"Car is parked, bags are packed, but what kind of heart doesn't look back at the comfortable glow from the porch, the one I will still call 'yours'?"

[Breathe Again - Sara Bareilles]

Prologue

It was a year since all got fixed in Ravenswood. Since Caleb had stopped the curse and all its consequent stuff. And it was two years since Caleb and Hanna had seen each other the last time, in Ravenswood. Giving each other that heartbreaking goodbye, letting themselves go conscious that they love each other like the first day. Caleb had fixed the things, he could have come back to Rosewood to Hanna. But he hadn't done it. He hadn't done it because he was scared of disconcert her life. When he had been able to stop the curse, Hanna was surely already graduated and Caleb was sure that she was choosing the college. He didn't want to hinder her future.

"She might rebuilded her own life, she found her stability." He thought.

"It's not fair for me to reappear after all this time like nothing happened."

"Who am I to have made a girl so beautiful and sweet waiting?"

"Who am I to disconcert her life?"

"She's planning her future, and I'm too late to be part of it."

All these thoughts were running through his head, but he was still unsure of what to do. Because he still loved her, and he wished with all his life a future with her. Because they parted without wanting to. Because their love deserved a second chance.

And because he missed her.

He missed her dearly. He missed her physically; to touch her, hold her, kiss her, caress her, he missed her scent, her smile, her eyes, her voice...

And he missed her in a psychologically way, too. He missed everything that Hanna was able to give him everyday: the safety, the support, the backing, the love...

That love so pure, unconditional, that had always been able to defeat anything. And Caleb felt terrible thinking that he had to stop all of this. But he had been forced to, and if he could have come back in the past, he would have still made the same choice a thousand times to save Hanna.

He had renounced to the best thing he had ever had to save the best thing he had ever had.

And that since two years, he hadn't anymore.

He hadn't seen her or heard from her for two years now, and he felt awfully alone, apathetic; he basically went back to be the guy he used to be before meeting Hanna.

With all his doubt if it was better to find her or disappear from her life for good, Caleb had tried to contact Hanna on the phone, but she had never picked up. On the other hand, Hanna had never been used to keep the same phone number for a long time, and he knew it. He was too late also to call her. He hadn't been brave enough to knock on her door in Rosewood, this time. He had been afraid not to be appreciated. He had been afraid of hurt her, again, after all that time. And he couldn't know how he would have reacted seeing her again. All of this was scaring him, that's the truth.

So, Caleb had given up. But he had said to himself that if one day destiny would have reconnected to each other, he would have gone through everything. But slipping back like this in Hanna's life, going out and going in again like he wants for the nth time, no. It would have seemed coward. He had left her and then come back too many times, and he didn't want to make her suffering anymore. He didn't meant to play with her. He never meant to do it, but the impression that his past actions gave, was portraying him like a perfect bastard towards Hanna. If destiny would have wanted to, then he would have been ready for her, if not, he wouldn't have searched for her anymore and he would have let her go.

Because he loved her with all his life and he didn't want to hurt her. Anymore. It already happened too many times.

So, upon Ravenswood's cursed puzzles have been solved, Caleb had moved to Montecito, to his mother, and there he had found a kind of distraction for all his torments. He had become a kind of trainee in a computer company. He had been able to graduate in Ravenswood with so many problems, then, not wanting to go to any college, he had made a job interview with the add of a test to get that work. And he had got it. On the other hand, he had always been a computer's genius. He was earning very well, and he was always praised by the boss. He was so good that one day he got a huge opportunity.

After a year of brilliant work, he was convened in his boss' office. Caleb came in, held the hand of the boss and was invited to have a sit.

"Well, Rivers. I have to make you a very important offer." the man started.

"Tell me everything."

"Well, it's just a year that you've been working for us, but we have to say that you always did it very well. I'm going to the point, there's no more to say. So, the company organizes a stage in New York, with the professor Norton. For the whole semester, the professor is giving some informatics lessons to the NYU, and we thought that you, mr Rivers, would be suited to go with him like his assistant. What do you think about it? Obviously, you will earn a lot, more of how much you're earning now."

Caleb couldn't help but smile at those words. That was the opportunity of his life. A stage to the NYU.

"Mr Rivers, you have to let me know if you accept or not, like, tomorrow, because if you don't, we have to contact another worker." the boss continued.

"I can already say that I accept. I don't need to think about it." Caleb said, sure.

"Are you sure?"

"At 100%. Thank you for trusting me."

"Fine, I'm glad. You will have a room paid by our company in the college for the whole semester. You're leaving on Monday. If you need some info on the schedule or anything else, you can contact the professor Norton." the boss said, giving a note to Caleb.

The guy took it, smiling. He said goodbye to the boss happy, knowing that would have been a great opportunity to secede from that static point of his life. That stage might would have taken him focused enough not to make him torturing with Hanna's memories, anymore.

But that was impossible, and he knew it.

Hanna had left Rosewood just after her graduation. She had moved to New York with her mother, who had finally found a good job there. And she had started her fashion studies at the NYU.

-A was arrested the graduation's day in Rosewood. It was Ezra Fitz. Since that day, Hanna, Aria, Emily and Spencer had finally been free to live a normal life, even though for Aria had been three times more difficult to go on.

Aria and Spencer were studying together at the UPenn, Emily at Stanford, and Hanna at the NYU. But they got in touch everyday, by phone, or by Skype, or whatever else. And as soon as they had the opportunity, they reunited, at the Brew or at the Apple Rose Grill in Rosewood, sometimes.

Hanna hadn't seen Caleb or heard from him for two years now. Caleb had been her point or reference with her mom. She had always needed him, even before meeting him, and from the moment she had found him, she had always fought hard to keep him with her. But, at the end, she had lost him, for good. And, for a certain period, she had drowned again in the chasm. Yeah, again, because she had gone back to make her divouring from the insecurities just like once, and just like once, she had gone back to be bulimic. She ate everything at every hour of the day, she guzzled until she couldn't breathe anymore. She neither put her make up on, she barely got out of her house, she seemed apathetic too. The pain caused by the lack of the guy she loved with all her life, had made her do all these things. Saying that she had suffered was an understatement.

But luckily, she had been able to defeat the bulimia for the second time. Thanks to her best friends whereby she shared more pain than joy, and thanks to the closure of a kind and open-hearted guy like Dave. She had met him at the therapist, the same for both, in New York, a bit before starting the college. He was there to complete his detoxification process from the alcohol, while Hanna was there to complete hers from the bulimia. And Hanna had wanted to believe that was possible to find her love in that guy. They were dating, Dave was attending the NYU too, but Hanna didn't feel like she was in love with him yet.

Caleb was still nailed to her heart, that had been bleeding for a very long time. And that nail could have been removed only by the person who had put it: Caleb. Because the thought that they still loved each other but that they couldn't be together, was killing her. Maybe just because of Caleb that heart would have stopped bleeding, because he had been the one who made it start.

And Hanna, in her subconscious, was still waiting for him to come back in her life, she might would have done it for eternity, might hopeless. Even if New York and her new life were cutting all the bounds with her not-easy past.

A/N: Okay, guys! Here I am once again with another long multichap Haleb :) I repeat, English is not my first language and I'm really sorry for the mistakes (I suck with the past tences)! I wrote and published this story in my language, Italian, on an Italian FF site, and now I'm trying to translate it to share it with you too (if anyone is interested in reading this in Italian too, PM me!) :) Anyway, I'll continue "The Healer" too :) Oh, in this story Ezra is -A (sorry 'bout that) and he has been arrested, and Caleb and Hanna had seen each other for the last time in the 1x10 of Ravenswood (Yes, I watched that show, but only for Haleb u.u). And I'll make references to things happened in the first four seasons. This was just a prologue, and... This story is a future fic, I think you all understood that :) Well, I can't promise anything about the uploading time, because it takes so long to me to translate from Italian to English, but I can promise that you'll have all the chapters as soon as I can. I hope you guys like it, I really care about this fic, I wrote it with all my heart :) See you soon guys, and stay tuned on "The Healer" too! xx -Atramea.