Stumbling Through It {C.H}

Chapter 19

"It was really nice to meet you!" Katie gave me a friendly hug as we were saying our goodbyes. We decided to leave Luke's after Daniel had fallen asleep. There wasn't much you could do once a toddler has fallen asleep.

"We will have to hang out more." Emma said, with Livi and Katie nodding in agreement.

"Yeah that would be fun." I smiled.

Calum carried Daniel, who's head rested on his shoulder, a little bit of drool escaping the corner of his mouth. He said his goodbyes, before we walked back out to the car. The sun was starting to set, casting an warm glow down on the world. Calum gently placed his son in his car seat, buckling him, careful not to wake him up.

"They were really nice." I said about the girls. I spoke quietly, so Daniel could sleep.

"Yeah," Calum said, as he backed out of their driveway, "I thought you would like them."

"I just hoped they liked me." I bit my lip, unsurely.

"What are you talking about? Of course they did. It's hard not to like you." He flashed me a smile, making me swoon.

"I dunno." I shrugged, "I just worry I guess." I thought back to high school, when no one wanted to be my friend.

"You have nothing to worry about." Cal reassured me.

We arrived back at Calum's house, "I can bring Daniel up to bed if you want." I offered.

He looked a bit surprised but nodded, "Sure, if you really want to."

I picked up the sleeping child, bringing him inside the house. I carried him upstairs to his room. I placed him in his bed, tucking him in. He stirred a little, his eyes slowly blinking open.

"Oh I'm sorry, sweetie!" I spoke softly, "I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep."

"Hug?" He asked sleepily, holding his arms up, opening and closing his palms.

My mouth parted, but then quickly formed into a grin. I leaned over him, pulling him into my embrace. When he let go, he snuggled into his pillow.

"Goodnight." I whispered, walking towards the door.

"Nighty night." He whispered back, his eyes already closed.

I stepped out into the hallway. I jumped when I noticed a presence.

"Sorry." Calum apologized for scaring me, "I wasn't trying to be creepy by watching."

"It's fine. I didn't realize you were there." I said. We went downstairs, to the kitchen.

"Do you want some dinner?" He asked opening his fridge.

"Sure. What do you have?"

"Um," he scanned through the fridge, "Not much, unless you want a juice box and toast." He shut the fridge, pulling out his phone, "On second thought, let's just get takeout. Is Chinese okay?"

"Sounds good!"

"Feels good." He added, with an amused smirk. I rolled my eyes with a laugh. "Hey you walked right into that one."

-

Once our Chinese food arrived, we settled into the basement to watch a movie. Well, it started with a movie, then two, then three. I nestled into Calum's side as we watched our third movie, Sharknado. How we ended up watching this movie, I don't know.

"This movie is so bad it's good." I laughed.

"Those graphics are top notch." Calum said sarcastically.

When the dreadfully amazing movie ended, I stretched in my seat, "What time is it?" I yawned.

He looked at his phone, "Damn, it's 1:10!"

"In the morning?" How did the time pass do fast? "Curse the addictive power of Netflix." I stood up, to get get ready to leave. Thankfully, it was Friday- well Saturday now- so I didn't have work.

"You can stay over... I mean, if you want to." He added, "We have more spare rooms then we will ever need, so you can sleep here."

"Oh!" His offer took me by surprise.

"You don't have to." He said quickly.

"No!" I exclaimed, a little more excitedly than I wanted, "No," I repeated, "I would like to. Thank you."

His worried frown faded away, "Okay." He lead me to the top floor, down the hall, to a spare bedroom. It was the same size as Daniel's room, so pretty big. There was a balcony that looked over the backyard, a queen sized bed with a blue comforter, pale blue walls, a dresser, and some armchairs. There was even a small tv. This room was only a guest bedroom, but it was nicer than my actual room.

"This room is pretty nice." I admired.

"Yeah. Emma and Livi helped. They decorated most of the house. I have no design skills." Calum chuckled.

"Me neither." I giggled.

"So are you all set?" He asked.

"Yep- wait," I remembered something, "I don't really have anything to wear." I scratched the back of my neck, looking down at my outfit. I couldn't really sleep in jeans and a blouse.

"Right. Well you could borrow something of mine." He offered.

"If that's okay with you." I didn't want to seem too needy.

"Yeah, it's no problem." He waved me to follow him to his room. He turned on the light, making his way to the dresser. His room was bigger than the rest. It was painted a bluish-gray, with while moulding. The floors were hardwood like the rest of the hall, with an area carpet in the center. His bed was king sized, covered with a gray comforter and loaded with matching pillows. He had a sitting area, with book shelves and a tv, like a mini living room. He also had a balcony, and a master bathroom. The room had lots of photographs around it. Some on the walls and some in frames on the dresser and tables. Most of them were of Daniel, as a baby, or with Calum. There were also some photos of the band, dating as far back as 2011.

Calum opened a drawer, flitting through some clothes. He handed me a black shirt and some sweatpants.

"I hope those are okay." He bit his lip, "They are the smallest I have."

"I'm sure they will be fine."

"Alright. I'll see you in the morning- er..." He glanced at his bedside clock, "well, later in the morning." He leaned towards me, kissing my cheek, like he always did.

"Goodnight." I said. I made my way back to the guest room. He still wouldn't kiss me on my lips. I began to worry if I was doing something wrong. Why did he never want to kiss me? We had been dating for a month, so maybe I was rushing things.

I changed into his clothes. The sweatpants were really long and baggy on me, and the shirt hung to my mid thigh. But there was something comforting about them. I got into the bed, pulling the covers over me. I didn't realize how tired I was until my head hit the pillow, and I almost instantly fell asleep.