Hi guys! I'm back! Phew last week was really hectic. This week is going to be another busy week too but I'll find time to update my stories. Hope you guys had a wonderful week. I loved reading your reviews for the last chapters and I know I promised to update as soon as my relatives have gone back, so here's the latest chapter. I hope you guys will enjoy it, and let me know what you think okay. Love you guys! Cheers! ;)

Chapter 17

"He did what?!" Peyton yelled as soon as Haley told her about Nathan's proposal. Haley opened her mouth to repeat what she had said earlier, but stopped when she saw Peyton put up her hand. "I heard you the first time," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. She started pacing the room to recollect her thoughts, her brain working on overdrive as she tried to fathom what Nathan's motives were. She made a sudden stop and turned to face Haley who was still looking shocked.

"So what did you say?" Peyton asked nervously as she bit her nail in anticipation.

"I told him that I need time to think about it. What did you think I said?" Haley replied. She felt the stirring of the baby within and her hand automatically flew to her stomach to soothe him. "What do you think I should do?" she asked.

Peyton kept silent as she contemplated the situation. She watched as Haley caressed her baby bump and thought that her friend deserved all the happiness in the world, and the only person who could give that happiness was Nathan. She just wasn't sure if Nathan's proposal came out of love or something else.

"I think you should do what your heart tells you to," Peyton finally said. She took Haley's hand and squeezed it gently. "Haley, do you love him?" she asked.

Haley stood before her friend, her head bowed low as she examined a spot on the ground. "You know I do Peyton. And Nathan's right. This baby deserves to have two parents in his life."

"And what about you?"

"What about me? Peyton, even if he doesn't love me, it doesn't matter. This baby is what matters. If I decide to marry him, it would be for the sake of our baby," she said quietly.

"Haley, you shouldn't let him walk all over you just because you think he has the right to be angry. And you should stop feeling guilty already. What's done is done. You can't change what happened. If you keep thinking about it, it's gonna eat you alive Hales. Promise me that you'll think about this carefully before you decide what to do."

Haley nodded silently. "I promise," she declared and gave Peyton a small smile. "Now come on, grab your coat. I promised Nathan I would eat something," she said. It was obvious that even with the craziness that was happening in her life at that moment, she still thought of him.

Peyton continued to watch her and after a while reluctantly agreed. It was really eating her inside watching her two friends who obviously loved each other hurting like this. She didn't know whether a marriage would solve everything or would make it worse.

Nathan was absentmindedly flicking through the channels on his television when a loud banging noise on his door made him jump. He felt annoyance build up within him as the frantic banging grew louder by the minute. He reluctantly got up from the couch and made his way to the door. He opened it and was instantly attacked by an obviously angry Peyton, with Brooke in tow.

He felt Peyton nudge his chest as she pushed him backwards. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Peyton said as soon as she saw him. Nathan had never seen her like this and the only thing that kept her from hitting him was Brooke holding her back.

"What the hell?!" Nathan exclaimed as soon as he found his voice. "What's your problem? What's gotten into you, Sawyer?"

"What's my problem?" Peyton asked in disbelief. "My problem is you. Why are you doing this?"

"Do what? Can somebody please tell me what's going on?" Nathan asked exasperatedly.

Brooke pulled Peyton aside, making sure that Nathan was not within her reach. She looked at Nathan squarely in the eyes and said, "she's talking about your proposal to Haley."

"Oh," Nathan said as he smoothed down his shirt. "That. Why are you so worked up anyway? It's not like I asked you to marry me."

Peyton looked like she was ready to take a second lunge at him but Brooke managed to restrain her in the nick of time. "Haven't you done enough?" Peyton spat.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Nathan asked.

Brooke looked at the two of them glaring at each other like two cats preparing to fight. She turned to Peyton. "Peyton, why don't you sit over there," she said and pointed to the couch.

"And you," she said to Nathan. "Get your ass over to the other couch and you two be quiet until I say you can speak, you hear me?" Nathan and Peyton nodded meekly and did as they were told, much to Brooke's satisfaction.

"Okay, Nathan. What the hell were you thinking, proposing to Haley like that? Why are you messing with her head?" Brooke asked. She took a deep breath and continued, "Nathan, you're my brother-in-law and you're my friend and I love you to death, but this isn't you. Are you doing this because you really want to marry her, or you're doing this just to watch her suffer?"

Nathan slowly looked up to her and gave her a stony glare. "You wanna know why I did that?"

"Yeah, enlighten us please," Peyton said angrily.

"I did it because I was still upset. I love her so much Brooke sometimes it hurts just thinking about her. A part of me wants her to hurt just like I was hurting when she deceived me. Another part of me knows that I can't live without her, that I want her to be with me every single day of my life. So yes, there's a little bit of both," Nathan said, his voice thick with emotion.

Both Peyton and Brooke looked taken aback at his declaration. For once, Peyton felt all the anger she felt earlier disappear and was replaced by sadness. She walked over to him and sat down next to him, rubbing his back comfortingly.

"Nathan, what do you expect to happen after you guys get married, assuming she'll agree. She will keep on thinking that you asked her to marry you because it was the right thing to do and not because of what you really feel. Do you really want her to live her life like that, thinking that she was stuck in a forced marriage? Marriage is for forever Nathan. It's not something you play around with."

"She's right Nate," Brooke added. "How do you suppose it's gonna work? Are you two gonna sleep in two separate beds?"

Nathan looked at her in disbelief. "What?"

Brooke shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "What? It's a valid question."

He stood up and rubbed his temple, hoping that it could soothe the headache that was creeping up but to no avail. "I felt the baby move. She put my hand on her stomach and I felt the baby move. It was incredible. I knew that I was meant to spend the rest of my life with her. Maybe getting her knocked up was my ticket to that."

"I'm so sorry Nathan. I'm sorry that it's been difficult for you and Haley but you have to stop this. You have to stop blaming her. She was just scared," Peyton said.

"Scared of what? Of me? Peyton, Haley and I have known each other for the longest time. Why would she be scared of me?"

Peyton looked at his face which was filled with pain and sorrow. "She knows you like no one does. Maybe that's why," she said quietly. Nathan looked at her, his face filled with confusion as he tried to understand what she meant.

Haley leaned back on the pier next to the shore, using her elbows to support her as she looked up at the sky where the stars twinkled like diamonds, her feet dangling in the cool water. She smiled as she felt the baby stir. "You like that don't you?" she said softly, her hand slowly caressing her growing belly. She was at the beach house that Nathan's parents owned. Sometimes when she needed to think, she would come here and the serenity of the place always managed to calm her. She and Nathan used to go there all the time when they were growing up. She remembered her father teaching her and Nathan how to swim and when they finally were good at it, this was where they used to spend their summers.

It all ended when they graduated from college and got busy with work. She did go there from time to time but not always with Nathan and she remembered why. Everytime she asked him, he would be busy with some girl he was seeing at that moment, and being a good friend she let him. She refused to be the girl who got jealous everytime her best friend went out on a date. She knew that she had feelings for him even back then, but the strength of their friendship held her back.

She closed her eyes and laid down. "Your daddy and I used to come here all the time," she continued softly. "He's a great guy, your daddy I mean. You may not think that he is right now, but he looks out for me all the time. He's just angry at mommy right now but he loves you. Did I tell you that he's also my best friend in the whole world? I have your Uncle Lucas, Uncle Jake, Aunt Brooke and Aunt Peyton but your daddy, he stands out above the rest."

She couldn't remember the last time her brain felt so cluttered. She didn't understand what drove Nathan to propose to her. Sure she was pregnant but that was to easy. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to marry him at that moment. How could she when she knew that the marriage would serve no purpose except to torture her soul, not to mention her heart.

Nathan watched her talk to their baby and felt a surge of emotion. He had called her earlier but she wasn't home. At the back of his mind, he knew that she would be here. He wasn't sure whether he should let her know that he was there, so he contented himself with watching her.

Haley took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, completely unaware of his presence. "Daddy asked mommy to marry him. What do you think? Should I marry him?" She thought she felt the baby kick in response. She felt a lone tear slide down her cheek and quickly brushed it away. "Why does this have to be so hard? Why can't things be just the way they were?"

He couldn't take it anymore. Seeing her like this was killing him inside. He slowly walked towards her and crouched down next to her. "Hey," he said softly.

Her eyes flew open at the sound of his voice. She quickly sat up and wiped the tears off her face. "Nathan, you scared me," she said.

"I'm sorry. I thought I'd find you here," he said. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I am. It's the hormones. It's making me all weepy," she said as she laughed nervously. "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough," he replied quietly. "What were you doing here?"

Haley stood up and he followed suit. She ran her fingers through her hair and stared out into the ocean. "Nothing. I just needed some alone time to think."

"About my proposal?" he asked.

She didn't take her eyes off the dark water. "That, and some other things," she replied. They stood quietly for a moment before she continued, "will we ever be like before Nathan?" she asked as she looked at him sadly.

He smiled and placed a hand on her cheek. "I think we're not that far off from the track," he said. "Did you think about my proposal?" he asked.

She removed his hand and turned her back on him. "I'm still thinking about it. You don't just spring it on me and expect an answer right away, do you?"

"No, I don't expect that. But I'm trying to do the right thing here. I'm not gonna let you raise our baby on your own."

"But I won't be raising our baby on my own," she said.

Nathan sighed. "You know what I mean Hales. Wouldn't it be easier if we were married? I can look after you."

She laughed at his remark. "Thanks for the offer Nathan. But I'm pretty sure I can look after myself."

"That is true but we also have our baby to think about. I don't want anything to happen to our baby."

Haley looked at him angrily. "And you think I cannot take care of our baby?"

"No, it's not that," he said exasperatedly.

"What is it then?" she said challenging him.

"I love you okay!" he exclaimed loudly. For the second time that day he stunned her. "Haley, I love you. I've told you that before and I'm telling you again. I love you."

She backed away from him. "You just broke up with Rachel and now you're telling me that you love me?"

"I never loved her. At least not the way that I love you," he said as he moved closer. "Haley, I've had enough of these games. We belong together and you know it. Whether you like it or not, this baby links us together for the rest of our lives. I think it's time you stop running away from your feelings." He held her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. He looked into her eyes and felt as if he could drown in those brown orbs. He slowly tilted her chin and bent his head, pressing his lips on hers, claiming her. She kept still for a moment but even she couldn't deny the depths of her feelings for him. She kissed him back with all the intensity she could find. Whatever it was that she couldn't tell him to his face, she told him with her lips.

Nathan groaned when he felt her respond and held her closer. "Haley." Her name came out in a hoarse whisper and he kissed her again, this time his tongue probing the entrance of her mouth for entrance. She parted her lips allowing him access which only made him moan. He flicked his tongue in her mouth as he searched for hers and when he found it, they tongues battled gently. He pulled away reluctantly as they both came up for air and they stared at each other for the longest time.

He then took her hand and put it on her chest, letting her feel his heart that was beating wildly. "The first time I kissed you, my heart did this. And it's gonna continue doing this everytime I kiss you. Please don't tell me that you don't feel that way about me."

"I can't tell you that," she stammered as tears sprang in her eyes.

He closed his eyes, relief washing over him at her response. "What's holding you back?" he asked. "Why did you run away that morning?" he continued, referring to the morning after they slept together.

"I was afraid that I wouldn't be enough for you," she admitted. He looked at her in surprise.

"Haley, how can you not be enough for me?" he asked.

She turned her back on him and wrung her hands nervously. "That morning before I left, I read a message on your phone. It was from Rachel," she said.

"Why would you do that?" he asked in confusion. "Never mind. Don't answer that. So what? You read a message from Rachel. What did it have to do with you disappearing?" he prodded.

She turned around to face him, wondering if she should tell him, unsure of his reaction. With a sigh she realized that there was enough secrets. If she was going to decide whether or not to marry him, his reaction to what she was about to tell him might make it easier for her to choose.