{ Hickeys m.g.c. }

{ Chapter 18 }

I unlock the broken apartment door and stumble inside, slipping my shoes off and tossing my keys onto the counter making my way towards my room to change into a nicer outfit. I hear the sound of the tv on with some yelling so I assumed Michael brought over friends but before I crossed the living room I hear a voice that makes me freeze. I slowly turned and see a tan, well built, curly haired figure sitting on the floor. His back was face towards me so I wasn't entirely sure if it was him, but I catch a bird tattoo and gasped. Michael catches me and pauses the game looking up at me and the stranger does the same.

"Hey I didn't hear you come in," he stands up and gives me a hug "now I don't want you to freak but Calum's back and wanted to crash here for a while." I look up at him with a look of confusion and disbelief, then I look at Calum who waves and gives a small smile. I feel my fists clenching up and I make my way towards Calum and pinned him on the ground and was close to smacking him in the face but Michael holds me back.

"How dare you let him stay here! Especially since after he left and hasn't said a word to us for 2 years!" I was bubbling with anger and started getting light headed from screaming. I collapsed on the floor and held my head in my hands. Slowly tears started to fall onto my face. "Do you not know how much guilt I have been putting on myself since you left?" I huffed "Do you not know the damage you've done to us, especially Jess and I?" I look up to him and see him staring at the floor. It made my heart hurt to see him. 2 years. It's been 2 years without him.

After a while he looks up at me, "I've tried coming back you know, it wasn't easy."

"What do you mean it wasn't easy!" I yell again at him. "Did you ever think about how I was supposed to explain to Jess that you ran away? That your last words were 'tell Jess that this isn't her fault it's mine.' I got checked into a hospital after going after you. Don't tell me that coming back wasn't easy because you were around people who cared about."

"It was hard to come back to people who were fighting all the time. It was hard to come back to someone who really cared. I left because I was done with all the bullshit. I was fine with Jess but then you and Aspyn and Michael got into shit and I couldn't take it!" now he was yelling and standing over me "I thought you would be glad seeing me back, maybe even excited to know I was going to stay for a while but clearly I'm not welcomed. I'll leave now since that's probably what you want." I turn away from him as I hear him walk towards the door.

"Calum, man, you know she doesn't mean that." I hear Michael go after him as both leave the apartment. I lean up against the wall running my hands through my hair in frustration as I hear my phone ringing. I grab it out of my pocket and check to see it was Ashton, I sigh and clear my throat answering the call.

"Hey Ashton, what's up?"

"Hey I'm outside your place right now are you ready?"

Shit "Um, actually, I am so sorry but I have to cancel plans. Um, I'm not feeling that well at the moment. Is it ok if we can hang another time?" I cross my fingers and bite my nails hoping he won't make this a big deal.

"Oh," I can already hear the disappointment in his voice "that's ok. Are you ok in there, you sound like a mess?"

I chuckle nervously, "Oh I'm fine, like I said, not feeling well. I'll call you when I feel better ok? Bye."

I hung up quickly so I didn't have to answer more questions from him but I felt bad. I pull myself up from the floor and go straight into my room and fall onto the bed. Why did everything suddenly get worse now? When everything was going great, it decided not to. I scream into my pillow and I hear banging from my roof. "Fuck off!" I yell back. I wrap myself in blankets and close my eyes slowly falling asleep.

-

I woke up earlier than my alarm so I just laid awake in bed listening to the ticking of the clock. I sit up rubbing my face and looking at it in the closet mirror and my eyes are unsurprisingly puffy from the crying last night. I drag myself out of bed, not bothering to make it, and walk out to the kitchen. The cold counter made me shiver as I reached for a mug in the cabinet and I started brewing tea. I go to the closet near the door and pull out one of Michael's sweatshirts and head towards the balcony. The sun had started to rise and the sky was painted with pink and yellow which peeked through the small cloud wisps that layered in the sky to the top of the trees. The air was crisp and a light mist clouded the air as morning dew collected in the plants and the spider webs. I quickly went back inside to pour the boiling water into my mug and dropped in a tea bag and head back out again. I take in a deep breath and close my eyes, relaxing, not wanting to think about anything as I hear footsteps coming towards me.

"Hey." I didn't turn to look but I knew it wasn't Michael because of the different low raspy voice.

"So he let you stay? Where did you sleep?"

"On the floor. In his room."

"Oh." I take a sip of my tea still staring out.

"I'm sorry. If I could say it a million times, I would. I really am."

I close my eyes and huff out, "I forgive you," I mutter "you can sit down if you want and I could make you a cup." I hear him move to take a seat in the chair across from me. As he goes on his phone I stare at him. At how much he's changed. His hair got a little longer in the front which curled, and there are subtle streaks of bleached hair, he had a little stubble, and I saw his tattoos near his collarbone. "So what have you been doing, since you were gone?" I start trying to break the silence.

"Well, I found a bridge which led to a house after wandering into the forest and I just stayed there."

"So you are telling me you just left us for two years just to hang out at some house. That you found. That is fucking ridiculous." I scoff.

"Well I was stupid, first of all, and I was 18 surrounded by people who fought all the time."

"Can you stop bringing that up every single time we talk. I get it 2 years ago wasn't that great." I look inside the house to see if Michael had woken up yet as the sun has been up for a little while now and I thought he'd be getting ready for work.

I was about to head in before I heard Calum chuckle, "I didn't know you and Michael were roughing it up last night."

"What are you talking about, he went after you?" I froze and ran towards the bathroom holding my neck. Shit, not again.