Hey, I don't tell Brooke everything, you know," Luke said. Nathan scoffed.

"Do I have to remind you of her surprise party that Haley organized and while Haley was tiptoeing around Brooke with decorations and cakes, she knew about the party the whole time because you told her," Nathan said. Luke rolled his eyes.

"You don't know how Brooke was when she was pregnant, Nate. When she's pregnant, she can get mean," Luke said.

"Excuses, excuses," Nathan said.

"Oh, just you wait. You think Haley is a handful right now? Just wait until she's pregnant for the first time," Luke said. Nathan shook his head.

"If that ever happens," Nathan said. Luke looked at him.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Nathan shook his head.

"I don't think Haley wants kids, Luke," Nathan said. Luke laughed at him.

"Oh, please. I knew her when she was a little girl, Nathan. She wants kids. Trust me," he said. Nathan shrugged. Luke started thinking. "Maybe you're the one that doesn't want kids," Luke said. Nathan looked at him as if he were crazy.

"Don't be ridiculous. You have no idea how much I want kids with Haley. I just don't want to push her for something she hasn't expressed any interest in," Nathan said.

"Maybe it's just not time for the two of you yet. I mean, right now, you're dealing with enough, what with Rachel returning. I can guarantee you she's here to stir up trouble," Luke said. Nathan nodded. Haley was upset enough about the whole Rachel thing. If that upset was combined with the raging hormones associated with a pregnancy, she'd be volatile. When Nathan and Haley had first started out after their vow renewal, he'd noticed that Haley had changed a lot. She was still sweet and kind like she'd always been, but while living in New York City, she seemed to have developed a pretty tough shell. So if someone got her angry or hurt her, he pitied them. She was feistier now than she had ever been.

Rachel smirked triumphantly at the pain on Nathan's wife's face. She looked her over. She was petite. She had a round face that her brown hair framed nicely. Her eyes were what Rachel really noticed. They were big and brown which seemed added to her girl-next-door charm that Rachel sensed she had. But this wasn't why she noticed them. It was the anger in them that caught Rachel's attention. As she looked Nathan's wife up and down, she could see that her entire body was rigid. Her right hand was clenched into a fist. Her other hand tightened around the glass of milk she held. "Yes, I'm Rachel," she said in an aggressive tone. Her brunette friend seemed confused.

"Uh, Haley, are you ok?" the girl asked. Rachel turned her attention back to Nathan's wife, Haley.

"Nathan's not here," Haley said in a neutral tone. Rachel's spirits plummeted. She was hoping that he would be there.

"Where is he?" Rachel asked innocently. Haley scoffed.

"If you think I'm actually going to tell you, you're even more crazy than Nathan said you were," she said, still in a neutral tone. Rachel was impressed with her ability to keep the anger that was emanating from the rest of her body out of her voice. Rachel bit her lip.

"Have I done something to offend you?" Rachel asked. Haley smirked as she nodded. "What is it about me that offends you? Or is it that you're threatened by me?" Rachel asked, deciding to play it cool. Haley laughed as if the idea were preposterous.

"No, Rachel, it's your nerve that offends me," Haley said. Brooke smirked as this Rachel girl's face clouded with confusion.

"My nerve?" she repeated slowly as if she were a child sounding out their first word.

"Yes, your nerve," Haley said evenly.

"What do you mean by that? I don't understand," Rachel asked.

"Well, allow me to clarify. You have some nerve thinking that you can show up here in Tree Hill, at my front door, ask to see my husband, all the while acting as if I don't even exist," Haley said. Rachel looked appalled.

"I'm sorry if that's what you think. I didn't come here to cause any trouble," she said.

"Oh, really? You could've fooled me. Why else would you come to my door three years after your little fling with my husband has ended?" Haley asked.

"What Nathan and I had was more than just a little fling," Rachel said. Brooke looked at Haley. Her entire face was bright with amusement.

"Oh, let me guess. You two were in love?" Haley asked. She laughed.

"God help you if that's what you think," she added. Brooke smirked proudly at Haley. It was a rare thing to see Haley Scott be so vicious. Brooke only remembered one other occasion where Haley had shown her claws so openly and that was nothing compared to this.

(FLASHBACK)

Brooke sighed as she saw Haley working in the café. She walked in and smiled at Haley brightly. Haley took one look at her and said, "We're closed." Brooke looked around at the door, noticing the "Come in, we're open" sign and then at the other customers sitting and eating. She laughed.

"Oh! I get it. Closed to me," she said. Haley didn't respond. "I don't blame you. I'd be a bitch to me too after last night," Brooke said emphatically. Haley sighed and looked up at her.

She smirked nastily as she said, "Knock yourself out." Brooke smirked and widened her eyes in surprise at Haley's attitude.

"You're feisty. I see what Nathan likes about you," she said. Haley glared at her. Brooke sighed. "Look, you're blaming Nathan for something that I did and that's not fair. I was drunk and I was pissed and I found your note and you know the rest," she said apologetically. Then, she perked up as she said, "I want to make it up to you." Haley didn't even look up. She just kept pouring sugar into bottles.

"By going away?" she asked.

"By hooking you and Nathan up tonight," Brooke said, chuckling. "What's your idea of a perfect date?" she asked. Haley continued to work.

"Watching you get hit by a bus," she replied, and then looked at Brooke as if she was bored.

Brooke smirked and pointed to her as she said, "And that sense of humour!"

"Nathan's really lucky. He'll be here at seven. Have fun," she continued. She didn't give Haley a chance to reply. She left.

(END OF FLASHBACK)

"We were in love. And it was real, despite what you want to believe," Rachel said. Haley shook her head.

"Well, even if all that is true, it doesn't matter because Nathan and I are married now and if you think that some girl he dated a hundred years ago is going to convince him to walk away from his marriage, you're sadly mistaken," Haley said. Rachel smirked.

"Nathan loved me a lot," Rachel said.

"Maybe in your mind, he did," Brooke said. Haley smirked at her appreciatively. Rachel let out a sarcastic laugh.

"If he didn't love me, then, why do you suppose he proposed to me?" Rachel asked.

"Okay, now you're just delusional," Brooke said. Rachel shook her head.

"I couldn't make this up if I tried. Nathan proposed to me one day after a big basketball game. We'd been together for almost three months. He even got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. At first, I thought he was kidding until he started saying about how I was the only one he could trust and he didn't ever want to lose me," Rachel said. Haley dropped the glass in her hand and it shattered to pieces as milk spilled all over the floor. Brooke took the opportunity to slam the door shut in Rachel's face. Haley felt as if she had been punched in the gut. The words that Rachel had said rocked her to her core as she remembered parts of Nathan's proposal to her:

"You're my family now, Haley. The only true thing I have. I never wanna lose you… Marry me… I'm not normal. What I'm feeling is definitely not normal. And to be honest with you, Haley, I don't want to ever be normal. Not with you… I could love you forever…. So why can't forever start today?" All of a sudden she felt Brooke's hands on her shoulders.

"Haley!" she exclaimed. Haley was jolted out of her misery as she was once again faced with a harsh reality. Her husband had spontaneously proposed to a troubled girl who he had dated for only three months. She looked at Brooke. Brooke looked at her with careful eyes that shone with concern. "Are you ok, Haley?" she asked softly. Haley laughed bitterly.

"Oh, I'm great. Just great!" Haley said sarcastically. Brooke bit her lip.

"I'm sorry. That was a stupid question," she said. Haley shook her head.

"No. You're just a concerned friend. I'm the one that's stupid," she said. Brooke looked at her in disbelief.

"You are not stupid, Haley," Brooke said. Haley whirled around to face her once again.

"Yes, I am. I knew that Nathan wasn't telling me everything. I knew!" Haley exclaimed. "In my gut, I knew there was more to the story, otherwise why would he be so distant and so concerned about hurting me if all that was bothering him was the fact that his old girlfriend was back in town?" Haley asked. Now she seemed to be talking to herself more than to Brooke, but she continued as she said, "I'll tell you why. It's because that's not what was really bothering him. It wasn't that Rachel was back in town, it was that he was afraid that I might somehow find out that he had proposed to her."

"Haley, you sound hysterical," Brooke pointed out. Haley looked at her.

"Wouldn't you be hysterical if you were in my position?" she asked. Brooke was speechless. She came over to Haley and wrapped her arms around Haley. Haley didn't respond to Brooke's hug. A sudden realization came crashing down on her like a thunderstorm. "He lied to me," she said in misery.

THREE HOURS LATER (NEAR THE END OF THE BASKETBALL GAME)

Brooke walked into the gymnasium. She looked around the bleachers, searching for her husband and son. Lucas waved his free arm to get her attention. She smiled as she headed over. Once there, she kissed Lucas and took Felix in her arms. "Hi, sweetie!" she said to her son. "Hi to you too," she said to Lucas. Lucas smirked and he nodded at her.

"Hello," he said laughing. Then, he got a confused look on his face as he looked around. "Where's Haley?" he asked. Brooke exhaled loudly and looked down.

"Oh, she's not coming," she said. Lucas' eyes widened.

"Why? She told Nathan she would be here. He was counting on her to come so he wouldn't have a run-in with Dan," Lucas said. Brooke laughed.

"I don't think Haley really cares right now," she said.

"What does that mean?" Lucas asked. Brooke smirked.

"Let's just say that a run-in with Dan is the least of Nathan's problems," she said cryptically. Brooke turned her attention back to the game, signalling to Lucas that she wasn't going to say anymore about the subject.

Nathan's heart plummeted as the bell rang for the end of the game. Haley had never showed up. He had noticed that Brooke had arrived solo and now, twenty minutes later, Haley hadn't arrived at all. He sighed as he congratulated the team on their win and a job well done. He said that practice tomorrow was cancelled, but Friday, there would be an hour practice in the morning to make up for the lost time. He looked around the gym in the hopes to see an apologetic Haley coming towards him, but there was only Brooke, Felix and Lucas coming towards him. He sighed. Maybe Brooke could explain why Haley hadn't showed. "That was great!" Brooke said.

"Yeah. I almost feel like you guys are doing better without me," Lucas said. Nathan smirked. "Uh, babe, Felix is getting fussy. I'm going to go to the car," Brooke said. Lucas nodded and Brooke left.

"She sure left quickly," he said. Lucas nodded.

"Well, we better get going. I'll see you later," Lucas said. Nathan sighed as he went to his office to start closing everything up.

TWENTY MINUTES LATER (NATHAN & HALEY'S HOUSE)

Nathan walked into the front door and noticed all the lights were off. Maybe Haley had gone out. He shook his head. "Haley!" he called. There was no answer. He walked down the hall to the kitchen. She wasn't there. He walked to the office. Still no sign of Haley. He walked into their bedroom and put his bag down and took his jacket off and flung it onto the bed. He was getting worried now. "Haley!" he called again. Then the light came on in the bedroom. He turned around to see Haley in the doorway. He sighed with relief. He started walking towards her but the look on her face stopped him dead in his tracks. Haley's normally kind brown eyes shone with an anger he had never seen in them before. There was some unspeakable pain behind the anger, but the anger was overwhelming.

"You said she didn't mean anything," Haley said softly, but her tone was laced with fury.