Chapter 13 Caleb's POV:

I wasn't sure how I was going to ask my Aunt about Hanna staying here. I mean how does anyone start that off,

"Hey Patty sorry about me being a creep earlier about not going into my closet, it's just my girlfriend Hanna was in there because she is being abused at home, can she live here?"

Oh yeah there's something that is going to get me kicked out with her. I mean my aunt has always been a cool person about these sort of things and said when I first

moved in here that if I was ever in any trouble to come to her before my uncle, because she was from this century, but even still Hanna has a hard enough time trusting

me.

I am finding I am thinking more and more about her-the way her hair smells, how her hands feel when I have them in mine…okay that's enough I need to stick to the plan.

While I left Hanna in my room I walked down stairs and saw everyone getting ready to go out, I was still in trouble for not doing the dishes last week-so my uncle thought

my best punishment was to isolate me from the family bonding night…yeah he taught me.

"Caleb do you want me to bring you back anything?" My aunt asked as I was loading the dishwasher. "No, but I did want to talk to you about something."

She studied my face trying to look for the answer but failed. "What is it?" I took a deep breath to think about how I was going to say all this.

"You remember that girl I pulled out the day of the school shooting?" She nodded, this was a good start. "Well we've gotten really close-" She put her hand over her

mouth, "Oh my word, she isn't pregnant is she? Because if she is and you're the father I swear Caleb you will be one sorry nephew!"

She said in a nasty whispear I was completely taken aback, "What? No. She isn't pregnant, we aren't that close, that was not what I meant at all."

She took a sigh of releaf, "Thank god. I'm sorry for jumping to that conclusion now what is this you're trying to tell me about you're friend…"

"Hanna. Well you see her home life is very…unstable." She was confused, "Caleb will you stop with this beating around the bush. Is she the reason you wouldn't let me go

into the closet this afternoon?" I looked away, damn she was good. "Yes." She smirked, "She stayed here last night didn't she?" I looked down at my shoes,

"How did you know?" She smiled and lifted my chin to face her, "The shower is running in your room and you're down here talking about her. You may think you're fooling

me but I wasn't born yesterday.

Now what's going on with her at home?" "Her dad-step dad, beats her: she has a cigarette burn on her neck, bruises all over, a massive black eye with a cut, I am

guessing he hit her with his ring hand. And she has been cutting herself because of what he has done to her. She had no where else to go last night and it was pouring

out, I wasn't going to let her sit out on a bus bench all by herself I mean she came over without her brace from when she got shot in the knee. I would have been a

jackass for not letting her stay."

It felt good letting my aunt know all this. I hoped she was really truly listening and not taking this as some teen romance that I started up-even though it might be part of

the reason we're together in the first place.

"This is a lot to take in, you know you have no right to keep her from her home life, you both are not 18 yet so she can't just leave and move into a new home without

telling them."

My face fell a little, this wasn't going to work. She won't let the person I am falling for stay with me, I need Hanna with me, without me she is unsafe, I can't protect her

from Eric if we're apart. She's been alone far too long.

"But…" I met my aunt's eyes, I loved the word but now! "She can stay...if and only if she lets you take her to the police and report her step-father, because once those

markings go away she has no case. I may be a stay at home mom, but I know my shit. If she wants this to stop you have to convince her that telling someone other than

me will resolve everything."

My stomach was doing the backflips my body would never let me do. "Deal." She held up her finger though, "AND! You have 2 more deals to this before you get all excited

and go back to your one tree hill romance-I still have to talk to your uncle about it, which I will tonight. I want to meet her, talk to her. And I want her to stay in the other

guest room…You need to remember we have 4 children under the age of 10..I don't need to teach them about the birds and the bee's in the year 2011, do you

understand me? Caleb Michael Rivers if I catch her in your room with the door closed and we're all home..I will really cut off the thing that will give you children to every

female. Do we have an understanding?"

I swallowed hard. Those were tough conditions, asking that from Hanna was going to be harder than my aunt thought. But the threats I was used to with her, which

always made it easy for me to be honest with her.

"Deal." She smiled in statisfaction, kissed my head and then rounded up the troops to go out to dinner. I sat in the kitchen smiling to myself about the conversation that

went the best way I was ever going to get.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when Hanna walked down stairs fully refreshed from her shower, she smelled amazing.

"I am not an expert but I am pretty sure it doesn't take this long to get ice." I smiled, "Sorry I was sidetracked." She laughed,

"I can tell the dishwasher is still wide open." I got up from the table and went back to the chore I originally started doing. "You okay? You seem distracted."

Hanna asked fixing herself the ice and sitting down at the table resting with the ice on her eye. "Yeah I am fine." I said with my back to her. Another conversation I am not

ready to have, I don't have any idea how I am going to tell her that she needs to go to the police. After a minute of silence Hanna broke it, "I need to go home." I closed

the dishwasher and set it then turned to her. I studied her for a moment, she looked surprised to say it out loud herself. "Why?" I was afraid to ask this but she was

going to have to tell me eventually. "Because my friends can only cover for me so long before my mom and Eric start to wonder where I really am. And I don't want to put

my friends through this, including you." My jaw tightened just thinking about bringing her to the one place I am trying to protect her from. "Hanna yesterday you could

barely stand, today your eye is the size of Texas. If you go home you're never going to heal." I sat down next to her and tried to seem calm about all this. "Caleb you can't

protect me from my house, I know how to handle it, I just slipped up this time." I looked at her completely confused, "Han, are you listening to yourself? You shouldn't

have to tip-toe around what to say to avoid getting hit. You should be confident enough to express yourself in your HOME." She jumped in my frustration, I quickly

adjusted my temper. "Sorry … I will get my keys." I got up went to the hall and got my coat and keys. Hanna didn't follow she was still sitting in the kitchen, I kept looking

at my keys-clutching them in my fist I walked back into the kitchen. "Ready?" She put the ice down and got up, ran upstairs to get her things but came down with just her

sweatshirt. "What about your stuff?" She didn't answer me or look me in the eye, opened the front door and walked out to my car. I slowly trailed behind her attempting

to figure out why she wasn't taking all her things.

The car ride was awkward, we've had silent times but this was full of tension. "Hanna..are you sure you really want to do this?" She wouldn't look at me, she was so close

to the door I thought she was going to jump out if she was strapped in by the seat-belt. "I am not sure of anything. But the longer I stay with you, the quicker my friends

get hurt by doing something I forced them to do. It's not fair to them, and you can call me anything you want about putting my friends before me, but they mean

everything to me. And if I lose them because I'm hiding from Eric..then that makes me a coward." She said looking out the window whipping a tear from her cheek. I

reached over for her hand but she put it in her lap. I finally pulled two houses down from hers. I looked at the house, how peaceful it looked on the outside. I remembered

playing lava in the front yard with Hanna's toys, it was were she tried to teach me how to hoola-hoop. I looked back at Hanna she looked like she wanted to throw up.

"Flicker a light twice to let me know you're okay. If you don't- I am coming in for you. Okay?" She nodded and stepped out of the car.

It sucked that my aunt and uncle had moved after the shooting, people were creeping my aunt out on Hanna's street. That's why we moved. Now I am kicking myself for

not forcing them to stay because of this, I would be able to hear Eric and Ashley-but this wasn't about me. Hanna slowly walked away from the car and walked down the

block-she wasn't looking back, not that I was surprised but I am sure she would just second guess everything if she looked back at me. I gripped the stearing wheel to

keep from doing anything stupid I couldn't take my eyes off her as she kept getting closer to the house. But I pulled away to get my phone and had 9-1-1 ready if needed.

I watched Hanna make it to the front door of her house, she walked in without hesitation and shut the door behind her.

"Come on Han, flicker the light..come on you can do it."

I whispered to myself, praying to god that she would.

A minute passed, 3 minutes passed, 5 minutes. I had enough, phone in hand I walked down the sidewalk to Hanna's house.

A/N: Loving the reviews guys keep it up! I loved tonight's episode..so intense. Like I said I am trying to get better at updating. I just get a little writers block then everything comes to me at like midnight..good thing there is no time shown when you post on these things…because you guys would probs yell at me for posting this late..it's midnight here! But I hope you guys like this =]