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Haley drove slowly through the streets of Tree Hill. Things looked about the way they had when she had left. There were some new shops downtown, but basically Tree Hill looked exactly as she remembered. She purposefully took the long way to Nathan's house. Pulling up in front of his parents' mansion had always intimidated Haley. She knew that today would be no different.
A shiver ran down her spine as she walked up to Nathan's door. She wanted, more than anything, to turn around and drive straight back to Lucas's arms. Haley forced herself to continue up the steps. She was talking herself into ringing the doorbell when the door flew open and Nathan collided with her, knocking her back down the steps.
"What the hell?" Nathan asked, regaining his balance and searching for the basketball that had dribbled away. Haley picked herself up from the bottom step and brushed herself off.
"Haley? What are you doing here?" Nathan asked, having finally taken notice of exactly who he had plowed into moments before.
"Um, hi. I'm sorry about that, I was about to knock and then you just kinda ran me over." Haley babbled on, unable to focus her attention on anything other than the hurt and anger in his ice blue eyes. Nathan shook his head dismissively.
"Whatever, why are you here?" He reiterated the question that Haley had been trying to ignore.
"I think we need to talk." She replied softly, dropping her head slightly. This was new territory for Haley. Until recently, she had never done anything that she had been ashamed of. She didn't have a lot of experience in hurting other people, and she certainly didn't know how to tell her husband that she was having an affair with his brother.
"I don't have anything to say to you. Why don't you call Chris? Oh, wait, I guess you guys don't get much talking done when you're lips are attached." Nathan retorted coldly as he brushed past her and continued down the walkway.
"Damnit Nathan! Why do you do this? Why do you freeze me out like this? I'm trying to apologize!" Haley yelled at Nathan's back. Nathan spun around, the anger evident on his face.
"What do you want from me? I watched you walk away from us, from our marriage. I have to see you and Keller, practically having sex, on the front page of every damn magazine. You should hear what Dan had to say about that, and you know what? I couldn't even defend you to him, because he was right!" Nathan screamed, launching the basketball that he was holding, towards the house. Haley couldn't see the window shattering through her tears, but the sound punctuated Nathan's words. Nathan shook his head, looking at her as if she were the most pathetic sight he'd ever seen, before grabbing his basketball and continuing his trek down the driveway.
"I'm sorry Nathan. I'm sorry that I left you, and I'm so sorry that I kissed Chris. I wish that I could just take the last four months back, but I can't. If I could I would never disappoint you Nathan. I never wanted to hurt you." Haley called softly, her voice cracking several times.
"You asked me why I was here. I came here today to tell you that I slept with Lucas." Haley continued her heart breaking as she said those words aloud. Before Nathan could react, she climbed back into Lucas's car and pulled away. She didn't think she could bear to see the betrayal and the hurt on Nathan's face, as her words sunk in.
She drove a few blocks away and pulled over, unable to stop the tears that poured down her cheeks. Seeing Nathan had reawakened the love that she had felt for him. These last few months she had worked to numb that part of her, but seeing Nathan, if only for a few moments, had erased all that. Haley was lost. She knew that Nathan didn't ever want to see her again, and she didn't know how she was going to face Lucas, knowing that she still loved Nathan so very much. Haley needed some time to think. She needed a shoulder to cry on. Wiping her tears, she pulled back onto the road and drove the familiar path to Peyton's house.