The Mourning After
Chapter 15
Summary: Back to reality.
Thank you guys for the feedback, but like the summary states it's back to reality for our favorite couple. Please review!
--
Nathan glanced over at Haley and he could tell that something was wrong. They just left the cabin and were now on their long drive back to Tree Hill. If Haley was unhappy, he was unhappy, it was as simple as that. He caused her so much grief, so much pain, he couldn't bear to do that to her again. And if something else was bothering her, he was damn sure he would do something about it. This weekend was like a dream come true for him, for both of them. He laid out all the cards out in front of him and took the biggest gamble of his life. In the end, he was rewarded with the biggest jackpot and guy could ever ask for, the love of his life.
They spent countless hours getting to know each other again, both in the physical sense and emotional sense. The thing they learned the most was that through these difficult months, they were never far from each other's hearts. They couldn't getting enough of each other, both of them willing to hand over their bodies to the other to make up what they called "lost time." There were moments when they just laid there in silence and then when they would talk, laugh, cry, smile. They finally moved past Haley's tour and how Nathan treated her when she came back. Most of all, they managed to deal with the school shooting and come face to face with Haley's problems with her pain medication. Ever since Haley left for the tour and the incident at the racetrack, he felt like there was always something missing. He knew what it was or rather who it was and now that he had Haley back, he felt complete and more alive than ever.
Though it took a little force, Haley gave herself completely over to her husband, in every sense. He was so moved when she told him of the remaining pills she had. They were going to work through the pain together. He even asked her to marry him.. again. He wasn't planning on it but then again he never planned it the first time either. He was never into the big wedding scene, which is why he was perfectly fine getting married by the beach with only Haley's parents in attendance. Although Haley was different than most girls, he knew she secretly wanted a big fancy wedding in front of their friends and family. But seeing her upset now, that didn't sit well with him at all.
Nathan sighed. "Tell me what's wrong?"
Haley snapped out of her thoughts and turned back to Nathan. "What? Nothing's wrong."
"Haley..." He said with that look in his eyes.
I hate how much he knows me, she told herself.
"I think I know what's wrong." Nathan added.
"You do?"
"We just had this amazing weekend and I'm sad we have to leave but we still have each other Haley.. nothing else matters right?"
She smiled to herself. "Of course." She gripped his hand, which was on the clutch. "I am going to miss that place .. but there's something else." Nathan saw the look of worry plastered across her face.
"Haley talk to me.. we promised to be honest each other." It was killing him not to know.
"You're right.. I'm sorry.. I shouldn't keep this from you."
Nathan got a little worried by the sound of her voice and he pulled over by the side of the road.
"K .. here's the thing." Haley took a deep breath.
-- Flashback --
"All set." Haley declared as she stepped out of the cabin. She put the last bag in the trunk and closed it. She sat on the passenger seat and gave Nathan a quick peck on the lips.
"Promise me one day, we'll come back."
"Promise." Nathan stated, giving her another kiss. "Maybe next time, we can actually explore more than the bedroom." He teased and she jabbed him lightly.
A couple of minutes later, they made their way to the other cabin and joined the rest of their friends. They enjoyed a quick breakfast there before heading out.
Haley went to the back and enjoyed the view.
"Pretty nice huh?" Rachel commented joining her.
"Yeah, it's awesome.. thank you for this weekend Rachel."
Rachel forced a smile, she was exactly thrilled about spoiling her weekend but she knew she had to say something.
"Look, Haley.. there's something I need to tell you.. something you might not like."
Haley turned around a little concerned. "What is it Rachel?"
Rachel then proceeded to tell her about the encounter in the Pharmacy (see chapter 10) and Haley's dealing with Daunte.
"Oh.. I'm sorry you had to see that… but I promise you.. I'm done with that.. Nathan and I worked it out, I won't be hitting up the prescription isle anytime soon." She gave a nervous laugh and smiled at Rachel.
"I'm glad Haley.. but that's not the problem.. at least not anymore.. the man that helped you out."
"Daunte?"
"He's a bad guy, Haley."
"What're you talking about?"
"He's a bookie .. a gambler and lord knows what other things he's into."
"How do you know this?"
Rachel gave a hesitant laugh. "Well sneaking off into bars .. among other places.. you kinda hear things.. look Haley.. I know this is the last thing you need right now but I wanted to let you know.. for all you know this could be nothing and I'm blowing this whole thing out of proportion."
"No Rach.. it's okay.. I'm glad you told me." Haley said giving her friend a hug.
"What're you going to do?" Rachel asked softly.
Haley turned back around and looked back at the view. "I don't know.."
-- End Flashback --
Nathan took everything Haley just said and took a deep breath. He'd heard about Daunte and wasn't surprised about the whole booky thing. Tree Hill was bigger than most small towns but you still heard stuff about other people. There were rumors that he'd approach college players about rigging games, from Tree Hill alumni who came back to visit. But other than that, he really didn't know much. He saw the worried look on Haley's face and ran his hands over her hair.
"Don't worry about it.. like Rachel said.. it's probably not a big deal."
"What if it isn't .. I mean. . . your dad's the mayor.. I'm his daughter in law.. you're the star player of the Ravens."
"That's it."
"What's it?"
"My dad."
"Dan?"
"He's actually been a pretty decent guy.. kinda weird actually .. but like you said, he is the mayor and he has connections.. I'll talk to him.. I'm sure everything will work itself out.. I promise."
"Then how come I still don't feel better."
"Well does this make you feel better?" Nathan said as he moved his head forward and gave Haley a kiss.
She smiled. "Okay.. maybe a little."
Finally seeing a smile on her face, Nathan felt a weight lifted from his shoulders. He leaned in and gave her one more kiss before getting back on the road. What's good about the mayor's son if he couldn't get any perks of it. Nathan was sure that his father would him and this whole thing would be forgotten. The rest of the ride went smoothly and they eventually made their way back to Tree Hill.
Haley opened the door and stepped inside and placed her duffle bag on the floor. Nathan came in right after her with the rest of their stuff. He immediately placed it down and scooped up Haley in his arms.
"Nathan! What're you doing?" Haley giggled.
"I've been waiting all day for this." He teased.
"For what." She said seductively as her finger traced the outline of his face.
"For this." His lips crashed into her and in record time, he sprinted up the stairs and headed straight for his bedroom.
--
The next morning, Haley woke up, her body still entwined with Nathan's. Over the weekend, he would wake up first and she would wake up and see his sparkling blue eyes looking down on her. Now it was her turn to see him sleep, to see him look so handsome and peaceful. Her stomach rumbled. They arrived back in Tree Hill in the early evening but didn't have dinner or unpack. Nathan had other things in mind. Haley smiled at the thought, they were like horny teenagers, until she realized that they were. Lately, she felt like she was growing up way too fast. It was nice to just live in the moment.
As carefully as she could, she tried to sneak out of bed but as if by reflex, Nathan pulled her back in.
"It's early.. stay in bed." Nathan groaned out, not bothering to open his eyes.
"We have to go to school."
Nathan opened his eyes briefly and saw the time on the alarm clock. "Not yet, go back to sleep." He pulled her into a massive bear hug, making sure there would be escape from him. She loved being wrapped around by him and in truth she could care less about school and spend all day like this.
"I'm going to make breakfast." She said as she tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but he wasn't budging. "Nate!!" She complained.
"I'll make breakfast.. you go back to sleep."
"Nathan." She said in a more serious tone. "You've been cooking and doing everything for me the whole weekend, I want to do something for you."
"You've already done enough for me." He still had that classic Scott smirked, even with his eyes closed.
She rolled her eyes. "I'm serious Nathan." She pouted. "And when did you become such a cook huh?"
Nathan shifted his body, he wanted to go back to sleep but Haley had other plans. "Well for the past couple of months I lived here all by myself .. I went to school.. practice .. came home and then I found the food network and yeah.. it goes to show you that my life is pretty boring with out you."
Haley smiled and kissed him on the lips but as she was about to pull back Nathan just pulled in closer. She finally broke free. "K.. I'm making breakfast." She tried getting up but Nathan still wasn't letting her go.
"Nathan.. please.. you remember the last time you stopped me from making breakfast." She teased, but Nathan's face turned dead serious. Images from that morning came pouring back to him.
-- Flashback --
"What're you doing here?" Nathan asked, it sounded too harsh even for him. Haley turned around from the stove, trying to ignore his remark. He had no right to talk to her that way, especially after yesterday's fiasco when someone played the time capsule tape to the whole school.
"Morning to you too, I'm making breakfast." She tried to sound upbeat. Haley has done everything in her power to get her and Nathan back together but for the most part it hasn't worked out. She was hurt when she saw the video tape of Nathan telling the whole world that marrying her was a mistake, but she knew the mistake was Nathan's, that he really didn't mean those words. At least that's what she told herself.
"I know that.. but why are you doing it here?"
"I just wanted to do something for you." She said honestly "Besides." She added. "I'm hoping you'd join me and head over to school together."
"Haley.. I don't think that's a good idea." Nathan said, sounding more calm. There was so many things going on right now with school and basketball, he didn't want to bring up the talk of their marriage again, especially this early in the morning.
"I know I'm not as great of a cook as Karen but how hard is it to make pancakes.." She started to ramble on but Nathan cut her off.
"Haley.. I think you know what I mean."
"And that was what I was afraid of." She responded, putting the bowl down and stopped emptying out the contents to the trash. She was lost with out him and was running out of ideas. The night she returned to Tree Hill, she practically pounced on Nathan but he refused her. She practically begged him to sleep with her. It was a new low for Haley, something she swore she would never stoop to again. But at this moment, she was right back there. She had no right to come to his house and think that a morning breakfast would solve their problems. She set herself up for heart ache and that's exactly what she got. She started to think that it was becoming pointless.
"I'm.. I'm sorry." Haley managed to mumble out, while holding back her tears as she started put back the items she took out. Nathan felt the pain in her words, it upset him to see her hurt but his walls were too high, even for her to climb over.
-- End Flashback --
She saw that guilt ridden look on his face, her hand reached over to caress his cheek. "Too soon?" She muttered and Nathan gave her a half smile.
"I felt so horrible that morning.. you were trying to do something nice for me and I pushed you away.. again."
"Nathan.. please it's okay."
"No, it isn't… especially after that whole stupid tape.. I was mad.."
"and angry and upset." Haley finished his sentence. "It's okay.. you already apologized.. I don't need to hear it again." She tried to reassure Nathan.
He smiled. "When I got to school, I had every intention of going up to you and apologizing."
"You did?"
He smiled. "Yeah."
Haley looked deeply in his eyes and knew he was telling the truth. Inside she was ecstatic. The school shooting brought them back together but she wished deep down that they didn't need a tragedy to get them back on track. And now she had her answer.
"It's only breakfast and come on .. I thought we got over this.. and I'm serious I want to do something for you.." She smiled back.
"You've done enough and now your going to Duke."
"Yes.. with you.. so I'm really kinda doing it for myself .. so come on Nate.." She placed her forehead on his.
"Fine." He muttered and finally released his grasp. "I hope you know I won't be able to go back to sleep now."
"Tell you what.. since we both have 3rd period free today."
"Wait you know my schedule?"
"Please, I memorized it on the first day of class .. how did you think I managed to bump into you so many times?"
"My very own stalker." Nathan teased.
"And like this stalker just said .. 3rd period .. janitor's closet." She whispered in his ears. Nathan's eyes grew wide open, he was definitely awake.
--
Nathan slowly opened the door and checked out the hallway.
"K coast is clear." He whispered as he and Haley stepped out of the janitor's closet. They both carried a sly grin on their faces and readjusted their clothes. The bell rang and students started to pour into the halls.
"See you at lunch." Nathan said as he gave a goodbye kiss to Haley and headed off in the opposite direction.
"Hey Brooke." Nathan said as he walked by her and she smiled at him and then linked her arms to Haley.
"Hey tutorbride."
"Hey Brooke."
"So janitor's closet huh? … nice."
"Brooke!" Haley shook her head and Brooke just laughed. "That's what I get for living with you." Both girls continued to laugh.
"Now you mustn't waste all your strength.. playoffs are here and we need to work on a whole new sets of routines to make sure our guys head to the championship."
Haley smiled to herself. At this point in her life, she thought her biggest challenge would be figuring out which college to go to not shootings or failed marriages. But with hook up sessions in the janitor closets, tutoring, cheerleading practice and basketball, aside from the whole being married part, she started to feel like a normal kid. Normalcy never felt so good.
--
Nathan took a deep breath before knocking at the door.
"Come in." A voice called out.
Nathan stepped inside the huge office.
"Nathan." Mayor Dan Scott called out. He turned to his advisors in front of him, "get me the rest of the numbers and we'll meet again tomorrow." The other people left the office and now it was just the two of them.
"Sit.. son.."
"Hey Dad." Nathan said taking a seat across from Dan.
"How was the weekend?" Dan tried to make small talk, which was something Nathan wasn't used to.
"It was good.. I wanted to tell you that Haley and I .. we're.. we're back together."
"That's.. that's good news." Dan said with a bit of hesitation in his voice.
"Dad!" Nathan let out a sigh of frustration. "I thought you were cool about me and Haley."
"Son, don't get me wrong, I think Haley is a great girl.. but I'm just worried that you guys are rushing into things with out thinking things through."
"Well we did this time.. we love each other dad and we're going to stay together."
Dan still had a look of skepticism on his face. "You say that now son but you both are graduating in a couple of months.."
"We know that.. and we're heading off to Duke together, so at least for the next 4 .."
"Wait what did you say?" Dan cut him off.
"We're going to Duke."
"You and Haley?"
"Yeah.. I told you we're going to stay together." Nathan was a little confused as to why his father was acting so surprised.
"I thought she wanted to go to school out west."
"She did.. but she wouldn't let me go with her .. she sort of left me no choice about going to Duke."
"So it was her idea?" Dan said as a smile formed on his face.
Nathan shook his head. "Dad.. please don't make this about basketball cuz I swear to God, I'll call coach K and call the whole thing off."
"No.. no don't do that! Yes, I'm happy your going to play for Duke.. I mean that was the plan all along .. I'm just a little surprised that Haley would go for it… I guess she's not the girl I thought she was."
"She's more Dad, if you ever got a chance to know her." Nathan didn't want to sound so bitter.
"You're right son.. I was wrong about Haley and although I still think you're too young to be married to her.. I'm glad you found her .. I know she loves you and would do anything for you."
"I'd do the same dad.. which is kinda why I'm here."
"Oh?"
"Listen Dad.. have you ever heard of a man named Daunte?"
Nathan saw his Dad's expression change and he seemed to actually be squirming in his seat. Dan reached over to his phone and paged his secretary.
"Yes Mayor Scott."
"Hold my calls."
"Yes sir."
Dan turned back to Nathan with a serious look on his face. "Tell me everything."
To Be Continued . . .
I was pleasantly surprised with how this chapter came together and how I was able to bring some things back especially from chapter 1. Most of the times, I have scenes from earlier chapters that I know I would bring up again but this time it just sort of fell into place. There are about 3-4 chapters left in this story, maybe more if certain chapters get too long. This chapter basically gets the ball rolling sort of speak and I hope you guys stay around for the ride. Thank you all for the reviews, please keep them coming !