Chapter Fourteen
Nathan had travelled back to Tree Hill the day before and he knew that Haley was due home the next day. He couldn’t believe how nervous he felt at the thought of seeing her again. It had felt like forever since the last time he had seen her and although he knew things would probably be really awkward between them, a big part of him couldn’t wait for tomorrow to come.
Since he had arrived back, most of his time had been spent catching up with his family and friends. As he was hanging up his clean laundry in his closet, there was a knock on his bedroom door and he called out, “Come in.”
His mother walked into the room and smiled at him. “Hey, Nate, you settling back in okay?”
“Yeah, I am,” he replied turning to smile at the petite blonde.
“We missed having you home for Thanksgiving.”
“I’m sorry about that but there was a problem with one of my classes and I needed to deal with it as soon as possible instead of letting it drag out.”
“Is everything okay now?” she enquired.
He nodded at her. “Yep, it wasn’t as bad as I originally thought and it’s all been sorted out.”
“Well, that’s good. I came up here to see if you wanted to come Christmas shopping with me tomorrow. I never know what to buy you now you’re all grown up and I thought that maybe you’d like to come and pick out what you’d like.”
“Oh, uh, that’s really nice of you, Mom, but I can’t. Not tomorrow.” Seeing the look on her face, he decided to be honest with her. “It’s just that, um, Haley arrives back home tomorrow and I need to talk to her. We kinda had a fight before I went back to college and I hate that we haven’t spoken to each other in so long.”
Looking at her son, Deb saw something there that she had never seen before and she smiled to herself. It wasn’t hard to notice how his eyes lit up at just mentioning her name. “Haley, huh?” She couldn’t pass up this opportunity of teasing her youngest son.
“What?” Seeing the look on her face he started shaking his head. “Oh, no, it’s... uh... nothing like that. C’mon, she’s like my little sister.”
“Don’t worry, Nathan, I won’t say a word. Your secret is safe with me but if you ever want to talk, just remember I’m here for you.”
Feeling awkward, he gave her a crooked smile. “Uh, thanks but there’s nothing to talk about. Really.”
“Okay,” she said patting him on the shoulder before walking towards the door.
Before she reached it, he called out. “Mom? I’ll be happy with whatever you buy me for Christmas.” She gave him a big smile and nodded at him before leaving.
After she had gone, Nathan went over and slumped down onto his bed. Leaning his head against the headboard, he rubbed a hand across his face before he started to laugh. Of all the people he thought would be the first to realise his feelings for Haley, he hadn’t figured on it being his mother. Oh well, rather her than Lucas.
* * * * *
“Haley, sweetie, are you going to be home for dinner tonight?” Lydia James asked as she was washing up the breakfast dishes.
Looking over at her mom, she shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. I’m going to go over to the café in a little while to see Karen so I’ll probably have something while I’m there.”
“Okay. Say hi to her for me. So, is Karen the only person you’ll be dropping in on?”
Haley took a sip of her tea before answering. “Uh, I might stop by Peyton’s too but I’m not sure yet. I’ll just see what happens.”
Lydia nodded at her. “What about Lucas and, uh, Nathan?”
Hearing her mother say his name startled her and the tea she had in her mouth went down the wrong way and she coughed. After composing herself, she replied, “I don’t know if I’ll have time today. I’ll see what Peyton wants to do when I see her.”
Walking over to the kitchen table, Lydia pulled out a chair and sat down beside her daughter. “You know you can talk to me about anything, Haley.”
“Yeah, I know that. What’s this about?”
“I’m just worried about you and... Nathan. You’ve always been so close and yet for the past couple of months you haven’t spoken a word to each other. If something’s happened...”
“No, nothing’s happened.” Seeing the look on the older woman’s face, she confessed, “Okay, if you must know we had a fight before I left for college about his over-protectiveness. He said some things and I said some things so I guess you could say we were both at fault.”
Placing a hand over her daughter’s, she gave it a squeeze. “Why don’t you go and see him first? I was in the café yesterday and I heard Deb saying that she’s going Christmas shopping with Lucas this morning so Nathan is over there on his own and I really think it would be a good time for you two to talk and clear the air without any interruptions.”
“But Peyton...”
“She’ll understand if you go and see her later or tomorrow even. It’s not like your plans are set in stone.”
“Mom...”
“Don’t ‘Mom’ me. I miss seeing Nathan around here and I know that if you two don’t sort this out now he won’t be coming over when you’re home.”
Haley knew her mother was right and so she nodded at her. “What if he doesn’t want to talk to me?” she asked quietly. “My last words to him… I-I said I hated him.”
“Well then he must have deserved it because I know you and you don’t just say those words for no reason.”
“What he said to me hurt so much and I lashed out at him and slapped him. After that I just ran away and I haven’t seen him since then.”
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry. You know what I think? He’s probably feeling really bad about what he said to you too and doesn’t know how to make the first move to put things right. It takes a bigger person to take the first step.”
“Yeah, I guess. But what if he thinks I’m not worth the trouble?”
Lydia smiled knowingly. “I’m sure that’s the farthest thing from the truth. I know you young ones think us oldies don’t notice anything,” she said teasingly before continuing, “but it’s easy to see how much he likes you.”
She could feel her cheeks heating up under her mother’s gaze and she knew she was blushing. “Uh... what do you mean?”
“I’m not stupid, Haley. I know you more than like Nathan, I’ve known for a while now and I’m pretty sure he feels the same way about you.”
Haley breathed a sigh of relief and as she looked into the older woman’s face, her eyes filled with tears. “I’m in love with him, Mom. I was just scared that Lucas and maybe even you would be against it.”
Moving her chair closer, Lydia pulled her daughter into her arms and hugged her. “Why would I be against it? We’ve known Nathan for years and he’s someone both Jimmy and I trust. He’s always looked out for you and that means a lot to both of us.”
“I just thought you might object because he’s older than me, but I guess I was probably more worried about how Lucas would take it if something happened,” she said after moving back to look into Lydia’s face.
“Don’t worry about Lucas. Okay, he’ll probably be angry and upset at first but it’ll wear off before you know it. He’s not one to bear a grudge.”
“Thanks, Mom. I wish I’d talked about this with you before I went away. I’ve done nothing but think about all of this for months and there were times I thought I was going mad.”
“Aww, honey, you’re welcome but in future just talk to me. That’s one of the things I’m here for along with cooking, cleaning, and ironing,” she said chuckling. “Now, why don’t you go upstairs and make yourself even more beautiful so you can face Nathan?”
Giving her mother another hug, Haley smiled at her before getting up from her chair and making her way upstairs. Turning back to face her she said, “You won’t say anything to anyone about this, will you? It’s just that I want to talk to Nathan first and see what happens before we even think about mentioning it to anyone else.”
“My lips are sealed. Now go get him.”
Her laughter rang out before she ran out of the room and Lydia smiled at seeing her daughter happy again.
* * * * *
Lucas grumbled to himself as he drove himself home from the sports center where he had been planning on going for a workout. Unfortunately, he had forgotten to pick up his wallet containing his membership card and cash and so that meant going back to collect it. Instead of pulling into the driveway as he usually did, he parked on the street outside his house and as he did so, he saw Haley standing on his doorstep. He watched as the door opened and a couple of minutes later she went inside. Even though she was friends with his brother, he couldn’t help wondering why she would be calling on him when she knew he wasn’t going to be there. He remembered speaking to her on the phone the previous evening and telling her he was planning on going shopping with his mom. Unfortunately, he had overslept and to be honest, the last thing he felt like doing today was hanging around a crowded mall so he wasn’t upset at missing the excursion.
The other thing that puzzled him about Haley’s appearance at his house was that he knew she and his brother hadn’t spoken since before they had all left for college. When he’d asked Nathan what was going on, he’d said something about a disagreement but he hadn’t gone into any details. He had also asked Haley what had happened but she too had clammed up and said it was nothing, just a stupid argument. It didn’t matter how hard he’d pushed, neither one was willing to tell him anything more than that.
Lucas debated whether or not to go into the house and after a few minutes, he decided to sneak in and try and find out just what was going on between his best friend and his baby brother.
* * * * *
Nathan’s heart was racing in his chest as he sat beside Haley on the couch in the den. When he’d opened the door he was actually on his way to go and see her so he could start putting things right. Finding her standing there had been a complete shock and it had taken him a good couple of minutes to find his voice and invite her inside.
Now she was here he didn’t know what to say to her and they sat there in total silence for a little bit longer. Not being able to take it anymore, he finally asked, “Can I get you something to drink?”
Shifting her position to face him, Haley shook her head. “No thanks, I’m fine.”
“Okay.” He wished she’d said yes so that he could have had something to do to break the obvious tension in the room. A moment later, he said, “So, uh, how’d you like college so far?”
“It’s great. I really like all my classes and I’ve met some great people.”
“That’s good.”
Once again, the room was filled with silence and neither of them knew what to say next. They knew they had to deal with what had happened so that they could start moving on but both of them were too scared to make the first move in case they made things worse. In the end it was Nathan who plucked up his courage and spoke first.
“I’m sorry,” he told her looking into her chocolate coloured eyes for the first time in months.
“Nathan—”
“No, let me say this. Please?” Slowly she nodded at him and he continued. “I can’t believe I even thought those things let alone said them but I did and I’m so sorry. I... I don’t even know why I did.”
“Oh,” Haley mumbled as she lowered her eyes and looked at the floor. She had obviously been wrong about him possibly feeling jealous of her being with another guy.
“Actually, that’s not true. I do know why.” He took her small hand in his and stroked his thumb back and forth over her knuckles. “I-I was jealous.”
Her head shot up so she could look into his eyes. “What?”
Nathan gulped. The expression on her face looked almost hopeful and it gave him the kick he needed to tell her the truth. “I said I was jealous. I hated seeing that guy’s hands all over you when I wanted it to be me touching you and holding you. You looked so beautiful and I couldn’t resist being with you again so when I saw you heading towards the bathroom, I made my move and pulled you into that corner.”
The tears that had filled Haley’s eyes began to fall and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. “Nathan...”
Seeing her tears made him panic and think that she didn’t think of him that way. “Don’t cry, Haley. Please. Look, I know what I did was wrong but...”
His words were cut off by her crushing her mouth against his and kissing him softly. When they finally broke apart, they rested their foreheads together.
“You touching me... kissing me, it felt so right and it hurt to hear you tell me that you were only there because you wanted to check up on me. I wanted you to tell me that you were there to be with me and for no other reason.”
Bringing a hand up to her face, he wiped away the last of her tears and cradled her cheek in his palm. “I was desperate to see you and I hated the thought of any other guy dancing with you, let alone touching you.”
Haley couldn’t help smiling at his words and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Hugging him tightly, she buried her face into his neck and breathed in his familiar scent. Taking advantage of her position, Nathan pulled her onto his lap and held her close.
“I’ve really missed you, Haley. You don’t know how many times I wanted to pick up the phone and...”
“Wait, you had my number at college?” she asked, drawing back from him so she could look into his face.
Sheepishly, he replied, “I... uh... I practically begged Lucas for your details and he eventually gave in.”
She stared at him open-mouthed before asking, “So why didn’t you call me?”
“I didn’t know what to say and I guess I was scared that you’d just hang up on me which I would have completely understood. What I said was...”
“Shhh. Just for the record, I didn’t kiss that guy. He was nice enough but it wasn’t fair to kiss him when all I wanted was you,” she admitted.
Hearing her say that had him tightening his hold on her waist. “Is that still true?” he finally asked and held his breath as he waited for her answer.
Chocolate brown eyes met piercing blue ones as they stared at each other and a second later, Haley answered Nathan’s question with a passionate kiss. They held hands, their fingers intertwined, as the intensity of their kiss increased. The fingers of his free hand tangled in her beautiful auburn hair as his lips nibbled and suckled on hers. Her blunt fingernails scratched gently across his scalp which was sending tingles up and down his spine.
When they eventually broke apart, they just continued to stare and smile at each other, neither of them quite believing what was happening between them.
“What happens now, Nathan?” she asked before her lips latched onto his neck and she began sucking furiously.
Tilting his head to the side to give her better access, he said, “I want to be with you. I know it’s not going to be...” he stopped talking and moaned when she hit a particularly sensitive spot and she giggled against his skin.
“Yes?”
“You’re so evil,” he told her with a laugh of his own. “I was saying that I know it’s not going to be easy telling Lucas but hopefully he’ll come around and see that we didn’t plan this to happen.”
“Yeah,” she whispered planting butterfly kisses all over his face. “I can’t stop kissing you,” she confessed after a few minutes.
“Good because I don’t want you to stop,” he told her before slanting his mouth over hers and kissing her hard and deep. When they parted they were both breathless and panting for air but they were still smiling.
“What do you want to do now?” Haley asked him, her fingers stroking over the nape of his neck and playing with the hair there.
“How about we watch a movie and just hang out together?”
Haley couldn’t stop smiling. “That sounds good. But instead of sitting down here, how about we, um, go up to your room and hang out there?”
“Are you sure?” he asked her as he looked into her eyes to gauge whether she was being serious.
“Yeah, I am. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do and seeing as we have the house to ourselves, I think we should get started now.”
Seeing the twinkling in her eyes, he smiled back at her. “You won’t find me arguing with you. Come on,” he said as he gently eased her off his lap so he could stand up. Taking her hand in his, he started to lead her towards the door but before he opened it, he turned to face her again. “I think we should tell Luke about us as soon as possible. It’s only fair he finds out before anyone else.”
Nodding her agreement, she said, “Yeah, you’re right. When should we do it?”
“The sooner the better because I want to be able to show my new girlfriend off.”
The smile that Haley gave him illuminated her whole face and she planted a smacking kiss onto his cheek. “Okay,” she replied almost shyly.
Just as she was about to open the door leading out into the hallway, he stopped her and pulled her to him by the belt loops on her jeans. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he hugged her while kissing her gently. When he felt her getting even more into the kiss, he pulled back with a smirk and opened the door before sweeping her up into his arms. “C’mon, let’s go upstairs before we get carried away and get busted by my Mom or something.”
“Ooh, you’ll pay for that,” she told him with a smirk of her own as she savoured the feel of being in his arms.
“That’s what I’m hoping for,” he replied.