Chapter 8
Wednesday night (4 days after Haley's surgery)...
Haley got out of the cab and knocked on Nathan's front door. A few minutes passed until she finally heard a girl giggling and a guy talking somewhat incoherently through the door and she saw a hand reach out and touch the window pane. The door opened and Haley sighed as she saw Lucas Scott and Brooke Davis.
"What are you doing here?" Lucas asked. It was obvious that he and Brooke had been "busy" by the annoyed tone of his voice.
"Is Nathan home?" Haley asked kindly, ignoring the feeling of putting the jerk in his place. Brooke looked her over and smirked.
"What do you want to see him for?" she asked. If Haley didn't know better, she could've sworn that by the look in Brooke's eyes that she was jealous.
"That's for me to know. Is he here?" Haley replied.
"Hold on a sec," Lucas said. He walked back inside and upstairs to Nathan's room. He tapped on the door. Nathan rolled his eyes at the familiar sound of his brother's annoying little knock.
"Go away, Luke. I'm really not in the mood to argue with you right now," Nathan called through the door. The door opened and Nathan put his magazine down and glared at his brother in annoyance.
"Normally, I would try to change your mind on that but there's someone at the door for you and I don't think it's polite to argue in front of company," Lucas said.
Nathan's eyes clouded with confusion. "Who?" he asked.
"Haley," Lucas replied.
"Seriously?" Nathan asked, his voice giving off a little hint of the excitement he was feeling. Lucas raised his eyebrows at him.
"No, I'm lying to get you out of your room," Lucas replied sarcastically as he led the way downstairs. Nathan went to the door and smiled at Haley. He turned around and glared at Brooke and Lucas who took the opportunity and disappeared.
"Come on in," Nathan said, opening the door as Haley came inside.
"Thanks. I was beginning to wonder if Brooke and Lucas wanted to me to freeze my ass off out there," Haley said.
"Where are your crutches?" Nathan asked, suddenly noticing their absence.
"Oh, you noticed," Haley said with a light chuckle at the expression on his face. She gestured to her knee which was now covered with a cast from the foot to the top of her knee. "They gave me a walking cast so no more crutches for me."
"That's great. But do you have to sleep in that thing?" Nathan asked. Haley's nose wrinkled at the thought.
"No, it's Velcro. They have me wrapped in some sort of material underneath it so I can take the cast off at night and when I shower, etc. They taught me how to wrap it again and even gave me the materials," Haley said as they headed into the living room, avoiding walking into the kitchen.
"That's great news. You were a calamity with those crutches. Always falling," Nathan said, smiling at the indignant look that crossed her face. Then she looked around the house and whistled.
"So is this the weekend house?" Haley joked. Nathan rolled his eyes.
"It's pretty big," Nathan said.
"Humongous. This place could fit like three of my apartment in it," she said, sitting down on one of the EZ chairs.
"None of your foster parents lived lives of luxury?" Nathan asked, sitting down on the couch. Haley stopped to think for a minute.
"Actually, one of them did," Haley replied.
"And?" Nathan asked.
"I was gone within three weeks. Apparently a girl from the south side of town cramped their style," Haley replied.
"Sorry," he said. Haley smirked.
"Do I look like I'm losing sleep over it? If you want to feel sorry for someone, feel sorry for their real kid," Haley said.
"They had a kid of their own," Nathan said slowly.
"A son named Devon. He's about… Damn, he's got to be about thirteen now!" Haley exclaimed in disbelief.
"I take it you bonded," Nathan said.
"Sure. He was nice. Lord knows where he got that from," she commented. A door opened and Nathan heard his father's voice.
"Hello?" Keith Scott's voice rang out through the house.
"Hey, dad," Nathan called from the living room. His large footsteps headed down the hall and in a few seconds, he was in the room with them.
"Nathan. Oh, hello," Keith said, his gaze immediately falling upon the stranger in the house.
"Dad, this is Haley," Nathan said. Keith's widened his eyes in recognition.
"You mean the girl that you brought to the hospital?" he asked. Haley got up and leaned on her good leg.
"That's me. Though nowadays, I go by Haley James," she replied. Keith chuckled and shook her outstretched hand.
"A girl with a sense of humour," Keith commented looking at Nathan in approval. Nathan turned his head away to hide his blush from Haley. Then, his mom poked her out of the kitchen.
"Dinner's almost ready. Nathan, is your friend staying for dinner?" Karen Scott asked. Nathan looked at Haley questioningly and almost pleadingly. Haley smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, Mom," Nathan replied. Karen said she'd set another place.
"Thanks, Mrs. Scott," Haley called.
"So you're actually going to eat with the rest of us?" Lucas asked as he and Brooke came down the stairs, through the living room and entered the dining room.
"I was thinking about it," Nathan said and then shifting his weight. Haley came over, slipped her hand in his and folded it over his and tightened her grasp. It was a silent promise that she would be there for him. He smiled down at her and helped her into the kitchen, even pulling out her chair for him.
"And they say chivalry is dead," Haley teased. Nathan glared down at her.
"Just saving the silverware. If you tried to get into your own chair with your leg, you'd probably trip and bring the dishes and glasses crashing down on top of you," Nathan joked. The others laughed, including Haley, but not before glaring at him.
"You know, they say that lack of coordination is hereditary," Brooke commented. Haley looked at her. "Are the people in your family uncoordinated?" Nathan shot an annoyed glare in her direction.
"I don't know," Haley replied stiffly.
"How could you not know?" Karen asked in confusion. Haley looked at Nathan helplessly.
"What is your problem, Brooke?" Nathan asked, glaring at his ex-girlfriend. Brooke shrugged innocently.
"I'm only trying to make conversation. Not all of us have the inside scoop on Haley or advantages that the rest of us do," Brooke replied.
"What are you talking about?" Nathan demanded.
"I think you know," Brooke replied. She glanced at Haley and then at Nathan. Then she looked down further, appearing to look at the food on the table but was really looking at something else, and brought her eyes back and raised a suggestive eyebrow at Nathan. He got up from the table, grabbed Brooke by the wrist and led her out into the hall.
"Do you have a problem with Haley?" Nathan asked.
"No problem with her," Brooke replied.
"Then why are you trying to hurt her in front of my parents just because you think she and I slept together?" Nathan asked. Brooke's eyes widened at the admission.
"So you have slept with her?" Brooke asked. Nathan rolled his eyes.
"Not that it's any of your business, but, no we haven't. And even if we did, what's it to you?" Nathan asked.
Brooke didn't answer for a minute. "You seem to be moving on from me pretty quickly," she replied. Nathan laughed at her.
"Are you kidding me? You cheated on me with my own brother and now you're pissed at me because I'm moving on?" Nathan asked.
"I wasn't the one that ended our relationship, Nathan. You broke up with me," Brooke retorted.
"Unbelievable!" Nathan exclaimed, raising his arms in a gesture. Then he turned back to her and his face grew serious. "That was the only choice to make, Brooke. I couldn't be with you after you betrayed me like that. I can't be with you if I can't trust you." Brooke's face visibly changed to hurt as he threw her own words back at her.
One time at the beginning of their relationship, before Nathan had become the good guy that stood before her, he had cheated on her. Then when she caught them together, he begged for her forgiveness and instead she broke up with him giving him the same explanation.
"Besides, on the time capsule, you said that you loved Lucas. Are you telling me that you don't?" Nathan asked.
"No. I do love Lucas," she replied.
"Then what's the problem?" Nathan asked, shrugging.
"It's going to take a while before I get used to seeing you with other girls, Nathan," Brooke said and she knew it sounded ridiculous given the fact that she was the one who cheated on him. Nathan nodded.
"I understand that. It wasn't easy for me to see you and Lucas together," he said.
"And now it is?" Brooke asked, looking at him in confusion. He looked at her. "Do you forgive us?"
Nathan sighed heavily. "I won't say that I forgive you because it's just too soon to go that far. I'll say that I understand what it's like to want something that seems near impossible to have," he said, looking away. Brooke followed his gaze into the kitchen.
"Like Haley, perhaps?" she asked. Nathan nodded slowly.
"I like her," Nathan said. Brooke swallowed hard but listened. "I like her a lot but it doesn't matter. She doesn't see me as anything more than a friend." Brooke looked back at Haley's smiling face as Mrs. Scott was telling a story.
"Maybe," Brooke said. Nathan looked at her in confusion. "Haley strikes me as vulnerable and because of that, she's pretty guarded around people. From what Neil said about her in his capsule, she's had a pretty tough life."
"From what she's said, she has," Nathan said.
"So it's hard for her to trust new people. Give her some time. Then, maybe you'll be able to tell if she likes you too. I don't know about the way you like her, but I can tell that she trusts you," Brooke said.
◊◊◊
A week later…
"Come on, Nathan," Haley said as they walked into her apartment. They had just come back from a day at the river court. It turned out that Haley actually knew at thing or two about basketball. She wasn't the best player, especially given her damaged knee. She could at least make a basket or two. So they had played a friendly game of 21.
Haley had stood in one spot the whole time since she was still in a cast and couldn't do any running, and they took turns throwing the ball into the basket. Nathan had won, of course, but Haley had at least gotten 19 baskets.
"Thanks for hanging out with me," he said. Haley smiled.
"No problem. Thanks for getting the ball when I threw it in the river," Haley said and laughed at the annoyed look that crossed his face.
"Where did you learn to shoot a basket?" Nathan asked.
"Whitey taught me," Haley replied. Nathan nodded in understanding.
"Didn't try to get you to actually play the game properly?" Nathan asked.
"Once or twice. I suck at the actual game and I hated it. I've always loved 21 because all I have to do is stand and shoot," Haley said.
"No pond or anything at Whitey's I hope," Nathan said. Haley just started laughing hysterically as she limped over to the table and leaned against it. Nathan looked at her for a second. She caught him staring and widened her eyes.
"What?" she asked. Nathan snapped back to life and swallowed his insecurity.
"I'm going to do something that's probably going to seem pretty presumptuous," Nathan said as he closed the distance between them.
"What are you talking about…?" Haley started to ask but she was silenced by his lips pressing against hers.