Hanna and Caleb didn't see or hear from each other for four days. She assumed he was still in town though, since he had promised her he wouldn't have left without saying goodbye. But after all, she didn't trust him completely after the way he had changed with her. One day he thought he was falling for her, and then he wanted to leave everything to go to work to another city.
She kept her busy with work, even doing extra shifts, so she could focus on herself and not think too much. When she was done with work, she always stopped by Aria and Ezra's. They were like a family to her, and they could make her feel not alone. Hanna's parents were divorced, and after their failed marriage they had restarted a life with someone else. She liked to be independent, but sometimes she needed the closure of someone.
But she still missed Caleb. She loved Aria to death, yeah, but Caleb had given her a feeling which she hadn't felt in years. So she missed him. A lot.
Caleb had tried to distract himself going out in the night. He went to various discos and he always found a girl who was willing to spend some 'private time' with him, but he had never been able to go further than some kisses. His mind always went to Hanna, every freaking time he touched another girl, and suddenly he couldn't be a minute more with them.
That night Caleb was in a small and pretty quiet pub near the mall, drinking something not alcoholic. He didn't want to flirt with any girl, and he didn't want to get drunk either. He just want to be out of the apartment and be quiet. The thought of being home with Jess asking about Hanna, the apartment and everything else made him feel sick. He needed to stay a little alone.
He and Jess had almost sold the apartment, though. So, if everything went as planned, they were moving to San Diego on Saturday morning, that was in two days. Caleb was thinking to stop by Hanna's the next evening, because he wanted to see her one last time before leaving, as he had promised her. Even if he knew it was going to be painful.
As he took a sip of his Coca-Cola Zero, he felt a slight tap on his shoulder, so he turned around and was pretty surprised to see who was standing in front of him.
"Aria?" he said, giving her a small smile.
"Hi, Caleb... Mind if I join you?"
"Absolutely." he replied, as Aria took a seat on the barstool next to him and asked the bartender for an orange juice.
"So... What are you doing here?" Caleb asked.
"I'm waiting for my fiancé, we were supposed to meet here like fifteen minutes ago... He has the bad habit of being late." she shrugged.
Caleb smiled at her.
"I don't know if Hanna already told you, anyway congratulations on your baby." he said then.
"Thanks. She told me, though."
Caleb nodded slowly as the bartender gave her the orange juice. Aria searched for her wallet to pay, but Caleb pulled out some money from his pocket and gave them to the guy behind the counter, who took it and walked away. Aria noticed he was gone only when she lifted her head from her purse, and then she understood that Caleb had paid for her.
"You didn't have to do that..." she said.
"I never make a woman pay when she's with me. Besides I know you, plus you're even pregnant, so... It's perfectly fine."
"Well, thank you."
"You're welcome. So... Why have you joined me? You should be like pissed off at me because of Hanna..."
Aria took a sip of her juice and gave him a small shrug.
"I don't know you well, but I don't think you're actually a bad guy. Hanna's really pissed off at you, yeah, and she'd be really pissed off at me too if she knew that I'm talking to you right now, but... She doesn't know, so I think it's fine. Anyway... I don't like to be alone in a pub at night here in LA, so when I saw you I thought to come up to you since I don't know when that stupid of Ezra will show up. That's stupid, I know..." she replied, eventually giggling.
"No, it's not. Bad people are everywhere. I'm glad you did. And thanks for not thinking that I'm a bad guy... You'd have all the right to."
Aria gave him a small smile and then they stayed silent for a few minutes before Caleb spoke again.
"How is she?"
Aria let out a sigh and finished her orange juice before replying.
"She doesn't feel like hanging out so much lately. She's doing extra shifts at work, trying to keep herself busy and focused on something... But don't worry, she's fine at the end of the day. I won't say bullshit, she's a strong girl and she could perfectly stay without you... Even if she would have probably preferred the other way around. That's it."
Caleb pursed his lips and nodded quickly.
"Yeah, yeah... I know she's strong. And I'm glad she's fine. But... Is everything okay at the mall? I mean... Does anyone bother her with the story of mine and Noel's fight? I think they all have an idea about it, and maybe that's the exactly wrong idea, so... I really don't want Hanna to be treated like a slut because of that." he said.
"Don't worry, it's okay. Besides the usual stupid redshanks, everyone knows that Hanna is a really nice girl. Her coworkers love her." Aria replied with a small smile.
Caleb returned the smile and nodded, then he said something else.
"Aria, look, I didn't mean to hurt her, I swear I didn't, but... Things just got messed up. I'm sorry if she thinks I was only interested in her body because it's not true, but I understand her. I've been a jerk, a total jerk so... I just hope she will find the guy who she really deserves." he said.
"Is there any chance for you to think you can be that guy?"
Caleb sighed and lowered his gaze, then Aria continued.
"Caleb, this is none of my business and I'm totally aware of this, but... I hadn't seen Hanna so happy in a long time. She was scared to start feeling something for you, so she had thought of ending everything multiple times, but I always told her not to. I thought that it could finally be her opportunity. You could be her opportunity. I had this feeling, so I've always told her that you were worth a try. I don't want to make you feel guilty or push you into something that you don't feel like doing, I just want you to be aware that if you tried harder and if you risked and believed a little bit more in you and her, well... You guys would have probably been happy together. You shouldn't have married her or done something extraordinary, you just should have been a little braver. This is not about your job or growing up... This is just about you and her. Anyway, I repeat, only you two know what really happened and everything... This is just what I think and I wanted to let you know that."
Caleb stayed silent for a few seconds before replying.
"The last time I saw her because I wanted to talk about the pregnancy tests, well... She told me something that made me think a lot. That... I don't have to show anything to anyone if I really want to grow up. That I have to take my responsabilities and make my choices without the influence of my family or anyone else. You know, I thought a lot about that. And I'm still thinking about that. I'm thinking about what my choice would be if I didn't have any pressure from anyone. But... I'm angry with myself because I don't know the answer. I'm thinking about leaving and starting over, but... I'm thinking about staying, too. Staying for her." He took a deep breath and then continued. "Everytime I see her, I... My stomach does like somersaults. I have this weird feeling of warmth, my ears become flushed, I... I feel like a stupid. I don't understand anything. I never felt this way before. Never. I've always been the kind of guy who doesn't mind about girls, or friends... You know, bounds in general. But... She changed me. And... This make me feel... Weak. I don't know how to explain, but... This weakness kinda scares me. I understood that if I'm leaving, actually, I will run away. Because... I'm scared to be like that. To be weak."
Aria smiled at him and he felt even weaker.
"Do you want to know what I think?" she asked, still smiling a little.
Caleb just nodded, keeping his gaze firm on Aria's face.
"That's not weakness. You call it 'weakness' because it's probably a new thing for you, but... That's not weakness... That's love. You're not weak around Hanna... You're just in love with her. And you'd run away from your own feelings if you'll leave. Honestly, this wouldn't sound like a grow-up thing." she said.
Caleb bit his lower lip and moved his gaze to the floor, a little embrassed. Aria, then, restarted talking.
"And... I think she's in love with you too. She didn't tell me, and she probably doesn't even know it yet, but... I know she is. I know her pretty well. But then again, if you'll leave, she'll be strong enough to forget you and go on with her life. You wouldn't be the first to disappoint her. Caleb, I'm not saying that you don't have to leave, that's your choice and I don't know you or your situation with Hanna that well to intrude in all of this, but... My advice is be sure of what you do. Just try to make the right thing for yourself, okay? Again, I don't think you're a bad guy, and I don't think you're inmature either... Maybe you're just a little unsure. So... Take your time. Don't rush into things just because someone wants you to. And, well, if your choice will be San Diego, just go. But be sure about that."
Caleb sighed and scratched the back of his neck, then let out a small smile towards Aria.
"Well... Thank you." he murmured.
Aria smiled back.
"No problem. But, seriously, don't feel pushed into something by me either." she laughed.
"I won't."
"Why are you here, though? You're not even drinking alcohol... I thought I was the one pregnant!"
Caleb let out a little chuckle and then answered her.
"I'll be honest, I tried to hang out with some hot chicks the last couple of nights, but... Well, I didn't feel quite like to eventually. And, about the alcohol... From the night I saw Hanna so drunk because of me, I've started hating alcohol so much that it made me feel sick, so I'm trying not to drink anymore. I just came here to stay a little quiet, you know, I didn't want to be home with Jess... She keeps talking about the apartment-selling stuff, and I'm tired of hearing her. I just wanted to relax and maybe make up my mind. And, well... It was nice to talk a little with you."
"Yeah, it was nice for me too." Aria replied, smiling.
Then, she moved her gaze to the entry of the pub and held out a hand towards a dark-haired man just entered.
"Daddy-to-be?" Caleb smirked at her.
"Yeah, yeah..." Aria replied, blushing.
Ezra reached them and kissed Aria on the lips, mumbling some excuse for his late. Then, Aria turned to Caleb.
"Uhm, Ezra... This is Caleb, Hanna's..." she started, but then she didn't know how to continue.
"A friend of hers. Nice to meet you." Caleb finished for her, stretching his hand towards Ezra.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Ezra, Aria's fiancé." Ezra replied, shaking his hand.
"Yeah, I know. And besides on the wedding, congratulations on the future baby too... Hanna told me." Caleb continued, smiling.
"Oh, no problem. It's not a secret. Thank you very much." Ezra replied.
"Okay, guys... I'm going home. Have a good night. Aria... Thank you for the little chat." Caleb said, getting up from the barstool.
"And thank you for the orange juice. Goodnight, Caleb." Aria replied.
"Goodnight, see you around." Ezra said.
Caleb gave them a nod and then walked away with his hands in his pockets.
"Is everything okay?" Ezra asked Aria.
Aria smiled and nodded at him.
"Yeah. Everything okay." she replied then.
Caleb didn't even know how or why or when exactly he had ended up there, he just knew that he was there. When he had exited the pub and then gotten in his car, he had driven for a while with no destination, and then, suddenly, he -or his mind- had automatically taken himself to her place.
He was currently in his car, sitting in the driver seat, tapping his fingers on the wheel. He had turned off the engine and the lights, and was just staring at her front door. Her car was parked there and he could see the lights on inside the house, signaling that she was home and awake. He remained there in his car, though, wondering what he could have said if he was going to ring her doorbell. He just didn't know.
He was planning on going to her the next day, just to tell her that he was going to leave, then why was he there now?
It was half past one in the morning and it was also slightly raining, and that made him think back to the first night he and Hanna had slept together. The cuteness of Hanna who wanted to go away as soon as they had finished, his attempts to make her stay until the rain would have stopped, and then both of them ending up sleeping all cuddled up together. He smiled a little sadly, still looking at the door.
His car radio was playing Stay with me by Sam Smith, and a train of thoughts was running through his mind as the song went on. The words of the song, Aria's words and obviously Hanna's words were playing over and over in his head, as his gaze didn't move an inch from that door.
As soon as the song ended, something pushed him to unfasten his seatbelt and open the door of his car, even if he had no idea about what to say or do, and he was going to her front door, but then he saw the lights inside the house suddenly turned off. He sighed and shook his head, getting back in the car and letting his head fall on the headrest of the seat. He interpreted that like a signal. He fastened his seatbelt again and restarted the engine, driving away from her place.
The next day he was going back there just to say goodbye.
A/N: Hi all :) Guys, seriously, your reviews are totally amazing! You're the best! You don't even know how much you make me happy with your words, thank you so so so much! I'm glad you like the story :) So, I know that you guys would have enjoyed if Caleb went to knock on that damn door, but no...he didn't :( What about his chat with Aria though? I loved writing it, so I really want to know what you think! The story's almost over, so your reviews now are more than important to me, so... Let me know! ;) Also, I'm sorry if I used a little to update, but I had a lot of work to do these last days... Anyway, here you go with the chapter (a chapter even without Jess, and from what I read in the reviews you guys kinda hate her, hahaha!) ;) Hope to hear from you guys now :) Have a nice week everyone! Love you and thank you so much for everything! xx -Atramea.