A/N: Thank you all for the awesome reviews and thanks to my beta: Leeese.
Chapter Twenty Seven
After a long embrace, Nathan and Haley finally pulled away from each other and Haley acknowledged the other guests. Peyton then saw that her friend had arrived and came over to them. She gave her a wide smile as she embraced her in a hug. "Haley, I'm so glad you are here. We weren't sure you would be able to make it with you getting ready to move and all."
Nathan frowned. "Move? You're moving? Where?"
Haley didn't have a chance to answer him as Victoria handed Ryan over to his godmother. She wasn't expecting that, but couldn't let go of the little boy once she had him in her arms. Peyton then wanted to take pictures of Ryan and his godparents. Nathan did his best to try and act cheerful, but he was already thinking about where Haley was possibly moving to. There was no way she would move further away from her family than she already had.
Of course, she had already once before. But that was for college. Most high school graduates loved to get as far away as they can from their parents. Yet, Haley was one who was close to her family and it was really hard for her to be so far away from them. She had jumped at the chance to move back to North Carolina right after she was done with college and he hoped that she felt the same way again. Tree Hill wasn't the same without her.
Nathan waited impatiently until he was given the chance to be able to catch up with Haley. However, Peyton and Jake kept their guests busy by posing pictures with the birthday boy and watching him try his very first piece of cake. Ryan loved it and kept gobbling it down until there was nothing left. In the process, frosting got all over his clothes and Peyton had to change him before he could open presents.
After Peyton helped Ryan open his presents, the guests stayed a little longer before the party finally ended. Nathan and Haley stayed behind to help the parents clean up and keep an eye on a sleeping Ryan. Nathan then offered to take Haley home and she agreed.
During the car ride, there was silence. It felt weird to both of them. They hadn't seen each other in months and were finally able to have some privacy. Yet somehow, they had nothing to say to each other. Nathan wanted to ask her about where she was moving to, but he hoped that she would bring it up first.
Haley was the one who started the conversation. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I was coming, but I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it to the party. I've been getting ready for the move and my new job. I'm moving back to the east coast." Nathan was happy to hear that. However, Haley wasn't finished with what she wanted to say. "It's in Charleston though."
"Charleston? As in South Carolina?" Nathan asked. Haley nodded. "Why not North Carolina? It's your home, Hales. And you know it."
"Don't you think I want to return to Tree Hill?" Haley asked. "I would love to go back to the high school and teach again, but I refuse to do it as long as Victoria is principal. Did you know that Victoria is planning to adopt a baby to fill the void that Brooke left?" She shook her head in disbelief. "I don't believe that for a moment. I'm sorry. I know she's your boss, but she drives me crazy by acting like she is a great role model for her students when she is such a bitch."
"You're right. She isn't who I thought she was," Nathan said. Haley raised her eyebrows in surprise. Did she just hear right? Was he actually agreeing with her? "It's a long story and I can't really share any details yet."
"Are you referring to Brooke finding out that she's pregnant and she might have to hand her baby over to Victoria?" Haley asked. "Brooke called and told me all about it. She wanted to run away and stay with me until the baby was born. Or the other suggestion she had was I cover for her and make the announcement that I was pregnant."
Nathan made a face. "That must have been hard for you to hear."
Haley nodded. "Yeah, it was," she admitted. "But I can't say that I blame her. If I was a teenager who found out that I was pregnant, I wouldn't know what to do either. Of course, it doesn't help that her mother is complicating matters. Or that she hasn't told Lucas about the baby yet."
Nathan let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah, I know. It doesn't feel right that I know about my niece or nephew before Lucas, but I had no idea that Brooke and Millie were in the toy store the same time I was. Or what their conversation was going to be about. I want to help them, but Cooper told me that I should back off until they can find some incriminating evidence against her."
Haley frowned. "Incriminating evidence? For what? Brooke has already moved out of the house. And her adoption hasn't gone through yet. So what would he be looking for? By the way, I heard about Rachel's baby. Are you okay?"
"I'm more concerned about you," Nathan replied, avoiding the question. "How are you doing? I'm sure it's been tough and I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you. I wanted to be, but I also knew that you needed some space from me."
Haley tried not to laugh. "You have no idea," she said. Nathan looked at her curiously. "I'll text Quinn and tell her that I'll be later than I thought. I'm sure she won't mind since she has Clay to keep her company. And yes, I know all about Clay wanting to propose to Quinn."
"He wanted to make sure that you were okay with it?" Nathan guessed.
Haley shook her head. "He wanted me to help pick out an engagement ring for her since I'm the one who knows her so well. It's sweet that he thought of me, but I know Quinn will love the ring no matter what. And he really should focus on impressing my parents."
Nathan didn't respond as they reached their destination. He parked the car in front of his house before he turned the car off. There was another awkward silence before they climbed out and walked up to the front porch.
As Nathan made them some coffee, Haley caught him up with what had happened to her after they had last seen each other. "After you had left, I was so lost and confused and just wanted to be left alone. It wasn't easy to encourage my parents to continue onto their road trip, but I finally was able to get some privacy. It was really tough on me, but I finally was convinced to talk to a therapist and she helped me with understanding my feelings about our relationship and the baby. After that, I knew I was ready to move on with my life and that's when I decided to move back to the east coast."
Nathan frowned in confusion. "So you were ready to move on with your life, but you weren't ready to return to Tree Hill? I know it's not just your problems with Victoria. It has to do with us too, right?" Haley didn't answer. Nathan went over to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Look, I know you're afraid that I would lose everything if Rachel and her mother found out about our affair. But I have everything figured out."
Haley frowned as she pulled away from him. "What are you talking about?" she asked as she looked at him hard. "You're going to blame Rachel and Owen for your divorce?" she exclaimed angrily. "Is that really fair when we've been doing the exact same thing?"
"This is different," Nathan told her. "Rachel slept with Owen while we were still married."
"But you didn't find out about it until after you two separated," Haley reminded him. She couldn't believe he was willing to stoop this low. "And you two are still married. You won't be able to file for divorce for a couple more weeks. And even then, it still might be awhile before you two can be free from each other since you two both had affairs during your marriage."
"How do you know all this stuff?" Nathan asked in amazement as he passed her her cup of coffee.
Haley was quiet for a moment before she told him her story. "Taylor had an affair with a married man a couple of years ago," she explained. "The ex-wife blamed Taylor for the end of the marriage and filed a lawsuit against her. Since Taylor didn't have that kind of money, my parents had to step in and pay it. Of course, they had several arguments about it first since they had different opinions about how to handle it."
"Your dad wanted Taylor to take responsibility, but your mom wanted to help Taylor out?" Nathan guessed. It was a little too obvious which parent was on which side.
Haley nodded. "At one point, I thought they were going to separate or even divorce. And that's why I don't want anyone to know about our relationship yet. I don't want my family to go through that again. And I don't know how my parents will react when they find out that I've been having a relationship with you during your separation." Nathan was about to respond when she gave him a look. "You know Rachel will figure it out as soon as you confess that you have been having a relationship with someone."
"Well, she can't really do anything about it if we're not together anymore," Nathan replied. "Are we together? Because the last time we saw each other, you told me that you wanted a break from me. I gave you some more space, but I think it's time we talk about where we stand on our relationship. I don't want to wait until after my divorce is final before we announce that we're dating, but I'm willing to wait for you. I just need to know that you feel the same way."
"Did you really want the baby?" Haley asked. Nathan frowned in confusion. "All you have been talking about is us. What about the baby? Because you are acting like it never happened. Did you not want the baby?"
Nathan was silent for a few moments as he pondered her question. "You're right. I think in a way I didn't because I was still trying to get over the fact that I got cheated out of the first one," he admitted. "And even though I kept saying that I didn't care about what Rachel said or did, I didn't want you or our child to be caught in the middle. And it was too early in our relationship to be even thinking about being parents." Haley knew exactly what he was going through since she had felt the same way. "But I also was looking forward to having the baby with you. I know it wasn't the right time, but we would have figured it out. And we're going to get through this too as long as we're together."
Haley just nodded as she embraced him in a tight hug. "I love you."
"I love you too," Nathan replied. There was a short pause before he spoke again. "Can we talk about you moving to Charleston?"
Haley pulled away from him. "There's nothing to talk about. I love Tree Hill, but I can't be here right now. And Charleston isn't that far away from Tree Hill or Wilmington. It's easy for me to drive back and forth for visits."
"How long are you planning to stay there?" Nathan asked. "Are you going to live there until after my divorce is final?" Haley didn't have a chance to respond as his cell-phone started to ring and he answered it without even looking to see who it was. "Yes, this is him." Haley wanted to give him some privacy, but he gestured her to stay as he listened to what the person on the other end had to say. "What?! I'll be right there." He hung up the phone before he turned to Haley. "I have to go and bail Lucas out of jail. I don't know what happened, but I can bet that it has something to do with Victoria."
"Do you want me to come with you?" Haley asked. "Or do you want me to check up on Brooke?"
"Please check on Brooke," Nathan told her as they grabbed their stuff. "I'll drop you off on the way."
When Haley arrived at the apartment, Brooke didn't even want to answer the door. Instead of waiting for Nathan and Lucas to return, she used the spare key inside the potted plant that was sitting on the front stoop. Unlocking the door, she peeked into the foyer and called Brooke's name out. There was no answer.
"Brooke, it's Haley. Are you here?" Haley called, trying again. There was still no answer. Yet, she heard something that sounded like crying. She followed the sound to the master bedroom. Haley gently tapped on the door. "Brooke, it's Haley. Can I come in?" she asked. Again, there was silence. However, she did hear the door unlocking. The door opened and a tear stained, red faced Brooke flew into her arms for a much needed hug. Haley tried to calm her down. "Hey, it's okay. Why don't you sit down and tell me what happened?" she asked as she helped Brooke over to the bed.
Brooke wiped her tears away from her face as she began to speak. "I finally decided to tell Lucas about the baby. As I expected, he was shocked and speechless. So I suggested to him that it might be best to give the baby up, but he refused. Even though the baby was a surprise, he still wanted to keep it. When I kept pressing him about the adoption, he could tell that something was up." She let out a deep sigh. "I was never a good liar and confessed about the deal between me and my mom."
Haley made a face. "I'm guessing that he wasn't too happy about that?"
Brooke shook her head. "I know he must hate me for doing that, but I didn't know how else to get my mom off my back."
Haley tried to comfort her. "Lucas doesn't hate you. I think he just hates how your mom keeps meddling in your lives and won't leave you guys alone. Don't worry. We'll figure out a way for her to stay away from you, Lucas and your baby. As I told you before, I'm not going to stop until you are safe from Victoria, okay?" Brooke could tell that she was serious and nodded her head. "And don't worry about Lucas. He still loves you. He just needs to cool down. After all, it was such a shock to him to find out that you're not only pregnant, but you have to give up your baby to Victoria in order to stay with him. Everything will work out though. Just don't give up."
Brooke let out a heavy sigh. "Even if we succeed in getting my mom to stay away from me and Lucas for good, this still doesn't solve the problem of the baby. I'm so not ready for a baby. How am I supposed to go to college when I'm taking care of a baby? Lucas was planning to go to Duke on a basketball scholarship. But now that I'm pregnant, he is going to stay in Tree Hill and take care of us. And I don't want him to pass this opportunity up."
"Hey, Nathan and I will be here to help you," Haley told her. "You and Lucas aren't going to raise this baby alone."
Brooke frowned. "How are you going to do that if you're in Charleston?"
Haley was quiet for a moment as she realized that she wouldn't be around as much as she would like. "Why don't we cross that bridge when we come to it?"
