General POV
Hanna woke up slowly due to the sun right on her eyelids. It was morning. She had Caleb's shirt on but he wasn't there.
She froze.
Was he gone without saying anything? She didn't notice another of his attacks?
She glanced at the clock. It was ten 'o clock in the morning. She rubbed her eyes and let out a yawn, and when she could open her eyes again, she saw Caleb leaning by the doorway.
"Morning, beautiful." he said smiling.
He was wearing just his boxers, carrying a tray with a plate of pancakes and a glass of orange juice on it. The smell was so good.
"Hey..." she replied with a still sleepy voice.
Caleb chuckled.
"What's so funny, huh?" Hanna asked raising her eyebrows.
"Your sleepy voice is one of the sexiest things in the world." he replied smirking, sitting on the bed by her side.
She chuckled as well and pointed at the tray he was carrying.
"What's this?" she asked.
"This is the breakfast for my princess. You don't have excuses, I made it all for you so you have to eat it." he replied.
Hanna smiled lovely at him and pecked him on the lips.
"You know I love your pancakes... So I'm definitely gonna eat it." she added.
Caleb smiled and gave her the tray as he watched her eating.
"And you?" Hanna asked.
"A glass of milk was enough to me. I'm not much hungry." he shrugged.
"Caleb, you have to eat more. I can see your ribs... You lost so much weight in those months..."
"I know I've lost it, but I really don't want anything now."
"Did you have other nightmares last night?"
"No, I didn't. Actually, I woke up feeling really well. I haven't slept so good for days." he replied smiling.
"That's great." Hanna smiled back, taking a sip of her orange juice.
"Yes, it is. So... Are my pancakes good enough?"
"They're perfect. Thank you for these."
"You shouldn't thank me. I made them in your house with your mother's stuff!" he chuckled.
"But you made them for me, so thanks."
"Yeah, that's true. But I have to thank you, not the other way around. For everything."
"Caleb, I'm doing this because I want to. And because I love you. So please, stop thank me. That's fine." she smiled, taking his hand.
"Yeah, I know, but... I don't know if I deserve all of this after what I did to you in the past... The way I left you and everything, and..."
Hanna cut him off.
"Look, Caleb... We both did our mistakes in the past. But we're here now, aren't we?"
"Yes, we are. And you don't know how this makes me happy..." he said as his eyes started getting wetter.
Hanna smiled noticing it.
Caleb so vulnerable was too cute for words. She hated the fact that he had all of that shit to deal with, but she vowed herself she would have helped him, no matter what. He needed her and she would have been there for him.
She had finished her breakfast, so she placed the tray on the nightstand and pulled Caleb closer to her to give him an hug.
"Hey, don't cry..." she whispered as she gently rubbed his bare back.
"Sorry, I'm a stupid..."
"No, you're not..."
Hanna slowly pulled away and kissed him, so she lied down and she pulled Caleb down with her, so they were both lying on her bed. They both turned on their side so they could look at each other, and Hanna interwined her fingers to his.
"Have you ever talked about this with a psychologist or a doctor?" Hanna asked softly.
"Actually no. I've always been too ashamed to talk anyone about it..."
"There's nothing to be ashamed of, Caleb."
Caleb sighed.
"Whatever. Can we just not talk about this for a while, please? I'm fine right now, the New Year has just come and I'm here with my gorgeous girlfriend..." he whispered after a few istants, smiling.
"Girlfriend?" she asked playfully, making a surprised face.
Caleb nodded slowly with a small smile on his lips. Hanna giggled and came closer to him, so he could wrap his arms around her and hold her against his chest, kissing the top of her head in the meanwhile.
"I'd like to stay like this forever..." he whispered, rubbing her back and stroking her hair.
Hanna smiled against the skin of his chest, as her eyelids slowly closed.
Caleb soon realized she had fallen asleep again so he slightly chuckled, but before he could know it, he was so comfortable that he fell asleep as well. With Hanna by his side, he was so relaxed that it seemed absurd the fact that he had needed pills to sleep until two days before.
Ashley Marin entered in the Marin's house. She had spent the New Year's Eve on a work trip. She assumed that Hanna wasn't in there because she knew she was supposed to stay at Spencer's lake house last night, so she guessed her daughter was still there with her friends. But as soon as she walked in the kitchen, she noticed the smell of pancakes and some stuff out of place, so she understood that Hanna was probably home. Then, turning around, she saw Hanna's red dress placed on a barstool, along with her matching shoes on the floor. And beside them, there was also a pair of trousers. But they weren't Hanna's. They were of a man, definitely. Remembering that Hanna was picked up by Caleb the previous day, she started wondering if what she was thinking was right.
There was an only way to find out.
Silently, Ashley went upstairs, making sure not to be loud. She walked to Hanna's bedroom and she immediately heard someone snoring, and she could perfectly tell it wasn't Hanna. The door of her bedroom was half-open, so she gave a look in there and she slightly smiled when she saw Hanna curled up against Caleb's chest with his arms wrapped around her tiny body. She was wearing what was probably Caleb's shirt and her underwear, and, for what she could see, Caleb was just in his underwear.
Ashley perfectly knew what had happened in there, and even though her hard beliefs on the fact that Hanna didn't have to take boys upstairs and do some kind of things with them at least right there in their house, that was Caleb, and Ashley was aware of how much Hanna had always been in love with him. And also of how much Caleb had always loved her and tried to protect her from all the danger in her life. So, even though Hanna had broken her rules, Ashley couldn't help but be happy of their 'reunion'. Besides, that was definitely not the first time that rule had been broken, and Ashley knew it. She loved Caleb like a son, after all, and he was like part of the family by now.
Hanna woke up again, this time finding Caleb peacefully sleeping with her, gently snoring. Hanna smiled with herself, so she slowly got out of his grasp without waking him and went downstairs to take their clothes in case her mother was coming home. She was supposed to come back that night, but Hanna wanted to be careful.
With Caleb's shirt on, she made her way to the kitchen rubbing her eyes in the process. Upon entered the kitchen, she almost fell on her back for the shock seeing her mother reading a newspaper sitting on a barstool.
"M-mom, hi..." she awkwardly stuttered, slowly looking at Caleb's and her clothes placed on the barstool next to the one where Ashley was sitting.
"Good morning, sweetie... How was last night at Spencer's?" Ashley replied smiling.
"It was... Pretty good..." she murmured.
Ashley returned to read her newspaper. Hanna sighed and decided to say something, knowing her mother wasn't stupid at all.
"Look, mom, I'm really sorry..."
"Save it. You're no longer a kid. Now please just bring him his clothes though, you know I love him but I'm not really interested in seeing him half-naked walking around the house... Is that okay?" Ashley interrupted her.
Hanna felt way surprised at her words. And she didn't seem angry at all, just a little concerned.
"Oh... Okay... Yeah, sure." Hanna replied, nodding.
So Hanna took Caleb's trousers and started walking towards the stairs, but then she turned around.
"Mom, you're not... You're not angry?" she asked.
Ashley put her newspaper down and looked at Hanna.
"Hanna, sweetie... You're grown enough. I guess this is not the first time that you and Caleb break the rules, though. I know Caleb and I'm happy that things are going back the way they were between the two of you, but I really don't want that you guys doing it right here becomes an habit... Okay?" she said.
Hanna blushed a bit, but then replied.
"Yes, of course."
"And please make sure you guys are safe and everything... You know what I mean, right?"
Hanna blushed even more and widened her eyes. She couldn't believe that her mom was talking about some kind of stuff with her.
"Oh please, mom!" she mumbled, awkwardly lowering her gaze.
Then, she turned around again and went upstairs.
Caleb was still sleeping when Hanna came closer to him and gently shook him. She guessed it was time for him to go, even if her mother hadn't told her to make him leave, but she would have felt too embarassed with Caleb sleeping upstairs while her mom was right there.
"Caleb, hey... Wake up..." she whispered, slightly smiling.
Caleb groaned and slowly opened his eyes.
"What? I was screaming? I had a panic attack?" he immediately asked.
"No, it's all okay." Hanna smiled.
Caleb looked over Hanna's shoulders and noticed she had taken his clothes.
"Your mom is on her way home? I have to go?" he asked, lifting himself up.
"Actually, my mom's already here." she replied, biting her lower lip.
Caleb widened his eyes.
"What?" he exclaimed.
Hanna shrugged.
"Don't worry, I've talked to her. She's not mad. And she didn't ask you to go, but I think it's better if you do. I'm sorry, Caleb..." she said.
Caleb smiled softly and kissed her forehead.
"Well, we've always made sure she didn't catch us, but we both knew that she would have, sooner or later. I guess we aren't used to play hide and seek like once anymore... I agree with you by the way, it would be too awkward for me to stay here. I'll be ready in a moment." he replied.
Hanna smiled and watched him as he slipped in his trousers, so she gave him his shirt as well, since she was wearing it. Then, she took a comfortable dress from her closet and put it on, so they both made their way downstairs.
Caleb took a deep breath and cleared his throat before approaching Ashley, still sitting in the kitchen with her newspaper.
"Good morning, Ashley." he said.
Hanna was right beside him.
"Hi, Caleb. I would ask you to stay for breakfast, but something makes me think you've already had it." Ashley said.
Hanna chuckled as Caleb cleared his throat again.
"I'm really sorry, Ashley, I didn't wanna..." he started, before Ashley interrupted him.
"Caleb, it's okay. It's not like I've never known what you guys did when you were together... Well, I guess that things are gone back that way now."
Hanna blushed and Caleb awkwardly lowered his gaze.
"I just... Well, I have to go now. Have a nice day, Ashley." Caleb said after a few awkward seconds.
"You too, Caleb. Hope to see you soon." Ashley replied, smiling.
"Sure." Caleb concluded, as Hanna walked him to the door.
"Sorry about that." Hanna whispered.
"Don't worry. Your mother was nice, wasn't her?" he smiled.
"Yeah, I guess so... But I know that you felt a bit awkward."
"Well, we'll make sure to be more careful next time." he shrugged, smiling.
Hanna nodded and smiled back, so she leaned in and kissed him. Their tongues rubbed against each other, and Hanna could swear to feel Caleb smiling in the middle of the kiss. After a few seconds, Caleb pulled away and smirked at her.
"Last night was awesome." Hanna murmured then.
"Yeah, tell me about it." he murmured back, smirking and rubbing her sides.
"Promise me you'll call me if you need something, okay?"
"Okay. See you later?"
"I'll meet you at the Brew at half past five. Is it fine?"
Caleb nodded and pecked her on the lips.
"Bye. Love you." he said then, opening the door.
"Love you too." Hanna replied, smiling at him and then closed the door.
A/N: Yeah, I know, this was a really fluffy chapter! By the way I'm really happy that you guys have enjoyed the last chapter because I worked hard on it :) Oh, I agree with the guest who found the ways Hanna helped Caleb throughout his bad moments very "innovative" ;) hahaha, well, that's perfectly true! I couldn't help it, Haleb is cute but also so sexy :P You guys are fantastic with your reviews, seriously! We're very close to 100 reviews and this is a really good goal to me :D So I hope that you tell me what you think about this chapter as well! I felt it was needed Ashley Marin right here ;) I love her relationship with Hanna, of course, but also with Caleb so I tried to include both of them... Well, in a pretty awkward situation hahaha ;) Anyway, thank you again for the reviews, follows, favorites, everything :) It means so much for me! Have a nice week, I'll update ASAP as always :) Love you guys! xx -Atramea.