Today I was going out with Sarah and Caleb. Today was the day I was going to see Caleb again after five years.

I was getting ready in my room trying to realize the importance of the situation.

Caleb was back. My brother was probably back too.

After I left everything behind and found shelter in uncle Rob's house I was naive enough to think my life would go normally from now on.

My phone ringing interrupted my thoughts.

"Hello?"

"Aria it's me" I heard Alexander's deep voice. "You're probably getting ready to leave now. I just wanted to tell you if you need anything, don't hesitate to call" His hesitant voice brought a smile to my face.

"Yes, I know"

"And make sure your phone is charged" He reminded me.

"It is"

"And text me to tell me you're okay"

"Yes" I giggled.

"Have fun baby, but not too much fun" He said and hang up.

After I was ready mentally and physically I left the house and took the bus to go to the Italian restaurant the told me they would be at.

"Aria!" I heard someone exclaim the second I stepped into the restaurant. I felt two strong arms wrap around me. "I missed you so much shortcake"

"I missed you too Caleb" I smiled softly after breaking the hug. He took my hand and led me to our table.

The restaurant was really welcoming and the atmosphere was really warm. There were quite many people there but there wasn't much noise and there was soft music playing.

"Ari!" Sarah hugged me before sitting and gesturing me to take a sit. When I sat she gave me a thumbs up when Caleb wasn't looking.

"Aria, I'm so glad to see you again" He said smiling.

I had to say he had drastically changed. Last time I saw him he still had a baby face. Now he even had a little stubble and was really tall and more buffed. Well, not as tall and buffed as Alexander.

"I'm glad too" I smiled kindly.

"Hello, what would you like to ord-" I looked up at the waiter only to realize it was Jason.

"Jason do you work here?" I asked dumbfounded.

"You know him?" Caleb asked.

"Oh h-hi Jason" Sarah laughed awkwardly. Jason gave her a smile and then turned to me.

"I work here yes. I'm glad to see you again Aria. Who's your friend?" I could swear I saw a tiny tint of a smirk on his lips. "Your boyfriend?"

"No no no! That's just Sarah's brother" I said.

"I see, well nice to meet you I'm Jason" he held out his hand for Caleb to shake.

"I'm Caleb, nice to meet you too" I could see he was putting too much strength on Jason's hand, He was squishing it really hard but Jason remained unbothered with a confident smile on his face.

"Gabriel!" A man yelled looking at out direction. "You're taking too long man, take the order and leave"

"Coming!" Jason yelled back at him.

Wait, Gabriel?

"Why did he call you-"

"So what would you like to order?" He chuckled taking out his small notebook. We all brushed it off and gave his our orders he said goodbye and left our table.

"That was weird" Sarah muttered.

"Anyway" I laughed awkwardly.

"So Aria how's life living alone now?" He asked.

I chose not to tell him about Alexander. If there was one small chance he could be talking about this to my brother then I would be putting Alexander in danger.

"You know it's kind of hard I mean financially and stuff but I manage to work it out"

"If you ever need help you know I'm here now" He smiled.

"No, I'm pretty good where I am"

"So Caleb" Sarah started with a smirk on her face. "Any girls you'd like to talk about?"

"Sarah!" He whined.

"She's right, I bet you have girls waiting in lines for you don't you?"I giggled.

"No!" he scoffed. "There were girls but I haven't found the one yet" He chuckled sadly.

"I remember when Aria had a crush on you" Sarah said.

"Sarah!"

"I remember too, that was adorable!" he cooed. "I wanted to squish you and kiss your blushed up cheeks everytime you talked to me" His words had no effect on me now, I just laughed lightly.

If it was Alexander saying it I would have exploded.

Ugh why do I keep thinking about him!

Jason came back with our orders after a few minutes and placed everything on our table. They all really looked delicious and mouthwatering.

And they also tasted as good.

"So Aria, what about you? Any boyfriend I should know about?"

I almost choked.

"Me? No" I scoffed. "Boyfriends aren't my priority right now" I said however a certain person came into my mind the moment he said that.

"Glad to hear that" He said.

"Why would you be glad about that!" Sarah slapped his arm.

"Because you know I'm overprotective when it comes to my two favorite little girls little sis" He cooed and pinched her cheeks.

"Shut up" She murmured and went back to eating.

The rest of the night was full of laughs and giggles. It was really fun, but I still had to be cautious around Caleb. It hurt not to trust him, but I couldn't take any risks.

It was around ten o'clock and we had to go back to our appointments.

"We're driving you home" Caleb said when we got out of the restaurant.

"No you don't have to"

"Yes, Aria is a big girl she can can home alone, she'll text me when she's home" Sarah said awkwardly. Sarah knew I didn't want Caleb to know where I lived.

"No, she doesn't have to, we can drive her there" He said kind of confused as to why Sarah would want me to go home alone.

"I'll take a taxi"

"She'll take a taxi" Sarah and I said at the same time.

"Aria" He sighed. "If this is about me and your brother, you know I would never hurt you like that. He's my best friend, but I wouldn't do that to an innocent person" He said genuinely looking into my eyes with his big brown ones.

"I-"

"I'll take her home" Suddenly I heard a familiar cheerful voice behind me. I turned around startled to find it was Jason. "I was going to see my friend and her place is near" He said. "Right, Aria?" he looked at me.

"Yes, don't worry, I trust Jason" I said.

"Fine. Text me when you've arrived" Caleb said staring at Jason. When they turned around Sarah turned to me and gave me a wink.

When they were gone I let out a sigh of relief.

"Your best friend is really smart" He said smiling. "She gave me this when she handed me the money" He said giving me a piece of paper.

Come outside five minutes after us.

"She must have seen I was getting ready to leave because my shift was over. I heard the conversation and figured you didn't want him to take you home" he said. "The question is, why?" He raised an eyebrow.

Did he hear what Caleb said about my brother?

"It's a long story actually. Maybe another time" I said.

"Of course, now let's get in the car" He said and walking away as I followed behind him.

He was driving when we heard his phone ringing. He picked it up, his eyes never leaving the road.

"What do you want?" He asked ever so sweetly on the phone. "I'm driving your girlfriend to your apartment"

Girlfriend? Was he talking to Alex? Why did he say I'm his girlfriend?

"No smart-ass she was at the restaurant and it was late so I offered to take her home" He paused for a minute. I could hear Alex blubbering angrily on the other line but I couldn't make out what he was saying. "Alex dear, we're almost there so don't break my balls" he said smiling and hang up.

He was so cheerful he could make a bad word sound kind.

"Sorry about that, your roommate is a pain"

Don't I know that

"We're here" He said and pulled up.

"Thank you Jason" I said and gave him a quick hug.

"It's Sarah you should be thanking I only did what was right" he chuckled.

I got out of the car and walked away waving at him.

The minute I opened the door I was startled by Alex who was blocking the entrance to our apartment.

"Alex! You scared me!" I explained holding my hand close to my chest.

"Had fun?" He asked shoving his face close to mine. I ignored him and pushed him away so I could step in before closing the door.

"Yes, it was really fun" I smiled.

"So, should I be jealous?" He asked hesitantly and I saw him keep his head down.

"No definitely not" I said and went close to him. "Caleb is like my brother Alex" I told him and cupped his face. He put his hands over mine and led my hands into his thick black hair.

Oh. My. God. I'm touching his hair and it's the softest thing on earth, it's softer than cotton but also so thick and just perfect.

His hands moved to my waist as he pulled me closer.

"I missed you little one" He murmured leaning his forehead on mine. My heart did a flip at the nickname.

"I-I missed you too"

"Yeah?" He whispered, his lips barely brushing against mine as he spoke. "There's no way you missed me more than I missed you" He chuckled. "You're beautiful" He said after a long pause his dark blue eyes staring into my green ones.

Thanks. You're the most handsome person on earth, you could be mistaken for a dark angel or a model that belongs on the runway.

"Thank you" I muttered "I need to go to have a shower now and go to sleep" I said quickly.

"Yeah and I need to go now" He also said making my mood change.

Why did he have to leave every night? Was he out clubbing and not working? Has he been going out with girls even if he's acting like I'm his girlfriend? Does he think the things he does to me are normal and nothing important?

Girl, you jump to conclusions like a monkey on trees. Sarah's voice appeared in my head.

God, I'm going crazy.

"See you tomorrow princess" He kissed my forehead and left.