Tiny Voices (A Calum Hood fanfic)

chapter fourteen

--Brooke's POV--

"Well, this one's all yours kid," said Danny, sitting back in his overly large leather chair.

"A killer song?" I said, thinking out loud.

"Yep," he said, "one that'll blow everyone away." I nodded and reached for the guitar that was leaning against the wall beside my chair.

"Got one?" Danny asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I think so," I said, frowning. I wanted to sing a song that I would be able to connect with, because if you believed what you were singing, it would already sound 100 times better than if you couldn't connect with it.

"Picture perfect memories, scattered all around the floor.

Reaching for the phone 'cause, I can't fight it anymore.

And I wonder if I ever cross your mind, for me it happens all the time."

I sang the words; eyes squeezed shut and strumming the guitar meaningfully.

"It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now.

Said I wouldn't call, but I lost all control and I need you now.

And I don't know how I can do without, I just need you now."

I stopped abruptly, connecting my 'long-distance' situation to the lyrics a little too strongly for my liking in that moment.

"Lady Antebellum, huh?" Danny said, nodding his head slightly. I quickly nodded in reply, not wanting to talk about why I stopped signing.

"Ya sounded great," he said with a soft smile, sensing that I didn't want him to question me. I don't know why I felt so strongly about it all; people were in relationships like mine all the time. I was just going to have to suck it up, I guess.

We finished off the "consultation" and agreed to meet again tomorrow to see if there were any other song options I had in mind. There were a few I'd love to sing, but that song spoke to me. I missed Calum. He was still in the UK, but I hadn't seen him face to face for ages and I just missed him. Which was stupid because we'd only been going out for, like, a month and a bit. It felt like much, much longer (in a good way).

I pulled out my phone in the elevator down to where my car was parked and checked the date. 31st of March. They were playing in Liverpool tonight and they were back in London tomorrow. I was excited to see them, of course I was. I was also sad because I knew it wouldn't be long until I had to say goodbye again. But it was something I'd have to get used to.

I got into my car and drove home in silence. I got home and Chloe was laying on the couch, reading Looking for Alaska by John Green, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"BROOKE YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THAT I'D CRY," she said, continuing to read despite the fact that she could barely breathe due to the waterfalls coming out of her eyes. I laughed and threw my keys into the bowl in the hallway.

"Oops," I said innocently. I decided not to tell her that she should read The Fault In Our Stars because she'd probably cry more at it. I did.

She shut the book purposefully and got up off the sofa, wiping her face with her hands. She got a massive glass of water from the kitchen and drank it in one gulp.

"Better?" I asked, coming into the kitchen. She nodded.

"You ready for tomorrow?" she asked, placing her empty cup in the sink and turning back to me.

"I guess," I said. "I can't wait to see him, I just don't want to have to say goodbye again," I admitted.

"I know, sweetie," she said, a sympathetic smile on her face. "At least you know you're in a relationship," she said, throwing her hands into the air, "Luke hasn't asked me out at all."

"Yet," I said. "He hasn't asked you out yet," I corrected. Chloe scoffed. I really wanted Luke to ask her out. But I don't know how often they talked, or what was going on between them.

"He probably won't if he hasn't already," she said. Her eyes were all red and swollen because she had been crying so much, making the statement oddly more dramatic. "Okay, I have to keep reading, I'm not finished yet," she said, filling up another glass of water and taking it with her into the living room, just in case.

I found it really hard to sleep that night. I kept checking my phone absent minded-ly, not really expecting anything from Calum, but wishing endlessly that there would be something there. But there wasn't. Obviously not, because it was 11pm and he was probably watching One Direction. The lucky shit.

It was crazy, but I missed him. It's weird how heavily someone can impact your life, without you even realising it. I felt like I had been in a relationship with Calum for longer than I actually had, and that was probably because I fancied him ever since I found out about the band a year ago.

I was cuddled into my duvet, the soft light from my bedside lamp illuminating my bedroom. My eyes began to close, and for once, I did not dream. I woke softly to the sound of my phone singing.

"Hello?" I answered. It was light outside, the strong sunlight seeping through my flimsy curtains.

"Hey, baby," Calum said. My lips turned up in a small smile at the mere sound of his voice.

"How's it going?" I asked sleepily, rubbing my face with my hands in attempt to wake myself up a bit more.

"Pretty good, but it's kind of cold outside..." he said, his voice trailing off, waiting for me to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"ARE YOU OUTSIDE??" I screamed. I didn't even give him time to reply, I just threw my phone down on the bed and ran to put something half decent on instead of my boy boxers and oversized t-shirt that I called my pyjamas.

The doorbell buzzed just as I was putting on a pair of black leggings. I ran out of my room and raced down the stairs, ignoring the quizzical glances I was getting from Chloe and also from the other residents in out apartment block. Have they never seen a girl with bed hair wearing leggings, a slept-in t-shirt and socks running past them before?

🌺

same brooke tbh

sigh i wanna be woken by calum outside my house life is unfair

haha i'll try and update again pretty soon bc i feel bad for not being quick even tho there are like 4 people reading this lol okay okay byE