heal// 5SOS

4

Calum

We made it back to the house safely and put our bikes away, Gia flopping onto the grass where she laid. Rider giggled and laid beside her, but Sage went inside and upstairs.

"Are you two playing out here for a bit then?"

"Yeah,"

"Alright, put suncream on. It's on the table over there,"

"I loved that bike ride, dad,"

"Good,"

I went through the house to the front door, picking up the post that was left. I smiled because something for Sage had come, so took it upstairs to them and knocked on their door.

They let me in and I passed it to them, sitting on their desk chair as they sat on their bed.

The desk itself was messy. That was out of character for Sage, who tended to be spotless, and they had lots of school work everywhere. It was stressful for them, but they enjoyed it nonetheless.

Especially because they had made friends, who I was yet to meet, but they sounded lovely.

"What is it?"

"Open it and see,"

Hesitantly, they ripped open the package and pulled out a new backpack they had pointed out multiple times in the shop. They froze, then looked up at me and smiled, a huge smile.

One that made their eyes glow, and dimples come out.

"Thank you,"

"You're welcome,"

"Why did you buy me this?"

"Well you need to look cool for school,"

They laughed and opened it, making the bag a more natural shape. It was dark blue, and a so called trendy brand- I was officially out of the loop of trends.

"Thank you,"

"I just wanted to show you how proud I was that you have gone to school. That's a big thing, and you have gone almost every day,"

"It feels so good when you say you're proud,"

"Proud is a huge understatement,"

They sat on my knee and hugged me despite them definitely being too big to do so. They'd shot up in the past month, and were thankfully gaining weight, Rider too.

However it did make having them on my lap slightly uncomfortable.

"Do I hug you too much? I never used to touch you,"

"I don't think there's such a thing," I said, making them stand so I could stand, "But you never have to hug me if you don't want,"

"I do. Constantly! That's the problem,"

"I think you feel safe,"

They nodded and laid back with their bag, so I left them to be. Though I was enjoying spending lots of time with them, I didn't want to drain their social battery.

So, I went ahead and continued the dirty work of cleaning mine and Sage's bathroom now, but it was less of a mess so it didn't take as long.

I checked the calendar on my bedroom wall and cursed when I saw all our appointments for Monday, because I needed someone to go in with Sage, and it was last minute to ask.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, come here a sec darling,"

"You don't swear,"