Yes, I'm still here and slowly working on this tale. I've not forgotten or abandoned it by any means. Life just got in the way as I navigated my way through uncharted first goal was to make this chapter longer before I posted it but then decided again it. I figured any readers I still had out there would like an update.

Hope you like it and leave a little review. Thank you for sticking with me as I start to conclude this story. Thank you to those who've taken the time to read my thoughts and also to those who've taken the time to leave a review letting me know what you think or if you even like my creation. It truly means a lot and makes me smile when I see reviews.

Enjoy!

~~~ "I'm Never Alone, I'm Alone All the Time" ~~~

* Chapter Forty-One*

Haley avoided Chris' eyes as she left the bathroom and walked over towards the bed. She was grateful once she saw the bottle of water on the bedside table. She picked it up and took a small sip before returning it where she found it. She could feel his eyes staring her down studying every move she made.

"Look, I'm fine so you can go now." She muttered noting her voice felt strained as she spoke.

She waited for Chris to say something…anything to avoid the silence between them. Slowly she lifted her head and instantly found his eyes. For they had never left her the moment she stepped out from behind the bathroom door and she felt it.

"What?" She asked him.

Chris held her gaze and looked directly into her eyes for a moment before he spoke.

"You ok?"

"I said I was fine didn't I?" She shot back annoyed.

Chris lifted one eye brow skeptically and then said, "Hales, you're anything but fine."

She let out a frustrated groan as she moved the covers on her bed.

"Whatever Chris, I'm not doing this. Stay or go…I don't care." Haley answered and then flopped back on the bed. She pulled the covers up and over her head. In a matter of minutes, he heard the sound of light snoring signaling Haley had indeed passed out. Chris pulled out his phone and quickly composed a text message to Walker.

'Thks for callin me about Hales. She puked her guts out and is now passed out. I'm gonna stick around for the night with her just in case.'

A small ray of sunlight managed to break through the curtains and shine right over Haley's face. Slowly she allowed her eyes to open and it felt as though she was staring directly into the sun. Her hand flew up to her face to cover her eyes once the light registered and she groaned out loud in misery. She managed to make out the shape of the bottled water next to her bed, reached for it. She lifted her head just enough to take a small sip and then her head collapsed again into the pillow closing her eyes. Haley blindly pulled on the sheet and rolled over in bed only to be met with another warm body next to her.

"Uffa" she muttered as her eyes opened in slits.

"Morning sunshine."

Haley looked at Chris with a puzzled look as she tried to register what was going on.

"What are you doing in my room and in bed with me?" She asked in a raspy voice.

Chris let out a surprised chuckle at first thinking she was joking but the look on her face didn't reflect that. She genuinely looked confused.

"Hales, do you remember anything about last night?" Chris finally asked and paused a few seconds to see if she'd reply before he continued, "We got in a little argument before you went out clubbing with the guys. You were apparently the shot queen and made all sorts of friends. Walker and Tyler took a verbal lashing from you before you finally called it a night."

Haley's eyes closed once more and then she rubbed them with her fingertips. She felt her head start to spin faster as bits and pieces from the events the night before flooded through her mind. She remembered snapping at Chris before she stormed out of her hotel room, slamming shots once she arrived at the club but yelling at Walker and Tyler at the club didn't even register. She took in Chris' words as he tried to fill in the gaps of her memory although it didn't do much good.

"After you puked your guts out and passed out, I figured I might as well just stay in your room for the night. You know just incase.." Chris finally concluded.

Haley managed to sit herself up in bed and leaned against the headboard mirror Chris' position.

"Thanks for making sure I got back to the hotel last night and everything else. I'm sorry about it and it won't happen again." Haley promised in a robotic flat tone lacking any real emotion or meaning.

Feeling brave Chris replied, "Hales, you said something like that the last time when you made us all late departing from the hotel because you were too hung over to get out of bed."

"Seriously! It's not that big of a deal."

"Not that big of a deal! Actually Hales, this is a really big deal. What the hell is going on with you lately?" Chris asked loudly no doubt unable to hide his anger any longer.

Haley's right hand flew up to her forehead and she instantly began to rub the skin above her eye brow.

"Oh my God please stop yelling! I just partied a little too hard last night that's all. I certainly don't need a lecture from you right now. My head is killing me." Haley snapped right back. She fumbled as she managed to get the bottle of Tylenol Chris had set out next to the bottle of water from earlier. She popped it open and quickly swallowed two tablets silently praying they would work instantly but knowing relief was sadly hours away. From the splitting head ache anyhow. The other pain never seemed to go away. It was always there.

"It's not just last night Hales. I've never seen you like this before. You seem so lost and sad all the time. What's going on with you lately?" Chris asked hoping his voice came across a bit softer this time.

"Nothing Chris I'm ok." She answered all too quickly. Her eyes drifted off to a far off place and focused on the bedspread.

"Stop it Haley! I've honored your request and haven't mentioned it for months now but I can't keep doing this. Something changed in you after the car accident and after you and Nathan broke up."

Haley instantly felt her heart race and her stomach drop upon hearing his name spoken out loud. She took a few seconds before she spoke.

"I don't know Chris. I don't know what I'm doing anymore." She confessed her voice cracked as she spoke. "I just…" she continued but stopped as tears began to pool in her eyes.

Chris reached over and put his hand on her shoulder as he said, "Please talk to me. You've kept all of this in for months and it's ok to talk about it."

Tears began to fall freely from Haley's eyes as the gates opened.

"It's ok…it's gonna be ok Hales."

"But it's not….nothing is ok anymore. My life is an utter mess right now and I just can't seem to stop it all. It's like I'm on this ride and I can't get off. I don't know what to do." She exclaimed taking Chris by surprise with her willingness to be honest. She allowed him to pull her body close to his and embraced her in a one arm hug. They sat side by side for a few moments in silence together before Chris spoke again.

"I need you to be honest with me and tell me the truth. Something happened to make you break up Nathan…tell me."

Haley quickly pulled away from Chris and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"I didn't break up with Nathan Chris. He was the one who walked away from me." Haley finally confessed letting the words she'd worked so hard to keep secret out. After a few seconds, she brought herself to look at Chris and was greeted with a look of disbelief.

"He wouldn't do that Haley. He was crazy about you. There's no way he would do that. It just doesn't make sense. Something else had to have happened." Chris rebutted and Haley just shook her head.

"I just feel….I feel like I'm drowning right now with everything going on." She confessed quietly.

Chris sat up straight after hearing the timid scared tone in her voice. A tone he'd never heard from Haley before.

"We should talk to Peyton about a break. You need some time off of everything to take care of you."

Haley's reaction to the mere mention of Peyton's name puzzled Chris.

"Does she know any of this? I know she's been hard to talk to lately and the two of you have a complicated history. You guys have been butting heads more lately but something's gotta give here."

"I don't think Peyton will care about any of this. We take a break and the money train stalls. She won't allow this tour to stop." Haley declared strongly knowing she was right. Chris didn't know the Peyton she'd come to know all too well.

"She has to if it's for your overall well being!"

Haley shook her head violently in disagreement and then added, "You don't get it. She doesn't care about us anymore. Now that she got what she wants out of all of this her priority has changed. She got her promotion, got final say over our music, got rid of Nathan and has gotten me to do whatever she says."

"What do you mean got rid of Nathan?"

Haley's eyes squinted shut as her head began to spin once more. She took a deep breath and then finally spoke again. This time coming clean with Chris about everything that had happened with Peyton, the contract, the ultimatum about her rights to the band material and finally the break up with Nathan. Chris immediately grew angry and hopped out of bed. He began pacing the room as Haley continued to recount the events that had led up to their current situation.

"How could all of this happen and you didn't tell anyone about it? Not me and not even Quinn! If we had known, we could have come up with something together to stop it from happening. But you kept it from us and lied to us!" Chris exclaimed.

"I didn't have a choice Chris! Either way I would hurt you guys or Nathan no matter what I decided. Once Dan Scott and Peyton started working together it was all over with." She fired back.

The duo remained in silence both processing what had just been discussed between the two of them. Haley finally glanced over at the clock beside the bed and noticed the time.

"Shit! We better get going or we will be late to the bus for the scheduled departure." She stated.

Chris nodded in response and opened his mouth to reply but stopped once Haley spoke again.

"Chris, I want to thank you seriously for making sure I didn't do anything stupid last night."

Chris let a smile creep across his face before he said, "What like getting piss ass drunk?" Haley chuckled softly to herself as she too crawled out from the bed.

"Seriously though Hales, no more secrets about this. You've got to tell me everything please."

She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He felt her head nod once he embraced her in a hug.

Haley gathered up a few items and then headed to the bathroom to take a shower. Once he heard the door close, Chris pulled out his phone and quickly found a contact.

"We need to talk right now. Something important has happened." Chris said into his phone.

Meanwhile, Haley stood underneath the shower head and let the hot water beat against her skin washing away the evenings events and memories. The weight she carried around felt a bit lighter now that she'd finally told Chris the complete truth. He had been understanding once he heard why she'd kept the news from Quinn and not wanting to upset her pregnancy any more than they already had with her car accident. Slowly her thoughts shifted back to Nathan and she began to wonder what he was doing right now and if he still thought of her and most importantly if he felt the weight of an empty heart like she did.

Over the following few weeks, The Fire Pistols continued their demanding tour schedule. Chris tried to balance being a source of support for Haley and hovering close to buffer any of Peyton's antics. He knew he needed to keep himself in check to ensure he didn't set Peyton off. Haley started to feel a bit more like herself after finally being honest with Chris and then later with Walker. Tyler was newest to the band and on a need to know basis only. Haley continued to struggle with getting a good night's sleep no matter if she was on the bus or in a hotel room tucked in a luxurious king sized bed. However, early that morning as the bus pulled into the five star hotel Haley felt sleep would come a little easier to her. It was after all the band's second to last show for the European leg of the tour. That would mean heading back to the U.S. for some much deserved time off. Something she couldn't wait for.

Haley climbed off the bus after receiving her key card from the tour manager and headed to her hotel room accompanied by a bodyguard to ensure her safety.

"Thanks Rob. I'll see you in a few hours." Haley said kindly to her guard before she closed her hotel door and secured the lock.

She pulled her rolling small suitcase across the room and set it up on the luggage stand. Within minutes, she'd pulled out some pajamas and changed her clothes to make herself more comfort. Haley pulled the covers back and crawled into bed welcoming the 2,000 thread count sheets against her skin. She flipped the television on for background noise and channel surfed briefly until she conceded it didn't matter what station she settled on. She tossed the remote to her side on the bed and rolled over closing her eyes. Just as she was nearly asleep the chatter on the television pulled her back to consciousness.

Haley bolted up in bed like a spring and waited a moment for her eyes to focus on the television screen to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. She quickly began to search on top of the bed for the remote to adjust the volume as she was instantly glued to the story playing out in front of her. She watched closely as footage from a semi-final game between the LA Clippers and the Chicago Bulls began to replay once more as the sports anchor provided details of the injuries for the players involved in the accident on the court. Haley studied the screen neglecting to blink as she waited for the visual confirmation of what she thought she'd heard while she was drifting off to sleep.

Flashing before her eyes was the final clip from the game earlier that showed Nathan Scott colliding with another player and then ultimately crashing into the wooden floor in a pile of NBA players. Players slowly emerged untangling themselves from one another to reveal Nathan Scott still on the floor wincing in pain as he grabbed his ankle. Haley's mouth dropped open in shock. She had tried her best to avoid anything and everything related to Nathan until this very moment. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the clip as it seemed to be on repeat until another aired showing Nathan being assisted off the court. With one athletic trainer on each side, Nathan hobbled off the court and to the team's locker room.

"Nathan Scott was taken to a Cedars-Sinai Hospital to further assess his injuries and there has been no further information released by the team's doctor at this time." Was the last information the sports anchor said.

Haley quickly found her smartphone she had plugged in earlier on the bedside table and started to search for an update with social media regarding Nathan's condition. She hoped the delay in television coverage was due to the several hour time difference.

Nathan had waited long enough and finally decided to give in and moved himself to reach for the remote control on the coffee table in his living room. He'd tolerated the annoying reality show long enough before he just couldn't take it anymore. He winced out loud at the pain he'd been avoiding the last hour or so as he stayed put on the couch. He snatched the remote and quickly laid back down making sure to adjust the pillow under his ankle. He flipped the channels and faintly smiled to himself when he settled on a classic 80's movie that had just started playing on HBO. He embraced the quiet house and was glad to finally be home and alone. He wasn't sure how he'd done it but he'd managed to leave the stadium, go to the hospital and get home again without anyone getting a picture of him on the crutches he was now sporting once again. He knew it was in large part thanks for his new management team whose first priority was protecting his privacy and information that was released. The Clipper's team doctor stood firm with only releasing he was treated and released from the hospital. Nathan was startled by his phone ringing next to him. He didn't recognize the number but felt a twinge in his stomach to answer anyhow.

"Hello?" but heard nothing on the other end. He called out once more this time sounded slightly impatient.

"Nathan?"

Nathan's eyes bulged and he quickly replied, "Why are you calling? I asked you to leave me alone."

"I saw the game and the coverage about the accident. I was worried about you."

"Bull shit! Like you were actually concerned for my well-being. Dan, we're done! If you call again, I will get a formal restraining order against you." Nathan shouted into his phone angrily and then ended the call. He quickly worked on his phone blocking the latest phone number Dan Scott had attempted to contact him from.

Once he was complete with his task, he pulled up Lucas number and called him. He knew he needed to vent his frustrations to someone who truly understood the situation and the emotions behind it all.

"Why don't you just give it up and change your number and be done with it? You wouldn't have to deal with this shit anymore." Lucas suggested once more however felt his words were falling on deaf ears still. He knew Nathan's reasoning behind not changing his number was mainly due to Haley and sensed there would be no response from him. Lucas shifted gears in the conversation and gave Nathan an update on how Brooke's pregnancy was progressing. Their conversation ended a few minutes later when a call beeped in for Nathan. Without thinking and still feeling charged from his conversation with Dan, Nathan swapped calls quickly.

"Apparently I wasn't clear enough the first time. Leave me the hello alone and stop harassing me Dan. I swear to God…" Nathan shouted but was greeted with silence.

Nathan only grew angrier and then spoke again, "Now you're silent Dan?"

Finally the voice on the other end said, "It's not Dan."

Nathan let a soft gasp escape in shock of the voice he'd just heard. He had been certain it was Dan Scott calling once more but was never expecting this. Unable to say anything at first he let the dead air hang for a few seconds before he finally spoke.

"Hales…"