Contrary || l.p.

35. A Simple Fix

Jessie's P.O.V

I pulled up to Liam's driveway, not caring that it was almost 10pm and that my parents would not see me at home when they arrived from work. As I have been saying, I felt completely obligated to do this for some reason, yet I couldn't figure out why. As soon as I got to the door, it seemed as if they already knew I was here. The door whipped open and Liam scanned me up and down as if he were making sure that it was me.

"Jessie," he breathed and stepped aside to let me in. "I still can't believe you came here," he muttered almost disapprovingly.

"Sorry," I mumbled as he closed the door behind me.

"It's fine. It's better if you're here anyway," he said quietly and leaned forward to plant a kiss on my lips.

"Is he okay?" I asked as I walked further into the house, looking for him.

Liam lead me forward by placing his hand on the small of my back, giving me a slight push. "He's alright for now. He's just putting ice on his lip. I think he should be fine." Just as he said that, I entered the living room and gasped as I saw a familiar looking face glance up.

Calum stood up from the couch and looked at me wide-eyed. "Umm," he began and put the bag of ice down, "hi, Jessie."

"Hi," I replied as I walked towards him and examined his busted up face. "Oh my god, what happened to you?" I asked in a whisper, helping him to sit down again.

He sighed as his shoulders sank. "Quite a lot of things, actually-"

"He got his ass beat by Michael," Liam hastily cut in for him, making me drop my mouth open. "That's basically what happened to him, and it pisses me off to know that the little asshat would do such a thing."

"Are you fucking serious?" I asked the both of them, raising my eyebrows and placing a hand on Calum's shoulder, causing him to wince. I pulled my hand away as if I had just touched a hot stove, feeling instantly sorry for what had happened to him. "How badly did he hurt you?" I asked and lifted his ice pack hand back up to his lip. "And may I know why?"

Liam huffed angrily and muttered, "Because of fucking Michael-"

"I can tell her myself," Calum cut in gently, shaking his head at how badly Liam was taking all of this. He huffed and faced me completely, licking up some of the blood that he felt was on his lip. "Michael and I have a very...complex relationship with each other. He's sometimes abusive and he's sometimes the greatest guy ever. During those times, he makes me feel safe, at home, loved," he listed, then paused slightly, "but in the times that he's around others, he's a completely different person."

I tilted my head slightly, finding a sort of familiarity in these words, leading me to a possible conclusion that I could not really find possible.

"He has this issue with his appearance to others and his ego, which he doesn't really want to ruin, no matter what." He sadly looked down at his fidgety hand and sighed. "Even if it means he loses me." Tears welled up in his eyes as he sniffled slightly. "And at one point," he continued through a raspy voice, "I was so convinced that he actually changed for me...that he loved me." He then proceeded to soft sobs as I placed a supportive hand on his back. "But I was wrong. He's still an asshole and I'm an idiot with a bad taste in men."

That concluded it. I sat up and cleared my throat, prepared to ask him the question I'd been dying to ask him throughout his story.

"Umm," I began and tried to make this sound as sincere as possible, "just to clarify real quick, umm..." Calum looked at me with soft eyes, making it somewhat easier for me to ask, "are you umm...gay?"