Distraction

Chapter 2-Forgiven

The dry Cheerios I was crunching for lunch were all I could afford with the last of my tips from gigs. So much was on my mind as I sat at the kitchen table, tapping my spoon against the wood.

It'd been a week since the accident. Exactly a week. I'd gone out and bought myself a new phone, and applied for a few jobs, fairly unsuccessfully. My car was gone. Totalled. I walked from place to place, though I really had nowhere to go.

The last time I rode in a car, it was the truck of that Calum Hood lad. The ride to my flat was awkward. Uncomfortable. He continually apologised until I was sure my ears were bleeding.

I told him to stop and got out of the car without another word. Of course, I regretted it later on, but it was the only option at the time.

Since then, I'd been virtually cut off from society, anticipating my mother's return. What would be my first words to her? 'Sorry mom, you can't stay here', or, 'Get the hell out of my life'.

Just then, the door buzzer echoed throughout my flat. My initial reaction was that, with my luck, it was the landlord here to kick me out. But the truth was far from it, as a familiar brown-haired lad stood with his hands behind his back, smiling some sort of enchanting half smile.

"Hi, Ms. Wolfe. I, uh, can I come in?" Calum coughed.

I froze in place, wondering whether I should reluctantly invite yet another unwelcome person into my humble abode.

"Fine." I stepped aside and allowed him to enter my disappointment of a living room. As he walked past, he made an attempt to hide what was behind his back, though it was obvious, and I have to admit, it lit a spark of joy inside of me.

Calum stood before the love seat as I pulled a chair from the kitchen table and sat across from him.

"I brought you this." He revealed a shining Cole Clark FL2 Acoustic and laid it to rest in my hands. It felt so good, the veneered wood of the neck, the strings, the- wait.

"Why?"

He was taken aback. "What?"

"Why are you like this? Why are you being nice to me? You don't even know me."

Calum ran a hand through his thick hair and sat down.

"I-I don't know, I just-I know how I would feel if I lost mine, and-"

"You play?" I interrupted. Whoops.

"Yeah, but I play bass. I guess it's-"

"Do you have it with you?" And, I did it again.

He chuckled slightly, and rubbed his attractively angular chin. "No, I don't."

"Well, play this one." I handed over the acoustic.

"I kind of suck at it, but I'll try." With that, Calum dove into a rendition of American Idiot, a song I knew all too well. I listened intently as he struck every chord with a kind of precision only achievable by a pro. When he finished, he looked into my eyes expectantly. It gave me the chills. The song, I mean.

"Kinda suck, my ass. That was amazing."

Calum beamed. "Really? Thank you."

I nodded. "Guess you better keep the guitar. You're way better than I am."

He raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "I doubt that, Ms. Wolfe. Let me hear you play something."

"Maybe some other time," I smirked, brushing my hair back past my ears.

"So there will be another time?"

"I don't know yet. Possibly. Probably."

By now, he had risen from the love seat and was making his way toward the door, guitar in hand. Unexpectedly, Calum leaned against the frame of the door, arms crossed.

"I'm not leaving until you say there will be another time for sure."

I sighed and rolled my eyes, though very honestly, I desperately wanted to see Calum again. "Will you stop calling me 'Ms. Wolfe'?"

Calum knit his eyebrows together and let my name roll off his tongue. "Celyn? I think I can work with that. Now again, the answer to my question. Will there be another time?"

"Definitely."

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Hi! So are you guys enjoying this at all so far? I know there's only two chapters, but I don't really want to write it if no one is going to read it. Please vote, comment, give me any kind of feedback at all. Thank you.

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