A/N: Here's another chapter that I was able to finish today! Please review and let me know what you think!

It was now Wednesday and Haley had not seen Nathan since dinner at her house. She just didn't understand why he was ignoring her. She had tried calling him several times but no answer. She even stopped by the café to see if he was there and Karen said that he had secluded himself to their beach house all week. Karen had asked what was going on, but Haley simply said that she didn't know herself.

School had just let out and she was on her way to pick up the kids. This week had been miserable so far. She missed Nathan and so did the kids. After getting Kenzie from daycare, she picked up Mark from school. He hopped in the car and asked, "Mom, can we eat dinner at the café tonight?"

"Sure honey," she replied with a smile, "We'll head to the house and do your homework, and then we'll go to the cafe."

She drove to their house and unbuckled Kenzie from her seat. She didn't notice Nathan sitting on the porch steps until she heard mark yell, "Nathan!"

She carried Kenzie over to where the two boys were. "Hey little man, how are you?" Nathan said looking down at him. He had yet to make eye contact with Haley.

"Good. We're about to go to the café for dinner after I finish my homework. Are you coming too?" he wondered.

Nathan paused, "Actually buddy, I'm not sure that's a good idea...maybe some other time. Why don't you head inside and start on your homework? I need to talk to your mom for a second."

Mark did as he was told and headed inside. Nathan stood there staring at the ground until Haley spoke up, "Why are you here, Nathan?"

He finally met her eyes and answered, "I'm heading back to Los Angeles in the morning. I thought you should hear it from me."

"What's going on Nathan? First, we have a great day with the kids and then you kiss me. Now, you are heading back to LA. Was this just a fun time for you and now it's time to go back to reality?" she stated.

"Look I'm sorry. My life is in LA, and your life is here," he said before looking away.

"Well don't let me keep you. Go back to LA where your life is so great," she replied sarcastically, "I can't believe I thought you were different than 'Nathan Scott the point guard for the Lakers'. I guess you fooled me. Now if you don't mind, I need to go take care of my kids. Goodbye Nathan." She stepped around him and walked inside without looking back.

Nathan walked away with his head down. He knew that he had hurt her, but he also knew that she would move on after he was gone. Even though he didn't have to be back in LA for another few weeks, he figured the sooner he could get away the better.

After shutting the door, Haley put Kenzie on the floor with some of her toys and walked upstairs to her bedroom for a second. She needed to calm down before she helped Mark with his homework. She didn't know how she was going to break the news to him that Nathan was leaving. She couldn't help the few tears that fell down her face. She quickly wiped away the tears and headed downstairs.

Nathan had been back in LA for about a week. He missed Haley and the kids, but he knew he was doing the right thing. However whenever he had talked to his mom, he could tell she wasn't pleased with his decision. He was surprised that Luke hadn't called him yet though to gripe at him. He wondered what Haley was doing and even picked up the phone a few times, but he never called.

He had just got back from seeing his coach about whether he was going to renew his contract. He told his coach that he would give him an answer by Friday which was in a few days. He walked into his house to find Brooke sitting at his kitchen counter. "What the hell Brooke," he stated, "Why are you in my house!"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you are an idiot! Your brother told me to leave you alone because it was your life and that we should butt out, but I ignored him," she replied.

"Well maybe you should have listened to him," he said going to fridge to grab a bottle of water.

Brooke huffed, "Why are you doing this? Don't tell me it's because your life is in LA because that's a load of crap."

"My life IS here Brooke. My contract renewal is Friday," he answered.

"Well you know what I think," she paused, "You're using LA as your hide out. You're scared because for the first time in your life you care about someone other than yourself. The thing is, she cares about you too. So again I ask, why are you doing this?"

"I can't be with her Brooke," he whispered in defeat, "which is why I think I'm going to renew my contract and stay in LA."

"Answer me this, is playing basketball what you really want or are you using it to fill a void?" she asked.

Nathan responded, "It use to be everything I wanted, but it's not anymore. I just don't know what else to do. Basketball is the only thing that I'm good at. Brooke, I suck at relationships, and I'm bound to screw this up and I can't do that to her. I WON'T do that to her."

Brooke stood up and walked over to him and made him look at her before saying, "Nathan, out of all the years I've known you I've seen you make some really bad choices, but giving up on a relationship before it even happens is probably the one choice that you will regret. You and Haley could have something really special if you would just put yourself out there. Whether you renew the contract or not, please think about this. You deserve to be happy, and we both know that being with Haley and those kids is what makes you the happiest."

"That's the thing. How do you know that I'll make HER happy though?" he questioned.

"Have you seen the way she looks at you," she laughed before getting serious, "But she has also been miserable since you've left. She thinks that she did something to make you leave. Did you really kiss her and leave town days later?"

He groaned, "I'm an idiot remember."

"You still have time to fix this. The choice is yours. I've got a flight to catch back to New York in a couple of hours, but please just think about what I said," she replied giving him a hug and leaving. The question now was, what was he going to do? Was renewing his contract with the Lakers what he really wanted to do or was he trying to fill the void like Brooke said? Would Haley even want to be with him after he screwed up and left town? There was only one thing left to do…stay or go?

A/N: I know some of you may not like this chapter but please keep in mind that there will be more Naley soon. I just needed to show that Nathan doesn't always make the best decisions. I'll try to update soon!