Edited: 01/07/2022
"Was it a small peck or was it a sexy, steamy kiss?" Katie asked, wanting to know all of the details.
"The first kiss was a very passionate kiss" I smiled, touching my lips as a replayed the memory, "and then the rest of the kisses were a mixture."
"Exactly how many kisses were there?" Alex laughed.
"I lost count" I sighed dreamily.
"Oh god, I am jealous. Alex, kiss me" Noah joked which instantly made Alex blush.
Alex, Katie, and Noah had all come over this morning to help me pack since mum was finally coming home today. They had also come over to gossip about the kiss, or kisses, between Caleb and I last night.
Mum's flight was supposed to be coming in at around five P.M. so the plan was to finish packing up my room and then go to my house, clean up and make mum's favourite dish.
"Thank you for inviting me over by the way" Alex smiled, sitting beside Noah.
"Of course, you are one of us now" Katie said.
"Where are you thinking about going to university?" I asked Alex.
Shaking his head, "I actually do not think that I am going to go to university. My family owns an auto repair business, so I am currently doing an apprenticeship whilst in school. They own multiple shops around the state and are currently opening another one here so that is why we moved" he stated, "what about you guys?"
"I am wanting to do secondary education; Katie wants to do physiology and Noah is thinking about nursing. We are all hoping to go to Greendale University" I explained.
"Fair enough, we have a shop not far from there" Alex smiled.
"Wow, really? If we all get into Greendale, we are wanting to buy a house together. If we do, the offer is open to you as well" Noah smiled.
"Really?" he asked, genuinely surprised.
"Yeah, absolutely" Katie said.
"Alright, I think that is about it" I said, zipping up the last bag.
Katie, Noah, and Alex helped me take my bags down to the car before leaving which left me in the house with Noah and Tori.
"Hey beautiful" Caleb said, wrapping his arms around my waist.
"Hey yourself" I smiled, kissing his cheek.
"It is not going to be the same without you" he said, nuzzling his head into the crook of my neck.
"I am going to miss you so much" I sighed, breathing in his scent.
"Are you guys together?" Tori asked, standing outside my door.
We both looked at each other not knowing what to say. "Ummm no?" I said as more of a question.
"Stop being nosey" Caleb laughed.
"I just came to say that I am going to miss her" she pouted.
I smiled at how beautiful this girl is, "you are so sweet, I am going to miss you too" I said, hugging her.
"Promise you will still come over?" she asked.
"Yes, of course. I will be here all the time; it will be like I never left" I said sadly.
I wanted to cry. These guys have been like my family for almost six weeks and they have helped me during some of the most challenging times of my life.
"You guys are going to make me cry" I said, as tears threatened to spill.
"Come here" Caleb said, pulling me towards him.
"Alright I have to go, otherwise I am not going to get everything done in time" I laughed, fanning my face in an attempt to stop the tears.
"Bye Bianca" Tori said, hugging me one last time.
Caleb picked up my handbag and waited near the bedroom door, "I will walk you out."
I interlocked my hand with Caleb's as we walked down the stairs and towards my car. Unlocking my car, I bent over to push my handbag inside and as I stood back up, I was met with Caleb's lips. Our lips moved together and he pushed me against the car. We pulled away and rested our foreheads against each other as we both took a deep breathe.
"I am going to miss you so much!" I said, wrapping my arms around him.
"I will miss you more Princess, I will see you soon, okay?" he said, kissing my lips once more.
"See you soon" I said, giving him one last peck before getting in the car.
I honestly had no idea what Caleb and I were. After Will though, I was happy not to rush into another relationship. Caleb made me happy so I was okay to just go with the flow at the moment.
The drive home went pretty quickly. I stopped in at the grocery store on the way home to order to pick up some groceries for the dinner tonight as well as some flowers and balloon letters to say, 'welcome back mum.' Mum's favourite meal was a slow cooked satay chicken dish which takes four and a half hours to make.
As soon as I got home, I used the key to unlock the door. The house smelt stale due to no fresh air being in the rooms and there was a build-up of dust across several surfaces after not been touched for 6 weeks.
I left my bags in the car, put mums flowers into a vase and instantly got to work on dinner. The food was in the slow cooker in no time so I started cleaning the house. I opened up the blinds and the windows in order to let in fresh air and light. I began dusting down the surfaces, vacuuming the carpets and moping the floors. I washed the windows and sprayed the room spray around the house. By the time the house was clean, it had been almost three hours.
I began working on the balloons and setting them up so that she would be able to see them as soon as she opened the front door. I outlined the letters with fairy lights and added some balloons at the top of the ceiling with bits of ribbon trickling down.
I pulled out the grey placemats, the black plates and bowls, silver cutlery, wine glasses and white candle sticks to set the table up.
Mum should be home in about an hour and the food had about that amount of time to go.
"Bianca" Mike said walking through the front door, "oh god" he sighed.
"Mikey" I yelled, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"Hey Bee" he said.
"How good does the house look! I have spent the past three hours cleaning, I have a bunch of flowers in a vase, the balloons and lights are up and mums favourite slow cooked satay dish is cooking but it should be done in about an hour" I said smiling.
It was only now that I noticed the look on Mike's face. He looked upset and disappointed, "Mike, what is going on?" I asked.
"Bianca, I do not know how to say this" he said, taking a deep breathe, "Mum is not coming".
My breathe caught in my throat, "excuse me?"
"Mum said she got held up and did not know how to tell us" Mike said, rubbing his forehead.
"You are kidding right?" I yelled.
"I am sorry"
I walked back into the kitchen in absolute shock. I picked up the satay dish and through the entire pot into the sink hearing it smash.
"Hey, you are fine" Mike said, hugging me from behind.
"How can she do this to us! I have cleaned, cooked, brought presents, and packed up all my stuff from Julie's" I sobbed.
"I know" he said, soothing my hair and back, "she will be back soon."
"She was supposed to be gone three weeks, it has now been six weeks! I have called and texted and it is like she cannot be bothered to even talk to me anymore. I have needed my mum more than ever over the past six weeks and yet she is nowhere to be seen" I yelled, sobbing.
"I know and I feel the same way! There is nothing we can do except try and get her home and just be there for each other in the meanwhile. We will figure this out and I am always here for you. If you need me, I will be there" he said, grabbing my face so that I was looking into his eyes.
"You go back to Julie's and I will clean all this up and put everything away" he said, kissing my forehead.
"Okay" I sniffled, "I love you."
"I love you too."
The drive back to Julie's was slow and consisted of me trying to call mum but, to no surprise, it went straight to voicemail.
"I have never been so disappointed in you" I yelled into the phone as a sob left my mouth, "three weeks mum! That is how long you were supposed to be gone for and it has now been six weeks. You promised me that you would call me as often as you could and yet I have not heard from you at all recently. You did not tell me you were extending your trip the first time or this time. Have you completely forgot about your kids!" I sobbed heavily. "I have needed you more over the past few weeks with the nightmares and Will cheating on me and everything else that has happened over the past two months. You have not been here. I worked all day on setting up the house, buying you flowers, making your favourite meal only for you not to turn up! I hope your extended trip was worth it because our relationship will never be the same after this" I said, hanging up.
By now I was a compete mess and my vision was blurred from the tears. I pulled over on the side of the road, waiting for my tears to stop and after what felt like an eternity they did. The rest of the drive was uneventful and before I knew it, I was back at the house I called my own for six weeks.
I quickly walked inside and back to my empty room before crying again in the bed.
It was only a few minutes before Caleb came in, "Bianca?" he asked
"Yeah, can you please leave? I just want to be alone for now" I cried.
"No chance babe, move over" he said, moving me over so that he could cuddle me into his arms, "what happened?"
"I did everything! I cleaned, cooked, set up balloons and then she did not come. She is still over there and did not even let me know" I cried into his shirt.
"Oh god, I am so sorry" he said, kissing the top of my head.
This is how we stayed for the next thirty minutes or so and it was not until I heard Julie on the phone that we broke apart.
"How could you do this to her? She was so excited to have you come home!" Julie yelled into the phone.
"Of course, she is welcome, we love having her here but that is not the problem. The problem is that she wanted to be home with you!" she exclaimed.
"Whatever Renae."
Julie turned and saw us sitting on the staircase, "I am so sorry Bianca, I do not know what your mother is thinking" she said, giving me a hug.
"I do not know either. How come she answered your phone call and not mine? I am over it" I sighed, running my hands over my face.
My phone begun ringing and I pulled it out and saw my mum's contact. Finally.
"I have nothing to say to you right now, everything I have to say is in the voicemail" I said hanging up the phone.
The rest of the day went slowly. It just consisted of Caleb and I unpacking my bags, talking to Katie and Noah, and relaxing with Julie and Tori.
By the end of theday, I was extremely exhausted and I feel asleep extremely early in Caleb'sarms; one of the places where I felt most calm and safe.