I wake up to an empty bed.
Great. He left. He regrets what he said.
I sigh into the bed but right before I close my eyes I notice my clothes were folded and stacked on my bedroom table in front of me. I decide to lift my nasty ass up and put on a fresh set of clothes which included some sweats and a tang top. No surprise there.
I open my bedroom door and head to the washroom to wash up. I notice the bathroom door is already open, when it usually isn't. Caden probably went in there earlier. I quickly wash up and head to the kitchen for some breakfast but I notice a figure in the living room.
Caden was sitting on the edge of the couch, a little tense. He seemed to be in his own zone so I slowly walk over, hoping he wasn't going to tell me anything that went along the lines of, 'You were awful last night'.
Okay maybe he wouldn't say it like that, maybe a little nicer.
I let out a small cough and he quickly turns around.
"Hey." He says with a small smile.
"Hi." I say nervously.
His smile changed as he seemed to notice my nervousness, "Are you okay? Did I hurt you in any way? Do you...regret it?" He looks down at his last question and my nervousness fades away.
"No way. You were great and sure, I'm a little sore, but I think that's normal." I say and he nods.
"Good."
I sit down on the couch and cross my legs so I can turn and face him. He does the same so we were both cross legged and facing each other on the couch.
"I want to tell you. My story." He says and my eyes widen.
"You really don't have to if you don't want to." I say, hoping this wasn't a forced decision because he thinks I really need to know or something.
"No. You deserve to know, especially now, since you've become so important to me. I want to tell you." My heart warms at his comment and I grab hold of his hand.
"Okay."
"So I'll start from the beginning," He looks away from my gaze and zones out while looking at the ground, "My life really begins when I was born, obviously," He chuckles nervously and I can't help but squeeze his hand.
"Right. So my family was pretty confusing. It was just me, my dad and my stepmom. Don't ask about my real mother because I honestly have no idea what happened to her, but I think my dad really loved her. I assumed she either left or died giving birth to me." I can't help but gasp at his last statement but he doesn't seem to care about that.
"It was a long time ago, I'm kind of used to thinking about that now. So, my stepmother was a bitch, just like all those stepmothers in different fairy tales. She was always yelling at me and I couldn't help but hate her for critiquing every move I made, but that's not important. What's important is that my father died when I was around 12, which you already knew. I think he had bad health problems and his body just couldn't keep up with him anymore. That just really broke me because he was the only person that I could really rely on.." He chokes up and I can't help but feel bad for him.
"It just left me and my stepmother, or so I thought. It was only a week after my dad's death when my stepmom decided to abandon me and leave me on the streets to rot. She was all smiley when she suggested we go to the park together and I was obviously excited because I thought she changed or something. I thought she might've wanted to help me get over my dad's death, but that was not the case. Once we reached the park she told me that she would go and buy ice cream for the both of us. She left and never came back." He tears up and I move closer to embrace him.
This was definitely not just an ordinary parents suck story, this was something else. He was left all by himself at the age of 12 years old.
After a few minutes of crying into my shoulder he wipes his face and continues after lifting himself out of my arms. He slips his hand back in mine and I can't help but feel a little warm inside knowing that he felt the need to put his hand back in mine.
"I didn't know anyone there because the only people I knew were my parents and friends from my school. This park was very far from my house and I didn't really pay attention to the roads when my stepmom was driving because I was too busy being excited to receive affection from her. Anyways, I decided to take a walk around the park after waiting at the park bench for a hella long time. I remember looking around and noticing how everyone was with their families and having the best time, and I don't know, the walk really fucking sucked."
I can't help but chuckle, a tear slipping down my face. He wipes it off my face and sighs.
"I found an old man sitting in front of a random shop. He had a coffee in his hands and was shaking from the cold since it was the winter time. I talked to him for a bit and he told me I could join him since I had no where to go. I stayed with him for months until he passed away. He literally died sitting in that same spot. That really hurt me since I've grown a connection with that guy. There was also the fact that no one even payed attention or cared that he had just died. That really struck me and I came to terms that I'd probably end up like him. I took his stuff to remember him by and walked around the same park everyday. I remember the first few weeks I would sit at that park bench still hoping my mom would come back with some damn ice cream in her hands."
"Fucking bitch." I murmur and he starts to laugh.
"You never know, she might've got lost or strangled on the way there or something."
"I highly doubt it but go on." I say and motion him to continue.
"Right. So yeah, everyday was the same until I met your brother."
"That's like years later!" I shout and he smiles.
"I met other people too but they were less impactful, you know? Your brother actually met up with me everyday and sometimes even slept over with me on my little mat in front of some shop. He was a great guy that I could rely on. He soon even brought another friend to join us."
"Max?"
"Yeah, it was Max. I remember thinking that I was seriously living my best life. Now...you know it wasn't easy to survive in my case. I mean how do you think I survived for those years?"
"You stole?"
"Yes. It was my only option at the time since no one was willing to give a little boy some money. I stole on my own, but soon your brother and Max helped me out too. After a while Max left because he found out about what Sean did to him in the past. Sean also told me that he had to leave too and I felt like shit. He had to leave and go to university, meaning I would be alone again. He was going to become just temporary. He soon moved away and not too long after I got caught by the police for stealing. I don't know how, but Sean found out and had his father come to bail me out. His father hated me after a while and soon started hating Sean too for protecting a friend like me. I mean what kind of friend am I?" He sighs and looks down.
"It's okay Caden, you did what you had to do to survive. I mean, I don't support stealing but still..." My thumb slides over his hand and he nods.
"That's why he beat me up that day. That day when you first saw him again." He chuckles, "Because his father hated him for what he did for me. But I'm pretty sure his father is over it now, right?"
"Yeah, I think so." I say and he nods.
"Good. Did you know he actually beat me up for dating Maya too?" He asks and my eyes widen.
"Why? He shouldn't care about her anymore." I say and he shakes his head.
"I don't know. I think it's because he thought I was being petty or something." We both sit in silence, looking at our joined hands. Many thoughts were flowing through my head and I finally speak up.
"I'm really sorry you went through all that Caden, I wish I was there to help you." I say sadly and look down. Caden's hand moves up and holds the side of my face, forcing me to look into his eyes.
"It's fine." He gives a genuine smile and my heart pounds faster, "The only thing I have left is this damn jewel that my father gave me, and you helped me enough for that." He says and pulls out the expensive jewel from his pocket. The one that we stole together.
"Wait...then how did you end up here? How did you find your moms?" I ask, before the topic changes.
"Oh right. After a while, my moms found me on the streets and decided to take care of me and help me go to college. They told me that as long as I worked hard they would help me out, which I did. My stealing habits were gone but soon my friend had gotten in trouble and I ended up stealing for him, making me gain that 'bad boy' reputation. I made bad friends, Slov, and they influenced me to do bad things. I'd go to parties, hook up with girls, and I'd always end up having to move around to different places since a lot of people don't like me. Probably for hooking up with their girls or for stealing their shit." He says and my face goes numb.
"Please tell me you don't do that anymore." I say and he smirks, leaning forward. His eyes slightly close as his lips brush mine.
"Not since I've met you."
My breath was taken away as he gives me a slow and loving kiss.
Fuck yeah.
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Hey hey hey. This chapter is super long, sorry guys. I hope you don't mind. Remember my love for you guys hehe and live your best lives, that's my advice :DDD