Chapter 5: Someone Holds Me Safe And Warm

“Haley, please! Open the door! Please!” Nathan pounded his fists on the door. “Please Hales!”

“It’s no use, she’s not going to answer it,” Lucas said.

“Haley!” Nathan continued to pound on the door.

“Nathan,” Lucas tried to stop him.

“Haley!” Nathan repeated. He turned to Lucas, “Why won’t she answer?”

“I think the explanation you deemed to be too cheesy for a movie plot . . .is, well, actually the truth.” Lucas took a deep breath. “I don’t think she knew who we were.”

“Nah,” Nathan shook his head, “She knows her name. Why wouldn’t she remember us?”

Lucas shrugged, “I’m only suggesting that is probably possible.” The two took another sigh before turning to dejectedly walk back down the hall.

“I just wish she would let me talk to her,” Nathan said to his brother.

Lucas put his hand on Nate's shoulder, “She'll come around.”

“I hope so,” Nathan took a deep breath.

~*~

As soon as she'd slammed the door on the two guys, she'd quickly locked the door. She stepped backward, her eyes fixated on the door. Who were they? They seemed to know her. She didn't though. Then again, she didn't remember anything from before Brooke and Peyton found her on the beach. Did they really know her? Really? Or were they just some obsessed fans who wanted to take advantage of her?

After her first concert a woman stopped her in her car to tell her that she'd seen her on tv and came to bring her home because she was ther cousin. Of course she would have loved to have a family . . . but something just didn't feel right with the woman. And as it turned out she was lying. Since then she'd closed herself off, not wanting to feel the same heartache she had upon finding out the woman wasn't her family.

So were these guys real . . . or not? She'd have to talk to Brooke and Peyton about it later. Right now . . . it was time to go home. Well, back to the hotel at least. She went over to Jamie and shook him. “Jamie sweetie, it's time to go.”

The boy stirred, rubbing his eyes. “Aww . . . just five more minutes . . .”

“You can go back to sleep when we get in the car, buddy. I can't carry you and all our stuff at the same time,” Haley told her son.

“Okay . . .” Jamie yawned, getting up and gathering his stuff.

~*~

As soon as Peyton walked out of the concert hall later and pulled out her cell phone she saw that there was text message:

Come to my room as soon as you get this. -Haley.

Okay, this is weird . . . Peyton thought to herself. Haley was never this vague. What happened in the twenty minutes since Haley left? The blonde got into the comet convertible she took everywhere with her and put the keys into the ignition.

~*~

Brooke yawned as she walked into her house, setting her purse and keys on the table right inside the door. Just as she was about to head upstairs to change for bed she heard a ding from her purse. It was her phone.

She dug through the bag and pulled it out. Text message from P. Sawyer:

Phone conference me you and Haley. Pretty much now. - Peyton

The brunette raised her eyebrows. Peyton was never this weird. What was wrong? Just then the house phone rang. Brooke picked it up from the couch and answered it. “Hello?”

There really wasn't anything said for awhile. Then Brooke heard Peyton's voice in the background. “Say something Haley!”

“Guys what's wrong? Is it Jamie? Is he okay?”

Some shuffles. “He's fine, Brooke.” Peyton's voice.

“Then what's with all the weird silence and creepy text messages?” Brooke said.

“I'm gonna put it on speaker phone,” Peyton said. Beep. “Well, Hales . . . tell her.”

“Tell me what? Haley you better talk right now or I'm gonna march up there and kick your ass!”

“I knew you'd say that,” Peyton said. Brooke could hear Peyton sigh. “Well, since she already sobbed it all out to me I'll tell you.” Brooke was starting to get worried. “She had a fan encounter that really shook her up.”

Wait, what? “What are you talking about Peyton?” Brooke raised her voice a little.

“Yeah,” Peyton sighed. “You remember about two years ago? That girl who said she was Haley's cousin?”

Brooke nodded, even though they were on the phone. “It took like 6 months for us and a blood test to convince her the woman was just after her money.” Then it all clicked. “Did that crazy bitch come back?”

“No,” Peyton said. “She said these two guys came to her room backstage. She said they looked at her like she was a ghost.”

Brooke still wasn't getting it. “And?”

“They used her knickname, Brooke. They called her Hales,” Peyton said. No one but Brooke and Peyton called her that . . . not anyone from the label or even Chris.

“Wow . . .” Brooke breathed.

“Exactly,” Peyton sighed.

“How you doin' tutorgirl?” Brooke hoped she would give some kind of reaction.

“She's really shaken up, Brooke. I think I'm going to cut the rest of the concert dates and just bring her and Jamie home,” Peyton told her childhood friend.

“I couldn't agree more, P. Sawyer . . .” Brooke took a deep breath. “But shouldn't we look into these guys?”

“Hang on, I'm going to go out onto the balcony,” Peyton said. Beep. No more speaker. A few minutes later and Brooke could hear traffic in the background. “She fell asleep; she's exhausted.”

“Don't blame her,” Brooke said to herself. “So are we going to look these guys up or just let it go?”

Peyton sighed, “I don't know . . . I guess we could at least hear them out—without Haley around—and go from there. If they really know her they'll do anything to find her again, right?”

“I guess . . .” Brooke was a little skeptical. There were so many people out there who just wanted to take advantage of other people. Haley had already been through the heartache of almost finding her family and having it turn out that the woman just wanted her money once before. Both Brooke and Peyton knew that she wouldn't survive another blow like that.

~*~

Nathan walked around the unfamiliar New York streets a little ways from the hotel he and Lucas were staying in. His brother was asleep . . . but Nathan's head was full of why's and how's and what the hell's that he couldn't rest.

Haley was alive . . . she was alive and he'd seen her in the flesh and it wasn't just a coincidence that he'd seen a girl on tv with his wife's name and face.

It was Haley . . . bu it wasn't.

This Haley that he'd seen belt away a love ballad he'd believed was for him and who slammed her door in his face . . . that wasn't the Haley he'd fallen in love with and married twice before they graduated high school. Where was his Haley? Why had she slammed the door in his face? Why was she there and not in Tree Hill? Didn't she remember him? Could Lucas be right?

Didn't she love him anymore?

He certainly did. He knew he sounded like a woman right now but he didn't care. He'd spent four years moping and broody and being pissed at God and the world for taking his wife away from him . . . and he'd finally found her and she wanted nothing to do with him.'

What the hell? What the fuck?

What kind of game was the universe trying to play with him? Give her back and take her away again?

What the fuck . . .

“And now breaking news from MTV's own Carson Daly!”

The voice broke him from his anger and he turned to the source. It was a television screen in a record shop. The door was open, which was why he'd heard it in the first place.

“Hey everyone! Got some bad news for all you New Yorkers,” Carson Daly appeared on the screen holding a microphone. “It appears that Haley has pulled out of the rest of The Wrecker's tour dates. Sources say the one-name pop-star has come down with the flu and will be going home to her hometown of Trenton, New Jersery for some good old-fashioned R&R.” That didn't make any sense. One-name pop star? Trenton, New Jersey? The flu? “Don't worry though, folks . . . Chris Keller and The Wreckers will be continuing all the dates the tour has set up. That's it for our breaking news and we'll return to your regular scheduled programming.”

He had to tell Lucas they needed to go to New Jersery.

What the fuck.

To Be Continued . . .

P.S. I was going to make it longer but really like where this ended. So I figured the rest can just go in the next chapter. Anyway, I wanna apolize like time a billion for how long it took to update. I'm sure it was assumed that I'd either forgotten or decided to ditch this fic but that's definitely not the case. Things have been hectic lately and I haven't really had time to write anything. Not it's summer and I have a little time before college starts so my plan is to give all of my fics that need updates at least once chapter (maybe more) in the next couple of days. Patience is greatly appreciated and thanks for reading this really long author's note!

Next time on Once Upon A December:

Title of Chapter 6: Horses Prance On A Silver Storm

Nathan & Lucas follow Haley to New Jersey

One of the brothers finds out about Haley

They have to convince not just Haley but her bodyguards Brooke & Peyton that Haley is really their family

Lucas & Peyton flirt some more