"Mom!" A wide-eyed boy shouted. "They're here!"
Caleb smiled and ruffled the boy's hair. The boy pouted at him and then ran back into the kitchen to his mom. Charlie now knew what Caleb meant by 'family' and not just 'mother'.
"You didn't have to walk me over here, Caleb. I do live like thirty seconds away." She whispered in his ear. He grinned, "My mom told me it would be gentlemanly if I walked you over. She's really excited to meet you. I'm sorry if she says anything embarras-"
"Hello! You must be Charlie!" A woman chirped. Charlie and Caleb turned to the voice. Charlie saw a middle aged, but still young looking woman. Her eyes were crinkled as she smiled, and she was wearing a subtle flowery dress. Her eyes were a light hazel color, like Caleb's. She seemed like a very warm and welcoming character.
Charlie stuck out her hand for a handshake, but the woman laughed and pulled her in for a hug instead. Charlie smiled as she returned the hug. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Hughes."
The women's smile widened, "Please. Call me Janet. Mrs. Hughes makes me feel like an old lady."
Caleb butted in, "You are an old lady though."
Charlie and Janet both smacked Caleb and he rubbed his arm. "Hey!"
Janet threw her head back in laughter, and Charlie awed at her. She realized that her laugh was exactly like Caleb's. That's one trait he definitely got from her.
"Ow!" A boy suddenly shouted, and there was a clatter of noise resounding from the kitchen.
Janet sighed, rubbing her forehead. Caleb groaned, and his mom scolded him, "Go help your brother, Caleb!"
Caleb defeatedly nodded and walked to the kitchen.
His mom then turned to Charlie. "You know...You remind me a lot of someone."
Charlie tightly smiled, "Do I really?"
"Yes." Her mom sat on the couch and patted the spot next to her. Taking the offer, Charlie went and sat on the couch. She said, "Actually, you're only the second girl Caleb has ever brought home for dinner. You're a really special girl."
Charlie grinned, completely surprised. With the amount of girls that Caleb has slept with, she was surprised and felt really special to know that she was one of the only ones Caleb ever cared enough for to meet his family.
Before she could answer, she heard a voice say. "So is that your new girlfriend?!" It sounded like Caleb's younger brother.
Caleb's laugh sounded in the air. "Yes. That's my new girlfriend. Charlie."
"She's so hot!" The younger voice whined.
Janet and Charlie who overheard the conversation burst out laughing, and Charlie blushed, feeling flattered.
The boys walked back into the living room where the women sat. "Charlie. I'd like you to meet my younger brother, Vance."
Charlie waved to the boy. "Wow, Caleb. You didn't mention you had such a cute little brother."
Vance blushed, looking away. Caleb chuckled. "Sorry. I guess it never came up."
"What happened to you?" She joked. Janet laughed and patted Charlie's shoulder, saying to Caleb, "She's a keeper, son."
"Yeah!" Vance quickly agreed, "Way better than Mia!"
Charlie raised her eyebrows as if asking, who is Mia? Was that the only other girl Caleb brought over for dinner?
"Anyways." Caleb said, quickly changing the topic, "When is food going to be ready, mom? I'm sure Charlie's mom is going to get worried soon? It's already been a while and we haven't even started eating."
She shot Caleb a questioning look. "Well, the pot roast is waiting to be eating. It's just sitting in the oven. So, let's go ahead and eat. Vance, go set the table."
"But mom!" Vance whined.
"Vance." She warned in a strict voice.
Vance scowled and ran off to go set the table.
"I'll leave you two alone for a few minutes." Janet said with a smile, walking away.
Charlie licked her lips, "Who's Mia?"
Caleb frowned, "Can we talk about this later?"
"Is she your ex? Or something?" Charlie prodded.
"Yes, Charlie. She's a girl that I used to go out with. Happy?"
She shrugged, "We're not done talking about this."
Caleb groaned, "Let's just go eat, okay?"
She patted down her dress and walked to the dining room. Caleb reached out and grabbed her hand, "Listen, Char. There's a lot you don't know about me."
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
He let out a sigh, "I mean... with Mia, and my family, and me. You don't know me as well as you think you do. And I owe you an explanation. Will you start over with me? I know we've been dating for a week weeks. But I want us to go on a romantic, real date."
Charlie smiled, nodding, "Of course, Caleb. I just don't want there to be secrets between us. Alright?"
"Definitely. There's no school tomorrow. So give me the whole day. I'll be all yours. I'll answer all of your questions. Anything you want to know. Tomorrow will be real, okay?"
"I'm all yours." She whispered, squeezing his hands they walked into the dining room.
-----
"Yes, actually. I'm thinking about lots of colleges, but mainly I'm very excited about my application to Colombia. They're my top choice."
"Wow. Colombia? What an amazing school. It's going to be tough. I wish I could get Caleb this excited about college."
Charlie offered a friendly laugh, "Oh, Mrs.Hu- I mean, Janet, I'm sure Caleb will find a college of his choice that he's in love with. Maybe.... he's a fan of Colombia?" She suggestively wiggled her eyebrows at Caleb. He laughed, "I just haven't thought about it yet. Don't worry, mom."
"Good. So... Charlie. Have there been any other boys in your life?" His mom gently said. Everyone's eyes were focused on Charlie. Caleb suddenly coughed, "Mom." He warned. His mom must have realized it was a touchy subject because she said, "Oh, I get it. It's a touchy subject."
"Kind of like Mia." Vance interrupted.
Caleb and his mom glared at Vance. "Vance. Stop talking about Mia. Okay?" Caleb mumbled through gritted teeth.
Charlie awkwardly coughed, "No, it's really alright. I, uh... it's not a touchy subject." She lied. His mom shot her an expectant look and she said, "I, um... I've only dated one other boy."
His mom happily smiled, "How great! You and Caleb are like two peas in a pod." So did that mean that Caleb dated only one other girl? Mia? Did she do what Luke did to me? Charlie thought.
"Yeah."
"Want to talk about it?" His mom encouraged, clearly trying to get more information out of Charlie. Caleb glared at his mom, his face heating up.
Charlie nodded slowly, "Um. I uh, dated him in the sixth grade. We were together for two years. His name was Luke. Uh, I thought I loved him."
She shook her head with a sad smile on her face, "But, I guess he didn't think the same. I caught him with, um." She paused, feeling heat coming to her face. She pushed her tears away, not letting them roll down her face, "I caught him cheating on me. And then he just left. Moved to Florida, from what I heard. A month of missed calls on his phone receiver. Three years of a sad, pathetic, depressed Charlie Harper. Three years of tears down the drain."
She shook her head again, unable to continue. She knew she was giving way more information than what was asked of her. She suddenly pushed her chair back and said, "Excuse me, Mrs. Hughes, Caleb, Vance. I think my mom's waiting for me back home. Thank you for the lovely dinner." Tears were running down her face. She turned around, unable to face any of them. "Thank you for having me over. It was wonderful. I'll see you tomorrow, Caleb?"
She almost ran out of the house, but Caleb grabbed her wrist. She yanked her arm away and said softly, "Thanks, Caleb. But I really need to be alone right now."
He had a hurt look on his face as he threw his hands into his pockets. "Why? Why does it hurt you so much to talk about Luke?"
She turned back to face Caleb. "Because he was my first love, Caleb. Because he's back here in California. Because I'm just a game to him. I don't mean anything to him. I thought he loved me, Caleb. You have to understand that I don't love Lucas anymore. But I used to. And that's what kills me. The fact that you heard him talking in the locker room, saying he was sure I was still an obsessed little eighth grader that would just be an easy fuck for him. I'm a joke. And what hurts me so much to talk about him is that I must have been a joke all along."
He cupped his hands around her cheek and said, "Charlie. Listen to me. He is back here in California, but he left you three years ago. You should have moved on by now. You still can. Get closure, Char. Because now, I'm the one that's here for you. I overheard him being a fucking idiot in the locker room." He lied again. "But that's his loss. Any guy would be lucky to have you, Charlie. Can't you see? I'm so lucky to have you. And you may be just some joke to Lucas, but that shouldn't matter. You know why? Because he left you three years ago. He left you broken. So that part of you that loves him should be gone for doing such a heartless thing. There should be a new part of you that realizes that maybe you were a joke to Luke. Maybe you still are. But it doesn't fucking matter anymore, because you're not a joke to me. Because I love you."