Stuck in the Middle

Someone New

(*Mariah's POV*)

"Come on! I've been waiting out here for two hours!" I was furious. Caleb said he was picking me up at 8 but it was 10 and it was freezing out. My parents left around 7:45 because they thought Tyler was picking me up, they don't know that we haven't been talking.

Just then I saw some car lights and Caleb pulled up into my driveway, I ran towards him and jumped into the passenger seat, forgetting that I was supposed to be upset with him, I was trying to get warmed up.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"My house." He said smirking.

When we got there, there was music and lights and tons of people.

"Is this why you took forever to pick me up?" I asked him angrily

"Uh-huh" he answered, half occupied, he was trying to park without hitting anyone.

I leaned over and honked his horn.

"MOVE!" I yelled, motioning to the people in front of us, they scattered but I got some nasty looks by some of girls.

Caleb was laughing at me as he got out of the car.

We walked towards the house. I saw bottles scattered on the floor. The house was a mess! I grabbed his arm so I wouldn't get lost. He walked to the fridge and grabbed a bottle, offering me one.

"No thanks" I said, shaking my head.

He shrugged his shoulders and took a sip from it.

He started talking to some guys so I wandered outside to go get some air.

I was admiring the view. I walked towards the back and saw a flower garden filled with roses, all kinds of colors. Red, white, yellow and pink. The smell was intoxicating.

My phone rang, I checked the caller ID

'Bestie!!!'

It was Tyler, he's been calling me all week. I ignored it. A few minutes later he called me again. I answered.

"What do you want?" I asked, my voice was like ice.

I heard a girl whispering in the background.

"Are you with Jade?!?" I asked, raising my voice.

I didn't wait for an answer. "Guess you found a new best friend! I hope you both have a happy life together!" I said with sarcasm.

"Riah wait." I heard Tyler say.

"I HAVE been waiting..." I whispered, not hiding the hurt in my voice.

"I'm sorry Riah." I heard him choking up.

I let the tears fall from my eyes. "I needed you Tyler, you knew that. It still hurts, and you left me when you were all I had." My voice cracked, I couldn't hide the pain anymore, I've been trying to keep it in for so long, but not anymore.

I hung up without saying good bye.

I heard footsteps coming my way, and I quickly wiped away my tears.

"It's ok, It's just me." Caleb was whispering, his voice was slightly slurred, was he drinking?

I turned around and he pulled me into his arms.

I cried into his chest, I was shaking with sobs.

"Shhh, It's ok." He was holding me tight, rubbing my back. I could smell the alcohol in his breath. I broke the embrace and looked into his green eyes.

"How much have you been drinking?" I crossed my arms in front of me.

"Jussst a fffew" He answered, he was trying to balance without holding onto me, he was falling over. I tried to catch him but he was too heavy, so I fell with him. We broke out laughing. I was trying to push him off, but he trapped me underneath his body.

We finally got up and I put his arm over my shoulder and half dragged, half carried him to his room.

I walked out as the party began to dissolve, leaving a few stragglers behind. I turned off the music and tried to clean up a bit, but it was no use, their was too much trash so I gave up and went back to Caleb's room.

"Pssst" I tried calling him.

He groaned.

"I'm gonna go home ok?" I was walking out of his room.

"No, don't go." He sat up on his bed, motioning me to sit with him.

I sat next to him, taking in ny surroundings. You can tell a lot by a person's room. I looked around and saw a pile of clothes near his closet, there was a book half opened on his desk and next to that, there was a picture of a baby girl.

"That's my sister." He said following my gaze, he wasn't slurring anymore.

"How old is she?"

"She's 10 this year." His voice sounded distant.

"Where is she?" I asked him hesitantly.

"She's gone..."

I wrapped my arms around him as comfort.

"What was she like?" I asked him, as my eyelids began to droop.

We laid down on his bed as he described his sister.

"She was perfect, from her hair down to her toes." I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Did she have pretty green eyes like you?" I asked him, my drowsiness was taking over. I heard him chuckle.

"No, she had beautiful brown eyes like you." It was barely a whisper.

"I heard that" I yawned, trying to stay up.

"Stay with me tonight, please." He asked me,ignoring my comment and bringing me closer to him.

I nodded and got comfortable, drifting off to sleep.

*****

I woke up in the morning with Caleb's arm around me, he was snoring softly. I crawled out, trying not to wake him.

I heard him shifting on the bed.

"Good Morning." He said, his voice was deep and raspy.

"Morning." I replied.

I looked out his window, it was raining.

"Wanna stay in today?" He asked me, getting up from bed, I just noticed he didn't have his shirt on. I couldn't help but scan his body, he had a six-pack and I could see part of his v line showing, his basketball shorts hid the rest of it.

"I worked hard for those." He said, smirking.

"S-sorry" I stuttered, looking away, my cheeks were heating up.

He laughed as he put his shirt on.

We walked out of his room and into the mess we left last night.

"Whoa, we better clean this up." He said, grabbing trash bags.

"We?" I asked, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. We" He said, as he handed me a trash bag.

We heard a knock on the door...