Part Two
2 years later…
"Nathan?" 19-year-old Haley James asked. It was two years after they graduated. Haley had come back from New York to attend her friend's funeral. Good thing it was the summer and she wasn't missing classes. She would've gone in a heartbeat even if she had missed classes. This was one of her closest friends after all.
Nathan finally met her gaze and attempted a half smile. "Hi, Haley. Thanks for coming," he said. Haley was surprised by the kindness in his tone. Or was he just being formal? She could never really tell and it didn't really matter either way.
"Of course," she said, shaking his outstretched hand. His grasp tightened all of a sudden and he pulled her closer into a bone-crushing hug. Haley tried to steel herself from the feelings that were overcoming her but to no avail. The love that overpowered her will was all too familiar as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him back. Nathan cried into her hair and then when he was done, he let her go and started to apologize.
"I'm sorry," he said. Haley shook her head.
"Don't worry about it, Nathan. It's understandable. You just lost your brother and I care about you both. I'm here for you," she said. He looked up at her in surprise. "Whatever you need."
"I appreciate it but Karen needs you more than I do," he replied.
"Right," Haley said, reminding herself that she was there for Karen. It had been Karen who called her and told her of Lucas' death. He had been battling cancer for a year and had lost the battle a few days ago. Karen had begged Haley to come to the funeral. She didn't really need to beg; it was Lucas, after all.
"How are you doing these days?" Nathan asked. There was a gleam in his searching gaze that Haley didn't really recognize. Whatever it was that he was searching for, it was making her uncomfortable.
"I'm fine. I mean, I miss Luke, of course, but I spend most of my time at school and doing school work," she replied.
"Journalism, right?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. Haley smiled and looked at him.
"How did you know that?" she asked.
"Please, Haley. You were always writing and you have an powerful way with words. When we were given persuasive essays, you used to get an A+ and extra credit mark because the teacher was so impressed with your work," he said. Haley bushed at the praise. She began to tell him about her job at the local newspaper and working on the school's newspaper.
The next day…
Haley followed Nathan into the Roe residence. "So you live here now?" she asked. Nathan nodded.
"After my parents got divorced, my mom wanted to get out from under my dad's thumb. Moving out of that giant house was her idea of taking the first step. So we moved into an apartment for a few months. Karen and Keith bought a big house with six bedrooms and they realized three were empty. So Karen invited my mom to live with her and my mom asked if I could move in as well. They said it was fine and I moved," he explained. Haley nodded.
"Karen hates wasting space. Whenever I used to sleep over, I would start to sleep on the couch but because they had an extra room, she said that it would be designated my room since I slept over so much," Haley said.
"So seeing anyone special?" Nathan asked casually. Haley's head jerked up and looked at him.
"That was subtle," she said sarcastically.
"Just trying to make conversation," he replied, feigning innocence.
"I don't really have a lot of time for dating right now," she replied.
"Understandable. I'm sure working for the school newspaper, the local newspaper and keeping up with your classes is pretty demanding," he said.
Haley nodded. "What about you?" she asked.
"Well, now that you mention it, I just started dating someone," he said. He was searching her face again. This time, whatever he was looking for, he wouldn't find. In that moment, Haley fortified the walls around her.
"Anyone I know?" she asked.
"Taylor," he replied. Haley froze. She turned around and looked at him in disbelief.
"My sister?" she asked.
"Yeah. We've been dating for a few weeks now. Taylor was one of Lucas' nurses in the hospital. Did you know that she went to nursing school?" he asked. Haley nodded.
"I went to her graduation," she replied. Nathan smiled. It was a proud smile. He was proud of Taylor. That meant that things between them were serious. She smiled back. "I'm happy for you both."