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

30 - Late Nights

I had a pretty easy time guessing the reasoning behind Danny's absence. I finished my conversation with Abby, then found myself doing something completely crazy. I dialed in the old number I hadn't used in months. Every number I typed made me feel more scared, I wasn't sure what I was going to say, but I knew I needed to say it all the same. The line rang three times on the dot when an all-too-familiar voice answered, causing a chill to spread down my spine and throughout my body.

"Yeah?" He had no hint of emotion of any kind in his voice. It almost sounded robotic, and it was nerve-wracking.

"How's Australia treating you?" I asked nonchalantly, knowing the accusation rang clear in my words. My suspicion was growing with every breath I took.

"Better than you." The cold, evil tone of his voice was chilling. "You think I'm throwing empty threats, sweetheart? Because I don't know how lover boy would react to knowing his best friend kissed his oh-so-loyal girlfriend." I remained silent, too stunned to reply in any other form. There was no noise on the line for what felt like years, then he laughed. "Thought so. You've read the notes, you know what I want. It's simple." He hung up, leaving me with a heaving feeling of sickness in my chest. I was scared beyond description, not knowing what to do. No matter what I did I would hurt Calum. But I wasn't sure which way was worse. There was only one person I could talk to, only one person who could help me figure the situation out.

-

   "Hello?" A drowsy voice picked up the phone, his accent thickened by the grogginess of sleep. I paced, barefoot, in the hallway of the hotel. I had waited for Cal to go to sleep before I'd made the call. My free hand was running through my hair, twisting the colored pieces.

   "Luke. I have a problem." I whispered, worrying that Calum would wake up and realize my absence. I jittered with every noise that rang in my ears.

   "Cara?" Luke asked, suddenly awake and alert. He sounded shocked, if not pleased, that I had called him. The 2am call must've seemed insane, especially since I hadn't spoken more than two words at a time to him since the dream. I hadn't explained my coldness towards Luke, I'd just hoped he would get the hint. He'd tried to rekindle the talks we'd had once or twice, but had eventually understood and given up. But in that moment, I needed nothing more than to talk to him.

"I missed you." I blurted, surprised at my own words. I hadn't planned on admitting the simple feeling, but something had urged me to do it and in my sleep-deprived, crazy state the words had left my mouth with no thought to back them up. "I missed talking to you, I mean." I flinched as I spoke, trying to be as nonchalant as I could manage. 'Wow, I'm doing great so far.' I thought, breathing deeply. "Sorry." I told Luke, knowing he was probably twice as drained as me and that I'd most likely woken him up, only to be wasting his time.

"I missed you Cara." He said stiffly. He made no effort to mend his sentence, to hide his emotions. I bit my lip, imagining the boy on the other side of the line, he was probably biting his lip ring and running his hand through his smooth blonde hair. I shook the ideas out of my head. "I missed you like hell, actually." Luke said. I knew he was speaking honestly in his exhausted state, and it made my heart flutter. He missed me. The thought, for whatever reason, made me extremely happy. I had to remind myself the reason I'd called Luke in the first place, I needed to focus.

"Can you talk? Something happened." I stuttered, praying to the gods above that he would want to talk to me about my ever-lasting problems at whatever odd time it was. My prayers were answered.

-
Luke's POV
***

Normally a phone call in the middle of the night meant nothing to me. I rarely answered them. Sometimes they were from fans who had managed to slip through any and all security to get a chance to speak with me, others it was the boys asking about song lyrics or food. But that particular night, and that particular phone call, gave me a valid reason to pull myself out of the sleep I was in and answer. Cara's signature ringtone, Somewhere in Neverland, woke me suddenly, and I found myself struggling to grab the phone. When I answered the words she spoke to me sounded like the best music I'd ever heard in my life.

"I missed you." The single sentence had put enough faith in me to help to keep me awake and interested, though I already was, considering it was Cara. We hadn't spoken in a while, so hearing her voice was exceptionally amazing. It filled my ears, reminding me of our kiss. Of the millisecond in which I'd taken one of the biggest risks of my life. It was the stupidest, yet most incredible thing I'd ever done. She'd tried to cover up the confession by adding on, changing her sentence unconvincingly. I wasn't playing games, I was too tired to.

"I missed you Cara." I spoke, feeling numb as the words left my mouth. Cara had to have known how I felt about her. I'd dropped enough hints to give it away by that point, but an uncanny silence filled the line. So I added on, but not in the same way Cara had. I didn't try to hide my feelings, like I had so many times before. "I missed you like hell, actually." She was obviously taken aback, but I didn't care at that point. Avoiding the discussion altogether, she changed the subject. When she asked to talk, I agreed to listen. I would've agreed to it a million times, every day for the rest of my life, if it could've given me the opportunity to hear her voice for just a second longer. A second can be the most precious item you receive from someone, and any second with Cara felt like the most special thing in the universe. She told me about her friends, the notes, the culprit, the threats. She talked to me, worry, terror, stress, woe, sadness, regret, love, and a lingering tired feeling all coming through in her words. I listened intently, focusing on every syllable she spoke, memorizing her voice, learning her problems and trying to think of a way I could help her. "You told Cal everything?" I gulped, my lungs suddenly feeling collapsed. I knew well enough Calum would forgive Cara for whatever she did, he loved her. The storyline would go much differently for me.

"Only about my friends." She divulged, continuing to tell me everything that had happened in my absence. God, if I could've listened to one thing for the rest of my life, it would've been her voice. I hated myself for feeling the way I did about Cara, but I was in no place to deny it to myself. The fear of losing her -and Calum- from my life was enough to keep me from telling her how much I cared for her.

   We talked for two hours. By the time the conversation had started to draw to an end it was easy to hear the drowsiness that had began consuming the beautiful girl on the other end of the line. She yawned more and more frequently. "Cara, the vacation is in a month. I'll see you then, maybe before then. If you need you can call me again, too." I yawned, suddenly realizing how tired I actually was. "But we should go. We're both tired." I finished. She stayed silent for a second, thinking of her response.

   "Mhmmm." She sighed, "bye Luke." Her words were drawn out by her tired state, and I wanted nothing more than to be with her and hold her until she fell asleep.

   "Sleep well." I smiled, "goodnight Cara." I hung up, tossing my phone onto the bedside table where it had been originally. I fell back into the abundance of sheets and pillows, allowing myself to sleep, finally. As my conscious slipped into a deep, well-needed slumber, I thought of Cara, I thought of her voice. The idea of her made me smile. Knowing she had thought of me made me smile even more.

   I missed you.