CHAPTER 4
"So where are you staying?" Lucas spoke quietly into the phone, his mother hovering impatiently beside him in the busy café.
"We're staying above the garage at Gary Kemper's house." Nathan answered. "You remember Gary? We went to basketball camp with him 2 years ago? I called him when we got to Raleigh and he offered to put us up. It's just temporary until we move on."
Lucas passed on this information to Karen, but it still didn't calm her. "Do they need money?" Karen could hear Nathan's answer of 'no', Lucas shook his head and shooed her away.
"Nate, are you sure you know what you're doing? You and Haley have been gone a month, I know you cleared out your account, but your money must be starting to run out by now…"
"Luke, we're doing fine. We're leaving for Connecticut in a day or so. Haley has a friend in Hartford who we can stay with for a little while. She might be able to hook us up with jobs and an apartment. Listen, I have to go. Tell Karen thanks for the offer but we're good and tell Peyton, I'll call her as soon as we arrive in Hartford."
"Ok, well…" Lucas swallowed hard. He'd been worried sick ever since he'd gotten a phone call in the middle of the night from his brother and best friend telling him that they were running away. "If you guys need anything, I mean anything, please call us. Call back soon. And take care of Haley. And you know, take care of you."
"Thanks, bro. Take care of you. Bye." Lucas hung up the phone and turned to his mother who now had Peyton by her side both with worried, desperate looks on their faces. That was only the second call they had received since that first night.
"What did he say? Where are they?" Karen asked.
"They're still in Raleigh, they're moving to Hartford this week." Lucas relayed as much of the information as he could and patiently answered their questions of which there were many. Exhausted, Lucas threw himself into a chair and buried his head into his hands. He hadn't slept much in nearly a month, not since that excited phone call at 4am from Nathan, telling him everything that had happened. By the time the call had ended, Lucas was flying down the highway at 90mph, desperately needing to punch something. He had purposely chosen Haley's house as his destination, however, Keith, his uncle and mother's boyfriend, had pulled him off Karl James before he had done any real damage. Keith had managed to convince Karl not to call the cops and press charges with a few threats of his own.
And now here he was, worried sick for his brother and best friend, desperate to help them as much as he could. Peyton lay a comforting hand on his shoulder. "They're ok, Luke. Haley's a big girl and she has a wise head on her shoulders. And Nathan, well Nathan's Nathan. He always lands on his feet."
It was just at that moment that Dan Scott entered the café and eyed his offspring warily. Lucas leaned back in his chair and rolled his eyes, waiting for the onslaught.
"Danny, to what do we owe the pleasure?" Keith announced as he appeared from the back room. His timing, as always, was impeccable.
"I'm here to find out where my son is." Dan stated, his voice calm and cool. Dan Scott was never one to lose his cool, especially in front of a crowd. He stared down his big brother, and as usual, won.
"Why would I tell you that?" Lucas snapped, his temper starting to flare the more Dan smirked at him. "You show up here a month later, wow, what a caring father."
"At least Nathan has one to show concern for him." Dan retorted, his expression slightly amused.
Lucas flushed, embarrassed that Dan could still humiliate him like that. He couldn't believe that he had ever wanted this man to accept him. Dan turned his attention back to Keith who was obviously becoming more agitated by his brother's presence. "You obviously know where Nathan is, so if you care to share…" Dan looked at him expectantly but Keith just glared back at him. Clearly, Dan wasn't getting what he wanted here and they were beginning to draw an audience. Karen glowered at him from behind the counter and Lucas's cute little blonde friend looked about ready to pummel him. Sneering, he looked pointedly at his other child. "I heard about your little melee with Karl James. I hope you were able to alleviate some of the guilt." Dan turned to leave but smiled when his son took the bait.
"What guilt?" Lucas looked a little perplexed. And I'd heard he was a smart kid. Dan thought to himself.
"You were obviously feeling guilty about what happened to your little friend. I mean, come on Lucas. The whole town knows Karl likes a drink and used to beat on his wife. Yet, strangely, none of you tried to help Haley." Dan feigned confusion. "And you were all supposed to be like a family to her. Some family." he looked a Karen gleefully. "Wasn't her job here part of the reason she couldn't keep up at school?" he turned back to Lucas. "And aren't you supposed to be her best friend? You've known her your whole life, but ya still let her get her face smashed up by her drunk daddy." Lucas eyes were beginning to fill with shame. "You should have seen her. Her eye was swollen shut, her lips so big she could have passed for Angelina Jolie's beat up twin sister -"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Karen roared. She stormed around the counter and gripped Dan's arm tightly, her fingernails pinching the skin of his bare arm. "Get out!" she forced him to the door, but Dan twisted out of her grip and took one last look at the group and laughed. "I guess I'm not the bad guy after all."
Nathan rested the phone in it's cradle and turned to Haley. He smiled at her but was so tired that it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Everything is ok in Tree Hill, anyway."
"Has Lucas seen my dad?" Haley asked as she chewed on her fingernails. The bruises on her face had finally disappeared, her skin soft and smooth again.
"He hasn't seen him. I'm sure he's fine." Nathan assured her. He didn't tell her what Lucas had told him about going after Karl. He was glad Lucas had done what he didn't have the chance to do, but he didn't want to upset Haley anymore than she had been over the past few weeks.
"Whatever. I don't care anyway."
"Maybe we should leave for Hartford tomorrow." Nathan suggested. "I don't want to overstay our welcome here and our money is almost gone. We really need to get jobs."
Haley nodded her agreement and silently began to pack up their things. The room they were staying in was comfortable, if a little cold, and was mainly used for storage. Gary's parents were spending a few months in France so there was plenty of space and freedom to do as they pleased, but Gary was getting a little anxious about his parents finding out.
They were going to travel to Hartford where an old friend of Haley's mom lived. Joanna had been Carrie's roommate in college and was sympathetic when Haley called. Watching her pack now, Nathan felt a pang of sadness. Two months ago, he would never have dreamed that this is what he'd be doing. Nathan's plan had been to graduate high school and go to Duke University where he would play basketball and get a degree. Now here he was, hundreds of miles away from the town he grew up in, homeless and almost broke. Haley flicked her hair from her face and smiled over at him, the first genuine one in weeks, and threw a sock at him. There were things he would do for her, he thought. If he followed his heart, things would work out.
After a couple of weeks in Hartford, Haley had managed to land a job in the supermarket as a checkout girl 3 blocks away from the motel she and Nathan were staying in. It was finally the break they needed, Haley thought as she picked up her uniform from the manager. Nathan would find a job soon and they could save up enough money for a deposit on an apartment. So far, Nathan hadn't had any luck finding a job, even though he'd been scouring the classifieds and streets every day for weeks. Joanna had helped them out as much as she could, but she was a single mother with three children and could only offer so much of her time and food.
"So you start Monday at 7am. Your breaks will be posted on the staff board each day and your shift ends at 7pm." The manager, Mr Mooney, informed her enthusiastically. "Full training will be provided, so don't worry, you won't be thrown in at the deep end." Mr Mooney laughed as if this was the funniest thing he'd said all day and Haley noticed that his moustache twitched wildly and she suppressed to urge to laugh. "You'll start on 6 dollars an hour, the basic pay for a check out girl. However, here at Molly's Mart, there are great opportunities for promotion." The moustache smiled at her. "In a year, if you do a good job, Ms James, you could be considered for the position of check out supervisor, and from there, other supervisory roles will arise and in no time at all, you could make it all the way to store management." He smiled kindly at her as he led her through the store and to the front doors. "A couple of years and you could be standing where I'm standing, Ms James. The whole world at your feet and a great deal of experience to further your career, whatever that may be. How does that sound?"
"Um…that's great, Mr Mooney. I really appreciate it, thank you so much." Haley practically ran out the door, as far away from that moustache as she could.
"Welcome to the Molly's Mart team!" he cheerfully called after her.
Back at the motel, Nathan was lying face down on the bed reading a sports magazine and listening to his MP3 player when Haley entered. She hung up her uniform in their narrow closet, making sure there were no wrinkles.
"Joanna called my cell. She couldn't reach yours." Nathan informed her, not bothering to take out his earphones. "Her ex-husband has the kids tonight and she wanted to invite us to dinner."
"Excellent, I can tell her about my new job. Did you have any luck today?" Haley asked gently. Nathan had become a bit sensitive to the fact that he hadn't been hired by anybody yet. He just shook his head no and continued to read his magazine. "Our luck is changing, Nate. I can feel it. Soon as we get back on our feet we can get our GED's and then start looking into taking night classes." Haley plonked herself down onto the bed beside her boyfriend and stroked the back of his neck. Leaning down, she draped herself across his back and read the magazine over his shoulder.
Nathan smiled fondly at her and pulled the earphones from his ears. He craned his neck to kiss her cheek and winked. "We'll get there. Eventually. We should call home tonight. Lucas, Peyton and Karen will worry if they don't hear from us."
"Sure, we'll call them when we get back from Joanna's." Haley jumped up and began to tidy their tiny room, singing her favourite song by The Fratellis as she went along. Nathan smiled contentedly as he watched her. Getting out of Tree Hill had been a good idea; the change in Haley had been instantaneous. As long as Nathan had known her, there had always been an air of sadness around her, but since leaving Tree Hill, it had lifted slightly. She still had her dark days, usually when worrying about her father or their future, but on the whole, she had become more positive and cheerful.
Hartford was definitely a good place for them to settle down. It was a nice, pleasant city with good opportunities though Nathan was just having a hard time finding them. He spent most of his days worrying about money and though he had cleared out his savings account , they were dangerously low on funds. They could only afford another week in the motel so it was a god send that Haley got the job. He's been thinking about home a lot this week; his mother had called several times since they left, begging him to come home, but there had been no call from his father, which, he was embarrassed to admit, bothered more than he'd thought. Deb had said he was extremely angry and had thrown himself into his work, which was a typical Dan Scott reaction. Still, he felt bad that his mom had to bear the brunt of his Dan's fury. Dan wasn't a violent man, but he sure as hell held a grudge and was the worst antagonist Nathan knew. He would probably put pressure on Lucas to reveal Nathan's whereabouts, but he had sworn it would go no further than him, Karen, Keith and Peyton.
Throwing the magazine on to the floor - earning a scowl from Haley who was trying to clear up - Nathan picked up the newspaper again to check out the job pages. He circled a few more ads that sounded interesting and tossing the paper aside again, he turned onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. He couldn't believe it, but he actually missed Tree Hill. Not so much the place as the people he was close to and the little things that were a part of his routine. He missed hanging out with Peyton while working on her beat up rust bucket of a car as she chatted endlessly about a hot new band or hot new guy. Usually, she was bitching about one of her brothers new girlfriends. He missed playing basketball with Lucas down at the Rivercourt and his mouth watered every time he even thought about Karen's pot roast. He didn't regret leaving with Haley; he's move to Calcutta with her if she asked him. He just kind of wished he could have packed up his family and brought them with him.
"Are you ready to go?" Haley's voice interrupted his thoughts and Nathan jolted when he realised she was speaking to him. He looked at the prehistoric clock on the wall and was surprised at how much time had passed. He quickly got changed and freshened up and they drove over to Joanna's place.
Joanna had done alright for herself since her wild days at NYU with Carrie James. After law school , she passed the bar first time and set up her own firm in Hartford with her then husband. As successful and wealthy as she was, Joanna and her three boys lived in a modest 4 bedroom house in a quiet cul de sac just outside the city. Haley's jaw was on the floor every time they visited the tastefully decorated but 'lived in' house, as it was exactly the type of home she imagined her and Nathan living in one day, years from now, surrounded by lots of cute little raven haired children.
"Sweeties, sweeties, come in! It's freezing outside!" Joanna cooed when they arrived. She took their coats and hung them up on hooks beside the door, ushering them into her kitchen at the same time. There she had a bottle of wine chilling and poured herself a glass. "I know you guys are underage and I'm a lawyer, but would you like a glass of wine? It's Chilean." she offered, holding two Waterford Crystal wine glasses. Both politely declined the wine, opting for water instead.
"Goodness, when I was your age I'd have half the bottle empty already." Joanna laughed as she filled two glasses with water and ice.
"We're not big drinkers." Nathan answered quietly.
"Well, dinner will be here soon. As I've said before, I'm a hopeless cook, so I ordered a little bit of everything. Let's go get comfortable!"
"Great! I love everything." Haley laughed and chatted away happily as they made their way to the dining room. Even when the food arrived, she and Joanna did more talking than eating and Nathan only half paid attention as he focussed on the feast before him.
"Haley, I can't tell you enough how good it is to see you." Joanna reached over and pushed a stray lock of hair behind Haley's ear. "Look at you, all grown up."
"You say that every time I come over." Haley smiled shyly.
Joanna's face turned serious and she shifted a little uncomfortably. "Your mom called me the other day. She calls every few months to catch up."
Haley stayed quiet but it was obvious she was starting to shut down. Nathan ate a little slower, his gaze shifting between the two women. In all the time he'd known Haley, he'd never heard anyone bring up the subject of her mother. Haley only spoke of her with bitter contempt.
"I couldn't lie to her." Joanna continued. "I told her you were here in Hartford and what had happened with Karl."
"What did she say?" Haley voice was free of any emotion.
"She was a little surprised that you came to me, I guess. I think she half expected you would go looking for her. I told her she needed to be a little more realistic in her expectations. She wanted to know all about you." Joanna reached for Haley's hand but she pulled away and backed away from the table.
"I hope you told her where she can stick her concern." Haley snapped.
"She wants to help you." Joanna looked to Nathan for support, but he was with Haley on this one. "She's in California but she wants to send you money to help with an apartment. Maybe even see you."
"Joanna! Why are you saying this to me?" Haley's voice was getting higher now, unable to control her anger now. Nathan could see her trembling. "I have no interest in hearing anything about that woman or what she wants to offer me. She's 3 years too late for that and you can tell her she's dead to me!" Haley threw her napkin onto the table and marched out of the dining room.
"Maybe you shouldn't have told Carrie that Haley was here at all." Nathan suggested softly as he began to rise.
"I had to Nathan. I've know Carrie for 25 years, I couldn't keep something like that from her. I've always given her information about Haley."
"Yet you've never given Haley information about her?".
"I've tried. Haley never wanted to hear it, especially when she was living with Karl. I thought now that she was free of him, she might want to start building bridges with her mom." Nathan stayed silent and Joanna continued. "Carrie is in L.A. She gave up teaching after the whole Brad Padalecki scandal and she's working for a talent agency. She's doing really well but she misses her daughter."
"Is she still with Brad?"
"God no! That ended a few months after they got to L.A. He started college and I guess the novelty of having a toy boy wore off. She is married though. A guy called Andy from New Zealand; he has his own company, he treats her really well. The guy's a sweetheart."
"Good for her. Does he know she abandoned her daughter?" Nathan asked a little bit scornfully. He didn't know the woman, but he felt very defensive on behalf of Haley.
"Yes, he knows. Carrie told him everything and he wants to help too. Maybe you could talk to Haley and try to convince her to see Carrie? She misses her like crazy and really wants to see her. I think it would be good for Haley too." Joanna suggested cautiously.
Nathan began to shy away from the table. "Thank you for the meal, Joanna, and for all your help these past few weeks. Haley and I appreciate it." He picked up his and Haley's coats at the door and prepared to leave. Haley had left the house and he needed to catch up to her. "She won't see Carrie and I can't say that I blame her. Her mother abandoned the only child she had left. She left her to take care of a bitter, violent drunk who berated her mercilessly and beat her to a pulp and now Haley has lost everything, including the chance at a secure and stable future. She's spent the last 3 years putting everyone else before herself, cooking and cleaning up after an incoherent wreck of a man. You can tell Carrie and her new hubby this from me: Haley doesn't need her help or her money. It's Haley's turn to be taken care of and I'm going to be the one to do that now."
Joanna stood there speechless but nodded her understanding. After Nathan left to go after Haley, she called up Carrie and relayed Nathan's message, word for word.
A/N Well another chapter done! Please review! Keep me going...
