"Where have you been?" Caleb's father asked, as he walked through the door,
"I've been out, I'm here now"
Caleb replied, running his hand through his hair, his father looked at him, "you look like shit" he said, walking towards him, he held his hand out to Caleb, who placed a hefty wad of cash into his palm, "it's all gone?" His father looked surprised as he counted the money.
"It's all gone" Caleb assured him, as he walked into the kitchen on the hunt for water, he filled a glass and leaned back onto the counter top, he drank and closed his eyes, he heard his father's footsteps as he approached, "it must've been good, to make you feel and look this way" he cocked his head to the side regarding Caleb and shaking his head, "I won't tell you how to live your life Caleb, lord knows I'm no saint" he smiled, as the last words left his mouth, "but make sure you keep a clear head when you're doing business, that shit will cloud your judgement" he said, putting his hand on Caleb's shoulder, Caleb watched him as he finished his water, "I gotta girl coming over" Caleb changed the subject, "she's coming over tonight, for dinner I fuckin need you guys to be normal dad, fucking norrrmal, as godamn normal as you can get" he said, stressing each 'normal', his father threw his head back, and laughter roared from him, "I'm glad this amuses you, your a psychopath you know that?" Caleb said walking away, "what's so funny?" Caleb's mother asked as she entered the room, watching Caleb walk by her, "he's got a girl coming over Maria, he wants us to be 'normal'", his father joked, 'fuck off" Caleb called out as he walked upstairs, he had a hint of a smile on his lips, it was funny he guessed, they were anything but normal.
Maria looked to her husband, who still had a smile as he chuckled and got himself a beer from the fridge, "I guess I'll make something nice for dinner" she smiled to herself, "this is the first girl he's bringing to meet us, she must be special", Maria knew which girl it would be, the one she saw that morning in his room, he had never let a girl stay that long, he was making sure they were out before they could be seen by anyone in the house, Maria kissed her husband softly on the cheek, she took some food out to prepare, she watched her husband flip through a paper as she removed things from the fridge, she could accept the things he's done, she chose this life with him, she could never leave, and she loved him, even after all she had witnessed, and she wanted that for her son's as well, especially Caleb, to find a woman who could understand his life, he had given up alot for his father's business, he deserves to be happy, but she knew it took a great deal of strength to take on this lifestyle, 'normal' she thought to herself as she shook her head, it would be an interesting dinner.
Caleb slicked his hair back neatly as he got out of the shower, he walked to his bed with just the towel clinging to his hips, he layed down and reached for his phone "dinner is tonight Bella, I'll pick you up around 7" he texted Piper, he hoped the night would go smooth, he just wanted her to think they were a decent family, he laughed at the thought, he could never tell her the truth, atleast not now, not yet, or could he ever?, he's done some unforgivable things, could she live with them?, Only close family and friends knew about their family, the drugs, the missing people, the money, he was brought back from his thoughts by his phones vibration.
Pipers name appeared on the screen, he smiled at the phone, "I can't wait, I hope they like me, what should I wear?" Her text read, his smile grew, "of course, they'll love you, & you'll look great in anything angel, actually.. make it something easy for me to get you out of", he sent back to her with a smirk, he got up and put on a pair of boxers before getting back in bed, he needed a few more hours of sleep before the night's events, he had things to do before the dinner, he set an alarm on his phone and fell asleep.
Piper giggled and shook her head as he read Caleb's last text, she bit her lip at the thought of him stripping off her clothes, she layed in her bed, wearing the shirt she had taken from Caleb's the first night she spent there, the smell was of him, and she couldn't get enough of it, she jumped out of bed and looked for an outfit, she decided on a beautiful red dress that came in at the waist and flared out ay the bottom, it ended just above her knees, red was her colour and she figured this would be an appropriate time to wear it, she planned on long full curls for her hair, she was excited and nervous all at the same time, she truly hoped they would like her.
As she placed her dress on a hook at the back of her bedroom door, she heard her parents return home, she bit her lip before putting on a brave face and walking out to greet them, Piper's mother smiled as she came into sight, pipers cheeks turned a light pink as she hugged her mom and then her father, "so ladies, what would you like me to cook for tonight?", Her father said, with his head in the fridge, .. "actually, I'm invited somewhere tonight for dinner", she said quietly, all eyes were on her, her mother had already figured it out, but her father was oblivious, "ahh, you and Miranda having a girls night?" He asked as he popped some food into his mouth, her mother smiled amused, as she waited for piper to answer,. "uhh, no, actually, I'm going to dinner with a guy, um my friend, boyfriend really I guess, Caleb, he wants me to meet his family", she said, figuring she would hyperventilate at any minute.
Her father's eyes locked on hers, then to her mother's, who in return shrugged her shoulders and gave a faint smile, "boyfriend?" He questioned, "when did this happen, why haven't we met him" he gestured between himself and his wife,
"Well because it's new and you guys were gone, I mean mom's already kind of met him" Piper said, looking to her mother, "really?" He said looking to her as well,
"The cafe guy" she reminded him, "OH, the poor guy you drenched in coffee ?" He asked,. Oh my god she thought "mom really ??, I didn't even spill coffee on him in my defense!" She shook her head,
"Almost dear, thank God you didn't, can you imagine if his tattoos were ruined by burns??" her mother said with badness in her eyes she watched as Piper shook her head in disbelief, "tattoos?" Her father looked between them both, "yes hun, he's got quite the collection, I even recall a few on the head and neck" she nodded confidently, piper watched her father as he looked back to her, "she's kidding" he asked, Piper shook her head, 'unbelievable' she thought as she looked in her mother's direction, who was loving every minute of this, "no dad, actually he has alot, BUT that means nothing, looks are deceiving, you know and he's a really nice guy, truly, I promise you'll like him ok?"
He rubbed his temples, "ok piper, but I want to meet him soon", "you will" she reassured him, "he's different I promise.. he's nothing like, .. well you know" she looked away not finishing her sentence, he walked to her and hugged her tightly, '' i want you to be happy, and careful, and I want to meet him ASAP" he repeated again rubbing her back,. "I promise" she said, before stepping back and excusing herself, she needed to relax after that, 'way to throw me under the bus mom' she thought as she smiled to herself, as she made her way to her bed, she dropped down on the the middle of it and turned facing the city, it was beautiful to watch, she smiled, she couldn't believe she didn't want to come here, how fast things could change, She reached into her bedside table and pulled out her favourite nail polish, as she waited for her nails to dry, she glanced at the clock, 3:15 she was getting anxious, she fell back onto her bed and closed her eyes, hoping for a hour of sleep after a few minutes, tossing and turning she drifted off.
Calebs alarm went off, and he rolled to the side of his bed, fighting to open his eyes, "fuck" he muttered as he sat up and switched his alarm off, he sat there for a few minutes trying to wake up, he could smell his mothers cooking, he realized he was starving since he hadn't ate anything that day, he got up and drank from a bottle of water that was sitting on his dresser.
He chose a black t-shirt and jeans to wear, he threw it to the side, and eased himself down to the floor, he did some sit ups, followed by pushups, he threw on some sweat pants and walked across the hallway to medium sized room with some workout equipment, he did a quick workout, and lifted some weights, before decided to take another quick shower, he jumped in and washed off, and got back out, he fixed his hair back properly, and checked it out in the mirror, he pulled his shirt over his head and sprayed a bit of cologne, he pulled his jeans on and grabbed his sunglasses and leather jacket, he put both on as he walked downstairs, he met his mother in the kitchen, 'it smells great ma" he said, kissing her cheek, she smiled "thank you son, you look nice" she said, watching him reach for a cold bottle of water, he smiled in her direction, "I'll be back later with her, I gotta go pick some things up" he called out as he left the kitchen, 'so busy' she thought to herself as she stirred a sauce that was bubbling on the stove top.
Caleb climbed into his car, he rubbed his eyes slightly, he was tired, that nap ruined him, he shook his head as he started the car and waited for the gate to open behind him, caleb watched the time it was getting close to 5, he drove to a small flower shop near Pipers street, he went in and bought her a bouquet of red and white roses, "someones a lucky lady" the older woman said, as Caleb handed her cash, "I'm a lucky man" he flashed her a smile before he walked back outside to his car, he texted Piper before heading to her building.
Piper's phone buzzed and her heart fluttered, and she felt the butterflies in her stomach, she had woken about 20 minutes before that and was wondering why she hadn't heard from Caleb, "I'll be there in about 5-10 minutes you want me to come up?" She bit her lip as she read that last part, "yes, you can come up" she wrote back quickly before changing her mind, she finished her makeup and touched up her curls, she got into her dress quickly, and placed some perfume on her wrists and her neck, she stood back and smoothed her dress, she looked out of her window and saw his car pull up, she headed out into the living Area, her mother and father smiled as then saw her , "wow you look beautiful" her mother gushed as she got up hugging piper , her father smiled and she pretended to strike a pose, piper laughed and that's when a knock came to the door, all three of them turned to look, "oh, that's gonna be Caleb" she said, looking at them, "well don't keep him waiting" he father said, cocking his head to the side, 'this is it's Piper thought to herself a she opened the door, her heart was bursting as she saw him, he looked so handsome, the sunglasses were a nice touch, she bit the inside of her cheek nervously, he walked in and wrapped his arm around her in a hug, and kissing the side of her head, "you look amazing" he whispered in her ear, it sent waves of shivers through her body, "so do you" she said still wrapped in his arm, "these are for you doll" he said, showing her the flowers, Piper smiled ear to ear which made Caleb smile, 'i love them, thank you so much" she took them from him, "I'll put them in water" she said, admiring the flowers, "oh" she stopped looking to her mother and father, she took Caleb's hand, " Caleb this is my mom, Anna and my dad, Paul" Piper introduced them, trying her very best not to sound nervous.
Caleb kissed, Anna on the cheek, "nice to meet you", "and you" she replied, rubbing his back, he held out his hand to Pipers father, which he shook firmly, Caleb wasn't easily intimidated, and he wasn't right now in this situation ither, "nice to meet you Caleb" Paul said while shaking Calebs hand "we'll have to have a proper dinner as well" he offered, and Caleb agreed, "ill be free when you decide you want to do that" he addressed both of Pipers parents.
Piper nervously placed her flowers in a vase full of water, while listening to them speak, it was going good, she sighed with relief, she walked back to Caleb and her parents, "I guess we should go, i wouldn't want to make us late", Piper said, as she held his hand, "yes love, you two go and enjoy your meal, Caleb it was great meeting you we look forward to doing so again" Anna smiled sincerely, Caleb nodded and told them to let him know anytime when they were ready for that dinner. Piper loved his confidence, he was never awkward, or intimidated in any situation, he was always comfortable.
They got into his car and he reached over to hold her has as he drove, "you look tired baby" Piper said, it was more of a question than a statement, he smirked and she loved how his dimples appeared when he did so, "baby" he said smiling, "I like it" she blushed and bit her lip, he rubbed her hand. They arrived at his house and she sighed anxiously, "don't be nervous" Caleb reassured her, "I promise, they'll love you" he kissed her before they got out of the car and headed inside.