Post by mausbrucas on Sept 3, 2007 22:30:01 GMT -5
*banner made by Veronica
Chapter Thirteen: Not Giving Up
Haley pulls her minivan into the drive of her mother-in-law’s home and switches the gear to park before turning off the ignition and resting back in her seat. She is exhausted after spending the last week in the hospital. All week long, she’s been there, sitting by his side, waiting for him to wake up. All those hours spent thinking about him and how much she needs him, has made her think back on times when he needed her…
She stood in front of his house, unsure if she should go up and knock. If she did, then it would mean betraying Lucas. And if she didn’t, well…Nathan may never leave him alone. So she sighed and knocked on the door.
“Hey.” Nathan said when he opened the door and saw her standing there.
“Hey.” She returned. “I looked over your English exam and if you really want to learn, I can help you.”
Nathan smiled and said, “That’s great. All right.”
Almost immediately, Haley continued, “I just…I have two conditions. One: Lucas does not find out, okay? Ever.”
“All right. Fine.” Nathan agreed.
“And number two: you leave him alone.”
Nathan nodded his head and said, “I don’t really have much of a choice, do I?”
“Okay, then, uh…tomorrow morning, 7:00 a.m. at the Market Street dock.”
“Okay, 7:00 then.”
“Okay.” Haley nodded her head and turned and left.
She was doing it for Lucas, Haley told herself while she waited for Nathan at the dock the following morning. She was helping him by helping Nathan. That was it.
Nathan finally arrived at the dock, carrying with him two coffees and Crackerjack.
“Breakfast of champions.” He said as he set the coffee down on the picnic table. “Want some?”
“You’re late.” Haley said as Nathan removed his book bag and sat across from her.
He began to open the box of Cracker Jack and as he did, he said, “Oh, please let this be a cheat sheet.”
He ripped open the prize package and pulled out a colorful bracelet. He looked at her and said, “It’s for you.”
“Stop it.”
“Come on.” Nathan said as he slid the bracelet on her wrist. He smiled at her and added, “Don’t say I never gave you anything.”
A single tear falls down Haley’s cheek as she remembers her early days with Nathan.
“You gave me everything Nathan.” She says to herself. “You have to come back.”
Haley spent a few more minutes to herself alone in the car before heading inside. The back door is already open, so she walks inside.
“Hello?” She says, letting the screen door slam as she enters the kitchen.
Cooper turns around on the stool and jumps down to hug his mother.
“Hi, mom. I missed you.”
“Oh, I missed you too, baby.” Haley replies, kissing her son’s head before they pull out of the hug,
Cooper looks up at her and asks, “Is dad awake yet?”
Haley’s smile fades and she looks up at Rob, who is watching from the other side of the counter. She looks back at Cooper and replies sadly, “No, honey…not yet.”
Cooper lowers his head and when he looks back up at Haley, he says, “I really want him to wake up.”
“I know, sweetie. I do too.”
They hug again just as Deb enters the kitchen with Katie.
“There’s mommy.” She says, smiling and Katie points to Haley with a big smile.
Haley smiles too as her daughter reaches for her.
“Momma!” Katie says and Haley takes her into her arms.
“Awe, there’s my baby girl.” Haley says, hugging Katie to her before kissing her cheek. “I missed you so much.”
“She certainly missed you too.” Deb says as Rob wraps an arm around her. “We have had such a hard time getting her to go to sleep.”
“Yeah, she would just cry and cry for you.” Rob adds.
“Awe…” Haley says, looking at Katie again, who is playing with her necklace. Then, Haley looks back at her in-laws and continues, “Well, I didn’t sleep that well either.”
They nod and Haley looks back to Cooper and asks, “So, are you ready to go home, bud?”
“Yeah, I’m ready.” Cooper replies.
“Okay. Go get your stuff. Oh, and get your sister’s bag too, please.”
“Okay.” Cooper says before running from the kitchen. Haley walks over and sits on a stool and sits Katie on her lap, facing Rob and Deb.
“So, no change?” Deb says, thinking about her on again.
Haley stares a few seconds, shakes her head and sighs, “Nope…no change. His cuts and cruises are starting to heal though.”
“Well, I guess that’s something.” Deb says. “It’s good to hear he is healing a little bit.”
“Yeah…” Haley agrees.
“Haley…” Rob speaks. “There’s something I think we should tell you, something regarding Nathan and James.”
“What? Do you have a lead? Do you know where he is?”
“Unfortunately, no. But the police in surrounding states are still keeping a look out. This is more about Nathan.”
“Okay. Well…what is it?” Haley wonders.
“Nathan came here before he went to the River Court the day of the accident.” Deb started. “He needed to talk about the argument you guys had.”
“Yeah, well, I figured as much. He always turns to you and Lucas before coming back to me.”
“Well, when he was here,” Rob continues, “he, um…after he told us about what you thought about Florida, he told us he’d bought an open ended plane ticket to Florida and that he was planning on going down there to look for James himself.”
Haley only stares with shock as she reflects on this new information.
“He was going home to tell you.” Rob speaks again after about thirty seconds.
“I don’t…” Haley speaks though struggling to say what she actually wants to say. “I mean, I don’t understand. He said it was too dangerous for me to go down there with nothing to go on; yet, he was planning to go down himself with nothing to go on. I just…I don’t get it. God, I hate it when he thinks he has to play the hero.”
“Honestly,” Deb joins in, “I really don’t think it was about that. I think it was more about him. I mean, he said he needed to go for you and for James, but I saw the look in his eyes and I could tell it was about him too.”
Haley looks down at Katie, who is bouncing on her lap and speaking her own baby language.
“I don’t know what you want to do with this, “Rob says. “But we thought you should know since Nate was planning on telling you.”
“Well…” Haley says, looking back up them, “As much as I want to find my son, as much as I need to find him…I can’t really do anything with that ticket. I have to leave it up to the police to find him now. I can’t leave Nathan…not now. He’s always been there when I needed him. Now it’s my turn to be there for him…he needs me.”
Deb touches Haley’s hand and says, “We understand, honey.”
Haley smiles before looking at Rob and saying, “I need to be here for Nathan, but that doesn’t mean I’m forgetting about my son because I’m not. I’m not going to give up worrying about him or wanting him found until he is found. So I still need your help…so does Nathan…now more than ever.”
Rob nods and replies, “Of course. I’ll never stop looking. You can count on me…always.”
Haley smiles with wet eyes and says, “Thank you.”