"The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart."

– Helen Keller

A/N: All except Rachel & Clay are 20 in this chapter. Rachel is 24 and Clay is still 22. Oh, and this chapter will be shorter than the normal ones due to the cliff-hanger at the end. Thank you all for the reviews.

Enjoy!

Chapter 13

January 25, 2007

Haley was just about ready to meet Brooke for lunch when the doorbell rang. She was pretty surprised, considering she wasn't expecting any company.

She opened up the door, groaning when she saw her ex-fiancé.

"What do you want, Clay?" she asked without any patience.

"I just wanted to know what you thought about the offer," he said persistently.

Haley sighed. "The answer is no, no, no, hell no. I'm not going to have a child with you! If you want one so much, why don't you adopt? Or find someone who's willing to have a kid with you? I don't know. Clay, I don't want to have a child with you. Yes, I got pregnant, but that doesn't mean I want to have another kid with you," she insisted.

"So what? Now you're scared to get pregnant? You need to face a fear."

"No, I'm not. I just don't want your child," she said bluntly. "And being pregnant is not like lightning—you're not going to get over that fear by being pregnant," she responded as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Haley—"

"No, Clay, you really need to leave me alone. I'm not interested in whatever you're selling."

"Selling? When did this turn into a business transaction?"

"I don't know. When did everything in your life turn into a business transaction?" she asked sharply. "Aren't you forgetting that that's when we started falling apart in the first place?"

He thought about it. Haley abruptly pushed him out the door and locked it behind him.

Rachel walked into Peyton's apartment, finding it seemingly empty except for the little girl who was sitting on the floor, playing with some colourful building blocks.

"Hello?" she asked, confused.

Peyton stepped out of her bedroom, fixing a long chain earring in her ear. She smiled at Rachel.

"Hey. Thank you so much for taking care of Anna while I'm on this date. I just don't feel like I've seen Jake one-on-one in…forever," Peyton explained with a laugh.

"Don't mention it. Both of you deserve it. You guys are doing such a great job raising Anna. You deserve a night out," Rachel replied with a smile. Anna looked over at the sound of her name. She began crawling towards Peyton.

Peyton bent down and picked her up. "I'll see you later, Anna," she said before kissing the little girl on the cheek. "I love you!" Peyton said.

Anna smiled at Peyton before Peyton handed her off to Rachel.

"You've taken care of Anna before, so you know where her stuff is and the numbers and everything. I'll be back later," she added but didn't move from her spot.

"Peyton, you're going to be late! I've got Anna; I promise. We'll be fine," Rachel insisted.

Peyton gave a sad smile. "Okay. I just don't want to—"

"Go, Peyton!"

Haley sighed as Brooke pushed back a piece of her best friend's hair. Lucas quickly came over with water for the two of them.

"What happened, Hales?" Brooke asked, her voice sodden with concern.

Haley sighed once more. "I don't know what to say about it…Clay wants to have a baby."

Lucas and Brooke's eyes nearly popped out of their heads. "With you? Is he out of his freaking mind?"

"That's what I said," Haley replied.

"If he wants to have a baby, he could use a surrogate or adopt or get an egg donor or…I don't know…use Lindsey or something. Why would he ask you that?" Brooke inquired.

"Maybe he thinks that it's subtly asking me if I'll break up with Nathan and choose him instead," Haley speculated.

Lucas finally spoke. "You already chose Nathan over him. What makes him think that you'll suddenly change your mind?"

"I don't know. He's always been a little…arrogant," she explained.

Brooke put her hand protectively on Haley's. "We'll all always be here for you," she reminded her.

Haley smiled slightly. "I know, Brooke."

"Are you going to tell Nathan about all of this?" Lucas inquired nervously. He had both of their interests at heart. Over time, he had grown to truly love Haley, and Nathan was his brother.

Haley bit her lip nervously. "I want to, but…I almost feel like I can't now. He didn't even tell me about Lindsey. It makes me wonder if he realizes how deep we're in this relationship. I thought we told each other everything, but…I guess not…"

"Hales, don't say that. You and Nathan both love each other a lot. He was just scared. Believe me. I know this, as a guy…he made a mistake," Lucas said defensively over Nathan.

Haley contemplated this for a moment.

Peyton and Jake both walked alongside the dark Tree Hill streets.

"Where are we going?" Peyton asked impatiently.

"I told you it's a secret," he insisted.

She sighed. "I know, but the suspense is killing me here, Jake. Wait a minute, you're not bringing me to the woods to kill me, are you?" she inquired, only half-kidding.

"You're so morbid sometimes," Jake answered dismissively.

She laughed in response. They continued their slow walk down the dark block until they reached a grassy little space overlooking the water. It wasn't really a beach, but more like a riverbank. The mouth of the river poured out into the ocean, and skimming the ocean was the moon, which glowed a pretty bluish-white colour, glowing in the dark, star-splattered sky. The reflection of the moon rippled in the water, and the light stretched all down the river.

"Wow. This is beautiful. How did you know how gorgeous this would look?" she asked, still in awe at the beauty of the scene. "I wish I had my camera…" she commented absentmindedly.

"We could just sit down and stargaze?" Jake suggested hopefully.

Peyton smiled and nodded. She took his hand. "I like that idea."

They lay down on the grass. Jake loved that Peyton didn't really care about her hair or dress or anything like that; she was simple in those regards.

In his pocket, he picked out a particular object. He looked at it in his hand, examining the emerald-cut solitaire paved sparkling stone. The moonlight caught it beautifully, making it glisten brightly. He looked at Peyton's hand, which was in his. Absentmindedly, he placed the ring on Peyton's ring finger. Peyton finally figured out what he was doing.

She sat up abruptly, examining her finger. She was unsure about what he was trying to do.

"Jake…?" she inquired softly, hoping to get an explanation.

"Do you like it?" he asked simply.

Still confused, she nodded. "Yes, but…what is this?"

"An engagement ring," he answered plainly.

She sat, her mouth agape. "What are you trying to say?" she inquired nervously.

"I'm trying to say that it fits perfectly, and it's up to you if you want to keep it. We're pretty much already a family. Why not just make it official?" he asked. Though he seemed too nonchalant about all of this, he was just as nervous as any other guy, worried that she might reject him. But he had a lot more to lose.

Every passing moment of silence made him grow more and more nervous.

"It fits perfectly…" she commented, not really giving him an answer. "And it's beautiful."

He studied her, trying to read her expression. "So will you marry me, Peyton? I know this isn't how things usually happen; you're supposed to date, then get engaged and get married, and then have a kid. But I guess we're different," he said. They both knew it was just idle talk, stalling for time.

"I guess we are different; we had a kid, then started dating, then got engaged and married, and hopefully will have another child or two," she responded with ease.

At first, he didn't realize what she had just said. Suddenly, he realized what she just implied. "Is that a yes?" he inquired hopefully.

She nodded before she kissed him.

It wasn't a typical engagement, either, but like the rest of their relationship, neither of them would change a single thing about it.

Haley woke up with a groggy feeling. The grogginess was soon wiped away when she smelt coffee wafting throughout the apartment.

She looked over and saw Nathan already drinking coffee, with a second cup beside him. He handed it over to her when she walked over.

She smiled at him, kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you," she answered.

"What are you doing today?" he asked.

She thought about it. "I'm going to teach a few classes and then I'm going to see Rachel, Brooke, and Peyton. Peyton really wanted to see us. She didn't say why, though. She just sounded really excited over the phone," she explained.

He nodded. He had been thinking about what he was going to do all day, and he had a very good idea of who was going to help him with this task.

"I'd better go get ready," she said, breaking him out of his daydream before they kissed each other softly in the lips.

He became very excited in his own thoughts once he saw her leave the room.

"What big thing are you planning?" she asked impatiently.

"Can you calm down for five seconds? I'll show you in a minute, but I have to get it out of the safe deposit box. Just wait here for me, okay? And then I'll show you," he explained.

She sighed, agitated. She waited outside, examining her nails and cuticles as he went into the safety deposit box room.

Another five minutes later, he came back out, holding the object he had searched for. She began to get very excited, hardly being able to wait when he held the object away, taunting her.

"Show me, show me, show me, show me!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down from excitement.

He finally showed her.

She looked at the object in amazement, her green eyes sparkling, filling with some kind of admiration.

"She's going to love it, Nathan."

When Haley arrived at the café, Rachel and Peyton were already talking at a table near the window. Peyton brightened when she saw Haley walk up to the table. She immediately got up to hug Haley and greet her, as did Rachel.

"Hey, guys," she said to both of them as she sat down across from Peyton, next to Rachel. "Where is Anna today?" she asked curiously, making conversation.

"She's having a day with her daddy," Peyton explained. Rachel and Haley both nodded.

"So what did you want to say to us?" Rachel asked finally.

Peyton bit her lip. "I want to wait until Brooke gets here. I want to tell you all together," she said before taking a sip of lemon water.

Rachel rolled her eyes slightly. Still, she played along, turning to interrogate Haley. "So, what's up with you, Hales?" she asked curiously. She wondered if Nathan had said anything about Lindsey, but she suddenly realized that Haley might not say anything with Peyton right there.

Haley shrugged. "Not much," she lied. It was a big, fat lie, too. Things with her life were certainly far from calm.

Peyton tapped her fingernails on the plastic glass when she saw Brooke walk into the café. She began to get excited when the blonde finally spotted them and started walking over.

"You sounded so excited on the phone!" Brooke exclaimed when she spotted Peyton and sat down. She finally took notice of Haley and Rachel. "Hey, guys," she greeted. "So what did you want to tell us all?"

Peyton smiled, taking a deep breath. "I'm really excited to tell you guys, and I hope you'll all be happy for me," she said. She sighed, looking down, under the table at something before she spoke again. "I just wanted you, girls, to be the first to know that Jake proposed to me, and we're getting married," she said.

Brooke, Haley, and Rachel all smiled at Peyton, who proudly showed them the ring. Brooke's mouth dropped open when she saw it.

"Oh, my God. P. Sawyer! This ring is gorgeous! It's not big, but man, is it beautiful," she commented. She took it off of Peyton's finger, examining it meticulously. "This ring is beautiful. It's a platinum precise band with a one and a half-carat emerald-cut stone, with a pave setting. It's Internally Flawless, and colourless. The clarity is amazing. This is a beautiful ring, Peyton, and you'd better take good care of it, or you will be hearing from me," Brooke warned as she handed the ring back to Peyton, who put it back on her own hand quickly.

"Thanks, Brooke," Peyton said sharply. Brooke shrugged.

Haley, on the other hand, was a little bit unbelieving of the news. "I can't believe it; you're getting married," she said.

Peyton nodded. "And Haley? I wanted to ask you if you would be my maid of honour."

Brooke averted her eyes from girl to girl, excitedly. She was waiting for Haley to say yes. Rachel also watched anxiously.

Haley simply nodded. Peyton got up to hug her.

"Thank you so much. This is going to be great," Peyton said to her.

Haley nodded numbly, wondering what she got herself into. Sure, it would be fun, but was she really ready to deal with all the stress?

Rachel walked into the bar, spotting, Lucas, and Nathan already there. She had left-right from her meeting with Peyton, Brooke, and Haley and come right to the bar.

Rachel went to greet Lucas and Nathan.

"Did you know that Peyton got engaged?" she asked, taking a spot in between Nathan and Lucas.

Rachel looked at Nathan and Lucas expectantly, looking for a surprised look or shock from one of them.

"Jake told us yesterday," Lucas answered nonchalantly.

She finally looked over at Nathan. "Nathan wanted to tell us something. Nathan?"

He sighed. He was sort of dreading announcing this, worried about the response his idea would get. Finally, he just got out with it.

"I was thinking of proposing to Haley," he said.

There was silence, the only noise being the irrelevant one coming from the chatter of the people around them.

Finally, Lucas spoke. "Really? That's great," he said noncommittally.

"I'm happy for you, Nathan. Do you think she'll say yes?" Rachel asked.

Nathan thought about it for a minute. "I hope so…" he trailed off.

"Wow…everybody is making me look bad. I mean, Jake's proposing to Peyton and…Nathan is proposing to Haley…" Lucas began.

Nathan looked down at his lap. Rachel didn't look over at him but touched the drink before her.

"What ring did you get?" Rachel asked quietly.

Nathan looked up at her. "What?" he inquired, a little shocked by her very unenthusiastic reaction.

"What ring did you get?" she repeated.

He furrowed his eyebrows at her, wondering where this was going. He fished a box out of his jacket pocket, handing it to Nathan.

Rachel took it very gingerly. She looked at the red velvet box and let out a sigh of relief—this was a good start. Holding her breath, she opened up the box, spotting the beautiful antique ring she was hoping to see. It was more gorgeous than she remembered, with a flawless 18-carat white gold band and a beautiful marquise-cut diamond fixed in the center of the ring, with a pave setting. Rachel took this all in as she stared at it. She smiled.

"I think she'll like it, and I can't believe her not saying yes," she responded softly, closing the box and handing it back to Nathan.

Nathan smiled, relieved. Rachel smiled at him reassuringly, hoping to ease Nathan's nerves.

Haley sighed, hoping to calm down and finally fall asleep. Right after her meeting with the girls, she had come home, taken a shower, and tried to go to sleep.

Yes, she was very happy for Peyton and Jake.

Yes, she was under an unbelievable amount of stress right now.

Yes, she was undeniably in love with Nathan.

Yes, she was starting to believe all the things Lindsey was whispering in her ear.

For so long, she had said to herself softly that he was too good to be true. Of course, this statement was swept under the rug. She never thought much of it until Lindsey brought it to her attention. She never really believed that he was too good to be true.

Or did she? Maybe she had been stuck inside a fool's paradise for so long that she didn't realize it was all too good to be true.

But why? What was it that he could've been hiding? What was so horrible that it compromised the integrity of their entire relationship?

Haley didn't want to push. She already knew that ignorance was bliss. What if Lindsey knew a lot more about Nathan than she was letting on?

Haley sighed dismissively, turning onto her side. She realized suddenly that Lindsey could've been making all of this up to drive Haley away; she would finally have Nathan—all alone and heartbroken—to herself. Haley wasn't about to let that happen. She wouldn't dismiss this relationship without a solid fight.

Dismiss? Was it really coming to this? She wanted things to go back to the way they were. She wanted to have that same beautiful, perfect relationship she had with Nathan in the beginning. She didn't want to give up on their relationship because she loved him, so, so much.

"That was your mom's ring, wasn't it?" Rachel asked as Nathan pulled up to her house.

Nathan looked over at her as he put the car into park.

"How did you know?" he asked quietly.

Rachel smiled at him, unsurprised by his naïveté. "I remember you telling me about it one day, a really long time ago, when you first inherited the ring…after she died," she explained, melancholy lacing her voice. "You read me the letter that she wrote with it, remember? That she wanted you to give it to that one girl who you wanted to love the rest of your life?" she reminded him.

He nodded, biting his lip and holding back tears as he thought of his mom.

"I know that your mom would've loved Haley, Nathan. You shouldn't be nervous. I'm sure she'll say yes," she added softly.

"You never even met my mom," he said with a small laugh.

"The greatest reflection off a person is their child, and you're amazing, so I'm sure she was, too."

She looked over at her house. The light in her living room shut off, and Rachel decided that it was time to go inside. She turned back to Nathan, kissing him on the cheek.

"Haley will say yes. I know it. She's smart, and she'll see that rejecting you would be the biggest mistake she could ever make," Rachel said to him before she exited the car.

Nathan thought about this more, thinking about the ring again. This pending proposal was getting him more and more nervous by the second.

Haley sat up abruptly, startled by something in her mind. She looked over her shoulder to see Nathan lying there, fast asleep. She touched his arm absentmindedly, smiling at his peaceful state as he slept.

She got up, walking into the kitchen and pouring herself a glass of water. She looked around the room, thinking about how much things had changed over a few months.

She looked at the dining room table, thinking of the first time she had been over his apartment after they started dating, about a month into their relationship.

Both of them were sitting at the dining room table in his apartment. Neither of them had said much since they had gotten to his apartment. Nathan watched Haley as she drew swirls on the table with her finger. He touched her wandering hand, making her shiver slightly at his touch.

"Nathan?" she asked, her voice shaky.

He looked at her expectantly as he took her hand.

"What are you doing?"

He shrugged. "I just wanted to…touch you, I guess," he explained.

Something about that explanation made her grow a little weak. She kissed him softly on the lips and he continued to play with her hands.

Haley walked over to the table, touching the spot where she was sitting. She looked over to the doorway. She recalled with a certain fondness another time that felt very significant in their relationship, which occurred around three months in.

Haley felt a little saddened as her lips finally had to part from his. She glanced over at the clock, which reminded her it was time to go.

"I hate that I have to leave so soon," she said as she glanced at the clock for the fifth time in the last fifteen minutes.

He nuzzled into her neck and she laughed. "Stop it!" she scolded through her laughter.

"I don't like you leaving any more than you do," he told her. He looked at her lovingly for a few seconds. "Will you come back later?" he pleaded.

Looking at him, she couldn't even fathom saying no. "Of course, I will. I'll come back after my classes are out," she promised him.

He smiled at her. "I love you," he blurted out.

Haley looked at him in confusion, registering what he said.

A red colour set into his cheeks. "Haley, I'm sorry if—"

"I love you, too."

He looked at her, surprised. Haley just smiled at him before kissing him once more and leaving the apartment.

Haley smiled as she traced her fingers absentmindedly through the little indentations and notches in the doorpost. There were so many good memories here.

Good memories. Their relationship was beautiful. Why, again, was she falling for what Lindsey was whispering in her ear?

She abandoned the glass of water on the counter, going back into the bedroom, curing up against Nathan.

"Haley is unsuspecting, right?" Rachel asked as she placed the bouquet of tuberoses on the counter in the kitchen.

"She shouldn't be. She said she was meeting up with Peyton," Nathan replied.

Rachel nodded as she moved the tuberoses to get a better view of them. "How exactly are you planning on asking her?" she inquired.

"I don't know yet. I want to make it a big romantic gesture that she'll really appreciate, but I don't want it to be too cheesy. How did Dean propose to you?" he asked, hoping for some inspiration.

"Don't do what Dean did for me. It was a nice attempt, but he almost killed me."

Nathan furrowed his eyebrows. "Killed you? How?"

"He thought it would be really cute and unique if he put the ring in our dessert that night. I almost choked on it and there was chocolate cheesecake stuck in the little tiny crevices of the ring for like, a week," she explained.

He nodded. "Well, I'd like for her to survive the proposal, so I'm pretty sure I won't be doing something like that," he commented.

She nodded. "That's probably a good choice," she replied.

A minute later, Brooke walked through the front door of the apartment. She tossed her keys down on the counter.

"So have you decided how you're going to pop the question?" Brooke asked suddenly.

"How do you know this Brooke? and it's nice to see you, too." Nathan answered.

"Rachel blabbed it to me last night when we caught up for drinks. She was really drunk," Brooke quipped.

"He hasn't decided. I gave him my proposal horror story and he doesn't have any good ideas," Rachel replied.

Brooke nodded, looking around the apartment. "Where did the future Mrs. Scott go?" she asked, teasing Nathan.

"She went to hang out with Peyton and Anna," Nathan answered, trying to conceal the blush Brooke brought to his cheeks. Rachel let out a muffled laugh at his discomfort.

"No, she didn't. I saw Peyton with Anna in an hour ago. They weren't with Haley," Brooke explained, ignoring Rachel.

"What?"

"Why would she lie about where she was going?" Rachel asked.

Haley took a sip of water as she let out an anxious sigh. She had only been waiting for five minutes, but it felt like a lifetime.

She finally heard a bag being tossed onto the booth across from her. She looked up and saw the dirty blonde whose words had been echoing in her mind for days.

"I have to admit, I was kind of surprised to hear from you, Haley," she said, the words rolling off her perfect pink cupid-bow lips easily.

Haley tried not to let her guard down too much around Lindsey. "What you said made me pretty concerned."

"You still remember?" she asked, genuinely surprised.

Haley felt the slightest bit of colour rise to her cheeks. "Drunk or not, things you said gave me thoughts I won't forget," she insisted.

Lindsey became a little tense. "Like what?" she inquired cautiously.

Haley shrugged nonchalantly, trying to hide how genuinely scared she was for the status of her relationship right then. "I just think it's really weird. One minute you tell him you love him, and the next you're trying to convince me of how unhealthy this relationship must be," she said.

Lindsey sighed. "Haley, I was dating Nathan for a lot longer than you have. I think I know him a little better," she said.

"But you were never serious!" Haley interjected.

"It was…more serious than I let on. I thought I told you. He wanted to propose to me," she said, a tone in her voice conveying that she was truly saddened he never got the chance to.

"You did. But you said you weren't serious enough in this relationship."

Lindsey was silent. Haley sat, waiting for a response.

Finally, her perfect lips parted to give a reply. "That may have been a lie."

Haley knitted her eyebrows together. "What do you mean?" she inquired suspiciously.

Lindsey bit her lip, looking down at her hands. "I may not have told you about how serious I was about Nathan. I didn't see us as just a casual thing like I told you and your friends."

Haley waited for more. She wished she hadn't heard it when Lindsey finally got out with it.

"I may have been trying to get pregnant."

Haley walked in, feeling very dizzy from her meeting with Lindsey. She made a beeline for the kitchen and immediately poured a glass of water for herself, taking it quickly. She felt very nauseous all of a sudden.

She hadn't even noticed whether or not anyone else was home. She didn't even take notice of whether or not Nathan's keys were on the counter. She just gulped another glass of water.

A moment after she set the glass down in the sink, Nathan walked out into the room. Haley looked up and saw him.

"Hey. Are you okay? You look kind of out of it, Hales," he said, touching her hand.

She took her hand back quickly. "I'm fine," she answered shortly.

He looked at her for a moment before letting go of it. He shook his head, shaking it off. "So do you want to do something tonight?" he asked sweetly.

She sighed, thinking about it. Finally, she came up with a verdict. "I would love to."

He let out a small sigh of relief. He was counting on her to say yes.

"Tonight was great," Nathan said as they walked back into their apartment.

She nodded in agreement. It was almost too great.

Before she could get too caught up in her thoughts, Haley's phone rang. She dug into her bag, fishing out her phone and she saw a new message from Clay.

Her stomach did a somersault as she thought about what he probably wanted.

Oh, God, she was about to be sick again.

"Nathan?" she said, calling his attention.

"Yes?"

"Um…I'll be right back. Can you just give me a minute?" she asked.

He nodded with a small smile before pecking her on the lips. "Sure. But I'll be waiting," he told her playfully.

She let a small smile lay on her lips before she walked into their bedroom. She made her way into the closet, turning on the light. She dialled a number quickly on her phone.

"Listen to me. You need to back off. The answer is no. I'm not changing my mind, and you can't convince me otherwise. Stop calling, stop texting, and stop trying to be in my life anymore. I want nothing to do with you," she said fiercely into the phone before hanging up. She had had it with him. This secret was taking such a toll on her mentally.

After taking off her heels and letting her hair down, Haley walked back into the room, where Nathan was waiting for her. She took notice of the flowers sitting on the table.

"Were those always there?" she asked wearily.

"Yeah. You didn't notice them?" he inquired.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry. My head has just been bothering me lately." Understatement of the century.

He nodded before taking her hands. "Haley, we really need to talk about something."

There was a small knot of nervousness growing in her stomach. She felt sick to her stomach once more. "What is it?" she asked nervously.

He pushed some hair back behind her ear very carefully. "We need to talk about us. I had been thinking about asking you, but these last few weeks have really…solidified my ideas."

She raised an eyebrow in question. "Solidified?"

He nodded. "I just wanted to know…what are you doing for the rest of your life?" he asked.

Haley furrowed her eyebrows.

Before she knew it, her boyfriend was down on one knee before her. Her mouth just hung open. She couldn't believe this was actually happening.

"So I wanted to know…will you marry me?" he asked.

A flood of emotions came to Haley in that very instant. Did she say yes? Did she say no? Could she really say yes with this secret weighing heavy on her conscience? If she said no, would this be the end of things as they knew them?

And then, something else came. That same sickening, menacing feeling twisting in her stomach. She ran to the bathroom, before spilling out her guts.

The proverbial butterflies in the stomach had turned into birds, flapping their wings until the pressure turned out to be too much.

First off, I must apologize for this uneventful chapter, but there you have it. Peyton's getting married! so that should be eventful. How do you guys feel about the impending Naley proposal? will Haley say yes?.

Okay, I need to clarify something very quickly before I proceed in responding to reviewers. When Lindsey says that she was trying to get pregnant, she was doing this WITHOUT Nathan's knowledge and WITHOUT his consent. She was doing it sneakily. Like, have you ever heard of women who basically trick their boyfriends into getting them pregnant by sabotaging their own means of birth control, like not taking birth control pills and blah blah blah? Yeah, that was what Lindsey was basically doing. Moving on.

You all hate me. I know it. This hate will only be further fueled when I tell you (right now) that I think I might need like a week to compose myself because I have a lot to do. I have to write for my other project, plan my boyfriend's surprise party, as well as, help with my sister's wedding and having to deal with a bunch of work stuff this already seems like a lot. So next time I update probably won't be for about a week or so. I do apologize in advance!

thibbs65: Thank you! I agree Haley does need to lay off the alcohol and go be a mother to Jamie. Haley never told Clay about her pregnancy because she was afraid lol. I do agree I know it's frustrating that they aren't communicating about the big issues in their relationship and just overlooking it, but I promise within the next couple of chapters there will be clarity on this situation and they will have a discussion about their relationship. Like you mentioned, if you have no trust and honesty you have nothing, and I agree wholeheartedly. Trust and honesty are the two big factor in making a relationship work longterm anyway. Rachel won't be going anywhere trust me. As far as her relationships with the girls and Nathan goes everything will be fine. For someone as smart and clever as Haley, you would think she would have precaution then allowing her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend buy her drinks especially if Lindsey has some sort of motive. As much as I would love to see Naley and Lucas bond with Jamie, it's just not the right time to introduce him into these past sequence chapters as the development of their relationships are more superior, however, we will see a ton of Jamie in the present-day chapters, check for that in about ten chapters or so.

Guest: Thank you! You might be on to something. I won't be so trusting of Lindsey her motives. I think she has some sort of agenda and is using Haley as her pawn right now considering she's in a vulnerable state, but we'll see. I would stay clear of her, but considering how many times people come between Naley they only come out stronger so we'll see!

naley12: thank you!

dianehermans: You'll just have to read to find out.

Thanks for reading! Until next time! ~Sidney