Wow, I finally managed to get this chapter up! Sorry for the massive delay in updating, but those of you who read the note on my profile know that my life took a hectic turn with work and exams this month. However, I am officially done school for this year and have nothing but free time aside from work for the next two months. Hopefully I'll be able to update frequently!
Chapter 2
"An accident? I'm sorry, I don't understand," Haley said with the confusion evident in her voice.
"It's your parents. They were driving towards town on old route fifty five when someone must have hit them. No other car was at the scene when we arrived, but judging by a smear of different colour paint on the front bumper, we're guessing your parents were hit head on."
Tears began welling in Haley's eyes and Jake looked at the two men with his mouth agape. "They're okay though, right?
"I'm so sorry, Ms. James. Right now, machines are breathing for your parents. I don't know much more, but if you come with Officer Massey and I the doctors at the hospital can give you more information."
A single tear rolled slowly down her cheek and Haley nodded repeatedly, unable to speak at the moment. She grasped tightly onto Jake's hand and slipped on the shoes she kicked off earlier. Jake did the same and the two followed the officers to the squad car parked in the driveway.
The car ride to the hospital was silent save for the noises coming from the two-way radio. When they arrived, Officer Massey parked the car at the entrance to the hospital and the two uniformed men accompanied the teenagers into the intimidating building. One of the men walked up to the nurse's station and asked for directions to Lydia and Jimmy's rooms. They happened to be right across the hall from one another and the police officers escorted Jake and Haley to them.
After a short walk the group of four made it to the intensive care unit. Haley looked through the large glass doors on either side of her and saw both her parents. Their battered faces were covered in dark bruises already and Haley noticed both had white gauze wrapped around their heads. Her mother also had a leg elevated in a sling and wrapped in a plaster cast.
She let out a strangled sob at the sight of her parents looking so injured. Haley buried her face in Jake's muscular chest and he wrapped his arms around her shaking form as tears rolled quickly down his cheeks as well. They broke apart when they heard someone clear their throat and turned to see an older man in a white lab coat looking sympathetically at them.
"Hi, I'm Dr. Richards, you must be Haley James?" he asked.
She nodded her head. "Can you tell me what's going on with my parents?" she asked and her eyes drifted back and forth between the two rooms beside her.
"I'm so sorry, Haley. You're parents are both in a coma and ventilators are breathing for them right now."
"How long will it take for them to wake up?" Jake asked when Haley made no effort to respond to what the doctor had said.
Doctor Richards sighed, "I'm incredibly sorry, Haley, but your parents aren't going to wake up. During the accident they must have both hit their heads incredibly hard, which caused severe, irreparable brain damage."
"No! How do you know they won't wake up! You can't know that for sure!" Haley accused angrily.
Jake wrapped his arms around her and pulled his friend to his chest. He motioned for the doctor to speak as he tried desperately to comfort his friend. "Haley, there's no gentle way to put this, your parents are brain dead. The only thing keeping them alive right now is the life support. Without it, they would die."
Haley let out another loud sob into Jake's chest and he buried his face into the crook of her neck while rubbing her back. Doctor Richards and the two police officers who stood off to the side of the hallway looked at the devastated pair.
"No! No! This can't be happening. I can't lose them!" she cried frantically.
"Shh, it's gonna be okay. Just let it out."
After a few minutes Haley had calmed down enough to talk again. "What do you recommend I do?"
"Say your goodbyes now. It's up to you if you want to pull the plug or you can wait until the coma allows them to pass away naturally."
"I–I can't make a decision like that. Tell me what you would do, please," she begged sadly.
The doctor looked at the young girl, tears forming in his own eyes. "Pull the plug, Haley. There's no telling how long it would take otherwise and the waiting is even more painful for you. Legally speaking though, I can't tell you what to do, that's just my advice."
"Will it hurt them?"
"No. They are both heavily sedated and won't feel any pain."
Haley nodded slowly and covered her mouth with her hand and bent down clutching her chest with her free arm. She closed her eyes and let the tears flow quickly. Jake watched helplessly next to her and began rubbing her back, desperate to sooth her. Haley stood up moments later and silently walked into her father's room. She pulled up the uncomfortable plastic chair that was placed in the corner of the room as close to the bed as she could. She laid her head on his chest and listened to his faint heart beat. Haley grabbed his hand that was lying limp next to his body and clutched onto to it as hard as she could.
"Daddy," she whispered brokenly. "I don't wanna let you go. I love you so much. What am I going to do without you and mom?"
She lifted her head slightly and brought his hand to her face. She kissed the top of it and rested her forehead against it as she cried even harder. She heard Jake enter the room and stand next to her. He put his hand a top hers that was holding Jimmy's and squeezed it gently. Haley nodded to herself and stood up. She bent over the hospital bed and hugged her father, pulling away after several moments. Haley grabbed Jake's hand and the pair began walking out of the room, both looking back at Jimmy on their way out the door.
They walked straight across the hallway, passed the two officers and Dr. Richards and into Lydia James' room. Haley did the same as she did in her father's room and pulled a chair as close to the side of the bed as possible. She took her mother's small hand in her own and squeezed it hard. She stared intently at Lydia's battered face and stroked the hair that was sticking out from under the bandages.
"You remember how you used to tell me you'll always be with me, no matter what happens? Well, I'm holding you to that promise now, Mom. Who knows what's gonna happen to me now, so I'm gonna need you to be there with me. I love you so much, Mom, and I'll miss you and Daddy more than anything," she cried and hugged her mom tightly.
Haley stood from the chair and watched tearfully as Jake whispered a good bye in her mom's ear and hugged her. The two heartbroken teens walked back into the hallway. Haley nodded at the doctor silently. "Okay, you can do it. But do it at the same time... they would want to go together," she said brokenly.
The doctor nodded and glanced at two nurses standing next to him. Each of them walked into one of the hospital rooms and stood next to the life support machines. "Haley, would you like to be in the room when the nurses take your parents off life support?"
She swallowed thickly and shook her head. "No, I–I can't do that."
He smiled sadly at the young girl and signalled to the two nurses to take Jimmy and Lydia off life support. Haley buried her head in Jake's chest as he rested his forehead on her shoulder. The best friends clung onto each other tightly as they heard the heart monitor machines flat line until the nurses switched them off. After several moments, they both looked up and saw the frail, lifeless bodies lying in the beds and let out agonizing sobs.
The five occupants of the hallway watched as the nurses began preparing the bodies to be moved out of the room. Haley shook her head in devastation and began leading Jake out the hospital, along with the two officers.
The ride back to Haley's house had been completely silent so far, save for the sound of sniffles and whimpers coming from the two teens in the back seat and the defeated sighs from the exhausted officers in the front. They arrived in front of the James home and Officer Dales cut the engine and four occupants sat frozen in their seats.
"Haley, we have to speak to you about what's going to happen now since you're only seventeen and still a minor," Officer Massey spoke up.
Haley lifted her head off Jake's shoulder and nodded to signal she was listening. "Do you know a woman named Karen Roe?"
"No?"
"Well, she's your mom's sister and because you have no living grandparents are your dad is an only child, Karen is your next of kin. She lives in a town called Tree Hill, North Carolina and has been informed of what has happened. She'll be arriving here some time tomorrow morning and will be here for the funeral and until you two work out what's going to happen after that."
"Okay. How is she getting to my house?"
"Officer Dales and I have been asked to stay stationed outside your house, so another officer will be picking her up when her flight gets in and driving her here."
"Thank you."
Both men nodded at her in understanding and exited the car. They opened both back doors and allowed the two young friends to get out. Jake and Haley leaned on each other as they walked back into Haley's house and as the tears came pouring down at an alarming rate upon entering the house and being hit by a slew of memories of Jimmy and Lydia. They threw their shoes off and walked slowly up the stairs into Haley's bedroom. Both of them changed into their pyjamas on opposite sides of the room and climbed into bed next each other.
"I love you, Jake," Haley whispered softly.
"I love you, too, Hales," he replied just as softly and kissed her temple lightly. "Go to sleep, I'll be right here when you wake up." He felt Haley nod against his chest and soon heard her breathing even out as she fell asleep. Shortly after, Jake allowed himself drift off into a fitful sleep as well.
The morning light streamed into the small bedroom. Haley stirred from her sleep and opened her still puffy, red eyes. She rubbed the sleep out of them and slipped from the bed and into the hallway. The sound of voices in the kitchen drifted up the stairs to Haley and she curiously walked to them. As Haley made it to the kitchen and stood in the doorway, the voices stopped. She started in confusion at the two brunettes sitting at the table with the familiar police officers.
"Oh, Haley. You're so beautiful," the only woman of the group said softly as she walked quickly towards the small girl.
"You've never met me, but I'm your aunt Karen," she introduced herself while enveloping Haley in a tight hug.
"Yeah, they uh told me you were coming out here," she replied awkwardly and pulled away from their hug.
Karen nodded kinked her head in the direction of the other three men in the room. "Sit down with us, there's some things we have to talk to you about."
"Actually, I just came down to get some food. Jake's still in bed sleeping so I was gonna go back upstairs and wait for him to wake up," she lied uncomfortably.
"No need, beautiful," Jake spoke up from behind her. He walked further into the room. "I woke up when I realized you weren't next to me anymore," he finished and walked up to her. He wrapped his arms around her comfortingly and kissed her temple. "Morning, gorgeous."
When Karen realized the two teens were not going to leave each other's embrace, she cleared her throat awkwardly and smiled Jake. "Hi, you must be Jake. I'm Karen, Haley's aunt and this is my husband Keith," she said and pointed at the only unknown man in the room.
"Hi," Jake responded with a soft smile.
"Now will you come sit with us please, Haley? We do really need to talk to you."
"Sure, I guess."
Jake and Haley sat side by side at the round wooden table. "So, what did you need to talk to me about?" she asked after a few moments of silence had passed.
"There are a few things, actually. First, I think you have the right to know that the police found the person who hit your parents. His car was found upside down in a ditch not too far from your parents car and he was dead."
"Who was it?" she asked unsteadily.
"It was boy named Damien West."
All expression fell from Haley's face. She rose from her chair and walked quickly out of the room. Jake pounded his fist angrily on the table and followed his friend out of the room. The remaining adults heard the sound of the girl's sobs as she dry heaved into the toilet bowl in the bathroom down the hall. Karen looked worriedly at her husband but remained seated and minutes later Jake and Haley returned.
"Sorry about that," Haley whispered while wiping her dry mouth with the back of her hand. "I just wasn't expecting that."
"So you knew Damien then?" Keith assumed.
"Yeah. He's my ex-boyfriend. He cheated on me and I broke up with him a few weeks ago."
"Oh, honey," Karen sympathized and rubbed her back.
"It's fine. I'm fine. I'm just relieved to know who's responsible for hitting my parents."
The others nodded in understanding and silence fell upon the group. After five minutes of awkward silence, the two police officers who had been standing off to the side of the room announced they had to leave to get back to patrolling. Haley smiled at them as they left and hugged them in gratitude. Jake shook their hands and Karen and Keith nodded at them kindly.
"Uh, Jake and I are gonna go over to his house. I can't stand being here anymore, but make ourselves at home I guess," Haley said as she and Jake walked back into the kitchen from showing the officers out.
"Actually, there's still one thing we have to sort out with you."
"Oh, okay," she said and took a seat back at the table.
"Jake, if you don't mind, we'd like to talk to Haley about this alone," Karen interjected as she watched the boy make a move to sit down as well.
"Anything you have to say to me, you can say to Jake too."
Karen nodded. "We just wanted to talk to you about what's going to happen after the funeral. Of course, Keith and I are going to pay for everything in the funeral that life insurance doesn't cover, so don't even worry about it. But afterwards, we want you to be clear on what's going to happen."
"I don't understand. I figured you'd just let me stay here with Jake, since I've lived here all my life."
"No, that's not what Keith and I have decided. We discussed it on the plane here and we both agree that it's best for you to come back to Tree Hill and live there in our home with us and our son, Lucas."
"What? No! I'm not going to just pack up and leave the town I've been living in almost my entire life. Plus, I don't even know you guys!"
"Haley, I understand that you had a terrible night and this news is obviously coming as a shock, but it's what Keith and I believe to be the best for you. You'll be able to start over again in Tree Hill and break away from all the painful memories that are associated with this town, now. We'll be leaving sometime later this week after your parent's funeral and we'll give you your space to spend time with all your friends and say goodbye."
Haley stared at her aunt and uncle in shock and shook her head silently. She pushed her chair back suddenly with the back of her legs and walked out of the room with tears forming in her eyes again. Jake followed quickly and shuffled her to the front door. He huddled her shattered form to him as they stalked to his car.
"I can't leave, Jake. I don't know how to live without you," she cried.
"I know, but we'll make it through this. I'm not going to let this change anything between us, okay?"
"How can it not? We're going to be across the country from each other in a matter of days!"
"Hey. Don't think like that! I promise you, Haley, I won't let this change anything," he reassured and gripped her hand tightly in his own as they continued to drive slowly down the back roads of the small town.
"I just can't believe this is happening to me. I don't wanna go."
Jake sighed as he too failed to process that his best friend was moving across the country in the coming days. He felt tears forming in his own eyes as it slowly sunk in that his surrogate parents were dead and one of the only people that had truly been there for him his entire life was leaving. He couldn't believe this was happening to her either. Jake moved one of his hands off the steering wheel and took Haley's into it. She squeezed it tightly as though holding on for dear life and rested her head on his shoulder.
"I may not have a choice in this, but I'm sure as hell not going to make it easy on my lovely new aunt and uncle," Haley vowed strongly.