AN: Hi guys! So here is the first installment of my Five Days of Haleb! Another new story coming at you every day this week! Enjoy :)
Evening falls over Rosewood, painting the skies with streaks of coral and titian that cast a warm glow over the window display in the town's only boutique. The setting sun reflects brightly off the studded jacket paired with olive cigarette pants. Opposite the windows, Hanna Marin leans across the counter, poring through expense reports from the last quarter. Her expertly manicured finger runs along the deficit column, searching for a way to cut back expenses, at least until the door opens, signaling the new customer with a soft chime.
"Hey," Hanna says, looking up with a smile. "Let me know how I can help!"
The woman offers a smile in response as she wanders the aisles, weaving around garment racks and display tables. Hanna pushes the paperwork aside to study the stranger. It's a small town and except for the occasional Hollis freshman, unfamiliar faces rarely pop into the shop.
Hanna keeps an eye on the stranger as she loads up her arms with sleek satin tops and fitted pencil skirts. The woman carrie herself like royalty with her shoulder-length brunette hair styled so perfectly it almost resembles a wig. She has almost a dozen hangers dangling from her fingers when Hanna intervenes, offering to set her up with a fitting room.
"Thank you," the woman says curtly.
"Let me know if I can get you any other sizes," Hanna tells her, before shutting the curtain on her way out.
While the woman changes, Hanna goes back to her accounting, wishing she had paid a little more attention in math class. She's still digging through her drawers for a calculator when the woman steps out from the dressing room, carrying three garments on her arm.
"I'll take these," she says, plopping them down in front of Hanna.
"Great," Hanna forces a smile as she rings it up. "That will be two-thirty-seven with eighty-four cents."
The woman forks over her credit card with a scoff and taps her foot impatiently as she waits for Hanna to ring her up and pack the purchase in a pretty gold bag.
"Have a nice night," Hanna says, ushering her out the door.
When the woman is out of sight, Hanna locks the door behind her and flips the "open" sign around. Slumping her shoulders from exhaustion, she hits the lights and shoves the expense reports in her bag before slipping out through the back door.
It's a nice night, not too cold, so she takes her time walking back to the townhouse she shares with her friends. The lights are on when she reaches the front door and she opens the door to chatter coming from inside. Her three best friends are gathered around the lively kitchen.
Aria stands at the stove, stirring onions and peppers in a skillet while Spencer opens, what looks to be, a third bottle of wine. On the other side of the counter, Emily chops vegetables that she throws into a big salad bowl but she looks up when she sees Hanna step inside, dropping her things on the table by the door.
"I'm home!" Hanna says cheerfully, shrugging off her coat and hanging it up on a hook.
"Wine?" Spencer offers.
"Yup," Hanna replies. "I'll take a heavy pour."
"Bad day?" Aria asks.
Hanna nods fervently before taking a huge sip of the glass Spencer hands her. She swallows hard and swirls the liquid around the glass as she places it back down on the counter.
"The shop's been really dead lately," Hanna explains. "I'm not sure how much longer I can keep it open."
"I can go over the books with you," Spencer offers.
"Can you triple my sales?" Hanna asks, defeated.
"What about e-commerce?" Emily chimes in. "You can sell your designs online. It basically costs nothing in overhead."
Hanna gives her a look of awe.
"At the coffee shop" Emily explains, "they sell some stuff online. Apparently it's how they paid for the remodel."
"Really?" Hanna asks. "That's a lot of money."
"Give it a try," Aria offers. "You already have a website, right?"
Hanna groans, burying her head in her hands. With all the expenses at the shop, she had let the domain lapse thinking that she had plenty of traffic on her social media pages. Her skin flushes red and she feels her whole body getting hot, wondering how she could have let things get so bad.
"Hey, hey," Spencer says, rubbing her back. "We'll help. You don't have to go through this alone."
"Thanks," Hanna manages to say.
But even though she knows her friends will always be there for her, it's hard not to feel disillusioned by the impending failure of her shop. She tries to put on a brave face during dinner, which mostly consists of wine, and heads to bed early. Her mind races as she lays in bed, wondering how she'll ever dig herself out of this mess until luckily the buzz from the alcohol clouds her mind enough to fall asleep.
In the morning, Hanna barely drags herself out of bed in time to open the shop. She spends all morning on the store's tablet researching e-commerce sites, desperate for any way to keep her boutique. Her head is teeming with ideas when a familiar face pops into the shop.
Travis Hobbs walks through the doorway, carrying a white paper bag from the Apple Rose Grill. Hanna can't help but notice his muscular arms stretching the fabric of his cotton t-shirt. He crosse the room, dropping the bag on the counter before he leans over to kiss Hanna.
"This is a nice surprise," she says when they pull away. "What brings you to this side of town?"
"What?" he says with a laugh. "A guy can't bring his girlfriend lunch?"
"Yes you can," Hanna assures him. "What's in the bag?"
"Beet salad for you," he tells her, "and bison burger for me. Extra fries."
Hanna smiles, leaning over to give him another well-deserved kiss. Then she pulls up a stool hidden underneath the counter for Travis to sit. He gladly accepts and unpacks the bag, all the while looking at the page open on her tablet.
"What's with the website design?" he asks, in between bites.
"Oh that," Hanna explains, scarfing down fries three at a time, "Emily suggested setting up an online store. I'm trying to figure all of that out."
"I think it's a great idea," he says. "I'd do it for the garage but you can't really install a carburetor online."
Hanna smiles back at him. He always seems to know how to brighten her mood. In fact, she was probably having the worst day of her life when she first met Travis and somehow he managed to turn it around entirely.
It was three years ago on the rainiest day to ever grace Rosewood, at least if the weatherman was to be believed. Hanna was wearing her mom's favorite Jimmy Choos, a crime she'd certainly be punished for if anything happened to them. Rain was pouring on the winding streets and she could barely see ten feet in front of her. The darker it got, the more scared she was, especially when she lost control of the wheel as the car hydroplaned off the road before stopping in the shoulder. With every step on the gas, the car sputtered but barely made any movement before recoiling back into the muddy ditch.
"Fuck," she groaned, finally giving up.
Her first thought was to call her mom but Ashley was away at a conference in New York. She would only get worried so she tried her friends but no one answered and her texts went unanswered. Feeling abandoned, she flipped the overhead light on and pulled out her wallet, looking for the roadside assistance card that was buried in a pile of memberships and gift cards.
Her freezing fingers worked furiously to type the number into her phone and she impatiently used their automated system that only led to a ten minute hold. She practically gasped with relief when she finally heard an actual human person respond.
"Roadside assistance, how can I help you?" the chirpy voice said.
"Hi," Hanna snapped. "My car swerved off the road. I think I need a tow truck."
The woman patiently took down Hanna's details and informed her that assistance would be arriving within thirty minutes. It was an endless wait for Hanna, especially when the heavy rainfall slammed against her shaky car, and even the radio couldn't drown it out. It felt like an eternity before she finally saw the tow truck in her rear view mirror, flashing the high beams. A figure wearing a plastic rain coat hopped out of the cab and ran toward her car, tapping gently until she rolled down the window.
"Hanna Marin?" he asked
"Yeah," she said nervously.
"I'm Travis. Hobbs Garage sent me," he said, opening an umbrella. "Mind hopping out of the car so I can get a better look?"
"Uh...yeah," she replied, stepping outside onto the wet road.
"You can wait in the truck," he offered. "It might take me a minute to check this out."
"Are you sure?" she asked. "I don't want you out in the rain alone.
"It's my job," he told her. "Hop in there. Wouldn't want you getting sick out here."
"Thank you," she managed to squeak out.
Hanna skipped to the truck, grateful for the warm escape from the rain but she felt horrible for letting the technician work all alone in the pouring rain. It felt like an eternity before he finally came back, soaking wet, with a full diagnosis. She agreed to have the car towed back to his shop but felt even guiltier when he spent another half hour mounting her car in the rain.
"All set," he said, climbing back in the truck.
"You're soaked," Hanna told him, as he stripped off the raincoat. "I'm sorry. I should've just stayed in tonight and saved us both a lot of problems."
"All in day's work," he replied, trying to cheer her up. "Besides, you're my last customer tonight."
"Good to hear," she said.
She got a better look at the driver as they passed under a streetlight headed back into town. He looked familiar and a glance at the license on his dash helped her put it all together. Travis Hobbs.
"You went to Rosewood, right?" she asked.
"Yeah," he replied. "You?"
"Class of twenty-twelve," she said. "I think we overlapped a few classes. Ring a bell?"
"I know who you are," he told her. "Hanna Marin, homecoming queen."
"Oh," she breathed, suddenly feeling very small.
"I guess that makes me the queen's coachman," he teased, lightening the mood."
"More like knight in shining armor," Hanna told him. "You saved me from being coyote bait."
They exchanged a glance and she couldn't help but notice the light blush that crossed his cheeks. He looked cuter than she remembered from high school. The quiet guy that mostly sat in the back grimacing actually had a sense of humor. She regretted never saying a word to him in school.
"We're here," he said, breaking the silence as he pulled into the garage. "You can wait in the office. It will take me a minute to unhook the car."
"Are you sure you don't want the company?" she offered.
"It's faster if I do it alone," he replied. "Besides, those look like some expensive shoes. Would be a shame for them to get ruined."
"Ok, thanks," she said, hurrying inside.
She waited patiently as he quickly unhooked her car and rolled it back into the garage bay. He had fully abandoned the parka this time, and even though it didn't take long, he was drenched by the time he stepped under the cover of the garage, grabbing a worn out rag to dry his hands.
"It's going to be a couple days," he told Hanna. "Can I get a phone number?"
"Uh sure," she replied, jotting it down on the intake form he handed her. She filled out the rest of the information as he made a vain attempt to pry the wet shirt from his slick skin. When she was done, she handed it back. "Mind if I wait here while I call a cab? Should be quick."
"I can give you a ride," he offered. "Let me close up. I'll be five minutes."
"Are you sure?" Hanna asked. "You've already rescued me once tonight."
"I guess I'm on a roll," he teased.
"Alright," she replied. "Thank you."
Travis shot her a smile before he grabbed his keys, locking up each bay and cutting the lights until the only illumination came from a single dim bulb in the office. When he was done, he led Hanna to his personal truck parked out back. He unlocked the passenger door manually for her and then ran around to the other side.
The heat kicked in almost immediately and Hanna gave him the address to her house. They made small talk as he drove through town and it felt like no time passed at all before he pulled up to the elegant Craftsman behind a white picket fence.
"Thanks for the ride," Hanna told him. "I guess I'll see you in a couple days."
"Yeah, I'll be in touch," he replied with a smile. She jiggled the latch to open the door but nothing happened. "Oh, it's tricky. Hold on."
After cutting the engine, Travis grabbed an umbrella from the floor of the car and then hopped up to run around to the passenger side. He managed to get the door open and then shielded her from the rain as they scrambled toward the door. She could feel her heart racing as she dug through her purse for the keys.
"You really saved me tonight," Hanna told him as it continued to storm around them. "Can I offer you a drink? Some dry clothes?"
"You tryna seduce me, Miss Marin?" he teased.
"Maybe," she said, surprising herself as the words fell out. "Is it working."
"One drink," he told her. "Then I've got to get home."
She smiled, letting them both into comfort of her warm abode. Together they lit a fire and she managed to scrounge up some old clothes her dad had left. When they were dry, she procured a couple of beers but while they were huddled under a blanket near the fire, one drink turned into two and two turned into more. Before she knew it, Hanna's lips were bruised from all the kissing and her clothes a disheveled mess, barely covering her body. After that, they were a couple.
And they still are, three years later. And he still surprises her with cute things like bring her lunch to work and taking her car in for maintenance so she never gets stuck in a ditch again. But more than anything, he's there for her when she's so overwhelmed she can barely breathe.
"So when are you starting the online thing?" he asks casually.
"As soon as possible," she replies. "Could use the extra income."
"Hanna," Travis breathes, reaching for her hand, "are you doing okay? Money wise?"
"The store is in trouble," she admits. "We haven't turned a profit in months. But I have enough to tide me over as long as this online store pans out."
"You know, you can always move in with me to save on rent," he offers.
"Nice try," she teases. "I like living with my friends."
"Sometimes I think you love them more than you love me," he says solemnly.
"I've loved them longer," Hanna tells him. "It's different."
Before he can pity himself any more, she plants a quick kiss on his cheek. The smile returns to his face and Hanna sits back, at ease. Their relationship is usually so easy but the constant point of contention is marriage and any semblance of commitment. In her youth, Hanna had always dreamed of a fairy tale ending, but after her parents' divorce, she became disillusioned by marriage and romance. And when her first love betrayed her, she thought she'd never trust anyone like that again, at least until Travis came along. But even he can't seem to mend her shattered heart.
"I better get back," he says, tossing his empty container in the trash bin.
"I'll see you this weekend?" Hanna confirms.
"Yeah," Travis replies before kissing her quickly.
When he's gone, she spends the rest of the afternoon emailing web designers until she finally gets an appointment with the cheapest one. After a quick exchange, they set something up for the following week and she spends the next few days impatiently waiting on the slow stream of customers that flow in and out of the shopping.
She's shaking with anxiety when the day finally comes and she drives to the tiny office in Brookhaven, arms laden with designs and a business plan Spencer helped her come up with. After taking a moment to compose herself, Hanna finally turns the corner and opens up the door to Brookhaven Intel. It's a tiny office with a small woman sitting at the front desk.
"Hi," Hanna says, stopping just inside the door.
"How can I help you?" the woman asks.
"I have an appointment with Stephanie," Hanna says.
"Oh," the woman's despondent tone catches Hanna off guard but she quickly recovers. "Stephanie had to step out today unexpectedly. But one of our other designers will take you. Have a seat."
"Thanks," Hanna says, her legs still shaking as she takes a seat on the upholstered settee.
She waits impatiently, teeming with ideas, and eager to get started but she falls entirely speechless when she recognizes the tall, dark-haired man that comes from around the corner. And by the look of shock on his face, he recognizes her too.
"Caleb," Hanna breathes.
Before he can answer, her phone text ringtone goes off. There's a beat as she reaches down to look at it, only to be met with a horrifying reminder from her past: Weather forecast is shady with a chance of betrayal. Miss me? - A.