Note: I do not own anything except the storyline.

Virginia Beach, Va. (Friday)

The cool September breeze blew through Haley James's hair as she sat on the sandy beach with her son Jamie seated next to her, contently playing with his pail and shovel. The gentle crashing of the waves onto the sand provided a calmness that she craved. Ever since she had left Tree Hill, her mind was on constant overdrive, always attuned to the possibility that the past would catch up with her. The first night after she arrived in Virginia, one of the first places she had gone to was the beach. It was almost out of pure instinct. Sunsets at the beach was the only time that she allowed her mind to be calmed, to allow all thoughts of him to be emptied.

After she had left Tree Hill, she had created a totally different life for herself, complete with a new name. In Virginia, she was Gwen Scott, high school English teacher and single mother to James "Jamie" Lucas Scott. Keeping the Scott name was the only risk that she took in her past catching up to her, but she could not deny Jamie his name. She had simply told everyone that Jamie's father was no longer in the picture and left it at that. And although she tried like hell to hide it, anyone could see the sorrow in her eyes whenever Jamie's father was mentioned.

Staying focused on Jamie, school, and her career, she had been able to keep thoughts of Nathan at bay and push them to the back of her mind. But slowly, as her life became somewhat easier to manage, he started creeping back into her thoughts more frequently. It seemed that the smallest thing could trigger some sort of memory. Whenever she smelled the scent of his aftershave he used or the first time that Jamie had asked to taste prime rib, it all reminded her of him. She had been in total denial when she thought she could forget and move on by moving to another state. There was just simply no forgetting Nathan Scott.

She looked down as Jamie began tugging on her leg to play in the sand with him, but she was distracted by the day and the significance of what it meant to her life. This would have been her 7th wedding anniversary to Nathan Scott. As the emotions began to overtake her, the tears trickling down her cheeks, she lifted Jamie into her lap and held him close to her. Her mind wandered back to the day that was the beginning of the end.

Flashback

"HALEY! Where are you?! HALEEEEEEEESSSSS" Nathan shouted as he ran into their apartment.

"Nathan, for God's sakes, I'm right here, why are you shout-" Haley looked up bewildered from her spot on the couch. Nathan, in his excitement, leapt over the couch and hugged her tightly.

"Hales, I got in! I got into High-Flyers!" he exclaimed excitedly. Haley pulled back and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Are you serious? Baby, that is so amazing! I knew you would! We totally have to celebrate" Haley launched herself back into his arms as he lifted her up from the couch and twirled her around the room. When the initial thrill of excitement had worn off, they both landed on the floor in a heap, out of breath. She propped herself up on her elbow and mentally started going through party preparations. Nathan could see that Haley was already going overboard. He propped himself on his elbow facing her.

"Hales, don't go all crazy just yet. I said I got in, but I never said I was actually going."

Haley stared at him with a look of disbelief on her face. "You're not serious, right? Nathan Royal Scott! How could you even consider not going? This is your dream, this is your future!" She practically shouted at him.

"But Haley, High Flyers is a solid four months of being on the road, a different college and city every night. It's not like I'll be able to come home on weekends or anything. And it'd be really difficult for you to come see me. I don't know if I could handle being away from you that long…and I have finally caught up with school, I don't want to get behind again" Nathan lowered his eyes, not able to meet her intense gaze. He had wanted to say more, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. If she knew that he wasn't going to go because she had given up her own opportunity, there was no way she would let up. Nathan's eyes shifting did not go unnoticed by Haley, she knew him well enough to know that he was holding something back.

"Well, this is a first; Nathan Scott using school as an excuse to not play ball. Look, I know there's something you're holding back. We need to talk about this. You need to let me in, Nathan," Haley said gently.

Sighing, Nathan forced himself to meet her gaze. "Look Hales, I know that you gave up a lot when you turned down the tour to stay with me." Haley opened her mouth to protest, but Nathan held up his hand to stop her. "And I also know that when you made your sacrifice, I promised myself that if I ever had the chance to, I would prove to you that you that it wasn't for nothing. This is my chance, my chance to show you how much you mean to me." After a pause to take in what she had just heard, Haley leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.

"Nathan, you don't have to prove to me how much you love me by sacrificing your dreams. When I chose not to go on the tour, yes, it was because I didn't want to be without you, but there's more to it. I realized that the music would mean nothing if you weren't there to share it with me. Music is not for me what basketball is for you. It wasn't my dream. You are. So, I want you to go. Play great. I promise that I will be right here when you get back. And maybe if we can get a copy of the schedule ahead of time, we can plan for a few stops that I can come see you. I know it's going to be hard, and I'm going to miss you like crazy, but-" She was interrupted by Nathan pulling her into a searing kiss that told her that everything was going to be okay. She deepened the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him as close to her body as possible. Without breaking from her lips, he lifted them both of the floor and carried her into the bedroom.

End Flashback

Had she known that that day would be the day that would inevitably change the course of their life, she doubted that she would have pushed as hard for him to go. Who was she kidding; she could never deny Nathan his dream, or anything else for that matter. She quickly tried to wipe away the tears that were flowing more rapidly now. She did not want Jamie to notice that anything was wrong but she was too late.

"Momma, what's wrong with you? Why are you crying?" Jamie asked with a frown on his face. He never liked to see his mother upset. He stood in front of Haley, in between her legs, as his small hand reached forward to wipe the tears away. "Are you thinking about Daddy again?" Her heart clenched at how perceptive Jamie was even at 6 years old. Haley had always been truthful with Jamie as to who his father was. She just hadn't been as forthcoming as to why exactly he wasn't there everyday.

"No, sweetheart. I'm not sad about Daddy" Of course I am, aren't I always?

"Then why are you crying?" Jamie pressed further.

"These are happy tears because you are such a special little man. My special little man," she exclaimed dramatically as she drew him closer for an eskimo kiss, which made Jamie giggle, lifting Haley's spirits.

Noticing that it was soon to be dark, Haley packed Jamie and their things up and headed to their home, a home without Nathan.

Meanwhile in Tree Hill…

Nathan sat and watched as the sun sank lower and lower into the horizon. Soon, he would be surrounded by darkness, but he didn't mind. He was used to being in the dark. Today would be darker than usual for him. From the outside looking in, Nathan was living the picture perfect life; high school phenom, recruited by Duke University; two NCAA Championship titles, and then drafted first all around to the Charlotte Bobcats right out of senior year. He had had a meteoric rise to fame as the hottest new thing to hit the NBA. He dominated on the court and was a fan favorite off the court, especially with the ladies. It was no secret that Nathan Scott definitely played as hard off the court as he did on, but what no one could see was that it was all to drown the sorrow that had left his heart empty for several years. He had everything any normal human being could want, but the one thing he wanted most in the world was lost.

Sitting on the picnic table at the docks he considered theirs, his thoughts were always of her, what she was doing at that precise moment, was she happy, did she find someone to be happy with. The last thought always made his gut twist with pain, he couldn't bear the thought of his Haley being in the arms of another man. Today, his thoughts went further as he wondered if she remembered that this was their anniversary. Did the memory of their wedding hurt her as much as it did him or was it just an afterthought to the new life she was leading. There were so many questions that were swirling through his head, and none of them had a very good answer. As was his ritual, just before the sun dropped into the night sky, he pulled two items from his pocket. Two items that never left his side, a pink plastic bracelet and a piece of paper. Two very different items that were symbols of two different things, love and loss. He unfolded the piece of paper to read its contents, although unnecessary as he had memorized every word long ago. Yet every night at sunset, wherever he was, he would read the letter hoping that maybe that time would lead to clue that would lead him to her.

Dear Nathan,

This is undoubtedly the hardest thing that I have ever had to or will probably ever have to write in my entire life. These past months without you have been miserable, but I was always comforted by the fact that you were doing this for your future, our future, but that future is not meant to be. I have finally come to the realization that I am standing in the way of you realizing your dreams. Please know that I am nothing but proud of all you have accomplished so far, and you still have so much more to give. Whenever I watch you out on the court, it's like you were born to be there. The court is where you belong, and I have no right to stand in the way of that. I have decided to leave Tree Hill for good. By the time you get this, I won't be here. This place holds too many memories for me to be able to truly move on. Know that I love you with all of my soul and will always and forever have you in my heart. Please do not try to find me, it is the best for the both of us. I love you.

Always and Forever,

Haley

When he had returned from High Flyers, he had returned to an empty apartment and this letter with her cracker jack bracelet laying next to it along with signed divorce papers. He had sensed that something had been bothering Haley when he had spoken with her for the last time before his return home, but he was definitely not expecting her to leave him like this. He was completely dumbfounded that she had thought of herself as an obstacle. If anything, she was the key. In the following years, he tried everything he could think of to find her including hiring private investigators, but Haley knew how to cover her tracks, and if she didn't want to be found, she made damn sure that she wasn't going to be. During the season which usually meant several different cities in several nights, he would hold out hope that maybe that the next person to cross his path would be her. Every sight of wavy honey blonde hair or a passing scent of strawberries would drive him wild until disappointment once again set in. When the darkness had settled in, Nathan carefully folded the letter and put it and the bracelet back in his pocket and started for his home in Tree Hill, his home without Haley.

As he started to leave, he noticed a figure approaching. He knew the tall, lanky figure anywhere, Lucas, a constant reminder that Haley was no longer in his life. It was because of Haley that the two men had gotten past the mistakes of their parents and become true brothers.

"Hey little brother, thought I might find you out here," the tall blonde said as he held his hand out for a quick shake. Nathan reciprocated and they both sat down on top of the picnic table that held so many memories for both men.

Nathan smirked, "Lucas, you know very well I'm out here every night that I'm in Tree Hill. Why would tonight be any different?"

Lucas didn't have an answer for him. For a few minutes they both sat in complete silence just looking out at the moon shining over the river.

"So are you just going to sit there or are you going to tell me why you're really here? I know it's not because you missed seeing me. Is everything okay with Lindsey? Don't tell me she finally wised up and kicked your scrawny ass out" Nathan asked staring out at the water.

"Naw, nothing like that. And she happens to like scrawny asses, especially my scrawny ass. Look, I know what today is. I just wanted to make sure that you were doing okay with everything."

"It's just not getting any easier, man. Everyone tells me that I need to move on, that she probably has, so I should too. But I can't move on when I don't know what I'm moving on from. Does that even make any sense? I'm just so in the dark about everything. She just up and disappeared, and I don't know why. And I want to be angry with her, but I can't because I know that she would never leave without having a good reason. So whatever spooked her, it had to be something big. I've been playing and replaying those last 4 months in my head second by second and there is nothing. Nothing! So, the only conclusion that I can come to is that it was someone or something here that got inside her head. I just need to know," Nathan's voice was ragged with desperation.

Lucas's silence and inability to meet his brother's eyes did not go unnoticed by Nathan. Nathan liked to think that he had come to know his older brother pretty well, so he knew the lack of response on Lucas's part meant that he was holding something back.

"Luke, say something! I just poured my soul out and you've got nothing? And you call yourself a writer?" he teased trying anything to get a response from Lucas.

Flashback..

"Hales?" Lucas whispered to the small figure curled up in his bed. He slowly made his way to his bed when he saw a slight nod of her head. He sat down on the edge in front of her taking notice that her breaths were coming in short hiccups and her face was tear-stained. "Haley, you've got to help me out here. What are you doing here? I thought you went to Chapel Hill to see Nathan."

"I-I w-was t-there," she managed to get out between sobs. Sensing that she wasn't quite ready to talk, Lucas pulled her into his lap, cradling her and rocking her, rubbing his hand soothingly up and down her back as if to calm a hysterical child. When her breathing had finally calmed down, she was able to fill him in on what had exactly happened.

"I was at the game. After it was over, I made sure to stay out of sight, so I could surprise him, and I waited by the door. Everyone had come out, even the coaches, so I started wondering why he was taking so long so I snuck in. But instead of me surprising Nathan, it was me who got the surprise. Apparently someone else had the same idea as me. When I got to the showers, Nathan had some girl wrapped around him like a pretzel and they were kissing," Haley said bitterly, her gut twisting at the memory. Lucas couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could Nathan do that to Haley?! His blood started to boil, and he practically threw Haley off the bed as his gut told him to give Nathan the beating of a lifetime, even if he was in Chapel Hill.

"I'm going to kill him. Then I'm going to kill him again. He can't get away with doing that to you Hales. I won't let him, "Lucas said through clenched teeth. Haley, forgetting her own emotional state, knew that Lucas beating the crap out of Nathan would do no good.

"You'll do no such thing," she commanded softly as she put her hand on his arm. He looked at her incredulously.

"Haley, you can't be serious! You can't let him get away with this!" Lucas half-shouted realizing that he didn't want to wake the rest of the household. He looked into her brown eyes and what he saw was a swirl of emotions, sadness, pain, anger, confusion, and determination. It was the determination that scared him the most; she was planning to do something. Haley was extremely stubborn and once she had set her mind to something there was no letting go. "What are you going to do?" He half whispered scared to death of what her response would be.

"I'm going to leave. Nathan has some things to wrap up with High Flyers, so he won't be home for another few days. That should give me enough time to get everything sorted. I don't plan on being here when he gets back. I don't think I could handle looking him in the face," Haley replied matter-of-factly.

"So you're just going to run away? That isn't like you Hales. You should at least confront him and tell him what you saw. Give him a chance to explain himself.." Lucas trailed off. He knew that he had gone too far with his last sentence, but he was grasping at straws, an angry Haley was better than no Haley.

Haley's eyes were flashing. "No, Lucas. He doesn't deserve the right to give me an explanation. I know what I saw. He lost his right to explain himself when he broke our vows," she bit out angrily.

Lucas sighed. At this point, stubborn Haley had kicked in and there was no arguing with her.

"Where will you go?" he asked.

"I don't know yet. Honestly, I haven't figured out much other than I'm leaving. As soon as I know you'll be the first to know. I promise. You have to promise me one thing though."

"Anything, Hales."

"You can't tell anybody where I am. And you have to be there for Nathan. He's going to need your support."

"Hales, you can't be serious? How can I support him when I want to kill him?" Lucas said in disbelief.

"Luke, whatever Nathan and I are or aren't or whatever we're going through, it doesn't change the fact that you are brothers. And brothers should stick together," Haley said gently as she pulled Lucas into a hug.

"You're my family too, Haley. You know that." Lucas stated emphatically.

"Oh Luke, I know that. But Nathan is going to need someone to depend on, and I can't be that someone for him anymore. So you're up."

"But who's going to be there for you?" he asked worriedly.

"Don't worry about me, Luke. I'll be just fine. You'll see," Haley said as confidently as she could muster, but Lucas saw right through it, but decided to let it go for now. "Look, it's late. Let's just get some sleep." He nodded and as soon as their heads hit the bed, they were asleep.

Lucas didn't know how to respond to his little brother that was in so much pain over this thing with Haley. He knew that the next words out of his mouth were going to get him an angry Nathan. But at this point, he didn't care. When he first found out, he had wanted to tear Nathan limb from limb, but Haley had made him promise to be there for his brother. So, for Haley, he had buried all his anger and concentrated on being there for his brother, even though he didn't deserve it. He was opening up a Pandora's Box but it was time for the charade to stop. Besides, he tried to convince himself, it's not like he would be giving everything away.

Lucas let out a huge sigh, "Okay look, what I'm about to say to you. I know at the end you're going to be pissed off, but just know that I made a promise and it wasn't my place to say anything. Hell, it still isn't bu-" Lucas rambled.

Nathan smirked at Lucas's rambling, but at the same felt a slight twinge in his heart as the rambling reminded him yet again of Haley. He braced himself for another speech about letting Haley go and moving on with his life. He had no idea that what was about to come out of Lucas's mouth would change everything.

"Luke, c'mon, just spit it out. You're rambling like Haley."

"IknowhyHaleyleft," he spat out as quickly as he could, praying to the high heavens that he wouldn't have to repeat himself. He wasn't quite that lucky.

"Come again?"

Lucas let out a huge sigh, "I know why Haley left." It was done and out in the open. Before a bewildered Nathan could even have time to process Lucas's words, let alone respond, Lucas continued, "The night you played your final game at Chapel Hill for High Flyers, Haley went up to surprise you. She said something about having two surprises for you. But I guess the surprise was on her. She saw you in the shower making out with another woman. So naturally, she freaked and came back here and decided to leave," Lucas finished hoping that the shock of this piece of news would keep Nathan from asking more questions he wasn't quite ready to answer.

Nathan just stared at Lucas. He couldn't believe the words he was hearing come out of his brother's mouth. He had known all this time?! Nathan's normally dark eyes got even darker as the reality of Lucas's words finally sank in. He pulled his arm back and threw a right hook straight into Lucas's jaw. Lucas was sent sprawling to the ground. He was ready for whatever Nathan had to dish out. He may have been able to support his brother, but he was still dealing with his own unresolved anger at what Nathan had done to Haley that night.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU FREAKIN' KNEW THIS WHOLE TIME AND YOU DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING! I HAVE BEEN GOING OUT OF MY MIND FOR THE PAST 6 YEARS! HOW COULD YOU HAVE NOT SAID ANYTHING?! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE MY BROTHER!" Nathan shouted with all of his might. He turned his back to Lucas, he couldn't stand the sight of him at this moment. Lucas picked himself up off of the ground, his eyes raging just as intensely as the other Scott's.

"HOW COULD I? HOW COULD YOU? HALEY WAS THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO YOU AND YOU THREW HER AWAY FOR SOME GROUPIE TRASH!!" Lucas shouted back equally as forceful. Nathan's head whipped around, what the hell was he talking about? What groupie? Lucas let his initial rage subside before continuing. "You didn't see her broken Nate, I did! Her whole world came crashing down around her. You're not the only one suffering, you know. I lost my best friend that night too! And the worst part of it all, as much as you hurt her, she still cared enough to make sure that someone…me…would be here to support you. I was so angry with you. I didn't know how I was going to be able to look you in the face. But I've seen your pain, and I know that you're hurting just as much as she was..is..whatever. I begged her that night to wait for you to come home and explain yourself, but you know how stubborn she is. So, even though it's been six years, it's time to get everything out on the table. I'm giving you your chance to give your side of things." Lucas's rambling was all over the place. Six years worth of pent up frustration, hurt, anger, and loss had come pouring out in a matter of seconds. Everything was happening so fast. Nathan was still trying to understand the whole groupie thing. And then his face went ashen. Carrie.