I absolutely adore all you guys who take the time out to read and who give me a extra minute or so to review my story. It means a lot to a writer, even though if she is a fanfic writer like myself, lol. Okay, now that didn't really make much sense, so you can just pretend like you didn't read that and move on to the next chapter. The chapter with the aftermath.
Till next time,
take care!
Ch. 8 – Silence
It was as though time had stopped. Not a sound was heard, not even a single breath, nor a single creak of a chair. The only sound disturbing the perfect silence was the constant ticking of the big grandfather clock which loomed tall, behind the reception desk. Not a single person moved, those who were standing stood still, and those who weren't didn't shift in their seats. Not even Chris, not even Dan.
Haley felt as though there was a great force pulling at her, in many different directions, all at once. She couldn't move, speak, nor could she hear anything. She felt sick to her stomach; goose-bumps ran down her arms, making her feel cold, numb and queasy all over at the same time. She couldn't look at Peyton, Mel or anyone else, let alone Nathan. And most of all, she couldn't bring herself to look at Taylor. Her sister.
Taylor looked as surprised as she was, to see her again. Her hand dropped from Nathan's knee, back into her own lap; the only movement there was for a long time. Her previously nonchalant face iced over with a defiant glaze, her eyes still looking straight ahead, not quite meeting Haley's.
Mel looked around, her eyes flickering nervously back and forth from Haley, to Peyton and Jake, both of whom she knew through Haley. She was never usually anxious, but there was something about this time, that was different. For a young attorney, all the defence trials in the world couldn't intimidate her, or make her worry, making her almost invincible in court. But there was an underlying apprehension about the tension in this room that worried her. "Hey," she cleared her throat. "The next time you guys want to have a party here, I really should collect rent," she said, in an attempt to lighten the situation. Only Chris cracked a grin at her feeble attempt. Nobody else answered her, or gave any indication that they had heard her mild voice, except Dan, who turned around to face her, shooting her a death glare. She glared back, not wavering, wondering who he was.
Nathan finally stood up, sending Mike scrambling to his feet. He stood there, still speechless, as his mind searched for the right words. Haley trembled visibly, her hands clutching at the sides of her clothes nervously. Automatically, just like he always had, Lucas moved closer to Haley, giving her support. It was something he'd always done, out of habit, and as he moved, the protective look was clearly evident on his face. He hadn't forgiven Nathan for what he had done to Haley, but he hadn't done anything about it, or shown any indications that he knew, for Haley's sake. But if Nathan were to do anything to hurt Haley again, he would more than be ready to defend her, brother or not. Haley was family, more than Nathan or Dan had ever been to him.
Finally, unexpectedly, it was Mike who spoke, getting the better of all the adults in the room. "Hello, Haley," he grinned, painfully oblivious of the strain surrounding them.
Haley looked at him, clearly seeing Nathan standing behind him, and Taylor sitting not far off. "Hi," she replied, forcing a tight smile, taking up more energy than it ever had.
"I'm sorry, Haley," he continued. "But Daddy says I mustn't give you the CD."
Her brow creased in realisation; she swallowed hard. "That's okay." Her voice came out sounding shaky, unsure. "I'll get it for- "
"That isn't necessary." Nathan spoke, the sudden audacity and strength in his voice overwhelming her, cutting her off. He didn't look at her when he spoke, his eyes focusing on the wall behind her, his jaw clenching. "Come on, Mike. It's late."
Mike knew better than to disobey his father when he put on this tone of voice. Slowly, he nodded, feeling a little scared, and slipped his hand into Nathan's. "Bye Haley," he said sadly, as his other hand reached behind him, grabbing Taylor's. He gave a little tug to his mother's hand, and she stood up slowly. The three of them walked out. Taylor averted her gaze to the ground as she passed Haley, while Mike smiled up at his teacher, his smile losing a bit of that spark he always had. And Nathan, Nathan walked past her without a single glance. Her heart broke, and she was sure that everyone would have heard the sound of her heart shattering into a thousand little pieces, if it wasn't for the sound of the door slamming shut behind them.
Dan glared at her, the clockworks in his brain moving quickly. Finally, the corners of his mouth lifted up, in a smirk. "Good party, thank you, Ms. James. I enjoyed myself immensely," he said loudly, crudely, as he walked to the door, roughly bumping into her shoulder as he left after his son. Haley staggered backward from the sudden impact, her body weak and numb.
"Hey, watch it," Chris said under his breath, unexpectedly, speaking for the first time in the room, surprising both himself and everyone else with his uncharacteristic silence.
Lucas glared after his birth father as he walked out, his fists tightening by his sides. "Scum," he spat out, under his breath. "Both father and son."
Brooke glanced at Haley, her face etched with concern. "Haley, are you okay?"
Peyton followed Brooke's train, staring at Haley, as the sound of the closing doors for the second time echoed around the now silent room. She looked pale, like she was sick. All colour had drained from her cheeks and she stood there, rooted to the spot, both her hands clutching at each other tightly, until her knuckles turned white. Mel walked to her side, her face uneasy, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Haley?" she said, just like Brooke had.
Lucas turned to look at her, his anger a few moments ago flying out of the window when he caught a glance of her. And it broke his heart, for her to be like that. "Hey," he said softly, nearing her. "It's okay, now." Chris frowned, wondering if she was all right too.
Haley shook her head, slowly, once, then twice, as though in denial.
Jake frowned, standing up, obviously worried as well. "Hale- " he started, as he watched the glisten in her eyes disappear under her eyelids, and as her knees gave way.
Haley fell to the floor. Mel caught her, calling out her name. Lucas ran to her side, as Brooke and Peyton gasped. "Haley? Haley!"
Lucas paced the small living room of the apartment that Peyton and Haley shared, his arms shoved tightly into the front pockets of his jeans, not saying a word. Brooke sat on the couch, at the opposite end of the room, her eyes squeezed shut tightly, her fingers gingerly pressing at her temples, fighting down a bout of jet lag. Peyton bit down her lip, her fingers laced with Jake's, her hand squeezing his tightly.
Mel came out of Haley's room, shutting the door slowly behind her with a soft click. "She's asleep," she said, in no one to particular. It had been a long night. The strangest events, people she'd never seen before in her life, Haley blacking out. Thankfully, she had come around just a little while after she had fainted, much to everybody's relief. Jake had carried her to the car, driving her and the others home. The ride home, albeit it only being two blocks long, had been long and dreary. After Peyton had unlocked the door to the apartment, letting everyone else in, Haley had still kept quiet, walking straight to her bedroom wordlessly after they had all gotten there.
Mel spoke again. "So, that was Nathan," she said softly, her words strangely coming out like a statement more than a question.
Jake nodded, being the only other person in the room who was able to find the words to speak. "Yeah. The one and only."
"I should have punched him." Mel spoke, this time her voice clearer, making no attempt to hide her hatred.
Lucas stopped. "That makes the two of us," he said, sounding hoarse.
"Yeah," Peyton added dryly. "Right before you punch Dan."
"And Chris Keller," Brooke finished, her voice edgy, her eyes still shut. "After I bitch-slap Taylor."
"This is crazy," Jake muttered, under his breath. "Nathan turns up, with Taylor, of all people, then Dan, and Chris? Talk about sick."
Lucas' mouth curled up in disgust at the mention of Chris. "What the hell was he doing here anyway?" he said roughly, referring to Chris. "They haven't been keeping in touch all these years, have they?"
Mel shook her head, folding her arms across her chest, hugging herself tightly. "That would have been me. I met Chris awhile ago, and I set the both of them up on a date."
"You what?" Four pairs of eyes in the room swivelled to Mel's face, all staring at her incredulously.
"What would you do that for, Mel?" Peyton asked. "That guy is nothing but trouble!"
Mel held up both her hands in response. "Hey, I didn't know, all right? He seemed perfect for Haley when I met him."
"If Chris Keller is perfect, God help the rest of us," Brooke mumbled from the couch, her words coming out like a snarl.
"God, and Nathan too, now," Peyton sighed. "It's high school all over again. What's he doing here too?"
Jake squeezed her hand tightly. "Well, I did hear some rumours about a young new talent from Tree Hill being signed to the Celtics," he said, slowly. His job as a PR rep had him travelling with the team on the road, and he knew the players like they were his brothers. New signings were his priority and were taken under his wing, but the news he had heard this time had been vehemently denied by the team manager, so he had just shrugged them off as untrue. "The boss called it out as rubbish, but you know transfers and signings, sometimes things are kept low key to avoid competition for players. Nathan could be here to play for the Celtics."
Peyton turned to look at him, pursing her lips as she contemplated the situation. "Of all teams." Mel let out a deep breath at Jake's words, a breath she didn't know she even had been holding.
Lucas merely shook his head, and continued pacing back and forth, his mind obviously clouded with thoughts.
Finally, Brooke opened her eyes. "Well, if that isn't fate, then I don't know what is."
Haley opened her eyes once Mel had left her room. She hadn't wanted to pretend to sleep, at least not to Mel, but she just had needed some time alone. She knew if she had broken down in front of them, she would worry them all, and she didn't need that; nor did she need the five of them fawning over her, pretending like nothing was wrong, telling her that everything would work itself out. She had heard enough of those words over the past five years. No matter what anyone said, everything was wrong, and nothing would be all right. She felt like she couldn't breathe, let alone sleep. A dozen thoughts ran through her mind at once, some flashing by, some slowly lingering. None of it made any sense. She squeezed her eyes shut, knowing that no matter hard she willed, she wouldn't wake up in the morning tomorrow to find that it was all a bad dream. It was real, all of it. Every bad, brutal, devastating fragment of it.
Nathan, he couldn't even bring himself to look at her. Her heart hurt from the way he had coldly looked her by, and walked out, with Mike in tow. And Taylor. Haley shut her eyes, a cold sinking sensation spreading over her. It hadn't just been a one time mistake, he had stayed with her, and had built a family with her. With their son. Her nephew. How could he have done that? He told me that he wouldn't love anyone else but me, she silently cried. He fell in love with Taylor. My sister. She looked around the room through teary eyes, desperately trying to find something, anything that could get her mind of him, but today, she couldn't find nothing than wouldn't remind her of Nathan.
Five years ago, she had told him that all she could give him was her heart, and that if that wasn't enough for him, then she wasn't enough for him. And then, he had engulfed her in his arms, so tightly that she couldn't breathe, like he couldn't let go, telling her that he loved her. Forever. Obviously forever didn't last very long, she thought bitterly, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand.
She had spent nights trying to tell herself that that one night he had spent with her sister, was a mistake. Maybe he had gotten caught up in the spur of the moment. Maybe he had thought she had really left, and had gotten lonely. Maybe it was his way of getting back at her. Maybe. There were too many maybes that she had made up for him over the years, to the extent that she blamed herself for everything. But still, she couldn't help but think of what would have happened otherwise. She was weak, and she admitted that. She'd braced and steeled herself many times before, but she always crumbled. You hadn't wanted to fight, Haley. Maybe if you had stayed, things would have been different. She shook her head. She had been weak. If it had been any other girl, she would have stayed. But it hadn't just been any girl, it had been Taylor.
She looked straight ahead, her pillow under her chin, and her gaze fell on the white CD Mel had brought back. Mel had put it on her dresser, shortly before leaving the room. Before she could stop herself, Haley was already reaching out for it, slipping it into her stereo carefully. The soft sounds of a piano filled the room, and then a clear, strong familiar voice. It had been so long ago, that she'd almost forgotten the times when she would record songs on her laptop. Nathan must've have made a compilation of them. She listened for awhile, listening to herself, when she was young. She sounded so sure, so confident back then with music. Like she needed no guidance, no reason. It had just come, instinctively, intuitively. Spontaneously. It had been a part of her. Like a tap that wouldn't shut. Now, it was like her tap had run dry. How come I don't have that now? How come I can't write songs anymore? She listened intently, slowly losing herself in the song, when suddenly the words of the melody registered with her.
Heaven bend to take my hand
And lead me through the fire
Be the long awaited answer
To a long and painful fight
We all begin with good intent
Love was raw and young
We believed that we could change ourselves
The past could be undone
But we carry on our backs the burden
Time always reveals
In the lonely light of morning
In the wound that would not heal
It's the bitter taste of losing everything
That I've held so dear
Though I've tried, I've fallen
I have sunk so low
I messed up
Better I should know
So don't come round here
And tell me I told you so
Her tears started falling freely, streaming down her face, as she cried her heart out. How come I don't have anything anymore? The question ran through her head, as she cried her heart out. The tears just kept on falling, long after the song had finished, and on through the heavy deafening silence that clouded her painfully. Because I've fallen. I've messed up.
Nathan stood on the balcony, not feeling the chilly night air. Mike was fast asleep inside the room, and Taylor, well, he didn't know where Taylor was. Part of him didn't really care, either. He looked out into the night, there was a full moon, like a silver drop of paint on an otherwise flawless black canvas. Everything was still, the night was peaceful. It would have been perfect.
He let out a deep breath. He'd never thought he would see her again. Not like this, not with so many other people around them. And certainly not with Chris Keller, his little niggling voice inside of his head said. He shut his eyes, feeling the muscles in his throat clench up. She had left him to go on tour with him, but she had also said that the only relationship that they shared was of the professional nature. She had assured him, and reassured him so many times, that he believed her. He took a deep breath. And as much as he wanted to hate her, he couldn't. Because he still believed her.
I have a life now, one with Mike, he thought. He couldn't go around making rash decisions, because it wasn't just him anymore. The birth of Mike had made him grow up. It was the two of them; it wasn't Nathan Scott anymore. It was father and son.
The way she had looked, back in the music school, had broken him. Nothing would have been easier than to stop there, slide a finger under a chin, and push her face up gently to face him. To stare into her eyes, and to brush his lips against hers. But that wasn't something he could just do anymore, because he felt like it. He had had to walk out, just like he had, for Mike, for Taylor, for Haley, and for himself. If he had stayed there any longer, in whichever way, he would have hurt any one of them. He couldn't have that. He was a father to Mike, and to a certain extent, a partner of another individual. He hated the way her gaze had faltered, the very instant she laid eyes on Taylor. Nathan knew that Taylor would be the biggest blow to Haley. He knew she would hate him, and he didn't blame her, because he hated himself too.
He heard her voice in his head, singing softly. It was one of the songs on the CD. He remembered each and every song on that disc, having listened to them every night, before falling asleep. But this one particular song stayed with him that night, out on the balcony.
Truth be told I've tried my best
But somewhere along the way
I got caught up in all there was to offer
And the cost was so much more than I could bear
Though I've tried, I've fallen
I have sunk so low
I messed up
Better I should know
So don't come round here
And tell me I told you so
"I messed up," he said, speaking to himself, speaking out into the silent night.
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