"It's Not Love If It Hurts" //5sos

/51/

  The next morning, Calum actually woke up before Annie. He laid next to her, watching her sleep peacfually, until she woke up too. Annie had improved so much, and had gotten through so many difficulties with her recovery, but one thing that never changed was the way she woke up in the morning. Ever since Mikey had assulted her as she woke up, she hated the first few minutes of the morning. She always bolted awake, afraid and positive that she needed to defend herself. Then, she looked around the room, waiting for Mikey to pop up, and for a few seconds she regressed back to the beginning of her struggle of a recovery.

  This time, however, Calum was already awake. When she bolted up, he almost jumped in surprise.

  "Annie? What's wrong?"

  She caught her breath, looking around the room in fear. Finally, her brain processed everything and she laid down with Calum. "Everything's fine," Annie said, catching her breath. "It was nothing."

  Calum wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling the covers up to cover their bare chests. "I know it wasn't nothing," he started, treading lightly. "But if you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to. Just know I'm here for you."

  Annie smiled. How did she get so lucky?

  "Thank you," she mumbled. Annie looked up at him, smiling widly. "I love you, you know that?"

*********************************

  "You sure you'll be alright?" Calum asked. He looked unsure, like he wasn't ready to leave Annie, if it was only for the night.

  The other boys had requested Calum spend the night at their house, just every once in a while, so they were going to try it out. But Calum had been too worried last time to leave her home alone, and Annie was getting closer with Johanna anyways. He had been sure this was the best option, for both of them, but now he wasn't sure. What if Annie panicked, or went through one of her attacks, or tried to hurt Johanna? What if she needed him?

  But it was too late to turn back now. Annie was dropping her stuff in Johanna's room, and Johanna was reassuring him everything would be fine. But Calum wasn't sure.

  "I'm just really worried," he tried to explain. "Annie went through some stuff. She... urm, she..."

  "Was assulted by Michael?" Johanna finished.

  Calum jaw dropped. "She told you?"

  "No, but it's pretty obvious. Honestly, you underestimate me. My job is to notice details."

  Calum nodded bashfually, not having realized how observant Johanna was. "So you understand why I'm worried."

  She gave a little half smile. "Don't worry. I've hidden all of the knives, and obviously I'm trained to handle aggressive people. I'll keep an eye on her."

  Calum was about to thank her when Annie walked in. "I really like your room." She said to Johanna, seemingly completely unaware of Johanna and Calum's conversation.

  Calum smiled at Johanna. "Thanks. Well, see you later Annie." He pulled her in for a hug, whispering an I love you in her ear, a quickly pecked her on the lips.

  Then Calum was gone, and Annie turned to Johanna, dropping the innocent facade. "He told you, didn't he."

  Johanna raised her eyebrows, impressed. "How'd you guess?"

  "The way he was looking at you, like he was trusting you with something. He also looked relieved. It could've been for different reasons, but that's the obvious answer."

  Johanna nodded, still impressed at Annie's quick assessment of the situation. "How do you think I reacted?" She asked, an idea forming in her mind.

  "You didn't," Annie said, as if it were obvious. "You already knew." Johanna gave her a look, asking for more, and Annie bit her lip. "You knew I stabbed Mikey. You didn't react strongly when you found out it was me who gave Calum the scar. It was obvious you understood what was going on. Besides," Annie said, a little smile of pride for being able to show her knowledge. "-this is your job. You get paid to pay attention."

  The plan began forming in Johanna's head, but it wasn't the right time. Not now. "Not bad," she admitted, and it was actually quite impressive. "But if I knew all of that, I'd have to be out of my mind to let you spend the night here."

  Annie smirked. "Who said you aren't?"

  "Touché."