The following day I woke up with a text from Cayden informing me that she had booked our flights back to New York. I didn't question her decision or ask for any details given that I was surprisingly willing to go back there rather than stay another night in this house without Cayden by my side.

It was easier to stay here when Cayden and I were a unit, but without that, it was different. Last night was harder than I thought it would've been. I couldn't fall asleep in the cold empty bed to begin with, but even when I did, I kept reaching out for Cayden as if she'd magically appear. When the sun began to peak through the blinds covering the windows, I was more than ready to get up and get ready for the day.

I just don't understand Cayden's parents' reason for wanting us to stay in separate rooms. Well, I get that it might've been uncomfortable for them to be aware that we could've been having sex—which we were—but they didn't technically know that. Plus their house is incredibly big that it has me questioning why that would bother them in the first place. I get if they felt weird about us sharing a room... pre-marriage, but we literally live together. On top of that, Cayden is twenty-two and I'm twenty-one. We're fully consenting adults and they want us to sleep in separate rooms? It was weird.

Do they hate me? Or maybe they somewhat like me, but they don't think I'm good enough for Cayden. I don't know. I tried to not overthink what Cayden's parents possibly thought about me, but it was hard. From what Cayden told me and how they had acted, her parents were cold and unavailable. They didn't care that much to be present in Cayden's life which is why she basically raised herself.

So when they suddenly get involved in her life to separate her from me—I can't help but feel offended and embarrassed. Even if they had somewhat of a reason, It felt like they shunned me, which is more humbling than you'd think.

On top of this, Cayden is definitely upset with me for giving in. I can only imagine how she feels about all of this or how she must be thinking of me currently. I didn't know what else to do in the moment, but maybe I shouldn't have spoken up. Maybe I should've let her handle it further rather than let myself willingly—or what felt like forcefully—get involved.

Now we're leaving, and I don't even want to picture what her parents are going to say—or how they're going to react. I hope none of this causes a repeat of last night's dinner—or possibly even worse. Then again, what could they even do? We're adults and we're choosing to leave after how they acted toward us, which was incredibly disrespectful in my opinion, even if their reason was valid, it could've waited for a more appropriate time.

It's shallow, but I genuinely wanted her parents to like me. I wanted the parents of my girlfriend—who I'm completely in love with—to like me. Maybe that's not shallow, maybe that's normal. I mean why wouldn't I want the people who brought Cayden into this world to not like me? Why would I not want some sort of approval from them? Even if they didn't raise her, they still played a big part in her life.

What if Cayden doesn't want to be with me after this? What if her parents' reaction opened her eyes? What if this has gotten too complicated for her and she's decided that it would be better to just end it all? Things have always been complicated with us from the jump, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was her last straw—If this was the moment she decided to just end it for good and live a much simpler life.

"Vi?"

I divert my attention from my open suitcase to Cayden who's standing at the door with her own suitcase zipped and ready, by her side. She's dressed in a grey sweatshirt and matching sweatpants, clearly ready for New York's harsh cold weather—with her dark hair pulled into a slick high bun, illuminating her bare face covered with her usual subtle tattoos. Cayden's dark eyes look between me and my open suitcase, analyzing my current state. She left her luggage in the hall, walking over to me with a thoughtful expression.

"I'm sorry," I said, rising to my feet. Suddenly every wave of doubt that I had experienced concerning Cayden and me, came flooding in full force. Sebastian always hated when I was too nice or gave in so easily to his parents. What if Cayden is the same way? "I didn't mean to give in. I just didn't know what else to say... And I know you're upset with me since this is the second time I've given in, but I'm sorry. I'm so—"

"Vi. Baby stop. Don't apologize—I should be apologizing if anything," Cayden said, frowning as she gently slid her arms around my waist. "I'm really sorry for the way I acted last night...my parents just took a lot out of me and I needed a moment to work past it, but none of this is your fault, and I don't expect you to be rude to them. And I definitely couldn't allow myself to be upset with you over something like this. If anything I'm concerned."

I blinked a few times, registering what she just said and that she was even speaking to me. I expected her to be somewhat upset or irritated with me. Maybe even the silent treatment? But she's... sorry? And concerned?

I let out a soft sigh, relieved that she felt that way. "It's okay, Cay," I said. "And there's nothing to be concerned about...I'm fine," I said, hoping that I was somewhat assuring her even If I was lying. We could discuss this later, but right now didn't seem like the right time to dissect my feelings—not with everything going on, especially with Cayden and her parents. I could only imagine how she felt.

Cayden tilted her head, her eyes tracing my face for any sign that I might be upset, which I'm sure was visibly present on my face. I couldn't hide it if I tried. Her parents hated me and now we were leaving.

"Talk to me," she said, holding me closer as her eyes stayed locked with mine. This time she didn't seem like she was going to back down from the topic. Instead, she was willing to press this matter a little further.

I stayed silent, contemplating whether or not I should discuss everything that's bottled up within me since the beginning of all of this. Possibly before we even landed in Miami. From J&J—to leaving to a completely new place and staying at her parents' house—meeting her friends and the awfulness of realizing I lost my longest ones—meeting her parents and making the worst first impression with her mom—the terrible dinner and how I keep giving into her parents—and on top of all of this... the empty pit digging itself deeper and deeper into my stomach. It's hard. It's all really hard.

Instead of explaining all of this, I lean fully into Cayden and bury my head into her chest covered by her grey sweatshirt. "Does your parents know we're leaving?"

Cayden sighed, aware that I changed the topic, and clearly bothered by it. "Avina, we can't keep doing this. We need to talk about this," she said, and I quickly registered that she used my full name. She only ever uses it if it's a serious matter, and the only time I could think of was the club when she was searching for me in the bathroom.

"I... we can. Could we just wait until later?"

She stayed silent for a moment, making me question if she'd answer at all. "Okay," she finally said, pulling away slightly from me, which forced me to meet her familiar eyes. I could tell she was leaving the topic alone to help me feel comfortable, but I also could tell she was upset by the fact that I won't discuss it with her right now. "Ready?" she asked, looking down at my open suitcase.

I nodded, bending down to fold the luggage together and zip it up. We rolled our suitcases toward the front of the house while Cayden carried the leather duffel on her arm. Given how big the house was, the walk felt longer than usual, but once we arrived at the front I felt somewhat less anxious, knowing we were about to leave.

"Mom! Dad!" Cayden's raspy voice echoed throughout the large house as we stood by the door. Moments later her parents emerged from the hallway that lead to the kitchen, their eyes looking between us and our luggage.

"You're leaving?" Robert asked as Carmela stood silently by his side. I felt my stomach twist, knowing that this conversation would most likely only go one way, which was the last thing that I wanted.

Cayden nodded, "After how rude you were last night, yes we are."

"We're rude for thinking that the two of you sharing a room is highly inappropriate?" Carmela asked, folding her arms across her chest.

My stomach sank as I looked between Cayden and her parents. I could tell this conversation was only going to grow much tenser as it continued to unfold, and I was scared to witness it. The silence grew around them as I anxiously waited for someone to finally speak up.

"You've never gotten involved in my life. Ever. And now you feel like you should? Now you speak up?" Cayden's voice grew louder with irritation. I gently grabbed her hand, hoping to soothe her. Cayden rarely raises her voice, so I know she's past feeling irritated and more or so feeling angry.

"That's not true and you know it. We've always been involved Cayden," Robert said.

Cayden let out a scoff, her brows raising. "You have never been involved. I practically raised myself—being responsible for my own homework, cooking for myself, signing my own field trip forms—seriously, when were you guys ever involved?" she asked and I could visibly see her body grow tense before she finally said, "Why don't you like Vina? Clearly, you have some type of issue with her since you feel the need to suddenly step in at the most inconsiderate time possible. The issue couldn't have waited until after dinner?"

"We don't have an issue with Vina, Cayden," Robert said, his lips pursing into a disapproving frown. Did he really mean that? And if so—why would he separate us? Did they really feel that it was so strongly inappropriate for us to share a bed?

"Clearly you do," Cayden insisted. "I doubt you seriously care about us sharing a bed, especially before marriage—it all just sounds ridiculous."

Carmela shook her head, "Cayden just stop with all of this."

The room grew silent yet again. Cayden's parents remained completely quiet as Cayden drew in and out deep big breaths, trying to calm herself down. I held her hand tighter, hoping she could hear me saying that I'm there for her and that everything is okay.

Finally, Cayden spoke, "You know what—I will. There's absolutely no point in going back and forth with you two until you can actually admit your wrongs," she shrugged nonchalantly, but I could tell she was anything but nonchalant currently. It was as if she were forcing herself to remain calm and let this all go.

Robert sighed. "Cayden this has nothing to do with Vina," he said.

What does that mean? What other reason could they have for doing this?

"Robert..." Carmela said, her tone warning.

Cayden looked between her parents, "What's going on?"

"You've just... never brought someone home before. I guess it caught us a little off guard," Robert said causing Carmela to divert her attention from us in a way that looked like she felt ashamed. She and Robert were as vulnerable as ever, sharing their feelings like never before. I could tell Cayden was caught off guard by his confession, her body relaxing slightly. Even I was caught a little off guard—This was the most emotion Cayden's parents had shown.

"We didn't know what to do Cayden. I guess I can admit that we haven't been that present in your life, but bringing her here still seemed like a lot, and so suddenly," Carmela said, her eyes meeting Cayden's. "But we don't hate or dislike her in any way, and we should've just made this all clearer to you guys instead of acting the way we did. We're... sorry for—"

The doorbell rang loudly through the home, cutting the conversation short. Everyone remained silent as they looked between each other, forcing me to gently let go of Cayden's hand to answer the door. Opening the door it suddenly felt like things could get worse—like things weren't even worse, to begin with.

"Mom...? Dad?" I said, looking between my parents.