Okay, so I know I'm horrible for not updating in like forever. HORRIBLE. I'm so sorry. On a happier note, though, I should be finishing this story by the end of the year and posting my new story shortly after that.

So, ah, I hope everyone likes this chapter. And I appreciate all the support and people who review and read this story. Merry Christmas!! Enjoy:)

Chapter 23

Haley's head hung down as she stared at the ground, unable to use any more of her strength to keep her head up. Blood dripped down from her head to her face, mixing with her quiet tears.

"Mom," she whispered in a hoarse voice. She'd been calling out to her mother for a while now, after hearing her tortured screams from another room in the house.

Haley didn't even know if it could even classify as a house. It was dark and cold with one small, dusty window and her mother's screams seemed to echo through the rooms onto the walls.

When Dan and Jimmy had brought them here, Lucas and her mother were immediately placed in separate rooms than Haley, and none too gently they tied Haley to a chair in the middle of the room and left.

That's when the screams started. "Mom," Haley whispered again through her tears. "Please, mom."

…

"Please, Haley," Nathan whispered to himself as he walked up to the house Brooke told him they were staying at.

He peaked in the window, feeling like a creepy stalker, but damn he wanted to at least see her if she wouldn't talk to him.

"You know, you kinda remind me of Shia Labeouf from that movie Disturbia right now," Brooke's saucy voice came from behind him.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Brooke," Nathan screamed after he jumped about two feet in the air. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing here, genius?" Brooke asked. "I'm helping your sorry ass because obviously you haven't learned that houses have doors, and all you have to do is walk down the little path leading to them and knock.

Nathan just stared at her.

"Here, I'll show you," Brooke enunciated. "Now listen closely, okay. I'll walk you through it. So, you have to move one leg in front of the other and then—"

"That's it," Nathan growled, plowing past Brooke and pushing her out of his way roughly. "I don't have time for this shit."

He lifted his hand up to knock, but it eventually fell to his side before he did anything.

"I don't know if I can do this, Brooke," Nathan whispered quietly after a few moments of silence.

"Yes, yes you can," Brooke encouraged, waving her hands towards the door for him to continue.

"What if she isn't happy to see me?" Nathan asked, his voice strangely pained.

"Okay, none of this," Brooke commanded, getting into her boot camp stance. "Now you are going to knock on that door, storm into that house and get your woman, is that clear? Now go on and be a man for Christ's sake!"

"Yeah," Nathan said to himself, shaking his head and squaring his shoulders. He lifted his hand again and knocked three firm times.

He waited for someone to answer, and when no one did, he looked back at Brooke.

She motioned her hands for him to knock again. Nathan rolled his eyes as he turned back to the door and knocked three more times. When no one answered again, Brooke spoke up," Maybe they're not home right now."

"Their car is here, genius," Nathan said sarcastically. "Maybe they're out back and that's why they didn't hear us knocking."

"Well, let's go see," Brooke said, half-way to the backyard already.

Nathan stayed where he was for a minute, debating on whether or not he should let Brooke butter them up first, and then he would walk over there and maybe Haley would be so happy to see Brooke that she wouldn't care that he was there.

"Ahhhhh," Nathan heard Brooke's terrified scream, and he ran as fast as he could to reach her.

"What is it Brooke?" Nathan asked, out of breath. That's when he saw it. A baseball bat with blood all over it, and Lydia and Haley were nowhere to be seen.

"Oh my god, what happened here?" Brooke asked through the tears that were starting to form in her eyes. She already had a pretty good idea of what happened, but she was in too much denial to voice it.

"I don't know," Nathan said hoarsely. "Do-do you think it was…I mean, Haley's probably safe, right?"

Brooke didn't answer and Nathan's throat convulsed a few times as he tried to swallow. "No," Nathan whispered, and his voice was like rough velvet. Tears pricked his eyes, and he fought desperately to keep them back. Then he said in a stronger voice, "No. No! She's okay, I know it. S-she's fine. She has to be. She has to be okay, Brooke."

His voice started to break at the end, and Brooke moved to comfort him, but he just pulled back and said harshly, "No! She's alright, I know it!"

"Okay, Nathan," Brooke said soothingly. "She's probably fine, but we need to be realistic. If it's not her blood, then whose is it?"

"I don't know," Nathan said. "Who would want to hurt Haley?"

"Dan," Brooke said quietly. Truthfully, she already knew it had something to do with Dan, but she didn't know if any harm had been caused to Haley. It just didn't make sense. Why would they hurt her if they wanted that baby so badly?

"Haley's fine!" Brooke exclaimed, her smile wide and hopeful.

"What?" Nathan asked.

"Think about it, Nathan. Why would Dan want to hurt Haley when she's carrying the baby they need for the company?" Brooke said excitedly. "It would be stupid for them to do that."

"Yeah?" Nathan asked savagely. "Well, in case you haven't noticed, Haley's due to have her baby anytime now and once she does, who's to say they won't just kill her?"

Brooke smile fell as she took in Nathan's words. "Well, the doctor said about three weeks so at least we have a little time to look for her. Where do you think they're keeping her?"

"I don't know, Brooke," Nathan whispered, his head hanging. "I just don't know."

"Why the hell do you sound so defeated?" Brooke growled.

"Well what the hell else am I supposed to feel?" Nathan screamed back. "God damn it, they have Haley, Brooke! They have Haley and they're going to kill her, so forgive me if I'm a little less than enthusiastic when I think about that!"

"You're a fucking coward, Nathan Scott," Brooke said, disgusted. "You're right, they have Haley. Haley. And all you're gonna do about that is sit here and pout. Well, forgive me if I don't want to stay and watch you. I'm going to find her, and when I do, I hope she never speaks to your sorry ass again."

Nathan watched as Brooke stormed off, and when she was out of sight, he finally let the tears fall.

…

"Please, Haley," Brooke whispered. "Show me some sort of sign that you're alive."

She didn't know where she was going, but somehow she ended back at Nathan's house. Well, Brooke, you've now succeeded in letting down Haley, Brooke thought to herself. What a great friend you are.

She walked along the side of Nathan's house with tears falling down her face and stopped when she saw a small top-half of a window that was on the side of the house right above the ground.

"What the hell?" Brooke said to herself. She'd never seen that before. She kneeled on the ground and stuck her hands around her face to peek inside. All she saw was black. Damn!

She began to pull on the little latch, but it wouldn't budge. "Come on you little monster," Brooke said while she tried again to open the window. "Ah," she growled as she kept pulling, and she ended up falling backwards when the window finally opened.

She crawled back to the window and started to go in head first. God, Brooke, you need to lose a few pounds, Brooke grumbled when her hips got stuck in the window. She sucked in as much as she could and pushed with all her might.

She fell right through, screaming the whole way, and landed on the ground with an "umff!"

"Ugh, it's so gross in here," Brooke whispered to herself, crinkling her nose. She started looking around, and that's when she heard a strangled sound come from behind her.

She whirled around to find a very pregnant Haley tied to a chair with tears streaming down her face. Brooke let out a strangled noise as she ran to Haley and threw her arms around her.

"Oh, God, Haley, I thought I'd lost you," Brooke cried, squeezing her arms around Haley as tightly as she could before she realized Haley was still tied up.

"Haley, who did this to you?" Brooke asked as she worked to untie the ropes.

"Dan," Haley said in a scratchy voice. "Dan and my dad. Look, they have my mom and Lucas. I don't know what they've already done to them but you have to help them. Please. Please, they have my mom. I-I heard…Oh God, her screams, and then Lucas—"

"Haley, shh, calm down," Brooke soothed as she smoothed out Haley's hair and helped her up. "I'm gonna get you out of here and we'll come back to help your mom and Lucas after."

"No," Haley screamed. "We have to help them now. Please."

"Okay Haley but we have to come up with a plan first or something. We can't just go looking for them."

"Why not?"

"Be-because, they probably have a weapon or something like that," Brooke explained.

"Well, we need to start doing something, or else we're never going to save them," Haley said harshly.

"Okay, okay, just let me think for a second…" Brooke started looking around the room, if it could constitute as such, but she didn't find much. "Haley, I think the only way we can really help them is if we help ourselves first. Now I can help you get through that window if you go through sideways, and then you can help pull me up, okay?"

Haley sighed harshly, "Okay."

"Don't go anywhere yet," a deep voice came from just behind them.

They whipped around to find Lucas covered in blood and dirt. Haley let out a small sob as Brooke threw herself into his arms and held on tight.

"Lucas!" Brooke exclaimed, and she'd never been happier to see him. "You're alright. How did you get out?"

"Yeah, Brooke, I'm fine," Lucas said, pressing his face into her hair and letting himself drown in her comfort. "It's, ah, it's a long story." Then he gently pushed her away and looked at Haley. His eyes were full of remorse.

"Hales," Lucas whispered hoarsely. "I'm sorry."

"What do you mean you're sorry?" Haley asked.

"Never mind, let's just get you out of here," Lucas said quickly.

They all went to the window and Lucas put his hands together for Haley to step on. "Okay, one…two… three," Lucas said and pushed her up sideways through the window.

Haley used her arms to finished pulling herself up and she began to stand when Lucas pushed Brooke through the window. Lucas came up last, and when he was done, he closed the window.

They stood there for a few moments before Haley asked, "Where's my mom, Luke? If you got out then so did she, right?" Haley asked expectantly, a crooked smile of hope crossing her face as she thought of her mother. "Sh-she got out, right?"

"Hales…" Lucas said quietly. "I don't know what to say. I was tied to a chair while they had her, and I couldn't stop them. I-I fought against the ropes so hard, but I just couldn't stop them. I'm so sorry, Hales."

"No," Haley whispered. "No, I don't belie—"but she never finished her sentence. Brooke and Lucas watched as she clutched her stomach and fell to the ground.

"Oh my god," Haley whispered as she continued to hold her stomach.

Brooke saw the puddle forming on the ground and immediately went to help Haley. "She's having her baby. Oh god, Lucas, come help me."

So that was Chapter 23. I hope everyone liked it and remember to REVIEW!!! Merry Christmas!
Love,
Sadie