TVCrazed: Hope this chapter begins to answer you question.

Chapter 33

Ollie's mind was completely at ease. The pictures in the room didn't creep her out or make her angry at Haley for having them. She figured they were a big enough clue to Haley's intentions. Maybe fame didn't mean anything.

Feeling that she no longer needed to snoop, she turned toward the door to leave Haley's room before she finished her shower. But something Ollie hadn't noticed so far caught her eye. It was a guitar. Acoustic, and with shiny pale wood, it leant against the side wall where it had been concealed from her view by the bookshelf. It was a beauty of a guitar. As it neared the edges of the face, the pale wood color sharpened to become dark, a Celtic knot wove its way around the noise hole. The neck was dark with shiny silver frets and the tuner keys were pearly white ebony.

Without knowing why, Ollie moved toward it, hardly feeling herself taking the steps, as if she were floating. Reaching it, her fingertips grazed its surface. It was as smooth as it looked. Before she even realized what she was doing, she was seated cross legged on the floor with the instrument in her arms. Just like her own, now not-so-whole guitar had, it fit perfectly in her lap and under her arms.

So wrapped up in the guitar and the longing from the realization of how the simple instrument made her feel so complete, she didn't notice the sound of water running come to a halt down the hall. And then a few minutes later when she finally got over the hesitation and let the tips of her fingers run over the strings soundlessly, she didn't notice the door down the hall opening either, or footsteps padding toward the room.

She did, however notice when Haley suddenly walked into the room.

Ollie's eyes widened and she abruptly stood and placed the guitar back in its place against the wall as quickly as she could. Her face was filled with sheepish guilt.

"I um… I was…," Ollie stammered blushing as she fished through her brain for an excuse of why she was in the room, "I was just looking for some, uh, socks." Ollie told her feeling like an idiot knowing there was pretty much no chance that Haley had not seen her with the guitar.

Haley was trying her hardest not to grin. Ollie had a look on her face much like a little kid who just got caught stealing from the cookie jar. "Socks?"

Ollie blushed and swallowed, "Yeah there, um aren't any in my bag. I was wondering if I could, ah, please borrow some?"

"Sure," Haley nodded still with a slightly amused smile. Going over to the draw she pulled out a balled up pair and threw it to Ollie across the room

Catching them easily, Ollie thanked her, pulled them on and hurried from the room. Chuckling, Haley threw her used towel onto the laundry pile and left the room as well.

Across the hall, the door was open, and Haley could see that Ollie's room was empty. Stopping for a moment as she got an idea, she listened and could hear sounds coming the living room. Melting backward into her own room, she reached for the guitar that she had known Ollie had been holding. Still listening to make sure she could still hear the noise in the living room and no closer, she slipped the guitar into Ollie's room and leant it against the wall in there. As she did so, she noticed a few pairs of socks lying on the top of the clothes in Ollie's open bag.

When she reached the kitchen Haley was still grinning at her daughter's innocent yet obvious lie.

Placing the plate she had used earlier, into the dishwasher, she called, "Hey, Ollie have you eaten?"

"Yeah, at the café," Ollie called back.

"Ok. How was work?" she asked, coming into the room and sitting down in an armchair.

"Alright." Typical teenage answer there. Ollie definitely did seem more comfortable than she had the previous night though. "Karen said you used to work for her."

"Yep when I was about your age, before I went on tour," she remembered the many hours she'd spent in that warm homely café when she had been young.

"Did you like touring?"

Haley shrugged, "It was pretty exciting the first time but all the cameras and groupies and stalkers, they weren't too exciting."

Ollie raised her eyebrows, "You seriously had stalkers?"

"Oh yeah, it was crazy." Haley laughed, "Especially concerts."

"I went to one once."

"Really?" Haley was surprised, "One of mine?"

"Yeah. Jess and I bought tickets for one of your Washington concerts last summer. We caught the bus up. I still don't think dad knows. He thinks I was at Jess's the whole time."

Haley wasn't sure whether to tell her how dangerous that had been, or to be stoked she had come to a concert; "I can't believe you were there and I didn't even know."

"Well I had no idea who you were back then either." Ollie shrugged.

"Did you ever wonder about having a mom?" Haley asked curiously.

Ollie shrugged, "I dunno." And she really didn't, as a really little kid she had automatically assumed Brooke was her mom, as she got older and realized that wasn't true, decided that if whoever her mom was, didn't want to be around, then Ollie didn't want her to be. Sometimes though she had imagined some big storybook reunion, full of hugging and tears of joy, guess real life didn't turn out so much like that though. She shook her head, "What about your family?"

"What about them?"

Ollie furrowed her forehead as if the question she was asking was quite obvious. "Do you have one?"

"Yeah of course I do," Haley laughed, "I have parents and 5 brothers and sisters."

"Do they live round here?" Ollie asked, hoping that she hadn't met them lots of times without even realizing it.

"No, all my brothers and sisters left as soon as they finished high school and my parents when I moved in with Nathan."

"And they just let you move in with dad?"

Haley shrugged, "I guess. They trusted us I suppose."

Ollie nodded and a thought occurred to her, "Does dad actually think that me and Kaleb are going to do what you and dad did?" she asked incredulously.

"I don't know, he hasn't said it. But it makes sense." She answered realizing that that may actually be the root of Nathans insecurities. Being abandoned again, this time by his own daughter. Then again, he had agreed to let her stay with Haley.

"But it doesn't," she groaned. "I don't want to get married for years. I think you two must have been completely out of it to get married in high school."

Haley laughed, "We definitely were not 'out of it'!"

"Still, it's a little weird."

"Trust me, I've heard that a million times." She pointed out, "But look, everyone's scared of something, and I guess Nathan has more in common with Peyton than anyone's thought."

Ollie chuckled wryly. She had seen a lot of Peyton's artwork from high school and knew exactly what Haley meant. "Do you think I should go home? Like not right now, but maybe soon. Or he might think I have run off with Kaleb."

"Yeah I think you should. I mean, you can stay here, but you should be in your own home" Haley said, even though Ollie leaving again made her feel a bit sad in a selfish sort of way.

"I suppose," Ollie shrugged and stood up, "I think I'm gonna go to bed."

"Ok." She watched as Ollie started to leave, "Hey Ollie. Just a suggestion, maybe when you do go home you should try to resist the temptation to sneak to concerts or make out with boys in your bed room. It might help with Nathans wellbeing a little."

Ollie blushed, turning completely red, not having any sort of reply, she simply grinned embarrassedly said, "Goodnight."

Haley grinned back, "Sleep well."

By the time Ollie got to her room, her face was starting to cool; she hadn't expected Haley to say that, she didn't even know how Haley knew about her making out with Kaleb. Turning on the light beside the bed and closing the door behind her, she threw on some pajamas. It wasn't until she was in bed that she noticed the light reflecting off something that hadn't been in the room earlier. Haley's guitar.

Hopping out of bed and going over it, the previous conversation, and Haley catching her in her room played out in her head. Not once had Haley mentioned finding Ollie in the room hurriedly putting away the guitar, or called her on the unlikelihood of the sock story. Not once had she even hinted that she knew what Ollie was really doing. Yet, there the guitar was, and the only way it could have got there, was Haley.