Between a Rock and a Hard Place // c.h.

22 - Notes

My entire universe had gotten flipped upside down. 'There's no way that happened, there's no way that happened.' I told myself, breathing deep, panicked bursts of air. Just when things were going perfect again, of course something had to change everything. Luke loved me? 'No.' I thought, 'he doesn't love me, it was just a heat of the moment mistake.' I hated to admit it, but Luke's kiss had stopped my heart, and not in a bad way either. The millisecond of intimacy between us had been so powerful it almost blew me away. But I loved Calum. Only Calum.

   I wasn't going to tell Cal about it. He'd kill Luke, and Luke didn't deserve to be killed. 'It's not that big of a deal.' I tried to convince myself, but it was so hard to deny what had happened. Deep down, I knew Luke had kissed me for a reason, I just couldn't figure out what it was. Whatever his reasoning was, it scared me. The entire situation scared me. I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. I was just a normal girl with some abnormal hair, it didn't make sense to me. I decided to do something that was mind-numbing, yet somewhat productive, to try to distract myself. I took all the dirty laundry from mine and Cal's room, put it in my duffel bag, and walked out of the hotel. I walked only a block before I found what I'd been looking for, a laundromat.

   Sorting, washing, drying, and folding clothes was extremely boring, but it was a great distraction. I forgot about the situation for a moment, focusing only on the work in front of me. By the time I was done with everything, an hour had come and gone. I carried everything back to the room in my bag, stopping in my tracks at the door. A note was wedged half-way underneath the door, the other half visible. I entered the room, put the duffel bag down, quickly grabbed the note, and closed the door. Reading it sent shivers up my spine.

You think you can escape this, Cara, but I'm watching you. I know you think everything's perfect with Calum, but trust me, the longer you're with him the more I'll make you pay for it. Back off, oh, and stay away from quiff boy too. I don't think Cal would feel very happy to see this.

I gasped when I saw the picture. Me, and Luke, in his room, Luke's lips touching mine. The picture was taken from an angle above us. I ran to Luke's room, tearing through the door. "Cara, what's wrong?" Luke asked, seeing the distress in my face. I pushed past him, looking at the ceiling. In the corner of the room, at the angle the picture had been taken from, sat a small security camera. I felt sick to my stomach. Tearing the picture to shreds, I showed Luke the note, then tore it to shreds as well. "What are you gonna do?" He asked, trying to calm me down. Luke tried to seem calm, but the worry was evident in his voice.

"I don't know," I admitted, resting my head in the palms of my hands, breathing deeply. I was trying so hard not to panic, to stay calm. "I don't think I should tell Cal, because he'd get mad at one or both of us, and that's the last thing we need right now." I looked at Luke, who had an expression of concern in his ocean-blue eyes.

"Whatever you do, I'm on board." He said, resting his hand on my shoulder blade. "We just have to stay on the same page." His voice was surprisingly comforting, despite the overall shitty situation we found ourselves in. We sat in silence for a while, the only noise in the room was our breathing and the subtle hum of the air conditioning filling the room. After waiting a while, Luke pulls me in for a soft, loose embrace. "Cara, it'll be ok." The calmness in his voice ringing in my ears.

It wasn't going to be ok. Someone was out to get me, out to get Calum, and now out to get Luke too. 'They know where we are.' I realized, a chill coming over me. The thought that they could be watching at any moment terrified me. I sat with Luke for another hour, rarely speaking. When we did speak, the words came out roughly, in the form of small talk. Neither of us wanted to talk about the problem, it was clear. I finally spoke of it, my voice scratching. "Just don't tell Calum. If they do something again, then we can worry. Until then, let's just wait and see what happens." I tried to stay positive, but I was so scared. I didn't want to cry, and I didn't know I was until Luke touched my cheek, wiping a tear from my face. "Sorry." I whispered, holding in the tears with all the strength I had.

"Don't be sorry." Luke said, cupping my face in his warm hand. "It's scary, I know." The tone of his voice calmed me down, and I looked at him. "Cara if you need to talk to me about it, I'm always available. I'll do what you want, we'll get through it." He promised, running his thumb across my cheek. I leaned forward, hugging Luke as a soft cry escaped my throat.

"Thank you, Luke." He arms held me, making me feel safer, more protected. I pulled away from the hug steadily, my eyes meeting his. Luke's eyes were very interesting, the color similar to the sky in the daytime. They helped calm me down immensely.

"Of course." He answered, smiling softly at me. We sat for a moment more, not saying a word. A sudden knock sounded at the door, causing me to jump. I walked cautiously to the door, pulling it open with a sick feeling. Calum stood in the doorway, a bright smile on his face. I hugged him, happiness coming over me.

"Hey babe," he laughed, hugging me back. "Anything fun happen while I was gone?" I bit my tongue, knowing I was about to lie through my teeth.

"Nope." I smiled, hating myself for lying to Calum. "Just video games." I looked at Luke, who smiled happily and nodded.

"Cool," Calum chuckled, wrapping his strong arm around my shoulder. "Do you wanna go out for dinner in an hour? Ashton and Mikey invited us three." He gazed at me, then at Luke.

"Food sounds good." Luke responded. "I'm there." He smiled, biting his lip ring.

"Sure, sounds like fun." I smiled at Cal, looking into the golden brown eyes I loved so much. He smiled back.

"Great, see you in a bit, Luke." Cal said, we walked into the hallway of the hotel, making our way to our room. We talked about Calum's interview, his eyes lighting up, making my heart flutter. I loved him so much. I kissed him tenderly, tasting his lips against mine.

I wondered how long I'd be able to keep the secrets from the boy I loved so much.