Route 49 -cth-

-V-

Luke came rushing back with my aunt and his mum trailing behind him.

"What's going on Lexie?" Linda asked me "Its my fault, not Lexie's. This is Calum. He's gotten himself a little drunk and I don't have the heart to send him home where he'll get in such shit with his patents because this isn't the first time. Mum won't let him come to ours after left time and I asked Lexie to take him. Please Linda, he's my best friend" Luke smiled at my aunt sweetly, he found it so easy yo wrap people around his little finger.

"You know him?" My aunt asked turning to me I looked to Luke who was nodding vigorously "Oh yeah, we're friends" I told her.

"You're very lucky Alex isn't home this weekend" I wasn't sure which of the three if us that she was talking to but I suppose it was all three of us although Calum probably couldn't even hear her or realise what was going on.

We got Calum into the back seat of Linda's car and brought him home. Luke constantly texted me on the journey home to make sure that Calum was okay no matter how many times I reassured him that he was fine and his wellbeing wouldn't change in the near future he continued to text anyway.

We placed Calum on the living room couch with a duvet from my room with a bucket beside him.

I told Linda that I would sit with him just for a while incase he was to wake up and not know where he was. I sat in the armchair across from him and put on the tv at the lowest volume so I didn't wake him.

I found my eyes lingering longer on Calum's sleeping body than the tv. He looked so peaceful but his mouth hung open making soft snores every so often. I thought back to what Luke had said earlier, "Give him a break. He's had a tough time lately" I wondered what it was that it was so top secret that Luke thought it was not his place to tell me. It must've been part of the reason why when I first met him he looked so sad.

Calum began to stir and I waited for him to wake. I tiptoes over to him slowly whispering his name his eyes slowly opened to focus on me.

"Lexie?" His voice sounded croaky and hoarse "Yeah it's Lexie. You're at my house, you got drunk at the picnic earlier" I filled him in.

"You called me your friend" He said a grin spread across his face. I looked at him slightly shocked, I'd thought that he was out and didn't hear anything.

"You heard that?" I questioned him unable to not smile back at him he nodded his head slowly. His eyes beginning to droop until they closed fully and his mouth dropped open releasing snores once more.

I woke up in bed unsure of how I'd gotten there. I didn't remember falling asleep, the last thing I remembered was watching Calum falling back to sleep. I heard plates crashing around from downstairs I got up and opened my door to see that it wasn't my aunt making the noise.

"What on earth is going on?" She asked as she passed me as she went down the stairs.

I followed her into the kitchen and saw Calum standing at the cooker he turned to us and smiled shyly "I'm sorry, I just wanted to say thanks" He said rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh how lovely" Linda gushed throwing her hands in the air. I rolled my eyes but found Calum adorable in his shy state.

"I didn't know you could cook" I said lifting myself up to sit on the counter.

"Ah" He said tapping me on the nose "There is so much you don't know about me, Lexie" He said smiling and I realised that that was more true than I liked to admit. All I knew was his name and music tastes, everything else was a mystery.

"This looks lovely, Calum" Linda said as calum put two plates of food down "You're not eating?" I asked looking to him he shook his head "My stomach isn't all too good after yesterday" He said and my aunt laughed along with him.

"Besides, I'd best be off now. My mum will kill me if I ignore another of her phone calls. Thank you so much for letting me stay, I wish I could thank you with more than a breakfast but alas, I am a poor high school drop out" He headed for the door and I jumped up to follow him.

"I'll see you soon" He said turning to me.

"On the Route 49 bus" I said.

"On the Route 49 bus" He replied with a grin before he shut the door behind him.

-

Since knowing Calum my sleeping patterns had gotten better, but that was not always a good thing.

With sleep came the nightmares. The visions of that day all came flooding back, the look on my aunts face as she told me that neither of my parents had survived.

The feeling of being completely alone in this world never left, the feeling of wishing that I had been the one to die in that fire never left.

I never told my aunt about the nightmares, I'd never told anyone because I'd never had anyone to tell.

-
Hi! Thank you so much for reading this story so far :)

I'm sorry if the end of this part is a little confusing I just wanted to add in a little about Lexie's past. It's just a build up:)

Again thank you so much for reading this!!

Please share the story with people and like and comment!!