Thanks for the reviews and sorry I haven't updated in a while but I didn't really know where to go with it but I have a few ideas now. At the moment it's still a but sad but it will get more hopeful. Remember – light at the end of the tunnel.
The air was cold and the sky was masked in grey clouds. The cemetery spilled out in front of him and leaves crunched under his feet. Haley had always loved the autumn and the beauty that came with it. The browns and reds and oranges had taken the place of the green of the summer and the trees were bare leaving it clear for the winter frost. Autumn was when you could start getting out your warm clothes and having relaxing nights in by the fire, and of course it was when the rain started again; rain had always been their thing. Nathan made his way over to the lone grave under the oak tree and looked at it for a while. He still couldn't accept it; even though she had been gone for seventeen years, he always hopes he would see her again. Yes, he was angry at her for leaving but he so desperately wanted to see her again, at one point he had almost hired a private detective, but he was scared of what he would find. He was scared she was married with children and was happier than she had ever been with him. To anyone else this was ridiculous as they had seen how happy he had made her and the type of love they had shared, but up until now he had never understood why she would walk out on that if it was so amazing and at this specific point in time he was beating himself up for not looking for her, because then maybe, just maybe, he would have been with her to the end and they could have been a family. If only for a little while.
Nathan looked around and saw the man he had always respected, always looked up to, and always compared his love of Haley to that of the other mans for his wife. Brian 'Whitey' Durham stood there, not needing to say anything to convey his sympathy and his wisdom. They just stood in each other's presence thinking of the loved ones they had lost and trying to make sense of their thoughts.
"She left for you, Nathan" Whitey said
"I know" Nathan simply replied
"I heard about the twins, you should be happy you have the chance to know them." Nathan just nodded "Although that was a bit of a jackass move in the cafe" Nathan looked guiltily to the floor so Whitey didn't press the subject. "Your brother-"
"Has a big mouth" Nathan interrupted, and Whitey chuckled
"I remember when Camilla first passed. I didn't hold up nearly as well as you are now, but I suppose I didn't have anyone I needed to stay strong for, but it got pretty dark for a while back then. I tortured my self with what ifs and could've been's, but eventually I realised to be grateful for the time I had with her"
"Yeah but Haley and I, we barely spent a year together, sure we were married for over a year, but we weren't actually together for most of it"
"Nathan, that girl loved you, you know that from the reason she left. Don't get into that vicious cycle that I did and damn well get to know the people you have left." Whitey could see Nathan was about to interrupt and Whitey had spent all last night worrying about this. Nathan lived in Los Angeles and it would be hard for him to see the twins as often as he would like but Whitey had an idea, although he would leave the final decision up to Nathan. "I have an assistant coaching job opening up. Just think about it." And the old man walked away, just stopping to rest a hand on his late wife's grave.
Nathan thought about what Whitey had said and knew what he was implying. The more Nathan thought about it the more it made sense. After high school Nathan had made a promise to himself that he would not come back and live in Tree Hill, but things change. Places change. And Tree Hill now seemed a lot more inviting to Nathan. At 34, Nathan had been in the NBA for 10 years and his contract with the Lakers was almost up. He could probably move back within the month. He had made enough money to keep him comfortable for the rest of his life and the coaching job would just be something to keep him busy and fulfilled. He could retire, buy a house, and hopefully in Karen agreed Grace and Kyle could stay with him, at least some of the time.
He looked down at the stone in front of him.
Haley James Scott
Loving mother, sister, daughter, friend and wife.
"Love is stronger than death even though it can't stop death from happening, but no matter how hard death tries it can't separate people from love. It can't take away our memories either."
Nathan smiled to himself as he read it, she still had Scott on her name, she would be eternally remembered as his wife and the mother of his children, and he knew that no matter what he would always have the time that they did spend together; however fleeting it may have been.
"Hey Hales" he whispered "Our kids are perfect; I always knew you would make an amazing Mom, I just wish I could have been there to help you. You meant so much more to me than basketball and I'm sorry I ever made you think differently." He paused for a moment regaining his composure "I always imagined us raising a family together, but I always pictured us both doing it at the same time. I've missed out on so much and now you will miss the rest. It shouldn't have been this way Hales. I love you and I miss you. And I will keep missing you"
He kissed his fingers and placed them delicately on the grave stone and slowly walked away and back to the madness.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Grace made her way through the crowd that had gathered at Karen. She was surprised at the number of people that had showed up; apparently none of them had stopped loving Haley. That was something Grace could understand, she loved her mom unconditionally even when she was mad at her or vice versa.
"Are you okay?" Karen asked gently as Grace came into the kitchen. In there was probably the people closest to Haley minus Nathan and Kyle. Lucas, Peyton, Brooke, Jake, Keith, Karen and Lydia.
"Grandma" Grace said in greeting as she went over to give the older woman a hug. Jimmy had passed two years previously from Alzheimer's and Lydia was back living in Tree Hill. She of course knew about Haley and the twins but she didn't know Karen knew. Lydia understood why the twins were living with Karen; Karen had more room and was younger than Lydia. It would also be good for the twins to spend some time with the other side of their family and Lydia would only be around the corner. As for Haley's siblings, all of them were here except Taylor who hadn't been able to make it, but would be coming down in a few weeks with her family.
It is tragic for anyone to outlive their child and nothing can come close to the grief of losing a person you gave life to, but Lydia refused to accept the pitying looks she was receiving and was going to do what Haley would want, and be there for her family and live life to the full.
After a few minutes in the kitchen, Grace went outside to get some fresh air. She saw Kyle sitting on the porch swing and silently sat down next to him. They sat for a while, neither talking, both trying to think of the right thing to say when a man interrupted their thoughts.
He looked as if he was in his late 50's or early sixties; he had dark greying hair that screamed of years of trying to defeat age. He was wearing a smug grin and was making the twins uncomfortable and they shifted slightly closer together for safety. As they were sitting on the swing, this man towered over them and his appearance made him look even more intimidating. He had an air about him that made you unsure of him and they knew not to trust him.
"Hi, I'm Dan Scott. Your mother's ex-father-in-law"
Suddenly their faces lit up with recognition. Their mother had told them about this man. He was evil and destroyed everything he touched. Everyone's life was worse once he was in it and he was a force to be reckoned with. He looked like an upstanding member of the community but underneath was a dangerous man, who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. Whether it be out of greed or revenge. They knew how he had bullied Nathan and was the main reason he was emancipated, they knew about him hiring Jules to fall in love with Keith and to be perfectly honest they were terrified of him. They knew he wouldn't be their biggest fan and knew this was not the friendly greeting it appeared.
"You mean our grandfather"
"Whatever you want to believe" he said and turned and walked away.
"I'm sorry Grace" Kyle spoke
"It's okay, it wasn't your fault, I just flipped out"
"I shouldn't have been so selfish"
"You weren't doing it on purpose and you have apologised and I forgive you, so can we forget it. I know mom loved me and that's all that matters"
"Okay, wanna go inside?"
"Sure" and brother and sister walked back into the house.
XOXOXOXOXOXOX
"I'll take the job" Nathan declared as he walked into Whitey's office. The room was like a time capsule. There were pictures of Nathan and Lucas and Jake and Skills who had joined the team in senior year, after Lucas had admitted to having HCM. There was the state championship trophy from their senior year and numerous pictures of every team Whitey had coached since.
"I thought you would" Whitey smiled as he brought out the bottle of scotch he had in his desk. The office was dark, only lit by the small lamp in the corner of the room and Nathan grabbed two glasses from the shelf. Suddenly Lucas, shortly followed by Keith made their way into the office.
"Guess we all had the same idea, huh?" Lucas said and the other men chuckled.
Nathan got two more glasses from the shelf and handed one to Lucas and then Keith. Whitey poured out the scotch and they took a seat. It was a snug fit, but it was comforting being there together.
"Want to share your news?" Whitey asked
"What news?" Lucas asked
"I just accepted the assistant coaching job and I'm going to move back to Tree Hill"
"That's great man" Lucas said as he stood up and hugged his brother
"Congrats Nate" Keith said as he shook his hand.
They settled down again when suddenly Lucas interrupted the silence.
"I remember the boy toy auction junior year" Lucas started "That was the last time we were kids, after that it got all serious." He sighed
"Yeah, I was so pissed that Haley bought you" Nathan laughed
"Yeah, well we needed some Laley time." Then he grimaced "I just sounded way too like Brooke" and the others laughed.
"What did you do? She never told me" Nathan asked
"We went on the roof of the cafe and played miniature golf and threw water balloons. Some were filled with milk, some with water, then we called a truce but she was lying and I caught her. That's when I first saw her tattoo."
"Haley had a tattoo?" Whitey asked
"Yeah it was Nathan's jersey number on her ass" Keith said
"Above her ass" both Nathan and Lucas protested and then laughed.
"That was when I found out she was in love with you. Of course I freaked out when I saw it. I said that was permanent and gave her that whole lecture, do you know what she said? She said no matter what would happen with you two in the future, if she could look at that tattoo in ten years and feel how she felt in that moment, she would be okay with that" Lucas smiled
"Grace and Kyle are awesome" Nathan mused to himself
"Yeah they got that from Haley" Lucas laughed
"They're smart as hell too" Keith added "I remember when we went to New York for their 10th Birthday, you could tell which way they were headed then. Grace was already the most sarcastic person I had ever met and Kyle was just so laid back. Haley did a good job."
"To Haley" Whitey proposed and took a sip of his drink
"To Haley" the others repeated, also taking a drink.
The rest of the night was spent reminiscing about Haley and fond memories they shared.