Chapter Nine
It had been two weeks since Haley seen Nathan. She had spent two days in New York packing up her belongings, which she realized, was significantly less than she had thought she had. It made her think of the small apartment she had shared with Nathan when the were in Duke.
There she couldn't find room for half of what they owned. It was cluttered, yet homey, with all the pictures of their friends and families. When she packed to go on tour she took very little of that life with her. She took a few photos and trinkets that meant a lot to her but nothing major.
She wondered if Nathan had kept all of the stuff from their apartment then dismissed the thought as soon as it entered her mind. There was no way he would have kept anything of hers she left behind. She had a feeling their wedding album was one of the many things he had disposed of she thought with sharp pain going through her chest.
She remembered their wedding like it was yesterday. They hadn't wanted anything extravagant, just their friends and families to witness the binding if their love, so they had opted for a beach wedding. Thinking back to her dress Haley smiled, Brooke had designed and made it just for her. The dress, though it looked simple, was elegant with the tiny beading on the bodice and flowing floor length skirt. She knew the length wasn't practical, and had told Brooke such, but she was glad Brooke had ignored her pleas for a shorter skirt.
When she walked out of the tent, where the girls had gotten ready, Nathan's face showed everything she was feeling. Her heart sped up as she walked down the aisle that was made with candles. The flames flickered and cast light on her as she made her way to Nathan on her father's arm.
As her father placed her hand in Nathan's she felt like electricity was running through their joined hands. It was as if the universe was telling them they were meant to be. They had gone with traditional vows, knowing later that night they would be able to tell each other in private how much they loved each other.
After the ceremony they had the reception on the beach with a huge bon-fire. They had all been dancing when someone snapped a picture of them. It was one of the few things she had to remember them all. She took it out of their wedding album leaving an empty spot she was sure he never noticed. That picture had helped her through so many tough times, times when she had missed her friends and Nathan, times she needed more than just the people on the road with her. They had all looked so happy, as if nothing could ever go wrong. Haley missed that feeling, missed knowing if she faltered or fell someone would help her back up. She would still do that for any one of them if they needed her.
Haley was jolted out of her trip down memory lane by the shrilling sound of her doorbell. With a frown she went to answer the door. Only two people knew where she was living and she wasn't expecting either one of them. Haley opened the door and froze, she didn't know who she had been expecting but Lucas Scott sure wasn't on the list of possibilities.
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Nathan was exhausted, everything that could go wrong at work, did. It didn't help that his mind was elsewhere. All he could think about all day was Haley and the brief conversation they had at the café that morning.
Around lunch time he had been trudging through a pile of paper work when his phone shrilled next to him. It took him a moment to find it buried underneath the clutter on his desk. Without thinking to check his caller ID he answered the phone with a curt "Hello."
The moment his father said hello back he regretted not checking the damn caller ID. It wasn't that he didn't love his dad, because he truly did, but ever since Haley had left, him and his dad couldn't see eye to eye. His father thought he should have gone after her, thought they could fix the mess that was now their marriage. At times Nathan wanted to think he was right, but he lived in the world of reality and knew life wasn't a simple fairy-tale.
His father insisted that he come over Friday night for a family dinner, per his mother's request. Nathan wanted to say no but knew his mother wouldn't be happy with him if he didn't attend so he simply agreed and got off the phone quickly.
The rest of his day hadn't gone much better. He couldn't wait to grab dinner, a hot shower, then slink off to bed. If he could do all of that and avoid his brother and Brooke than maybe his day wouldn't be a total bust. He needed time by him self to go over his conversation with Haley without interruptions.
With a pizza tucked under his arm he tried to sneak upstairs but was stopped by the loud tapping of a foot behind him. Turning around he saw Brooke with a disapproving look on her face. "Hi Brooke."
"Don't hi me Nathan Royal Scott! Are you seriously avoiding me?" she asked.
"I was trying, clearly failing though. Seems that's what I'm good at doing," Nathan said with a sarcastic laugh.
Brooke shook her head and with her hand on his arm said, "You know that's not true, you are far from a failure. A pain in the ass maybe but not a failure. You have a beautiful house, not to mention the awesome pool. A career, though it wasn't the one you planned, that you love. You have a family that loves you."
"Notice how you left out my failed marriage that I'm too pathetic to end? Look Brooke I appreciate that you care but I need to be alone. I'm going to go out by the pool, have a few beers and eat my pizza," He said walking past her for the sliding glass door that lead to the pool patio.
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A few hours later, still waiting on Lucas to come home, Brooke went out to check on Nathan and found him passed out on one of the lounge chairs. He had an empty beer bottle dangling from his fingers and he hadn't even touched the pizza. With light steps she approached him and took the bottle, setting it on the table, before she shook his arm gently.
"Nathan, come on, lets get you to bed," Brooke said shaking his arm again. Short of throwing him in the pool there was no way she was going to get him to wake up. It was times like this that she hated Haley. She missed the care free Nathan that wouldn't think twice before throwing them in the ocean at a beach party. Who would joke around and have fun, who wasn't so serious all the time. Maybe, just maybe, him and Haley would work everything out, Brooke thought as she draped a blanket over him before going back inside to wait for Lucas and news of his visit.
