Hey guys, I hope you all enjoyed your Easter! Thank you for all of the amazing reviews! By the way, if any of the legal terms in this chapter are a little off, then sorry, I don't know if any of them are really right. Sorry. :-)
Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own One Tree Hill or any of its characters…
Summary: Nathan Scott is the most popular guy in school and Haley James is just an average girl who happens to be friends with Nathan's half-brother, Lucas. What happens when each of their groups of friends end up staying next door to each other all summer?
A Summer to Remember
Chapter 24
"Are you sure you don't want us to come?" Brooke asked as she stood under the roof of the entryway of the condos. Today was the day of Bobby's trial and Nathan and Haley were preparing for their road trip to Charlotte.
"Yes, Brooke, we'll be fine." Haley laughed at her friend's concern. "We'll be back later tonight." The rain was pouring down steadily and Nathan was grateful that just earlier this week he had driven up to Tree Hill to exchange his convertible for an SUV.
"Call us if you need anything." Lucas replied as he hugged her. Over the course of the last week, he had grown to accept the fact that his best friend was dating his brother, he didn't like it, but he accepted it.
"You ready to go, Hales?" Nathan called as he came back from the car and took shelter beneath the roof. Lucas narrowed his eyes at Nathan as if to warn him against whatever he was going to try with her.
"Yeah, bye guys!" With that, she took off running towards the car with Nathan close behind her. She hopped into the passenger's seat as Nathan got into the driver's seat and started the engine. "Remind me again why you traded the convertible for the SUV?" She laughed.
"I never really wanted the convertible, my Dad kind-of forced it on me." Nathan said truthfully. "I figured since we were going for a road trip this weekend there had never been a better time to get the car I actually wanted." He turned on the windshield wipers before speaking again. "Now I'm glad I did."
"Yeah, me too." She laughed nervously.
"Hey, I know you're scared about going up to Charlotte," Nathan said softly. "But you don't have to be. I'll be right next to you the whole time…Well, except when you're actually on the stand."
"Thanks." She smiled. "I'm really happy that you decided to come with me."
"There's nowhere else I'd want to be." He said honestly.
After a few hours of driving, endless road games, and a couple of lighthearted arguments over music, they finally reached the courthouse in Charlotte that was their destination.
"You ready?" Nathan asked, just before they were about to enter through the big doors.
"As I'll ever be." With that, he took her hand and led her through the door.
"Haley Bub!" Lydia called excitedly as soon as her youngest daughter entered into the building. She rushed up to give Haley a hug as Jimmy did the same.
"Hi mom, hi Dad." Haley smiled as she greeted them.
"You know, it is disappointing that we had to go to court just to hear from you." Jimmy joked.
"Mom, dad, this is Nathan." Haley said as she introduced them to the tall dark haired guy next to her.
"Hello." Nathan said as he shook hands with Jimmy and then Lydia.
"Nathan? As in the boy you told me about on the phone a few weeks ago?" Lydia questioned suspiciously as she turned her attention back to Haley. "Please tell me that you told him how you felt?"
Nathan laughed a little as Haley smiled. "Mom! If I hadn't, you would probably have just embarrassed me to death."
"Sorry, I'm just so thrilled that my baby found someone that she is serious about." Lydia beamed.
"Come on, Lydia. Let's stop embarrassing her…for now." Jimmy laughed.
"Excuse me, are you Haley James?" A tall red-haired man said as he came up behind Haley.
"Um, yeah." She replied uneasily. "Do I know you?"
"No, I'm the prosecuting lawyer today and I just wanted to brief you on the procedure for your testimony." He said warmly.
"Ok." She answered warily. She didn't even want to give a testimony.
"Do you mind coming back her with me so we can discuss the questions that you will most likely be asked in private?" His smile seemed rather fake and Haley figured that he probably wanted to be here about as much as she did.
"Well, I um…" It was obvious that she was a bit apprehensive to go with him so Nathan gave her hand a quick squeeze to let her know that he would be right there waiting for her when she was finished. "Yeah, that's fine." She flashed a grateful grin at Nathan as she was led down a small corridor and into a tastefully decorated office.
"So, Nathan was it? When did you and my daughter become friends?" Jimmy said with a small trace of a smile etching across his face. He knew about the whole spray paint thing, Haley had told Lydia, who had told him, but he enjoyed watching young people squirm so he couldn't resist asking the question.
"Um…" Nathan had not been expecting that question. What was he supposed to say? I tried to get her and her friends kicked out, got caught, and had to clean the condo complex as a punishment with her? No, bad idea. "We work together." He said vaguely, hoping that Haley's parents didn't know the whole story behind that one.
His face clouded with confusion when they both started laughing out loud. "Nathan, we know all about the little stunt you tried to pull." Lydia managed to say. "Frankly, I think you should have waited until at least midnight to do it, but that's just me."
"Lydia, do you really want to be responsible for corrupting America's youth like that?" Jimmy scolded playfully. "But that was a pretty good idea, Nate, do you mind if I call you Nate?"
Nathan just shook his head, Haley's parents were awesome. Did they really find it comical that he had tried to get their daughter and her friends kicked out of their condo? When he thought about it, he wasn't proud of his actions that day, but he would never want to take them back because if he wouldn't have tried to spray paint the grass, he wouldn't be here with Haley right now.
"It's just too bad that Haley caught you." Jimmy shook his head. "That would have been one hell of a prank!" He and Lydia started laughing again as Nathan let out a small laugh. Wow, these people were crazy, in a good way.
"So, Haley told me that you play basketball." Lydia said enthusiastically.
"Yeah," Nathan smiled back.
"Really? What position do you play?" Jimmy chimed in.
"Shooting guard." Nathan was happy that the subject had been changed to something he was proud of.
"That's really something. You know, I was actually the water boy on my high school basketball team. Yeah, those were the days." Jimmy said as he stared off into space, apparently remembering the good old days. "I remember this one time when the star player needed his water bottle refilled and I-"
"Dad, you're not making Nathan sit through one of your stories about you as a kid, are you?" Haley smiled as she rejoined her boyfriend and her parents.
"Of course not." Jimmy smiled sweetly.
"Come on Jimmy, the trial is about to start. Let's give them some alone time." Lydia winked before pulling her husband away by his slightly tacky tie.
"Your parents are awesome." Nathan commented as they walked away.
"Yeah, they're pretty great." She smiled as she pulled herself close to him and laid her head on his chest.
"So, I'm guessing that what that guy told you was not good." Nathan soothed as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He always knew when she was upset about something because she would get just about as close to him as possible, the worse she felt, the tighter she held onto him.
"I'm just a little scared to go up there and face him." She admitted.
"It'll be ok, I'll be right here watching you." He really didn't know what exactly to say to make her feel better. He had never had an abusive uncle and didn't know how she felt. He could guess, but he couldn't know.
"Thanks." She whispered as they were ordered to sit down by the bailiff. A few seconds later, Bobby was brought out in handcuffs and seated at the table in front of the judge. Haley was momentarily paralyzed, looking at the man who had caused her so much pain. He was thinner, had a thick growth of stubble on his chin, and his eyes were dull and bored. It wasn't until a warm hand gently squeezed hers reassuringly that she snapped out of it. She looked up and smiled at Nathan to let him know that she was fine.
She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she basically missed everything that was said in the courtroom until her name was called. She looked at Nathan for support and he gave her a small smile and nodded his head towards the witness stand.
Nathan watched as she bravely walked up to the stand, placed her hand on the Bible, and swore to tell the truth. God, she was so beautiful. Even when she was scared out of her mind she emitted a confident and cheerful glow.
"Miss James," The defense attorney began, "Can you please describe to us the call that was made to your cell phone a week ago when your uncle escaped from the federal penitentiary?"
"Well, at first I didn't know who it was. The person just said 'I'm coming for you'." Haley looked over at her uncle for the first time directly to see him staring at her with a bewildered face. "It creeped me out a little and I didn't say anything. Then my boyfriend grabbed the phone to see who it was, but the person on the other line hung up." She was relieved when she was finished explaining it. Something about that call still didn't sit right with her.
"Did this call frighten you or make you doubt your safety in any way?"
She was a little annoyed at his question, hadn't she just said that it creeped her out? "Yes, I was a little nervous after receiving the call."
"So, you say that you have no idea who this person was?" The attorney pressed on.
"At the time I didn't, no." Haley didn't really know what this windbag that called himself a lawyer was trying to prove, it was Bobby on the other line, it had to be.
"When would you say that you realized that it was, in fact, your uncle?" Nathan wanted to go up and beat the shit out of this asshole. Couldn't he tell that she was already scared to testify in the first place? Now he was bombarding her with moronic questions like, were you scared? Hello, of course she was!
"I don't really know, um, I guess it was after my mom called and told me that he escaped." Haley was now purposely avoiding Bobby's gaze.
"Ok, that will be all Miss James." The man said gruffly before dismissing her and returning to his seat and shuffling through some papers.
"You did great." Nathan whispered in her ear as she returned to her seat next to him and Bobby was called to the stand.
She smiled back at him, that testimony had been relatively harmless, and it was over much faster than she expected.
"Mr. James, you are aware that you are facing charges of escaping federal custody, attempted theft, and harassment?" The defense attorney said loudly.
"Yes." Bobby said clearly, still staring at Haley who was now ignoring him by looking down at her feet. Nathan was looking at him though, trying to figure out why the guy looked so confused.
"Can you tell us why you called your niece?" The lawyer prompted eagerly.
"I didn't." Bobby said simply.
"Excuse me?" The man said with a smile, he felt like he had just proved something as earth shattering as proving that Donald Trump was actually poor.
Haley looked up at Bobby for the first time and Nathan was staring at him intently.
"I didn't call her."