"You're a feisty one, aren't you?" Lucas stroked Haley's cheek, his fingers lingering against her inhumanely pale skin. Haley aggressively pushed his fingers away by turning her head abruptly. His touch repulsed her, gravely. Lucas had spent the whole night talking to Haley and she had just given him cold replies and scoffs; totally unlike any other girl he had met. Lucas Scott was a womanizer and Haley wasn't falling for it. In fact, Haley could see right through Lucas' façade. He was a troubled person – obviously – and he seemed to drown out his feelings by flirting with endless amounts of women. Conclusively, Lucas Eugene Scott was an absolute sleazebag. "I like you, Haley James, I do-"
"My name is Haley James Scott. Haley. James. Scott. " Haley spat out, putting an exaggerated emphasis upon her husband's last name. She despised that Lucas was trying to flirt with her. It was obvious that she was married to his brother and he didn't seem to care, not one bit. To Haley it highlighted his lack of morals. "And, I don't like you so please, please refrain from the small talk."
"Oh, baby, don't talk like that," Lucas laughed in a mocking tone. He pulled up a chair in front of Haley, the steel creating a noisy friction against the cobbled floor. A pain-eliciting sound was created and Haley winced, her eyes flickering closed. But, her eyes weren't closed for too long because, Lucas' next comment made "Honestly, you'll like me if you get to know me; I'm a nice person, promise."
"Please," Haley chocked on her own spit, a cynical chuckle escaping her lips. "You, and nice? A nice person doesn't threaten their own brother. A nice person doesn't just kidnap people. A nice person wouldn't flirt with a married woman. A nice person would let me go," Haley's head bobbed from side to side as she ticked off bullet points on her mental-Lucas-Scott-hate- list. Her natural sassiness was seeping through and Lucas couldn't help but smirk in return. The aim of his game wasn't to hurt Haley, it was to hurt Nathan, and Luke was actually enjoying the girl's witty company. Despite being kidnapped by complete strangers, she was still throwing her attitude around, not caring of any repercussions. She was brave and Lucas understood why Nathan had fallen in love with her. He didn't, however, understand how his lousy brother had snagged such a catch. "Would you like me to continue?"
"No, I think I got it," Luke shrugged simply, his signature smirk now tattooed onto his face. "But, I what I don't got is why you're married to my dumb-dumb of a brother."
"What you don't get," Haley corrected. Lucas just started back at her confused, his eyebrows frowning together. "You used the past participle, got, which is grammatically incorrect." Again, Lucas just started at Haley as if she was an alien from planet Krypton. Haley just shook her head in dismissal, not even bothering to explain herself further. She was a school teacher and was relatively patient but Haley knew there was no use with Lucas. Unlike her children, Lucas didn't deserve her time or attention. But, what Haley did deserve was answers, answers which she hadn't received yet. She had no clue about how long she'd been … actually, she didn't know anything. Haley didn't know where she was, how long she had been there and most importantly, why she was there. "Listen, can you just tell me what's going on? What do you want from me? From Nathan?"
"How about we play a little game, huh?" Lucas shuffle forward in his seat, his hands clasped together in an eager manner. Haley watched him curiously. "You answer one of my questions and I'll answer one of yours." Haley's eyebrows shot upwards as Lucas said this; his game seemed too simple. There had to be a catch. As if Lucas had read Haley's mind, he continued, "It's as easy as that, I promise, no catches."
"Fine, I'll go first," Haley smirked, leaning forward as much as she could whilst being restrained. The ropes tugged at her underbelly and her stomach, slamming her backwards into her wooden chair. The force of the impact made her groan audibly and she gave herself a minute to adjust to the throbbing pain in her back – she was positive she had blisters - before continuing. "Where am I?"
"Ah, well, Haley James," Before Haley could intervene, Lucas quickly added her last name to her maiden. "Scott," Haley nodded in approval, signifying for Lucas to continue. "You are in a soundproof basement in the middle of nowhere." Lucas just grinned at his witty reply, loving the fact that he had outsmarted Haley and come up with an answer that she had not wanted.
"That's not what I meant-"
"You asked me a question, I answered it, and if you weren't specific … that is not my fault." Haley mentally reminded herself to be exact with her next question. She felt stupid for even believing that Lucas would be completely honest with her; he was going to be sneaky and Haley knew, she was going to have to be too. "My turn, why are you married to my brother?"
"What kind of a question is that?" Haley scoffed.
"You just asked me another question," Haley groaned, Lucas was good … very good. "Which means I get to ask you another – why did you marry so young? I mean … you're he's only twenty-two, you both have your lives ahead of you …"
"I married Nathan because he's the best thing that's happened to me." Haley's eyes seemed to glaze over as she looked back upon her relationship with Nathan. She looked back at when they met: when he asked her out, proposed, when they got married. Thinking back on such beautiful memories made her heart race irrevocably. "After my mom died, Nathan was there for me unlike anybody else and it was the moment I realised I was completely and utterly in love with him. He was the man that I wanted, the only man that I ever wanted. No man that I have ever known is as supportive as Nathan; he's caring and loving and kind and honest," Haley hiccupped when she said honest. She realised, then, that Nathan wasn't as honest as she believed … not when he had hidden his family from her. However, Haley wasn't going to make any kind of presumptions until she got a justification from Nathan himself. He had to have a good enough reason … he was Nathan, her Nathan and he wouldn't have hidden this from her if it wasn't absolutely essential. "And, we got married when we did because … age is irrelevant to me, to us. My dad always said there was no age limit on love, you can fall in love at eighteen or eighty … it doesn't matter." Haley smiled, looking back on the moment when Nathan had asked her father, James, for her hand in marriage. No guy she had ever dated even thought to impress her father and it meant the world to her that Nathan had included him in the decision. The truth was, James loved Nathan and vice versa. They were practically like father and son. "Now, what do you want from Nathan and I? +-
"That's easy," Lucas said simply. "I want what Nathan promised a year ago." Haley's facial expression was enough to indicate to Lucas that his answer wasn't sufficient enough and he continued, his whole face brightening with a mischief that made Lucas seem, all most – all most – innocent. His blue eyes were seemingly shining under the dim lighting and his pearly whites were on full display; contrasting with his hushed pink lips. Haley could see his resemblance to Nathan. For a second, she grasped a sense of Nathan's prevalence within Lucas … and, it scared her. It scared Haley how alike Nathan and his brother were and it scared her to think of why exactly she was in the situation that she was in. "We have a family business, one which Nathan was heavily involved in … but, he refused to do something that we asked of him and, now, our father wants Nathan to do what was promised."
"I … I … don't understand." Haley stuttered.
"I know you don't but, all will be revealed in good time, Hales." Lucas tapped the side of his nose cryptically and Haley looked at him blankly … only a very few people called her that - Hales. It was a symbol of closeness and love and friendship … neither of which she currently shared with Lucas. It was a privilege, one which she did not want to share with a man who had her tied up. "What lie did Nathan tell you about us, his family?"
"I didn't know Nathan had any living family … he was never really open about it and I never really pushed it. Mentioning his family always made him upset and so, I never asked. Nathan was satisfied with slotting into my family." There was a pregnant pause as Haley cultivated her next question for Lucas. Lucas waited patiently, his feet shuffling against the cold rock floors rhythmically. "What is this promise that Nathan said he was going to fulfil?"
"You're a curious, kid, Haley James Scott. You're attentive." Lucas mocked, only to have Haley chastise his restricted colloquial language.
"Curious child." Haley corrected, like the teacher that she was.
"You're a little clever clogs, aren't you?" This time, it was time for Lucas to pause. His mischievous gleam disappeared from Lucas' demeanour and was speedily replaced with a cynical stare that sent chills through Haley's splinter-covered back. He looked evil; sinister … he looked like a predator. "Just like your father, just less ... disobedient." Haley gasped unexpectedly, her heart hammering within her chest. "That same impatient streak … I see it in him just as much as I see it in you."
"What do you know about my dad?" Haley kicked her shin against the leg of her chair, hoping her gesture would make Lucas take her more seriously. "Huh, how do you know my father?" Her voice rose in volume and she began to shuffle and fidget within her seat, hoping, somehow, that she would be set free from the restraints that were holding her firmly in place. "What does he have to do with any of this?" Lucas sat quietly, waiting for Haley's outburst to finish. "Why won't you answer me? Damn it!"
"Did the teacher just curse? Wow, what has the world come to" Lucas laughed, his laughter ringing throughout the room. The echo took a few seconds to subdue and Lucas waited patiently before he continued, his voice now laced with a simplicity that Haley couldn't comprehend. "Well, your father is exactly what your dear husband promised."
That froze Haley up instantly.
"What … what … how … what do you mean?" She was struggling to form a coherent sentence and Lucas seemed to relish in her shocked discomfort. The more that Haley struggled to grasp the current situation, the more explaining Nathan was going to have to do … the more heartbreak he was going to suffer when she learnt the truth.
"You see, your father is North Carolina's best computer scientist, as you know, and … he's the most educated scholar for miles. A few years back, we requested his help with a project that he didn't want to get himself involved in," Haley felt sick, she could feel her stomach churning like it had done in the car ride to her current situation and, unlike then, she tried to force it down. She gulped audibly, letting the bile slip back down her throat. "So … we needed find other means to seek his help. That's where Nathan came in; he was instructed to make you fall in love with him. He was meant to grow close to you and your family … and then, and then, he was meant to bring us your father."