Time had stopped. To Nathan and Haley, their small studio apartment was the entire reach of the world, and no one could disturb that until the knock on their door. Nathan and Haley looked up at each other, confused. He paused, putting down the ointment he was applying to her arm, and slowly stood to the source of the sound.
"Hey man," Lucas greeted in a solemn tone. He hugged Nathan, patting him on the back before looking toward Haley. "Oh god," He whispered under his breath as he took in her bruised appearance. Tears filled her eyes and she looked away from him, covering her face. "Haley-"
"Don't," She whispered, putting her hand up as a barrier between her and his open arms. She wrapped her arms around herself and went into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. He stared at the door, a lump in his throat, before turning back to Nathan, who looked away.
"It's not you, Lucas." He finally said.
"What happened?" Luke choked out his voice shaky.
"She was attacked," Nathan said. "Last Friday, I found her in an alleyway like 20 steps from Karen's, unconscious."
Luke stared at him in disbelief. "Why didn't you tell us? Any of us?" His voice raised slightly.
"Because she was raped and beaten!" Nathan yelled back. "Some man willingly took her-"
Luke froze. "The baby?"
Nathan rolled his head, unable to look Luke in the eye as angry tears burned his eyes. "Haley... Haley miscarried." He choked out. "Because of some drunk fucker, our entire lives are gone." Nathan finally let the tears he'd been holding in for days fall. He stumbled over to the couch and sat down, staring at the wall. Lucas sighed and went to sit next to him.
"It's not your fault, Nate,"
"Shut up, man!" Nathan stood up and faced his brother. "It damn well is! She laid there on death's door for God knows how long, all because I was 'too tired' to pick her up after her shift."
Lucas pursed his lips, not knowing what to say.
"She could've died. Hell, a part of her did. And there is nothing I can say or do to bring it back. And that helpless feeling is the shittiest thing I've ever felt."
"It's not your fault, Nathan," Luke repeated, standing.
"I know! I know, okay?" Nathan cried, throwing his arms up in anger. "Directly, it's not my fault. That doesn't mean I didn't play a part in this!"
"You're 17, Nathan! How could you have possibly known this was going to happen?"
"So is she!" He threw his hands over his face, sighing loudly. "This all just sucks, okay?"
Lucas shook his head, unbelieving that this had happened.
Haley crouched into a ball, hiding her face from the world and sobbing into her knees.
"Baby?" Nathan's voice called, hoarse, as their bedroom door creaked open. She looked up, her face puffy and red from the tears. Nathan looked away, his heart breaking once more. He went and sat down next to her, pulling her into his chest.
"He took my ring," Haley finally said, her voice broken.
"What?" Nathan pulled away, turning to face Haley.
"My wedding ring?" Haley held up her hand, where a purple and blue bruise in the shape of a ring poisoned her hand. "He grabbed my hands and pinned me up against the wall, and he was kicking me, and he pulled the ring off my finger." She said, eyes staring into her husband's. His mouth hung open in horror.
"Wh-How-G," he stuttered, trying to find the right words. "How can you speak about it so normally?" He asked, voice still broken as if he'd been crying for hours, which he had.
Haley bit her lip, then released it and winced as her teeth traced yet another bruise. "Because in my head, it is normal. Seeing it, on replay, is normal. Hearing his voice," Angry tears burned her eyes. "Is normal!" She chuckled, a disgusted look on her face. "How devastating is that? That literally thousands of women experience this every day yet men still parade them around like victories. Like prizes of an ugly game."
Nathan shook his head and furrowed his brow, angrily dumbfounded at Haley's revelation. "Any man who can do that is no man, Haley."
"No, they are monsters." She said numbly. "Hateful, inhumane, rapist monsters!" She yelled, releasing a fresh set of tears as she basked in her outburst. Nathan didn't know what to say. Her heart was so full of anger and frustration, as she damn well deserved to. His own heart ached for her. To know someone took advantage of her. Killed her. Her spirit, her joy, her child, our child, gone.
"I should've died that night." He said, eyes drifting to the floor. Haley looked up, horrified.
"What?"
"When I went over the bridge. I should've died. None of this would've happened."
Haley gritted her teeth, ears still falling. "How dare you say that." She yelled, standing up. "How dare you suggest that your being taken from me would've been better!"
"Haley, if I'd died, you wouldn't be pregnant, we wouldn't be feeling this pain-"
"NATHAN!" She screamed. "I WAS ALREADY PREGNANT! HOW DARE YOU SAY YOU SHOULD'VE DIED. ALL THAT WOULD'VE DONE WAS CAUSE ME MORE PAIN. IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?"
"Wha- NO! God! Haley, do you know how hard it is for me to see you like this!?"
She wrapped her arms around herself. "No, you don't get to say that!" She ran out of the room and into the bathroom.
Nathan stared at the closed door in front of him. He turned and punched the wall behind him, yelling loudly.