Hello again everyone!
So this isn't something I thought I would ever do however with the overwhelming amount of support on my first ever fanfiction I thought it was necessary to repay you with a second part.
I wanted to get this part up before the next episode because I believe that I will have no motivation to write what so ever after seeing the Spaleb scenes on Tuesday.
I would like to thank everyone who took the time out of their day to read and especially those ones who reviewed, followed and favourited! I couldn't have asked for better people read my work.
After Caleb had read Hanna's heartfelt letter he raced to his car and broke down. He felt as though he couldn't breathe. Hanna having a miscarriage years ago was something he never told anyone. He didn't want people to know because he didn't want to have to explain how he was feeling. So for years Caleb had kept his head held high and went on with his days as if nothing had happened. Now sat in the driver's seat of his car, staring into nothingness, Caleb felt his world crumble.
Years ago when this event occurred, Caleb had been obsessed with staying strong and putting up a tough front in order to keep Hanna stable. She was a wreck and he didn't feel like he could properly grieve due to the mental state of his girlfriend.
After crying his eyes out he decided rather than calling Hanna he really needed to see her. Something that was never spoken about much after the miscarriage was the event itself. It was a touchy subject. Evidently the lack of communication led to their break up. Caleb knew he had to get to her so he texted: Meet me in the lobby of The Radley. 10 minutes? –Caleb
Instantly he received a reply but didn't bother to check because he was too focused on the road and getting to see her.
After leaving Spencer's place, Hanna raced back to The Radley to find her fiancé waiting with and empty box of pizza. The overwhelming amount of questions from him as to where she went and why she was so upset just made Hanna angry. She could never tell him where she was or what she was doing there as that would only make more questions come to life.
Hanna headed straight past Jordan and into the small bathroom of the hotel. She leaned against the door listening to his voice become louder and eventually fill with more rage. Hanna lay down on the cold tiles with her check resting against the vanity. Hanna had never cried so much about someone in her life. For years she had bottled up all her emotions and tonight she was finally setting them free.
A few minutes past and Hanna heard a ping from her phone. As she read the name on her lock screen her heart skipped a beat. She read the message and replied with a smiley emoticon but no words. She thought all the words would come out tonight. Because tonight she was going to face the one and only guy she had been avoiding for years trying to wipe every memory of him.
Hanna stared at her reflection and wondered how she came to be the unrecognisable woman staring back. The running mascara and questionable hairdo was not Hanna Marin by all means. In that moment Hanna realised she had hit rock bottom. The pain she felt in her heart was an accumulation of feelings that had formed over the course of many years. It was an indescribable pain. Something she would never wish upon her worst enemy.
Hanna wiped her face free of the residue that had built up and disposed of her wipe in the bathroom bin before brushing her hair to make herself look semi-presentable. She smoothed her clothes and reapplied some mascara to ensure her eyelashes were actually visible. Hanna then repositioned her bra in order to make her boobs look bigger but once she did, anxiety and guilt filled her being. What was she thinking? She was engaged to another man who was sitting on the other side of the wall worried sick about her while she dolled herself up to speak to her ex-boyfriend and the father of her deceased child.
Hanna shed another tear thinking about Jordan. He was no Caleb however he gave her everything she needed. But the whining that was coming from the other side of the bathroom door was making her agitated. She walked to the white glossy door and swung it open, staring blankly at her soon-to-be husband.
Caleb arrived in the lobby of The Radley with 5 minutes to spare. He decided to line up at the bar, looking for a simple glass of water. In the corner of his eyes he saw a red-headed woman he knew all too well.
"Caleb?" Hanna's mother questioned, shocked to see her daughters ex-boyfriend at her hotel. She was unaware that he was back in Rosewood at all so his appearance certainly came as a surprise.
"Mrs Marin, how are you?" Caleb replied with politeness. He hadn't expected to come across Ashley either.
"Please Caleb, after all these years you can call me Ashley. I'm well thank you, and how are you?" Ashley smiled. Her daughter had never been one to speak about her personal life much but Ashley could tell through the phone calls that something traumatic had happened which caused the breakup between Hanna and Caleb.
"Yeah, um, I'm good," Caleb said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "I was just grabbing a drink before I head to Spencer's. She is lending me her barn to stay while I'm in Rosewood." Like her daughter, Ashley knew Caleb like the back of her hand. She could tell when he was lying. All the time he spent around her she got to know him. He was definitely not being honest right now but given the circumstances she decided not to push him on the matter.
"Oh you're staying at Spencer's?" Ashley asked. "I would be happy to hook you up with an apartment here." She offered kindly.
"Thanks for the offer but it isn't necessary," Caleb answered. He realised that time was not on his side at the moment and at any point now Hanna could walk out of the elevator.
Ashley noticed he was beginning to become a lot more fidgety so she decided to stick around and see what he was hiding. "Have you talked to Hanna recently?" Ashley questioned innocently, completely unaware of the night's events.
"Yeah actually we went to Alison's for dinner. We spoke briefly. I guess she is doing pretty well, an engagement and a successful career." He spat with much pain.
Ashley noticed the discomfort, "If only she would actually introduce me to Jordan."
This comment surprised Caleb due to the fact that when he dated Hanna, she showed him off like a trophy. "You haven't met him?" he inquired.
"Caleb you were pretty good to her. I don't think she wants the humiliation of a downgrade," The redhead replied simply, smiling as Caleb's cheeks turned a dark shade of red. "Well I actually have some business to attend to," Ashley said, sensing an awkward tension arising from her prior comment. She made her way over to a desk area and made herself hidden. There was no business to attend to but she was going to make sure she knew what Caleb was doing at that hotel.
"Hey baby, what's wrong?" Jordan asked in a hushed tone. He figured the right way to approach the situation was to stay calm. When he received no reply he tried again, "is it Alison?"
Hanna continued to walk towards their door but Jordan took a step in front of her. "Where do you think you're going?" Jordan said sternly.
"Out," Hanna replied simply with no type of detectable expression.
Jordan was shocked at the series of events but outstretched his arm to comfort her before being shoved off abruptly. "What was that for?" Jordan continued to raise his voice.
"I don't want to talk about it," Hanna retorted, this time with much sass lacing her voice.
"Well you can't just leave," Jordan said in an obvious tone.
"Watch me," Hanna declared, doing her best Hanna Marin the 'It Girl' voice. She stared coldly into his eyes but continued to grab her purse and exit.
Jordan once again reached for Hanna's arm however this time there was a bit more force attached to his grasp. "Why are you acting like this?" Jordan asked/yelled.
His sudden outburst made Hanna jump slightly but she decided to reply calmly, "Please Jordan, I have somewhere to be."
Jordan's grip on Hanna's upper arm continued to get tighter as he connected the dots. "You're meeting him," He bluntly said. "You're going to meet Caleb," Jordan screamed.
Hanna was startled. She looked down with guilt circling her body. "Jordan you're hurting me," she whimpered, almost inaudible.
"What are you thinking of doing?" he interrogated.
"I need to talk to him. We have a lot of history," Hanna replied. She then yanked her arm from his hold and stared at Jordan with pleading eyes. In that moment Jordan was filled with rage and did something very out of character. He pulled his hand up and slapped her straight across the face. It wasn't particularly hard but the encounter definitely left a mark. Hanna looked at him shocked as her eyes welled. She grabbed her phone and made a dash for the elevator. She could hear Jordan's regret in his apologies that followed her out the door.
Jordan didn't think he would lay a hurtful hand on his soon-to-be wife, at least not tonight. He regretted his actions instantly and as much as he tried to apologise, he knew he had to let her go before something really bad happened.
Hanna raced into the elevator where her breathing started to quicken. Tears streamed down her stinging eyes. The person who she had trusted when she had been heartbroken, the one she reopened her heart to, the man she believed she would grow old with just hit her. Hanna was in the middle of a panic attack but all she wanted was to be in the strong, protective arms of Caleb. It was then that the elevator doors opened and she was face to face with that quirky, dark eyed man she fell in love with all those years ago.
Caleb looked up from his now empty glass of water. He knew Hanna was always late but all she had to do was press a couple of buttons and take the ride down the elevator. As curiosity took over him her heard the ping of the lift as the doors widened to reveal the teary eyed blonde who gave him a weak smile. As his heart skipped a beat, she came running over to him. He set his glass down and opened his arms.
Hanna reached Caleb and automatically collapsed in the comfort of his familiar scent. The knock-off cologne was something she had come to love and admire about him. She instantly broke down into tears and he rubbed the small of her back in a comforting manner.
Across the room, Mrs Marin was taken back but the scene before her. It never crossed her mind that Caleb was waiting for her daughter. She was filled with butterflies and smiled seeing her daughter be comforted by the man she knew could make her happy. Many thoughts crossed Ashley's mind and the smile quickly turned to a frown. Being cheated on was one of the things that had made Ashley so insecure and she hoped her daughter was not fraternising with 2 men. She decided to watch from a distance in an effort to get a better idea of the situation before jumping to obscure conclusions.
"Han," Caleb whispered delicately before she had the chance to say anything. "What happened to your face?" He asked with concern. The big red mark on her cheek looked like a hand print.
Hanna buried her head in his chest, not wanting to deal with any type of drama in that moment. But as her breath began to quicken for the second time that night, Caleb took the hint that something bad had happened. He slowly moved her to the cosy couches in the middle of the room and sat her down. He had seen more panic attacks from Hanna than he had fingers to count on so he knew the way to approach the situation. He lifted her delicate hand and placed it on his chest, "follow my breathing."
Caleb took deep breaths trying to calm her down but noticed some slight bruising on her upper arm and assumed it was Jordan. He didn't want to ask in that moment because she was in a very vulnerable state. For now he was going to comfort her.
Ashley had fled the scene, wanting to give her daughter privacy. She felt guilty for snooping and would ask about it later. Right now was not a good time to be questioning her daughter's loyalty to her partner given her certain condition.
Once Hanna had calmed down she looked to her feet as her cheeks turned a brighter pink. She was ashamed that Caleb was seeing her like this. "It's not what you're thinking," Hanna said quietly.
Caleb didn't want to push Hanna too far so he decided to start another conversation, making a mental note to revisit that discussion at a later date. "I read your letter," He blurted out.
Hanna's head shot up and she gave him a questioning look. "And?" she asked, unsure of where this conversation was heading.
"And I think we need closure." He started. "Real closure. Not just a headstone, but we need a service. Something to remember her by and a way to say goodbye. We could invite close friends and it can be very intimate."
"They don't know," Hanna let out softly. She never wanted that matter discussed because she couldn't stand the pain of bringing up something so terrible. Instead she decided to suppress the feelings.
Caleb was surprised. Although he never told anyone about Hanna's pregnancy, he figured that after she lost the baby she would look to her family and friends for support. He was so wrong. "Why did you never want to tell them you were pregnant in the first place?" Caleb approached the conversation with much delicacy.
"I told you," she started. "It was our secret. I just didn't want to share it with anyone else. I was happy having something between the two of us. We were in a different city so it was pretty easy. I didn't want our happiness to have to be shared with anyone else."
Deciding to drop that question, feeling satisfied with her answer, he restarted what he was talking about just seconds earlier, "would you be willing to tell them now? I mean years have passed. Is your mom still dating Ted? Maybe he could organize a service."
Hanna loved the idea but she feared the reaction of her friends and family, "yeah, I like the idea but I leave for New York in 2 days. That's not long enough to plan."
Hearing about her close departure made Caleb's heart drop. He wished he had more time with her. More time to talk about things. "Oh," he replied with pain and disappointment lathered in the one word.
Hanna looked up at him. Something she hadn't done since their conversation began. When she looked into his sparkling eyes he stared back into her blue ones. Tears poured out of her eyes as she was reminded of the way she loved him. Then her mind was filled with darkness as she remembered all the pain. "What happened?" Hanna asked with such pain.
"What do you mean?" Caleb questioned searching for some type of elaboration.
"We were so in love," she whispered.
Those words hurt Caleb. He was still in love with her and she was going to marry someone else. That fairytale wedding she talked about to him for years, her Cinderella dress and the white roses. He wanted to be the one to give her that. But instead each night she would crawl into bed with his replacement. He lifted his hand to stroke her check in an effort to wipe her tears away. She flinched at the connection as her check was still throbbing.
"Han, what happened," Caleb quizzed her, fearing the worst.
To Caleb's surprise, Hanna broke down into a fit of tears and whimpers. He held her close and she mumbled different sentences, trying to defend her fiancé. "It won't happen again," she began. "He really does love me," she tried to convince herself. "It was an accident," she tried to convince him. "I was being irrational. I deserved it," she cried into Caleb's chest.
Caleb was now filled with anger and snapped at her, "he did this to you?!"
Hanna had no words. She just leaned up against Caleb, wishing she didn't walk out all these years ago. "Has he hurt you before?" the words fell off Caleb's lips with such regret. He wanted to be the one to make her feel better but he couldn't do that with the big rock plastered on her left ring finger.
Hanna shook her head as if to say no before realizing she was lying, "well once."
That was enough for Caleb to tighten his grip around her. A small gesture that let Hanna know she was going to be okay. He would protect her. Caleb stood up and made his way to the desk with Hanna in tow, questioning his moves.
"I need a room for tonight," Caleb bluntly said to the small middle-aged man that stood behind the marble counter.
The man smiled at him and asked for the bed size to which Caleb replied, "queen please."
The man, whose name tag read 'Elliot', handed over a few papers for Caleb to fill out. "We can get your bank details tomorrow as it is getting close to closing time." Elliot said with a high pitched voice.
"Caleb what are you doing?" Hanna questioned as Caleb signed the last of the papers.
"Giving us both a place to stay," he replied. He grabbed Hanna's hand and dragged her to the elevator. Hanna didn't question it. The last thing she wanted to do was share a room with Jordan at the moment.
As they stopped outside their new room Hanna reached out of her handbag to check her phone which she had put on silent earlier. She noticed the overwhelming amount of messages and missed calls all from Jordan. Caleb detected a change in her attitude and looked over to her phone screen. She stared blankly at it unsure of what to do until he wrapped and arm around her shoulder.
"Hey, you don't need to worry about that tonight." He soothed as they entered the clean hotel room. She nodded and threw her bag at the end of the bed. The situation was definitely awkward. Hanna was unsure of the sleeping arrangement considering she was engaged to another man.
Caleb sensed her tension and decided to break the ice, "it's not like we've never shared a bed before Han." Hanna was surprised but she nodded and took her jacket off. She pulled back the covers just thinking about sleep.
Caleb began removing his shirt as Hanna stared up from her position on the bed. Caleb noticed her eyes wander to his toned stomach and he raised an eyebrow. She looked back up to his face and blushed, looking away awkwardly. Caleb chuckled at that and threw his t-shirt at her.
"You can't sleep in that Hanna," Caleb said simply. He was right, the tight fit jeans she had changed into after the dinner, and along with her expensive white blouse was not appropriate sleeping attire. She picked up his shirt and made her way to the bathroom with her head down. Once she entered she couldn't help but think about Jordan and the mess she would have to face tomorrow. She gazed at her engagement ring and questioned her current relationship.
Hanna returned to the bed to see Caleb cozy and staring up at her. She felt embarrassed as she was only in underwear and his top. She jumped into the bed and tried to stay as far away from Caleb as possible. That plan failed as he came beside her and spooned her. She turned the light off and rested her head on the pillow.
"Sleep tight, princess!" Caleb whispered grabbing ahold of her hand. She knew Caleb felt the engagement ring because he instantly pulled away so she sat up and slipped the ring off before lying next to Caleb and remembering back to the pervious years when these gestures were completely normal.
Hanna's mind wondered to the way Caleb helped her through the night before sleep overtook her body. Whereas Caleb stayed wide awake knowing it was his duty to protect her. No matter what happened in the next few days, he had to make sure Hanna was safe. She deserved that much from him.
There was part 2! I hope you enjoyed. I have an idea for the last part! Please review, your comments are much appreciated!
Side note: If you have written haleb fanfiction in the last 2 years there is a 98% chance I have read it but I always read as a guest to save myself the time of logging in. I also review very frequently (as a guest). Please let me know about your work so I can check it out in case by some chance I have missed it! :)
