ALL I NEED

Chapter 7.

"So is Sydney completely different than New York?" Mali asks me as the three of us girls gather around her living room.

The guys left to stay at Luke's place because apparently there was too much estrogen for their masculinity. Idiots.

After Mali put Roland to bed we all changed into our pajamas while we watched some chick flick and ate ice cream. Not cliche at all.

"Yeah, totally. But not in a bad way. I've only been in Australia about a week but I definitely prefer it here." I smile at her. She seemed to be really interested in what I had to say. Which honestly I wasn't expecting given what her annoying asshole of a brother was like. They were literally opposites, in every way possible. If they didn't look practically like twins, you'd never even know they were related.

"You'll get sick of it soon."

It didn't take long for Gabby to pass out like Mali had foreseen.

"Told ya." She grins when we heard a faint snoring sound.

"How long have you guys been friends?" I ask her as I take a bite of my mint chocolate chip deliciousness.

"Since she started dating Luke, so about five years."

"Wow, Luke and Calum have been friends for a really long time then, huh?"

"Since primary school." She laughs, and I could tell she was remembering the two boys as adolescents.

"So do you have a boyfriend or a husband?" I ask her curiously. I noticed the whole time I was here I didn't see nor did she mention a guy.

"Nope, just its just me and my two favorite boys." She gives me a faint smile but deep down you could tell something was off. "Which is good because the two of them are a handful as it is, I don't need anymore men in my life." She giggles.

I wanted to ask about Roland's father, but you could just sense she didn't want to talk about it. Plus it seemed a little rude to bombard her with all these personal questions.

"What about you? Do you have a boyfriend back in the states?" She asks in return.

"Nope...I barely had friends, let alone a boyfriend." I admit as we both laugh at my honest answer.

"Guys suck, trust me, you aren't missing out."

We sit in a comfortable silence as we watch the movie for a little while before I speak up. Thinking that it was now or never. If I couldn't get anything out of his best friend, maybe his sister would be more help.

"So what's the deal with your brother? One minute he's super intimidating and mean and the next its like he's worried about me. I can't pin him down." I ask her hoping she can give me some more insight then luke.

"Honestly, I'm not even sure I understand him half the time." She gives me a sympathetic look.

"Its just...I can't help but feel like he hates me and I barely know him. I mean, I did call him an asshole but that was because he freaked out on me after the party." I tell her.

"He doesn't hate you. After our parents died he felt like he had to step up to the plate and take care of me..." She starts but a lump in her throat appears and for a second it seemed like she didn't want to finish.

"And then one night four years ago I was at a party downtown with a bunch of friends. Things kind of went to far and I got really really drunk. One thing led to another and before I could even begin to say no or stop, some guy took me into a room...." At this point she was crying and I didn't know what to do but apologize.

"I'm so sorry..." I mumble, feeling awful for bringing this up.

She calms herself down before she finishes. "That's when I got pregnant with Roland. Calum took it hard, worse then me I think. He thinks its his fault for not being there to protect me and watch over me. For a long time he blamed himself for what happened, and if were being truthful, I think he still does." She wipes away the few tears that escaped.

Everything about the way Calum acted that night made sense. Mali was raped and when he seen me in almost the exact same situation, his first instinct was to save me. He saved me because he couldn't save his sister. To say I feel like an idiot would be an understatement.

"That's why he freaked out. I know its no excuse for him being a jerk, but I think he was just scared if he didn't do anything the same would happen to you."

"I feel so terrible." I whisper, trying to make sense of all this new information.

Luke was right, Calum wasn't a bad guy. Not even close. Its all so clear now. He acted like that so everyone would hate him. Like a sick self punishment. In reality though, the only person who hated Calum, was Calum himself.

"Don't, you didn't know." She tells me and I couldn't help but hug her, so I did. After breaking the embrace we both start cracking up laughing, which was weird because there was nothing funny about any of this.

"I definitely didn't expect to tell you my whole sob story tonight." She laughs.

"I'm glad you did, though. Thank you, for opening up to some strange american girl." I joke as I nudge her.

"Well we're officially friends now, so you're stuck with me." She winks playfully.

It feels like I found another piece to the puzzle that was Calum, but I couldn't help but think that there was more to him to complete the whole picture.