I'm surprised I got this chapter done so quickly! The ending of this chapter was VERY spur of the moment- really. The whole part before it including Nathan was made just so the ending would work properly... But I was still intending for the Nathan scene to be in the story, just not this early.
Hope you like the cliffhanger!
Read and review, tell me if you like my twist? :)
Chapter Four: We're Lost But Soon We'll Be Found
(Lyric in title is from the song Soon We'll Be Found by Sia)
Haley sat there in shock, feeling an empty yearning in her stomach. The two girls sat in silence, neither one moving, neither one looking at each other.
Haley slowly moved her hand, a cautious movement, and reached for Brooke's. Brooke took Haley's hand in hers, her eyes shut.
"Thank you." Brooke whispered, her voice hoarse. "For doing my work… I need to go back to school, Haley. I'm sorry about how I've been lately, it's just…"
"I know." Haley squeezed Brooke's hand. "Do you want me to call Lucas and tell him?"
"I want you to call Lucas and convince him to come to the Christmas banquet."
"Brooke… You can't go; you're not a cheerleader-"
"I was the captain, god dammit!" Brooke's scream rang out though the apartment, still holding onto Haley's hand. Haley could feel her shaking.
"You're pregnant." Haley quickly offered the next excuse, afraid for Brooke's safety. Her eyes finally snapped open.
"I'm not afraid of some baby bump getting in my way. It's little! No one cared when Theresa-" Brooke took a deep breath before she insulted Theresa. "After all, you'll be with me to beat any bitch's ass who calls me fat!"
Haley instantly yanked her hand away, standing up. "No, no, no, no, no!"
"Come on! It'll be fun!"
"You know what we're there for a whole weekend, right? Did your mind totally go blank when you forgot about the big basketball game against the Eagles after the banquet?" Haley said, walking across the room. Brooke promptly got up, and followed her.
"So what? Don't pull a Karen-" Brooke stopped when Haley narrowed her eyes. "What? Isn't this because of how Nathan used to play…?"
Haley winced at the suggestion, but Brooke didn't notice. She was too busy sticking out her bottom lip like a four year old, her hands intertwined with each other in a begging gesture.
"You seem to forget how unbelievably clumsy I am. Did I ever tell you about the birds?"
"Yes, Haley. You told me about the flock of crows that attacked you, oh, say about ten million times!"
"Murder." Haley corrected quietly, and Brooke threw up her hands in despair. "Whatever!"
Haley crossed her arms, a small smile on her face.
"Alright, here are a couple questions. What are you going to say? How are we going to learn a whole routine in one night? Where are you going to sleep? What about convincing Mr. Turner about coming back to school AND becoming a cheerleader again in four hours?"
"Easy!" A wide grin spread across Brooke's face, her dimples returning. Haley couldn't remember the last time she saw them.
"Me and Lucas will take it slowly. When I'm ready, I'll probably say… Hmm… That one is complicated. Maybe 'I'm pregnant', that could work." Brooke said sarcastically.
"Also, you seem to forget how kick ass you were during the last Sparkle Classic tournament. And no one said we're going to learn some other routine by some chick that has no talent. I already have a routine in my head, and with the help of Mouth, it will be great. I'll sleep in a hotel room, obviously. With you as my roommate, because I've already talked to Mr. Turner. He agreed to everything, I must say I am quite persuasive."
"I hate you." Haley growled, and Brooke's grin returned.
"I know. Now call Lucas!"
Lucas was on his bed, using his computer. He stared at the blank Microsoft Word document. He wanted to write, but the words weren't coming out.
He glanced around for inspiration, and saw an empty bottle for his HCM pills hidden behind his lamp, pressing up against the wall. He groaned, slamming the laptop shut. He didn't have enough money to refill them, but with the basketball game…
Suddenly, the phone rang, breaking Lucas out of his thoughts. He automatically reached for Peyton's phone; it was just a matter of habit. He had been staring at it since he got home, but the person behind the screen name DYTIWWA had not texted.
Lucas looked down to realize that it wasn't Peyton's phone, but his own. Lucas let Peyton's phone drop onto his pillow as he reached for his, flipping it open.
"Hello?"
"Luke!" Haley answered, and Lucas' eyebrows immediately knotted. "Hales? Are you okay?"
"Wha- Why?"
Lucas shook his head, trying to clear a picture out of his mind.
FLASHBACK- The day after Haley broke up with Nathan, Thanksgiving Day
"Hello?" Lucas said, calling through the red apartment door. Lucas rapped his knuckles against the door, but no answer. He heard someone inside, someone crying.
Lucas opened the door, and the creak from it made Haley look up. The image, Lucas was sure, would be burned into his head forever.
Haley was sitting in her apartment, on the floor. She had pushed herself up against the wall, right under Nathan's little artistic 'masterpiece' hanging on the wall. Her legs were crossed, Indian-style, and she was clinging onto a plastic bracelet. She was weeping horribly, and she looked up. She said his name, her voice hoarse.
"Luke!"
"Hales?" Lucas said, immediately, walking over to her, his heartbeat speeding up in a panic. "Are you okay?"
Haley couldn't manage to choke out a 'no', so she shook her head. "What happened?" Lucas couldn't stand seeing his best friend like this, tears streaming down her face.
"I-" Haley stammered, Lucas taking a place on the floor next to her. Her fingers were trembling from holding onto the bracelet so tightly. She couldn't speak.
Lucas pulled the bracelet lightly from her fingers, and she sputtered something, yanking it back.
Lucas didn't need words to realize what had happened, what Haley had done to make her cry so hard. He pulled her into him, letting her cry onto his shirt. He tightened his grip around her, only making her cry more. Lucas didn't loosen his grip, though, as Haley clung onto him.
"D-Do you think I made a mistake?" Haley managed to choke out. Lucas sighed, smoothing out Haley's hair.
"You had to do what you thought was right, Hales. It doesn't matter what I think."
Haley nodded against his shirt, still crying. Somewhere along the line Haley stopped crying, so tired that she dozed off and fell asleep. Lucas was comfortable where he was, with his best friend in his arms, that he was falling asleep too.
He was almost asleep, in the state where you're not sure if you're awake or dreaming.
Lucas ignored the voice that suddenly filled his mind, not sure if it was reality. His brain already commanded him to sleep, his breathing slowing to a peaceful pattern.
"Haley, is he gone?"
END OF FLASHBACK
Lucas suddenly realized something he had brushed off. When the two woke up, Haley pushed Lucas out the door. The next day, when Lucas asked Haley about it, she said 'I don't remember, you shouldn't either'.
The voice Lucas had thought joined him not in reality, but in sleep… The voice so sweet and happy yet swirled with slight vulnerability and nervousness could only belong to one person.
"Luke?" Haley repeated, breaking Lucas out of his trance. He was about to demand to talk to Brooke, but he wanted to see her face to face. He would go by the apartment, search every room… And if she was out, he would wait.
He'd wait forever.
"Oh, sorry. Why'd you call?" Lucas said politely, anger boiling under his skin. How could Haley- of all people- keep this from him?!
"Can you come to the Christmas banquet this weekend? Br- Well, I… I decided to become a cheerleader."
Lucas started laughing out loud. "Hey! I'm not bad-" Haley defended, but Lucas shook his head. He knew Haley couldn't see, so he stopped laughing.
"It's not that." Lucas held back a chuckle. Haley wanted to keep Brooke a secret from him, so why can't Lucas keep a secret from Haley? Regarding a certain brother of his…?
"Then what is it?"
"I was actually already going…" Lucas quickly lied about the reason for his laughter. He didn't even feel bad. This could work out- maybe Haley and Nathan could get back together.
"Great! I'll meet you there." Haley said triumphantly, hanging up the phone. Lucas shut his own phone with a smile.
Nathan sat on his bed, waiting for Dan to come into his room. Nathan would be able to tell him how easy it was- how easy it was to convince Lucas.
"Nathan?" Dan called, rushing into his room, pulling on his coat. "Sorry, son. Something came up at the office… I guess you'll have to spend a weekend with your brother alone."
Nathan's shoulders surprisingly drooped. He straightened quickly, feeling ridiculous. Disappointed because his father couldn't go on a trip with him? Bull.
"But-"
"Sorry! When you leave, can you shut off my laptop? Win a game for me, son!" Dan said, quickly leaving without a goodbye. This made Nathan's hate for Dan come back- he always treated Nathan like a slave.
With a sigh, Nathan packed his things for the weekend, the time nearing 6:30. A weekend with his brother… It sounded alright.
"What are you doing to yourself?" Nathan muttered angrily, ripping out his old basketball uniform from his closet.
"You don't like your brother, or even your father…" Nathan stuffed his uniform in his suitcase, zipping it up.
"And know you're talking to yourself. Terrific."
Nathan ripped the suitcase off his bed with a groan, looking around the room. He sighed, wanting to talk to someone sane… He wasn't on good terms with a lot of people, except Brooke and Peyton.
Brooke was off hiding from Lucas somewhere- the bitter Nathan chuckled- and Peyton was… Dead.
Nathan walked out into the hallway, hating the unfamiliar house he was in. He hated it all- he wanted all he took for advantage back. Nathan allowed Haley's face to flash before his eyes once… Just to make sure he hadn't forgotten.
But once he saw it, his face turned to a scowl and walked to Dan's office. His suitcase hit something on Dan's desk, but Nathan ignored it, shutting off Dan's computer.
After doing that like Dan asked, Nathan grabbed what he hit on the desk. It was a tiny notebook, pocket-sized, and yellow. What caught Nathan's attention was the red, capitalized letters on the front labeled 'RVNGE'.
Nathan slowly flipped open the book. There were dates from the beginning of the year, sprawled in his handwriting.
January 1st
PS- WITH JJ AND JENJ
HJS- WITH BD EARLY MORNING SHOPPING, THEN WORK, THEN HOME TO NS
NS- WORK AT MALL, RC WITH LS, PRACTICE, HOME TO HJS
LS- HOME, RC WITH NS, PRACTICE, THEN TO BD
BD- HOME, CHEERLEADING, WITH LS ALL NIGHT
KR- WITH AND. ALL DAY
KS- AT WORK ALL DAY THEN HOME
DS- DRUNK ALL DAY AT HOME
Nathan's mind swirled into a haze, confused. These were initials of those he knew- Peyton… Haley… Himself… Lucas… Brooke… Karen… Keith… His mother… Nathan flipped through the notebook, the logs getting more and more detailed. The last entry was a couple months after, the tiny notebook logging to August.
Nathan threw aside the notebook, yanking open each desk drawer. He had to have another…
The new notebook was wedged under a large business envelope in the bottom drawer. Sure enough, the dates continued. They continued all the way to today. Almost a year…
December 25th
HJS- HOME ALL DAY STUDYING, DOING WORK FOR BD, BLOCKING OUT NS FROM HER MIND… STILL WEARS PLASTIC BRACELET
NS- JAIL. WE MEET. COMES HOME. WITH DAIS. PUSHES HER AWAY… THINKS PEYTON IS TALKING TO HIM FROM THE DEAD… THEN TO LS TO CONVINCE HIM TO COME TO XMAS BAN.
LS- HOME, WORKING ON COMP., OUT TO CEMETARY, BACK HOME, TALKS TO NS, SAYS YES TO XMAS BAN.
KR- CRIES IN BEDROOM, WORKS IN GARDEN AND THEN AT THE CAFÉ, BACK HOME
DS- DOWNS MULTIPLE BOTTLES OF VODKA- NEW RECORD LOL
BD- HOME MOSTLY ALL DAY WITH HJS… GOES OUT… DISCOVERS BABY IS A BOY AT DOCTORS AND COMES HOME, TELLS HJS SHES GOING BACK TO THHS
PS- BASEMENT OF THAT HOUSE
A choked gasp escaped Nathan's mouth, his lungs constricting. He didn't think anything could surprise him- not after Haley… Nathan quickly shook his head, refusing to believe Peyton was alive. Larry DID take her cremated remains and put them in the basement, that's what the obituary said.
Nathan flipped to the next page, refraining to allow his hands to shake.
DYTIWWA- DID YOU THINK IWASN'T WATCHING ANYMORE
That part was eerily unfamiliar, but Nathan grabbed the two notebooks and stuffed them into his suitcase. He didn't care if Dan found out he stole them- he needed to tell Lucas.
Somewhere across town, in a basement room with no windows, a person screamed for dear life.
"Oh, shh…" A man cooed, watching the girl in a chair rock back and forth.
"Let me OUT!"
The man polished his knife giddily.
"You didn't think this would end so soon, did you? Car crashes aren't my forte… The switch was terrific. No one noticed you got pulled out of the way and got replaced with someone looking JUST like you. Hmm, I'm a genius. Too bad no one cares enough about you to realize… Well, that you aren't dead."
"HELP!"
"It's quite funny, actually. I heard Nathan talking to himself earlier. He's imagining things."
The girl let out a piercing scream, but the man in front of her didn't bother to gag her with a rope.
"Scream all you want. No one will hear you, Peyton."