Do More Good (5sos ot4)

Chapter 22

"No, don't want it," Calum muttered, curled up into a ball on the couch. His hands were shaking and he balled them in fists to try to make it stop.

    It had been a few hours since they got back from the park. Calum was still in shock over what happened. He couldn't believe Ashton would kill someone so casually like that. He knew they were murderers, but they'd always told him that it was bad people who wanted to die, not just killing anyone for fun.

    Although, what did Calum know? Maybe this person did want to die, maybe they were a bad person. They lived at the park, their life couldn't be that good, maybe Ashton was helping in a way.

    Everything hurt; Calum was tired of thinking, tired of sleeping, and tired of the other three treating him like he was a little baby that needed taking care of. In a sense, he appreciated the fact that they were looking after him, but he just wished things could be normal.

    "You should eat some dinner, Cally, I know you had a rough day," Luke said softly, kneeling by the couch with a plate of chicken and rice Michael had thrown together quickly. Luke felt bad they'd done that to Calum. He knew the boy was fragile and wasn't used to it, but he just hoped Ashton was right and he'd come back stronger than ever because of it. "It'll help you,"

"No," he turned away so he was facing the back of the couch and couldn't see Luke anymore. He heard the man sigh and get up.

    "Cal, you have to eat, I know you know that. It isn't good to be skipping meals, baby, we're just trying to look after you."

    Calum said nothing because he knew he would probably get angry if he replied to Luke, and he didn't want to cause any problems. He just wished they'd leave him alone for a little bit.

    He got his wish when Luke walked out of the room shortly after. Calum sighed in relief, closing his eyes and relishing in the few moments he could have for himself. He normally hated being alone, but he hated being pressured and watched and monitored as well.

    His relief didn't last long when Michael and Ash walked in, Luke following behind them with a furrowed brow and slight frown gracing his delicate features.

    "Cal, what is this we hear of you not eating?" Ashton asked, sitting at the edge of the couch near Calum's head. "Mikey made you a nice meal, and Lukey was kind enough to bring it to you. Why are you being stubborn?"

    "Not hungry," he muttered, curling in on himself.

    "You know you've got to eat, Cally, you can't—"

    "I said I'm not hungry! What part of that don't you understand?" he finally snapped. They kept pushing, and it was going to drive Calum over the edge.

    "Hey, there's no need to be snippy, we're just trying to look out for you," Ashton told him in a warning tone.

    Calum scoffed.

    "Sure, that's why y-you...k-killed an innocent p-person," he sneered. Ashton tried to hold back his temper.

    He knew Calum was confused, he was nearing the breaking point, and they had to be patient until things would get better.

    "That doesn't mean you can start being rude to us," Ashton told him, watching the boy roll his eyes and scoff.

    "Why not? Y-you k-killed someone," he blinked slowly and stared at a spot on the wall behind Ashton's head.

    Michael came closer, bending down to sit with the boy.

    "Cally, we're trying to be patient and give you time with this. What more do you need from us? We're giving you everything,"

    Calum cradled his head in his hands. He didn't speak for a few seconds.

    "You're not! You're t-torturing me, just st-stop!"

    Michael shook his head.

    "Don't yell at us, Calum. You can be angry, but you've gotta respect people around you,"

    Calum pulled his arm away when someone tried to comfort him, shouting at them again.

    "You're going to go right upstairs by yourself if you keep this up," Ashton warned.

    Calum laughed, shaking his head. "I don't c-care, you three are..." he trailed off. He couldn't think of anything to say to them. He was just so confused.

    "Cally, we know you don't mean that," Luke said softly, smiling when Calum allowed him to hold his hand. The pained, conflicted expression on his face hurt Luke in ways he'd never felt before. "We know it's a lot to deal with, but we're here to help you. You just have to let us in,"

    He took a deep breath, and Michael and Ashton finally thought he was going to cave.

    "No! You guys are so confusing, I d-don't want to stay, let me g-go home," he wrenched his hand away.

    Ashton sighed. "If you shout at us one more time, you're going upstairs, Calum."

    "I'd r-rather be alone th-than with a bunch of murderers!" he seethed, glaring at the brunette in front of him.

    Ashton looked at Michael for conformation, standing up and throwing Calum over his shoulder at the nod he got from the other man.

    "St-stop, no, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Calum cried. "P-please don't, I don't wanna be a-alone," Ashton didn't respond to his pleas, instead continued up the stairs.

    "Mikey, I don't know if that's the best," Luke said hesitantly. He remembered what he and Calum talked about a few weeks ago when they played 20 questions. He didn't like it.

    Michael shrugged, watching the other two up the stairs.

    "He's gotta learn, baby, I know he hates it. He was so close last time we brought him out. This might break him. If this doesn't work...I don't know what we're going to do,"

    Luke bit his lip. This wasn't good at all.

    He winced at the loud sobs that echoed all the way to the den, and the loud slam of the door before Ashton came back down.

    "That's not a good sign, Ash." Michael raised his eyebrows, sitting back on the couch and throwing his legs over the cushion.

    "It'll be fine. After this time, we should be golden,"

    Luke could tell Ashton really believed that. He wasn't sure why, but the oldest boyfriend was convinced, which made Luke feel a bit better.

    "How do you know?"

    Ashton took a deep breath, walking into the room and sitting next to Luke who cuddled into his side.

    "He's acting like my psych patients do before they calm down and start behaving. He's all jittery, his hands were shaky, and he can't stop thinking."

    "Yeah," Luke shifted the pillow behind him. "He can't stop thinking that he hates us, he's calling us murderers again,"

    Ashton shrugged.

    "Maybe, but he let you hold his hand, and he said he's confused. A couple hours in solitary will help him sort himself out. He'll realize we can keep doing this until he does what we want. Trust me, he's close."

    "I don't know, Ash, maybe we should talk about what should happen if he doesn't do what we want,"

    Luke gasped, eyes darting to Michael.

    "No, he has to,"

    "Lu,"

    Ashton shook his head. "Mike, Luke's right. We're not doing anything. We just have to make it work."

    Michael sighed.

    "Yeah, you're right. You're sure it'll be okay?"

    Ashton smiled.

    "He's right where we want him. He'll be a different person by next week. I guarantee."

***

Mhm. Cally's so sad.

~ashtonfortherwin