NYLON ~ 49 ~ A TRIAL RUN

Spencer was seated behind her desk when Hanna knocked on the door. The brunette looked up and waved her in, closing the door behind them.

"Hey," Hanna pulled her friend in for a tight hug. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," Spencer wiped her eyes. After a pause she looked Hanna in the eyes and said, "I told Toby."

"You told him what, exactly?" Hanna asked.

"About Wren," Spencer explained, "and the baby possibly not being his."

"Oh sweetie," Hanna sighed. "How did he take it?"

"He'll barely even look at me," Spencer replied. "Poor Caleb's been stuck in the middle mediating us."

"Spence," Hanna stroked her hair, "have you guys considered therapy?"

"Is that what you and Caleb did?" Spencer asked. "You guys make it look so fucking easy."

"Well no," Hanna replied. "We didn't really work out our issues. We just decided to call it quits for JT's sake and swept everything under the rug."

"But at least you're talking," Spencer said.

"We have to," Hanna replied. "We have a son together. I would love to work out my issues with Caleb but we've both moved on since then and us just being friends is better for JT."

"Ugh," Spencer groaned. "What do I do?"

"Maybe you should take a holiday," Hanna offered. "Go away together and focus on talking things out or even go away separately. It's not good for you both to be pent up in a house together if you're not even talking."

After talking through Spencer's issues for over an hour, Hanna glanced at the time and realized she needed to get home to look after JT before her mother left. She and Spencer said goodbye and Hanna picked up her bag before stepping into the hallway where she found Jamie leaving Caleb's office. She tapped lightly on the door.

"Hey," Caleb smiled looking up to see her. "I didn't know you were stopping by."

"I was just chatting with Spencer," Hanna explained, "but I saw Jamie leaving so I thought I'd check in and see what you're up to."

"He asked me for a job," Caleb explained.

"Oh," Hanna breathed. "What did you say?"

"I'm giving him a trial run in construction," Caleb replied. "We'll see."

"That's great," Hanna smiled. "Are you guys talking still?"

"Yeah, a few times a month," Caleb told her.

"Cool," she paused for a minute. Then she took a deep breath before continuing. "While we're talking, I was wondering if you could watch JT while I'm out of town next month."

"Why?" Caleb teased. "Are you and Andrew planning a getaway."

"No, not at all," Hanna replied. "My book is being released next week and the publisher is sending me on a book tour. Five cities in a week but two of them are in New York so I'll only be gone about four days. Would you be able to stay with him?"

"You mean, stay at your place?" Caleb asked.

"Well, yeah," Hanna replied. "All of his stuff is there. I've already talked to my mom and she can watch him while you're at work so…"

"Yeah, sure," Caleb replied. "I'd love that."

"So you'll be staying in the guest room if that's okay," she told him.

"Works for me," Caleb smiled. "I'll uh…see you later?"

"Yeah," she gave him a wave. "Bye."

"Hanna wait," he called after her.

"What's up?" she turned around.

"Um," he paused, "never mind. I forgot."

"Okay," she gave him a side eye. "I'll see you later."

"Bye," he smiled as she disappeared into the hallway.

Hanna didn't dwell on Caleb's suspicious behavior as she made her way home. There was too much going on in her life for her to bother with simple problems like Caleb's forgetful memory. Instead she went straight home where her mother was watching JT. She put dinner together and then sat down to watch a movie with JT and her mom. Just as it was starting, she heard the doorbell ring. Hanna got up and answered it to find Aria just inside the elevator.

"Hey," Hanna said letting her in.

"I'm sorry I didn't call," Aria replied. "I just wanted to talk to you."

"I'm glad you came," Hanna told her. "I wanted to talk to you too."

"I'm sorry," Aria blurted out. "I didn't mean to snap at you the other day."

"It's okay," Hanna told her as they sat down in the living room. "I understand."

"I want you to write our story," Aria told her. "You have the book deal, not me, and there's no one I trust more than you to tell the truth."

"I left you out of it," Hanna told her. She handed her a fresh copy of the manuscript. "Take a look."

"Are you sure?" Aria asked. "I don't want to hold you back."

"No," Hanna told her. "You need to write your own story. I just want us to be able to talk without all of this tension."

"Thanks Hanna," Aria replied, "but I don't think I'll be writing a book anytime soon."

"Well, it will be good when you finally do," Hanna said. "Plus I already submitted the final draft to the publisher. It's too late anyway."

"I should have talked to you earlier," Aria told her. "Can we at least go back to how it used to be?"

"Of course," Hanna gave her a hug. "I've missed you."

"Me too," Aria hugged her back.

"I'm glad you came," Hanna smiled.

Well, Hanna and Aria are friends again which is great but things with Spoby are still on the rocks. The much anticipated bonus chapter between Caleb and Toby should be up momentarily so be sure to check it out! Thanks for reading :)