Ghost Of You | cth

22. You're With Me

~Paige

I wasn't planning on answering the call, but I also wasn't going to deny it so I let it ring through.

No matter how mad or badly hurt I am by Calum, hanging up on him is something I would never do.

I continued my work once the call disappeared, only to get distracted three minutes later by the notification on my phone letting me know that I had received a voicemail.

It would probably have been a smarter choice not listen to what he has to say, but it's only been three days and I miss him more than anything.

Turns out it was a bad idea, because now I'm standing in the doorway of my hotel room with tear stained cheeks, looking back at my equally as heartbroken best friend.

He's leaned against his own hotel room door, staring back at me with what either appears to be sadness or despair.

"Calum—" I do my best to choke back a sob. He looks so defeated and I'm sure I don't look any better.

I take a step forward to be closer to him, but he does his best to further the space between us despite already being pressed against a surface. This confuses me. Until I notice his bloodshot eyes. "Are you drunk?"

He looks away regretfully, "Oh Cal." He never gets drunk, he's the one person in this group that has avoided alcohol practically his entire life. I never thought that the two of us would get into an argument this badly to the point where he turned to substances. Especially ones he never uses.

I try walking closer towards him again, bringing him into my room and keeping him close to me is the only way I'll feel comfortable enough tonight. I can't leave him on his own in this state, he's not used to being drunk. Who knows what kind of unsafe situation he could end up in?

"Please don't be mad at me Paige, I just needed to forget." He slurs as I wrap my arm around him and drape his other arm over my shoulder in order to properly walk him into the room.

I shush him, "I'm not mad at you Calum."

He leans his head on my shoulder, putting the rest of his body weight onto me even more, "Yes you are. You haven't talked to me in forever."

I finally get us into the room and try sitting him down on my bed. Instead he uses his other arm to push the both of us down onto the bed so that we are now laying down next to each other.

Our bodies face forward but our heads are tilted towards one another. I've never seen Calum look so broken before.

He presses his thumb under my eyes and does his best to wipe away the mascara stains from my tears.

I think back to his voicemail, the things he confessed to me. If it weren't for how drunk he is I would ask him to clarify what he meant, but I know better than to take advantage of him.

"Did you hear the voicemail?" He asks so quietly it sounds like a whisper. I can tell he's scared of what my answer will be.

"Yes." I respond just as quietly.

He looks away from me for a moment, I'm assuming it's to think hard about why he actually followed through with sending me a voicemail that deep.

"Did you know that I love you?" He asks, turning his head to look at me again. Unaware that there are a few more tears that have escaped and are now rolling down his cheeks. I quickly lift my hands up to wipe them away with my thumbs.

Love is a very strong word.

I've always known that Calum and I had a special place in our hearts for each other, but the thought that maybe we are in love never crossed my mind. It was always too hard to think about.