Memories

"That's a first." 

Layla thinks to herself when her eyes open and she finds Caleb right next to her and fast asleep. A smile crosses her lips before getting up and sitting up quietly on the bed. This is a rare sight for her. She wonders what has happened to the usual early riser. 

He is sprawled out on the bed. His usually perfectly styled hair is not so perfect anymore, giving him a sort of rugged good look. He seems to be deep in sleep too, a subtle frown covering his face. 

For whatever reason she finds him cute and wishes they could stay just like this with her taking in his cuteness. It feels good to be the one doing the watching over for a change. She finds herself fighting the urge to run her hands through his hair or to touch his beautiful face.

He looks so relaxed and peaceful, as if he were catching up on a thousand hours of sleep. She props up her legs  and rests her chin on her knees while she stares at his sleeping form.

He looks so different from the man she saw back at the mall. The man that was ready to fight for her. A warm feeling covers her at the thought of someone fighting for her. It's kind of weird too after so many years of taking care of herself and all her business too. But it's also something she loves also. Not that she expects the whole knight in shining armour thing, but just knowing someone else cares enough to stand up for her is enough for her.

Her mother's face crosses her mind too but she chooses not to linger on that subject for too long. What Simon said back at the mall struck a chord in her and she is afraid to know if there is any truth to it. So just to keep her mind from wandering too much, her mother is a forbidden subject for now. Even though she has already decided to ask Caleb for help once they get back home.

"Home." She chuckles after thinking of Caleb's house as a home. 

A cool early morning breeze flows gently into the bedroom bringing with it the smell of fresh wild flowers. She takes in a deep breath of the sweet smelling scent before shifting her attention away from the handsome man sleeping next to her and to a breathtaking view of a mass of water just right outside of the bedroom window. This is her first time being in a place like this which she thinks is truly magical. Just like the setting sun cast it's magic on the lake the time she and Caleb visited the lake, the early morning sun seems to have its own rays of magic that are hitting the lake beautifully this morning. 

The phenomenal body of water seems to be calling out to her and she finds herself carefully getting off the bed and walking over to one of the windows that is overlooking the lake. She looks back at Caleb just to make sure she didn't wake him and she smiles when she finds him still fast asleep. 

She turns back to the lake and her eyes gently sweep over the water lost in its beauty that she wishes she could wake up to each morning.

"It's quite the view wouldn't you say?" 

A deep raspy voice says from behind her and her heart skips a beat when some warm manly arms wrap around her.

"It's beautiful." She replies. 

"Hope I didn't wake you." She says while she unconsciously leans into him loving his warm embrace.

"You did, but I'm glad you did." He places his head in the crook of her neck.

"I could get used to waking up to such a beautiful view every morning." He mumbles right next to her ear and tingles shoot up within her at his closeness. 

"This is one beautiful view, I think I wouldn't mind waking up to such a view everyday either." She says as she dreamily stares at the water.

"I didn't mean the view of the water." Caleb says and she blushes when she understands what he means.

"I see." She says with a chuckle.

"The place is beautiful still."

"You are beautiful."

Caleb turns her to himself and her heart hammers in her chest as it skips beats like a drummer hitting his drum out of rhythm.

He is looking at her intensely as if he were trying to commit her face to his memory and her own stomach goes in a flip flop frenzy. She swallows nervously, not knowing what will come next. His warm hand caressing her face has her closing her eyes and leaning into it.

"Tell me about her."

She opens her eyes at his words and finds him looking at her thoughtfully, but she wonders who 'her' is supposed to be.

"Who do you mean?" She asks.

"Your mother…"

She is taken aback for a moment. This is not what she was expecting, especially that she didn't want to think about her and her own suspected craziness.

"Of course I will understand if you don't want to." He says but she just smiles. 

He looks so nervous about it, but she can also tell he genuinely wants to know about her life which warms her a little. She hasn't met many people like him, not even her former fiancèe bothered to know about her life before them. At first she thought it was because Simon just loved her and her past didn't matter, but looking at it now makes her think otherwise. 

"She was beautiful." She begins while her heart stings a little at referring to her mother as was.

"And fun." She chuckles as memories of the fun times they had surface in her mind.

"To me she was perfect, the coolest mother I could ever ask for. Of course some of my earlier memories are a little fuzzy now, but I remember we had so much fun." She looks up at him and finds him smiling and listening attentively. 

"It was always me and her as far as I can remember."

"You never met any of your other family?" Caleb asks with a frown.

"No, not that I can remember. Maybe when I was younger, which I wouldn't remember even if I did." She looks at him sadly when that strikes her most desired need at her very core. 

"She always used to say it would always be just me and her. I have never even met my father. She always refused to talk about him." She says looking away in the distance. She fights her tears when the reality of her lonely life that she rarely thinks about stares at her. It almost feels like she was just abandoned by everyone who was supposed to love her. 

"Of course, it was just me in the end when she decided to leave me alone too." At that she breaks down, unable to hold back her sadness. 

Memories that she had fought to bury deep in her mind suddenly spring up. Her cold days after her mother's death stare her in the face and sobs escape her as she is forced to relieve the darkest moment in her young life. 

Then she didn't even know what she was going to do. As a sheltered thirteen year old she didn't even know she had options no matter how few they were. For days she just crouched in a corner afraid of stepping out into the world. Afraid that if she ever did, the streets would be her forever home and maybe she would end up dead too. As a little girl that was her worst fear that spilled over into her adulthood. 

Luckily since they lived in a small town a reverend from their local church had gotten her and introduced her at the town's orphanage. The people at the orphanage were good to her and she made friends with some of the kids she found there. A few weeks later a lawyer had come informing her that her mother had left her savings that she could access when she turned 18. That made her cry as if she had lost her mother all over again. She was grateful knowing that with that money she would at least be able to finish her college education.

Her heart was set on what she wanted to do so when she turned 18 she had all the money transferred to her personal account and started her journey alone after being at the orphanage for 5 years. She was still alone but she was not thirteen any more.

She turns to Caleb with a renewed appreciation for having him in her life. She has a feeling she will never experience that kind of loneliness again.

"Thank you for being here." She says when she looks up at him and he just pulls her in for a hug. He rubs her back gently and a sense of comfort covers her. She doesn't know how he always knows what she needs every time. 

"Thank you for telling me." He says while she feels his embrace get tighter. 

"We could just stay here if you don't want to go out there." He says after some time but she shakes her head.

"I wouldn't want to ruin everyone's time here. Besides I feel better already and I have a feeling Emma and Emily will be here soon too." She smiles up at him.

"Okay." He says even though he still looks at her with concern.

"You could give me my first cooking lesson." 

He lights up at her suggestion and he pulls her towards the door without so much as a word and she laughs.