Chapter 33

Everything Is Not Always As It Seems

Not what it seems
Well you know everything's gonna be a breeze
that the end will no doubt justify the means
You could fix any problem at the slightest ease
Yes, please...

Well you might find out It'll go to your head
When you write a report on a book you never read
With the snap of your fingers you can make your bed
That's what I said

Everything is not what it seems
When you can get all you wanted in your wildest dreams
You might run into trouble if you go to extremes
Because everything is not what it seems

Everything is not what it seems
When you can have what you want by the simplest of means
Be careful not to mess with the balance of things
Because everything is not
What it seems

Selena Gomez

Haley sat in the chair that she had been tied to for the past 6 days. Since her head was covered with a black hood she had no clue exactly how long she had been there but she knew it had been more than just a little while. Her mind had drifted over the recent years of her life. There were so many memories, both good and a few bad ones too. Still she wouldn't trade her recent life for anything. She loved her husband, her children and her friends.

She had met Brooke at the café yesterday to help her friend with some personal issues she was having. Julian wanted to marry a very skeptical Brooke Davis, who at times was her own worst enemy. Haley gave Brooke a pep talk and told her it was finally her turn to be the girl that got everything she wanted.

As Haley finalized that thought with a slight smile her mind drifted to Nathan. 'God he was probably about to lose his mind right now'. She had no idea how she would handle not knowing where Nathan was for so long or if he was ok but she was certain her husband was experiencing just that. Then her thoughts traveled to her children. 'How was Jamie handling all of this?' Her son was strong but he also was only 5 years old. He couldn't be expected to shoulder all of this uncertainly without a care in the world. It wasn't who James Lucas Scott was.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and shrugged away from it slightly. " What's the matter wee one?" the guy said with a heavy foreign accent. "Aww you don't like my touch? Well you better get used to it." He pulled the hood off of her head and then placed the bottle of water to her mouth. "Here drink this. I won't have you dying until they tell me to kill you" He forced the water to her mouth as he bent her neck back so he could pour it down her throat. "Don't worry Haley Scott. As soon as they are ready to contact your husband and make their demands this will soon be over for you." The man suddenly let out an evil laugh. He reached down and placed his hand on Haley's thigh. "Tell me Mrs. Scott, would you like one last bout with pleasure before I send you to hell?" Haley glared at the man and then promptly spewed the water straight in his face. Dimitry was so angry he slapped Haley hard against the cheek. "YOU BITCH"

…

Lucas walked into Nathan's house and went to find his brother. As he came into the kitchen he heard the phone ringing and saw his brother moving over to grab the cordless that was on the counter.

"Hello"

Lucas watched in what seemed to be slow motion as the phone slipped from Nathan's hand and fell to the floor, busting in several pieces. He ran to his brother to keep him from the same fate as the phone. Nathan literally could no longer stand and was sinking to the floor in the kitchen fast.

….

Brooke and Julian were keeping Jamie and Cammie. They were all sitting in the living room floor playing and trying to make the best of the day. When Brooke heard the phone ring she jumped up to answer it.

"Hello"

"Brooke, It's Lucas"

"Lucas what's wrong?" Brooke asked as the hair began to stand up on her neck. She could tell from the sound of his voice he didn't have good news.

" They've called Nathan to go down to the morgue. They pulled a body out of the river of a young strawberry blonde in her early twenties. He has to go identify the body"

Brooke's hand came up to her mouth. "OH GOD!"

Julian came running up to Brooke. "Baby what is it?"

Brooke looked over to the two small children. She loved those two as though they were her own. Her hand never left her mouth as the sobs racked her body. "Julian, I need to tell you why I can't marry you. I can't answer your question about the phone call right now but I do want to answer your question about why I won't say yes."

"Ok"

"When I thought I was pregnant, I went to the Doctor's remember?"

"Yeah" Julian nodded " but Brooke I thought you said they told you it was a false alarm."

" It was Julian. They not only told me I wasn't pregnant. They also told me that I was never going to be" she sobbed.

"They told you that?" Julian said as he grabbed Brooke and brought her to him. "They said you can't have children?"

Brooke nodded again as she continued to cry. She grabbed Julian's hand and pulled him to the hallway to keep Jamie from hearing her. "I had to tell you the truth. Life's too short you know?"

"Brooke what did Lucas say?"

"Nathan has to go to the morgue. They've found a body in the river of a young girl, in her early twenties."

Julian felt his heart rate pounding. "Jesus. NO!"

…

This had to be the longest hallway Nathan had ever been in. As he made each step closer to the end of the hall he felt his brother's grip on him tighten.

Haley from the second I heard those words… "We found a body" my heart sank, I couldn't move, I couldn't think. Have we really had our last conversation? Our last kiss? Our last moment to just stare at each other and see ourselves through each other's eyes? Haley I can't hear that you're never going to come home again…..

Nathan moved to the double doors. His brother dropped his arm from his shoulder. As the man led Nathan inside Nathan's heart pounded harder and faster with every step. He walked up to the gurney terrified of what he'd see when they lifted the sheet up. The man asked him if he was ready and Nathan couldn't move. "Of course he wasn't ready! He'd never be ready"

As he turned just a little more to square himself with the table in front of him the man lifted the sheet. Nathan broke down. His breath came in rugged gasps. He motioned for the man to return the sheet back. To cover it up. To do anything to keep him from looking at it any longer. He turned and walked back through the double doors and was met with his brother's intense gaze.

Lucas's eyes were searching Nathan's face. It was void of anything. No expression existed there that could possibly prepare Luke for the answer he so desperately needed but didn't want to have to hear.

…

Dan stood in front of Nathan's house at the front door. He was building up his courage to knock on the door. He had just come from town and heard the news about Haley. She was missing, had been for nearly a week. He wished his son had of come to him with this. As he raised his arm to knock on the door he heard a car approaching. He dropped his hand and turned to see his two sons getting out of the Nathan's Range Rover. Lucas was driving.

"What is it? What's happened?" Dan asked as he began to feel his panic rising. The look on Nathan's face was indescribable. Lucas also had a lost look acrossed his features.

"TELL ME DAMNIT! WHAT'S WRONG?" Dan screamed. "IS SHE OK? WHERE IS SHE?"

Nathan and Lucas passed a startled glance at each other before turning back to look at their father. Before Dan could take his next breath, Nathan had him jacked up against the wall and his hand tightly around his throat. "YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE! I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN"