Northern Downpour

The weekend, as eventful as it was, came and went without much more continued fanfare. Haley texted Shaun a couple of times, they set up a time to meet at a small deli for lunch that was downtown. Haley had picked Monday and they had met up and had a great lunch. Shaun was attentive, he was asking questions about her. Shaun liked asking questions about her because he was always so tired of talking about himself in competitions like these.

Haley admitted that Jack and Kevin were old friends and that she hadn't seen them in a long time. Shaun prodded why once, but he left it alone. He could tell that they were not her most favorite subject so they moved on to talk about other things. Shaun was surprised that she was a journalism major because she hadn't asked him any sort of question that a typical reporter would ask and then Haley just smiled. Shaun liked her smile.

As they parted ways, Haley felt like things had gone extremely well and Shaun felt so too, so much so that he invited her out to some parties but Haley declined, for now, citing schedule conflicts with work. It was the peril of being a bartender.

Thursday was the start of the competition but Wednesday was the beginning of the crush and rush of people in the bar. Haley and all the girls handled themselves perfectly. They were slammed and Haley was making great money when a face walked in closer to close that she wasn't expecting to see.

"Shaun, what are you doing here? Don't you have to compete tomorrow?" Haley asked at the ginger as he sauntered up to the counter with a smile.

Shaun nodded, "I know but I wanted to see you and with your schedule and mine I knew that was going to be damn near impossible."

Haley was flattered that Shaun would go out of his way, risk his sleep the night before a big competition, just to come see her. They talked a bit more but she asked him to wait outside as the bouncers ushered the last bodies out the door. Haley, Jazz, and all the other girls hurriedly cleaned and re-stocked the bar but it still took them a full hour.

She headed outside and Shaun was leaning against the building, the bouncer was trailing just a few feet behind her as she approached the older. "Hey," She turned to the bouncer behind her, "He's OK." Haley turned back to Shaun, "Sorry, we hurried."

Shaun smiled when he saw her, "Good. Let's get out of here." Shaun said, his hands dipping in his pocket as they headed to a waiting SUV that was already running.

Haley paused briefly, "Are you sure this is a good idea coming back to the house with you?"

Shaun gave a nod, "You'll be fine. I promise. Jesse can bring you back to get your car."

Haley climbed in the waiting SUV and as soon as Shaun climbed in, she rested her head against his shoulder. She was exhausted and wanted sleep but she wanted to spend time with Shaun all at the same time. "Why does your schedule have to be a pain my ass?"

Shaun laughed and patted her head. "Rest, I'll wake you when we get there."

The truth was, Haley yearned for company. She was tired of being in the big rental house alone. She wanted a couple people to talk to at breakfast, at least hold some sort of conversation with. Even if Shaun wouldn't be there in the morning, there would still be Jesse at least.

They arrived at Shaun's family's rental house. It was just as big as Haley's and, judging by the three cars in the drive, fuller than Haley's too. Jesse led them both inside as Haley walked with Shaun tiredly. Shaun led her down some stairs to a cozy basement with a large TV and gas fireplace.

Haley sat on the cushy couch as Shaun turned on the TV and grabbed a blanket for them both to sit under, "Thanks for this." Haley told the older man, looking up at him. "I think I mis-judged you."

Shaun smiled a little as he took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair, "Come on, Jack and Kevin party all the time, I'm not like that."

"I know." Haley said with a nod, thinking about Jack, but more over Kevin. She felt guilty for bringing it up but she felt like she could trust Shaun, to a degree.

Shaun sat back with her on the cushy couch, an arm around the young woman as she sat tucked under him to the point where her head was on his shoulder. He hated to bring this up, "The other day at practice, I saw you talking to Kevin and he stomped away like a little girl... You wouldn't happen to know why would you?"

"Yeah, He was jealous." Haley said.

"Let me guess," He paused, "You have a history."

"It's complicated." Haley said quietly, "There's a reason I haven't seen them in two years until now and, well, not even Kevin and Jack know." Haley admitted.

Shaun looked perplexed, "You didn't tell them why you stopped talking to them?" He asked, confused.

Haley nodded, "It's complicated."

"I think you're over-exaggerating and it's not as complicated as you are making it out to be." Shaun pointed out.

Haley sat up a little, and despite her tired state, looked at Shaun. "You want the truth?" Haley asked the older, who nodded. "The truth is," Haley started, "I was going to college in New York and Kevin, Jack, and I met through mutual friends." She took a deep, shaky breath as she paused.

Shaun took notice and sat up a little, putting his hand on her shoulder, "Hey, it's ok. I'm not going to say anything to anyone at all. You can trust me." Shaun said, looking over Haley's face.

Haley nodded, "Well, it started at a party with Kevin. Then he showed up and spent time in my dorms. He was seeing someone and they didn't know. Plus I was hanging out with Jack." Haley said, "Cut to the chase, I ended up pregnant." Haley bit her lip, pausing, "I was so panicked, I didn't know what to do so I transferred to CU Denver and was just going to lie to Kevin about it being his and hope to never see them again." Haley's voice cracked on the last word.

Shaun frowned as he watched her, "So what happened?"

Haley took another deep, shaky breath, "Kevin was planning to come out and visit. Then, he called and said he wasn't coming, we fought. I told him I didn't want him coming around anymore and that was the last time I actually spoke to him." Haley sighed, "Jack tried to fix us being friends. He didn't know that Kevin and I were sleeping together." Haley's eyes watered and she shook her head.

Shaun took her face in hands carefully, "Haley it's OK." Shaun's voice was soft, relaxing. "Haley we all have a past, have problems."

Haley nodded, "In all the stress of everything including whether or not to even tell Kevin— I miscarried." Haley admitted. Only her family and a couple of close friends actually knew that she had miscarried the baby she so desperately wanted to keep.

"Haley," Shaun frowned, "I'm so sorry." He said quietly, hugging her close to him. "I won't say anything to them, I swear."

Haley nodded as she hugged on to Shaun tightly, "I never told Kevin about any of it. I just stopped responding to their calls and texts. I got a new phone number eventually and went on with life."

"So you've been holding it in, this whole time?" Shaun asked, wiping at her face with his thumb. Shaun wanted to do something good for Haley. She deserved that much, even if he'd just met her, she deserved so much better than that

"It eats me alive every day." Haley frowned, "It's the worst when I see small children." She paused, "I'm—I'm—I'm sorry. I shouldn't be burdening you with this the night before a big contest. I'm so sorry Shaun." Haley said, scrambling to get away, to leave. She felt like she suddenly shouldn't be here.

"Hey, Haley," Shaun said, calling after her and then following her, "Haley wait." He said, grabbing her hand. She turned to look at the older "You deserve better and you're not putting anything on me that I can't handle. I promise." Shaun said quietly, "You need a friend. So let me be your friend." Shaun searched over her face, "You need someone. Let me be that someone, please." He pleaded with her though he wasn't sure it would do any good.

For once, Haley knew Shaun was right. She was such a loner. She was so strong that she hated to cry, to be perceived as weak. It was her job to be tough and in moments like this, she hated that she was crying, that she was upset, that she was finally herself. She was still hurting every day, even two years later. She didn't know how to handle it, she pushed people away.

But Shaun.. She was letting Shaun in.