One Tree Hill- Taylor Scott

Chapter 11

Taylor's POV

I open my eyes to the sun shining through my bedroom windows. Nathan is looking out of the windows with his back facing me. Groaning, I pull the covers over my head. Hearing me, Nathan approaches the bed and I feel the bed sink down a little when he sits on it.

"Taylor, you can't go back to sleep," he tells me in a steady voice. 

I'm so not ready to face the world. The memories of last night come rushing back to me. Nathan and Lucas fighting, Brooke hurting her ankle, me swallowing pills.... I don't remember anything after that. God, I was such an idiot. Now Nathan's going to spend the whole day yelling at me for going back to my old habits. 

"Watch me," I sass back. "Ah!" I scream when he pulls the blanket off my bed. "Nathan, go away!"

"No, we have to talk about this."

Ugh. I already know everything he's going to say. He's going to ask why I did it, ask me if I know how stupid I was, blah blah blah. I'm not so much angry at him as I am just done. I'm so done with him and Lucas acting like children. I don't want to talk to anyone right now that is going to yell at me and call me stupid. That rules out Nathan, Lucas, Brooke, and Peyton. The only person that I really want to see right now is Jake, but I remember that he had to leave early this morning to visit some family in Savannah. He's not going to be back for a couple of days, because it's two states away. 

That leaves just one person for me to go to. I tell Nathan to wait for me downstairs so I can get dressed before we talk. He doesn't suspect that I'm lying, so he leaves my room. As soon as I hear him reach the bottom of the stairs, I move into action. It's been a long time since I've done what I'm about to do. 

My bedroom is on the side of the house, and there's a large tree near it. One of the thick branches is about a foot from my bedroom, so I used to use it to sneak out. It's been a long time since I've done this, because my parents stopped caring if I leave the house in the middle of the night, so for the last couple of years I've just used the front door. That won't work now though because of Nathan, so after throwing some clothes on and grabbing my phone and keys, I brace myself and open the window. It's a little scary, but I safely make it onto the branch. Straddling it, I scoot toward the trunk of the tree. It's easy to climb down because of the way the branches grew. 

I sprint to my car and sigh in relief when I start the engine and back out. If Nathan had seen me, he would have chased after me. I'm not ready to hear his lecture and apologies. I know that I made a mistake last night. I know that I shouldn't have taken the pills. I just need to talk about it with someone who won't judge me or get angry with me. 

I pull up to an off white house and once again brace myself. I take my time in walking to the door, and it takes a lot for me to raise my hand and knock. After a moment, the door opens to reveal Haley. She looks surprised to see me. 

"Hey," I smile hesitantly. "Are you busy? I need to talk to someone and you're the only person I can think of that won't yell at me."

Haley steps back and motions for me to enter her house. I've never been inside before. The walls are covered in pictures of her and her family. "Is this about last night?" she asks, and I nod. I follow her into the living room and she sits crosslegged on the couch. I do the same and we face each other. I don't know exactly how to start this conversation, or anything that I'm going to say. Maybe coming here was a mistake. Haley and I haven't known each other that long, and I don't want to make her uncomfortable. When I don't say anything, Haley speaks up. "Have you talked to Nathan or Lucas yet?"

Groaning at the thought of the confrontation that's surely to come at some point, my brain finally begins to be able to form sentences. "No. That's why I came here. I kind of have a past that began to repeat itself last night, and I know that Nathan, Peyton, and Brooke are just going to reprimand me for it. And I'm not talking with Lucas or Nathan until they stop acting like they're four years old."