I stirred from my sleep, hearing loud knocks erupt from somewhere. I nuzzled in closer to Cayden, her arms tightening around me as she pressed her body closer to me. We both internally ignored whatever knocks had sounded, cuddling in deeper with one another. When the knocks erupted again, Cayden groaned.

I sighed, my eyes still shut. "I can get it."

"No," Cayden's raspy morning voice said, making my insides grow warm. "No, I'll get it."

The bed instantly felt cold without Cayden's presence, her footsteps pattering against the floors, growing farther away by the second. Soon I heard the front door open and a voice talking in somewhat of a frantic manner.

Not even seconds later, the door closed shut, rather loudly—but not in a slamming way. Cayden's footsteps pattered back into the room before she climbed back into bed. I hummed contently wrapping my arms around her and pressing the front of our warm bodies together.

"Who was at the door?" I asked, my eyes still closed.

Cayden's fingers threaded in my hair, playing with the long brown strands as she got back comfortable. "We can discuss it later baby," she said, gliding her other hand up and down my back.

I shrugged it off, too tired to question her right now or talk about it. Clearly, she feels the same too since she urged for the conversation to wait. I don't know what time it was, but my body felt completely exhausted. Maybe it was from traveling yesterday or maybe it was the breakdown I had in the airport bathroom. Either way, my overthinking thoughts couldn't get in the way of me and sleep for once. I easily and quickly fell back into a deep sleep, holding Cayden close.

-

The warm sun dimly peaked through the large glass walls covered by panel curtains. I readjusted myself in Cayden's arms, pressing our bodies closer together. Her arm tightened around my waist as my heavy eyes began to flutter open. I blinked a few times adjusting to the bright room, looking over to Cayden whose eyes were already open and on me.

"Good morning," she said, smiling softly at me.

I smiled, briefly closing my heavy eyes again, "Good morning," I said, opening my eyes again. "How long have you been up?"

"Maybe ten minutes," she said, tucking my stray hairs out of my face. "I don't understand how you can still look cute in your sleep."

My face heated up as an overwhelming smile grew on my face. "You're just being nice," I said, my raspy morning voice slowly fading.

"Definitely not," she said, pressing a warm kiss to my lips.

I hummed contently, kissing her back as I wrapped my arms around her neck, pulling her in deeper. Cayden rested her hand on my ass, squeezing it slightly as I slid my leg around her waist. We kissed longer and deeper, the moment intimate and raw.

We pulled back slightly with small smiles. I loved sharing mornings like this, and I'm feeling much more grateful than before since I went without them while we were in Miami. It's not that we didn't share beautiful mornings together, it was the stress factors that were placed around us. Even after everything that unfolded with my parents, I still felt much more calm than I did, compared to experiencing the unknown with meeting Cayden's parents and friends.

Now everything has unfolded and the worst has happened. I've let all my feelings and emotions out, and I've discussed my thoughts with Griffin—who reassured me along with Cayden. Everything is good now. There's nothing else to worry about, except for maybe schoolwork deadlines, but I actually would prefer that over everything else.

I furrowed my brows, remembering someone had knocked on the door this morning. The frantic voice rang through my head along with the loud door closing that Cayden was responsible for. I remember asking Cayden who it was, and she said we'd discuss it later—what did that mean? I guess I was so tired at the moment that I didn't even care, but now that I'm thinking about it more... I'm somehow growing nervous about it.

"Who was at the door earlier?" I asked, trying to keep my tone neutral even if I was beginning to overthink it.

Cayden pursed her lips, her eyes looking anywhere but at me. Her reaction didn't help soothe my internal thoughts. Who was it? Sebastian? My parents maybe? I wouldn't be surprised if so. Or maybe it was her ex, Zera—judging by Cayden's reaction. My stomach twisted as my chaotic thoughts grew, which Cayden easily picked up on, rubbing her hand up and down my back.

"It's not a big deal, Vi. It was..." she trailed off, looking slightly troubled by the topic. "It was Jade."

My brows raised unintentionally. Jade? What did she want? My stomach sank—was she going to yell at me too? Her voice did seem frantic when Cayden answered the door earlier. I don't think I could take any more confrontations or people yelling the same thing at me that I've heard numerous times. That's the main reason why I ignored Jade's message that she'd sent me down in Miami.

Her text was brief, saying, Can we talk when you get back? I know what happened and I heard you're in Florida.

It didn't specify what her intentions were so I wasn't thrilled to reply, and I never did. Now thinking back on it, I feel bad for not replying. She could've been making amends... or maybe not. I don't know. I just knew I didn't want to deal with it on top of navigating Miami and the new obstacles thrown Cayden and I's way.

"She texted me when we were in Florida," I said, and Cayden's brows raised. I could tell she was surprised since I didn't mention anything, but I figured there was no point. We weren't in New York, and we left to leave behind any of the problems that lingered there. I also had no intentions of replying and forgetting it even happened, so what would be the point of speaking on it?

"She did?" Cayden asked. "Why didn't you tell me?" her raspy voice grew soft.

"I wasn't planning on dealing with it since we already had enough on our plate, so I didn't think I needed to say anything."

"That's fair," Cayden said. "What did she say?"

"She just wanted to talk when I got back, saying she knew what happened and heard I was in Florida," I said, reiterating Jade's text. I pursed my lips, "Do you think she's mad at me too?"

Cayden shook her head, "She didn't seem mad when she came here. Mostly desperate to talk to you, but of course, I'm still pissed at her for not stepping in or reaching out sooner, so I told her we'd do it on your time."

"So that's why you shut the door so loudly," I said.

Cayden laughed, "Yeah, it took everything in me not to slam it."

I laughed with her, nuzzling in closer to her. I found it cute when Cayden got so protective over me, it was something that I hadn't quite experienced before. "I guess... I'll text her and see if we can meet today."

"Are you sure?" Cayden asked, her voice full of concern.

I nodded, "Yeah... I'd rather get it over with anyways, instead of worrying."

Cayden sighed softly, "Okay," she said, leaning down to rest her head in the crook of my neck. "How about I make you breakfast?"

"Oh yeah, of course, what's on the menu chef?" I asked, my tone growing light and playful.

Cayden chuckled once, "I was thinking blueberry pancakes with a fruit bowl and smoothies."

I hummed, my mouth already watering. "That sounds incredible. Do you come on the menu too?"

"Only if you do," she said, pressing kisses to my neck that were so soft and delicate, it tickled.

I giggled. "Cay—Cayden!"

She laughed, tickling my sides as I squirmed underneath her, my laughs and giggles echoing throughout the room. "You're so fucking cute."

I let out another airy laugh as she stopped tickling my sides. My eyes traced her face, taking in her perfect features. She truly looks so good in the morning, while I'm sure I look crazy.

"You take the trophy for that one," I said.

Cayden firmly shook her head. "I will definitely argue with you about this, so I wouldn't even go there."

I playfully rolled my eyes before rising slightly from the bed, Cayden mimicking my actions and laying up from the bed too. We got up fully and began brushing our teeth and washing our faces. While Cayden began cooking, I took a calming hot shower before slipping on a sage long-sleeve shirt and tan leggings with my Nike sneakers. I slicked my wet hair into a low bun and decided not to put any makeup on.

I briefly texted Jade asking if she could meet today, and she responded rather quickly saying she could. I told her we could meet at Yolei's in an hour, which she ended up confirming. Even if she seemed to be far from mad at me, my stomach twisted against my own wishes. Luckily, Griffin said we could meet at the gym after to discuss everything, and assured me he'd be nearby if things went south.

I headed out into the living area, smelling the delicious blueberry pancakes, while Cayden stood by the blender mixing up our smoothies. Everything was already plated, the large pancakes sat on a plate while a big bowl of an assortment of fruit and a pitcher of warm syrup sat beside it. I eagerly sat down as Cayden began filling two tall glasses with the purple smoothie.

"This looks so good," I said, Cayden sitting down beside me with the two glasses. I briefly pecked her lips, "Thank you."

"Of course," She said, smiling at me before distributing the pancakes to their rightful plates along with the fruit.

I sipped on my sweet smoothie that tasted like blueberries, "Wow this is good," I said, taking another sip. Cayden was always so good in the kitchen, she honestly impressed me every time she cooked.

Cayden drizzled the warm syrup over my pancakes before drizzling hers, "It's my favorite smoothie recipe," she said, handing me a fork. "Did you text Jade?"

"Yeah... I feel kind of nervous about it," I said, cutting into my pancakes. I feel like I'm forcing myself to expect the worst just so I can prepare myself mentally, and perhaps not get disappointed.

Cayden frowned, "I can come with you and wait somewhere nearby?"

"It's okay. Griffin and I are going to the gym after."

"Okay... and your sure you're going to be okay?" she asked, her dark eyes softening with concern as she looked at me. I smiled slightly, my heart warming at her tone and concern. She always made it known that she was here. That she cared and had my best interests at heart.

"Yes, I'm sure," I said, assuring her, but in reality, I was hoping that I'd be okay. That Jade wanted to meet for better reasons than the ones I kept thinking of.