Star In The Shadow // CTH [Editing process]

XXIV

"Joseph?!" I say as I stand on the steps to my own house.

"Sis! You are finally here!" He says as he hugs me tightly. "I thought you weren't coming." I hesitate at first and then hug him back.

"Well, I'm here..." I say as I pull away from the hug and make my way into the house.

"Um, well, dinner's ready..." He says as he follows me to where I leave my bag.

"Okay..." I say as I head to the dining room.

Mom and dad are already sitting. I take a seat and so does my brother. We start eating in silence, until Joseph breaks it.

"I missed this..." He says as he cuts his meat. "You guys, eating together as a family..."

"Why did you leave then?" I say as I put my knife and fork down and look straight into his eyes.

"Roxanne..." My mother says in a warning tone.

"No mom, if he missed us so much why did he leave?" I say, anger starting to rise.

"Because I wanted to start a future with Ashley... And that's exactly why I'm here today..." He says, not a bit of anger or annoyance on his voice.

"What do you mean?" I ask. I wanted to ask 'Did you guys broke up?' but that would make things even worst.

"Well... I'm here..." He starts. "To ask you guys to come to our wedding..." He finishes with a huge smile.

Mom's between smiling and concerned, I'm in shock, and dad suddenly spits the water he was drinking.

"Gerald!" Says my mother at the sudden act of my father.

"You're getting married?!" Asks my dad after wiping his mouth.

"With Ashley?" I ask, still in shock.

"Yes and yes... I want you guys to come, you're really important to me." He says now starting to eat again.

"Well, congratulations baby..." Says my mother smiling sweetly at my brother.

"When is it?" I ask, now a little bit calmer.

"The 21st of this month..." He says taking a sip from his water.

"That's the day after my graduation..." I say looking down at my plate.

It's not just the day after my graduation, it's the day Calum's leaving. I wanted to go to the airport and say goodbye, but now I can't.

"The color's yellow by the way..." Says Joseph as he finishes eating. "And we can double celebrate!"

"Yeah..." I say not even thinking of what he's saying. "Wait... Yellow? I don't look good on yellow..." I say now registering the details.

"Don't worry, you'll figure it out!" He says chuckling.

I sight and just keep thinking about how my luck is always going the wrong way. After a while, we've all finished eating, my parents having a conversation with my brother and me only answering when it's a yes or no question.

"So, B-na, how's things with Charlie?" Asks Joseph as he wiggles his eyebrows. Oh dear... Why did he have to ask that?!

Apparently, I'm not the only one taken back by this question, since my dad chokes with some water he's drinking and starts to cough awkwardly. Mom instantly seems to tense, but then glares at dad, knowing that he's not making things easier.

"Well... Um... We are not together anymore..." I say looking at my brother with a 'sorry' look.

"I always thought you guys would last forever..." He says smiling at me.

"Yeah well, he's not the same boy you remember." I say playing with the place mat on the table. "But yeah..." I say, not wanting to continue this conversation.

"Who wants to watch TV with me?" Asks dad trying to lighten the mood, which totally works.

We all head to the living room and sit on the couch. Dad turns the TV on and I immediately want to be sucked into the ground.

"One week ago the bassist from 5 seconds of summer, Calum Hood, had a car accident. Now, his band members and him feel relieve as he is out of the hospital getting better with every second..." A pic of the boys at the hotel with Calum on the bed appears on the screen. I thought he'd go out tomorrow. "This was seen in a tweet posted by Michael Clifford saying, and I quote: 'So glad that my buddy Cal is better. He's a fighter that will keep going no matter what. Love you mate'." A pic of the tweet appears. "The fans are specially relieved, but  they're still wondering one thing... Who is the girl that was at the beach with Calum that same night?" A picture of us kissing at the beach appear. I feel my heart beating faster and I take the remote and turn the TV off.

Mom and dad understand but Joseph doesn't.

"Wow! You don't look like such a happy fan..." He says chuckling and looking at me. "You're still their fan right?"

"Yeah, it's just-" As I'm going to explain, my phone starts to ring.

I check the caller ID. Calum.

"Hey!" I say as I get up from the couch and make my way into the kitchen.

"Hi! They let me go early... Right after you left, the doctor came saying I could leave." He says with excitement.

"Yeah, I know, I saw it on the news..." I say as I sit on one of the stools.

"Oh, I was going to call you earlier, but I fell asleep... Sorry..." He says, concern all over his voice.

"Hey, don't worry... The important thing is that you are feeling better..." I answer.

"Yeah... So, any news?" He asks.

"Well, my brother is getting married! Yay!" I say, sarcasm all over the last word.

"You sound so excited!" He says laughing.

"I need to wear yellow... I don't look good on yellow. Besides I have nothing with that color..." I say resting my head on my hands. "And it's the 21st. You're leaving that day and I wanted to be there..."

"Okay first of all, we can be together at your graduation. Second: Yellow! Really! And third: We can go shopping tomorrow." He says and I can hear him giggle after that. He's so adorkable! Yes, I just made that up.

"You sure? What about paparazzi?" I ask.

"We'll figure it out..." He answers and then yawns.

"I'll let you sleep. See you tomorrow... Love you!" I say as I swing my legs since they don't touch the floor.

"Okay, love you more!" He says and then hangs up.

I go to the living room and see that the TV is on again, but this time it has sports. I tell everyone I'm going to bed and head upstairs. After taking a shower, I put some joggers on and a shirt that Calum left here. I get under the covers, turn the light off and fall asleep slowly thinking of how my shopping day with Calum will be.