AN: Just an in between-chapter. A double-whammy too! Yay!
Oh, only one more chapter after this double-update. I've already wrote it and you'll probably get it by tomorrow. Thirty-Eight chapters - oh they've gone by so quick :sniff:
Chapter Thirty-Six
Lost On the Stoop
Nathan
Well, this is trippy.
My head feels like it's full of air, and not in the stupid way, either. It feels like my head is lighter than my body, and it wants to float through all of this whiteness, but my body won't let it.
I look down and see that my body won't move because it's strapped down to the white concrete with white straps that look like string, but feel much stronger. I try to pull on them, but there's no give.
Damn. I guess my head won't fly away then.
I stop struggling and lie down flat, staring up at the swirling white above me. It's kind of nice to look at actually. Millions of shades of white, with glitter and other crap in it. They shift until there's a distinct shape. Wide eyes, cute nose, smiling eyes. Haley. I smile up at it, expecting to hear her voice. But I don't – I hear Brooke's.
"Still stuck here, huh?" she asks. I look around trying to find her, but I can't, and Haley's face has gone too.
"I guess," I say, only no sound comes out. It's like someone has pressed the mute button.
"I know Haley hasn't been here yet… but I think she's in shock, so don't you worry about it. Okay?"
I frown. Haley hasn't been here? She's in shock? Why?
"I mean, you gave us all quite a scare back there," Brooke goes on. I continue to look around, but I can't see her anywhere. Just white. Everywhere.
You know, this is actually kind of weird. Where am I?
"And Haley thought she'd lost you, just when she was finally ready to let you in."
Now what's she talking about? Haley and I have been together for years. We've got a son and daughter for God's sake. Their names are… why can't I remember their names?
"But, she'll be here. I promise. If it kills me, she'll be here."
Suddenly the white starts to shift, thinning out until it's not there any more. I look around and see that I'm lying on the grass, nothing binding me down. I pull myself up, expecting my head to pull the rest of my body with it into the air. It doesn't, I stay exactly where I am, facing a large red brick house.
"Daddy?"
I look around, thinking vaguely of Brooke. Why am I thinking of her? Was she just here?
"Daddy!"
Two tiny little voices continue to shout, and I look back towards the house in confusion as too little kids run towards me. A boy and a girl, both with dark hair, and the girl with blue eyes, the boy with brown.
"Uh… hey," I say, confused as hell. Where am I?
Hang on; did they just call me 'Daddy'?
"Daddy!" the girl shouts, running with her arms outstretched and grabbing onto my legs when she reaches me.
Okay, I think I've just entered the twilight zone. I'm seventeen. I'm not a daddy!
"Dad, Mom said we had to get you because she's made dinner – Mac and cheese, your favourite – and she said we could play basketball after dinner," the boy starts telling me, his dark eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Mom?" I ask, as the little girl grabs my hand and starts yanking me towards the house. "Who's Mom?"
The little boy rolls his eyes. "Ha, ha Dad. Hurry up; Mom will get angry if we don't hurry up."
The little girl has a surprisingly strong grip as she continues to drag me towards the house, and the little boy runs on in front of us, up the porch steps and through the front door.
It's on the porch steps when a figure appears in the door. A short, slim woman. Her auburn hair left loose and glossy, falling over her face. Her dark eyes shining with love and warmth, and her wide smile directed at me. She's beautiful.
"Go sit down with your brother," she tells the little girl. The girl gives me another hug and then runs into the house, leaving me and this beautiful woman alone.
"Uh… hey," I say awkwardly. The woman laugh and pulls me into a hug, only pulling away to kiss me softly on the lips.
"I'm so glad you're okay," she says, her voice shaking despite her happy face. It's like her voice doesn't quite match her face.
"Of course I'm okay," I tell her.
"And I'm so sorry I wasn't here before now," she goes on. I narrow my eyes.
"What…" I start, but she cuts me off as she carries on speaking, her happy face still mismatched with her sorrowful voice.
"But I was scared Nathan! I… I saw you die. I thought I'd lost you and I couldn't do anything."
I take a step back, but the woman's face looks unfazed. I lose my balance and fall down onto the porch.
The woman squats down beside me. "I thought you'd died, and there was so much I had to tell you… so much I have to tell you. I love you Nathan, and I didn't want to admit it, but now I do. I love you, I love you, I love you."
What the hell is happening? Suddenly, the woman's face switches and she looks younger. I recognise her, and she makes my heart beat faster… Haley.
"Haley?" I whisper.
"God, I really wish you would wake up, you know that? I can't relax while you're still asleep."
"I'm awake," I tell her, as memories of Haley start flooding my mind. The arcade, the kiss in the music room, the swimming pool, her face through a car window, some guy with his arm around her neck…
"I'm going to go… I just – I can't see you like this Nathan. It hurts too much." She stands up and starts to walk into the house.
"Wait," I start to shout, but my voice is really quiet.
"Please, don't hate me," she says, starting to cry as she starts to close the door.
"Haley…" I say, and finally my voice has substance.
But it doesn't matter, the view in front of me starts to shift and I've lost her…
