Chapter 9 : You Are My Heaven
Sometimes life works in mysterious ways. It can beat you up and scare you. It can show you love and hurt. Sometimes you can see a beautiful day followed by a not so nice, stormy one. Just when you think you can't hold on any longer, life sends you a miracle. Her miracle was Nathan Scott.
He had come into her world and in a short time changed most of her theories on life. She used to think that people couldn't change. You are who you are, and at the end of the day it's who you've always been. Now she wasn't so sure about that one. She also learned that you never really know someone until you get to know them. She had judged Nathan just by observing from the outside. When she actually talked to him, she had never felt more wrong in her life. When she listened to his story, she realized he was just a normal person, with normal problems that made him who he was. Being with him made her feel nervous but comfortable. She felt a calm wash over her every time she saw him smile.
And now, here she was, just inches away from having it all.
She just waited nervously as his face grew closer and closer to hers…..
When his lips hit hers she was positive she was in heaven. It was slow and hesitant but all of their feelings were poured into it. His hand gently caressed her cheek. She had never felt more wanted and desired in her life. Eventually, they both needed to breath, and they slowly pulled apart.
Haley couldn't believe everything she was feeling. She hadn't felt like this ever, not even with Cole. Mostly she felt safe and protected. And then she remembered. She remembered the last time she let someone into her life. It started just like this. He was sweet and caring and she felt safe. And then it ended with a broken heart and her life in pieces. It took so long to put it back together. She couldn't do that again. She wouldn't survive. Things were better now. She was finding the independence in herself that she didn't know she had before. She was doing fine.
" I can't do this." Haley whispered, and slowly backed away. " What?" Nathan asked, extremely confused. That was the most amazing kiss he ever had and now she was backing away.
" I'm sorry, I just - I have to go." Haley stuttered and turned to walk away. " Haley wait ! What's wrong?" Nathan asked quickly. She started speed walking up the beach and he followed right behind her, catching up quickly. "I can't do this again. I was doing better - I was fine again. By myself. I can't do this . I just - ." By now Haley was crying and she couldn't form actual words. " Haley, I don't understand. What are you talking about?" Nathan said. Haley had now turned around and was facing him. " I can't go through that again Nathan ! The last time I opened up to someone and was vulnerable, it ended in misery and I shut down. It's just easier this way Nathan. I'm sorry."
Nathan knew she was talking about her 'screw up of an ex-boyfriend'. " So what Haley? You're gonna live the rest of your life alone because it's easier?! You deserve to have someone who loves you! Just because one guy in you're life was a dick doesn't mean all of them are!" Nathan said, desperate to show her how he really felt. He wasn't going to let go that easy. He was tired of living his life the way he had been. He felt too many things for her to just let her slip away. "You're right. Okay? I'm scared. I'm scared of actually feeling something towards someone because I learned a long time ago not to trust anyone! What happens when you realize that there are better girls out there Nathan? Huh? What happens when you don't like me anymore and once again I'm left behind? " Haley said, tears streaming down her face.
Nathan grabbed Haley and pulled her in a hug. At first she was surprised but eventually wrapped her arms around him and cried . Her face was against his chest and he knew she was getting his shirt wet but he didn't care one bit.
"I would never do that to you Haley. I would never do what he did. You need to give me a chance to show you that we're not all the same. I like you a lot and I know you like me. We can do this. I promise it's going to be okay." Nathan whispered to her.
Haley pulled away from him , her face stained with tears. Nathan thought she had never looked more beautiful. He was reaching her and could see the walls she built start to break down. " We can do this." He repeated.
Haley looked right into his eyes and knew he meant it. He meant every word. She just knew. She also knew that he was right. Not everyone was Cole and she didn't want to be alone for the rest of her life. She wouldn't take the easy way out. She was going to fight her insecurities and she was going to win.
" We can do this." This time it came from Haley's mouth. Nathan looked at her and smiled. She smiled back and grabbed the back of his head. This time the kiss had even more passion and feeling in it. This was the start of something beautiful and they both knew it. When they pulled away he wrapped his arms around her waist into a hug. She placed her head in the crook of his neck and whispered, "Thank you." " For what?" Nathan asked. She pulled back and looked into his eyes. " For saving me." was all she said, and he understood. "Someone's got to." He whispered.
They walked hand in hand back up the beach and all the way to Haley's dorm. "I had an amazing night." Haley said, as they stood outside her door. " I definitely did too." Nathan said, smirking. " So what does this mean for us?" Haley asked looking at her feet nervously. " This means that I'm gonna kiss you a lot, and call you all the time, and take you out and show you off to all my 'soon to be jealous' friends and most importantly, I'm gonna call you my girlfriend." Nathan said. Haley suddenly looked up with the hugest smile on her face. "Really?" she asked. "Hell yes." He answered and kissed her again.
Once they said their goodbyes, he told her he'd call her tomorrow and she went inside. When she closed the door, she leaned against it and smiled. She couldn't remember the last time she was this happy. Everything was perfect. And then the phone rang.
Haley slowly walked over to the phone, with a huge smile on her face from the previous events of the night. "Hello?" she answered. "Hello, is this Haley James?" the unfamiliar voice asked on the other end. "Yes it is." Haley asked, quite confused. "I'm calling from University Hospital. Your roommate, Brooke Davis, was in a car accident…." Haley didn't even hear the rest before the phone fell from her hand and she dropped to her knees. She sat there for a minute just staring into space, images of her and Brooke flashing through her mind. This couldn't be happening.
When she finally snapped back to reality, she hung up the phone, grabbed her keys and ran out the door. In record time she had her car started and was on her way to the hospital.
As soon as she had her car parked at the hospital, she got out and ran in, straight to the front desk. "What room is Brooke Davis in ?" She asked, frantically and out of breath. " I'm sorry, only family can see her at this time." The lady at the front desk said. "I'm her sister, now what room is she in?" Haley lied, getting angry. "274." was all she said before Haley took off running toward the elevator. When she reached the room she stood outside for a minute and tried to prepare herself.
She hadn't even stayed on the phone with the person who called her earlier, long enough to hear the severity of Brooke's injuries. After a few moments of trying to mentally prepare herself, she slowly turned the handle on the door and walked in. As soon as she saw Brooke laying on the hospital bed hooked up to all sorts of machines, she broke down in tears for the second time that night. She walked over to the bed and sat down in the chair next to it, tears streaming down her face. "Oh God, Brookie, what happened?" she asked, knowing she wouldn't get a response. Haley held Brooke's hand while she cried and worried about the fate of her best friend.
A few minutes later, a doctor walked into the room and Haley got up to talk to him. "Hello, my name is Doctor Jones. I'm not sure how much they told you but your friend was in a car accident. She was hit by a drunk driver. She has some severe bruising, a broken arm, and a minor concussion. It may not seem like it, but she was very lucky." The doctor explained. " When will she wake up?" Haley asked nervously. "That's completely up to her. Sometimes it's a few hours, sometimes it's a few weeks. Now, all we can do is wait." he said. "Okay, thank you doctor." Haley thanked him and he nodded and walked out.
Haley was the picture of a broken girl. Just when she thought her life was right on track again and she was happy, the world had to knock her down once again. Brooke was the most important person in her life for so long and now she was lying in a hospital bed, helpless. Haley felt like she couldn't breath or even stand up if she tried. She didn't even know where to begin without her best friend. The doctor said it could take weeks for her to wake up. Haley had never gone more than a few days without seeing Brooke before.
Right when Haley was about to let another tear fall from her eye the door swung open and Lucas came rushing in. She had texted him on her way here to let him know what had happened.
" How is she? Is she gonna be okay? What happened?" Lucas spoke quickly and very nervously. Haley stood up from the chair next to Brooke's bed so Lucas could take her place and hold her hand.
" The doctor said she was very lucky and she'll wake up when she's ready. She was hit by a drunk driver Luke."
When the doctor had told Haley this earlier, she was furious. Someone else's stupidity had put her friend's life in the balance.
Lucas hadn't said anything else, just sat there staring at her bruised and cut face. Haley took this as her cue and moved toward the door. "I'll give you a minute." she said and slipped out into the hall. As soon as she was in the hallway she leaned up against the wall and broke down all over again. The tears started flowing and she couldn't control them. Her legs eventually gave out and she slid down the wall until she was sitting up against it. Just when Haley started to think that she was all alone in this horrible situation - she remembered ; she wasn't. She had Nathan now. He was hers and she didn't have to go through this alone. She slowly pulled out her cell phone and dialed his number. It had rang five times before his sleepy voice answered the phone.
"Haley? What's wrong? Why are you calling so late?" He asked, worriedly. Haley glanced at her watch and noticed it was after midnight. "I'm sorry, I know it's late but I really need you." Haley said still crying. "What happened? Why are you crying Hales?" Nathan was already out of bed and scrambling to put normal clothes on instead of pajamas. "It's Brooke. There was an accident and she won't wake up. I can't do this." Haley said sobbing. "Baby, where are?" Nathan asked. He hated hearing her like this. It was tearing him up inside. "The hospital." she said and he was already running out of his room and getting into his car. "I'm on my way." he said quickly and hung up. Haley couldn't have been more grateful that he was coming to be with her. He didn't ask anymore questions than he needed to. He just knew she needed him and was coming to her now. She tried to stop her crying and dry her eyes but it was useless. She just put her head back against the wall and waited until he got to her. So he could save her….. again.
Nathan hadn't ever driven so fast in his life. He had probably broken a dozen driving laws on his way to the hospital but he really didn't give a shit. Nathan didn't even know what was going on. All Haley had said was something happened to Brooke. He didn't know what or how. But he knew he needed to be with Haley because she was probably crushed right now. She sounded devastated on the phone and he didn't want her to be alone.
Nathan sprinted inside the hospital as soon as he arrived and went straight to the front desk. " I'm looking for Brooke Davis' room." he said to the lady. "I'm sorry only family at this time." the lady said once again to someone looking for Brooke. "I'm her brother." Nathan lied. He knew Haley would be in her room and he needed to find her. "274." the lady answered and Nathan took off toward the elevator after muttering an incoherent thank you.
As soon as Nathan reached the hallway Brooke's room was in, he saw Haley sitting outside the door with her arms wrapped around her knees and her head down. He almost though he saw her shaking. He ran right up to her and bent down. "Hey beautiful." he said gently , as not to scare her. Haley quickly raised her head and couldn't have been happier to see those gorgeous blue eyes staring back at her. "Hi." she said slowly. He took a seat next to her against the wall and wrapped his arm around her. Haley laid her head down on his shoulder and felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
Nathan didn't said anything. He knew that she would talk when she wanted to. After about 15 minutes of sitting in silence, Nathan looked down and noticed Haley had fallen asleep. He really didn't want to wake her but he knew if her let her sleep like that she would wake up all sore. He gently whispered in her ear. "Hales, wake up babe." She stirred a little and finally opened her eyes. "Where am I ?" She asked confused and hazy from her nap. "We're at the hospital." Nathan said and suddenly Haley remembered everything that had happened in the past couple hours. Haley decided she should probably tell Nathan what happened now. He had been so patient through this whole thing and she loved that about him but he didn't deserve to be in the dark like this. "Brooke was in a car accident. She got hit by a drunk driver and now she won't wake up." Haley said , surprising Nathan when she talked. Hearing this made Nathan very angry at that drunk driver. He wasn't ever extremely close to Brooke but she was a good person and her knew how important she was to Haley. Those two were practically sisters. "I'm so sorry Hales. Does Lucas know ?" He asked. "Yea, he's in there with her right now." Haley answered. "Hey Nathan?" she asked. "Yea baby ?" Nathan responded. "Can you please take me home ?" she asked him. She really wanted to stay at the hospital with Brooke but if she was being reasonable she knew there was nothing she could do until she woke up. She would have the hospital call her if she woke up before she could come back tomorrow. " Of course, let's go." He said and helped her stand up. "Just give me one minute." she said and walked back into Brooke's room. Lucas had fallen asleep in the chair next to her bed. She walked around to the other side and grabbed Brooke's hand. " I'll be back tomorrow Brookie. I love you." she whispered to Brooke and kissed her forehead.
Nathan witnessed this from the doorway and saw how hard it was for Haley not to break down again. Haley let go of Brooke's hand and walked over to Nathan. He grabbed her and they walked out. They decided to drive Haley's car back to the dorms and Nathan would come back and get his tomorrow.
When they got to Haley's dorm room, they walked inside and Haley grabbed sweatpants and a tank top. She went into the bathroom and came out five minutes later. Nathan had waited and was sitting on her bed when she got out. She walked over to him and looked into his beautiful eyes. "Will you stay with me tonight ?" she asked hesitantly. "Of course." he answered. He removed his sweatshirt and jeans and climbed into the bed with her. Haley snuggled right up to him and laid her head on his t-shirt covered chest. "Thank you so much for being with me through this Nathan. It means everything to me." Haley said quietly. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be." Nathan said and they both fell asleep together. The way it would be from now on.