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The Moment I Saw You Cry

Chapter 19

Haley had been looking down at the water, her toes dipping in and out of the river as she sat on a large rock. She didn't even hear him coming. But sure enough, Nathan Scott appeared standing behind her, not saying anything yet. He didn't have to, he could tell she felt his presence.

Haley continued to sit there, not saying anything not because she was trying to ignore Nathan, but because she had nothing to say. Her mind was a jumble right now, thinking about everything that's happened. Thinking about what she should believe and what she shouldn't. That why she'd come down here, for some peace. However, it seemed every time she did Nathan Scott always seemed to appear. A little part of her knew he would probably end up by the Rivercourt today, and that little part of her knew she wanted to see him. She continued to get lost in her thoughts until he decided to break the silence.

"Hales."

She turned around and looked at him, saying nothing. He had been looking at her, studying her frail body. She looked so small, so vulnerable. It killed him that he was the reason for this. Even if it was just by something she ithought/i he did. Either way he hated seeing Haley like this.

"Please Haley, just talk to me," he stated, his eyes pleading with hers.

"I have nothing to say to you," she mumbled, looking down at the ground as she said it.

"What was that?"

"I said, I have nothing to say to you Nathan," she replied, her voice stern with traces of sadness. She could see the disheartenment run across his face as she said it.

"Oh," Nathan replied, continuing to gaze down at her. What had Tim done? He'd crushed Haley. iCrushed her/i. And now she was crushing him. She wouldn't look at him. She would barely talk to him. She wasn't ihis Haley/i anymore. She was now cold, and no longer had that brightness and zest he loved about her. He needed to do something, and fast. He was not going to lose Haley for something Tim did.

"I love you, you know that right?"

"Yeah, but…"

"No Hales. There are not buts about it. iI love you/i."

"I know that Nathan, but sometimes love isn't enough."

"But it is with you."

"But maybe it's not."

"Why are you doing this Haley?"

"Doing what Nathan?"

"Pushing me away."

"Because it seems that whenever I get close to you, I always end up hurt."

"But it's not my fault!"

"I know that Nathan."

"Do you? Because to me, it seems like I'm being punished for something asshole Tim did. You may have failed to notice it, but those tapes weren't exactly me at my most masculine moment. The guys on the team are going to rip on me forever, but you know what? I don't care. Because I don't regret that day, or telling you that I love you. Even if I had gone back in time, and known that Tim was going to do all this I still would have followed you outside that night. Danced with you in the rain, and then kissed you like there was no tomorrow. Do you want to know why?"

"Why?" She questioned, her eyes glazed over.

"Because I love you and as long as I have you then I don't care what other people think."

"Nathan…"

"No, I mean it Hales. I know you have your doubts about us, but we can make it work. We will make it work."

"I don't know if I can Nathan. This all happened so fast. And well, I don't know if I'm ready for all this. I thought I was, but now I don't know."

"Why are you trying to say Haley?"

"I think we should take a break Nathan. But please don't think it's because I don't love you, because I do. I truly do," she replied, watching the shock run across his face, sadness following that, and then came the last part… anger.

Nathan didn't know what to do or say to make her change her mind, so he just left, his heart now shattered into a million little pieces like her's. He couldn't stay by her any longer in fear of saying something he knew he would regret, but also because he didn't want her to see him cry.

Once he got home, Nathan thanked the gods for the fact that his mom had kicked his father out of the house and the fact that she was always away on business. He walked into the kitchen, grabbed a six-pack, and then walked upstairs, locking himself in his room.

After nursing about four of the six beers he'd brought up, Nathan finally began breaking down. No longer in a totally sober state of mind, he couldn't hold his guard up. So he sat there and cried. He just let the tears roll as he thought about the memories he and Haley shared, and even if their relationship was whirlwind experience and hadn't even been for that long, he didn't care. He loved her and being with her was what kept him sane in his messed up life. She was his reason for being a better person, not the guy who used to hang out and act like Tim.

Ah, Tim. How conveniently his name popped up once Nathan had become drunk after finished the six back and going down stairs and grabbing a couple more beers. And how convenient it was for Nathan's cell to be sitting right next to him on the bedside table. He didn't care how late it was, or the fact that everyone was probably asleep by now because there was school tomorrow, he needed to talk. And he needed to talk now. And there was only one way drunk dialing can end… bad.

"Timmmmm…" he slurred.

"Hello?"

"Tim, old buddy old pal, it's meeeee. Nathan."

"Oh, hey Nate."

"Just kidding, we're not friends you ass. Remember, you filled my girlfriend's head with lies and made her hate me?"

"Umm…"

"And guess what? You're little plan worked. We're now on a break. How wonderful. NOT. I'm just calling to tell you that the next time I see you, it won't be pretty. So stay the fuck away from me and stay the fuck away from Haley."

"Nate, I uh…"

"Shut the hell up and just go get your beauty rest. Lord knows ugly-ass girls like you need it."

"But I'm not a-" iClick/i, Nathan was through wasting his time with Tim. Instead he wasted his time by nursing a couple more beers and passing out on his bed. He knew he couldn't really afford to miss anymore days of school considering he'd skipped a lot, but he didn't care. Today was his day sleep, work of his hangover, and be an ass. Because that's what he does best when Haley isn't around.

The next day at school Haley noticed Nathan wasn't there. She was hoping to talk to him, maybe ask how he was doing. He'd looked pretty upset yesterday when she'd told him they should take a break, and she knew she was hurting right now, so she knew he was probably feeling just as bad. If only love could be enough, but alas, it seemed to Haley, that that was never the case.

By the end of the day she was worried that Nathan had never come in yet. She knew that he was on attendance probation and not coming to school was definitely not helping him. She was tempted to go over and see him after school, but she knew that was probably a bad idea, so after some coaxing she finally got Lucas to go over.

"But Hales," he pleaded, "me and Nate aren't exactly tight."

"Yeah, but you used to be. And besides, he'll know I was the one who sent you."

"Fine, I'll go."

"Thattaboy Luke!"

And that is how Lucas got here, standing in front of Nathan's house. He'd rang the bell a couple times, but no one answered so he took it upon himself to just walk in and go up to Nathan's room. And what he found was not pretty. Nathan was sitting on his bed playing NBA Live, beer bottles were scattered about, and Nathan did not look like his normally well-groomed self.

"Dude, you look like ass."

"How the hell did you get in here Luke?"

"Oh, and you act like an ass too!"

"Whatever, man. Let me guess? Haley sent you. Well, I don't want her pity visits."

"She's hurting man."

"Yeah, well, not as much as me."

"I don't know Nate. She's really torn up about all this."

"No, I mean I'm literally hurting. Pass me the trashcan… NOW." Lucas did what he was told and then waiting for Nathan to compose himself.

"Nate, you should really get out of this room. You're not looking so good."

"No I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

"Well, I am, okay? You can tell Haley that."

"Or I could tell her the truth. That you're a mess without her."

"No, you can- actually I'm not going to do this. It was Haley's choice to say that we were going to take a break, not mine. I love her, but she's says that's not enough. She doesn't get to ask how I feel or see how I am, because you know what? She already knows. She knows I'm a mess, she knows I'm miserable, and if she really cared she would have stayed with me, not cowardly break it off when things for too intense and too hard for her."

"Nate, I…"

"Luke, if you really want to help me, and then this will hopefully help Haley, then you can do something for me."

"Alright, what?"

"Come with me and set Tim straight."

"Okay…"

"I mean, we both have unfinished business with him. Me and the fact that he totally screwed me over, twice, once with well, you, and now with Haley. And you have probably been meaning to say something to him about drugging Peyton."

"Say no more I'm in man."

"Alright then let's go."

"Uh Nate…"

"Yeah?"

"You definitely need to shower and change because you look and smell like ass."

"Yeah, that'd probably be a good idea."

"And I'll just school your team in NBA Live while await."

"Not possible man, but you can try," Nathan joked as he walked out to go take a shower. Lucas sat there playing video games until Nathan was ready, then they walked out the door, got into Nathan's car and began driving to Tim's… ready to take care of some unfinished and long overdue business.

a/n: And there you have it, chapter 19! I hope you liked it. A lot of different things happened. I know this was more of a depressing chapter, but hey, you got to have some of those before more fluff comes! Leave reviews, tell me what you think, and then hopefully I can update soon! Thanks for reading:)