Disclaimer: I do not own OTH or any of it characters places or such. I am simply borrowing them
AN/ Here is the next update! Thanks to everyone who responded to my Author's note. And thanks to Lonnie for pointing out that it is called a Beta, I couldn't remember. Anyways, I asked someone to do it for me, but they are not responding. If there is anyone still interested, please send me another private message. Thanks again. Don't forget to review!
As always suggestions are welcome!
Nathan woke up the next morning to find Haley and her stuff gone. The memory of their conversation last night came rushing back to him. Nathan pushed the memory out of his mind as pulled himself up off the bed and started walking towards the closed door. He would worry about that later.
Nathan entered the kitchen to find Peyton and Jake sitting at the counter each nursing a cup of coffee.
"Morning" Nathan grumbled as he made his way to the half-empty coffeepot
"Morning" Peyton replied a little more chipper.
"Well, I am off to the station. I will see you guys later," Jake said before getting out of his seat and kissing Peyton good-bye.
"Bye Jake. Have a good day" Peyton called after him
"Bye" Jake replied before the front door shut
"Where is everybody?" Nathan asked realizing the house sounded quiet
"Work"
"Everyone?"
"Everyone except those of you who don't live here or like me don't have to be to work so early"
"Where's Meredith?"
"Theresa took her to the park. Your mom told her that she could have another day off from school"
"Have you seen Haley?"
"No, I thought she was with you" Peyton replied looking at Nathan
"No, she is gone"
"She is probably at her parent's house"
"Yea"
"Good Morning you guys" Brooke said as she and Lucas entered the kitchen
"Brooke, you are awfully chipper for so early in the morning," Nathan said
"Well, a great thing happened this morning. So I am really happy"
"You finally said something" Peyton asked a smile growing on her face
"YES!" Brooke shrieked
"About time"
"Okay, what am I missing here?" Nathan asked confused
"Brooke and I have decided to give it another try" Lucas said to his brother as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
"Good, I am tired of hearing you whine about how much you miss her" Nathan said patting his brother on the back
"You missed me?" Brooke asked as she stood beside Lucas
"Yes, I missed you" Lucas replied
"Good" Brooke said before leaning in to kiss him
"Here we go again, Peyt" Nathan said as he sat in the seat that Jake had vacated
"Yea" Peyton said laughing
"So, what is on the agenda for the day?" Lucas asked from across the kitchen
"Relaxing" Nathan answered
"Unlike you lucky people I have to be to work in an hour. Theresa said she would drop Meredith off to the café when they were done at the park." Peyton said
"Is there anybody left in the house?" Brooke asked
"Nope, Mouth went to see his mom at the school and everyone else is at work"
"Where's Hales?" Lucas asked noticing that Haley was not present
"No idea. She was gone when I got up," Nathan said
"Is her bag still here?" Brooke asked
"No"
"Well, I say we get our stuff and take it to the house and then go visit mom. I am starving" Lucas said
"You two go on ahead. I am going to go back to my mom's. I haven't spent much time with her lately" Brooke said
"Okay" Lucas said before he and Nathan turned back down the hallway to get their things
"I think something is up with Haley" Brooke said turning to Peyton after the guys were gone
"Why do you say that?"
"She was acting kind of weird last night and this morning she is gone before anyone can notice"
"It is probably just from this weekend"
"Yea, but I think I am going to find her and make sure everything is okay"
Haley sat in the Tree House behind her house curled up in a ball, tears rolling down her face. She had woken up that morning with Nathan beside her. She should have been happy, but she wasn't. Nathan had confessed to loving her when they were in high school, but he had still married Bevin. The hurt that that caused ran deep. Haley had gotten past the hurt from that day at the docks, but to find out that Nathan had lied to her. Haley didn't know what to do. She had wanted to be with Nathan since she could remember, but was it the right thing to do? Haley looked the open door and in the direction of her house. If they could only go back
"Alright we are off" Lucas said as the guys returned to the kitchen, "Here is your stuff Brooke"
"Thank you. Give me a call later" Brooke said before Lucas leaned down to kiss her
"I will"
"Bye Peyt" Nathan said as he hugged Peyton, "Thanks for everything"
"We are family Nate. We take care of each other"
"Bye Brooke" Nathan said before heading towards the front door
"Bye Peyton" Lucas said following
"Bye Guys" Brooke said before the front door closed.
"I have to get ready for work" Peyton said getting up, taking the empty coffee cups to the sink
"Yea, I am going to go home, take a shower and find Haley" Brooke said before picking her bag up off the floor
"Let me know what is going on" Peyton said
"I will. See ya later Peyt"
"Bye B. Davis"
Brooke walked out the front door and down the sidewalk towards her house as Peyton walked up the stairs towards her bedroom room, the house fully quiet.
Haley had long ago stopped crying, but she didn't move from her spot in the tree house. She heard the creaking of the steps and then saw the shadow of someone walking across the platform. Brooke soon appeared in the doorway.
"There you are" Brooke said as she walked in and took a seat beside her
"Looking for me?" Haley asked trying to hold her voice steady
"Yea, all morning. Is something wrong? You look like you have been crying"
"No" Haley said without meeting Brooke's eyes
"Haley, what happened?"
Haley took a deep breath. She knew that she should talk about all of this, but she was not sure how. She figured she should start from the beginning.
"Do you remember when we were in school and we joke and say that Nathan and I were going to get married?"
"Yea"
"I always wished that would come true." Haley paused, "I have been in love with Nathan since we were young. I am not talking about the grown up together love. I am talking about real love. When I told him in high school, he told me that he didn't feel the same way. Then, last night he told me that he had lied to me, that he had felt the same way all those years ago."
"You love Nathan? And Nathan loves you?" Brooke said trying to soak up the new information.
"Yea. I stood by all those years while he was with Bevin thinking that he would never feel the same way."
"And then you found out that he did?"
"Yea and now I don't know what to do. I have wanted to be with Nathan forever, but he lied to me. He loved me and still married Bevin, that hurts even worse."
"Did he tell Bevin?"
"Bevin knew. She told me that she had known since before they started dating. That is another thing that I can't understand. Bevin knew that I loved Nathan and she knew that he loved me, but she still married him."
"That is how Bevin was. When she wanted something, she got it. She usually hurt people in the process and then felt guilty later"
"That must be why she told me that if something happened to her she wanted me to take care of him. She felt guilty. I remembered a promise yesterday when we were all at the cemetery. I promised Bevin to help him move on if something happened to her.
"When did you find out about all this?"
"Last night. Now I don't know what to do. I have moved on from that place in my life, but…"
"You still love him"
"Yea, I do. I always have and I probably always will. I just don't know if I can trust him. I keep wondering why he is telling me this now? I don't know if we can even have a healthy relationship at this point. There are so many questions"
"We have watched Nathan over the last 5 years put himself into a shell. Maybe he realized that he screwed up not telling you then how he felt. Maybe that is why he is telling you now. We all know what it feels like to want to go back and change something. I can't tell you what to do Haley, that is up to you."
"I know."
"If it were me, I would talk with Nathan. Tell him how you feel. Get answers to all of your questions"
After visiting Karen at the café and killing their hunger, Nathan and Lucas headed to the river court for a game of one on one.
"And this is where it all started" Lucas said as they reached the court and found the basketball under the overturned trash can
"Yea, literally. All those years ago"
"Yea, this place had always been a steady place for us. This and the tree house"
"Yea, it was always us against the world. Luke?" Nathan asked as Lucas passed him the ball, "Ever had something that you wished you could go back and change?"
"Yea, I wish I had gone after Brooke that day so told me that we couldn't be together anymore. We would probably be married by now"
"I wish I hadn't lied to Haley" Nathan said as he shot the ball and made a basket
"Lied to Haley?"
"Yea, I wish I had told Haley that I loved her when she told me that she loved me"
"Haley told you that she loved you?" Lucas said running to reach the bouncing ball
"Yea, junior year of high school"
"Nate, you have been in love with Haley forever. You use to talk about her all the time when we were in middle school and freshman year of high school. Why didn't you tell her?"
"I don't really know. I told her last night though. I think I might have scared her off though since she was gone when I woke up this morning"
"Do you blame her man? You didn't tell her then and you married Bevin, Now you are telling her when Bevin is gone. She probably feels like a rebound. She is probably very hurt too. I am your brother and I love you man, but I think you might have lost your chance at a relationship with her."
"Why didn't I just tell her then?"
"That is something you need to ask yourself," Lucas said as he shot the ball and watches it fall through the hoop.