Midnight ☆ L.H (au)

nineteen

10:32 pm - ANASTASIA BYNES
**Stasia pronunciation (STAY-she-UH)

I hear his voice. Calling for me. So close yet so far away. "Stasia"

I woke up with a pounding headache and the worlds driest mouth. Calum's side of the bed was empty, and the covers were a thrown on the floor.  This has been my evening routine for almost a week now. A piece of paper sat on the bedside table with a note written on it in Calum's messy script.

I grabbed the note and read it quickly:

*Don't worry about your job, everything's taken care of. The only thing you need to worry about is keeping you away from Mark. You're somewhere safe, don't worry.*

My heart leapt into my throat. I had no idea what was going on, but the note left me feeling even more anxious and overwhelmed than before. I toss the paper to the side and run my hands through my knotted hair.

I need a shower.

I've showered almost three times a day since the incident with Luke. I felt dirty, like the skin attached to me was no longer mine.

Calum slept on the couch for the first few nights until the nightmares started. He was so worried that he went out of his way to stay up all night for me.

I got out of bed and quickly checked my phone, but there were no messages or missed calls. Nothing from Luke in almost 5 days now.

I should be worried. I should go check on him.

I tried to call Calum, but his phone was off. Huffing to myself, I toss my phone to the edge of the bed and look around. The blinds were half open which gave a nice view of the city lights and I took it as an opportunity to look around Calum's apartment.

He was usually only gone for an hour or two, claiming he couldn't risk leaving me alone for too long. It made me feel helpless.

The apartment was a modern masterpiece, with sleek lines and polished chrome finishings in every room. It looked like something out of a movie set, with perfectly framed paintings and immaculate furniture. The entire apartment shone with a sense of luxury and opulence, as if every inch of it had been designed to impress.

It was almost as if Calum didn't even live here, as if everything was just part of the decor.

As I explored the apartment, my eyes landed on a small closet in Calum's walk-in bathroom. I switched the light on and glanced around the articles of clothing everywhere. His iconic green hoodie was tucked in the back, along with a baseball tee he wore in college.

The smell of his clean clothes gave me a wave of nostalgia and I danced my fingertips along them before something catches my eyes.

There was a digital safe on the top shelf, and I was drawn to it like a magnet. I look around the empty closet nervously biting my lip before standing up on my tiptoes. I reached for the combination dial and turned it, hoping that it would open without any resistance.

To my surprise, the safe opened with a beep, revealing a small compartment inside. I leaned up closer and my heart skipped a beat as I saw a stack of cash inside. It was more money than I had ever seen in my life.

There were numerous bands of hundred dollar bills just tossed in there.

Holy Shit.

This is almost more than five years worth of rent just casually in an unlocked safe.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. How could Calum have this much money? Where did it come from? Surely he doesn't make this much boxing? If so, Luke would be living in a mansion right now.