The Scott Conspiracy

The doors of the Supreme Court of justice opened just as the clock struck noon, and the crowd went mad. Television cameras, reporters, photographers, fought with one another, just to get a better glimpse of the scene above. When the petite figure of Haley James, finally came to view, that's when the party really started.

“What are your thoughts on the case?”
“Did Nathan Scott really kill Senator –”
“When is the next hearing?”
“Has Mr. Scott been released on bail?”

The series questions continued one after another, too fast and too many for Haley to answer. So she took the easy way out, the old “no comment” phrase came in quite handy sometimes. As Haley, shoved past the hostile crowd, all she could think of was how she could get away from these people. It made her wonder why she'd decided to become a lawyer in the first place. She wasn't a fan of crowds, correction she hated them. Her life had been going just fine until Nathan Scott decided to barge into it, again.

A few days earlier

“Ms. James, your 4:00 clock appointment called in. He said he'd be a little late.” said Jenny, her assistant.

“Thanks Jenny that will be all” replied Haley, making sure to sound extra professional. These interns were downright annoying, becoming like teenagers at the sight of some celebrity. Oh and if its some male heartthrob, they'd go completely out of control. That's why she'd picked Jenny, she'd seemed somewhat sensible at the time. Now she wondered why. This one was a sports fan, even worse, every time Lucas came to visit, she'd be short of fainting.

Suddenly Jenny burst into her office, “Ms. James! Ms. James! It's Nathan Scott! Nathan Scott”, she yelled, jumping up and down and on the verge of hyperventilating.

“No no no no no! Tell me you did not set up an appointment with Nathan. Please tell me you're joking,” yelled Haley. It was now her turn to hyperventilate.

“I did Ms. James. In fact, Mr. Stevens suggested that you take the case. He was quite insistent about it.”, replied Jenny, somewhat taken aback by Haley's reaction.

“It figures that Jonathan would give this case to me, you need to take on more high profile clients my ass ” muttered Haley.

“What you're still here? Shoo!” she yelled, practically pushing the poor woman out the door.

It wasn't that she didn't want to see Nathan, or that she wasn't interested in the case. It's just that Nathan and she had a lot of history together, and they hadn't really parted on good terms.

“If you leave, then don't come back. Because as far as I'm concerned, you and me we're done”

“Chris, can I talk to you?”

“Sorry babe, Chris Keller doesn't go for leftovers”, he slams the door on her face.

Congratulations,

You have been accepted to law program at Harvard University…

“Look, I know you've all invested a lot of your time and money in order to launch my career. And trust me, this tour, the single, they mean the world to me and for that I'm always going to be thankful but at this time I just don't think launching a singing career is right for me.”

“Umhmm … Ms. James, Mr. Scott is here”.

“What? Oh. Send him in” replied Haley, somewhat off balance.

When Nathan walked into the office, it was like time had stopped. Everyone stopped working, they all struggled to get a glimpse of him. Nathan had always had this effect on people, even back in school, long before he became the legendary basketball player that he was now. People seemed to be mesmerized by him. At one point she too had been among those people, except that she'd gotten to know him better than most. At one point of time, she'd known him better than anyone else. At one point she'd been his wife. But then everything changed.

“Come in”

“Haley” he said, with a tight smile.

She'd hoped that things had changed since High School, but to her dismay, things were the same as they had always been.

“Nathan, hi, it's good to see you again” said Haley as she reached out to shake his hand.

“Look Haley can you just cut it out? There's no point in acting like we actually like each other so can we just get down to business?” replied Nathan impatiently.

“Down to business? Okay, why are you here Nathan?”

“I'm pretty sure you already know that, unless you've been living in a hole or something. Which come to think of it, if you're anything like you were back in high school you have.”

He was going to be a class A jackass then fine. Bring it on.

“Nathan I know about your case. What I meant was what are you doing here, in my office? If you hate me so much then why are you here asking for my help?”

“I'm not asking, I'm demanding. Your boss has assured me that you and only you will me handling this case”

God he was as difficult as ever!

“Why me, Nathan? There are plenty of good lawyers in this city, why did you have to pick me?”

“Well isn't it obvious? Because you're the best and I go for nothing but the best.”

“Did you do it Nathan? Did you kill Dan?”

“Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Did I Haley? Did I really kill my father? What do you think?”

“It doesn't matter what I think. Just answer the question. Did you or didn't you?”

“Geez you're worse than the police, at least they were interesting.”

“Come on Nathan, focus. How can I help you if you won't cooperate with me? It doesn't have to be like this. Just… just trust me okay?”

“Trust you? Sorry, I stopped doing that a long time ago.”

It always came back to the same thing. No matter how hard she tried to get past that period of her life, it always came back to haunt her. That's part of the reason why she'd moved away from Tree Hill. Everyone treated her like dirt; they all took his side, even Lucas. When she'd moved to Washington she'd hoped for a fresh start, but here she was, playing mind games with Nathan once more.

“Nathan can we put the past behind us? It's been a long time since then. You've changed, I've changed, everything is different now.”

”You're right, I have changed but from what I've seen so far, you're still the ice princess you always were. You still don't get it? You still don't realize what you did to me. You don't regret it one bit. You know what? I've had enough of this. Send a copy of all of your questions to my manager and I'll have him send you my response. I'm not paying you to slack off, I expect you to put 100% effort on this case and I expect you to win it. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll let myself out. Goodbye Haley”

And before Haley could say another word, he went out of her office, never looking back.

It took Haley a moment to process everything that just happened. Seven years, seven long years and nothing had changed. Having Nathan back in her life was a mistake she knew it, but what other choice did she have? She had a good thing going and she wasn't going to lose it over Nathan, not again.

Haley tried to remember the first time she'd seen Nathan. Was it at one of Lucas's little league games? Like many things in her life, this too she couldn't remember. Her entire life was made up, since childhood she'd had this problem. She couldn't remember the day when both her parents were killed in a car crash, she couldn't remember how she'd ended up at Lucas's house. There were so many such things in her life, she had been robbed of every emotional moment of her lifetime. All she knew of them were what people told her and from that she'd formed her own memories. What the real truth was, she'd never come to know. There were so many holes in her string of memories but the memories of Nathan and her were painfully clear. And no matter how much she tried to forget that part of her life, it always came back to bite her in the ass. She'd been ostracized by everyone who cared for her. When she split with Nathan, everyone took his side, even the ones closest to her.

Haley hated Nathan for that. He'd taken away everything that ever meant something to her and then had the audacity to blame her for everything that happened. Even after all these years, she hadn't been able to forget Nathan. The fact that there were posters of him all over the city could have something to do with it perhaps. In the past few years, Nathan had popped up everywhere, on TV, the radio, magazines, she simple couldn't get past him. Everywhere she looked, she saw his pictures and in all of them, he always seemed to stare at her, taunting her, making fun of her. Perhaps it was paranoia speaking but that's what she felt. She'd left him and everything he meant so many years ago and yet she was still back to being the girl that everyone hated and didn't give a damn about back in high school. So what if she'd become one of the best lawyers in the country, so what if she was living the life most couldn't only dream of, none of it mattered because she'd left the great Nathan Scott to go on tour, to follow her dream. To this day she didn't understand why everyone had turned against her. Why was it okay for Nathan to pursue his dreams but not her? She'd thought that if she quit the music business and came back home, that things would be different but no, not a chance. Everyone was as cruel as ever. And worst of them was Nathan. The day she came back, the first thing he did was to hand her the divorce papers. No “welcome home honey”. Or “Hi honey how was your trip"? Nothing of the sort, just “sign these papers and get out”, his exact words.

At the time she'd been too stunned to do anything else. She'd signed the papers and left. It wasn't until later that she realized the mistake she'd made. The fact that she'd signed the papers without protesting seemed to strengthen his animosity toward her. Since then, he'd been at his absolute cruelest, ridiculing her, embarrassing her, hurting her time and time again until she couldn't handle it anymore and left. She'd wanted him to stop her, to say that he was sorry but he never did. All he said was “Leave Haley, because that's what you're best at. So leave, get out of my house, my town, get out of my life. I never want to see you again” and then he shut the door.

That's the thing with Nathan Scott, when he made a decision, he never looked back. His word was law, and the funny thing is everyone chose to abide by it, Haley no exception.

New York City, Jan 1, -- Nathan Scott’s publicist has confirmed reports that Haley James has been hired as head defence attorney in senator Dan Scott’s murder case. Predicted as the most controversial case since that of O.J Simpson, Ms. James has a lot riding on her shoulders. As reported previously, Senator Dan Scott was rescued from his burning penthouse apartment, in Washington around 1 am Christmas day. Police reports have confirmed that this was a case of arson and that there was a definite murder attempt. Autopsy reports confirm that the late senator died of poisoning, not the because of the severe burns as was initially thought. The senator passed away the morning after the incident.

The question that’s on everyone’s mind is who killed Senator Scott and why? Dan Scott’s political career started off as mayor of the small town of Tree Hill, North Carolina and since then, his career escalated so much so that there were talks of him running as a presidential candidate in the coming elections. Now the question is what was the motive behind this incident?

The police have named his son, and two-time MVP Washington wizards starter Nathan Scott as the prime suspect. Mr. Scott’s lawyers were unreachable for the moment but as soon as we can get more information, we’ll keep you posted on the latest news.

The news was everywhere, on every television screen, on every newspaper, everyone in the entire country knew that she was going to be fighting Nathan’s case. If it were anyone else, Haley would have taken it up as a challenge, she would have gotten to the bottom of things, pieced together the truth of it all and if she thought that the case was credible, she’d fight for it, she’d give it her everything. That’s what everyone admired about her, her intense devotion toward her work. If this case involved anyone else, she would have jumped at the occasion of fighting it but in this case she still had doubts.

For as long as she’d been in this field, she’d worked with absolute strangers, she’d always been entirely objective. But for this case she wasn’t sure how she’d handle it. This case wasn’t just any other murder case, this case was too close to home. If Nathan turned out to be the real killer how would she handle it? When she’d read about Dan Scott’s murder she’d been quite overjoyed by the news. Dan Scott was the scum of earth and contrary to what people believed, those close to him knew how much of a bastard he really was. The man was no saint, he was a cunning, manipulative, selfish bastard that deserved what was coming.

Dan Scott was ruthless, he only cared for himself. Even after years, Dan hadn’t gotten off her case. She was no longer a Scott, she was no threat to him but still, every so often he’d check up on her. Somewhere in that twisted mind of his, he’d come to the conclusion that in spite of everything that had happened, me being the typical money laundering trophy wife, I’d come back to Nathan grovelling, and Nathan the ever forgiving idiotic son of his would take me back, no questions asked and together we’d go about on a quest to bring down the great Dan Scott. For a man with such a self confident image, he sure was insecure and paranoid. No wonder Deb left him, who could put up with that?

After a long day at work, when Haley finally reached her small but cozy apartment, she collapsed on the living room couch. Just when she thought that she’d finally be able to relax for a bit, the voice of the ever cheerful Brooke Davis echoed from the answering machine.

“Hey tutorwench watcha doing tonight? See I figure we could go down to this party that this guy invited me to --”

It was so like Brooke Davis to start a conversation with an answering machine. Brooke Davis, model extraordinaire was Haley’s bestest friend since high school. She knew Haley better than Haley herself.

“Oh come on I’m your BFF, I’m psychic! Let me guess, you’re on your living room couch, either sleeping or moping or doing both am I right?”

“Okay what’s with this party you speak of? Art thou expecting to make Frére Lucas jealous once more? ‘Cause thou knowest that thou canst right?”

“Well see the thing is … who do you think suggested that Nathan ask for your umm… expertise?”

“OH MY GOD BROOKE!! I can’t believe you did that!” said Haley furious with the person on the other line.

“Oh come on you guys seriously need sort out your issues. How long do you expect us to be on hyper alert when we’re around either of you. He’s Lucas’s brother, how long do you think you can avoid him?”

“Well that’s too bad, what’s done is done. Now deal with it. So tell me, what happened?”

“Ugh, what do you think happened? He was the biggest jerk ever. He told me to send him a list of questions and he’ll have someone get back to me. I mean who does he think he is?”

“Oh come on, you know him, did you really expect him to treat you nicely after everything that happened?”

“Well no, I suppose not. Look Brooke I have to flight to North Carolina, in couple of hours and I need to setup a schedule so I’ll call you later okay?”

“Girl you really need to live a little, your life can’t be run on a schedule, when are you going to realize that?”

Now that she’d finished being, interrogated, it was time for her to face what she was dreading the most – going back. She hadn’t been to Tree Hill since she graduated from high school. She was afraid to go back, there were too many painful memories attached to the place and the last thing she wanted to do was to relive them. But alas she had no choice, while there she planned to focus on her work and nothing else, hopefully being distracted would help her get through the period.

The first thing she noticed as she stepped foot in Tree Hill was that things hadn't changed much. As she drove past the high school, a group cheerleaders and jocks caught her eye. There was this one boy, tall, handsome, probably the new king of Tree Hill high and it reminded her of Nathan. Then there was this other kid sitting under a tree, pretending to read a book but in reality gazing at the popular crowd and imagining herself among them, that girl was her, a couple of years ago. No, things hadn't changed one bit. Sure they were a different set of kids but in a way they were all the same. Their parents were once like them and so had their grandparents. It was sort of a vicious cycle. There were so many memories attach to this town. Sure, no one recognized her anymore but that didn't make things much easier. It was like she could relive the incidents kind of like scenes, of a movie. The beach where they'd been married, the docks, her old house, it was all just so painful to look at.

After wandering around for some time, she found herself standing in front of Karen's Café. From the outside, it looked pretty much the same, but inside it was a whole new world. Once upon a time this used to be a small little café, with Karen running on marginal profit. Now this tiny little place had become part of a large chain of stores spread across the country, kind of like Starbucks or 2nd Cup. Through the window she saw herself waiting tables, talking to the customers, and in between taking a jab at the latest algebra problem. It felt good to remember the days when things had been so simple, back when it had been only her and Luke. She wondered if Karen still had the mini golf set up on the roof.

For a moment, Haley considered going in, but then decided against it, she wasn't ready to face those memories just yet. The café was like her second home, and for some reason she was terrified of the thought that if she went inside, she'd feel like a stranger.

She hadn't spoken to Karen in years, now that she thought about it, it really was kind of a shame because Karen had been one of the few people that were still nice to her. The more Haley explored the town she once lived in, the more she realized how much she'd missed it. She hated herself for being weak, she'd given up and fled the scene rather than fight it. If she hadn't run away from her problems back then, maybe her life would have been different – better. She wanted to blame it all on Nathan but in her heart she knew that they were both responsible for their broken marriage.

Rather than dwelling on the past, as she had been doing from the moment she set foot in Tree Hill, Haley decided to get down to business.

Her first task would be to visit those close to Dan, see if they'd noticed anything suspicious. The first place on her list – Keith's Auto Shop.

The first thing she noticed when she arrived was that what once used to be a small auto repair shop, overflowing with all kinds of gadgets had now become sort of a giant hardware store. Sure they still repaired cars, but now that was only a small part of the business.

As she admired the brilliant transformation around her, a well dressed medium height, brown haired man approached. For a moment she couldn't recognize the man in front of her but once he let out a familiar kind-hearted grin, it all came back to her. The man in front of her was none other than Keith Scott, only clean shaven and a hell of a lot more sophisticated.

“Hello Hales, it's good to see you again”

“Same here Uncle Keith”

And without a moment's hesitation, Keith enveloped her into a warm hug. She realized that she'd really missed this. Being that she'd lived most of her life with Karen and Luke, Keith had become sort of a second father to her. It felt good to be back. Being in Keith's loving arms made her feel so safe, a feeling she'd shared with only two other men in her life, Nathan and Lucas.

“So how are you doing, you know with Dan gone and Nathan being accused of it all?”

“Dan had it coming, the way he treated people in this town, something like this was bound to happen sooner or later. As for Nathan, I just can't imagine how he could do something like this. Do you really think he's capable of doing such a thing?”

To be honest, she didn't know what to think. All she could do was hope that it wasn't true. Partly because she believed that no matter how ruthless Nathan was, he wasn't capable of being a killer. And partly because if Nathan did turn out to be the culprit then it would mean that she'd fallen in love with a criminal, a thought that she simply couldn't get past.

“Well I don't know if he's done it or not. That's what I'm here to find out. Would you mind if I ask you some questions?”

“Of course not, go ahead” he replied with the same familiar grin.

Haley had to remind herself that she was here on official business, and that no matter how much she adored the man sitting in front of her, he could very well turn out to be the culprit. After all, he had motive, and opportunity thereby making him one of the prime suspects of this case, at least in her book.

“Do you mind going on record?”

“No, that's no problem”

“Right, so where were you the night of 24th December”

“At Dan's Christmas Party”

“How long were you there?”

For a moment his face went blank but as soon as it came, it was gone and he was back to being good ‘ol Keith Scott.

“I'm not entirely sure, I was pretty out of it. You know how Dan is, its hard to be around him while you're sober.”

“I know what you mean” chuckled Haley. If anything, they were probably the two most hated people in Dan's Scott's book.

“Do you remember anything? Was Nathan at the party?”

“Yeah, he came in sometime around 10 I think. Had a blonde woman with him, I think she's reporter or something. I know I've seen her somewhere.”

“How was he that night? Did you notice anything strange in the days before the incident? Did you notice anything odd about Dan's behaviour?”

“He seemed pretty fine to me, nothing out of the usual.”

“The last I heard, you and Dan weren't on particularly good terms. So why go visit him all the way to Washington?”

“He said he had something important to say. He said he wanted a second chance.”

“And you believed him?”

“Yeah, he seemed genuine when he said that” said Keith with a sad smile.

Was he actually missing Dan?

“Alright thanks Keith. Let me know if you remember anything else? Here's my number” said Haley as she handed him the small piece of paper.

“Don't be a stranger now Haley. You might be a big shot lawyer now but we're still your family. Come see me again before you leave will you?”

“I will, I promise”, replied Haley as she walked out.

Next on the list: Deb Scott, scratch that, Deb Lee. Dan and Deb had gotten divorced shortly after Haley left.

Haley knew that this meeting wouldn’t go as smoothly as it did with Keith. The last time she’d seen Deb, the woman had been furious with her. She blamed Haley for her son’s broken marriage. In fact, it was because of her that Haley had decided to leave Tree Hill.

“After signing the divorce papers, the implications of her actions finally sunk in. She couldn’t even get past the Scott property. She sat on the footsteps of the Scott mansion and just broke down. She simply couldn’t understand how Nathan could throw away their relationship like that. Given the history between Nathan and Lucas, they’d really had to fight for their relationship. After all of that, how could he just give up on them?

It was a beautiful night, the wind was blowing, and the stars seemed to light up the night sky. It was the kind of night where couples would go out to take a stroll. Haley wished she could be one of those people. At the sound of the door creaking open, Haley quickly wiped away her tears. She wasn’t going to let Nathan have the satisfaction of seeing her cry over him.

“Look Haley, I suppose I could be more sympathetic toward you but to tell you the truth, I don’t think you deserve it.”

Haley was stunned; she thought that Deb had come here to console her. Now she knew she was wrong to assume so.

“My son has had enough taken away from him. When you came into his life, I really thought you’d be good for him. Now I realise I was wrong. I hate to admit it, but Dan had been right all along. When you left Haley, Nathan was absolutely devastated. It took him a long time to finally get past you. And just when he’s finally begun to move forward with his life, what makes you think you can just waltz in here in ruin it for him?”

“I’m not ruining anything. I love your son and I’m willing to do anything to make our marriage work. It’s your son who is at fault here. It’s absolutely fine for him to go off to high flyers and what not and me? I can’t go after my dreams? Don’t you think that’s kind of selfish?”

“No. Selfish is you abandoning him. If you’d asked, I think Nathan would have gone to the end of the world and come back if it meant that he could make you happy. We can argue about this all night and we’d never be able to agree on whose fault it is. I know my son is not perfect but he’s a hell of a lot better than you are. As far as I’m concerned, he’s better off without you. This is a check for $100 000, take this maybe get a proper education or something. In exchange, I ask that you leave Tree Hill and not try to contact my son. You may not agree but this really is the best thing in the long run.”

On one hand, she was absolutely disgusted at the thought that Deb would try to bribe her like this. But the realist part of her knew that this really was the best thing. Who knows if she’d ever be able to get Nathan to forgive her, but with this money, her future would be secured. She’d be able to pay her way through college, get a new life, move on.

Thus, she took the money and according to the agreement, left Tree Hill shortly after.

1717, chapel Hill, the address Deb’s secretary had given her turned out to be the headquarters of Phoenix enterprises, the company that owns Karen’s Café and a series of other establishments. It was large white building, built around circa 1870’s. The entrance opened to large hall, lavishly decorated with marble flooring, and unique sculptures. At the end of the hall hung a large portrait of Karen and Deb side by side, sharing a knowing smile. It wasn’t like any other office she’d visited before, in spite of its grandeur, Haley felt completely at home in this place. If anything, she knew it was all of Karen’s doing. Back at Karen’s Café there used to be a sign reminding all that everyone inside was like a family. The concept of having a professional relationship with one’s customers was simply unfathomable to Karen. Haley was happy to know that success of her business hadn’t gotten to her. That Karen still upheld the values she’d instilled in those around her not so long ago.

The girl in front of her, she couldn’t be more than 16. In fact, the entire staff seemed to be around that age; moreover they were all either teenage mothers or fathers. Karen had always been an inspiration for Haley, it ceased to amaze her as to how caring the woman could be.

“Yes, Ms. Lee has been waiting for you. Right this way”, said the girl as she led Haley to Deb’s office.

At first sight, Deb looked exactly the same as she’d been the last time she’d seen her. But as she got closer, Haley noticed the slight changes. She’d grown out her hair; there were even strands of the occasional grey hair. But here eyes were still the same, crystal blue, like Nathan’s. Except, unlike his, there was no fire in them, they were just … blank. As if the years of turmoil had finally gotten the best of her.

“Why Haley James, I figured you’d show up sooner or later” said the women with a peculiar smile.

“Here, here come sit, it’s been a while. We have lots to talk about”, continued Deb as she ushered in.

“Actually more like 150 but who keeps count these days” replied Deb with a million dollar smile.

To the outsider, this conversation would seem nothing but ordinary. But to Haley James, it was anything but. Had Deb finally come to terms with what happened so long ago or was this all some sort of a façade?

Now that the Deb she’d expected. All those years with Dan, she’d definitely picked up on some of his qualities. Paranoia, being on of them.

“Look, I’m not here to gloat, or so as you say. Contrary to what you might think, I’m actually here to save your son. Now if you’ll please, just cooperate with me, we can just get this over with”.

The more she investigated, the more puzzling this case was becoming. As the days went by, the more and more confusing it got. Everyone she interviewed had the same thing to say. Dan had invited them to the party, said he wanted a second chance. No one had seen anything peculiar. How is it possible that everything is perfectly fine, not a single person has anything bad to say about Dan and yet on the night that he finally decides to change his ways, someone poisons him and leaves him to turn into a pile of dust. Was everything really fine and dandy or was it all part of a large cover up?

She’d been on this case for days, and not a single clue had come up. There were no new evidence to connect Nathan to the case but then again, nothing had been uncovered to prove that Nathan was innocent either. It was beginning to look like she was going to lose this case, something that would be a first in her career. As the abundance of questions plagued her mind, she found herself at the river court. It was just after four and bunch of kids had just arrived. As they played she found herself lost in her memories again.

“Luke come on, don’t make me play. You know I’m going to fall flat on my face.”

“You’re not going to fall. And even if you do, that’s just more entertainment for us”, grinned Lucas

“Nathan you suck. You’re my boyfriend, you’re supposed to be on my side.”

“Sorry babe, we need another player and you’re the only one around at the moment. Try not to embarrass us okay.”

That had been a wonderful day. It was the last week of junior year, they had held a slave for a day event where people got to buy the Raven’s Cheerleaders for a day and have them do whatever they were asked. Nathan and Lucas had bought her and they’d tortured her the entire day. From playing basketball, to watching boring action movies, she’d had to endure things that no self-respecting girl would ever have to do. And looking back, she wouldn’t give it up for the world. That was one of the best days of her life, she’d do anything to have another day like that.

For a long time, she’d been terrified at the thought of coming back but now that she was here she regretted not having come here sooner. In spite of living in the city for so many years, she was still a small town girl at heart.

Coming to Tree Hill was good on a personal level, it helped me get in touch with my childhood, something I lost along the way. But when it comes to a professional level, it was a waste of time. Everyone I’ve talked to says the same thing that they were at the party but left long before the murder took place. This investigation was going nowhere and the date of the next hearing was fast approaching. There was no option other than to face what I was least looking forward to, talking to Nathan first hand. From my experience, in these sorts of cases, the tiniest bits of information can have the greatest impact. It was absolutely imperative for Nathan to cooperate, if not, he would be sure to go to prison.

“Hi, this is Jake Jagielski from People Magazine. I was hoping we could schedule an interview concerning the Dan Scott case”.

“Really, with me? I thought you’d be more keen on interviewing my client, Mr.Scott.”

“Yes, we did contact him but we were told to contact you if we wanted to discuss anything related to his case”

It figures that Nathan would do that, leave all the dirty work to me while he went about pretending like nothing had happened. I would love to refuse the interview and let Nathan fend for himself, but unfortunately this wouldn’t go well with the bosses. Refusing such a high profile interview was as good as admitting that Nathan was guilty. If we had any chance of winning the case, I’d have give the public the impression that we were confident of Mr. Scott’s innocence, this interview was the best way to go about giving it.

Present day (A few days after the first hearing. I.e. a few days after the very first scene of the story)

Speaking with Nathan’s assistant and long time lackey Tim Smith. I’d been able to find out that Nathan was taking a week long vacation. He’d sent away the entire household staff. Apparently all this media attention was getting to him. Who knew that Nathan Scott would ever get sick of the media. For as long as I’d known him, Nathan had loved the limelight. I guess even Nathan Scott can act like a human being once in a while.

So anyway, the only way to get Nathan to talk me was to set up an ambush. Not very professional I know, but Nathan wasn’t exactly cooperating now was he?

Nathan was staying in Beverly Hills this week. It figures that he would go there to evade the media. Yes, the hills boasted of the largest concentration of celebrity residences in the entire country but if you ask me, its not as great as people make it out to be. The area was practically a forest, you could barely see anything because of the large expanse of trees. Oh and the cameras and the threatening messages in front of the houses, they were downright intimidating.

At first the plan was to project myself as one of the many female companions Nathan chose to be surrounded by. But then it occurred to me that considering the fact that I had managed to make it on the cover of Time and god knows how many other magazines, the security guys would probably recognize me and send me on my merry way. That’s why I enlisted the help of Lucas. He was Nathan’s brother afterall, surely he’d be able to get in.

And that’s how I did it. I hid in the back of Lucas’s car until we’d safely entered the Scott estate. Lucas waited until I’d entered the mansion and then he left me to fend for myself.

To say that Nathan’s house was big would be an understatement. It was like a different world in there. People were dying of starvation and Nathan was spending his money filling his home with things he couldn’t possibly want or need. I swear to god, I thought I was going to get lost in there.

After searching for who knows how long. I finally found Nathan in what looked like the tenth living room I’d seen so far. He was on one of those oversized Italian leather sofas that I’d been eyeing on for the longest time. The problem is, they cost something like $10000. But I suppose to Nathan, it was as good as a plastic pool chair. The last I heard, he was earning something like $ 500 million in 5 years. What he could possibly be doing with all that money, I could never figure out.

So anyway, when I found Nathan, he was asleep. I couldn’t help but notice how cute he looked.

Nathan was asleep on the living room couch. He stayed home from school because he hadn’t been feeling very well.

His legs were sprawled on the lengths of the sofa while his head hung midair, with the slightest hint of drool shining under the afternoon sky.

Haley carefully slid onto the couch, turned off the television and proceeded to kiss her husband.

Nathan slept like the dead, alarms, telephones, yelling in his ear, nothing worked.

At first, Nathan wasn’t responding, he must have been really tired. Just as she was about to give up, she felt him deepening the kiss.

It’s strange how you can know someone so well and yet not know them at all. As I sat beside him, thinking of ways to wake him up, I really looked at him for once. Not as my client, or my ex-husband, I really noticed him as a person. In spite of the new haircut, further enhanced body structure, not to mention the complete change of personality, Nathan was still the boy I fell in love with. I didn’t know what he liked or didn’t like, I didn’t know who his friends were, I didn’t know anything about his life and yet it felt like I knew him better than anyone ever could. I knew all the curves of his face, his nervous habits, his innermost secrets, everything and yet there was no denying that we were practically strangers.

I broke out of my daze just in time to see Nathan glaring at me. And boom, it was back to normal. I’d gone from admiring him to hating him all in a matter of seconds.

“If you must know, Lucas dropped me off. Now before you go off spouting insults of various kinds, I should let you know that this case is getting very much out of hand”.

It looked like he had something to say but I ignored him. Smartass comments were not needed at the moment.

“Your prints were found on the bottle of champagne that supposedly held the poison and you were the last person seen at the location prior to the discovery of the Senator’s body”.

“You speak as if he’s just some stranger. All things aside, he was still my father.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. He was the last person to give a damn about his father. For the longest time, he’d spoken of Dan as if he were dead so what gave him the right to criticize other people’s manner of speaking?

“Oh like you care. I’m pretty sure you’re happy that he’s finally gone. No one to pick your sorry ass apart, no one to blame for your shortcomings, I mean it must be a relief right?”

“You did not just say that. You come into my house, you have the nerve to insult me, my father, who’s next? My mother? How about uncle Keith?”

“You know what the best thing about divorcing you is? I don’t have to listen to your crap any more.”

That was the last straw. I was sick of everything always coming down to this one thing that happened so long ago. I was tired of everyone blaming me for following my dreams; I was tired of having to justify my decisions.

Just as Nathan was about to get up and leave the room, I decided then and there that I would get it all out in the open. Everything I’d been holding in for all these years, it was finally time get them out.

“Me? Walk away? If memory serves right, it was you that walked away from us, not me.”

“You were the one who wanted the divorce, not me. You should be happy, I gave you your freedom. If we were still together, you’d never be able to make up with your parents or go this far with your career. If you ask me, I think I did you a favour”

“Am I hearing this correctly? You did me a favour? You made my life an absolute hell! Those couple of months while you were on tour, do you have any idea how miserable I was. I would have done anything for you, quit basketball, go on tour with you, I would have done anything to make us work, where as you, you never even gave us a chance.”

Talking to Nathan was like talking to a brick wall. No matter how hard you tried to explain things, they’d just never understand.

“Nathan don’t you see? It was always going to be either me or you, whose dreams were more important. If I’d asked you to go on tour with me, for a while it would be good. I’d get to be living my dream and you’d be the loving husband. But what would happen after that? For a while you’d go along with it, just to make me happy but later on you’d resent me for taking away your dreams. When I decided to go on tour, I wasn’t being selfish, I was being realistic.”

“Tell me Haley, was it just about the music? Or did it have something to do with Chris Keller as well? Did you have feelings for him?”

“ I thought so. I knew about the kiss at the train station, but did you with sleep with him too?” he asked as he inched closer to her.

“Tell me Haley, did he fuck your brains out like I did. Make you scream with delight with a single kiss. Did he ever love you so much that it physically hurt to be away from you?” continued Nathan huskily, a mere inches from her face.

I had forgotten what it felt like to be around Nathan. He could be utterly repulsive and yet undeniably sexy at the same time. I dated a couple of people after Nathan but none of them could ever set me on fire like he did, and apparently still could do. That’s not to say that I was going to let him get to me. There was not a chance in hell that I was going to let him gain some sort of satisfaction out of my discomfort. So I did what I had to do. I pushed him, hard. He ended up falling to the floor.

“For being an ass, Nathan, what do you think? If you must know, I didn’t sleep with him. We may have fooled around once or twice, but it didn’t mean anything. You weren’t talking to me and the rest of the people I cared about were treated me like shit. You have no idea how alone I felt, and unlike you, Chris was there for me. When no one was there to listen, he was there to make it better. That’s more than I can say for you.”

“You know what I realised? You’re just like Dan! You don’t face your problems, you think that just pushing people away will solve things but it won’t. It will only get worse. Oh and by the way, don’t flatter yourself, I am not in the least interested in spending a minute more that what is needed in this hellhole that you call a home of yours. Just answer the questions as clearly as humanly possible and I’ll be out of your way. Got it?”

“The last time I heard, you and your father were still on a non-speaking term so why would you bother going to his party?”

For a moment, Haley pondered on the question, knowing fully well that the answer was a definite no. The last time she’d been to a party was probably in college, and that perhaps not of her own willingness. She’d been to a number of mindless frat parties for the sake of Lucas and Brooke’s insistence. A frat party – a far cry from the evening gowns and caviar that Nathan was referring to.

“A society party is kind of like the defining factor among the elite. Dan was a highly influential personality, news of a fallout would drive the media wild. I’d be on every tabloid magazine across the country. I’ve worked hard to put my past behind, and I’ll do anything, including going to Dan’s kiss-ass jamboree to keep it that way”.

Was he really that embarrassed of her, thought Haley. There were so many unanswered questions when it came to her past.

Unwilling to get into another argument, Haley continued, “Did you go alone?”

“An hour or two, I didn’t check to see the time”, replied Nathan clearly irritated.

He kept playing with this mini basketball, not even having the decency to look at her while he answered her questions. Most of the time, in spite of her relatively petite structure, people were intimidated by Haley. This utter lack of attention on Nathan’s part was driving her mad, but still for sake of the case and her spotless career thus far, Haley kept her cool.

“That’s not what I meant. Did you engage in any sort of conversation with him?”

“I don’t know, I was pretty drunk, everything’s pretty foggy from that night. I thought I was paying you to be on my side.”

Haley took a moment, to collect herself. Being around Nathan always drove her to the edge.

“Look Nathan, I’ll be honest with you, your case doesn’t look good right now. The only reason you haven’t been spending the last few days in police custody is because you’re such a big star and even the American justice system goes easy on people like you. Do you have any idea how much trouble you’re in? You’ve been named the prime suspect in the murder of a highly respected senator, not to mention a presidential candidate. The prosecution will portray you as a spoiled rich boy who let the fame get to his head. They’ll bring out your past, your troubled childhood, broken marriage, tumultuous relationships, they’ll make it out to look like an act of vengeance Nathan.”

“Don’t you think I realise that Haley? I can’t turn on the television or read the newspaper, because I know what they’ve written about me. Everywhere I go, people treat me like dirt. They don’t see me as the gifted basketball player, the see me as the kind of guy who’d kill their own father. Everything I’ve worked for is slipping away and I can’t seem to do a single thing about it. I hate this Haley. I admit Dan and I had our differences, but you have to believe me, I would never stoop that low. I would never kill him, Haley.”

He looked like a lost little boy, holding on to the last shred of hope that things would get better but knowing very well that it wouldn’t. No matter how many times she saw this face, she could never get used to it. Even after all these years, watching him in pain made her want to cry too. She was at a loss of what to do. Back when they were together, when Nathan would come to her, after a particularly gruelling practice with his dad, she’d hold him tightly, listening to him spill his innermost thoughts until he fell asleep. Now however, the situation was entirely different. She wasn’t his wife or girlfriend anymore, she was his lawyer now. And her job description didn’t require her to console her client for his falling stardom. The last thing she needed was to get attached to him.

For the next couple of days, things seemed to get easier for Nathan and Haley. That day some sort of an unspoken agreement had been reached. As long as neither spoke of their past, they would be able to get along.

The head office of People Magazine was everything you’d expect it to be. Located at the heart of New York city, it was one of the tallest buildings on the block. My guess is that its at least forty stories high, maybe even higher. As I pushed through the heavy glass revolving doors, I couldn’t help but take a moment to admire my surroundings. Tall ceilings, contemporary architecture, and hundreds of people in fancy suits, moving about with cell phones attached to their ears. Pushing through the crowd, I finally reached what I could only guess was some sort of reception area. Just like everyone else in the building, the lady behind the counter was impeccably dressed, not a single strand of hair out of place.

“Yes, I’m here to see Mr. … “ I shuffled through my purse, triumphantly pulling out the bit of torn paper on which I’d scribbled the guy’s name.

The woman looked at me as if I was mad. So what if I was wearing a simple white summer dress that I’d bought for ten bucks at a flee market back in Tree Hill. What right did she have to look down on me like that? How was I supposed to know that people were so damn formal around here? People in the magazines always look so casually dressed (not that I’d been reading gossip magazines or anything). It’s just that Brooke leaves those magazines, all around my apartment hoping that I’ll actually acquire some sort of a fashion sense, not that I don’t have any although Brooke seems to think so. I mean even I know that you aren’t supposed to wear white after Labour Day, that’s something right?

Anyway, Mr. Jagielski turned out to be this really nice man. About 25/26, around 6 feet tall, with curly brown hair, and a smile that just lit up his face.

Maybe it was to get me comfortable so as to extract the juiciest details concerning Nathan’s case, but I’ll tell you this much; Jake was the first nice guy I’d met since I arrived in the big apple.

“No thanks, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get right into the interview”

“Okay, Haley, I’ll get right to the point. We know that your client has been named as the prime suspect for Dan Scott’s murder –“

“Death, there is no definite proof that late Mr.Scott was indeed murdered”, interjected Haley.

Everyone was right, this Jagielski person was brutal. From what I’d been able to gather, he had literally shot to the top. While others in his age range, started their careers as lowly assistants in mediocre magazine companies, Jake’s cutting remarks and sleuthing abilities had had every news paper and magazine companies fighting for him, from the moment he graduated, from Princeton, might I add.

“Touché Ms. James. As per the hearing on January 17th, its clear that the case will be transferred to criminal court isn’t that right?”

“After multiple requests for media coverage of Mr. Scott’s trial, why have you specifically requested against it? Because I’m getting the distinct impression that you are afraid that it would some how weaken your case?”

The smug bastard, I’d seen so many of them. They were always trying trick you into saying things you didn’t want to say.

“Oh see that’s where you’re wrong. I’m confident that my client is innocent in this case. I’ve asked that the media not be allowed to enter the court room because I don’t want to make a spectacle out of this.”

“Spectacle? I’m sorry but given Mr. Scott’s position, I think the public has the right to know don’t you think?”

“I disagree. Just because my client is a celebrity doesn’t mean that his private life is like an open book. He has his right to privacy and I intend on keeping it that way. My client has always been a good man, a good son, a caring brother, not to mention a stunning basketball player. Letting the media in would only tarnish the image that he’s worked so hard to build. He is not a criminal and we will not let the media paint him as one.”

Hah! Take that mister big fat crime reporter! Nathan may not be as wonderful as I made him out to be he’s a hell of a lot better than you are. At least he’s not a story hungry maniac who’ll stoop to any level to get juicy gossip.

“You speak so strongly of him. We know of your former marriage, have you stayed close after the divorce?”

Okay that does it. Let me at ‘em. Or that’s what I was thinking at the time. But it’s not like I could actually go and rip his head off like I was planning to do in my head.

So what I did was I imitated that fake sugary smile that he had been giving me all afternoon all the while trying to get a peek at my practically non existent cleavage and I replied, “Mr. Jagielski, as I mentioned on the phone, my personal life as well as that of my client’s is something not to be discussed. Now if you have anymore questions regarding the case, I’d be happy to answer them. If not, then I must be going because I frankly have better things to do than to disclose personal details which serve no purpose other than to make your story more gossip worthy.

And with that, I promptly shook his hand and left the building, as fast as I could. How could people love so much attention? Being in that room was just suffocating. How people like Nathan could endure that kind of torture day in and day out, I would never understand.

This was bad. This was very very bad. Of all the justices in the state of Washington why in the world did it have to be Justice Brian Durham? Not only did he have to be one of the strictest judges ever, he had to have a thing against celebrities. Selling Nathan’s case to a guy like him would be an absolute nightmare. As if that was not enough why oh why did Rachel Gatina have to be assigned as the head prosecutor?

It felt like my world was falling apart. I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to call Rachel my arch nemesis of sorts. We went to the same college, attended almost all of the same classes and were constantly competing against each other. Whether it was to get the right internships or the right guys, Rachel was a gigantic pain in my behind. I would love to say that she’s a sucky lawyer but that would be a lie. As much as I hate to admit it, the girl is damn good at her job. And knowing Rachel and being the manipulative bitch that she is, she’ll find a way to sweet talk the jury into her favour. I suppose it’s a good thing that the judge is such a hardass, I can only hope that he’ll make sure that Nathan gets a fair trial.

It’s hard. Seeing Haley every day, dealing with the media, finding out that your so called friends aren’t really your friends. As the days passed, things just seemed to get worse and worse.

I’ve always been on top of things. Never strayed from my destination. Everything is always a calculated measure. I didn’t used to be this way. Back in high school, I’d been a lot more spontaneous, perhaps an act of rebellion or perhaps due to ignorance. Back then there were no consequences, I could mess up and Dan would fix things. Now however, things were different. For days I’ve been absentminded, forgetting simple things, spending days just lounging around with no purpose. And all of this for what? For Dan? For days I’ve been cooped up in this little cage, and to no avail trying to figure out just where things went wrong.

“Earth to Nathan, you there?” said Lucas as he waved his hand in front of my face.

“Just now, what’s up?” he asked and as he got comfortable beside me on the couch.

“Nothing”, Lucas was my brother and everything but it was still hard for me to be completely open to him.

We used to be the biggest enemies, partly because I hated the fact that I was constantly compared to the guy, and partly because Dan told me to be that way. After Haley came along, things started to change and we began to get closer. He was there for me when Haley left and since then he’s always been there for me. The poor guy is always caught in middle, Haley’s his best friend and I’m his brother, who should he side with?

“How’d it go with Haley? Considering that she didn’t bite my head off when I came to pick her up, I’m hoping it went well.”

I didn’t want to talk about Haley, not now, not ever. There’s some sort of unwritten rule that says that guys aren’t supposed to share their feelings. But the fact is, Haley broke my heart. Everyone great hero has one tragic flaw, something that prevents them from reaching their peak. Mine is forgiveness. It’s been years and I still can’t get over what Haley did to me. Sometimes late at night when I finally have sometime to think, I think of what life would have been like if I’d been able to get past Haley’s betrayal. Would I have been a better person? Would I have been happier? Would I finally attain that sense of completeness that I’ve always longed for?

“It was fine, she asked me a bunch of questions regarding the case and then she left”

“So no arguments? You were actually civil to each other? Good job Nate!” teased Lucas.

“You think it’s a joke? Do you have any idea how hard it is to see her again?” I snapped.

“No of course not. It’s just that in all these seven years, you’ve never talked about her. It’s like you’ve completely erased her from your life. What happened to you guys? As far as I can remember you were willing to wait for her. You wanted to work things out. What changed your mind?”

Lucas didn’t know about Haley and Chris. I guess Haley never spoke of it either. She was so busy trying to make herself look like the victim that she never bothered to tell the truth of what happened, not even to her bestfriend.

It felt like a huge burden had been lifted off of me. I’ve been battling with this for so long, it felt good to know that someone else now knew that truth.

“I found out about Dan sending those annulment papers so I went to visit. To tell her that that wasn’t what I wanted and that I was willing to wait for as long as it takes. Their Atlanta show had just finished. I waited for her after the show but she must have left in a hurry. So I went back to her hotel room thinking that she was tired and probably went to bed early.”

Reliving those moments, it was so hard. I couldn’t look at Lucas. He loved her like a sister; I didn’t want to see his reaction. When I told Dan, he just laughed saying that I was better off without her. My mom’s reaction wasn’t much better. She had this enormous smile on her face, and I could immediately picture the wheels turning in her head. From that day on, she’s taken every opportunity she’s had to set me up with girls that seem to fit her standards.

“Right so I go into the room, by now its late in the night. I’d spent a good hour and a half trying to figure out what hotel she was staying in. So anyway, I go in and find Chris Keller, on top of her. He was shirtless and as far as I can tell, Haley was too.”

“Nathan you always knew that Keller was really forward, couldn’t it be some sort of a misunderstanding?”

God Lucas, always the loyal friend. Now I remembered why I never discussed this with him. He’d never understand my side of the story.

“Trust me Luke, there was no misunderstanding. He was kissing her and she seemed to be enjoying it. And you know what bothered me the most? The fact she didn’t even bother to take her wedding ring off while doing it. Do you have any idea how hard I had to work in order to pay for that thing?”

“So what happened?”

“I wasn’t thinking straight. It was just after I caught her cheating, I was just so hurt. I kept replaying that image over and over in my head, I guess I just lost track of my surroundings.”

I’d had enough of this, talking about Haley was too painful, I was tired of rehashing this topic time and time again.

“Look, can we not talk about this anymore? I see enough of her already, the less I have to think of her, the better”.

December 15th

Dan Scott makes to Deb, Keith, Karen, Nathan, Lucas, and me requesting their attendance at his Washington penthouse on Christmas Day.

December 20th

All attending guests RSVPs are received save for Nathan

December 24th

7PM: The Christmas party begins, guests begin to arrive

~ 8PM: Karen and Keith arrive

~ 8:30 PM: Deb arrives

~10-10:30 PM: Nathan arrives with Peyton Sawyer in tow.

Guests notice arguments between Keith and Dan but it subsides shortly after Nathan's arrival

~12 PM: Guests begin to leave but Keith, Nathan, Karen, and Deb stay.

25th December

1 AM: The Dan Scott's supposed time of death according to the coroner's report

1:21 AM: Keith receives a speeding ticket. (Note: He arrives at the party with Karen but returns home alone)

1:34 AM: A call is made to the Washington Fire Department station 23 saying that the smoke has been detected in the upper levels of the Lincoln apartments.

1:40 AM: Dan Scott's office is in flames, it takes approximately 40 minutes, to take out his body and to put out the flames.

7 AM: Keith, Deb, Karen, and number of other guests are questioned by the police. (Nathan is nowhere to be found)

9 AM: In spite of police efforts to keep the incident hush hush, the news is leaked to the media and every big newspaper across the city and country prints headlines regarding the case.

11 AM: Nathan Scott is found drunk and unconscious at his Anacostia river beach house

***

Washington D.C

Getting a hold of Nathan's girlfriend and my former friend Peyton Sawyer was a very difficult task indeed. She was a famous model now. Spokeswoman for the likes of Chanel, Prada, Versache, Ms. Sawyer had certainly done well for herself hadn't she?

Its funny how things have a way turning out differently from anything you'd ever imagined. If you'd asked 10 years ago, almost everyone in Tree Hill would have said Peyton would turn out to be the next big thing, a famous artists, living life day to day, one day in France, the next in the slums of Nairobi. But now it was almost impossible to recognise her.

Forget the curly hair, heavy eyeliner, concert tees. The woman that showed up in my office out of the blue one day was anything but the rebel that I'd gotten to know during my last couple of years at Tree Hill High.

Dressed from head to toe in designer clothing and jewellery worth at least $70, 000 it was no wonder that every man and woman at Simon & Associates, the law firm I work for, was openly gawking at her. She really was stunning. Her hair was still curly only they were glossed and smoothed so as to accentuate her already staggering looks.

In spite her drastic makeover, you could tell that she was still the same Peyton. She arrived in the office listening to her ipod not caring what anyone thought of her and if you looked closely you could tell that she was wearing a necklace with a skull shaped locket on it.

“Haley?”

“Peyton, hi! It's good to see you again.”

We did the whole hugging and fake cheek kissing ritual that was so common in the celebrity world.

It was nowhere near as awkward I'd initially thought it would be. The last time I'd seen Peyton was on the day I left Tree Hill.
From what Lucas had told me, I gathered that she was going through some personal stuff and wasn't exactly in the best of moods. But still, I thought saying goodbye was the right thing to do.

Peyton never locked her door, a burglar could walk in and steal everything in the house and she wouldn't notice, her ears were practically glued to her headphones. When I went to open the door, for the first time since I'd gotten know her, I found that it was locked.

At the sight of little ‘ol me her frown seemed to get wider.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, clearly wishing for me to go away.

“I…I just thought we could talk”.

She looked past me at my overpriced piece of junk that was a meant to be car and she smiled.

“So you're leaving?”

“Yeah, I just came to say good bye.”

“You should never have come back in the first place.”

“God what the hell is wrong with everybody? It's like everyone in this town has made it their mission to make my life miserable. What did I ever do you Pey?”

Could you blame me? I was just so sick and tired of the dirty looks. I didn't end the marriage, he did.

“Nothing, but you did to Nathan. You weren't there, you didn't see how broken he was. He almost lost his life over you and you still didn't come”

“He asked me not to. Look, I'm done explaining myself”

“Great I'm done talking to you. Have a safe trip Haley. Oh wait, on second thought I could care less. Goodbye”

And boom, yet another door shut in my face. This quaint gesture was becoming a recurring event over the past couple of days.

“So, Nathan tells me you're handling his case.”

No … duh. You'd have to be living under a rock to not know that.

“Yes, yes I am.”

I wasn't interested in engaging in small talk. I hadn't had my morning coffee yet and I was downright jittery. The fact that seeing her reminded me of all the awful things I had to endure back in Tree Hill some 7-8 years ago wasn't exactly helping the situation.

“Look I don't want things to be awkward. What happened was a long time ago. We're all very different people now, I'd like to make a fresh start, if that's okay with you”, she finally let out.

“I don't think I can ever forget what happened back then. Everyone I cared for abandoned me and to this day my decision to go on tour, I haven't been able to live it down. Please come sit, I have a meeting in about a half our so if you don't mind I'd like to get right to it.”

“Sure”, she replied, settling herself in the chair in front of me.

“Where were you on Christmas Eve?”

“At Dan's party of course. Nathan and I, we'd made a short visit to Tim's party. You remember Tim right?”

“Yeah”, I ushered her to go on.

“Right so around 10ish, we got around to Dan's little suck fest.”

“Did you talk to him, Dan I mean?”

“Yeah, you know, just the whole hi how are you doing, Merry Christmas type of thing.”

“While there did you notice anything odd?”

“No not really, when you've been to one of Dan's parties you've been to them all. There's always expensive food, influential people, an argument between Dan and either Keith or Deb, it's been that way since forever.”

She had a ring on her finger, an engagement ring. Exquisite gems surrounding a gigantic diamond, the ring was a work of art in itself.

So Nathan was engaged, it figures that he wouldn't bother to let me know. She must have caught me looking at the ring.

“He proposed, yesterday. Isn't it beautiful?”

Her face was glowing. That happy glow, the one you got once before you got married and then again when you're pregnant. I'd moved on from Nathan. Every time I saw him, he did nothing but infuriate me. So why was my stomach in knots? I've always known that this day would come, that one day he'd fall in love and marry someone else but all the preparation in the world couldn't have prepared me for this.

“Congratulations”, I finally spit out, trying my best to mask the surprise and hurt that I was currently experiencing.

I must not have been doing a very good job hiding my feelings considering that her expressions changed almost instantly.

“Thank you”, she replied softly.

“Okay, so when did you leave the Scott penthouse?”

“Oh 12ish I think.”

“So Nathan left with you?”

“Yes”

“Where did you go?”

“I dropped him off at his house and then went home. I had an early shoot the next morning so I wanted to go home early.”

‘So you dropped him off at the beach house?”

“Yes, he said he needed to get away for a couple of days”

In the years of service to the law, if there is one thing that I've learned it's to tell when someone is lying. There's always something that gives them away, twirling your hair, pulling on your ear, not being able to look someone in the eye, there's always some distinguishable trait.

Peyton's were her hands, she kept smoothing out her skirt, it couldn't be any smoother if you tried. So the question was why would she lie? Where had she really dropped him off?

Whether it was the knowledge of Nathan's upcoming wedding or the fact that Nathan's alibi was torn to shreds, my mind just wasn't able to process anything.

“That'll be it for now. Thanks Peyton.”

“No problem. If you need to know anything else, feel free to call me”, she replied with a smile, as she handed me a small piece of paper with her telephone number.

Chapter 9

The moment she left, I practically ran out of the office. I couldn't breathe. I hurried to my car, furiously searching for my keys. I couldn't stop my hand from shaking. When I'd reached my apartment building, I didn't even realise. I bolted up my apartment stairs, not caring what the watchman or anyone else in the building thought of me. Tears streaming from my eyes and throat parched, I didn't stop until I reached the toilet where I puked intermittently for over twenty minutes. I finally settled myself on the bathroom floor, utterly exhausted. Normally I was a neat freak, I wouldn't be caught dead sitting amongst the germs that no doubt tainted my otherwise spotless marble flooring but I didn't care. The case, the marriage, it was all taking a toll on me. I didn't expect for Nathan to have such a profound effect on me even after all these years. My throat was burning, my lips chapped, eyes red rimmed and puffy. After I left Tree Hill, I promised myself that I would never be that girl who cries because of a boy. But here I was, doing exactly what I said I wouldn't do. I felt like such a fool.

Pushing myself up with the help of the bathroom sink, I found myself staring at the mirror. My hair had grown to about three or four inches below my shoulders. I would have gotten it cut except that I couldn't take out time out of my busy schedule to call for an appointment. Sure it was blond, just like Peyton's but it didn't glisten under the morning sun like hers. My mom used to say that I'd gotten my grandmother's features, that my eyes were like the windows to my soul. All I saw in them was regret and years of denying myself of the things I really want.

I walked into the living room and picked up my cell. I immediately regretted calling, the moment I heard Brooke's voice on the other end.

“Hello”

She was laughing, probably on a shoot somewhere, she didn't know yet but Luke was going to propose to her any day now. He'd asked me to help him pick a ring the week before. This was probably one of the best periods of her life; I had no right to unload my problems on her. So what I did was I hung up on her.

I should have known that she'd call back.

Brooke was one of a kind, she would have drop everything and come over to console me whenever I needed it. That kind of fierce loyalty is very difficult to come by. I was thankful to have her on my side.

“Haley bear what's wrong?” she asked softly.

I tried get myself together, I didn't want her to worry.

“Nothing Brooke, I've just had a rough day. I'll be okay.”

“Are you sure? ‘Cause I can get Laura to pack up early.”

“No that's not necessary, thanks anyways”

“I'll be over in twenty minutes, sit tight” she said, immediately hanging up, not giving me a chance to stop her.

20 minutes on the dot and the doorbell rang, signalling Brooke's arrival.

The first thing she did upon opening the door was to give me a big bear hug.

Examining my face, the black tears, the swollen eyelids, she gasped “What happened to you”

“Nathan's engaged”, I let out barely above a whisper.

I expected to see her shocked but she wasn't. Her features just softened.

“What does Lucas know too?” I asked frustrated.

I could tell that she wasn't looking forward to the conversation we were about to have. She fiddled with her shirt sleeve, a nervous habit. She kept averting her eyes, a clear sign that I wouldn't like what she was about to say.

“Yes, Nathan had asked for his advice before taking the leap.”

Great, as usual I'm always the last person to know, I thought to myself.

“The wedding is set for April, Peyton wanted a spring wedding”, Brooke continued cautiously.

“I don't know why I'm so upset Brooke. I really thought I was over him so why am I feeling this way?”

Brooke took my hand in hers and gave it a tight squeeze.

“He was your first love, its natural for you to feel this way.”

I never believed in fairy tales or soul mates. My theory has always been that in this world there are a select few people with whom you are compatible, if you're lucky to find one of them, then your marriage is golden and if you've haven't found one such person than you're bound to go through hardship. Nathan had come as a surprise in my life. We had almost nothing in common and yet somehow we fit, just like pieces of a puzzle. I didn't plan out my future in great detail like some girls did but I had a basic outline of what I expected from life. Up until a couple of hours ago, to some extent Nathan was a part of that plan.

“It's just that in spite of everything I always though we'd end up back together.”

“We all did Haley. You guys were perfect together, nothing would make me happier than to see you two back together again. But it's been 7 years Hales, that's a long time. Do you blame him? A man has a right to move on.”

I didn't know how to come to terms with this. I've never been good at handling emotions. If it isn't written in a book, I have a tendency to get lost.

“Is he happy?” I finally asked looking directly into her eyes. They were the deepest green, filled with so much life. I envied her. She'd always been the center of attention, so full of life, she could handle anything that life threw her way. Myself on the other hand, I've always been a coward, rather than fighting I let myself wallow in self pity.

I could tell what she was thinking, should she tell me the honest truth or say something that will make me feel better?

“Just tell me the truth, I can handle it”, I finally let out.

“He's happy. Peyton loves him more than life itself.”

“Good. He deserves to be happy”.

For the first time since a long time I was being honest with myself. I always told myself that our marriage disintegrated because of my decision to go on tour but the truth is it was more than that. It didn't last because I was never mature enough to understand the sanctity of marriage. It meant more to Nathan than it did to me. He'd lived in broken family for as long as he could remember, this was his chance to start over. The problem was that I never really understood all of this at the time. It wasn't the tour, it was the fact that I had cheated on him. That was the fact that he couldn't get past. His rough behaviour toward me had been a sort of defensive mechanism, where as I took it as an act of selfishness. Deb had cheated on Dan, and the existence of Lucas, not to mention the pressures of basketball, when he needed someone to be there for him, I wasn't there.

“Everyone was right; it's my fault that our marriage didn't work out”

“Oh sweetie, don't say that.” consoled Brooke as she pulled me into a hug.

I know she means well but I could see it in her eyes, the confusion, the guilt. She so desperately wanted to convince me that I wasn't at fault but in her heart she knew otherwise. For the first time I was realising what a selfish person I was, am. Somewhere along the way, I became self-centred I always put myself first, my grades, my music, my career, I never really considered how what I was doing would affect others around me.

“Please don't lie. I didn't realise what I had until it was gone. For years on end, I fooled myself into believing that it's because of Nathan's selfishness that our marriage didn't last. The truth is I'm the selfish one, I mean what kind of a person do I have to be to make my best friend choose between me and his brother? For years I made you guys choose between me and him. Nathan has every right to hate me, I was just too stupid to understand it until now.”

“To some extent you're both responsible for what happened. I'm glad you finally see Nathan's side. But don't beat yourself about it, you'd never intentionally hurt Nathan. Maybe you guys can finally get some closure”, said Brooke with sad smile.

“Closure”, I repeated.

I was 25 years old, decent looking, established and so much more and yet I was still living in the past. It was time to move on and that's exactly what I set about to do. I was going to solve this case, come what may. I was going to attain closure with Nathan. And I was going to wish him the best of luck with his fiancé. I refused to be the girl who cried at night wondering what could have been and if I was ever going to become the person that I always envisioned myself as. I was determined to get a fresh start.

Chapter 10

***

New York City

Haley's POV

“Come in”

“Hey Mouth, how've you been?”

“Haley, it took me ages to get rid of that nickname, why must you remind me?” joked Mouth, showing his million dollar smile.

“Sorry Mouth, I mean Marvin, old habits I guess”

It was a small room, even for Washington. Pretty standard, everything you'd expect to see in a psychologist's office: Certificates of academic excellence on the walls, files scattered on the desk, an inviting couch to sit on, etc. The only thing that seemed to set the room apart from those of the hundreds of other psychologist clinics in town was this floor to ceiling sized signed poster of Lucas and Nathan standing side by side, from the likes of it, footage from last year's NBA playoffs.

“No problem. So what's up?” he asked, ushering me to lay down on the couch.

“I blanked out again”, I confessed.

“Really? I thought they stopped. It's been years hasn't it?”

“Yeah. I don't know what's causing them again.”

“When did you last have them?”

“I…I don't know”

He sat beside me, took my hands in his own and looked me straight in the eye. Next to Nathan and Lucas, Mouth had the bluest eyes you'd ever see. Like Lucas, Mouth's eyes offered comfort unlike that of Nathan's which could make you feel either extremely loved our downright dirty based on his mood.

“Come on Haley, try to remember.”

“I can't. All of last month is blank. There are things I remember like going out with Luke to buy Brooke's Christmas present or the details of the Wilkinson case but then there are other things that I can't distinguish”.

“Like what?”

“A wedding. I was at some wedding where I was the bride's maid and I was wearing this hideous midnight blue wedding gown. The bride and groom, try as I might for the life of me I can't remember who they are. Just glimpses, kind of like these, some of them are real while other's are just a figment of my imagination. I've got so much on my plate nowadays, that I try not to think about these things but I can't help but wonder. It's like my whole life is this big mystery, I just don't know what to make of it all.”

“The wedding really happened Hales”, he said after a moment's thought.

“It did?”

“Yeah, my cousin was getting married and we went together, as friends of course”

“Really? So how did I end up becoming a bride's maid?”

“One of the bride's maids' flight got cancelled due to bad weather and since Shelly didn't know anyone else in this town, she asked you to fill in.”, he supplied.

“Okay that makes sense I guess. But what about Christmas? I've been going around asking everyone related to Nathan's case their whereabouts on Christmas Eve, when I myself can't remember where I was. I've been meaning to ask someone but I just haven't gotten the chance to get in touch with anyone. Nathan's case has been really stressful”.

A recurring event, but every time I talked about Nathan to someone close to him or me, there's always a drastic change in person's demeanour and Mouth was no exception. Up until mere seconds ago he'd been so warm and understanding, and the moment I brought up the case, he began to grow distant.

He moved back to his desk and busied himself with some papers. He wore the same expression that everyone else had when I questioned them, if I didn't know any better, I'd almost think that they were all afraid of something.

Not willing to give up on this topic, I walked over and plopped myself on his desk.

“Are you even listening to me?” I asked exasperated.

“Yeah, of course I am. Christmas eve” he sighed

“You were with us, Brooke, Lucas, Skills, and me. Everyone who's anyone was going to Dan's party, so we decided to have our own little shin dig if you can call it that.” he replied, now back to normal.

“Oh I see”

I didn't want to let suspicion get the best of me but I was beginning to feel like Dan's murder wasn't something done in the heat of the moment. I had yet to visit the apartment or what's left of it but I had this nagging feeling that there was more to the case than what meets the eye. It was almost as if everyone around me was part of this big cover up and somehow Nathan seemed to be at the centre of it all. Something just didn't make sense and I was determined to figure out why.

“Tell me Haley, is it possible that these lapses have a connection with your parents' death anniversary. If memory serves right, wasn't it around this time that the accident happened?”

He was right. Memories of that day are hazy at most. From what everyone said, I'd been in the car when it happened. It was late at night, we were coming home from Karen's and out of the blue an oncoming car approached, my dad swerved, and the car ended up crashing in this wooded area just a couple miles away from the Tree Hill docks. My parents were found dead on the spot, how I survived is still a mystery. I don't remember anything from that day or the days after. After weeks of treatment, I came to live with Karen and Lucas, the closest thing I had to a family.

The doctors said it would get better. That it was just a common symptom for trauma, it was natural for me to not remember the horrific incident. But is it normal for me to continue to have these lapses years after? That's a question that has yet to be answered.

“You're right. December 18th, that's about the time that these events started reoccurring. I have this feeling at the pit of my stomach that something is really wrong. We never did find out what happened. Both parties involved in the crash were well below the alcohol limit, no one was speeding, what could possibly have caused this to happen?”

“Is it possible that you uncovered some new information that could have triggered these lapses?”

“I … I don't know”

***

It was time to do some investigation. You know the usual, check the victim's whereabouts in the days before the incident; verify the suspect's alibis, etc. I know my job is to find proof of Nathan's innocence but seeing how this case was so close to me, I just had to find the real killer. I mean what better way to prove Nathan's innocence right? Dan and I were never on good terms, even before Nathan and I started dating, but I just felt like it was my duty to get to the bottom of it.

“Luke, you busy?”, I asked, juggling the phone and driving simultaneously.

“Just training for the next game, why?”

Did I mention that Lucas was also a basketball superstar? Two time MVP New York Nicks starter Lucas Scott was the hero of every young boy, not to mention their fathers as well. I'd always known that Luke would end up doing something great one day but what I most admire about him is the fact that he never let the glitz and glamour get to his head, unlike Nathan of course who seemed to practically live for it. Luke was still Luke, the boy I'd grown up with, the one I could talk to about almost anything in the world.

“I just thought we could hang out for sometime”.

“Sure no prob, how ‘bout I come pick you up? Say around 6? Dinner and a movie?”

“That would be great, I'm staying at the Waldorf=Astoria, room 3225”

“Wow! Nathan must be paying you a lot”, chuckled Lucas

“Hey, if I'm going to have to put up with his snide remarks on a daily basis, I'm going to have to get something out of it”, I retorted.

***

“Dude you have to be kidding me Spiderman kicks ass how can you even think of comparing him to Superman”? I asked repulsed by the thought of it even.

“Oh please Hales, Superman is invincible what's spidey going to do? Make his cape sticky? Superman could tear him to shreds in a matter of seconds”.

“Oh please …”

We'd just watched the latest superman movie, apparently the last one with Brandon Routh at least. It was an ongoing battle of ours since childhood. In my opinion, Peter Parker beats Kent any day maybe not with his powers but with his charms for sure.

“Hey Luke can I ask you a question?”

“Sure what?”

“Were you invited to Dan's Christmas party?”

“Way to kill the mood Hales”, clearly annoyed. First the Spiderman thing now Dan, sore topics one after another.

“Sorry, it's just that something feels a little off. He's been his absolute worst for years what would make a guy like him change his mind?”

“I don't know. Maybe the guilt finally caught up with him.” He replied thoughtfully.

“When I got that letter, I thought it was a joke. Second chance? A guy like him, after what he did to me? My mom? You? What right does he have to ask for forgiveness?”

“Nathan went, so did your mom, why didn't you go?”

“To be honest, I thought about it. I was about to get ready, when you called and I got to my senses.”

When I didn't respond, he looked at me questioningly.

“You don't remember do you?”

How could a person read me so well? He just knew everything without me having to say a word. Brooke was lucky to have someone like this in her life.

“Remember what?”, I asked hoping to god he wouldn't notice the beads of sweat that had formed at the mention of my frequent blackouts.

“Christmas Eve Haley, you were distracted throughout the evening, we all saw it but didn't say anything”.

“Was Nathan there?” I know I was changing the topic out of the blue but I had to focus on one thing at a time. There were things that didn't make sense in my life, important things, but now was not the time to venture into the unknown. I had yet to put together a credible case when it comes to Nathan's trial, and time was running out.

Sensing my discomfort, he went along with it:” No, he wasn't. You said it yourself, he was at Dan's party”

“So he didn't call you at any point?”

“No”

He was lying, and this time I didn't even have to rely on intuition. I'd checked Nathan's phone records; there had been an outgoing call to Lucas's home number sometime around 2 in the morning. Lucas was the most honest person I know, what could compel him to do this?

“God what is up with you?” I asked frustrated, not meaning for it to come out aloud.

“What do you mean?”, he asked, so innocently that if it hadn't been for the records, I would have a hard time believing that my best friend was indeed lying.

I decided to call him on his bullshit: “You're lying Luke. There were two calls between 2 and 3 AM from Nathan's cell to your home phone. God! Why is everyone making this so difficult for me. I'm not stupid you know. For years on end, I've seen the stares, the looks of disapproval, and guilt when it came to my marriage. At first it bothered me a lot, but you know what? I never let it get the best of me. But now that I'm actually trying to do something about it, mend ties, not to mention save him from being charged with first degree murder, you're all still against me. Do you really think lying for him will save him? If I can tell your crap don't you think the prosecution will too? They'll tear him to shreds, his alibi won't hold up and if you guys aren't careful, you might even get held as an accessory to the crime. Now that would be fun right? Rotting in jail, losing your career, not to mention your best friend and girlfriend”?

How we reached the hotel so fast in the midst of New York traffic, I'll never know.

Giving me the same expressionless look that Nathan used to have plastered on when he didn't like the topic we were discussing, he took my hand and lead my toward the elevators: “Don't make a scene, I'll answer all your questions once we get to your room”.

The trip up the elevator was eerily quiet. Lucas rested his head against the wall and stared intently through the glass window. You could see the entire city from up there, it was breathtaking really. But somehow I had a feeling that the New York City skyline was the last thing on Lucas's mind. If it weren't for that random guy standing between us, I'd have pushed him for more info.

After what seemed like forever, the faint ping of the elevator signalled our arrival into the appropriate floor.

I walked past the stunning décor, and celebrity guests without a blink of an eye and Lucas silently followed. Briefly glancing in his direction, I could tell that Lucas was battling with himself.

I wanted to tell him that it was okay. That he could tell me the truth and I wouldn't think any less of him but I couldn't utter a single word. Aside from the days shortly after leaving Tree Hill, Lucas and I seldom got into fights. So this awkwardness when it comes to him was practically foreign to me.

Opening the door to my mini suite, I felt Lucas breeze past me and settle himself on couch once again facing his attention on the window. When I'd taken the case, I'd done so as way of making amends though I hadn't realised it at the time, but now I realise that there's more to it than just that. Bit by bit, it was tearing my family, which primarily consists of my closest friends, apart.

I sat beside him, turned his face around and forced him to look at me. This case was affecting me a lot. I just really need my best friend now. Without even thinking, I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him as tightly as I could.

I never cried, never. And yet I'd broken down twice, this week alone.

“Shh … Haley don't cry, it'll be okay” soothed Lucas.

I was trying really hard to stop but the tears just kept coming. I was the rock that people held onto for support when did I become the porcelain doll that required constant nurture?

“Just tell me Luke … did Nathan do it?” I asked point blank. I was through beating around the bush.

Taking my hand in his and using the other to wipe away a lone tear that had escaped, he said barely above a whisper, what would haunt me for nights after, “I don't know”.

“But the phone calls?”

“In the middle of the night I got this phone call from Nathan. You know how I deeply I sleep right? So the call went to the answering machine. I can show it to you if you like.”

Finally we were getting somewhere. I just wasn't sure whether what I was going to find out was going to strengthen or weaken my case.

“Show it to me”

He took out his phone, dialled the number and handed it to me.

At first I couldn't hear anything; reception must have been low from where Nathan had called.

“Lucas? Lucas you there?” Nathan asked frantically.

I'd have to further have my experts look at it from the likes of it, Nathan must have been close to the fire when he'd made the call. There were loud noises, sirens of an ambulance, or fire truck perhaps.

“Lucas it's me Nathan. Something's happened call me back as soon as possible. Bye”, continued Nathan. There were other voices in the message, familiar ones but I couldn't quite decipher who they belonged to.

Lucas looked at me expectantly, as if I could magically find answers to the questions he no doubt had.

“Did you ask him about this?” I asked, trying to read his every move.

“No. This is my private cell phone line, No one except mom, Keith, Nathan, Brooke and you know about it. You remember how I lost my phone in Tree Hill?”

“Yeah, I remember. I had to wait hours on end to reach you on your work phone; your line was always busy.”

“Right. So I didn't get back this phone back until yesterday. Mom mailed it to me.”

“And in this time, Nathan never mentioned the call?”

“Not a word. What do you think of it?” he asked.

I really didn't have much of an answer for him.

“I don't know. All I know is that this information better not find its way into Rachel Gatina's hands.”

***

I had to do some investigation of my own. The police report gave much insight but it wasn't enough. By going there, I was hoping to find something that the police might have overlooked, some sign that all that happened wasn't Nathan's fault.

I was just going to go home for quick change of shoes (high heels and snooping don't mesh well). What I found would knock the wind right out of me.

Like any other day, I was coming home late at night, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Seeing as how it was past 11 at night, the corridor lights were dimmed and everything was quiet. The first thing I noticed upon reaching my apartment was the flashes of blue light peeking out from beneath the front door. Being a staunch believer in energy conservation, the possibility of my having left a light on before going out is almost an impossibility. I fished into my purse for the keys, finding it, I began twisting the lock praying to god that the rather noisy clicking sound wouldn't alert the intruder of my presence. I walked into the corridor, carefully closing the door, and tiptoed into the living room.

I walked in and got the surprise of my life. There sitting on my couch, eating my popcorn was none other than Nathan Scott himself. For days on end I'd been trying to get a hold of him but his phone always goes to bloody voice mail. And right now he was here, in my apartment acting as he practically lived here. The nerve!

If he'd notice my entrance, he sure didn't seem to let it show. He just sat there, feet on the glass table, greasy hands on my cushion, staring at the television, deeply engrossed in what looked to be the latest basketball game, the game that I had tickets to and had to give up because I was too busy building Nathan's case.

“How the hell did you get in here?” I asked furious, resting my hands on either side of my hips.

For a second he looked at me like I was crazy. Then it finally dawned on him as to who I was.

“Hey” he replied and then turned back to the game.

Who did he think he was barging in like this?

I dropped my keys on the table, grabbed the remote and turned the damn thing off.

“Hey I was watching that”, he protested.

“Yeah, too bad. In case you haven't noticed, this is my apartment and what I say goes around here”

“Fine, be that way”, he said slightly amused, getting up from the couch and moseying his way into the kitchen probably to get himself more food, which incidentally I had paid for.

Today was not the day to get on my nerves. I wasn't about to put up with this nonsense, not from Nathan at least.

I breezed past him and blocked the entrance to kitchen. I was through letting him push me around.

“No can do buddy, you're through eating my food”

I grabbed his arm and led him back to the couch. I had to show him that I was in control, even though the fact was that it was far from the truth.

His cologne was intoxicating and his messy hair was extremely distracting. He was still the most handsome man I'd come across in my lifetime. All kinds of thoughts, things that I shouldn't be thinking about were coming to mind. He belonged to someone else now, I kept telling myself but my heart refused to believe it.

“How'd you get in here?” I asked once more.

Finishing off the last of my popcorn, and evidently having thoroughly enjoyed it, he replied: “The safety keys behind the fire extinguisher. That's where you used to keep our apartment key didn't you?”

Damn myself and my tendency of being so incredibly predictable.

“I heard about Lucas”, he continued more seriously.

Perhaps there was some good that would come about from this untimely encounter.

I settled myself on the couch beside him, making sure to keep just enough distance. He seemed to notice my discomfort but did nothing to ease the situation.

“Were you ever going to tell me that you were there when the fire was started?” I asked.

“That's because I wasn't”

“Nathan, I'm done playing games. Just tell me what happened.”

He picked up one of the photos from the side table and looked at it with great interest. It was a photo from our high school graduation. Lucas and I stood side by side grinning from ear to ear, elated by the fact that we no longer had to endure the nightmare that was high school. For the first time since I'd seen the picture, I noticed that Nathan was a part of it too. You had to look carefully but deep amongst the mob of excited teenagers, there he was. He looked lost, almost regretful even. But that didn't really matter now.

“I was the one who made the call to the fire department” he finally said.

As if he could read my mind, he continued “No, I didn't start the fire. Dan and I, we had our problems but I wouldn't go so far as to kill the man. After Peyton dropped me off to the beach house, I realised I'd left my keys back at the party. So I took a cab and made it back to the apartment. When I got there, there was smoke everywhere. I couldn't even get out of the elevator, that's how far the fire had spread. So I did what I had to, I called the fire department and got out of there as fast as I could. I had no idea he was still in there”.

“Why were you the first to notice the fire? There are other people living in that building. If the fire had spread as far as you say, wouldn't they have known?”

“No. You know Dan, he liked to have his privacy. His apartment takes up the entire floor and has a private elevator into the building. You can't access the elevator unless you have a special card that authorises you to enter.”

“You didn't have the keys to your house and I'm supposed to believe you carried the card to your father's apartment?”

“Normally I wouldn't but the invitation letter, it included a card that would temporarily give you access to the building's top floor. I still had that in my pocket.”

I wasn't sure what to think. His story, it was feasible, but there were still far too many holes.

“Why didn't you tell all this to the police?

“Because I got scared. Everyone knew of my strained relationship with Dan. God knows the media manages to print something on it practically every other day. When push comes to shove, I would be the first they'd point their fingers to when it comes to his death.”

He looked past me and onto the floor. Where the contents of my purse now lay in plain view. He walked across the room and picked up a tiny envelope that had fallen out.

“You're planning to go back in there aren't you?” he asked.

If it weren't for the jerky side that I'd grown accustomed to in the last few days, I'd almost think that he looked genuinely worried.

“What if I am?” I asked indignantly.

“Then I'm going with you” he replied, picking up his leather jacket.

I was taken aback by his forcefulness. The look on his face, it was almost scary. I'd seen many of his expressions, most of them in fact, but this look of protectiveness, this was a first.

“Nathan this is a criminal investigation. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't take you with me.”

I was about to leave when he took hold of my arm. He pulled at it so forcefully that I ended up losing my balance, having to steady myself by pulling on his shirt.

He placed his arm on the small of my back and pulled me forward so much so that his face was a mere inches from mine. His face softened and his eyes filled with emotion. “I'm not letting you go alone”, he said softly.

Such a simple sentence, and yet almost deathly. In that instant, he broke down all the lies that I'd fed myself, all the walls that I'd built around me. He pretty much just shattered me. I was falling in love with him all over again and for the life of me I couldn't make it stop.

His touch was cold to my skin and his gaze far too disconcerting. My eyes filled tears but I quickly wiped them away praying to god he hadn't seen them.

I walked out of his arms and out to the entrance, not wanting for him to follow but almost positive that he was.

The ride to the apartment was peaceful. From time to time, I glanced at him, hoping to find some clues but his face was always unreadable. Eyes glazed over, lips in lop- sided smile, he seemed to be off in another world. The silence, it wasn't awkward, I'd even go so far as to say it was comforting. There were so many questions I wanted to ask, some about the case, some not but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

When I pulled up in the parking lot beside the Lincoln apartments, Nathan looked at me and gave a reassuring smile.

People would call me nuts for breaking into a criminal investigation and that too in the middle of the night with none other than the prime suspect but to me it didn't matter. I never was one to go by conventional methods and I wasn't about to start now.

The clock in the lobby said it was around 12:38, just about the time when the party had ended. The man in the reception area didn't seem to recognise either of us.

We waited until the receptionist had turned his attention back to the small television sitting on top of his desk.

“Come on”, I whispered, taking his hand in my own and guiding him to the private elevators.

Sliding the card into the gold plated slot, I waited for the machine to give us entry to the elevators. It occurred to me that the elevator couldn't be the only way to access the top floor, if not for safety, for the law at least. A place like this would be shut down if it didn't.

At the sound of the elevator's ping, we stepped into the enclosed box. 28th floor was a long way to go.

I glanced toward Nathan to find him once again lost in his thoughts.

“What are you thinking?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“Hunh? Oh nothing. I was just thinking about Dan. It's the first time I've been here since …”

We'd spent so much time arguing about the past and the case that we never really talked about the thing that mattered most – the death of his father. Of course, why would he talk to me about it? I was just his lawyer and someone who'd abandoned him years ago, why would he tell me anything?”

“If it's too hard for you, we can go back”, I offered.

6 … 7 … 8

Washington D.C is a beautiful city. Looking through the window, it was breathtaking. Tiny cars moving back and forth, city lights twinkling under the midnight sky. Into the distance you could make out the thick columns of the White House.

“Some day I'm going to be president”, I'd declared to my father once upon a time.

“You can be anything you want sweetie. The world is yours to take. Promise me one thing, you'll never lose hope. No matter what life throws your way, you'll never get discouraged. Take it as a challenge, it can never break you. if anything it'll make you stronger”

“Haley … Haley, you there?” asked Nathan with curiosity.

When he looked at me, as corny as it sounds, it felt like he could glimpse into my soul.

“What? Oh sorry”

“No problem” he replied slightly amused.

After all the drama that happened in our life, I'd grown to recollect the bad things rather than the good. Long before the tour and all that came with it, there was time when Nathan and I were friends. We were completely head over heels in love. No one understood us; they said that we were too different. But that didn't bother us, we knew that what we had was special, and no one not Dan, not the people in town, no one could take that away from us.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure”, he said looking intently at my tiny frame. It was a cold night, and in spite of the heating, it was still a little chilly. I could feel the heat radiating off him. It would be so easy to step into his arms and just lose myself in his embrace. But alas I couldn't. That special place in his heart belonged to another now.

“Why did you come here?”

He darted his eyes back and forth, avoiding my eyes. Clearly, this was something he'd rather not discuss.

“Because I didn't want you to come here alone”, he finally replied.

“I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. Besides, if you'd given me the chance, I could have asked someone else to come with me.”

“Maybe I just wanted to spend sometime with you”, he said as he stepped out of the elevator, disappearing into the darkness.

“What did he mean by that?” I thought to myself.

It was so like him to say something like that and then just leave. As much as I would like to sit around and analyse the situation, I had more important things to do. Something had caught my attention. I'd been so busy thinking about the past that I'd hadn't noticed the tiny fleck of light being reflected from the elevator wall. One left corner, just beside the floor numbers, disguised as a screw of some sort, there was a tiny lens. The police wouldn't have seen it, you'd have to know where to look to recognise it but there was no doubt in my mind that whatever happened that night must have been recorded on tape.

After Dan's first heart attack, when Keith had taken over, that's when Lucas found it. The tiny lens disguised as a keyhole in Dan's prized race car painting. He'd hoped to finally bring down the great Dan Scott but his plan backfired, all because of that damn piece of equipment.

Stepping out to make sure Nathan wasn't nearby, I took out a mini screwdriver (don't even ask as to why I'd have this in my purse), I hoisted myself up on the gold plated railing and steadied myself on the thing that lit up the floor numbers.

I wanted to find out where the wires from the camera converged. And to my luck, the damn wires had been burned, probably a result of the fire.

“Haley, where are you?” I heard Nathan ask.

I didn't respond. I strongly believed that Nathan hadn't killed Dan but I had a feeling he was still somehow connected to the whole incident. Bringing him here was a mistake. But it was too late to go back now.

I stepped down from the railing and walked into what was once Dan's entrance area. The smell of ashes and burnt flesh filled the space. I wanted to look for the tapes but at the moment, I was more worried about Nathan. Cursing myself for having brought him here in the first place, I thought I saw a shadow appear and disappear in a split second. There had been a court order preventing the reconstruction of this part of the building so from the likes of it, the apartment was exactly as it should have been from the day of the fire.

“Haley where are you?” I heard him ask once more. Clearly he had no idea of how to act when snooping around in the middle of the night.

Leaving my task at hand, I walked in the direction of Nathan's voice. I found him looking out the window of what once was Dan's living room.

“Nathan pipe down already. What is it?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to know where you were. This place gives me the creeps. Did you find what you were looking for?” he asked shifting from one foot to another.

This sudden burst of protectiveness, I didn't know what to think of it. On one hand, I was happy that his anger toward me had somewhat lessened but on the other, it was kind of unnerving. I liked my independence and didn't appreciate people meddling at my time of work.

“If you're so freaked, why don't you go back and sit in the car?” I said, rather impatiently. Was I being too harsh? Ever since the day I found out about his engagement, I've been sort of snappy. I had no right to treat him the way I was, he didn't deserve this.

Letting out a sigh I continued: “I'm sorry. I'm not used to having people around when I'm at work. I'm almost done. Why don't you got sit in the lobby? I'll be down in a few minutes”.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he glanced back and the window then replied with a faint smile: “That's okay. You take your time. I'll be here”.

In the time that I'd spent with him over the last few weeks, preparing for his case, I'd begun to see a different side of him. If this had happened back in junior year, Nathan would have been pissed off and left me to fend for myself. Instead, today he controlled his anger and did the right thing by staying here in spite of his unwillingness to be here. More than anything what I'd gathered from our exchanges was that Nathan had become a matured man. I had a lot of respect for him and though our reunion of sorts had occurred in the worst possible situation, I was glad that it happened. Having Nathan in my life, though not in the way I would ideally want it to be, it seemed fill that hole in my life. Him just being there, that was enough to make me feel complete.

I'd poured over the blue prints of the apartment so many times that in spite of my having been here for the very first time, I had the place memorised. Walking through the corridor, I tried to picture how it would have looked like prior to the fire. Tall ceilings, rich burgundy coloured walls, gold mouldings and exquisite artwork all around. That's how I imagined it based on the images I'd seen in various magazines. To put it in one word, what I saw in this moment was black. From the floor to the ceiling, the walls, the furniture, everything had had the color stripped right out of them. The stench of burned plastic and wood filled the air. It was making me light headed, I had the strong urged to puke my guts out but where would I do so? There was no sink, no toilet, no garbage bin, everything was gone forever.

Coming out of my reverie, I found myself standing in Dan's study, the place hardest hit by the fire, the place where my ex-father-in-law was poisoned and left to perish. It was kind of ironic if you thought about it. How many times had I or some else who knew him wished that he would just burn in hell? I for one had done this countless times.

The police had searched every inch of this place, but hadn't come any closer to figuring out this mystery. Every shred of evidence, apart from the wine bottle had been wiped out by the fire. No blood, no DNA evidence, nothing.

Everything in this world happens for a reason. Who was this person who so badly wanted him dead and what did he/she gain from this whole ordeal? Could it be revenge from one of the many he'd screwed over? Or was this a property issue? The political angle didn't fit, the public loved him, he knew just the way to convince people what he wanted was also what's best for society. The manipulative bastard could get away with anything. Oh crud, its wrong to speak ill of the dead isn't it? Oh well it's too late now.

For the second time on this night, I thought I felt a presence.

“Who's there?” I asked, trying my best to keep the fear out of my voice all the while swinging my flashlight here and there.

Nothing.

Maybe it was just my mind playing tricks on me. “Come on Haley, you've faced the biggest of criminals in your lifetime, you're not going to be afraid of a petty burglar are you?” I asked myself.

I spun around swiftly only to find myself come face to face with bookshelf filled with ashes, bits and pieces of paper, and dozens and dozens of books. Steinbeck, Conrad, Hemingway, Tolstoy, you name it, it was there. It was too bad that they'd all been destroyed so badly that no one would ever be able to read them. It really was a shame, Lucas would have loved it.

Finally gathering enough courage, I stepped into the area outlined by the yellow tape, the place where Dan's body had been found. There was this wooden desk, it sat there, alone and disfigured. If object could talk, this piece would have asked me why? Why did I deserve this fate? Like everything else recently, for this too I had no answer. The glass that once rested on top of the wood had lost its shape, and fused itself with the wooden surface. The desk lay on a slant, contents threatening to spill out. Through an enormous hole, on the left corner you could see a glimpse of the moon. Looking closer, I realised it was a mirror, cracked and covered in ash, only the visible portion spared from the dust. For some reason this intrigued me.

Blindly shoving my hand through the hole, I found myself in contact with something cool to my fingers. Pulling it out, I realised it was a key.

“A key to what?” I wondered.

Securing it in my pant pocket, I began to pull at the drawer, hoping to find more clues. But alas, the lock had fused itself with the metallic structure attached to the side of the drawer.

That's when Nathan came in to the room. From the expression on his face, he looked absolutely disgusted. He'd had enough of this place and I didn't blame him. This was the first time I'd come to this apartment and I was more than ready to get out of here. And to Nathan, this place actually meant something; imagine the thoughts that must be running through his head right about now?

“Ready to leave”, he asked practically begging me to say yes.

“Come on”, I replied. I'd gotten about as much information as I could get for this night at least.

We were almost out of the room when I had this urge to turn back and look at the room, one last time. It was as if it was calling me, begging me to put together the pieces. It felt like without doing so, somehow my life would be incomplete. Such strong feelings, such strong emotions, it was beginning to scare me a bit.

Resting his arm on my shoulder, Nathan pulled me out of my gaze and guided me towards the elevator. I looked at him to find him smiling, as if a wave of relief had just washed over him.

I expected him to remove his arm from my shoulder once we entered the elevator but he did no such thing. It was as if he was in his own world, I doubt he even knew I was there. The comforting silence that had existed between us just moments ago was broken by the shrill ring of Nathan's cell phone.

By the time he was done, we'd reached the lobby and our little moment, if you can call it that was gone forever.

“Sebastian, my driver is out in the entrance. Do you want me to walk you back to your car?” he asked out of politeness I suppose.

I know I wasn't supposed to be hurt by this. After all, we were practically strangers now. If it weren't for the case, our paths would never have crossed and this entire even would never have to taken place. So why was I feeling like this? What is the meaning of this disappointment? I hated Nathan didn't I? So why was I unwilling to let this evening end?

“No, that's not necessary. I'll … I'll call you”, I finally replied not knowing what else to say.

Taking that as a sign that he was now free to go, he gave a brief nod and went on his way, once again extracting his phone from his right pocket.

The receptionist looked at me questioningly but I paid no attention. I just walked back to my car, drove home, and snuggled under my down comforter, washing away my worries. I didn't need Nathan; he was just another client requiring my services, nothing more.

***

I could feel the heat radiating off of him. There was a sense of desperation in the air. We held on to each other like there was no tomorrow, we couldn't keep our hands off each other. As he proceeded to devour me in ways that most women could only dream of, I found myself drifting into another world. One minute we were in the car, the next we were floating midair. It didn't make any sense and yet it felt more real that anything I'd ever felt before.

“Oh god Haley, I've missed you so much” he whispered in between kisses. As I ran my hands through his soft brown hair, it occurred to me how beautiful he was. Men aren't supposed to be called beautiful; macho, manly, strong are what they'd prefer but I'd beg to differ.

“I've missed you too” I breathed out, pulling him in for a long and sensuous kiss.

Finally breaking the kiss, desperate for air, I ran my fingers over his face. Piercing blue eyes, sharp features, flawless skin, Na