Hi everyone! I'm back with another chapter for you all, which hopefully you'll all enjoy, even if it is a little long!
Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter, you really made me want to finish this chapter! I had hoped to get this chapter up earlier in the week, but I just couldn't get the ending to be how I wanted it. However, I managed to do it & here it is!
I had a PM asking me about the ages of Nathan and Lucas and I thought I should probably tell you (I'd completely forgotten to do it!)
Main character wise Nathan is a Senior, Haley and Lucas are Juniors.
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Chapter 13 – Troubled Thoughts
Nathan stared at his brother, his words ringing through his ears.
"I have HCM."
He stared at his brother, broken, and struggled to find the words to comfort him, to make everything okay. Lucas was the one who was good with words, not him. What do you say to someone who told you their biggest secret, one that changed their life completely?
"Luke…" Nathan began, taking a step towards him.
"No" Lucas whispered. "I'm sorry, I…" he said, not finishing his sentence before turning around and heading towards the woods.
"Luke!" Nathan shouted, watching his brother walk away. "Lucas!" He shook his head, noting how this was typical Lucas behaviour and followed his brother.
Haley was leaning against the door frame, still reeling from the shock that her best friend had HCM. She felt a single tear roll down her cheek and quickly wiped it away, hoping that Dan hadn't seen. He slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him. This was so unusual for Dan Scott, yet he felt comforting and she could only imagine that he too must also be hurting. She pulled away after a few moments and looked up at Dan.
"I guess judging by your reaction he hadn't told you either?" Dan said, attempting to lighten the heavy atmosphere slightly. "That boy's sure good at keeping secrets!" he continued, letting out a small chuckle. He moved towards the table and sat down, grabbing the bottle of whisky on the dresser as he passed.
"I'm sorry Mr Scott" Haley said quietly, making her way towards him.
"Please Haley, just Dan."
"Sorry, Dan..."
Dan looked up at the young girl and motioned for her to sit. "Would you like some?" he asked, gesturing at the whisky.
"No thanks, I don't really drink" Haley replied, feeling a little uncomfortable with the whole situation.
Dan nodded, pouring himself a double measure into his glass. "You're a very wise girl Haley, you'll go far in life."
"Thank you" she replied, eyeing the amount Dan was pouring into his glass. "You know, I had no idea" she began, trailing off slightly when she felt Dan looking at her.
"That you're wise? I'd have thought you'd have known that by now, maybe I'll take what I said back" Dan shot back, still attempting to lighten the mood, flashing her the trademark Scott smirk.
Haley looked at him, slightly confused as to whether Dan was joking or not. Dan noticed this and began to laugh, even more so when Haley began to blush.
"Just ignore me Haley, carry on with what you were saying."
"I had no idea that Lucas had HCM, I mean I know he had the test, but he told me he was fine."
"He had us all fooled. Well, those of us that knew. Did he tell you about the test?"
Haley shook her head.
"No" she responded, "Nathan told me they were going and then I pressed Luke to tell me more. I know that Nathan is fine and Luke told me he was too" she explained.
Dan began to turn the glass in his hands, thinking about Haley's words.
"He never told me. Not that I'd expect him to, nor Nathan, but when Nathan told me he'd got himself checked out, I asked him if Lucas had been checked. Nathan told me that Lucas was fine, but I guess he lied to him as well."
Haley looked down, her hands fidgeting in her lap. She felt so much disappointment that Lucas had lied to everyone, but much more sorrow for how he must be feeling.
"Do Karen and Keith know?" she asked, feeling hopeful that he'd at least told them about the test.
"Karen has no idea that he's even been tested." Dan took a mouthful of his drink, and swallowed, feeling the all too familiar warming in his chest. "Keith on the other hand knows he went for the test and that he was okay. I told him what I knew and we both felt it was best that Karen didn't know, and that Lucas still thought that we didn't know."
Haley nodded, taking in Dan's reasons for not telling Karen. She looked down at her lap, fidgeting with the hem on her dress, unsure of what to say next.
Dan sat for a few moments watching the young girl in front of him. She had a striking resemblance to her Aunt Rhonda, the same characteristics; smart, beautiful, nervous. She had her father's logical approach and her mother's laugh, but you couldn't mistake the relation between her and Rhonda James.
Haley sensed Dan looking at her and looked up to meet his gaze. His eyes quickly fell down to his glass and he poured himself another glass. He began turning the glass in his hand, thinking of a way to start up the conversation again, while trying to keep his composure.
"Do you think I should go?" Haley asked. Dan looked up from his glass. "After Lucas and Nathan I mean."
She studied Dan's face as he moved his gaze once again to his glass. He placed it down slowly and reached a hand out towards Haley. He placed his hand over her bunched fist.
"I think you should. But maybe give them just a few more minutes to talk, y'know, just as brothers."
Haley nodded, unable to keep Dan's gaze.
"That's not to say you're not like family to them, because you are. It's going to be hard for Luke to tell people, so it's best he does it one at a time, at his own pace."
"Yeah, I just wish he'd been honest, we could have helped him with this. I can't believe I didn't notice something was wrong, I've just been so wrapped up in everything else that was going on." Haley began to get upset and Dan pulled her towards him, comforting her once again.
"Hey, come on now. You can't blame yourself. We all get distracted by things and don't see what's in front of us, but we learn from our mistakes. I know I have and if I can do it anyone can." He said, nudging her slightly. Dan smiled, hearing Haley let out a small chuckle.
She nodded and smiled at Dan.
"I guess you're right."
"We'll all help Lucas to get through this, he just needs time. But right now, I think he needs his brother and his best friend, so go and find them."
He patted her hand and watched her rise from the seat and move towards the door.
"Oh Haley," Dan called out.
Haley turned to look at Dan once again.
"Let's keep this a secret between us okay, just for now? I think it's best the news comes from Lucas"
Haley nodded and left.
Dan sat for a few moments and then moved towards the sink. He watched the young girl retreat into the woods. He'd always hoped that one day Haley would marry one of his sons; she'd be a wonderful wife, mother and daughter in law. He continued to think about the children's past, how the three of them had been close growing up. Hopefully one day Haley would marry one of his sons, it would most likely be Lucas, but part of him hoped it might be Nathan. There had always been something more than friendship between Haley and Nathan, particularly within the last year. It was obvious, but the signs were there. He would know, he'd had a similar experience as a teenager. His thoughts began to wander slightly, but he pushed them out of his head. He couldn't think about that now.
Dan paused for a moment longer, thinking how good Haley would be for Nathan. She'd always kept him grounded and helped him, but maybe she could help him in a relationship sense. He smirked to himself, deciding he would try and help to get the two of them together. Maybe this wouldn't be such a long weekend after all, instead things had got just a little bit more interesting.
Haley stepped over a fallen log, getting closer to the lake with every step. She could hear the low murmurs of both Lucas and Nathan's voices, but not clearly enough to make out what they were saying. As she got closer she could see the warm glow of a small fire and the black silhouette of the two boys.
Walking through the trees and onto the sand, Haley was able to hear the conversation taking place.
"You really need to work out what you're going to do" Nathan said, turning his head slightly and glancing at his brother.
Lucas continued to draw patterns in the sand with a stick, pausing only to look across the lake, evidently deep in thought.
Haley moved closer, closing the gap between them.
"You can't tell Haley yet" Lucas said, turning to Nathan. "Please" he murmured, his eyes pleading with Nathan.
Haley decided to make her presence known.
"Tell me what?" she asked, causing both Nathan and Lucas to jump. Neither of the two boys answered her and looked at each other rather awkwardly. Haley moved the last few steps towards them.
"Move up" she ordered, pushing between the two boys. They shuffled away from each other, giving enough room for Haley to sit between them. The heat of the fire felt welcoming on what was a rather cold evening for the time of year, and Haley wrapped her arms around herself to warm herself up quicker. She looked at Lucas, studying his face closely.
"You never answered my question Luke. What don't you want to tell me?"
Lucas looked up, his eyes wide. "Erm…. Err….." He searched for an explanation, unable to think of a believable one, and looked over at Nathan for help. Nathan wrapped his arms around Haley and pulled her towards him.
"Just that we'd been here without you, didn't want you to feel left out or get all jealous" he said, smirking before nuzzling her neck.
Haley smiled and moved closer into him. "As if I'd get jealous!" she protested.
"You know you do" Nathan smirking, causing Haley to pout.
Before she could protest further, Lucas interrupted.
"I'm just not sure where to go to college or whether I should major in basketball or literature. I know we had everything planned the two of us, but right now I'm just not sure." He glanced at Haley, hoping his story was believable. "I wanted some advice from Nate and some time to think before I mentioned it to you. I didn't mean to keep you in the dark."
Haley smiled at him, breaking free from Nathan's arms and entwining her own around Lucas.
"Luke it's fine, we have plenty of time to sort out college!" She felt Lucas' arms embrace her back. "As for keeping me in the dark, you didn't, like you said you just needed time."
The two broke free, smiling at each other.
"As long as there's no more secrets, everything will be fine." Haley beamed at him, squeezing his hand gently.
Lucas forced himself to smile. "Of course there's no more secrets, you know I tell you everything."
Haley shuffled back to her original spot and pulled her knees up towards her chest. She felt Nathan place his jacket over her shoulders and she smiled at him gratefully. The three of them sat in silence for a little while longer, watching the lake and the fire, lost in their own thoughts. Lucas was the one to break the silence.
"Speaking of secrets, didn't you two promise to tell me about what's been going on between you?"
Nathan smiled and wrapped his arms around Haley. "We did promise that. Do you wanna' do this now?" He asked.
Lucas nodded. "Yeah, I don't really want to go back yet, plus if I put it off you might not tell me" he joked, nudging Haley. The three of them laughed slightly. Haley grasped Nathan's hand; it was clear from the expression on her face that she was fearful of how this was going to play out. She knew that Lucas probably wouldn't like some or most of what they would tell him, especially as they had kept it quiet for so long.
Nathan smiled at his brother once again.
"Get settled then Luke, I have a feeling we're going to be here for a while."
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So there it is!
I'm so excited to post the next chapter so we can finally find out how Haley and Nathan got together.
Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter, please let me know what you thought by leaving me a review; I read through them all and love to know what you all think!