Hi all, well once again it has been a long time between updates but I can promise that this time at least I do have a good excuse.You see not only have I moved house since I last updated but I have in fact moved countries. My life to put it mildly has been hectic. I could go on about all the craziness that has ensued but you don't really want to read about that. So I'll shut up and let you read the chapter. Hope you all enjoy it and I promise this time that I will do my damndest to update a lot sooner. Next I'll be posting a chapter of TMTCTMTSTS so keep an eye out for it hopefully within the next week. Can't wait to hear what you all think of this one.
A Time Best Forgotten
Part One
Baby Steps.
Nathan drove with the window down hoping that the cold wind on his face would somehow help to clear his thoughts. His mind was racing after everything that had happened the night before, she had finally opened up to him and then this morning it was like they were back at square one. He knew that it was unrealistic to expect too much from her after everything she had been through and to be honest he still wasn't sure just what it was that he wanted from her but the fact remained that it had cut him like a knife to see her look at him so blankly again.
For a brief moment he had allowed himself to hope that maybe the night they had spent together, talking a little but mainly just being together had somehow had more of an effect on her than what it had now proven to have. He had hoped that maybe just maybe she would come into that kitchen showing some sign of being on the road to healing. He almost laughed out loud then at the notion that he had allowed himself to think for however brief a moment that simply having him lie next to her would help her in some way. The truth was that it probably could have been just about anyone in that room with her last night, he wasn't somehow special because for a moment she had seemed to open up to him in the dark. She was obviously no closer now to recovery than she had ever been and his presence had probably meant nothing to her.
It was a terrifying thought but it was possible that she may never heal from what that, it almost physically pained him to use the word, man, had done to her. He almost wished that Chris was there with him right then so he could beat him senseless. In reality he knew it would do little to help Haley but it would certainly make him feel a lot better, to alleviate some of the frustration that churned inside of him. He wanted to hurt him, to make him feel even a modicum of the pain he had dished out to Haley on such a regular basis, to pound that smirking face into the ground till he was no longer recognisable to those who knew him best. He wondered how Haley would react to such an act, would she cheer him on or would it be like it had been in the dream, her still clinging to the fact that her husband loved her.
He remembered her words from the dream when he had begged her to see that what she had with Chris wasn't love, "But it's the only love I have."
He had reduced her to that, it didn't matter how many times he tried to tell himself that she had left him and in so doing placed herself into the situation that she now found herself struggling to survive. Somehow it all came back to him, he was at fault and no one would ever be able to make him believe otherwise. He had tried for so long to mask his guilt with anger and for a small period of time he had even conned himself into believing that he hated her but the events of the last few weeks had thrown into stark contrast his real feelings and he knew that deep down he still loved her. But even knowing that did little to lighten his heart because he knew that their time had passed them by, he could see no way that they could ever be together again after this and he had to somehow move forward with his life without her in it.
As if answering his prayer his cell phone began to buzz beside him and he looked down shocked for a moment when he saw Cathy's name in the caller ID. Cautiously he picked it up, inhaling deeply before speaking.
"Hello."
"Nate where are you?" her voice came sounding slightly petulant. "You were meant to be here half an hour ago. We're at the cafe waiting for you."
"The cafe?" Nathan asked incredulously. "Wait who's we?"
"Um my parents and I. Oh don't tell me you forgot. You're supposed to be meeting us here for brunch."
"Your parents! Oh shit," he said as all the plans they had made for her parents' visit came rushing back to him. "Oh shit," he said again. "Um I'm on my way I'll be there in ten minutes."
"Wait Nate, are you ok? You sound a bit distracted."
"What, oh yeah I'm fine. Just didn't sleep very well last night," he said congratulating himself on the fact that it wasn't in fact a lie; he really hadn't got much sleep the night before.
He threw the phone down onto the seat beside him turning the car in the direction of the cafe and wishing he could steer his thoughts so easily away from their current direction. He couldn't get Haley's face out of his mind, those huge brown eyes that failed to hide her misery, those lips that so rarely turned up in a smile these days, the pale almost translucent skin that made the dark circles under her eyes so much more prominent.Her face no longer held the beauty it once had when filled with achildlike joy, that beauty had been replaced with something perhaps more profound, a haunting soulfulness that hypnotised him.
He pulled the car into a parking space at the front of the cafe trying desperately to reign in his thoughts before entering. Cathy was wonderful and she deserved his full attention, she had been there for him in a way that Haley herself had not cared to. Haley was his past and while he couldn't be certain that Cathy was his future she was at the very least his present and she was the rightful owner of his thoughts and affections. He simply had to try harder. Resolve firmly in place he stepped out of the vehicle and strode determinedly towards the cafe door.
Haley sat in the chair staring out of the window but seeing nothing of what lay outside. Her mind was filled with snapshots from the past, little glimpses into everything that had led her to where she was today. She heard someone enter behind her but assumed that as always it was Taylor coming to try and butt into her private affairs or Brooke feigning indifferencewhile her eyes told another story. Eyes that still brimmed over with unwanted sympathy every time she looked at her. She was to say the least surprised that the two of them had left her alone this long after discovering that Nathan had spent the night with her. She had expected one or both of them to be beating her door down with a stick after he left but for the past hour she had been left in relative peace in the sanctity of her room. It was a peace though that she knew could not last and now it seemed it was to be broken.
She made no move to acknowledge the intrusion, instead continuing to stare out of the window through unseeing eyes.
She started in surprise though when she felt a small hand reach out and rest itself on her arm. Looking up she was shocked to see Zach peering curiously at her.
"Aunt Haley, what are you looking at?"
For a moment she struggled to find her voice, her contact with children had been minimal throughout her life and that had changed little since she had come to stay with her sister and her nephew.
"I uh, well I uh guess nothing really."
"Then why are you looking?" he asked simplifying things in the way that only children can.
"I'm not really looking," she told him. "I was just sitting here thinking."
"What about?" he asked prodding further, not content to be simply brushed aside the way Haley had successfully done with almost everyone else since she had returned home.
"Things that I don't really want to talk about," Haley answered her irritation rising slightly at his refusal to simply be dismissed the way she would have no doubt have done with Brooke or Taylor by now.
"Why not?" he asked and Haley sighed knowing that she would not be rid of this intrusion till she gave him what he wanted from her although just what that was she wasn't entirely sure.
"Because it makes me depressed," she said pausing when she saw the look of confusion in his eyes, "it makes me sad ok, really, really sad."
"Oh," he said pausing for a moment to absorb what she had said. "Everyone is sad, except me," he said proudly poking himself in the chest and preening slightly. "I'm not sad but I don't like it when mommy is sad all the time, she doesn't play with me anymore. She just looks up here at your door and talks to daddy and that other lady Brooke and looks sad. Sometimes," he said conspiratorially "she cries and daddy has to give her cuddles to make her stop."
He stopped looking at her considering his wordsfor a moment before continuing. "I liked it better before you came because it was just me and mommy and daddy and we were happy but mommy said you need us so you have to stay. So please Aunt Haley can you try to be happy then maybe mommy will play with me again."
Haley sat staring at the little boy in shock. For weeks she had listened to Taylor's bitching, Lucas' pleading and Brooke's cajoling to no effect and now in just a few short sentences Taylor's four year old son had thrown into stark definition just what an effect her presence was having on everyone around her. She had been so caught up in her own misery she had barely registered the dark cloud that seemed to have enveloped the house in her despair.
She looked at the blonde haired child staring at her so earnestly, his eyes brimming over with an unspoken plea and wondered how she could have been so selfish. This house was supposed to be a happy and joyous place in which to spend your childhood, it had been for her, although now it felt as if all of those wonderful memories belonged to someone else. It was difficult even for her to equate those happy memories with the person she now was; almost impossible to believe that in what felt like another lifetime she had been a happy, carefree child and adolescent growing up in this very house.
She looked again at the window of her room and for the first time in years allowed the memories to flood over her. She remembered how as a precocious ten year old how determined she had been not to allow an edict from her parents, demanding she stay home prevent her from sneaking out to meet up with Lucas. He had told her that he had something to show her that could only be shown at night and so she had waited quietly in her bed for the sounds of her parents going to bed before she had quickly dressed and climbed down the tree almost falling out of it in her excitement.
Lucas had waited for her on the pavement in front of her house smiling at her eagerness as she skipped up to him. She slipped her hand into his and he laughed as she leaned up kissing him on the cheek.
"Will you please tell me where we're going?" she begged not for the first time.
"Hales calm down," he said for the first time sounding a little irritated by her questioning. "If you want your surprise then you have to stop asking me all the time otherwise I'm going to leave you here," he said crossing his arms over his chest and doing his best to look annoyed with her.
"Ok, ok I promise," she said tugging on his arm, looking up at him and giving him her best wounded puppy expression. "Please take me with you," she begged.
"Fine lets go," he said giving the sigh that only a long suffering big brother can truly perfect.
She giggled again sliding her hand once again into his and skipping along happily beside him.
When they arrived at their destination twenty minutes later she regarded him with a disappointed gaze.
"Why did you bring me here, I thought you had a surprise for me?"
"Hales," he said warningly.
"But Luke I don't get it. You said you had a surprise for me and then you bring me here to your mom's café where we go everyday. It's not even open," she said gesturing to the darkened building and the closed sign hanging in the door.
"Why do you think I have these?" he said mischievously holding up a keychain.
"Ooh is that your mom's keys?" she asked her eyes lighting up. "Are we going to sneak in and eat all the cookies?" she questioned him again a cheeky grin crossing her face at the thought.
He snorted in disgust at her words. "No I've got something much better," he assured her.
"Better than your mom's double fudge chocolate chip cookies," she said in amazement, "Wow it must be good."
"You'll see," he said mysteriously inserting the key into the lock and turning it carefully. He opened the door and turned back to her smiling at her. "You're going to love this Hales I promise."
"Hang on Luke what about the…" she asked just as a siren sounded from within and lights switched on all around them from neighbouring homes.
"What about the alarm," she finished off despairingly.
"We have to get out of here," he said grabbing her hand and turning around to run back down the street. They had barely got fifteen yards though before the flashing lights of a local patrol car forced them to stop.
"You need to stop right there kids and tell me just what you are doing out at this time of night and running from the scene of a break in."
"It's not a break in," Haley piped in, "He's got the key."
"Hales shut up," Lucas hissed at her, but she pressed on regardless.
"We were just going to get some cookies," she told the officers, hands on hips as she glared at them.
"Well little missy I think perhaps you and your buddy here should get into the car and we'll see if we can't find out exactly what this is all about."
"No way," Haley said obstinately. "I'm not getting into that car."
"Haley," Lucas said urgently, "Just get in the car."
"Nope," Haley said determinedly shaking her head. "I'm not doing it."
"Haley, you are going to get us in even more trouble now just get in."
"But," she said more than ready to continue the argument.
"ENOUGH," Lucas said grabbing her arm and guiding her into the car.
The officer stood holding the door open until the two of them were safely seated then slammed the door shut after first ensuring he had each of their names and addresses. Getting back into the front of the car they started off back towards the café, parking directly in front.
Lucas groaned and buried his head in his hands. "My mom is going to kill me," he said, "and your parents are going to be so mad."
"My parents, oh FUDGE," she exclaimed as the reality of their situation finally hit home. "Darn it Luke why did you make me come out here. Now I'm going to be grounded and I won't be able to go to Jessie's birthday party. Oh Luke this is going to be so bad and it's all your fault."
Lucas looked at her incredulously. "Haley you begged me to take you. I wanted to go after dinner and get your mom to drop us off but you said it would be more fun to sneak out. Well what a great idea that turned out to be. This is just so great Hales, but you just remember when my mom asks I'm going to make sure she knows this was all your idea."
"LUCAS EUGENE SCOTT," Haley screeched at him. "No way are you going to pin this all on me. You're the one who said you wanted to show me something."
"Yes but you…" and so the argument continued neither one of them prepared to take the wrath they were convinced was coming their way until finally completely fed up with his attitude Haley had hauled back and sucker punched him right in the stomach. By the time Karen Roe and Lydia and Jimmy James had arrived it was to find two very sullen ten year olds now separated by an officer sitting between them each refusing to so much as look at the other.
Each had been taken home by their very unimpressed parents and despite their best efforts neither one of them had succeeded in escaping blameless from their little escapade. Just as Haley had predicted they had been grounded and she had been forced to miss Jessie's birthday party a fate worse than death to any ten year old girl. The two of them had ignored each other for days afterwards until finally Karen had had enough of her son's misery and had forced the two of them to sit down and talk.
Haley had sat at the table arms crossed over her chest, her stance mirroring Lucas' even if she refused to look at him. After ten minutes of silence Karen had finally had enough and told them that they either started to talk right that second or she would make sure they were grounded even longer, telling Haley that if she wanted to attend Jessie's eleventh birthday party then she had better get talking.
This reminder of just what Haley had missed out on though was exactly what was needed to spur the young Miss James into action and she launched into speech immediately making sure Lucas understood just what it was she had missed out on by not being able to attend the birthday party of the year.
"Did you know they had ice cream cake?" she snarled at the boy who barely a week before she would have defended to within an inch of her own life.
Lucas didn't acknowledge her though continuing to stare into space as if she hadn't even spoken until a sharp jab in the ribs from his mother made him reconsider his silence.
"Yeah well I had to miss out on Basketball," he said petulantly making sure she realised just what a sacrifice had been called for on his part too. "I just wanted to show you what I made for us on the roof."
Haley immediately forgot about the birthday party and all of its glories as her interest was perked by his words.
"You made something?" she asked.
"Yeah," he responded "And it's really cool."
"Really, what is it?"
"Mom can I please show her?" he asked sending a pleading glance in Karen's direction.
"Of course you can," Karen answered him "But then you need to get back down here, there's a pile of dishes waiting on you in the kitchen."
"Yeah, yeah I know. Come on Hales let's go."
She followed behind him eagerly up the stairs to the roof, stopping in amazement at the sight before her.
"Oh Lucas this is so cool," she said her enthusiasm bubbling over as she took it all in. "It's a mini golf course. Did you really make this just for us?"
"Yeah," he said his pride in his achievement obvious.
"Can we try it out?" she asked him.
"Not right now," Karen's voice piped in from behind them. "Lucas has a lot of dishes waiting for him. But if you want to wait around Haley I'm sure Lucas would love to play up here with you afterwards. Let's go sunshine," she said to her son who groaned in disappointment at her words.
"It's ok Lucas. Come on I'll help you if we get it done quickly we can come back up here."
"Alright," Lucas conceded. "You should help anyway since it's your fault I have to do them."
She giggled linking her arm through his and going to the stairs.
A small smile graced her lips as she remembered the fun the two of them had had up there in the years after he had made it. Those were some of her favourite memories from her childhood but it had been a long time since she had allowed herself to remember them.
A knock at the door pulled her out of her reverie and she looked up to see the object of her thoughts from moments before standing nervously in the doorway.
"Hey little guy," Lucas said to his son, "Your mom's waiting downstairs for you to take you to the store to get your new soccer stuff."
"Awesome," Zach said racing for the doorway and Haley couldn't help but laugh a little at his enthusiasm.
"I have to go Aunt Haley but I'll see you later ok?" he said barely sparing her a glance as he ran out the door and clattered down the stairs calling excitedly to his mother as he went.
"Um I guess I'll leave you to it," Lucas said uncomfortably turning to leave.
"Ah Lucas why don't you stay for a bit, we um haven't really talked since I got back."
Lucas stopped shock evident on his face at the invitation he had clearly not expected.
"That would be great Haley," he said uncertainly coming back into the room and sitting down in the chair opposite the bed where she had now moved to sit.
"So ah," she paused seemingly at a loss as to what to say now that she had him there.
"So um what's been happening with you?" she asked clearly wanting to keep the conversation away from herself.
"Oh you know nothing really. I keep myself busy with work and Zach. He's the best thing that ever happened to me Hales. When I found out Taylor was pregnant I never dreamed how great it would be to be a father to him. He's a great kid; I don't know what I'd do without him."
"Yeah I can see that," she said quietly and Lucas could see a sadness in her eyes at her words but didn't press her to elaborate. It was a big enough step that she was sitting here talking to him like this without bringing up anything that might make her clam up again.
"So what about you and Brooke, it must be hard seeing her again after everything that happened?"
He looked at her slightly surprised that she seemed to have a knowledge of what had happened and the repercussions.
"I may not have been around Luke but that doesn't mean I forgot everything. I saw the way the two of you were in High School, I didn't think you could ever love anyone the way you loved her, well apart I guess from…" She trailed off then not wanting to speak her name when she knew it was still such a sore point at least where Brooke was concerned.
"Yeah we all miss Peyton," he said quietly "But I guess there's no changing the past."
"Don't I know it," she said softly almost too quietly for him to catch. He wasn't given a chance to question her further about it though as she turned to him once more asking the one question he didn't have an answer to.
"How are things with you and Brooke?"
"I really don't know how to answer that Hales. I mean obviously things are uncomfortable, a lot of stuff happened around the time Peyton died, stuff that can't just be swept aside by any of us…" He trailed off for a moment as he gathered his thoughts again. "You know I really didn't think I would ever see her again and I'd pretty much made my peace with that and now here she is."
"I know that's what you want to think Luke, that you'd made your peace, but had you really, because it seems to me that you've just been biding your time. Have you had any serious girlfriends since she left? I don't think you really have moved on, no matter what you might want us to believe. Whether that's because you're still in love with her or whether it's because you still feel guilty about hurting her only you can answer. But you've been given this chance Luke to see her again and spend time with her, don't waste it."
Lucas sat regarding her silently more than a little surprised that she had actually noticed what was going on around her. With everything that had been going on she had not seemed to really be aware of anything other than her own problems but perhaps she had been more aware than any of them had really given her credit for.
He wondered if she saw the wisdom in her words as they applied to her. Could she see that she should be taking her own advice and not wasting an opportunity that had been put in front of her? Somehow he doubted it.
He watched her wondering how she would react if he tried to talk to her about her own life both the past that had led her here and what she was still dealing with now. Instinctively he knew he had to bide his time, to say anything now would be tantamount to slamming shut perhaps forever, the small window she had opened up to him. She was extending an olive branch and if he didn't tread carefully it would snap in two.
He looked around the room searching for a more neutral topic to discuss, he didn't want to talk about Brooke and what had happened and he certainly didn't want to talk about Peyton. His feelings about the blonde woman were still so messed up and he held a lot of guilt about what had happened between the two of them so many years ago.
Finally selecting what he hoped would be a neutral topic for them to talk about he looked at her and asked, "What were you and Zach talking about?"
"He was just shedding light on a few things for me."
Lucas chuckled quietly at her words. "Yeah he's good at that. So what did he get you to realise?"
"Actually a few things," she said, "But I guess the main thing he did was to make me remember just how lucky I am to have a friend like you."
He looked at her quizzically for a moment and she elaborated. "I was remembering that time when we were ten and we snuck out and managed to set the alarm off at your mom's café."
Lucas laughed at the images she conjured in his mind. "Yeah I can remember I was so pissed with you for getting me grounded and you were livid about missing Jessie's birthday party. Funny how much such trivial things mattered to us then. God that was nothing compared to what we've had to endure since huh?"
He had to fight the urge to slap his hand over his mouth as he saw the look of pain flash through her eyes. Everything had been going so well until he had been so stupid and said what he had. He wracked his brain for something to say, anything that could retrieve the situation but he could tell just looking at her that their moment had passed.
"I'm glad we had this talk Hales, I've missed you. We'll do it again sometime ok?"
"Yeah sure," she said unenthusiastically, her mind clearly somewhere else.
She had moved to stand in front of the window again, her attention fixed on some far off point. Lucas moved to stand behind her, patting her awkwardly on the shoulder before he left.
She stood at the window trying to focus her attention on anything other than the memories Lucas had brought into stark contrast once again. She needed to think about something, anything else and so she allowed her mind to go elsewhere, to a place she had steadfastly avoided since her return to Tree Hill. As she looked at the window she thought about pebbles being thrown at it, trying to get her attention, about a lithe athletic body that would climb in after darkness and slide into her bed with her, about that same warm body that would press up against her as she slept. So many nights had been spent that way and up until last night she had thought they were over, until last night she had invited him into her bed again.
Nathan moved uncomfortably in the booth beside Cathy wishing he could get away from the piercing gaze he was being regarded with from his girlfriend's mother. He knew that he had failed to impress her parents, his tardiness certainly hadn't helped and the fact that he looked as if he had been put through a ringer before he arrived only added to their disapproval.
Cathy however seemed unaware of the tension that enveloped their group and prattled on happily, thrilled to finally be having her parents meeting the boyfriend she had been telling them about for months.
He could hardly wait for it to end. He wanted nothing more than to leave and go home, take a hot shower and take some time to process everything that had happened between him and Haley the night before.
He wondered whether she was thinking about it too but immediately chastised himself for being stupid. He was sure that she had most likely blocked out everything that had happened between them. There was no way she would want to think about that.
He felt a jab in his ribs and looked up to find the three other occupants of the booth staring at him expectantly.
"Ah sorry, what, I missed that?" he said unable to ignore the way Cathy was now glaring at him too.
"Nathan look maybe you should just go. You're obviously distracted or tired or whatever it is you want to call it. Go home and get some sleep and I'll give you a call later alright," Cathy said a tinge of annoyance tainting her voice.
Seeing the hurt look in her eyes Nathan could have kicked himself for being so inattentive. She had done nothing to deserve being treated this way.
"Cathy can I talk to you for a minute," he said standing up from the table and holding his hand out to her. She stood up following him to a corner of the café and standing, her arms folded across her chest defensively. He smiled at her trying to reassure her as he rubbed his hands up and down her arms in a soothing fashion.
"I'm sorry Cath; I know I haven't really been here today, like I said I really didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Things have been a bit crazy lately but I promise I do want to be here and I'm going to try harder with your parents."
She looked at him considering his words for a moment. "I'm not going to force you to be here if you don't want to be Nathan," she said giving him an out that he wished he held the courage to take. The truth was he needed to get out of that café, get away from his girlfriend and her parents and their all seeing gaze but he couldn't do that to Cathy, no matter how much he might have wanted to.
"If you're really sure," she finally conceded her frown easing slightly. "You know how important you are to me Nathan and I really want my parents to love you the way I do."
He fought hard to stop the memories of how easy it had been with Lydia and Jimmy James, the way they joked around with him, the way they embarrassed Haley with their comments at times.
He still remembered what it was like the day he had gone to ask for their permission to marry Haley. The constant jibes about whether he had come through the window, their certainty that Haley must have been pregnant for them to even consider getting married at their age. His relationship with them had been so easy, not at all like the horrific stories that so often were told about parents in law, but that was over now and he couldn't keep clinging to the past. Sure things had started off a little rocky with Mike and Lucy Douglas but he was fairly certain that the situation could still be saved if he just tried a bit harder.
He smiled at Cathy again putting his arm around her shoulders as he led her back to the table. He sat down giving Mike and Lucy a grin as he set about trying to charm them.
An hour later the four occupants of the table were laughing and joking like old friends. Nathan knew though that Cathy's parents were still slightly wary of him but they were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for the sake of their daughter and he knew that was all he could realistically ask for.
"So Nathan," Mike said with a grin "Cathy here tells me that you're coach of the high school basketball team. How are they doing this year?"
"Oh you know for the most part they're a good bunch of kids, they get up to no good sometimes but I know what I was like at their age so I guess I can't say too much. Like last week a group of them got drunk and went down to the school and started to…" he trailed off as his cell phone started vibrating in his pocket. He smiled apologetically at Mike and Lucy pulling it out of his pocket, his smile faded though as he saw the caller ID displaying Taylor's name.
"Um sorry can you excuse me for a moment I really need to take this," he said getting up quickly from the table and crossing to the other side of the room where he was fairly certain that he wouldn't be overheard. Flipping it open he answered it breathlessly, "Taylor what's going on? This really isn't a good time you know."
His words though were meant with silence apart from the sound of breathing coming from the other end of the line.
His gut tightened as instinctively he realised who had called him. "Haley," he said quietly, "Haley is that you?"
Still she remained silent as he wondered what had led her to be calling him. This was one phone call he would never have expected in a million years. "Haley talk to me please," he begged a note of desperation creeping into his voice.
He looked back to the table where Cathy sat laughing and talking with her parents. He knew he should be back there with them but somehow even though she was yet to utter a word he couldn't hang up on Haley.
He tried once more, "Haley has something happened, is something wrong? Where's Taylor?"
Just when he thought that she wasn't going to say anything though he finally heard her voice so soft that he almost didn't hear her.
"Um I don't really know why I called you. I guess I just wanted to say thank you for last night. It um well I guess it really meant a lot the way you took care of me. Lucas was just here and I was thinking about how different everything used to be, before…" her voice caught on the word but she continued, "Before I left."
He stood silently unable to speak as he listened to her words, words that surprised him more than he cared to admit.
Misinterpreting his silence she rushed into speech once more. "Um I know you said it wasn't really a good time so I guess I should let you get back to whatever you were doing. Bye," she said hanging up before he could speak although just what he would have said he didn't know.
He looked at the table again wishing wholeheartedly that he didn't have to go back over there but even if could have justified to himself leaving without a word to his girlfriend and her parents the fact was that his keys and jacket were still at the table. Gritting his teeth he walked back over there forcing a smile to his lips that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Cathy looked up smiling until she saw the look in his eyes. "Nate is something wrong?"
"I um, well I'm really sorry but I have to go. That was Lucas," he lied the words almost sticking in his throat as he spoke, "he needs me to go over to his place."
He looked over at Mike and Lucy. "It was really nice meeting you guys. I'm sure I'll see you again soon." He shook hands with Mike smiling politely at Lucy and leaned down kissing Cathy quickly on the cheek. "I'll see you later," he promised her making a hasty exit.
As he walked to his truck he tossed up the possibility of driving over to Taylor's and paying Haley a visit but something stopped him. Today had been a big step and he didn't want to pressure her but more than that the thing that prevented him from driving over there was his own fear. It had taken a long time to get his life together the last time Haley left and he really wasn't sure if he could do that again. He had a good life now; he had Cathy, a steady job and his friends and family. Shouldn't that be enough for him? He wanted desperately to believe that it was.