Recovery ☁︎ Malum

the past

michael looks at me, tears continuing to fall down his cheeks. i let out a humorless chuckle, remembering the day.

i take a deep breath as i see joey approaching me, knowing there is no way i can get out of this today.

"looks like its just me and you today, cal," joey sneers as he looks me up and down, making me feel like a piece of meat.

"n-no," i whimper out, but all he does is laugh, grabbing the collar of my sweater.

"what are you going to do? run away to mommy and daddy? you know they dont love you. no one loves you, calum thomas hood."

"no one will ever love you."

i take in a shaky breath and nod my head, already knowing all the shit thats spewing out of his mouth. "no o-one will ev-ver love m-me," i repeat, making joey smile wide.

"just take these pills, all of them, and everyone will be happier," joey whispers in my ear, jamming a plastic baggie into my hand. i look down to the pretty blue pills, smiling slightly. these could be my escape, i could be free.

i grasp onto the bag for dear life, and move on shaky legs to the boys bathroom. i chuckle as i dump a few into my hand dry swallowing them. i keep adding them into my mouth, few by few, until i jam my hand into the bag, finding no more pills. i fall to the floor, feeling weightless.

"oh, fuck," i hear joeys voice say.

"he actually did it," i hear my best friend, jonathan, whisper.

i explain the whole story to michael, and look at my lap the entire time.

"your best fucking friend. really?" michael asks as he securely wraps his arms around my waist.

"yeah. he gave joey the pills," i say and shake my head, biting the inside of my cheek. "i just... he was my only friend for a long time. i guess he didnt want to leave me, so he made me leave him."

"that is sick, and twisted. jonathan deserves to rot in hell," michael seethes and presses soft kisses to my shoulder.

"he is," i tell him. "jonathan shot himself in the heart a few days after he figured out i was still alive."

"jesus christ," michael mutters and hugs me tight. i wrap my arms around his neck and rest my head on his chest. "they lied."

"what do you mean?" i ask and play with the hair at the nape of his neck.

"they said no one will ever love you. i love you, calum. i love you so much that i would give up the ocean, flowers, and the skies to see you smile," he says in such a strong and confident voice, i know he cant be lying.

"even the sun?" i mumble, a smile playing small on my lips.

"especially the sun."

*waits patiently i see if you got I'll Give You the Sun vibes from that last little section* alsO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 1K READS ON THIS STORY I KNOW THAT MIGHT NOT BE A LOT TO MOST BUT IT IS TO ME *goes to blow noise maker thingie but blows calum instead* - MC