I straighten out my dress as Sarah appears behind me in the mirror. She wraps her arms around my waist and leans her head on my shoulder and I lean my head against hers.
"She's gone too soon," Sarah mumbles. Sarah loves my Nanna, especially her cooking. Everyone loved her cooking. Pop gave me her recipe books the other day, considering I like cooking, he said that she would have wanted me to have them.
I put my hands over hers on my waist and she laces our fingers together. She takes a deep breath and pulls away.
"You'll be okay." She promises.
"Hey Sarah." Jack walks in. "Hey Fred."
"I'll give you guys a minute," Sarah says and leaves the room.
"I hope you remember the fact that I have your twitter password." He says, taking my hands in his. "And those boys haven't heard from you in a week ." I just shrug and he sighs. "What I'm trying to say is, you need to talk to them, they're freaking out."
I pull my phone out and open my notes.
What would I say?
I turn my phone around and show him.
"You'd tell them something came up and that you can go with them to Sydney." He gives a small smile. My eyes widen and he pulls me in for a hug. "I talked to Mum and Dad about it, they said you can go, I asked how long for and they said for as long as you want."
Of course they'd say that, they want me out of the house
"And you want out of this house." He shrugs. "It a perfect opportunity."
I'll think about it.
"By the look on your face, you already have." He kisses the top of my head and walks out. Sarah walks back in and pulls me in for a hug.
"You should go." She says. So she heard. I told her about what happened on twitter the other day and she was beyond happy, she's not a die-hard fan, but she appreciates their music. I point to her and she shrugs.
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine, just keep me updated on what happens." She assures me. "But from what your brother showed me, Calum won't be if to don't reply to him soon."
I let out a small smile and she takes my hand and we leave the bathroom. She doesn't stop in the lounge, we leave the house and get into her car.
She drives us to the church and parks far enough away. Neither of us like parking close to places, so we always park really far away and walk. It takes us about five minutes to get to the church, with all the traffic.
We enter the church and we immediately see the rest of my family. I sit next to my uncle and Sarah sits on the other side of me. She takes my hand and my uncle takes my other hand.
***
My makeup is smudged. I look like a mess, my eyes are red and puffy and I've spent most of the day hiding my face in Sarah's shoulder. Sarah keeps rubbing a hand up and down my back, it's actually quite comforting.
"Did you do that?" Jack's voice makes me jump. I look up to Sarah to see her nodding. I frown at her and she just smiles.
"Excuse me." A familiar voice speaks up. "But could I steal the lady from you?"
I turn around to see the one and only Calum Hood standing before me. I gasp and bring my hands up to cover my mouth and he offers a small smile before opening his arms. So I basically jump into his arms, which close around me, holding me tight. His chin rests on my head, making me feel small.
"Okay, okay, no need to hog her." I look up to see the other three boys. I send them a weak smile and pull away from Calum. I hug Ashton first, then Luke, then Michael, who squeeze the life out of me.
I jump as Jack grabs my arm. He pulls me in for a hug then informs me that he'll be over with Jess. Calum pulls me back towards him and hugs me again.
"You'll be alright." He says quietly, kissing the top of my head.
"Babe, I have to go," Sarah speaks up. "I have to go babysit my cousin, text me if you need anything."
I give her a quick hug before going back to Calum and Sarah walks off.
"We're sorry about your Nan," Luke says. I look over to him and send him a grateful smile.
I hold out my hand and he takes hold of it and rubs random patterns into my skin. Calum holds me tighter and I rest my cheek on his chest.
"You're all right baby." He murmurs.
"You call her baby." Ashton coos. "That's so cute."
"Shut up." I look up to Calum to see him rolling his eyes.
"Do you want to head off," Calum asks softly.
I nod and he releases me, he wraps an arm around my waist, Luke still holding my other hand. We walk out of the church and Calum immediately pulls me into his chest.
"What the fuck is their problem?" Calum mutters. I look up at him with a questioning gaze.
"Paps." He mutters and I hide my face in his chest. We manage to walk down the steps and I hear the shutter I cameras.
"Can you please leave." I hear Ashton speak up. "This is a very delicate moment right now, and you're ruining it for people."
"Have some fucking respect." Calum snaps and I hold him tighter. "You're at a fucking funeral, it's worse than crashing a wedding."
I hear a few people muttering things then we walk away. The next thing I know, I'm getting ushered into a car.
