Pretty Baby

By AmericanBaby

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story, other than Lacey Scott; they belong to the WB or whatever. I just like writing about them!

Author's Note: I have more chapters written and I'm starting the 6th chapter. Please, please, please let me know what you think! I'd like to know if you don't like it, too! Any kind of feedback is better than no feedback D Niki

Chapter 3, Nathan:

Polaris

"Lacey Scott," the mystery girl said. I could barely believe my eyes. This girl, with my last name no less, looked like my mom with dark hair. My color hair, hair like Dan's, even though I hate to admit it. She even had the same color eyes as me, I felt like part of my identity had been snatched from me.

I looked over as my mom stepped aside, motioning for her to come in. She had on regular jeans that hugged her slender hips and showed off her long, lean legs. A dark red tank top showed off her slender neck and fit body. Her hair was down and hung a little past her shoulders and it glistened in the light change.

I stared at her, wondering who she was and how I could think she looked nice even though I had a feeling she was going to screw up my life. There was silence as we all looked at each other. Finally, my mom said, "Nathan, go tell Haley that I need you in the kitchen for a little bit." I nodded silently as she led Lacey to the kitchen. Then I walked into the living room only to find Haley asleep on the couch. I carefully covered her with the blanket that had been sitting on the back of the couch and walked out of the room. I shut the door silently as I fought the urge to give Haley a kiss on the cheek as I had so many nights before she left.

I walked into the kitchen to find my mom making hot chocolate like she used to when I was younger and we talked late into the night. She handed me a mug and then another to Lacey. After a few minutes of silence she smiled at me and then the girl standing across from her.

"Nathan, I would like you to meet your little sister, Lacey." I looked at my mom confused as she smiled back at me. I looked to Lacey, wanting her to laugh and say, 'Haha, Nathan! We're joking!' Instead, she looked at her hands and played with the handle of her mug.

"My what?" I asked, still unsure of what I had just heard.

"You're sister," mom said again. She walked over to Lacey and gave her a hug. Then she reached up and touched my cheek like she had only hours earlier. "It's, um, hard to explain… but there won't be a better time, I guess.

"You should know, first off, that Dan is Lacey's father, too. About 4 months after you were born, I realized I was pregnant again, it's really uncommon and I couldn't believe it. I didn't know what to do, either, because I didn't want to tell Dan for some reason. I ended up not telling him, I just left and went to Charlotte to stay with my parents. I took you with me, Nathan, I didn't think I could handle two babies, but I couldn't stand the idea of leaving you with Dan. I regretted marrying him then. I just packed up everything and drove. As soon as I got to Grandma and Grandpa's place I broke down and told her everything. I even told her that I didn't think I could be a mother all over again.

"She offered to come with me to Tree Hill and help out. I said no, that I didn't want another child in Dan's life. He didn't deserve it, he still doesn't. I could already tell that he had ulterior motives in life. I knew he wouldn't let me go with you for good," I looked at my mother, with tears glistening in her eyes. Even though this story was as much mine as hers, I was unsure of how it was going to end.

"I called Dan that night and told him you and I were going to stay with my parents for a while. He didn't understand, but amazingly, he didn't press me to come home either. I stayed with Grandma and Grandpa until Lacey was born. Then I decided to give her up for adoption. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. But once I knew she was safe, I brought us home."

"How come I've never heard about when we lived with Grandma and Grandpa?" I finally asked after minutes of being speechless.

"Dan never liked to talk about it. He blamed himself for my leaving, and I've always been glad that he has. He never knew why I left. Or even why I came back, I'm not quite sure either. But these last few weeks during rehab, one of the steps for recovering was to write letters to the people we thought we'd wronged. I need them to forgive me, or at least know how bad I felt, before I could move on with my life. I have one for you, Nate, but I haven't quite finished it yet.

"I wrote one to Lacey the day before I left rehab. It asked her to forgive me for not keeping her a part of our family. I was heart broken when I didn't get a reply, even one telling me that I should just leave her alone. But I did tell her she could come visit any time when she was ready. I'm guessing she's ready now?" My mom and I both looked at Lacey who nodded her head. I noticed Lacey had tears forming in her eyes too, and took it as my cue to leave.

"It's been a, um, long, interesting night, mom. I think I'm going to give it the night to sink in. I'll talk to you in the morning." I looked at Lacey again and she gave me a small smile.

Then my mom said, "It's been a really long night. We should be getting to bed, too. Will you stay here, Lacey?"

"Yeah, that would be great."

"Night, Nate. We'll be up in a little bit." mom said as I walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

I'll wake up tomorrow and I'll start
Tonight it feels so hard…

You say that love goes anywhere
In your darkest time, it's just enough to know it's there

Chapter Title and Song Lyrics are from Jimmy Eat World