In The Dark

With a cold determination on his face that scares him more than he lets on, Nathan lowers the pillow, assuring himself this is the only way to protect Lucas and finally rid them both of this man. As it inches towards Dan’s face, a hand shoots up, clasping Nathan’s wrist and yanking it away. The pillow drops off to the side and Nathan is left standing there, held captive by the supposedly comatose Dan Scott.

“You finally growing a pair?” Dan asks, opening his eyes.

Horrified, Nathan tries to pull free from the grasp, but is only pulled closer.

“I could have you arrested for that, you little shit.” Dan growls at him.

Taking advantage of his father’s weakened state, Nathan finally gets free, falling back a few steps. He doesn’t move, just stares at the hospital bed as if it’s all another dream that he’s about to snap out of.

“Lucas had the balls to stab me. Now you’re trying to suffocate me in my sleep.” Dan shakes his head in mock disappointment. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you boys want me dead.”

Nathan finally forces himself to focus, pushing down the fear until he’s back in control. “You’re going to jail for attempted murder. We don’t have to listen to this anymore.”

Dan laughs despite the pain. He can’t help but find Nathan’s little rebellion amusing after the years of submission. “Lucas will drop the charges. You’ll both testify on my behalf.”

“The hell we will.” Nathan snaps. “We’ve finally got you and there’s nothing you can do about it. If you try to fight us on this, we’ll just bring up the sexual abuse. We have the evidence.” It’s a lie, but Nathan hopes it’s enough to convince his dad.

“Well, I have extremely incriminating evidence of you having your cock sucked by your brother.” Dan sneers.

Nathan shakes his head. “No you don’t, Dad. You don’t have shit. We checked your phone.”

“You didn’t check it very well, then.” Dan tells him. “I still have the pictures, I checked ten minutes ago.”

“Bull.” Nathan doesn’t believe him…or doesn’t want to. He remembers checking the phone, he’s sure of it… He’d knelt beside his fathers body and…

“What phone do you…?” Nathan hesitates, not wanting to give his possible mistake away.

“I had two phones on me, Nathan. Mine and Lucas’.” Dan smirks. “Don’t tell me you checked the wrong phone!”

Nathan pales slightly. He tries to recall exactly what happened, but everything is a blur. Two phones…which one did he check?

Dan has to struggle not to laugh at this. He’s still in a great deal of pain despite the drugs. He does however, find it very funny. “You’d better make sure Lucas knows what he’s getting himself into. I won’t hesitate to out you both if this continues.”

“You sick motherfuck…”

“Stop that.” Dan warns. “It’s late, you should go. Give Lucas my regards.”

“You have the phone on you.” Nathan smirks. “I’ll just take it.” He rushes over to the bedside table, trying to locate it. He frowns as Dan does nothing to stop him, just sits there looking pleased with himself. “What have you done?”

“Those pictures are safe, Nathan. Unless you give me a reason to make them public.” Dan explains, smugly.

“Mom knows.” Nathan blurts out, not entirely sure what this will achieve but desperately grasping for anything to throw at the seemingly invincible monster. “She knows what you’ve done to us.”

“Is that so?” Dan ponders this for a few seconds, before looking sternly at him. “I warned you what would happen if you ever told anybody.”

Nathan’s gut twists in fear, but he does his best not to let it show. “I don’t care.”

“You’ve made a big mistake, son.” Dan tells him. “Your mother is a no-good junkie and she’s less of a threat to me than you are, so if you think somehow she’s going to save you, you’re wrong. I could have her sectioned with the shit she’s been up to lately.”

“If I have to choose between a life with you and one where everyone knows what Lucas and I have done, it’s an easy decision to make.” Nathan states, starting directly at his father. “We can blame it all on you anyway.”

Dan snorts, but he no longer looks as confident. “Does Lucas agree with you? Because it’s not just your life you’re destroying here. Your basketball career will be over. You may even be expelled from school. You’re throwing your whole life away and Lucas’ with it.”

“I’ll put up with just about anything to never have to see you again.” Nathan hisses at him.

“And what if the trial doesn’t go your way? What then?” Dan asks him. “You think I can’t get around these pathetic allegations you’ve made against me? Do you have any idea the standing I have in this town? And you, a married teenager skipping school to get drunk because your wife has run off with another man, are people going to believe you?”

Now Nathan’s confidence is starting to crumble. He tries to hold onto the naïve belief that because he’s telling the truth, somehow the law will be on his side. But he’s not that naïve. He can’t help but wonder if maybe Dan is actually right about this.

“Go home, Nathan. And try to picture everybody you care about. Your friends, your family, your team mates, all the people at your school…in Tree Hill. Try to picture their faces when they find out your dirty little secrets.”

Nathan wants to cringe at the thought, but knows every sign of weakness made in front of his father will only fuel the onslaught. So he stays still for the time being. “These little arguments are getting old, dad. Maybe they worked when I was alone and too scared to do anything about it. But I have Lucas now.”

“Then bring on the court case. Just put Lucas on the stand and let me break him.” Dan warns, spitefully. “He won’t last two seconds up there. And neither will you.”

Before Nathan can yell a response, the door opens and a nurse pops her head in, surprised to see Dan awake but more so by his visitor. “You’re not supposed to be in here.” She warns. “Is this boy bothering you?”

Dan casts a look at his son. “Yes he is. Please remove him so I can get some rest.”

Nathan glares at Dan, storming out before the nurse even asks him to. He’s so mixed up, a common side effect of spending time with his father, but nevertheless a threat to the strength he thought he’d gained since he emancipated himself. Once again, Nathan has had his legs kicked from under him, and each time he hits the floor, he gets back up that little bit more bruised and broken. He’s not sure how much more he can take.

*~*~*~*

Lucas has finally drifted off to sleep, lying over the covers and the wrong way round. But it’s something at least. He hasn’t been asleep twenty minutes before he wakes again, frantic knocking at his door bringing him out of blissful slumber. He begrudgingly goes to open the door, checking who it is, even though he already has a pretty good idea. “Now what?” He asks, still hurt over Nathan’s earlier dismissal and aggravated even more by being woken up.

“Dan’s awake.” Nathan tells him trying to catch his breath as he pushes inside. “I went there to…Luke, I was gonna kill him in his sleep.”

“What?!” Lucas shuts the door and looks at his brother, his eyes wide with disbelief. “Nathan…!”

“I know, it was stupid.” Nathan sighs. “He caught me at it and threatened to make the pictures public.”

“But he doesn’t have pictures.” Lucas reminds him, hesitantly. “Right? You checked.”

“I was confused.” Nathan admits. “There were two phones and I can’t remember which one I checked. I think it might have been yours.”

Lucas brings his hands up to his head in horror. “Fuck! How could you make a mistake like that?! He’s gonna tell everybody!”

“I know that!” Nathan hisses. “I don’t know what else to do. He wants you to drop the charges against him. I don’t know if that’s even possible. You’ve given your statement, I gave mine…”

Lucas can’t breathe; he can’t get his head round this. “This is never going to end, is it? This is my life…I can’t believe this is my life!”

Nathan drops his gaze, guiltily. “I really thought we had him.”

“Now he has us.” Lucas points out, his lip shaking as tears threaten to fall. “Fuck! This isn’t fair!”

“Keep it down, your mom’s gonna hear you.” Nathan warns. Then he looks back up at Lucas. “What if we told someone?”

Lucas frowns, waiting for an explanation.

“We could tell my mom. I think she knows already…not about us, but…I think she’d understand.” Nathan knows it’s grasping, but he doesn’t care. He has to fix this somehow.

“Understand that her son is in a relationship with his brother? On top of all the other shit going on, I think it might be a little hard to swallow.” Lucas shakes his head at the sheer insanity of it all. “Our only shot in getting people to understand is if we play the fucked up victims.”

“Yeah, I’ve thought about that. They’ll say we’re confused. That it’s Dan’s fault.” Nathan adds. “But it means we can’t ever be together again. People will be watching us constantly.”

Lucas nods, miserably. “So we’re over?”

Nathan looks up into his eyes, not wanting to be the one to say it. “I wish it didn’t have to be like this.”

“That’s a yes, then.” Lucas says, softly. “I don’t think I can lose you. Not now.”

”You’re not losing me, okay?” Nathan rushes to his side, holding him. “I love you, but we can’t risk it anymore. There’s too much at stake.”

Lucas feels tears welling up in his eyes, but refuses to cry. They have to focus. “So…we’re telling your mom?”

“I don’t know…I think she can help.” Nathan sighs. “I just can’t think of anything else right now.”

“If we run out of options, there’s always suicide.” Lucas suggests, with fake optimism.

“Don’t even joke about that.” Nathan warns. “We’re not that hopeless. We just have to decide which is worse, Dan free to continue hurting us, or everything coming out. Including us.”

“Dan.” Lucas answers finally. “Neither option is appealing, but just the idea of seeing him again…”

Nathan nods. “Agreed. Tomorrow, I’ll talk to my mom and see if she has any ideas. If it goes well, maybe we can tell your mom…and Keith. I bet Keith’ll know what to do.”

“Keith will kill Dan if he finds out.” Lucas tells him. “Not that that’s a bad thing, but I won’t have Keith going to jail over this.”

“One thing at a time.” Nathan smiles, weakly. “Get some sleep if you can. Things are going to get better, Lucas, I promise you.”

Feeling some of the excruciating weight lifted from his shoulders, Lucas nods and smiles, letting Nathan out the back door before returning to bed. He curls up in a ball and closes his eyes, repeating Nathan’s words in his head like a mantra until he falls asleep.

*~*~*~*

Nathan sits with his mother in the living room the next morning. He’s still wearing yesterday’s clothes, looking as bad as he feels. But that’s nothing compared to the look on his mom’s face.

“I can’t…” Deb feels like she’s losing it all over again. She can’t bear to look her son in the eye. She knows she’s let him down, that some of the fault lies with her. “I didn’t know!”

“I know, mom.” Nathan tells her, trying to sound reassuring. “But that isn’t all of it.”

She looks up at him, terrified of what he’ll say next.

“When Lucas was living here, dad did the same to him.” Nathan explains. “It’s why he left.”

“I can’t understand why neither of you called the police!” Deb asks him, trying not to sound angry, but failing.

Nathan looks down, guiltily. “I convinced Lucas not to call the police.”

“You did what?!” Deb cries, horrified. “Nathan!”

“I know!” Nathan says, angrily. “I know and I wish I could take it back, but its too late. Lucas and I don’t want anyone to know. We both wanted this to stay secret to avoid ruining the rest of our lives.” He breaks off, his chest tightening. “But dad didn’t leave us alone after we left. He attacked Lucas at the apartment while I was picking you up. He raped him, mom. I left Lucas alone and…”

Deb watches her son’s resolve crumble and tears finally start to fall. She reaches out and pulls Nathan into a hug, holding him tight as he sobs into her arms. “You didn’t know. He’s a sick man, Nathan. You had no control over what he did, he’s the one at fault.”

“He’s awake now.” Nathan says, pulling back from her and wiping his eyes, trying to control himself. “I went to see him. I was going to kill him but he woke up.”

Deb wipes away tears from her own face, shaking her head in disbelief. “Kill him? Are you serious? You could have gone to prison! Why would you do something so reckless?!”

“I was desperate!” Nathan answers her, his voice trembling. “But he woke up and told me he has something on us…blackmail. Unless we drop the charges, he’s going to tell everyone.”

Deb is lost. “I don’t understand…what blackmail?”

“Lucas and I…did things. Together.” Nathan admits, quietly, unable to look his mom in the eye.

“I…I’m not sure what you mean.” Deb stutters, a sign that she does have an idea after all.

“We were so confused and upset…neither of us meant for it to happen, it just did! And he took pictures on his phone!” Nathan explains, emotionally. “I know what we did was wrong, but we were so messed up!”

Deb stands, walking away from the situation to get her head round this. “Do you have any idea what this means?”

“It’s all I can think about.” Nathan mutters. “I don’t know what to do. Please, you have to help!”

Deb is silent for a few long, agonising minutes. When she finally turns back to Nathan, she’s no longer crying. She looks determined. “If he wants to play it this way, we’ll give him a taste of his own medicine.”

“How?” Nathan asks, nervously.

“Leave it to me, Nathan. It’s about time I stood up to your father. If this isn’t enough reason to, I don’t know what is.” She states.

“Are you mad about Luke and me?” Nathan dares to ask.

She looks at him, still not quite in the eye. “We can deal with that after we deal with Dan. I need you to stay here. I won’t be long.”

Relieved to finally give up control to someone else for a while, Nathan sinks back into the couch. He has no idea how his mom can possibly resolve this mess, but he’s glad she’s on his side. He reaches for the phone and calls Lucas, eager to tell him the news.

*~*~*~*

“Hello Dan.”

“My lovely wife, come to visit me in hospital.” Dan smiles, his eyes betraying his insincerity.

“We need to talk.” Deb says, confidently walking over to his bedside. “About what you’ve been up to.”

Dan’s smile widens, as if amused by the memories. “Ah yes, Nathan told me he’s been spreading vicious lies about me.”

Deb stares him down, not losing her smile. She’s more in control now than she’s ever been, the desire to protect her son overwhelming. “You’re going to prison one way or anther, Dan. It’s up to you how. You could be charged with assault. Or, you could be charged with much worse.”

Dan shakes his head. “Has Nathan been completely honest with you? Has he told you he and Lucas are sleeping together? I caught them at it. When I threatened to expose them, they conjured up this ridiculous accusation.”

“I’m not buying it, Dan.” Deb smiles through her anger. “Every word out of your mouth is a lie. I learnt that a long time ago.”

Dan laughs, seemingly light-heartedly. When he stops, he turns to look at his wife. Deb barely recognises the man looking at her, his eyes are so viciously sadistic and cold. “So this was your great plan. To try and get me to confess to things I haven’t done while you record it?”

Deb falters, not expecting Dan to have developed a sixth sense.

“So obvious, Deb…I expected more from you.” Dan mocks, smugly. “No, wait…I didn’t.”

“I don’t need evidence to know you won’t get away with this.” Deb swears. “You’re a sick son of a bitch and I hope you’re on the receiving end of rape in jail. You deserve it.”

Dan smirks, refusing to be baited into losing his tempter. “So I can’t count on your support during the trial? Such a shame the boys will have to stand up there and talk about something so…degrading…in front of so many strangers. And all to protect their little secret, which will be exposed regardless. My bets are on Lucas cracking first, what do you think?”

Deb forces herself to regain her composure before she snaps and finishes what Lucas and Nathan started. She might want him dead, but there are more subtle ways of disposing of trash like Dan Scott. “Lucas’ injuries, two accusations of sexual and physical abuse, multiple character witnesses against you…it’s not looking good, is it Dan? You’re scared. You think if you bully us, we’ll all back down. Not this time. We finally have a reason to get rid of you for good.” Dan doesn’t look at all affected by her words, but Deb knows she’s winning. Suddenly he doesn’t look so evil. Just pathetic. She smiles at her triumph. “See you in court.”

As she shuts the door behind her, she hears a glass of water being thrown against it, smashing into pieces. Her smiles widens as she walks out, her head held high.

*~*~*~*

“I’ve asked you both to be here so we can discuss what we need to do.” Deb says to Lucas and Nathan as they sit in her living room.

Lucas shifts nervously on his seat, casting looks at Nathan for reassurance. This situation is bad enough, but he really doesn’t want to be in this house, with or without Dan in it.

“You went to see him, right?” Nathan asks anxiously.

“I did.” Deb answers. She pulls out the tape recorder from her bag and places it on the coffee table. “Unfortunately he didn’t give anything away. He even guessed my plan.”

“So we’re still in the same position. Everything comes out or nothing comes out.” Nathan sighs. “There’s got to be some way to do this without destroying our lives in the process.”

“If he does have proof of your…mistake,” Deb starts, awkwardly, ignoring the look between Nathan and Lucas, “then our only option is to accuse him of sexual abuse. You’ll both be asked very difficult questions and I imagine they’ll need to check you over.”

Lucas shakes his head; this is exactly what he doesn’t want.

“Better than having Dan go free, right?” Nathan reaches out and takes his hand reassuringly.

Deb averts her eyes, holding back her comments. “Hopefully with that evidence, his accusations that you’ve concocted this story to protect your secret will be discredited.”

“But none of this is certain.” Lucas interrupts. “You know what they say about rape accusations, how few actually lead to convictions.”

Deb nods, weakly. She doesn’t have an argument for that. “It’s our only hope.”

“No, mom, there has to be another way!” Nathan argues. “This can’t be our only choice!”

“Without solid proof against Dan, we have nothing to bargain with. My hopes were to get him on tape, admitting to the things he’s done. He would have kept quiet about you in return for being accused only of assault. He’d receive a lighter sentence, but it was the best compromise I could think of.”

“But he’s too smart to fall for that.” Nathan adds. “So unless we figure something else out, we’re screwed.”

Lucas looks from Deb to Nathan, seeing the hopelessness in their eyes. He stays quiet, trying to remember how to use his brain for something other than worrying.

Nathan tried to kill Dan. It didn’t work. Deb tried to force him to confess. Again, it didn’t work. Lucas has his own plan.

*~*~*~*