A/N: Hi guys! So I'm so happy I can FINALLY publish the sequel of "The Mall"! A lot of you asked me to do this sequel and I thought it was actually a good idea. I'm so happy about where this is headed and I'm so excited to share it with you. Don't worry, all my other stories will be updated ASAP, I promise... Just don't think I'm disappeared or someone kidnapped me, it's just that I'm in college and my free time is not enough to spoil you with frequent updates :( But I promise you that ALL of my projects will not be left unfinished :) I had this first chapter ready to be published, so I thought about publishing it to make happy all of you who were waiting for this sequel and also to remind you that I'm still here :D This sequel will be more focused on Caleb rather than Hanna and there will be A LOOOOOOOT of drama :P But remember, Haleb is ALWAYS endgame... I'm sure you won't be disappointed ;)
So... Hope you all will enjoy this ride as well! Let me know what you think! xx
-Title from the song "Up" by Olly Murs & Demi Lovato
Hanna Marin climbed on bed next to her boyfriend Caleb Rivers, exhausted. It was five in the morning.
"Hey... He fell asleep?" he whispered hoarsely, turning to face Hanna.
"Yeah, finally. Why the hell doesn't he sleep at night? Emma was an angel at this age, Aria kept repeating that she could sleep at night all the way through, instead Liam is so freaking hyperactive."
"Did you just call our son hyperactive?" Caleb smiled.
"Yes, I think I did." Hanna muttered, rolling over giving her back at him.
Caleb spooned her and nuzzled his nose through her hair, moving then lower and starting to leave kisses down her neck. Then, he lowered the shoulder strap of her nightie and kissed down her shoulder and upper arm.
"Caleb..." Hanna whined.
"Mmh?"
"Stop. I'm tired, I want to sleep."
Caleb sighed deeply.
"Han..." he tried to press her.
"It's five in the morning and I spent the whole night trying to make your son sleep. Can I get some fucking sleep now?" she snapped, without turning to look at him.
Caleb sighed again and then rolled over, giving his back at Hanna as well and closing his eyes, waiting for the sleep to take him away.
He and Hanna had been together for a little more than four years, but things after Liam's birth, almost two years earlier, had become pretty complicated between them. He had had a promotion at work, so he spent most of his days in San Diego, still working with his sister and dad, while she was almost completely dedicated to Liam. When Caleb came back home, he wanted to enjoy some time with his girlfriend and son, but Hanna was always so tired and stressed to give him some kind of attentions. Caleb thought she was kinda mad at him for being home with them barely a few hours a day, but he couldn't do anything. His job was everything that could keep their little family up. Hanna was still a simple shop assistant, and what she earned was neither a quarter of what Caleb did. She had passed through some kind of depression after birth, too. After that, she didn't feel attractive anymore and despite Caleb's attempts to make her feel beautiful and desired, she didn't want to give him any intimacy. They had been having sex after Liam's birth, yeah, but it was happening very less often than before by now, and it wasn't exactly like the passionate sex they were used to have before Liam. Hanna seemed always distant and sometimes she just ended up asking Caleb if he was done so she could sleep. As if it wasn't enough, the time they were spending together was everyday less because of Caleb's work business.
Around half an hour later, Liam started whining again. Hanna snorted and tried to get out of bed, but Caleb stopped her.
"I'll go." he stated, getting up and walking to Liam's little room.
Hanna watched him walking out of their bedroom and soon her eyelids fell closed.
When she opened them again, it was around eight 'o clock in the morning. She rolled over and found one of the cutest things ever in front of her. Caleb was sleeping lying on his back, while right on his chest there was Liam, lying on his stomach, asleep as well. She smiled at that sight. She was very lucky and she forgot it too often.
It wasn't like she didn't love Caleb anymore. Absolutely not. She loved Caleb so much, with all herself. She was just bothered by the fact that he could hardly ever be home with her and Liam. She knew that he was doing that for them, to bring money for them home, but still, she didn't like at all not having him close often. Having Liam had definitely changed their lives. It wasn't easy to raise a child. It wasn't like she regretted having Liam either, of course, he was the most precious thing of her life, but she had realized that Liam's birth had stolen a lot of intimacy from Caleb and her. She wasn't blaming anyone for those things, neither Caleb nor Liam nor herself, but the truth was that she really wished she could have made her relationship with Caleb the same of two years or so before.
It was Sunday, so Caleb didn't have to work. Sunday was Hanna's favorite day, because it was the only day of the week in which she could actually enjoy some 'family time' since Caleb didn't have to work. She stayed looking at Caleb peacefully sleeping with Liam pressed on his chest until he opened his eyes, slowly.
"Hey." she whispered, smiling slightly.
"Hey." Caleb replied softly, smiling back at her.
"He looks really comfortable on there." Hanna continued, nodding toward Liam.
Caleb chuckled and rubbed softly his son's little cheek.
"Yeah, I think so. When I went to him a few hours ago, he couldn't calm down. He kept repeating he wanted you, so I just brought him here. He saw you sleeping, so I told him that we could have slept too, just like mommy. Only then, he gave in." he explained whispering, smiling at Hanna.
Hanna smile grew even more. She came closer to Caleb and Liam, resting her head on Caleb's shoulder and kissing the top of Liam's head, careful not to wake him up. Then, she wrapped her arm around Caleb's waist and nuzzled her head in the crook of his neck.
"I'm sorry about earlier." she murmured.
"Don't worry, babe. It's fine." he replied, putting an arm around her shoulder, still careful not to disturb Liam.
"No, it's not. I'm being a bitch with you just because you can't always be here. As if you have a choice. I don't have the right to treat you like that, so... I'm sorry."
Caleb kissed the top of her head.
"I'm sorry too. I wish I could spend more time with you two. Maybe I should just ask my dad if I can work a few hours less during the week... I mean, I'm his son, the boss' son. I can give a try." he continued.
"I don't want you to feel pressed, Caleb."
"You're not pressing me. I just want to be here more often. I want to see my son growing up."
Hanna smiled up at him.
"Well, if you're gonna ask your dad that, I'm not complaining, of course." she added.
Caleb chuckled and gave her a peck on the lips.
"How is work going, anyway?" Hanna asked.
Caleb sighed.
"Hectic, definitely. There's always a lot of stuff to do. Jess helps me most of the times, so I can come back home earlier, but I always end up being home late anyway. That's why I really think it's necessary for me to talk to my dad about this." he replied then.
Hanna didn't know Caleb's dad. Well, Caleb had made them meet, but she had only seen him a couple of times when she had gone to San Diego with Caleb. It wasn't like his dad came to Los Angeles to see his niece or nothing. Jess, instead, was coming to LA often, even with her and Caleb's mom. The two women loved Liam. Things between Jess and Hanna had eventually gotten better, even if it couldn't be said that they loved each other to pieces. Caleb's mom, instead, absolutely liked Hanna. And Hanna's mom liked Caleb as well.
"You know, sometimes I miss Caleb Rivers as the simple shop assistant of the electronic store upstairs with the cocky smile." Hanna murmured, running his fingers over Caleb's t-shirt.
Caleb smiled and sighed at the same time.
"We wouldn't earn so much if I was still a shop assistant, though." he said then.
Hanna sighed as well.
"Money's not the only thing that matters, Caleb." she replied.
"I know, but I want the best for you and Liam. You guys will never have to worry about anything or feel like something's missing."
"We miss you, though."
Caleb bit his lower lip.
"I told you, I'm gonna talk with my dad. That's everything I can do at the moment." he whispered. "Anyway, today's Sunday so I'm all for my beautiful girl and my little pumpkin. I don't wanna think about work today. How does it sound to you?"
"Sounds wonderful."
Caleb kissed Hanna's forehead first and then the top of Liam's head, smiling down at him. A couple of minutes of silent cuddling later, the kid lying against Caleb's chest started moving slightly, waking up.
"Hey... Little man?" Caleb whispered, stroking his brown hair softly.
Liam opened his green-blue eyes slowly, facing his dad.
"Daddy?" he whispered, with an adorable sleepy voice.
"Good morning." Caleb continued, smiling.
He then gently took him in his arms and placed him with his back on the mattress, in between himself and Hanna. Liam yawned and Hanna couldn't help but giggle.
"Good morning, little man. How did you sleep?" she whispered, stroking his hair as well.
"Good, mommy." he replied.
"Do you know you slept on top of daddy?" she continued.
Liam just repeated 'on top of daddy', laughing and excitedly clapping his little hands. Hanna and Caleb laughed along with him, occasionally tickling him and kissing him here and there. Those were the moments which Hanna loved with all her heart. And Caleb too, of course. They kept playing all together in bed for a little while, until Caleb decided to take a shower. Hanna stayed with Liam in bed a little longer.
"What about we're gonna make breakfast for us and daddy, bud?" Hanna asked her son then.
"Yay! Bwekfast!" was his reply.
Hanna smiled at him and was about to get up when Caleb's mobile beeped on the nightstand. Caleb wasn't leaving it around either for a second, lately. Hanna didn't mind though, because she trusted him. Anyway, she instinctively glanced at it. On the display it appeared a text from a certain Brenda.
Hey, Caleb:) What about tomorrow night? I hope your girlfriend isn't going to get suspicious!
Hanna froze. She didn't know any Brenda. Then why this bitch was texting Caleb with emoticons? But most of all, why was she hoping that Hanna wasn't going to get suspicious? Suspicious?
Was Caleb cheating on her? Maybe because sex between them wasn't exactly going great lately? Or maybe just because he got tired of her? But how could he? They had a child together!
"Mommy? Bwekfast?" Liam repeated, tugging at his mother's arm.
Hanna shook all the bad thoughts away when she saw her son's eyes.
"Yeah, sweetie. Breakfast. Let's go." she said, picking him up.
Hanna and Liam made pancakes. Well, Hanna made pancakes. Liam just sat on the counter watching her and clapping his little hands. Caleb went downstairs a little later, with just a towel wrapped around his waist, the hair still damp and the mobile in his hand. Hanna looked up at him and bit her lower lip seeing he was typing on his iPhone, probably replying to that Brenda's text.
"Daddy! Pancakes!" Liam squealed.
Caleb finished typing before looking up at his son and smiling.
"Good job, buddy!" he said, placing his mobile on the table, but carefully lying the screen side against it not to show the display.
Then, he walked to Liam and picked him up between his arms.
"Everything okay?" Hanna asked, while finishing to cook the last pancakes.
Caleb took a deep breath and kissed her temple.
"Yeah, just...work stuff. I'll have to work late tomorrow, unfortunately. I don't know if I'll be able to be home for dinner. But I promise that Tuesday I'm not working at all... It's someone's birthday and I can't miss it." he murmured then, eventually tickling Liam's tummy.
Hanna sighed.
Work stuff.
Of course, the usual lame excuse.
"Whose birthday is Tuesday, little man?" Caleb laughed at Liam.
"Liam's birthday!" he replied then.
"Who's Liam? I don't know anyone named Liam!" Caleb joked.
"That's me, daddy!" Liam squealed then, laughing loudly.
"Oh... Right. And you are turning...? I forgot!" Caleb continued joking.
"Two!" Liam exclaimed, raising two little fingers to show his age.
"Oh, boy, my little man's becoming a big man!" Caleb commented, spinning his son around.
The two boys kept laughing but Hanna couldn't stop thinking about that text. She couldn't believe Caleb was cheating on her. She thought it couldn't be true, but he was clearly hiding something from her, that was obvious.