So sorry for leaving you guys on hiatus with this story - I know a lot of people would like me to finish it. I actually wrote this chapter a while ago, but I never published it because I wasn't sure if this was how I wanted the story to continue.. But I guess this is all I've got for you for now! I'm currently finding some inspiration for one of my other stories; A Deeper Connection. So check that one out if you haven't already! Thanks for reading :)

Day 22

Dear diary.

It's been a week since my fight with Nathan now, and he still hasn't talked to me. I don't know why, but I guess he feels I was out of line and treated him unfairly. And maybe he's right.. I was kinda harsh with what I said and how I accused him of playing me when he was nothing but sweet and gentle with me the entire time we were together. I really don't want to lose him, Diary. What do I do? I can't just walk up to him and say "sorry", can I? Is that enough? I definitely don't know how much longer I can stand the silent treatment he's giving me. After all, I was out of line that night so I guess I should be the one to apologize to him and not wait for him to come to me? Or?

Wish me luck!

Hales

Haley closed her diary as she continued to think about the whole "Nathan situation". She had barely seen him the past week. He came home around 8am the morning after their fight and slept all day in his room behind locked doors. He even locked the connecting door between their rooms. It was obvious that he didn't really want to speak to her - or anyone else for that matter.

The next day he came out with a bag and disappeared off somewhere only to return five days later. According to Lucas, he had rented a car and taken a drive around the island alone to clear his mind. Haley didn't know how to feel about that.

Did he want to get away from her that bad? Could he simply not stand being around her anymore? Had she broken his heart?

She had definitely broken her own in some way. She missed Nathan more than words in her diary could explain.

Haley jumped out of bed and walked into the living room. It was empty, the clock was almost noon and they had all gone to the beach already. Well, maybe not Nathan, but she had no idea where he was. Haley walked over to his door and prepared herself, ready to knock.

"He's not in there." Haley jumped. Lucas was standing by the kitchen table, starring at her with a sympathetic look.

"I didn't think so. I was just.. I don't know.." Haley mumbled.

"He left pretty early. I think he said something about going for a walk in forest or something?"

The thought of their perfect day in the woods came back into Haley's mind. How amazing it had been to experience that day with him. How badly she wanted to be back there, before all the problems started. Before that awful night one week ago when she ruined what they had started to build up.

"Oh. Well, I guess I'll just join you guys at the beach then." Haley whispered in a low voice. Her eyes painfully blinked before returning to her room to collect her stuff.

Lucas was left standing in the kitchen, thinking about how badly things had gone for his friends. He knew Nathan just wanted to be left alone, but he really wanted to be there for him. Nathan had not said much to anyone since he returned from his little drive around the island.

Lucas felt bad for him, but he felt bad for Haley too. It was obvious that Nathan was miserable without Haley – and Haley seemed quite miserable without Nathan as well.

Haley came back out of her room and smiled weakly at him before exiting the living room through the glass doors, heading for Taylor and Rachel who were lying further down on the beach. Lucas checked to see that she was too far away before walking over to Nathan's room and knocking on the door.

"She's gone, Nate."

The door slowly opened, and Nathan's hard face appeared in the light. He looked at Lucas with cold eyes and nodded thankfully.

"You can't keep avoiding her forever, Nathan. It's obvious that she really want's to talk to you."

"It's better that she doesn't. There is no point in fixing this, Luke. I'll just screw it up again, and that's gonna feel even worse." Nathan said.

"Are you sure about that? Cause I've never seen you so down, and I've known you your entire life, Nathan! Why can't you just fix it and go back and be happy again? Haley seems to want that.." Lucas felt powerless against Nathan's strong will. He was a lot like his father when he wanted to be, unfortunately.

"Don't you get it, Luke? Me being myself is what hurt her in the first place! How can I know that the exact same thing won't happen again if we start over? How can I look her in the eye and tell her that she can trust me, and that I won't hurt her? But then every time something comes up that she doesn't know about, she bails? How is that any better?"

Nathan felt lost. His heart ached for Haley, but he knew deep down that this was destined to happen. He had made so many bad decisions in the past and he had hurt so many girls on his way. He never wanted to hurt Haley, yet he had done exactly that the first time they faced the world together. It was a lot better this way.

"So what, you ignore her for three more weeks? You're ruining everybody's vacation, Nate!"

"Actually, I'm gonna talk to Dan and arrange for the jet to take me back to New York as soon as possible. There is no reason for me to stay here any longer. I've got a lot of things to do over there, and I need to start preparing for my new job. That's where my focus needs to be right now!"

Lucas stood speechless behind as Nathan walked out. How he could be so determined to turn away from what actually made him happy, Lucas would never know or understand. Nathan was just - Nathan. And this was a particularly cold and hard version of him. The version that put up walls as high as the Empire state building just to protect himself from getting hurt, but at the same time keeping him from being happy.

Haley dropped down besides Rachel with a great sigh. The two other girls raised the sunglasses and looked at her with surprised eyes.

"Look who decided to come back from the dead?" Taylor laughed.

"Very funny, Taylor.."

"What? It's not like you try to work on your tan these days, you're just as pale as a corps" Haley knew there was no truth in Taylor's words. She just said them to be mean. Haley has a nice tan, a worm and golden colour. Taylor on the other hand was red as a tomato from burning all day in the intense Italian sun.

"Have to talked to him?" Rachel's concerned voice expressed.

"No.. Lucas said he left pretty early today. I don't know where he is." Haley sighed again.

"I'm sorry, Haley. Nathan puts up his walls when he get's hurt. He has that from our father"

"I just want to say that I'm sorry. I just want him to talk to me. Whatever he has to say, you know. I don't care, I just need some other reaction besides the cold shoulder." Haley felt the tears press behind her eyes. She didn't want to cry, especially not in front of Taylor. That would just be the biggest victory Taylor had ever gotten over her, and Haley had no wish to give her that satisfaction.

"I wish I could help you, Haley. But my brother has always been so incredibly stubborn and hard to get through to. He just shuts himself off from the world."

"Get over it, Haley. Nathan was never planning to settle down with you anyway. He needs a real woman, not a crybaby that runs away when she meets a little competition! Don't you see that this is for the best?" Taylor was her usual self. No help there.

"If you think you're that real woman, you're mistaken, Taylor. Nathan doesn't even like you." Haley felt the anger rise to a whole new level. When was Taylor gonna give up her quest for Nathan? When was she gonna realize that he had chosen Haley over her?

"Oh, please. When he's ready for me, I'll be there!"

"Keep dreaming!" Haley jumped out of her chair and marched off. She had no intention of listening to any more of Taylor's bullshit. Haley had a limit for how much she could take, and Taylor had officially crossed the line. She continued to walk down the sandy beach, with no intention to stop anytime soon.

"That was really uncalled for, Tay. Why can't you be human for a sec and see that your sister is heartbroken and in need of some support?" Rachel was also feeling fed up with Taylor's bad attitude. She missed her best friend, the fun and careless girl who laughed and smiled and made the world a better place just by being there. This jealous and evil version of her was not one Rachel could stand much longer.

"Oh, please, Rach! Why is she even still sulking about this? I though that waitress did what I paid her to do, but Haley just won't let it go! She's impossible.." Taylor sighed.

"What do you mean; what you paid her to do? Did you have something to do with that whole scene last week?" Rachel felt the anger build up inside. Had her best friend really taken extreme measures to sabotage the happiness of her own sister and Rachel's brother? Was she really that evil deep down?

"Of course, I did! Haley needed to see what kind of man Nathan really is, and she couldn't deal with it! I did them both a favor!" Taylor stated, seeming impressed with her own work.

"Are you serious? Do you even hear yourself? Do you have any idea about the mess you've created?"

"Rachel, don't be so emotional. It was for the best, believe me!" Taylor now spoke in a calm voice, so calm that Rachel felt like she had to throw up. How could a person be so cruel?

"And who was this best for, Tay? Nathan and Haley? Or you?"

Nathan returned to the house after speaking with Dan. His father seemed quite happy that Nathan wanted to return to New York and focus on his new job. Nothing pleased Dan Scott more than a hardworking attitude, and he was more than happy to call for the jet to be prepared for Nathan to take off in six hours. He walked with firm steps towards his room and found his suitcase under the bed. A sock caught his eye.

It was a small white sock, hidden behind dust and a book Nathan had forgotten he brought. It belonged to Haley. His heart skipped a beat as he felt the soft cotton in his hand, but he quickly threw it away. There was no point in dwelling over things now, what was done was done. He was leaving Italy behind with nothing more than a memory of Haley and what they shared, how ever brief it was. He knew it was the most honest, true and powerful relationship he had ever had. But it was over now.

As he started packing his suitcase, a knock was heard on the side of his door.

"What are you doing?" Nathan turned to face his sister, relieved that it wasn't Haley who had caught him.

"I have to leave, Rach. I need to be in New York." Nathan spoke in a way so that she would understand. He didn't want to answer any of her questions like he had, Lucas. He didn't know how much longer he could keep up the straight face.

"No, you don't, Nate! You need to be here, and you need to fix things with Haley before you ruin it for good!"

"Stop it, Rachel! I'm don't want to hear it, okay? I've made my decision. I'm going. My plane takes off in six hours!"

"Nate. Please don't leave! Haley really want's to talk to you. She really needs to apologize and make it okay. Why would you deny her that and keep her in her misery? Why would you deny yourself the chance to be happy?" Rachel was upset with her brother. He could be so clueless sometimes, and so stuck up in his own mind that he refused to see what was best for him. Haley was everything he could ever hope for, and he was throwing it all away for his pride.

"Haley can never be happy with me, Rach! Don't you see that? All I will ever do is hurt her. I'm not capable of protecting her from getting hurt if I let her back in. I can't do that to her. She deserves someone who doesn't have waitresses come up to then in bars, reminding them of their mistakes." Nathan felt the tears come. He had not allowed himself to cry once this past week, but facing his sister and admitting his biggest defeat was pushing it.

"Nathan.. That was not you fault.." Rachel didn't know if it would make things better or worse if she confessed Taylor's actions to him. It could only make him angrier, but it could also hopefully make him see that he would never have hurt Haley if it wasn't for her sister.

"Of course it was. I knew what I had done, and I knew she would be there. I should have never taken Haley there in the first place!"

"No.. I mean, Haley finding out about that girl. It wasn't your fault.." Rachel sighed. "It was Taylor's.."

Nathan stopped packing his bag and looked curiously over at his sister. "What do you mean?"

"She paid the waitress to come up to you and talk about your previous meeting, all so Haley would find out and break up with you. It was Taylor all along, Nate. She's the reason why this happened, so blame her. Take your anger out on her! Don't take it out on yourself, or Haley. Please!" Rachel begged him with her eyes. She could see that her brother was fighting an inner battle to give in or to keep fighting. She just hoped she was getting through to him.

"I don't know why I'm surprised. She's been sabotaging us from the start. Another angry blast from the past!" As ironic as he tried to sound, Rachel could see his struggle.

"Please, Nate. Don't give up on her. Don't give up on yourself. You deserve so much better!" Rachel begged him one last time.

"It just wasn't meant to be, Rach. I'm sorry.." Nathan finished his packing and closed his suitcase. He lifted it off of his bed and grabbed his wallet from the nightstand.

"I'll see you in New York.."

Rachel stood aside as he walked past her and closed the door behind him. She felt like she failed him as a sister. She felt like she should have fought him harder, sooner and stronger. There was nothing Rachel wanted more than to see her brother happy. And now, it seemed like he had given up on his happiness once more.

Haley had walked the sandy beach for a while before she finally turned around. No matter how much she dreaded to face Taylor again, getting lost would not make things better. She walked slowly back towards the beach house they rented and searched her mind for things to say when she finally found Nathan.

She was determined to talk to him as soon as possible. If she had to wait outside his door till the wee hours of morning, she would do it. She absolutely had to tell him everything she was feeling. He had to know that she didn't care about his previous relationships, or any of the girls he had hooked up with before her. That was exactly the point – it was before her. Things were different now, and he was different.

Nathan had treated her like a princess. He had respected her boundaries and kept himself from doing things she wasn't comfortable with. He had kissed her like she was the sun and cuddled her at night like she was the moon. He had said all the right things to her. There was nothing she wished to change about him. He was perfect. And she needed to let him know exactly that.

The more she thought about it, the more it became clear to her that he was so much more than a regular boyfriend. Nathan was the one. Haley could without doubt say that she loved him. She, Haley James was completely in love with Nathan Scott.

As Haley walked into the house, she saw Rachel and Jake sitting in the kitchen and talking with low voices. Jake was facing her, and she could see a worried frown on his forehead that didn't belong there. He was stroking his girlfriend while she appeared to be crying.

"Hey guys! What's up?" Haley slowly walked towards them, worried she was intruding on something she wasn't supposed to witness.

"Haley!" Rachel hugged her. Haley was clueless to what that was for, but she went along with it anyway.

"What happened?" Haley asked nervously.

"I'm so sorry, Hales. It's Nathan.." Rachel shook her head.

"What about him?"

"He left, Hales. He went back to New York.."

Crash.

Was that the sound of her heart breaking into a million pieces?

Haley closed her eyes, and wished for it all to go away. Far away.

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