Nothing But Hate

Bonus Chapter #2

a/n : this chapter picks up where the epilogue ended. enjoy

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"Is everything okay?" The man at the other end of the bar asked when he saw Tucker looking at him with wide eyes.

"Huh? Yeah," Tucker let out a deep breath, "Sorry. I just thought you were someone else for a second."

"That's okay. I get that a lot. Some people say I just have that kind of a face." The man shrugged and Tucker smiled politely.

"Excuse me." Tucker walked away after that.

Tucker internally cursed at himself for even thinking that it could be Callum. It had been years since he last heard from the man, and he should be out of Tucker's head by now. But unfortunately, the more Tucker tried to forget Callum, the harder he failed.

Everything happened so quickly. Tucker barely had the time to process the fact that Callum lied to him. Before he knew it, Callum was gone from his life. It took a while for it all to sink in, and even now, Tucker wasn't completely over what happened.

But time changes people. As Tucker grew older, he learned how to see things from perspectives other than his own. What Callum did was unjustifiable, yes, but Tucker knew he couldn't blame Callum for being born into the Kaufman family where he was groomed to be the way that he was since he was an infant.

The feeling of deja vu at the bar hit Tucker harder than he imagined. He made his way out of the building, desperately needing some fresh air. Tucker was barely out of the gate when he got a call from his sister.

"Tucker, where are you? Did you really just leave your own party?" Paige sighed, making Tucker pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Look. Paige. I just need a minute, okay, I'll be—" Tucker was cut off when he bumped into someone, his eyes widened as he recognised the man in front of him, "I'll call you back."

Tucker hung up the call as he stared wordlessly at the man he never thought he'd ever see again. The years did him good, it seemed. His blonde hair was longer now, and he styled them behind his ear. His jaw and facial structure looked stronger now too. His dress sense was the same, he was wearing an all black suit, looking as gorgeous as ever.

"Tucker." He greeted.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Tucker spat. Sometimes, Tucker's heart and mouth weren't consistent with one another.

"I came to see you," He said, "Why else would I be back in this wretched city?"

"That can't be it." Tucker refused to believe it.

"I told you that one day I'll fix things between us, Tuck," Callum said, "I want to make true to my word."

"It's too late. It's been years and I.. I just don't care anymore. What we had was over long ago." Tucker said, lying to both himself and the man his heart still ached for.

"For a lawyer, you're a terrible liar." Callum said with a small smile on his face.

"How can you still be so fucking confident after everything you've done? What makes you think I still care?" Tucker asked.

"Because I never stopped loving you and I want.. I need to believe that you didn't either." Callum said.

"Callum, I—" Tucker was cut off.

"Just listen to me, please. I'm not who I was back then. I was a spineless fool that didn't know wrong from right but I.. I've changed. I've fucked up a lot in my life but you're the one thing that I need to fix. I cannot live knowing how much I've hurt you and how I didn't do anything to make it better." Callum said, his voice desperate.

"How can I ever trust you again, Callum?" Tucker asked softly.

"You don't need to trust me right now. We can work on it and build it. I'm willing to make all the effort in the world to get you put your trust in me," Callum paused, "You don't owe me anything, Tuck. You don't owe me a second chance. But I'm still here begging you for it."

"I just.. I still can't believe you're here," Tucker stated in disbelief as he ran his hand through his hair, "I'm not the same man I was back then."

"Neither am I, Tuck," Callum said, "And I don't want you to just take my word for it. I just want you to give me a chance to prove that I've changed. That I've become the man that deserves to be with you."

"What?" Tucker let out a dry chuckle, "Did they have classes on morality in wit pro?"

"Going through the trial.. seeing the families that were affected, that were ruined by my father's and.. my actions," Callum gulped, looking down, "I'm going to spend the rest of my life to make up for all that."

"Callum—"

"If you weren't there in my life, then I wouldn't have realised what I did wrong," Callum admitted, "I.. It was all so normalised for me. A part of my everyday life that I didn't even care about. You changed me from the day you called me out at that party years ago, Tuck, and I kept telling you I wasn't the man you thought I was but the truth is that you were right. You were right since the beginning."

"When we were together," Tucker started, "I never told you I loved you."

"You didn't."

"But I did," Tucker admitted, "I loved you."

"I did too," Callum stepped closer to Tucker, "I still do. I never stopped."

"I loved you and you broke my heart. My trust. I don't think I can go through that again. My mind is screaming at me to just punch you and leave." Tucker said.

"Tucker, I swear—"

"No. Now you let me finish," Tucker glared at Callum as he walked even closer to the man, "My mind is telling me to run away. To never see your face again because it remembers how much it hurt the last time. Because I've never been able to trust anyone since you shattered it completely."

"Tucker.."

"Then tell me why.." Tucker's voice softened as he put his hand on Callum's cheek gently, "Tell me why my heart still wants you so fucking badly. Tell me why I'll be more heartbroken if I leave you right now than if you break my trust again. Tell me why it's taking everything I have to stop myself from kissing you."

"You don't have to stop yourself." Callum whispered.

Tucker didn't need to hear anything else as he leaned forward and kissed Callum with passion he thought he had lost years ago. The heart really does want what it wants, and Tucker's heart never stopped wanting Callum.

***

maybe tuck and cal do deserve a happy ending, yk?

also, please do check out my new book 'Sing Me A Song'