"How could you be doing this?!" Haley yelled at Nathan.
"Could you stop yelling for like two seconds and let me talk?!" he replied frustrated with her.
"No. I will not stop until you stop packing for damn High Flyers!" she said grabbing clothes from his suitcase and throwing them to the ground.
"Hales… god, you're not making this any easier for me" he said extremely fed up.
"Nathan, I am your wife. And you want me to be happy about you leaving me for six months?" she answered finally in an acceptable tone.
"I'm chasing my dreams baby" he said with his hands on his forehead as if he had a headache.
"And I understand that, but how am I supposed to spend that much time away from you?" she said putting her hand on her stomach.
"I'll call." He let out annoyed.
"Gee, thanks for sounding so excited about that" she said disappointed with his decision.
"What do you want from me Hales? To say that I don't want to go?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I want."
"Well then I'd be a liar."
"Well then I guess you don't have a wife" she said taking her ring off and throwing it at him.
"Haley!" he said as he watched her storm out of the house.
"Hales…? What's wrong?" Brooke asked the crying girl on her porch.
"H-he chose basketball over the baby" she cried as she walked into the house.
"You told him about the baby and he still chose High Flyers?!" she asked shocked.
"No… I didn't tell him about the baby"
"So he doesn't know that you're pregnant?" she said trying to clarify.
"He's gonna leave regardless so what's the point of telling him?" she sobbed.
"The point?! The point is that he is your child's father!"
"Well it's not very fatherly to walk out on his wife."
"It's not walking out if he doesn't know Haley!"
Haley fell to her knees and wept like there was no tomorrow.
"I can't do this Brooke. Not without Nathan… I need him now more than ever,"
"Then tell him that before he leaves you!"
"He probably already left"
"Lucas would've called me if they were leaving!" Brooke said grabbing Haley and dragging her to her car.
As they reached the house Haley saw Lucas putting luggage into his car.
"No take his stuff out right now!" Haley said angrily.
"Hales come on, don't do this…" Lucas said as he approached her.
"Lucas, you from all people should know I can't live without him" Haley said desperately.
"He needs to follow his dreams, if you don't let him do this then one day he may hate you for it."
"If he really loved me, he wouldn't let basketball get between us" she said to him as Nathan came with the rest of his stuff.
"It's not getting between us, you're just being irrational" Nathan said bitterly.
"I guess this is goodbye then Nathan." She said trying to keep her composure.
"Haley I don't want to leave things like this, just say you're sorry and I'll call you in the morning." Frankly, he was sick of these arguments.
"You want ME to say sorry?" she said looking at him shocked.
"Whatever…" he said shoving the last bag into the trunk and closing it.
"Hales…" Brooke chimed in wanting her to tell him about the pregnancy.
"Nathan wait." Haley said stopping him in his tracks.
In six months, I'll be back, happy with my wife… I just know it. He thought to himself as he turned to look at her.
And to everyone's surprise Haley didn't give Nathan a goodbye hug but instead a nice hard slap to his face.
"We're over and don't you forget that!" she said furious with him.
"Haley!" Nathan said as she tried to stomp away
Why is she acting like this? He wondered and in shock.
"I said that if you chose basketball that it was over. And your choice has been crystal clear from day fucking one. Are you happy?" she said crossing her arms.
"So just like that we're done? All those years we spent together. We're married for Christ's Sake Haley!"
"Last time I checked I wasn't wearing my ring." She said as she walked into the house and slammed it.
Maybe I won't be so happy…
Nathan, Lucas, and Brooke all stood in the driveway awkwardly and didn't know how to go about what just happened.
"Brooke, she can't be serious, can she?" Nathan asked surprised by Haley's words.
"She's done fighting for you Nate…" Brooke said simply.
"But I love her" he said feeling sad all of a sudden
"Maybe that's not enough for her" Brooke answered keeping Haley's secret.
"You two are Nathan and Haley, you'll get through this" Lucas said reassuringly.
"I've never seen her this mad before." Nathan said as he looked over at Lucas.
"You hurt her pretty bad, but there's nothing we can do. What's done is done" Brooke said as she stood close to Lucas.
Nathan felt her ring inside of his pocket and felt more anger than sadness.
"Let's go Luke" Nathan demanded.
"Nate, but—"
"But nothing, we have a camp to go to" Nathan said getting in the passenger seat.
"Well we gotta go now baby, see you in six months?" Lucas smiled at Brooke.
"I love you" she said as she kissed him on the cheek.
"I love you too, take care of Haley, she'll need you more than ever" Lucas said before starting the car.
"Take care of Nathan" Brooke replied as she looked at the hurt and angry Scott.
"Haley, why didn't you tell him?" Brooke asked as she watched Haley pack clothes into luggage.
"I told you Brooke, it doesn't matter what words I say to him, he wants this more than ever, I shouldn't be stopping him."
"Hales, but yours and Nate's baby…"
"My baby will be ok with their mommy" she said wanting to shed some tears.
"Nate loves you, remember that"
"But he loves basketball more" she spat out as she zipped the luggage.
"I don't agree with whatever you're doing, but whatever it is, I'll be here for you Haley."
"Good, now let's go to Hawaii!" she said latching onto Brooke's arm.
"What?" she asked baffled.
"Those tickets you got me are not going to go to waste" she replied as she waved the tickets in her face.
"Tutor Girl, I can't… those were for you and Nate." She responded feeling guilty.
"Nathan's not here, you are, now let's do some damage in Hawaii" Haley smiled widely.
"You're going to force me no matter how long I refuse aren't you?" Brooke said apprehensively.
"Mhm" Haley grinned.
"WOO! HAWAII HERE WE COME!" Brooke said enthusiastically.
"How do you think Hales is?" Lucas asked as he sat down after putting some carry on bags away.
"Still in a bitchy mood" Nathan answered bitterly.
"What'd she say to you earlier in the day?"
"That I didn't have a wife anymore." He said as he looked out the window.
"What?"
Nathan turned suddenly to look at Lucas and pulled the ring out of his pocket.
"Dude, are you proposing to me? I can't… we're like brothers." Lucas said jokingly.
"Shut up" Nathan said punching him in the arm.
"Seriously, what happened?" he chuckled.
"She threw this at me after I said I really wanted to go, that I was following my dreams. Her anger surprised me so much. Haley is usually so supportive and sweet about everything, but this… she was just so against me leaving her" he said as if trying to figure out a complicated puzzle.
"Maybe she wanted your dream to be her."
"What do you mean?"
"You said you were following your dreams, maybe she thought that being your wife was enough, that you didn't need anything more than that."
"Doesn't she understand that I'm doing this for her? So when we get older I can buy a big house with a huge pool and basketball court and give her a giant kitchen where she can bake, because she loves doing that, and maybe even—"
"Ok I get it." Lucas laughed as he watched his friend get caught up in his fantasies.
"I'm doing this for her and she doesn't even realize it…"
"You practically already have all of that Nate... and did you tell her that?"
"No, but—"
"But nothing, you're supposed to be straightforward with her, you know that. She's Haley."
"Yeah, but—"
"You thought she'd understand, well look where that got you."
"I guess I should've explained it to her instead of getting annoyed. I'm scared things won't go back to how they were."
"And whose fault is that?" Lucas questioned not knowing the answer to his own question.
"You think I'm absolutely crazy for doing this, huh?" Haley asked as Brooke started driving to the airport.
"No, not crazy, just a girl upset with her husband" she said keeping her eyes on the road.
"This time we're in Hawaii, can we promise to not talk about Nathan?" Haley asked.
"Of course, but before we get there we need to talk" Brooke smiled cunningly.
"Fine. What do you want to know?" she said austerely.
"Are you ever going to tell him before he comes back?" she said referring to the baby.
"I don't know."
"So if he calls you in the next few days, will you answer?"
"I don't think so…" she said looking down at her lap ashamed.
"Why?"
"Because he left me…"
Brooke looked at her saddened friend; it was killing her seeing Haley like this.
"Do you still love him?"
"Always and forever" Haley answered simply as she looked out the window.
"Aloha!" the cute Hawaiian girl said to Haley and Brooke as she put lei's on them.
Brooke and Haley looked at each other and they knew that this vacation was going to be fun.
"We're so going to remember this trip for the rest of our lives!" Brooke said giddily.
"Ahh! This bed feels so nice" Haley said as she plopped onto the massive King-sized bed.
"Oh yeah, we gotta share… sorry about that we were planning that you and Nathan were, uh, well, yeah…" Brooke replied awkwardly.
"No Nathan talk, remember? And the honeymoon suite is lovely, thanks Brooke" she said as she stared at the ceiling
"This view is gorgeous" Brooke said aloud as she was fascinated by the sight.
"Hales?" she said as she turned around to see a sleeping Haley.
"Oh Tutor Girl…" Brooke said as she put a blanket over her and pillow under her head.
"You've had a rough 24 hours" she sympathized as she patted her head to lull her more into her sleep.
"Nate. Nateeeee?" Lydia shook the black haired cutie pie. Haley smiled when Nathan wouldn't wake.
"Mama, can he stay over? It is our birthdays after all." She said in a quiet tone. Lydia looked at Deb and Dan.
"If it's fine with you it's fine with us. It'd be nice to have a James-Scott night of bonding" Dan replied.
"We'll just go back home to get some stuff for Nathan and ourselves" Deb answered. "Alrighty then, it's set!" Jimmy said with happiness.
"YAY! Sleepover with Natey! We're gonna eat candy and watch movies and play all tons of fun games." The parents couldn't help but laugh at the little girls enthusiasm towards the sudden plans.
"Haley? Earth to Tutor Girl! Have you been listening to me? I said we're gonna eat candy and watch movies and anything else you might want to do to keep your mind occupied for a few hours!" Brooke suggested to her daydreaming friend as they sat in their hotel room.
"Sounds nice" she said remembering their 4th birthday party; the first time she kissed Nathan.
"What's on your mind?" Brooke nudged her with her elbow.
"Nothing, candy and movies sounds perfect, how about some beach time later?"
"Fine with me!" Brooke smiled at her hurt and depressed friend.
"Hey Hales, how'd talking to Luke go?" then she freaked out at the thought as she stirred the tomato sauce for the spaghetti.
"Well… he surprisingly took it well." And suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder. As she turned around she saw the pretty boy behind her.
"Nate!" she said as she hung up the phone and set it down on the counter. He simply smiled at her.
"What are you doing here?"
"Well you know, I got bored in such an empty house."
"Oh…" she said as she saw him shrug at her. She was used to this.
"Yup, well is there enough food for one more?" He said as he smiled at her.
"Of course Nate!"
"Nathan? Have you checked your email from Coach?" Lucas asked as he laid on one of the beds in their hotel.
"h-huh?" he said shaking out of his thoughts.
"Your email. Have you checked it?" He repeated.
"Oh, yeah. I did." He said shuffling with his fingers as he sat on the chair across their beds.
"What's up man? Worrying about Haley?" he asked worriedly.
"Brooke hasn't replied to any of my texts or calls if that makes you feel any better" he added.
"It doesn't, and no I wasn't worrying" he said trying to keep his unaffected demeanor.
"If that's your story."
Nathan throws one of the hotel brochures at him.
"Hey! If we're going to start fighting then we should at least eat first" Lucas joked.
"Room service?" Nathan grins.
"I can call, what do you want?"
"Spaghetti sounds perfect"
"Spaghetti it is!" Lucas exclaims as he reaches for the phone in their room.
The beach at night was prettier than the girls expected it to be. The cold and subtle breeze gently touching their skin made for a perfect mood after the sugar coma they were about to suffer from.
"Who knew we had to go all the way to Hawaii to indulge ourselves in ice cream and candy?" Haley said sarcastically.
"At least it's Hawaiian candy and ice cream?" Brooke shrugged as they looked at the waves moving.
"This is perfect" Haley smiled to herself as she unconsciously said those three words.
"It's ok to miss him Hales."
"It's only been two days." She let out plainly.
"But you love him, I know that, and you know that"
"Brooke…" Haley started.
"Haley, I understand that this may seem…unfixable, but just remember how you two were best friends before being husband and wife."
Haley swallowed hard at her true words. It scared her thinking about a deteriorating marriage but it scared her more to think of not having a best friend like Nathan, which she's had for her whole life.
"I'm just telling you to think about it" Brooke finalized as she refocused on the beautiful waves.
"If I tell you a secret will you judge me?"
Brooke nodded no.
"This baby…" she motioned to her stomach.
"I've always dreamed of having a baby with Nathan. A baby boy" she added.
"He'd have beautiful blue eyes like his daddy, maybe my lips and nose, but definitely Nate's eyebrows" she smiled at her confession.
"This dream, I've had it since we were in middle school" she said embarrassedly.
"Nathan would be the perfect dad"
"Then why aren't you telling him about the baby?"
"Because I'm scared Brooke" she started to tear.
"God, I'm so scared to have this baby" she said as she buried her face into Brooke's neck.
"Oh Haley…" Brooke said sympathetically.
"Nathan's dreams are just so close, and I know he's not just doing this for him. I know deep down in my stubborn heart that he's probably doing this to better our family. And here I am, being hard headed and not wanting to return his calls, I'm terrible…" she sobbed.
"You're not terrible, you're just sad and confused." Brooke said as she rubbed her back.
The nighttime air soon was the only sound on that beach as the girls sat next to each other silently after Haley's confession.
"So what's your plan?" Brooke said finally breaking the tension.
"Cut off contact with Nathan." She said quickly.
"How?" Brooke questioned with wonder.
"Ignore him until he understands that I don't want to be with him anymore."
"But you do want to be with him I don't get it"
"He doesn't need to know that…"
"Haley, he's going to call nonstop. He's a persistent guy"
"Well one day, he'll realize I won't answer" she said harshly.
"This just doesn't make any sense. He's going to come home eventually, you'll have to explain the pregnancy"
"Six months…"
"What?"
"I have six months to think plan what I'll do about this" she said mysteriously.
"Hales…"
"Brooke." She let out wishing her friend will just accept her decisions.
"Fine, it's your life, but I'm not lying for you" she said to her as she pointed to her with anger filled eyes.
"I'm not asking you to"
"You'll regret not telling him Haley James."
"I know" she said as a tear fell down her cheek.
A/N: So glad I was able to bring back some memories from chapters 1 and 2 of this story! Just a little reminder for myself [and my readers] why I love this story so darn much and where it all started. Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you were pleased with chapter 20 :) Please check out my story "Please Don't Leave Me"! Oh and REVIEW! :D