Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I'm back at work now but will continue my best to update my fics as often as I can. I will not rest until all are seen through and completed. I think I will continue stories that have the most reviews first though because they seem to be the ones being read. I hope everyone understands!
- Chrissy
A River Runs Through It
Chapter 6: The Flame Still Burns
The warm afternoon sun pushed its way through the tiny slits in the ivory blinds, illuminating the quaint living room where Haley James sat. As chocolate orbs danced over the older yet familiar oak furniture, the young assistant felt a pang of familiarity sinking into her chest and she longed for a reprieve from it. Her heart danced in unrelenting beats with each glance and in those moments where she felt as though her heart were to burst out of her chest, she was thankful that the raven-haired Adonis currently fixing coffee in the kitchen was unable to hear just how anxious she was.
She was here for an entirely different reason. She had to keep her head straight and focus on the task at hand.
Yet being in that house made it next to impossible for Haley to concentrate. She couldn't help but catch her breath as she stared at the fireplace, the smell of burnt wood catching in the slight breeze that flowed through the room and filled her nostrils with its pleasant scent. Almost instantly she was transported back to a time when the fire roared behind her naked body, warming her as she lay wrapped in blankets on the soft carpet below. Nathan's warm hand reaching out to cup her face-
"-Haley?"
Startled from the distant memory, Haley jumped at Nathan's booming voice behind her and glanced backwards. Nathan's hand was outstretched and waiting impatiently, the mug steaming from the warm liquid within. Nodding, she took the cup from him and watched anxiously as he took a seat on the opposite side of the room, leaning forward and resting his arms on his knees as his own coffee mug stayed snug in his firm grip. Haley took a large sip from her mug and swallowed it quickly, the bitter taste catching in her throat and sticking to her tongue.
God, she felt so uncomfortable being here but it was really the only way she could stop what she knew was going to happen from happening.
"We need to talk," she replied, her voice barely audible due to the raging beats of her heart. She could swear he was able to hear it.
"About my brother?"
"Yes," Haley breathed, Nathan always quick to know exactly what the young brunette was thinking. Some things never changed. She plastered on a smile and gazed up at him, trying to push her memories as far away as possible.
"Not gonna happen, Haley."
Nathan took a long sip of his black coffee, the aroma filling his nostrils as he looked at the girl in front of him and shook his head. He had promised himself long ago that he was done with the politics that came with having a girl from the other side of the river in your life. He'd be damned if he was going to let his own brother suffer the same fate.
No matter how good Haley James still looked, even after all these years.
"Why not?" Haley blurted out, the emotion in her voice more noticeable than she would have liked. She hated the way he was able to elicit such a response from her. "You know as well as I do that this situation cannot happen."
"I know nothing," Nathan growled back, the memory of her screeching those exact words towards him with daggers in her eyes moment before she turned and walked away flashing to the forefront of his mind. "Isn't that what you said the last time you sat on that very chair trying to get me to do the Davis Family bidding?"
"It's not like that," Haley whispered, the slap of his venom hitting her square in the heart. She knew this was going to be painful but she had to do it. No matter how hard.
No matter how torturous.
"But this situation, it's not good, Nathan. And you used to know that."
"For who?" Nathan snarled, standing to his feet and throwing his hands on his hips as he glared at her with all the anger and resentment that he had kept locked away inside his hardened and bitter heart all these years. "Is it not good for Brooke? Lucas? You?" He shook his head at her, Haley's cheeks burning from the obvious disappointment he felt towards her. "Or is it not good for Ted Davis' bottom line?"
If only he knew. If only she could tell him.
"Nathan, please" Haley stammered, wanting nothing more than to have this whole ordeal be over with. He had no idea who he was dealing with, no idea what Lucas was getting himself into. These were not the kind of people you just ignored and Brooke was her best friend.
"Or is my brother not good enough for Victoria Davis' daughter?" Nathan was ropable now, Haley watching as his muscles flexed from the adrenalin that surged through his veins. Reasoning with him was never going to work and the young assistant was savvy enough to realise she had to try another tact, no matter how dirty.
No matter how hurtful.
"Do you even have a relationship with Lucas?" she blurted out, rolling her eyes with annoyance as Nathan stopped pacing the room and stood in front of her, a coffee table the only thing separating the two. She knew it was a low blow, bringing up the relationship she had known to be strained and uncomfortable at the best of times, but he had given her no other choice.
"What the hell has that got to do with anything?"
Haley folded her arms across her chest, trying her best to cover up her real emotions. He needed to see that she didn't care, that she wasn't affected by him anymore.
She needed him to hurt enough that he would stop his brother from suffering the same fate.
"Why do you care so much if he's with Brooke or not? You're not even close. You never have been."
"We're family," Nathan seethed, sitting down on the lounge behind him and staring Haley directly in the eye. "No matter what happened to us growing up, that will never change. He's my blood."
"Who you abandoned the minute your dream of basketball clashed with his-"
"We were kids then, kids make stupid decisions," Nathan countered, not willing to let Haley get inside his head. He had vowed, a long time ago, that she would never have a piece of him ever again. "You should know all about that."
"This isn't about us," Haley rolled her eyes, a delicate hand waving in the air dismissively.
"Isn't it?" Nathan replied, leaning forward on his knees and drawing his hands together as he looked at her. She couldn't remember ever seeing those perfect baby blues so cold in her life. "Seems like the exact same shit to me, Miss James."
"Don't" Haley ordered him, his icy words hitting her square in the gut. Her heart fluttered and she pushed herself not to break.
"Don't what?"
"Just don't," she reached for the coffee and took a long gulp, allowing herself time to organise her thoughts and compose herself. "I'm not here for this."
Nathan scoffed, shaking his head as he listened to her words. It was more than obvious that he was onto her and he wasn't about to let her get away with whatever it was that she was trying to do. "You're not here to do exactly what you did three years ago?"
"Nathan-"
"I loved you," the words fell from his lips before he could stop them, Haley's eyes widening in surprise at his sudden outburst. "And you threw me away like yesterday's garbage the minute a better offer came along."
Ouch. The stabbing in her heart was torturous now, the young assistant barely able to swallow as he lump in her throat threatened to overcome her. Of course he believed that, it was meant to be that way but it still hurt her to know that she had to lie to him to end it.
That hurting him was the only way to protect him.
"That's not what happened." Her voice was barely above a whisper and her eyes fell, Nathan completely uncaring and unsympathetic. She had ruined his life. She had ripped his heart out and stomped on it when all he ever did was love her. Resentment didn't even begin to encapsulate what he felt towards her.
Suddenly, the room seemed so much smaller than it was.
"Oh no?" Nathan pushed, finally able to say all the things he had dreamt of saying to her in the days, weeks, months and years that followed after she had left him. "I arrive at another glorious Ted Davis function only to see him cosying you up to some ridiculous blonde-haired moron-"
"-Clay is not a moron-"
It was the worst thing she could say. Defending the man she left him for was not a way to stop the barrage of hate that was spewing from Nathan's mouth. He continued as if she hadn't said a word, determined to have his thoughts known
"-And then the very next day, you're sitting on that very couch" Nathan growled, throwing his hand towards the couch where Haley sat, the young brunette feeling every ounce of pain she felt the day she left. "Telling me we're done. Like the past year meant nothing to you. Like I was nothing."
"No," Haley fired back, anger and hurt bubbling to the surface as she defended herself. "That's not how it is. That's never how I felt."
Tears sprang to her eyes then and for a moment Nathan thought he saw the young girl he once knew, broken and beautiful and dreaming of a life away from the small town that threatened to swallow her up and spit her out. For a moment, he felt empathy and compassion and every ounce of love that existed between them. Every ounce of love her felt for her and could never again feel for another.
For a moment.
"Well whatever you felt," Nathan breathed, his voice no longer carrying the anger he felt. Now, it was merely laced with the pain and loss her felt and she knew it. She could feel every ounce of it. "It wasn't enough to stop you from running away like a coward."
She sobbed then, Haley unable to stop the noise escaping her as the pain of his words hit her like a tonne of bricks. She had no words left now, what more could she have said anyway? Breaking his heart was the only way to get him to stop loving her and she had always thought that it would be a pain he could recover from. She knew he would resent her, she knew he would loathe her – but he was worth it.
"Well I hope you're happy with your choice Haley James," Nathan rose to his feet, his eyes locking onto her won as she stood to meet him. "But your choice will not be thrown onto my brother like he has no say in the matter. " Walking around the glass coffee table, Nathan grabbed Haley's bag and held it out to her, the brunette taking it in her grip and looking at him forlornly.
"You go back to that fancy office of yours and you tell that son of a bitch Davis that if he comes anywhere near my brother, he will be dealing with me."
Haley nodded her head, resigned to his adamant stance. Her voice fell to a whisper, Nathan closing his eyes as their arms touched for the briefest of moments.
"You know they will never work out."
"Well that's not up to us, and the heart wants what it wants," Nathan breathed, opening his eyes and turning away from her. He turned as she reached out to him, the touch of her hand so familiar and alluring. He gazed at her, shaking his head as their eyes met in a mixture of anger, pain and sorrow. "And right now, my heart wants you to leave because my eyes are tired of looking at you."
Haley sighed and pulled her hand from his arm, racing for the door. The hallway echoed with her steps and in one swift movement she was free, out in the fresh air and evening sky that sparkled with the flickering stars that only the southern sky could provide. Reaching for the handle of her car with quivering hands, Haley pulled at the metallic clasp and sank into the familiar leather below before the onslaught of tears began, the image of a smiling Nathan beaming down on her through the rain-soaked windscreen.
"Are you getting out, or what?" he laughed, his voice so melodic and warm that even she could not resist. She shook her head mischievously and he grinned again, the young, honey-haired goddess squealing as he raced for the side of the car and pulled at the handle. The rain poured into the car and hit her warm skin, the scent a heavenly burst of the steaming road and his scent.
"Dance with me," Nathan called, his thick hand outstretched as she looked at him with incredulity.
"You're insane," Haley laughed, shaking her head as the rain spattered her delicate facial features. Nathan laughed at her again and pulled her out of the car, Haley squealing once more as the rain soaked them through.
"Dance with me," he called out again, twirling her in a circle before pulling her into his warm embrace.
"What are you doing?" Haley breathed, laughing as he brought her close to his chest. She could feel his heart beating beneath their gripped hands and she looked up at him, the rain dripping down from his raven hair to his slender chin.
"I'm loving you," Nathan breathed, gazing down at her with soft eyes filled with love. Haley knew in that moment that this is what the stories meant when they said the love of a lifetime. The kind of love that sets fire to your heart and brings peace to your mind. The kind of love that she read in every single Nicholas Sparks book ever written. The kind of love that she knew only ever came once in a lifetime. A crazy, rain-soaked, bare-footed dance-in-the-middle-of-the-road kind of love that was all hers.
As if reading her thoughts, Nathan leaned down and brushed her lips with his own, the feeling of butterflies encapsulating them both as they moved to the rhythm of the rain. She smiled against his lips and sighed blissfully, both of them knowing that this was exactly where they were supposed to be for the rest of eternity.
"Always," she breathed, her eyes opening slightly as she looked up at his smiling face. Nathan brushed a piece of her drenched hair to the side and behind her ear, placing his hands on either side of her head as he leaned in and kissed her forehead.
"And forever…"
Nathan's promised echoed throughout the Audi as Haley snapped back to the present day, her hands falling forward and clutching the steering wheel as her head fell onto her arms, nothing but her sobs filling the silence as the heartbreak and loneliness consumed her.
x~X~x
Sidling up to the curb, Lucas sighed as he switched the ignition off and gazed up at the well-lit house to his left. Without hesitation, the blonde author pulled himself from the car and marched up the front path with determination, his mind still reeling from the perfect day he had just spent with the most amazing girl he had ever met. He knew it was crazy and dangerous and completely unlike him to throw caution to the wind and just live in the moment, but something about Brooke Davis made Lucas want to do all sorts of things that would normally frighten the young author.
And the only person he could think of that would be willing to go along for the ride was Derek.
Throwing his closed fist out, Lucas knocked on the oak door with a sense of urgency, his eyes greeted with a half-awake and barely-clothed best friend, Derek's eyes scrunching together as he looked upon Lucas with disinterest. Lucas shook his head, scoffing at the sight of his best friend, dishevelled and looking like he'd just gotten out of bed, despite the fact that it was already the evening. Derek noticed his friend's expression and shooed Lucas away with a flick of the wrist; allowing him to come inside.
"Shut up, it's my day off."
Lucas laughed and followed the blonde into the house, the young author stopping mid-stride when he noticed the empty boozy bottles and half-naked, semi-conscious woman on the couch. Stepping over the bottles that ay strewn on the floor, Derek gently shook the woman and she groggily opened her eyes, jet-black curly tendrils falling over her bare back as she looked up at him with a grunt.
"Shower?"
She nodded her head and he pointed her in the right direction, the young guest standing to her feet and walking towards the bathroom without so much as a blanket to cover herself. Lucas looked away immediately, his reaction drawing a snigger from Derek as he cleared the couch and offered his friend a seat.
"And who is that?" Lucas asked, keeping his eyes low until he heard the door of the bathroom close with a thud. Derek shrugged, reaching out for an unopened beer and sliding back into the soft sofa behind him.
"No fucking idea," Derek shrugged, smiling at Lucas' horrified expression as he downed a swig of the beer in his hands. "Now, what can I do for you? Surely it must be important if you're knocking on my door this early in the morning."
"It's night time," Lucas corrected him, Derek shrugging as if it made any difference at all. "And I actually need a favour."
"Seriously?" Derek replied, coughing slightly on the beer that swelled in his mouth. "And you think I can help?"
Lucas nods and immediately Derek jumps into the conversation, suddenly alive and full of beans.
"How many?" The blonde asked, a large goofy grin spreading across his face as he pulled out his iPhone and looked at his friend.
"How many what?" Lucas replied, confusion sweeping across his features as Derek sat upright in his chair.
"Pills?"
"Derek-"
"Booze?"
"What, no-"
"Women?"
"-Would you just shut up for a second so I can talk?" Lucas interrupted, shaking his head at his friend in frustration.
"Sure dude," Derek replied, sitting back in his chair and grinning. It always amused him at how quick Lucas' fuse could be lit. He placed his hands behind his head and did his best to hold a serious face. "I can do that."
"Great," Lucas breathed, thankful for Derek's attention. "I want to help Brooke set up a fashion show here in Tree Hill to help with the launch of her new store."
"What?" Derek asked, his face full of confusion at Lucas' words. He stopped and stared at his friend, urging him to explain how Lucas had managed to come to such a conclusion.
"What are you not getting here?"
"You want to help the chick you've been warned away from?" Derek replied, hating the state the obvious but really needing some form of explanation. "The snooty, high society chick who engaged to that dude with all the money who threatened your life if you came anywhere near her – that chick?"
"She's not snooty," Lucas replied quickly, Derek noticing the annoyance In his friend's tone as he defended her. "She's actually really great. There's more to her than meets the eye."
"Like what? Oh wait, let me guess," Derek continued, rolling his eyes at Lucas' words. "She owns a racehorse? She has a house in the Bahama?. Oh no wait, I know. She has a library full of first additions that made you want to cum in your pants-"
"No," Lucas growled, his irritation evident as he glared at Derek. "She's ambitious. She's caring. She's funny. She scrunches up her nose slightly when she tries to pretend she's offended when really she's just trying to stop herself from laughing." Lucas smiled at the thought of her, a look that didn't go unnoticed by his best friend. Derek stared at Lucas but remained silent, unsure what to think of the entire situation. "And she wants to create things that inspire people – she just needs someone to believe in her."
"And that someone is you," Derek breathed, changing tact so that his voice didn't relay the obvious confusion he felt. "Seriously?"
"I'd like to help," Lucas acknowledged, nodding his head as he looked at Derek.
"You'd like to help yourself into her panties," Derek laughed, unable to control himself. The look on Lucas' face however relays anything but humour and suddenly the realisation hits that his best friend means every word that he says. Derek's eyes widen in acknowledgement, his words coming out softer than the laugh he had before.
"Oh wow, Luke" he replied, titling his head slightly as he looked at the boy before him. "Buddy – you really like her."
"Yeah, I do" Lucas admitted, swallowing hard as he heard the words out loud for the first time. Lucas Scott liked Brooke Davis.
"Dude, she's getting married." The look on Derek's face had changed from one of mockery to concern and it was in this moment that Lucas remembered why Derek was his best friend. Despite all his flaws and screw-ups, he cared and his heart was bigger than anyone else, bar none.
"That doesn't mean I can't help her. My feelings don't have to be an issue here." Even as he said the words, Lucas knew they were a lie. Everything he was doing was because of his feelings for her but he wouldn't allow them to stop him from helping her.
The only person that would get hurt here was him and he was okay with that. As long as she was okay. As long as she could realise the dream she wanted most in the world. Any amount of pain would be worth that.
"I dunno," Derek sighed, sliding his hand down his face and leaning forward, placing his arms onto his knees and looking at his best friend with concern. "Man, this could end in disaster. You're like this brooding, feelings guy. I've known you my whole life and-"
"Please," Lucas begged, Derek taken aback slightly by his friend's instance. "She's worth this. She's worth so much more than this. Just, help me."
Derek stared at his friend in thought, trying to decipher the right thing to do. Could he really help his friend try and hep a girl who was getting married? Any fool could see that Lucas Scott had feelings for Brooke Davis and this whole situation could end up with his friend hurt and alone. This whole situation could end up with his buddy having his heart torn from his chest. But Derek knew Lucas which meant he knew that even if he didn't help him, Lucas was going to do this anyway and he was like a brother to him.
He wouldn't let him do this alone.
"Yeah okay," Derek agreed, Lucas smiling at his friend as Derek's eyes lit up. "On one condition."
"What?"
"If we're doing this, that rocking redhead has to be one of the models and I expect a proper introduction this time."
Lucas laughed at Derek, shaking his head as he leaned forward and fist-pumped his best friend.
"I'll talk to Brooke."
"Cool," Derek replied, throwing his hands in the air and posing the next obvious question. "What else do you need?"
"Well to be honest," Lucas began, scratching the side of his head as he let the words spill from his lips. He was hoping this would be the part where Derek had a solution to the problem. "Her family are going to make this hard for her so somehow we need a space to hold the event and a catwalk built."
"Taggaro has that club and he owes me a favour," Derek replied, as if it were the easiest thing in the world. In that moment, Lucas felt the sudden thrill that this might actually work. "I'll hit him up for the space but the catwalk, man – you're on your own there."
Lucas frowned then, a slight pang in his chest causing him to worry. How on earth was he going to find wood let alone someone who could build the damn catwalk on his budget?
"No he's not," came a booming voice from behind, both boys turning to find Nathan standing behind them, nodding his head at the surprised boys before him. "I'll help."
"You will?" Lucas asked, standing to his feet and standing before his brother. He had barely spoken three words to his brother in the last three years and now here he was, offering to help. After so long and so many failed attempts on Lucas' behalf to try and save the relationship between them, Lucas was lost for words.
"Why?"
"Because you're my brother," Nathan replied, shrugging his shoulders and acknowledging his belief. "And the heart wants what it wants."
Derek sniggered at Nathan's words, standing to his feet and sliding in beside Lucas.
"Do you need a tampon to go with those feminine words?"
Nathan glared at Derek and titled his head to the side, the bulging muscles of his biceps suddenly more apparent than they had been a few seconds before.
"Do you need a black eye to go with that smart mouth?"
"I'm good," Derek replied, holding his hands up as a sign of retreat. He turned and looked at Lucas, uncertainty in his eyes as he looked at his friend. "What do you think?"
Lucas looked at Nathan, swallowing hard as he tried to think of the best way forward. They may not have spoken in years and they may not have had much of a relationship but Nathan was here. His brother was here and he was willing to help. They had to start somewhere, no matter what the reason.
"I think we can do this," Lucas held his hand out to Nathan, the raven-haired Scott taking it in his own and shaking. "Thanks brother."
"Don't thank me yet." Nathan replied, holding onto Lucas' hand as he looked in his eyes. "You're about to propel yourself into a whole new world of unknown rules and regulations. Are you sure this is what you want? Are you sure Brooke is worth all this?"
She flashed before his eyes then, emerald green orbs aglow in the sun as the warmth kissed her perfect, porcelain skin.
She was worth all this and more.
"I'm sure."
Nathan nodded his head and let go of his brother's hand, his eyes bouncing between Lucas and Derek as he folded his arms across his chest.
To hell with Haley. He would help his brother fight for what he wanted and they would win.
They would win.
"Then let's do this."
x~X~x
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Chrissy xo