So, I know you all probably hate me. As well you should! But I have an excuse! No, not really actually. Haha! I finished school (thank goodness!), then I went to Florida for a week. I would have updates but there were way too many cute boys to write, I was very distracted ;) lol! Then I started reading The Host, which is amazing! Totally recommend it! But now, I'm home, and I have lots of free time! There's only going to be two more chapter left. Sad, but true. But I still have Somebody To Love, and I'm working on this new one that is so going to kick ass! I'll post the summary of it next chapter!
Okay, here's chapter 18. Hope I don't disappoint!
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The fourth quarter had just started, and there was still no sign of Conner or Nathan. And to say that I was freaking out, would be a huge understatement! I couldn't stop looking over at the entrance every five seconds, or the fact that I hadn't stopped playing with my hands since the game had started.
It also didn't help that we were losing. The Ravens were down twenty points, and only had fifteen more minutes to catch up.
"Still no sign?" I turned my head to see Peyton standing next to me, her gaze locked on the door.
I shook my head, "no. Do you think I should go look for him?"
She seemed to think about it for a moment, "no, I'm sure he's fine. We'll go after the game if he still hasn't shown, okay?"
I nodded, and she gave me a reassuring smile. I noticed Brooke looking over at us, her face full of worry also. Our anger at one another was slowly fading, which I was very grateful of.
All of a sudden the gym erupted with screams and applause, and I looked back to the entrance. Conner was making his way into the gym, uniform on and bag slung over his shoulder. A smile plastered on his face. His eyes made their way to mine, and I noticed how dark they looked. His smile also faltered for the tiniest second.
"Where the hell have you been?" Whitey asked when Conner had made his way over to his teammates and coach.
He shrugged, "traffic."
Whitey didn't believe it for one second, "sit your ass down." He turned to the other players, "okay so here's how were going to play..."
"Coach, you have to play me!" Conner said, interrupting the old man.
Whitey turned back to Conner, a murderous look on his face. "What the hell do you mean I have to play you? I don't have to do a god damn thing! You're late, you showed up more than half way through the game, your teammates have worked their butts for three quarters while you've been supposedly sitting in your nice, heated car. Why the hell should I play you?"
Conner took a step forward, "because you need me, and you know it. Look at the scoreboard," Whitey's eyes flickered over, "this is our chance coach. Who knows when you'll get another one, I can do this. We can do this."
Whitey was silent for a couple seconds, the crowd's thunderous noise behind him. He looked at Conner warily, debating with himself. He then slowly nodded, "okay. Check in for Thomas."
Conner smiled, then turned around to walk over to the center table. Whitey turned back to his team, he shared a look with Lucas. Defeat washed over the old man's eyes, he knew that his team couldn't win without Conner.
Conner returned to his his team, "you guys ready to win?" The team converged into a circle, their hands flying to the center, landing on each others. "Ravens on three! One... two...three!"
"Ravens!" The crowd roared with excitement, as the home team walked onto the court. Conner looked at me again, our eyes meeting. He flashed me a smile, and I returned one. However, the relief I thought I would feel when I saw him walk through those doors never came. The worry lessened a fraction. but I still kept my eyes on the entrance. Waiting for Nathan to walk through.
The Ravens got the ball, and Lucas inbounded it at the other end of the court. Jake dribbled the ball down the court, telling his teammates the play with a number. I watched as it was passed between players, then Skillz passed it to Conner who was behind the three point line. The ball flew threw the air, and swished through the basket. The place was shaking with noise.
It was back and forth for the rest of the quarter, but the Ravens had pulled to a two point deficit with only 36 seconds to go. The other team took a timeout, letting the teams, the crowd, and even us cheerleaders a break from everything. They needed to figure out a way to stop our offense.
"Oh man," Peyton said next to me, "this is intense. I don't think I have ever screamed as loud, my voice will defiantly be gone tomorrow."
I smiled. "I know what you mean," I muttered.
We were interrupted when the crowd erupted in noise, as the two teams made their way back to the court. Conner searched my eyes out, and gave me a nod. I smiled at him. Conner was going to win the game, just like he always does.
The ravens were going to get the ball back, there was seconds to go, and Conner Jacobs was more determined then ever. This was it for him, this was his big chance. Even if the Ravens don't win the championship, or hell the next game in the playoffs, if Conner makes the shot he'll go down as a hero.
A part of me wished it was Nathan who was going to make the shot, that way no one would keep comparing him to his rotten dad. He could finally cut those strings that were dangling him, letting everyone know that he was Dan Scott's son. I felt a pang in my heart, reminding me that Nathan wasn't even here.
The buzzer sounded, and the game continued it's final seconds. I watched with fixed eyes on the ball, not even daring to stray from it. Lucas had the ball, then Jake, he passed it to Skillz who almost lost control, then passed it to Lucas again.
I dared a look at the clock, my pulse speeding with every second that ticked down. There was only twelve seconds left, and Bear Creek was pressuring us big time. Conner had no where to go, he was stuck on one of the sides trying to get past his defender.
Suddenly, Lucas hurled the ball to Conner across the court. He had broken away... nine seconds... he was behind the three point line. I could tell he was debating whether to get the safe lay-up to tie, or risk everything with the three pointer. No doubt he could make it, he's made that shot billions of times, but what if just this once something didn't go according to plan. What if the story was changed, what if Conner missed. He wouldn't be the one known as the kid who brought his team back, but the one who made a huge ass mistake. He wouldn't be able to handle it.
I looked at the clock, five seconds. He had made up his mind, I knew that. So he was either waiting for a chance to break through his defender and drive to the basket or wait till the final second to make the big shot. I realized that Conner wasn't going to play it safe, he wasn't playing by Whitey's rule, he was going for the big shot. Not to try and just win it for the team, but he wanted another game under his name. Another game that he had won, just him. The thought disgusted me, he could be so selfish.
Two seconds. Conner put the ball in between his legs, then took a step back to give him space from his defender. He made a fake move with his hands and the ball, like he was going to shoot. The defender fell for it, and Conner flicked the ball in the air.
The gym fell silent, like it did in all the movies. I wanted to laugh, and I had to try very hard to stifle it. There's only one person in the world, who would find this insanely hysterical like myself, and he wasn't here.
I watched the ball sail through the air, spiraling. It was either going in the net, or out. There was no middle or in between. It had to make a decision, a decision that would break one team's heart, and bring joy and happiness to the other. I guess the ball and I had some stuff in common.
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"We are the champions, we are the champions!" Skillz sang, very pitchy. Jake and Lucas laughed, "no time for losers, because we are the champions!"
"Dude! Dude!" Lucas put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "we won a game that is getting us into the playoffs, not the state championship."
Skillz shrugged, "so? Come on, you know you want to sing with me."
Jake laughed, then started singing. "I've paid my dues, time after time."
Lucas shook his head, Skillz wrapped an arm around Jake. "I've done my sentence..." he looked at Lucas.
"But committed no crime," he finished with a smile.
The three of them had just played the hardest game of their lives, but it had paid off in the end. Conner had made the shot, it hit off the backboard and fell into the net silently. The gym went absolutely bonkers. Confetti fell down from the ceiling, fans raced to congratulate the team, the players lifted Conner on their shoulders, and everyone started chanting 'Ravens'.
Now Lucas, Jake, and Skillz were headed to the river court, to relax and enjoy the game. They had told the girls that they would hang with them later, but they were just going to be guys for an hour or two.
The friends continued their singing, waking up the town no doubt. They sounded like a bunch of high school drunks, just walking through the dark. They reached the top of the river court just as they finished the last line of the song,
"Cause we are the champions, of the world!" The three bellowed. They laughed, as they made their way onto the court. It was dark, but the lamp was still on. It was Skillz who saw him first, or rather the shadow of something big lying on the ground, but it was too dark to see what it was.
He cocked his head to the side, "what the...?" he muttered under his breath. But the others heard him, and turned to him with confused looks on their faces.
"What's wrong?" Jake asked, watching Skillz.
He ignored him, and made his way over to the bench and dark object. Lucas and Jake followed slowly, not sure what was going on. When Skillz realized it was a person laying on the ground, his walk turned into a sprint. The other two following suit.
"Shit!" Skillz yelled, seeing Nathan on the ground, blood dripping everywhere from his face. "Call 911!"
"Nathan!" Lucas cried, when recognizing his friend. He dropped to his knees, "Nathan!" Jake was on the phone now, talking fast and quite, "Nate! Wake up," he gently shook his shoulders. Nathan didn't stir. He looked up at Skillz, "what do we do?"
Skillz shook his head, "I don't know!"
Jake bent down, "their coming. They said to just try and wake him, try to get him conscious."
"Nathan," Lucas said more quietly, "Nate!"
"Oh man, he's bleeding everywhere," Jake said looking down at his hands and legs. The area of his knee, the blood was seeping through his jeans. Jake ripped his sweatshirt off, ripping off one of the sleeves.
"What are you doing?" Skillz asked.
"Trying to stop the bleeding, he lost so much already." He wrapped the cloth around Nathan's knee, tying it tightly. In the background, sirens were wailing. "Here they come," he murmured.
The three boys fell into silence, just listening to the rescue that was coming. Lucas was holding his friends hand, Skillz was looking at the damage, and Jake was trying to stop the bleeding on his knee. The ambulance was getting louder, it was getting closer. All three of them wondering the exact thing about their friend.
What the hell happened?
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"You were amazing!" I jumped into Conner's arm when I opened the door. He laughed as he caught me, and leaned back making my legs go higher in the air. We had decided that he would come over after he was done celebrating with his teammates and friends. Lucas, Jake, and Skillz had gone to the river court and we were supposed to meet with them late if we wanted to.
Conner put me back on the ground, "thanks. Man that was crazy, wasn't it?" He shut the door behind him, and we started walking to the kitchen.
"Crazy? More like, unbelievable! There are... no words. You carried the team again."
He shrugged, like no big deal. "I had a little help."
I almost rolled my eyes, "where were you?"
He looked at me funny, "what do you mean?"
"I mean, where were you the entire game?" I saw something flash across his face, but I couldn't be sure.
"There was a lot of traffic," he answered weakly.
I raised one eyebrow, "traffic? How the hell could there be traffic when all of Tree Hill was in the gymnasium?"
He knew his excuse was bad, but it was too late. "Look Haley is doesn't matter..."
"Yes, yes Conner it does! I was really worried about you, a lot of people were. Why are you lying..." that's when I noticed his fist. They were bruised, and somewhat red. I took a step towards him, "what happened to your hands?"
He looked down on them, and silently gulped. I had a feeling this is what he was doing during the game, but what? "It's nothing," he wrapped his hands around his back.
"Conner, did you get into a fight or something?" I was eyeing him carefully, he didn't look that hurt.
Conner shook his head, "I don't want to tell you."
"That's too bad, what happened Conner?" My voice was hard and stern, I needed answers.
He opened his mouth, if sound was going to come out or not I had no idea. We were interrupted by the shrill sound of the house phone ringing. I sighed, my eyes still on Conner. When it was clear that he wasn't going to answer till the phone stopped, I turned around and grabbed the phone off the hook.
"Hello?" My voice was impatient, but I was too tired to care.
"Haley?" It was Brooke.
"Hey, what's going on?" I noticed the panic in her voice, as she said my name. She had my full attention now.
"There was an accident... or not... they don't know what it is but..." she was rambling and stalling. Something was clearly wrong.
"Brooke! What's wrong?" I could feel Conner's eyes burning through me.
"The guys went to the river court, and they found Nathan." The mention of his name brought relief to my body, but it went away when I realized Brooke wasn't done. "They found him lying on the ground, his face was bloody and oh my god..." she trailed off.
"Brooke!"
"He's in the hospital Haley."
Tears were pouring from my eyes by now. This isn't happening! Not Nathan! I hung up the phone, turned to see that Conner wasn't in the room anymore. But I didn't care, I darted for the keys and ran as fast as I could to my car. I started it, the stereo blasting on, and I pulled out into the street.
if I could just see you
everything will be alright
if I'd see you
the storminess will turn to light
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Lucas, Jake, Peyton, Brooke, Skillz, Bevin, and Karen were all in the waiting room when I got there. They were sitting in the plastic chairs, on the floor, leaning against the wall. They all looked like they had been crying for hours, like the worst news had already come.
Lucas noticed me first, "Haley," he whispered. Everyone turned their heads, watching as Lucas walked towards me. I met him half way, crushing myself into him. I tried to make it look like I was soothing him. Like he was the one with a friend in the hospital, and I was just there for support.
He pulled away from me, his eyes stinging with tears. I looked up at him with sympathy, his best friend was in the hospital. "How is he?" I managed to get out, but my voice was shaky and uneven.
Lucas didn't notice, or at least acted like he didn't. "They don't know, he hasn't woken up yet. They don't know when or if..." he stopped there. I was grateful he stopped, I was bound to end up in hysterics if he continued.
I wrapped my arms around his waist, and we made our way to our friends. Everyone seemed comforted that Lucas had his other best friend there with him, but only Brooke and Jake were giving me sympathy looks.
I detangled myself away from Luke and embraced Brooke, tears starting to flow out. I buried my face in her shoulder, shielding myself from everyone. To the world is just seemed like two friends comforting one another about their hurt friend, but it was a friend comforting someone whose loved one was in a hospital bed.
After a couple of seconds, we pulled away. But Brooke kept her arm around me, as did I. Peyton came over to my other side, and rubbed my arm up and down. We sat down on the chairs, Lucas and Jake sat across from us on the floor. Karen was on the phone, making sure the cafe was being taken care of, and Bevin and Skillz were sitting a couple chairs down. We all waited in silence.
It seemed like an eternity when a doctor came over, a clipboard in his hand. "Are you the family of Nathan Scott?"
We all stood up, but Lucas spoke. "Yes, is he going to be okay?"
The doctor eyed him with question before turning to Karen, "are you the mother?"
Karen was hesitant to answer, "um, no but I..."
The doctor interrupted, "I'm sorry but I can't give out any information to you, not unless one of you is related to Nathan."
He turned around but Lucas stopped him, "please! His father isn't in the picture, and he's emancipated from his mom. I'm... we're the only family he's got." Lucas was pleading with his eyes, we all were.
Karen stepped forward, "I'm his guardian, or I'm close to being it. We had just decided a couple days ago..."
We all turned to stare at her, then the doctor. He nodded slowly, "okay. Nathan is in serious condition." He paused to let that sink in, "we can't be sure, but we think that he was attacked."
"Attacked?" Jake asked, "like attacked by an animal or..."
The doctor shook his head, "no. We think he was beaten by another person, maybe more. From what it looks like Nathan is a pretty well muscled kid, so I'm guessing either his attacker was a very large man or there were multiple people involved."
"Oh my god," Lucas murmured, his hands rubbing over his face.
The doctor continued, "he took major blows to the stomach, which caused ribs to break. There were damages to his left knee as well, and his right leg is broken." Everyone gasped, "and his head, well that's our biggest worry at the moment." He took a breath, "his nose is broken, lips and cheeks are swollen, and it seems like every inch on his scalp has blood on it." I cringed, so did everyone else. "We have no idea what the brain damage is, and we won't know until he wakes up."
I tried to control the tears, it was very hard effort. Lucas spoke first, "do you have an idea when he will, I mean he can't be asleep for that long..."
The doctor shook his head in shame, "because of the sever blows to his head, Nathan could slip into a coma at any minute. We're hoping that he's just unconscious, and he could be for days, then wake up. But with what has happened, and the injuries, it will take a miracle for Nathan to fight the coma."
I brought my hands up to my mouth, covering it. I hoped that would hold back the sobs that were sure to come at any minute, why was this happening? Jake put a hand on my shoulder, giving me a small squeeze.
"Can we see him?" Skillz asked.
"Not yet, we still have some tests to run. But I'll let you know if there's any changes, and when he's ready I'll allow you to see him."
"Thank you," Karen said, before he turned around and walked away.
None of us moved, no one breathed it seemed. It wasn't until a couple minutes later that we all returned to our spots. Brooke seemed to be holding me tighter than before, and I was grateful for it. Anything to protect the walls that were crumbling down.
I think it was an hour later, when Lucas started to ramble. "I should have gone looking for him, when he hadn't shown up at the game I knew something was wrong." I looked up at him, his head was between his hands. "When Conner came in, I should have gone to look, I knew he could win the game. Why didn't I go?"
At the mention of Conner's name, I was pulled away from everything. Why had he run out when Brooke called, why was he lying to me about where he was? And what was wrong with his hands. They looked like Nathan's when he was done punching...
My breathing became slow, my hands started to shake. I was becoming dizzy, and I felt a wave of nausea flow through my body. Oh my god! The pieces of the puzzle were coming together, and I was an idiot! A wave of tears came through, and disbelief shook my body. How could he? He wasn't a violent person, he would never! But my inner voice was yelling at me, yelling at me because I was so stupid! I have to know, I have to know now!
I jolted up, the movement made everyone look at me. But I didn't say a word as I ran down the hallway, the voices calling me back, I didn't wait for the elevator. I slammed open the stair doors, and ran as fast as I could. I wasn't in the best physical shape, but I didn't give a damn. I didn't even bother to get my car, the river court wasn't far from the hospital. And I know he'll be there.
I ran, I ran even though I could barely breathe. My hear was beating in my ears, the blood was running everywhere, but that just made me run faster. I reached the edge of the park, and saw a figure standing at the court. I knew it was him.
I walked then, trying to get my breathe back. I had no idea what I was going to say, and if I was wrong and I was accusing him of this, him and I would be over. I knew it, but either way I had to do it. I had to know if Conner was the one who put Nathan in the hospital bed, and if he wasn't I had to end it with him. It was time, and I had to be with Nathan. My heart was with him, and he needed me.
Conner didn't turn around when I came to step behind him, even though I knew he knew I was there. My breathing gave me away.
"Conner?" I was surprised at how strong my voice sounded.
He turned then, his eyes locking with mine. "What's going on Haley?" He was playing innocent, which just made this worse.
"Where were you tonight, before the game? And don't lie to me, I'll know."
He stared at me for a moment, "I told you, there was traffic..."
"Shut up!" I screamed! "Don't lie to me! Where were you? Were you here? Were you with someone?"
He bit his lip, every second he knew I was getting to know the answer. Him avoiding the question, was the biggest sign. "I..."
"Did you... did you attack Nathan?" I whispered, my voice full of shame. I was asking my boyfriend if he attacked the guy that I was sleeping with behind his back.
I looked up at him, when he didn't answer. "Are you sleeping with Nathan?" It was as if he had read my mind.
The question caught me off guard, and I almost staggered back. I shook my head in disbelief, "wh.. what?"
He took a dangerous step towards me, but I was rooted in place. Shocked. "You heard me," he spat out with venom in his voice, "are you screwing that fuck head?"
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I'm no medical expert, so don't hate me if my information is totally wrong! It's my story, and in it that's how it works! lol! I know the cliffhanger sort of sucks, but I was tired and I didn't feel like writing anymore. Sorry! Next chapter will be up soon though, scouts honor! Don't forget to leave me a treat! Review! lol!
Songs:
We Are the Champions- Queen
Calling All Angels- Train
P.S.! Good luck Germany in the Euro 08 Final! I'll be watching!