𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗛 ✔

𝟖𝟔. 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄

Home.

What was home? What did it mean? Where even was it?

Cara didn't have a solid understanding of it. At least not yet.

And so, as she wandered around the house she had once called her home, she thought. For once, she pondered. Wondered. Considered.

The place looked drastically different now compared to when she had left it, all those months ago, back when snow blanketed the grass and dark loomed over the sky. Nature became more and more beautiful with the passing of the summer, but that wasn't the case for the house in particular. Window panes had been shattered, the wooden floor had been cracked in various places, any paint that hadn't been stained or peeled off was now faded, and a thick layer of dust lay comfortably on all of the surfaces. If Cara had walked into this house without knowing where it was, she would have never believed it was once her home just a year ago.

She smiled to herself as she opened the door to her old room. The rusty hinges squeaked loudly, but she no longer found the sound annoying; instead, she took it in fondly as a memory. The blue yoga ball that she once sat on was flat and airless. The window seat, where she had so loved to sit, watching YouTube, was still intact; she couldn't say the same for the now broken window.

Cara thought back to the last words she had uttered to her only family before she would never cross paths with her again.

Her mother had long gone. Cursed with a life of fear and chaos, she must have been freed, when she was killed. Now, she was somewhere in heaven, and finally at peace.

It had been months since they had went to the laboratory. Everything that had happened were all but a faint memories now, memories that had since left scars. But scars, in the right state of mind, did eventually heal with time....even the ones that resulted from a heart broke in two.

Due to the efforts at the laboratory, all three of them were excused from any punishment or further schooling at Roseboro. Job offers skyrocketed, and Cara no longer had to consider the option of waitressing. She was working both as an intern in business administration and a barista in the nearby cafe while juggling college, and while it wasn't easy, the salaries earning her enough to finally move out of the motel and into a brand-new apartment.

Smiling a little more than usual, Cara left the house back out of the front door, picking up her phone as she walked.

cara 🥺
hey love, i'm done.

aiden 😈
great! i'll grab a cab to pick you up. love you <33

In a few moments, a glimmer of golden arrived, smiling brightly.

"How was it, birthday girl?" Aiden asked. He gently picked her up by the waist and promptly span her around in the air.

"Good," she replied, laughing. "I'm glad I plucked up the courage to go back there, it really brought back some really nice memories. What about you? How'd it go?"

"Brilliant," he said. "My stepmother is finally in jail, they settled it just this morning. Her old home is to be turned into a parking lot for the playground around the corner."

"That's great!" Cara grinned. "But what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Where will you be staying and all that? I mean, I know you were staying at Willow's spare apartment, but I was just asking because you probably can't stay there forever and, you know, I have an apartment and everything, because of the salary I've made over these few months, and-"

"Is this your way of asking me to move in with you?" said Aiden cheekily, cutting off her ramble. "Look, you're flustered."

"Shut up," she mumbled, punching his arm lightly. "I was just...ugh, fine. I was. Do you want to move in with me, then?"

"Of course I want to move in with you," he laughed, leaning in to kiss her lips chastely. "You didn't have to be so scared about it."

"I wasn't scared." Cara pulled him closer.

"You sure about that?"

"Um? Do you two want to get in, or...?" The annoyed voice of the taxi driver made them snap out of it.

"Oh, crap," muttered Cara sheepishly. "I'm sorry, mister, I'll, um...pay you more..."

_*_

"So, Tiger, what do you want for your birthday?" Aiden beamed as he flopped on her couch.

"I already told you, love, I don't want anything," said Cara, sitting on his lap with a pout.

"You sure about that?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sure."

"Too late," he kissed her nose quickly. "Please don't be mad at me."

She frowned, confused. "What do you-"

"SURPRISE!"

Cara screamed, falling off of the sofa in shock as three figures jumped out seemingly from nowhere, all wearing lame party hats and clown outfits.

"Tae, Willow, Minnie- You-" her mouth fell open as she slapped her forehead. She turned to the figure still laying down. "AIDEN!"

He cringed, immediately standing up.

"How could you, I told you I didn't need anything, you all just planned this behind my back, literally how could you do this I feel so betrayed I said I don't want anything so why the hell would you disobey me-"

"Baby, calm down," Aiden groaned, placing a finger on her lips. "This is what I meant when I said don't be mad..."

"So you don't like our surprise?" came a whine from behind them. "I wore this disgusting clown shit for nothing?"

Cara sighed, turning around. "For the record, Tae, I didn't exactly ask for this."

"Neizzer did I," grumbled Dominique. "You know vat, I'm taking zis off."

Cara rushed to where they were standing, putting her hands on her hips. "How could you prepare a surprise for me? You know I hate surprises and- wait. Is that ice cream?"

Willow took off her party hat and held out the bowl of ice cream. "Erm...sorry that it looks so unpresentable, Aiden said you didn't like cake, so I-"

"Save it." Cara grabbed the bowl and started to practically inhale the ice cream, leaving the rest of them standing there, slightly confused. After swallowing her last bite, she slapped on a grin. "Um, you know how I got mad at you all for preparing me a surprise? I take that back. One hundred percent. This ice cream slaps."

"So are we celebrating now?" Taelyn muttered. "You could have told me before I took off this clown outfit?"

"Actually..." Cara looked them up and down. "I prefer it off. Those costumes were the ugliest things I've ever seen. Let's party!"

Tae raised an eyebrow at Aiden, who was still awkwardly standing there. "This your girl?"

He ran a hand through his hair proudly. "You'd better bet she is."

As Dominique complained all night about being a third well, and Taelyn downed glass after glass of wine, and Willow sat by, slightly concerned, Cara began to have an epiphany. She realized that her home wasn't just a building. She had wondered, as she was enveloped in Aiden's warm embrace, how could there be a home, if there were no people to live in it? Her home was with the people she loved most, because when those two things mixed together, people and love, she felt like she was in the biggest mansion in the world. Cara loved herself, and she loved them. And even if her life wasn't perfect at all, at that moment, that was all she needed.