Through His Eyes

Through His Eyes [12]

"And you know what?" He leaned towards Rhea over the table, as if he was going to let her in on a secret. Then he mock-whispered, "I woke up like this."

***

It was nearing nine when they stepped out the library doors and into the considerably colder evening air. The temperature had dropped even more since they'd holed up inside the library two hours ago, and Rhea regretted not wearing a thicker sweater, or an actual coat.

She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to bury herself more into her jacket in the process as she and Caleb came to a halt in front of the library.

"Jesus," Caleb breathed out as he rubbed his hands together. "It's even colder. How are you getting home?"

"I'll walk," Rhea said nonchalantly.

"What is it with you and walking in ungodly hours?" He shook his head with disapproval.

"It's only nine," Rhea said with a flat tone.

"It's dark. And cold. Pretty deadly combination if you ask me."

"I'll survive." She rolled her eyes.

"Let's get coffee before you go, maybe it'll delay the hypothermia you'll surely suffer from."

"You don't have to," she quickly went to reassure him.

"Rhea," Caleb said patiently. "I am not buying."

"Oh, I thought- Yeah, coffee sounds great right about now."

That is how five minutes later Rhea ended up with a massive cup of pumpkin spiced latte in her hands. In the plush, forest green armchair opposite her sat Caleb, nursing an Espresso of his own.

"So," Rhea said after bringing the mug to her lips to take a sip. "How's life?"

"Seriously?" Caleb asked disbelievingly, earning himself an impassive look from Rhea. "It's- It's exhausting, I guess. On most days I am on autopilot. All I have that keeps me going is my family and Yasmine."

"How long have you guys been together?"

"Three years, I think. We've always been friends, though. Her, me and Xander."

"Do they go to school with us?"

"No, they go to Rockwood."

Rockwood was the high school on the other side of town, with a smaller graduating class and a better campus compared to Lincoln, the one Rhea and Caleb went to.

"Why don't you?" Rhea asked.

"Because Lincoln is closer to where I live."

"Makes sense," Rhea said with a slow nod of her head.

"What about you?"

"I have it easy, I guess. My parents are great. I have two amazing friends. And I guess now I have Floyd too." As she talked about her life, Rhea felt her chest expand by a million miles. Everything was going so great for her. But then, she went on to feel like the biggest jerk in the world for bragging about how easy she had it to Caleb, who'd gotten dealt a pretty shitty set of cards.

She looked at him with apology written on her face, but he just gave her a small, wistful smile as he said, "I hope you never lose sight of that happiness."

"Thank you." She returned his smile with gratitude, filled to the brim with respect for the boy-no, scratch that for the man before her.

It was at almost ten that they stood on yet another sidewalk, rubbing their hands together to try and evade the numbness that would surely soon claim them just a little bit longer. Rhea felt slightly buzzed from the coffee, even though she'd had the lightest beverage possible.

"Are you sure you'll be alright on your own?" Caleb asked. As much as she shrugged it off, his concern for her wellbeing was pretty heartwarming in Rhea's eyes.

"I'm sure," she said, reassuring him for the umpteenth time.

"Can't you get your dad to come pick you up? Or your boyfriend?"

"My parents go to bed really early and I don't want to bother them. And Floyd and I aren't anything serious yet. Can't ask him either. I am fine, Caleb, really."

"Fine," he sighed, giving up. "Just-"

"Text you when I get home," she completed his sentence for him. "Yeah, I'd figured you'd say that."

"Yeah." He gave her a sheepish grin. "I'll see you around, Myers."

"Right back at you, Archer."

***

A/N: Lots of Caleb in this chapter. What do you guys think?

VOTE and/or COMMENT if you like it.

Thanks so much for all your support! As of now, THE has 13,7K reads and 1,2K votes, which is INSANE. I love each and every single one of you guys.

May we meet again.

-Safiye.