Chapter 11
3 months later…
"So, what do you think about going to see a movie tonight?" Nathan asked Haley as they sat together on the couch of their apartment. Of course "sat" wasn't an accurate description. Nathan was sitting on the couch and Haley was lying down with her head on a pillow that sat in his lap.
He ran his finger through her hair as he looked down at her for an answer. "That sounds nice," she said half-heartedly. Nathan sensed it and he scrunched his eyebrows as he looked at her closely. Her eyes had a faraway look to them. She was staring at the table and Nathan turned his head to see what was so fascinating. Her eyes rested on the remote to the television but she didn't seem concentrated on it. In fact, she appeared to be looking through the remote. And Nathan realized she wasn't really listening to him. He smiled mischievously.
"So, I thought we'd see the third X-Men and maybe invite Brooke and Lucas. You know, like a double date," he said. Haley nodded absentmindedly. "I also rented a hotel room for tonight so I thought we could go there afterwards and then see what happens."
"We don't have to go to a hotel room. That's just a waste of money. We could just come back here," she said, referring to her apartment.
"What?" he exclaimed. He had to bite down on his bottom lip to keep himself from bursting into hysterics. Haley shrugged.
"Well, it just seems ridiculous to go to a hotel when I have my own apartment," Haley said matter of fact. She looked up at him and noticed that his lips were pursed and she said, "Wait a minute." Haley wrinkled her brow as she went through the conversation in her mind.
"Hey," she said, as her eyes went wide with shock and she slapped him on the chest. Nathan couldn't control it anymore and he erupted into a fit of laughter as he pulled her closer and hugged her.
"That's just to show you that you should always listen to me when I'm talking. Never stare off like that," he said.
"Don't ever tease me like that again," she whined and started to get up but Nathan anchored her back down and planted a kiss on her lips.
"I'm sorry, Hales. I just couldn't help it. It was irresistible," Nathan said.
"You weren't actually serious about inviting Brooke and Lucas to come along with us, were you?" she asked. Nathan shook his head and she relaxed against him again.
"So what's on your mind?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"What has you staring off into space like that?" he asked as if it were obvious.
"It's nothing," she replied quickly. Too quickly.
"Haley," Nathan started. She looked up at him questioningly. "You can tell me anything. You know that, right?"
"Of course," Haley said.
"Then what's bothering you?" he asked. Haley's hard demeanour came down and she looked at him. Nathan felt an alarm go off in his head because he could see the fear in her eyes and he'd never seen her afraid. Even during the shooting.
"The DA called today," she replied simply, "Tim's trial is starting next week and he wants me to testify."
"Yeah," Nathan said and then he saw her panicked expression. "What's the problem?"
"The shooting happened because people started picking on Tim for who he was. People taunted him everyday and some were people who I used to think were his friends," Haley said.
"What's your point?" Nathan asked.
"Tim never did anything to me," Haley said.
"Except shoot you in the leg," Nathan reminded her. Haley rolled her eyes. "Twice."
"It wasn't like he was aiming for me," she pointed out.
"That doesn't matter, Hales. He put innocent lives in danger. One of them being yours," he said almost angrily. Haley looked at him in surprise. She didn't think he'd get so fired up. Nathan realized that his tone was rough and he softened. "You almost died that night."
"I know," Haley said.
"And Neil did die," Nathan added. Haley nodded.
"I know," she repeated, her eyes cast down.
"Then what's the problem?" Nathan asked.
"I just don't want to be responsible for ruining another person's life," Haley said.
"What are you talking about?" he asked. Haley sighed.
"About three years ago, I was placed in the home of a single father. His name was Doug Morris- he was divorced and he and his ex shared joint custody of his little girl who I would baby-sit while he was at work. He worked nights but I didn't stay there that long," Haley started.
"Uh-huh," Nathan said.
"Well, his ex, Helene- she was a piece of work. She cheated on Doug and remarried some hotshot ADA. Anyway, about two months after I left, she showed up at my new foster parents' place. She was hysterical; going on and on about how Doug was abusing their daughter the same way he abused her. She even showed me pictures that the hospital had made her take to document the abuse since she had filed a complaint with the DA and CPS. And I believed her," Haley said.
"What do you mean, you believed her?" Nathan asked.
"Well, I knew that Doug had a temper and it was one of the reasons I was pulled out of there. He had a tendency to overreact and blow things out of proportion. Like one time when I was late coming home after school to sit for Emily. I had asked one of our neighbours to take her for a few minutes but I never got a chance to explain that to him," Haley went on.
"Did he ever hit you?" Nathan asked.
"No, see that's the thing- he never laid a hand on me or Emily. Helene and her new husband made the whole thing up to get Doug out of the way and so Steve could adopt Emily. But I didn't find out about it until after the trial," Haley said.
"And you testified at his trial?" he asked. Haley nodded.
"They wanted me to talk about his temper. I thought that I was doing the right thing for Emily but it turned out I was just a pawn in Helene's twisted scheme to get Doug out of the picture," Haley said.
"So what happened when the prosecution found about it? Did they release Doug?" Nathan asked. Haley laughed bitterly.
"They didn't uncover the truth until a year ago and the DA didn't think there was enough evidence to help free him," Haley replied.
"So he's still in prison?" Nathan asked. Haley nodded.
"All because of me," Haley said. Nathan looked at her sympathetically.
"You were only doing what you thought was right. Anyone in your position would have done the same thing," Nathan said.
"But I didn't even consider Doug's side," Haley said.
"That's because you were concerned for Emily. And even if you had, you could never have been positive that he didn't abuse her," Nathan said.
"I just don't want to destroy someone…" Haley started but Nathan grabbed her hand and squeezed it.
"The situations are completely different. Tim took a loaded gun and shot up a school because people were bullying him. You can feel sorry for him all you want, Hales. That doesn't make him innocent," Nathan said.
"If Neil hadn't revealed that he was gay and people hadn't ridiculed him because of it, the shooting never would have happened," Haley pointed out.
"Probably not but the shooting did happen. And someone died because of it remember? You were an unintended victim but Neil wasn't. Tim murdered him in cold blood because Neil spilled the beans," Nathan said.
"I know you're right. I just can't help but think about what I did to Doug," Haley said.
"I understand that, Hales, but Tim is not Doug and so he does not deserve your sympathy especially since he nearly killed you in his quest for vengeance. Think about what you would've missed out on had you died," Nathan said. Haley was still with silence.
She turned to him and Nathan could see the tears in her eyes. "I'm glad you were there to get me to the hospital," she said and kissed him.