"Hey! Over here, y/n!"
You look up from your phone, grabbing your coffee cup and sliding into the stool across from Luke. He smiles at you with dull blue eyes.
"Hey Luke, how was practice?"
You ask, sipping from your cup. He shrugs and looks down at his sweatered hands.
"It was okay, nothing special."
He mumbles as he fiddles with the ends of his sleeves.
"He wasn't there again, was he?"
You say matter-o-factly, realizing this the second he answered. Your voice sounds bitter but your chest aches from the mention of your ex.
Luke's gaze meets yours again, but this time they are filled with an exhausted sadness.
"No,"
He sighs deeply,
"He wasn't."
A guilty blush creeps to your cheeks and you take another drink, not responding. He reaches over the table and puts his big hands over yours on your cup, causing you too look up at him.
"Please, y/n, please call him. He's broken. He hasn't left his room in days. He hasn't eaten. He literally can't live without you."
You push his hands off of yours, standing up and taking a step away from the table.
"No, Luke. He hurt me first. I can't just forgive him like that-"
"I know, and I agree. But every single day he admits it was the worst mistake he's ever made. He's suffered enough."
"Luke-"
"Please. Just talk to him. Let him hear your voice again."
You sigh deeply and nod. He smiles a tiny bit,
"Thank you. I just really think you need to see him now. We can stop by his house after this."
You suddenly become nervous with the thought of seeing Calum again. It's been almost a month now and he stopped texting you a week ago. He gave up. You don't want to see him heartbroken. His face when you told him you were leaving was enough to crush you. You told yourself that after you left, you wouldn't come crawling back because it would be to easy to forget about what he did. You're brain buzzes, telling you this is a bad idea.
Luke pays for the coffee and you reluctantly follow him to his car.
"Just warning you, y/n, it's not pretty."
He says quietly, pulling into Calum's driveway and parking. You breathe slowly and once again rethink entering the house. Luke rings the doorbell and you grip his arm nervously.
The door opens to reveal Mali's face. Her eyes fall on you instantly and her smile fades.
"Y/n. What are you doing here?"
Luke speaks for you, ignoring the shock of her question.
"We are here to see Cal. Can we come in?"
You hide behind him a little, scared of Mali and Calum's mother's reactions to your presence.
"Okay. I'm not sure it's a good idea for him to see you though..."
Calum's sister trails off and leads the two of you past the kitchen. Mrs. Hood catches sight of you, but doesn't say anything. You stop in front of Calum's bedroom door. Mali turns to leave but you grab her hand.
"It's really good to see you, Mali."
She gazes at you for a second with her eyes hardened. Suddenly, she throws her arms around your shoulders and hugs you tightly.
"I missed you, y/n. We all do."
You hug her back and soon break the embrace, trying your best not to cry.
Soon, it's just you and Luke into front of the white door.
"Are you okay?"
He whispers, grabbing your hand like the big brother he is. You nod and ignore the pounding in your chest as you twist the doorknob.
A small gasp escapes you're pressed lips when you see him. He is in his bed, surrounded by used tissues and empty takeout boxes. His sheets are pulled all the way up to his neck.
Luke squeezes your hand and lets out a small,
"Cal?"
His head pops up from under the covers.
"Luke, what-"
His voice cracks and drops into silence. His usually beautiful, almond colored eyes are swollen and his cheeks are red, probably from the constant wiping. His brown hair is a curly disaster, falling into his vision and sticking up all over the place. You bite your lip as hard as you can, not wanting to give into the mess of a boy. Not wanting to admit to yourself that you made him this way.
You keep telling yourself that he's the reason for this.
He brought it on himself.
But right now, as your gaze locks with his and all you can see is desperation and love in his bloodshot eyes, you forget. You forget just like you knew you would.
You let go of Luke and rush over to him, having the overpowering instinct to stop him from hurting. Calum watches in shock at you and lets out a cry when you come near. His strong arms grab you and engulf you. His sobs soak through your shirt and you ball up his own in your fists.
"I'm so sorry, y/n. I'm so sorry. I love you so much."
You can't stop yourself from forgiving him. You know that you love him to much to see him this way. You love him to much to let him go. Even knowing that the pain he's been dealing with was your fault is to much for you.
You sit back and cups his cheeks in your hands, feeling the coolness of the tears on your fingers. He smiles widely and you place a quick kiss on his lips. He stares in awe as you pull away from him with a broad grin. He looks at you like he never thought you'd kiss him again.
"I forgive you, Calum. I know what you did was a mistake and I'm so sorry it took me so long to say that. I'm so sorry I've put you through so much pain."
He goes limp as you embrace him again, cries now shaking his body. He struggles to whimper into your ear.
"I can't believe you're here. I thought I lost you forever."
You rock him back and forth, resting your chin on his mop of hair.
"I'm here now."
Luke makes his way to the bed, grinning like an idiot, and wraps his long arms around you and Cal both.
"Luke, get your damn noodle arms away from me."
The three of you laugh and he shrugs, ignoring Calum's protests and squeezing you tighter.
"The family's back together!"
He says and you can practically hear the smile in his voice. Calum glances up at you with hopeful eyes and you nod swiftly, kissing him on the forehead.
"Yes,"
You say, nuzzling into Luke's chest and gripping Cal's hand in yours,
"Yes it is."
•••••
a/n: request more cal in the comments !!
~ab
