Loving Mr. CEO

14

Mabel

My hair was still a little wet when I walked into Cade's kitchen. We had moved some of my things to his apartment about two hours ago, and it was pretty late now, but I wasn't even a tad bit sleepy. It had been a long night anyway.

So many emotions I had somehow buried deep inside me, managed to pop out of nowhere in just one day. I should be emotionally drained, or maybe even mentally, but somehow, it felt like I could hold on okay.

Was it Cade? Was he the reason why I felt like I could actually handle all this without breaking down?

His back was to me as he pulled out the heated pizza from the microwave.

Typical Cade.

He could live on pizza for the rest of his life.

Noticing my presence, he turned towards me. "Settled in okay?" He asked, dropping the plate of pizza on the table and moved towards the fridge, taking out what looked like an orange juice with two fancy transparent plastic cups.

"Yeah." I answered, taking a sit on the stool just opposite where he stood, a table separating us.

He nodded, filling one cup with orange juice, placing it right in front of me. "Thanks." I said with a small smile.

"Yeah, sorry about the pizza, if you want, I can order something else for you. Since um- you don't like pizza." He said.

I suppressed a smile. "It's fine Cade, Cole and I survived mainly on pizza for over a year, so... It's cool."

He furrowed his brows, probably confused.

He settled down on a stool opposite me, taking a sip of his juice. "So... Tell me what you meant by that." He asked, dropping the cup back down.

"By what?" I asked, taking a slice of pizza.

"You and Cole surviving off on pizza for a year." He stated.

I knew he was going to ask, and yes, telling him wouldn't be a problem. I mean, he knows more about me now, and I've told him things I'd never ever tell anyone.

"You know I told you about this pizza store Cole and I worked just after- after I left?"

He nodded.

"Well, we got two boxes of pizza every night. It was free, and the owner for some reasons, thought Cole and I were starving ourselves. He'd buy us lunch every afternoon, and give us free pizza after work. He was truly nice."

"Hm." He said. "Must have been hard for you. I'm sorry."

I raised a brow. "Why are you apologizing?"

He gave a half shrug. "I feel bad for you. I mean, no one should go through what you've gone through. I can't even imagine it."

"It's fine. I choose the wrong path, and I faced the consequences. No one should go through what I put you through. You and everyone else." I found myself saying as I took a bite of the pizza.

"Can I ask you a question?" His voice resounded into the silence.

I nodded.

"So, when you left, did you ever once try to reach out to me?" He asked.

"All the time." I said, speaking the complete truth. "I had sleepless nights thinking about you, and how you were? If you were eating properly, or if you were getting your coffee the way you liked it... So many little things kept popping in my head, all mixed to make me feel guilty."