messages; hood

// alice //

//alice's pov//

It's been two weeks since I last texted Calum, meaning three weeks since I last saw him.

Naturally, I've been stalking his social media. He posts a lot on Instagram. He looks happy.

It's extremely difficult resisting the urge to pick up my phone and type a quick message and hope he replies... But he never does.

Whenever my phones goes off, there's always that tiny piece of hope in my mind that it's him, explaining everything.

I was sitting at home and watching some movie when the doorbell rang. I got up and opened the door to be greeted by Ashton.

"Hey," he smiled weakly.

"Hi," I curtly replied. I was annoyed at Ashton.

"Can I come in?" He asked. I opened the door wider so he good step inside. I made my way back into the living room without saying anything.

I sat down in my previous position and Ashton took a seat in the brown armchair in the corner of the room.

After a couple of moments of silence, he finally spoke. "Alice...I know you know," he said, looking down at his hands and then up at me.

I stared at the television, trying to keep my mind off Calum and think of anything else but him. I needed distractions.

"Know what, Ashton?" I sarcastically replied.

"Alice, please, I... Wanted to tell you, we really did. We didn't know how. You were in love with him-" Ashton rambled.

"Was? Ashton, I still love him. I thought he loved me. I was clueless for an entire week Ashton, I feel so stupid. Why would you keep this from me?" I shouted.

"I...I don't know, honestly, I was upset for you and couldn't bring myself to tell you, I know this must hurt," Ashton explained.

"Yes, it hurts... A lot," I whispered.

"This doesn't mean I'm going to stop being your friend Alice, I'm just as much Calum's friend as I am yours," Ashton smiled.

I smiled at him.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked him. He nodded his head.

"Why did he leave? I mean, you must know why..." I apprehensively asked.

Ashton stared down at the ground.

"I don't know. I didn't even know he was leaving until after the show. He had a suitcase and got a taxi and just left. He was acting a little bit strange, but we didn't push him to answer. We didn't think he was going to leave permanently... We still don't know," Ashton replied.

My phone lit up telling me I had a new message. It was from my mother though. She was telling me she'd be home late and that there were leftovers in the fridge.
I stared at my lock screen. It was a picture from the time Calum and I went to a festival last summer. I really needed to change it... But I really didn't want to either.

"We're cleaning out some of Calum's stuff from the apartment if you want to come by and look through some stuff?" Ashton asked.

"Why are you clearing out his things?" I asked.

"Oh, he called saying we could clear out his room," Ashton said.

"H-he called you?" I asked, my voice cracking. Tears began falling from the corners of my eyes.

"Yeah... Has he not spoken to you?" Ashton asked, furrowing his eyebrows. He looked confused.

I couldn't reply because my throat had tightened. I shook my head, tears rolling down my cheeks.

"I texted him him for days and tried calling... But nothing," I cried.

Ashton stood up and engulfed me into a hug. I wrapped my small hands around his back and buried my head in the crook of his neck. I cried for a while. Ashton didn't say anything, he just held me.

Once I stopped crying I noticed I'd left tear stains on his grey sweater.
"I'm sorry," I laughed, wiping my eyes.
"It's okay, Alice," he said, smiling.

"If you're up for it you should call over tomorrow and you can go through Calum's things," Ashton said.

"Thank you," I smiled.

"I should probably go, you can call me whenever Alice, we are friends you know," Ashton said, getting up off the couch. He got his car keys off the coffee table.

"Bye," he said, hugging me once more before leaving.

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a/n - hi! I hope you like this story so far! There will be more messages.
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