Jaden's mother stood in the hallway on the other side of her front door when Jaden answered the door for us the next day. She was a tall, dark skinned woman with short hair that was dyed blonde at the tips. She had a wide, white toothed smile that brightened the dark blue hallway.

"I finally get to meet you!" She announced, clapping her hands together. "I'm Aisha."

My mom smiled at her, a small one but a genuine one. I knew she already liked her because of her beautiful smile. I stared at Jaden's mom, slightly dazed. She was beautiful- more beautiful than I had expected and I immediately wanted her to like me. I fixed my posture and gave her my biggest smile. Growing up in the wealthier side of New York, I usually always had a lot of people to impress. I was glad that the three weeks that I had spent here hadn't erased my ability to impress.

We walked into the house, my mom walking in first. I felt Jaden place a hand on the small of my back and he leaned in towards me, making it look like a hug. I knew it wasn't when I felt his breath on my neck.

"Relax," he whispered, "She doesn't bite."

"Jaden, I know you haven't seen her since Friday but give the girl some space," his mother teased, approaching me with open eyes. "Oh my gosh, she's beautiful! Jaden told me you were but I didn't expect such a stunner."

Jaden grinned and gave her a small eye roll. I was red already, allowing her to hug me. She pulled away after a few seconds, too soon, in all honesty. She was taller than me but she managed not to look down at me. She stepped back.

"Nice to finally meet you Maddie,"

I nodded, giving her my best smile, "It's nice to meet you too. I thought Jaden would keep you hidden forever."

"That makes the two of us," she joked, turning to face my mother. My mother was staring at her in a daze, like this was the first time she had ever met a woman she instantly wanted to be friends with. They began to walk in the direction of what I assumed was the kitchen.I smiled at them, about to follow until I felt a hand slide into mine.

"Not there," Jaden tugged at my arm. I let him lead me. His house was huge, with pictures of Jaden, Uriah and his mom hang everywhere.His dad wasn't in any of them. I kept my questions in as he led me up the stairs, staring at our entwined hands and the back of his head and smiling just at the sight of him.

We walked onto the second floor and I looked around at all the closed doors. The house was silent. I knew that Uriah wouldn't be joining us tonight as he and Jenny were on a date but I couldn't help but think about how empty such a big house must have felt. Especially now that the boys were older and weren't running around as much.

We paused outside a specific room and he turned to look at me, eyebrows  raised. "I have no sexual intentions, if that's what you may think," he told me, "We're just gonna sit in there and if you feel uncomfortable just let me know."

I nodded. "Open the door man," I told him with a small smile. He rolled his eyes and turned to open the door. His room was clean. The walls were painted a dark shade of red, with a bunch of posters with rappers and other things on the wall. He had a small desk by his bedside where his laptop and phone sat, alongside a bowl of pretzels he must have been eating before I came. His table was right by the window and when I tilted, I could see my house.

I instantly felt stupid for texting him earlier to tell him that I had arrived because he could obviously see from his room. He turned to look at me and sat on his bed. He was probably expecting me to  sit at his desk because he looked shocked when I sat on the bed, at the edge, leaving a distance between the two of us.

He patted the spot next to him and I hesitated for only a second before I pushed myself near him. We sat in silence, backs against the wall, nearly touching but not quite.

"Your room is nice," I told him, looking up. He'd painted a sky up there and it looked so odd. I wondered why it wasn't the first thing I noticed. I stared up at it for a while, awestruck by the detail until he spoke.

"Thank you," he told me, "Uriah painted it. Don't tell anyone he's secretly an artist or he'll kill you."

"So you're telling me that everyone in your family has some secret talent?" I asked, only partially jealous.

He chuckled and nudged me with his shoulder. "Everyone has a secret talent. My mom is a great cook but she doesn't talk about it much so only  Uriah and I know. Well....for now."

My stomach growled at the mention of food. I'd only had a granola bar the whole day, scared that I would be too full for tonight. Luckily he didn't hear it. I shifted so that we were closer.

"My mom's great at baking," I told him, "She used to make my birthday cakes when I was younger, until my dad decided that I needed to get my cakes done by experts. Like all my friends."

"Damn. She must have been hurt," he answered, making a face. I felt guilty for painting my dad in such a bad way and I almost mentioned the conversation I had had with him the day before but a part of me wondered if Jaden would be glad to hear that I probably wouldn't be around during the Christmas period. So instead, I shrugged it off.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out, remembering that I had written something for Jaden. I had received a text from Jenny telling me that we'd talk properly when she got home. This afternoon, I had gathered the courage to text her and tell her that I needed to talk when we were both free. Now I wondered if telling her about my dad was a good idea. Would she mention it to Uriah? Or Jaden?

"Here you go," I told Jaden, handing him my phone once I opened my notepad. The night before, after bawling my eyes out, I had opened my notepad and written for the first time in a while. I had written about my father, about him finding true love outside of his job and being aware of what was happening around him. I had written it with hope; hope that it would actually come true.

Jaden read in silence, his eyes moving over my words slowly, taking every bit in like it was precious. I rested my head on his shoulder. Looking around his room, I thought about how comfortable his shoulder was and how comfortable his bed was. Everything was comfortable around him.

"Maddie," he whispered once he was done, "You weren't kidding when you said you knew how to write."

I looked up at him. His eyes were wide but his smile was wider. I opened my mouth to speak but was cut off by my ringtone. I stared at the caller ID and raised an eyebrow.

Steven?

"Excuse me," I told him, standing up and taking my phone from him. I walked out into the hallway, putting some distance between the room and I before I answered. "Hello?" I said into the phone, my heart beating wildly. Why was I still nervous about him? What we had had was over.

"Maddie, hey," he said. His voice was smooth and deep, deeper than Jaden's. I swallowed before releasing a heavy breath. "I just wanted to check up on you....I miss you."

I could imagine him in his room, tossing a football and catching it as he lay in bed, his phone resting between his ear and his shoulder lazily. A part of me wondered if he could imagine me as well, or if he thought I had changed so much so that he couldn't picture me in his head. Had I changed?

"I miss you too Steven," I said. "How are things? Is your mom okay?"

"Yes and yes," he chuckled, "She stopped going to therapy. Said that my dad's death couldn't be reversed so she'd just have to live with it."

I nodded, even though he couldn't see me. He paused for a second before he added, "And your dad is fine too. He came over for dinner last night. He looked a bit tired but he said he was alright."

I raised an eyebrow, "Did he mention me?"

Steven was silent for a moment before he sighed. "Yes he did. He said you might be back for Christmas," he said,  pausing for a moment before he spoke again, "So I thought it would be best if I told you now. Instead of you finding out when you come...."

I didn't say anything, giving him room to talk. He was hesitant, I could tell, but when he spoke I immediately wanted to cut the call.

"I wanted to tell you that.....Addison and I are dating,"

Jaden's mom's voice broke the silence that followed.  "Jaden, Maddie, food is ready!" She yelled from downstairs.

Steven spoke again, "Who's Jaden?"

"I'll talk to you later," I said, still in shock from what he'd just told me before I hung up, sliding my phone into my pocket. Jaden came out of his room and stood in front of me, obviously sensing my distress because he held onto both my arms, giving me a concerned look.

"You okay?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yeah," I said. My voice came out quite hoarse so I cleared my throat and tried again. "I'm fine. Let's go eat. I'm starving."

I could tell he didn't buy it. But he nodded and slid his arms around my shoulder comfortingly before we walked downstairs.

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