Other Side of the World

Haley gripped Nathan’s hand tighter, refraining herself from sighing for what must’ve been the umpteenth time that day. Nathan raised a questioning eyebrow at her before smirking. “Aw, don’t tell me little Haley is going to miss big, bad, gloomy Nathan?” he teased.

Haley rolled her eyes. Why must the weekend end so soon? It felt as if they’ve been doing nothing but ‘debated’ about pessimism and optimism. If she didn’t know any better, she would’ve thought that Nathan was just joking around.

But nope. Even though he was making an effort, he was still as much as the pessimist as ever. Even more cynical now that he would tease and poke fun at Haley every now and then about the whole optimistic thing.

“It’s good though,” he continued when she didn’t say anything. “I thought I’ve lost you, what with the parents issue and all. I honestly thought you’d be…” he trailed off, searching for the right word.

“Negative.”

He shrugged. “Basically.”

And then the final boarding call blared through the PA system and Haley just got that bit more depressed. Nathan nudged her slightly, grinning. “You don’t brood, remember?”

“Oh right. You do. I got all confused for a moment there—” she retorted but was cut off by Nathan’s lips crashing down on hers. When he wanted to pull away, Haley gripped his shirt, making him stay just that much longer. “I don’t want you to leave yet.”

Nathan looked at her softly, ruffling her hair playfully as he did so. “I wish I could stay longer too—and don’t give me that look. I’ll try not to die when we’re apart,” he said, rolling his eyes.

Haley frowned as she looked into his eyes, searching for any indication that he might be lying – that he was seriously ill. Before she left for Australia, she noted that he had been in an even worse condition than the first time she met him.

“I’m fine,” he said curtly. He was like that all weekend. He refused to talk about his health, always coming up with excuses to change the subject or just outright ignoring her. “And I really need to go, or I’ll miss the flight.”

“Nathan…” Haley trailed off, nibbling on her lower lip and looking down to her feet. She had a sudden urge to sigh. Again.

“This is not some reverse psychology or some other shit, Haley,” he said, running his fingers through his hair and sighing. “I honestly don’t want to talk about it. Can’t we just leave it at that?”

“Fine,” she muttered, getting ready to leave.

Nathan stopped her and forced her to turn around, to face him. He then pressed his lips against her forehead gently. “I love you,” he said.

It was the first time Nathan told her that. And unexpectedly, it made her heart filled with sorrow and anger more than anything. She wanted to reciprocate but something was stopping her. She only managed to shoot him a glare before giving him a cold ‘bye’ and making her way to the exit.

She shouldn’t have done that. She should’ve been over the moon. And maybe, if it were any other boy that said that to her, she would’ve been over the moon, providing that she liked said boy. But no, this was Nathan Scott – who believed in statistics and facts and discarded faith and hope like they were nothing but rubbish that the world could certainly do without.

If he really was in love with her, he would’ve told her already. They would’ve discussed it in one conversation or two. If he really was in love with her, he would’ve trusted her with a part of his life – and a vital one at that. He knew how worried she was about him. How cruel. He was making her fabricate insane ideas based on her own paranoia and uncertainties about her own boyfriend’s livelihood. Was this his way of punishing her? Because she technically left him?

What did he think he’d get out of telling her that he loved her? That it would somehow soothe her emotions, calm her thoughts? Did he think she was that easy? She stomped all the way out to the airport and back in her uncle’s car.

She sighed angrily. You’d think the guy would trust her already but no. He even went as far as to tell her that he loved her to wriggle out of their conversation again. His voice was still ringing in her ears. It sounded forced, like he didn’t even want to say it but he had to. It sounded so…insincere somehow.

And that fact alone broke her heart.