Night Life {Watty Awards Finalist 2012}

Chapter 23

Caleb and I walked into the diner, our hands linked loosely.

When we walked in, we found Steve, Jaime, Gavin, Oliver and Reese. The rest of the place was barren. They all turned around hopefully when they heard the door chime go off, expecting to see customers. They frowned slightly in disappointment when they saw that it was just me and Caleb. Then, together, their eyes wandered down to our hands which were still linked. Then they looked back up at us, their expressions bordering on confusion and happiness.

Gavin was the first to break the silence.

"Yo two look like death," he said.

Which was probably true. After sitting on the roof and watching the sun rise, we finally decided to go back home. We took the elevator down to the lobby, which was now full of life with workers buzzing around and getting ready to start the day. They looked at us curiously as we walked by, because, well, because we looked like hell.

Caleb drove us to his apartment where we silently ate breakfast together. Then we sat on the couch and put a movie in. I don't even remember which one it was. We had sat on the couch together and I had my head resting on his shoulder. I didn't know when, but eventually, sleep fell over me.

We both woke up three hours later as Caleb's phone alarm went off signaling that he had to go to work. Since we were in a rush, neither of us had time to get ready or make ourselves look presentable. After briefly washing our faces, we walked out the door and here we were now, looking like two zombies that had just awoken from the dead, both literally and figuratively.

Caleb glanced at me.

"Yeah, we do," he said, a small smile on his lips. I felt the corners of my own lips tug up before looking back at everyone. Jaime was staring me down, clearly itching to know if Caleb and I were together or not. But I knew I couldn't answer her questions, because I honestly didn't know the answers myself.

"You two should go back home and rest. It's not like we're busy or anything. We'll manage," Steve said.

"It's all right. We can work," I said.

"No. I don't want you to. Both of you go home and sleep. You can come back here later on tonight for another staff meeting. Serena said she has something to tell us," Steve said.

I glanced at Caleb and he nodded.

"Fine. We'll see you later, then," he said. They all nodded and watched us walk out.

"You think she's going to unveil her master plan?" I asked as we went to his beat up SUV.

"I think so," he replied, letting go of my hand to get into the car.

He drove us back to my apartment, since it was closer to town. We went inside and I could feel my heart rate escalate slightly as I saw him look around and take in all of my memories. He looked at a picture that was sitting on one of my side tables.

It was of Levi and me on our engagement party. It had been after everything and we were just sitting and talking, grins on both of our faces. Someone, we didn't know who, snapped a picture of us and then mailed it to us, wishing us the best of luck and all the happiness in our lives. We loved it so much that we framed it. And now, Caleb was looking at it, a moment from my past that hurt to remember.

Without saying anything, he set the picture down. He turned to face me, his eyes uncertain. He came up to me and put his hands on my cheeks. He planted a kiss on my forehead, his lips lingering there for a few long moments. When he pulled away, he gave me a small, sad smile.

"Let's get some sleep," he said.

I nodded and we went to my room, climbing into my bed. Caleb wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to his body. I rested my head on his chest and closed my eyes, concentrating on the beat of his heart before exhaustion finally won and sleep took over.