I pulled at the vacuum with all my might and grunted with the effort. The cleaning was not going as I expected. I was tired and Caleb might be coming over any moment. I closed my eyes and ran a hand through my tangled dark hair. Why had Sabrina called him? Things were gonna get super awkward now.

The doorbell rang and I groaned inwardly. I hadn't had the time to put on makeup and I was sure my blue eyes were fringed by enormous dark circles. Yes, I was truly a mess right now in my oversized tee, devoid of any sleep and food. I hurried towards the front door, nearly tripping on the vacuum cleaner.

Muttering curses under my breath and massaging my foot, I went to open the front door. Caleb stood there with his eyebrows raised.

"I knew I would see our Dorito girl again." He said and grinned at me. Immediately, any thoughts of things being awkward evaporated from my mind. I felt like I knew him for ages. I guess it was just a part of his charm to put people around at ease.

"Don't call me that," I said, gesturing for him to come inside. 

"Whatever, Dorito girl."

I rolled my eyes at him. I stood aside to let him in and whiffed at his sweet cologne. I liked the scent, but I couldn't recognise it. He was dressed in jeans and a white shirt with his brown hair falling into his warm chocolate eyes.

"Where's Sab?" he asked, pulling his phone out of his pocket to check the time. "She's running late."

"I don't know. She said she'd be early. Maybe there was a car emergency and she had to take the tow truck or something."

"Probably." said Caleb, glancing at the huge pile of stuff Sabrina had left yesterday in the hall. "Oh man, that's a lot of stuff."

"I know right?" I said, biting my lip. "I just wasted two hours to drag a few chairs upstairs and I am exhausted."

It was true. With the progress I had made, I feared setting up the house was going to take forever. It wasn't fair to drag Caleb and Sabrina into this. I was gonna have to pay someone to do it. I decided I would do it at the end of the month when I received my salary. Until then, people coming over would just have to get used to a view of my kitchen.

"I think I'm just gonna set up everything later this month."

"What? No way." said Caleb, looking at me with surprise.

I folded my arms and glared at him.

"Yes, way. And if you think I'm gonna let you drag furniture all over the place for nothing, you're wrong."

I set my jaw. I was going to have to be firm about this. Caleb doubled over with laughter.

"What's the matter?" I asked, feeling bewildered as he continued to laugh.

"You don't look like it but you sure can pack a punch."

I scowled at him as he grinned at me.

"I may not look like it but I'm incredibly strong. And I sure as hell am not afraid of a little dusty furniture, Dorito Girl."

"Stop calling me that!"

He ignored me and picked up two of the armchairs similar to the ones I had spent all morning dragging upstairs. I watched in disbelief as he didn't even catch a breath and returned a minute later. He must have seen my stunned expression because he laughed again.

"You're a bag of bones gal." he drawled in a southern accent. I just sighed. The doorbell rang, startling us both.

Sabrina came in with a scarf wrapped around her neck and her blonde hair in a sleek mane at her back. I helped her with her coat and reached up to take her scarf. She dodged my hands and stepped aside.

"I'd prefer to keep that on, you know." she said, rubbing her hands together. "It's kind of cold."

Caleb stared at her sceptically.

"Considering Audersbury, today is literally the warmest day there could be. Did you even see the weather yesterday and the day before? That's what I call cold."

"I'm not feeling well." she snapped. "Leave me alone."

I stared at her in surprise. Sabrina was normally good-natured and calm.

"Sorry about that." she sighed. "It's just that the people at work have been driving me crazy. That Susan..."

Caleb nodded sympathetically.

Sabrina took a deep breath and her old smiled returned to her face as she rubbed her hands together with glee.

"Let's get this party started."

They cleared the whole room in just one hour. I could hardly believe it. It would have taken me days to do it myself but Caleb seemed to have way more strength than I had ever seen on a grown man let alone a teenage boy. He didn't look ripped or buff, he was quite lean but he didn't seem to feel the weight of anything at all. I was glad I would finally start work from tomorrow with the whole house set up. I had to admit Caleb had been a big help even though he insisted on annoying me with that stupid nickname. It could have been worse though- at least I loved Doritos. Sabrina and Caleb got along well and had spent the whole time joking around. I never got half of their inside jokes even though they tried to include me. It didn't bother me that much for they had known each other their whole life.

Caleb pulled out his phone and frowned.

"Gotta go guys." he said abruptly and walked out of the door without a second glance. It was deja vu. I raised my eyebrows at Sabrina who shrugged.

"He's always like this. He leaves more often than I do and I drive the tow truck." she said, opening the fridge and taking out a soda. She took a long drink and wiped her mouth.

"What are you even doing?" I asked her. "Aren't you unwell? That soda will make your throat worse."

"Throat?" she asked, trailing a hand over her scarf. "Well, it's done now so I might as well have some more."

I sighed. Apparently, nothing in this town made any sense. Or maybe I was just hanging with the wrong people. I shrugged it off and tried to thank Sabrina,  but she cut me off with a look.

"Don't even think about it." she said, setting the soda can on the table and rubbing her hands together again.

"You don't even know what I was going to say!" I protested.

She rolled her eyes at me.

"I know you."

She walked to the front door and waved me goodbye. I waved back. Then I went inside and heated up some cup noodles and put on a film. I would have to start work tomorrow so I might as well enjoy my last free evening.