My eyes gazed upon the "Welcome to Rosewood" sign and I couldn't help but feel a bit queasy. It had been a while since I was back in this town and I couldn't shake the feeling that perhaps now wasn't exactly the time for me to come back.
But, I reminded myself that there was one person here that I couldn't live without. One person who meant so much to me that it was worth coming back broken and damaged for. Her name? Hanna Marin. As the bus stopped, I walked down the 4 little steps and onto the ground.
I, Caleb Rivers, was now back in Rosewood. Taking in a deep breath, I waited for the bus to pull off before I adjusted my bag over my shoulder and then walked across the street and into The Brew. I hadn't expected to see Hanna so soon after returning to town, but as I walked in, I saw her standing at the counter. She was just as beautiful as ever.
'No, I'm not ready for this,' I thought, turning so I could make a break for the door, just walk back out the way I came but just as I turned, the sweet melodic voice of hers pierced through me stopping me dead in my tracks.
"Caleb," I turned around, my eyes catching hers immediately and everything else melted away.
"Hey Han." I say in a soft voice, adjusting the strap once again of my backpack as it dug uncomfortable into my arm.
"When did you get back?" She asked and I took a moment to answer.
"I just did. Just stopped in here to get a quick coffee." I nodded as I heard the barista call out Hanna's name.
And that's when I saw it, Hanna wasn't ordering coffee for just herself, there were two cups sitting on the counter. The names on the cups were facing me and so I could clearly see the name "Travis" scribbled on the side of one. Of course she had moved on, I had left her. Told her I didn't want to be with her anymore. Made her believe I wanted to be with Miranda, who oddly enough wasn't who I wanted and even if she was, it would never work because she's dead.
As Hanna turned back to look at the barista, I took that as my chance to escape, my chance to get away while I still could. Coffee wasn't going to do me any good now. No, I needed something much much stronger.