Chapter 8: It's all my fault
"Like hell you are." Dan said as his hand clenched into a fist and launched at his son but Haley got in the way and Nathan did not get touched. Haley, who was hit, hit the floor and went unconscious from the impact of the hit.
Once Nathan realized what had just happened he disregarded his father's presence in the room and focused his attention on Haley. She was on the ground and wasn't moving. He felt for her pulse (thank god for sophomore health class) and found one, signaling that she was alive and breathing but just knocked out.
He decided to retrieve his cell from his pocket and call 911.
"911. What's your emergency?"
"Uh, my girlfriend was knocked out from getting hit by someone. What should I do?"
"Where are you located?"
"I'm at 23000 rock cliff road. By the beach."
"An ambulance is on its way. In the mean time, check for a pulse."
"I already did. She has one."
"That's a good sign. Now all you can do is wait for the EMT's to arrive. It should only be a minute or so."
"Thank you" and Nathan hung up. He looked around and noticed that his father had made a rapid exit while he had been on the phone. Soon, Nathan heard the sirens and scooped Haley's body up and carried her outside. The guys took her and placed her in the ambulance.
The door were about to close when "You coming?" asked a young EMT boy
"Can I?" Nathan asked
"Yeah. She needs someone, doesn't she?"
"Ok. But I'm not her family."
"Doesn't matter. You can sit in that chair over there." Bruce, the young EMT boy said as the doors were closed and movement began.
Nathan sat in his designated chair and watched them check Haley. It was becoming too much to watch and Nathan put his head in his hands and before he knew it they were wet from the tears coming from his eyes. All he could do was place the blame on himself for this and wish he were being checked and operated on rather than Haley.
"Eh, man. You can get out now unless you just want to ride around which I wouldn't advise." Bruce said
"Oh yeah. Thanks. I'm Nathan, by the way." As he stuck out his hand
"I'm Bruce. You look familiar. What school do you go to?"
"Tree hill."
"Oh, I think I have seen you around. I'm a senior."
"Oh. Do you know what's wrong with Haley?"
"Is she your girlfriend?"
"Yeah. Do you know anything?"
"All I know is that she is breathing which is really good."
Nathan left and went in search of any doctor that could tell her something about Haley. He found a doctor coming out of the swinging doors and asked him if he knew anything about Haley James.
"Yes. I'm Doctor Nukta. Are you her family?"
"No. Her boyfriend."
"Where is her family?"
"Her parents are away in Nevada and all of her brothers and sisters are scattered about the country."
"Well, Miss James is in tough shape. She has a very bruised cheekbone and will have a black eye. She got hit in a bad location and it caused her body to go into shock. She is now in a coma."
"What? Is she going t-to be O-OK?" Nathan asked, starting to stutter
"She will be, she just needs to wake up. We have done everything we possibly can right now. Can you tell me how exactly this happened?"
"Yes. Um well my father came into the beach house and I was there with Haley. He told me to never see her again and I said no and that I loved her which she said back and then we kissed. Then, he said I was coming with him and I said no so he tried to hit me but Haley jumped in the way. How can just a punch cause her to go into a coma?"
"She is a very, very small girl. She is very lucky that she didn't break anything or have any major permanent damage. Now all we can do is wait until she wakes up."
"Do you know how long that will take?"
"I'm not sure. It could be two hours, two days, or two weeks. It's up to her." Doctor Nukta started to walk away when Nathan stopped him
"When can I see her?"
"She is on her way to her room right now, room 120. You can go ahead in 15 minutes or so?"
Nathan thought about everything as he walked back to the sitting area and started to wait those long, dreadful 15 minutes. He thought about how his past day had started with the sucky workout with his dad, and then went to Haley's house to comfort her, then dinner and a nice night with her. Then the horrible events of his father occurred. This was all Nathan's fault. Everything. All he wanted to do was go in there and hold her hand and wait until she woke up. He didn't care that today was Monday or that he had a big game tomorrow or any of it. He just kept thinking about earlier this morning.
Flashback
"Nathan Scott. What are you doing here with that girl?" Dan Scott spoke, loudly, causing their heads to snap in his direction
"That girl? Dad, that girl is my girlfriend. I love her."
"You do?" Haley asked
"Don't you?"
"Of course I do." Haley said and then Nathan picked her up and swung her around while kissing her. Her legs wrapped around his waist and they completely forgot the other person that was occupying the room.
End Flashback
Nathan was knocked out of his "Haley thoughts" with a sobbing Brooke running up to him. He had completely forgot that he had called everyone that he thought would want to see Haley at this present time.
"You guys didn't have to come. I mean what about school."
"Teacher work day man. Or did you forget?" Lucas said, holding a sobbing Brooke
"H-H-How d-d-d-d-did it h-happen." Brooke sobbed
Nathan didn't want to repeat the whole story over and over again but didn't' see any way out of it. He explained everything that had happened that morning (leaving the I love you's out).
"How long until we can see her?" Lucas asked. He looked calm, too calm. You could easily tell it was all an act that he was putting up to keep himself from breaking down.
"Just about now actually." Nathan said as he walked down the hall towards Haley's hospital room door. He looked and saw the correct door number and slowly turned the knobā¦.
