School had ended, and Alia was rather ecstatic that it did. But she was not looking forward to going home. Cayden insisted on giving her a ride home, so of course, she let him.
"Ali, you alright?" Cayden asked, pushing Alia's thoughts far out of her head for the moment.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I was just overthinking a few things."
"What do you mean?"
She sighed, "I don't wanna go home."
"How come?"
"Cayden, it sucks. My parents won't stop fighting, and my mum keeps threatening my dad with a divorce, and they're both scaring the hell out of Waverly, and I don't know what to do! I used to have the perfect family. What happened to it? Now it's broken and crumbled."
"Hey, it'll be okay. If you want to stay at my place, you're welcome. I live in my own house right next to my parents just two blocks from our school. Waverly can come too, I have two extra rooms and its right next to the Elementary school. "
"Cayden, I couldn't ask you to."
"I want to help in any way possible, princess." He kissed her cheek softly, creating a red crown on Alia's cheek.
"Aww," he smiled, and they stopped at her house.
"You know, I'll take you up on that offer. Give me twenty minutes."
"Bring your brother. I want him to be safe."
"You and me both, Cay." She smiled, and got out of his car, and then ran up to her door and went inside. She ran upstairs and started packing a few clothes into a backpack, along with her phone charger. Her parents weren't home, so she also went into Waverly's room and found her baby brother, asleep in his blanket, with his thumb in his mouth.
"Waverly, baby, wake up, darling," Alia whispered, shaking her brother lightly.
"Wha-Whaaa-Hhmm?" He mumbled.
"We're gonna go with Cayden, okay? He has everything we need. I have your bag, and your baby, okay?"
Waverly nodded, and Alia picked her little brother up, carrying him and his backpack, as well as hers. She grabbed his little Precious Moments doll, and they headed out the door, right after she grabbed his car seat too.
She set her brother down and opened the door.
"Got everything?" Cayden asked.
"Just for a few days. We'll be okay. Thank you."
"Always." He smiled, and got out, helping with the car seat. Cayden and Alia got the almost asleep Waverly in his car seat with his blanket and his doll.
Alia got in the passenger seat again, and Cayden got in and drove to his place.
= = =
It was about three days after Cayden took Alia and Waverly in. It was Saturday, so they were sleeping in. Alia had been having nightmares since they arrived, so she was cuddled up next to Cayden in his bed, and Waverly was in the next room over.
Alia moved, burying her face deeper into Cayden's chest, and woke herself up. She was having nightmares more often, but if she were being honest, it wasn't about her mum or about her family, it was about Caleo. She saw the hate in his eyes at the pep rally, and it skimmed across her face and traveled to her heart.
"Alia," Cayden mumbled, opening his eyes, and looked down at the half-asleep girl laying on his chest. I mean, Cayden would never take advantage of Alia, so they were just laying over the covers. Alia under them, and Cayden over them.
"Are you alright?" Cayden whispered in her ear. Alia nodded, sitting up. Cayden sat up with her.
"What's wrong, Ali?"
"My nightmares." She whispered.
"What are they about? Please, tell me."
Alia looked up at Cayden, "It's not my family or even Waverly, it's..."
"What, darling?" Cayden smiled.
Alia smiled at his nickname for her, "It's... Caleo."
"What did he do?"
"That look he gave me at the rally... it's carved into my mind, and it's haunting me."
"Oh, Alia... I'm so sorry. He's not gonna do anything, okay?" Cayden hugged her tight.
"I-I'm sorry." Alia stuttered, burying her face in his chest.
"You have no reason to be, princess. Okay?"
"Okay." Alia half smiled, and Cayden took her hand in his care.
"Hey, I have an idea. Monday, screw school, okay? We can go to the Carnival, I'll make up an excuse for our absences. My parents are taking Mackenzie anyway, so if you want, Waverly can come too. It'll give us a chance to get to know each other better."
"The carnival? I don't know, Cayden..."
"My treat. I'll pay for everything."
"Okay."
"It'll be our first date." Cayden smiled, and she lifted her head to look up at him.
"Okay, Cayden." Alia smiled as he kissed her cheek.
Cayden leaned down, and their lips almost touched. He just about pressed his lips against hers, when Waverly waddled into the room.
"Ali? Cay? I'm hungry." He murmured, holding a small blanket in his hand.
Cayden sighed and chuckled. "Okay, little dude. What are you hungry for?" Cayden asked.
Alia smiled, and got up, picking her little brother, and looked over at Cayden.
"I want pancakes." Waverly giggled.
Cayden laughed and got up as well.
"Let's go get you some pancakes, then."
YOU ARE READING
Project: Girlfriend
Teen Fiction"Making a bet to date your best friend's girlfriend is NEVER advised, so it just became a project... Why not get an A+?" Hayden had his best friend, but he was in love with his best friend's girlfriend. One winning bet and she was his for a month...
