Afraid // Calum Hood

Chapter 20 // Town

Adelaide's Point of View

"Addy?"

I glanced up from my cup of coffee, removing my gaze from the swirls of the hot liquid and the cold cream. I set the metal spoon that I was using to stir with on a scratchy napkin and stood up from my stool, heading towards my front door.

When I opened the door, a smile grew on my face as Calum came into view. However, he did not look happy at all. His mop of hair was a tangled and disheveled mess and his eyes were glazed over and bloodshot. "Hey, is everything okay?" I asked.

He shook his head, walking past me and taking a seat where I was previously sitting only moments before. I raised my eyebrows, closing the door with my foot, and following him to the other side of the counter. His tired face was in his hands, his elbows propping him up. "Cal, can you tell me what's wrong?"

Calum sighed heavily. "My mom is really sick, which you know, and the doctor prescribed her medicine but it has to be picked up at the pharmacy and my dad and Mali still aren't home."

I was aware of his uneasy feelings about going into town. "Well, I can go pick it up for her. What's the name of the medicine?"

He shook his head again. "No, you can't."

"Yeah, I can. It's really not a problem," I insisted, reaching for my lightweight jacket that was on the back of a chair. The pastel blue colored popped against my fair skintone. I was still bitter that with the amount of time I spend in the sun, I have yet to get a visible tan.

"No, Ad," Calum stopped me, putting his hand on my forearm. "Like you physically can't. The insurance policy only lets a family member pick up the antibiotics."

"Oh," I said quietly, my cheeks burning with embarassment. I searched his face for some kind of reaction, but he was staring at me blankly. "Would you like me to go with you?"

"More than anything," He admitted, wrapping his arms around me. I rubbed his long back in a comforting motion as he buried his head into my neck.

When Calum pulled away, we both walked across the connecting yard and into the lone car parked in his driveway. I have never been in a car with Calum before and I had to admit that I was a bit anxious. He told me that he hated driving before and I wasn't sure if that was due to being bad at it or just not enjoying the task itself.

The radio was playing softly from the speakers, the only noise that could be heard in the vehicle. His hands were tightly gripping the leather steering wheel and his jaw was clenched to the point where it looked as if he was biting down on a thin piece of food. His tongue would continously glide over his lips as he watched the road in front of him. As hot as I found the motion to be, I knew his nerves were eating away at him.

"When was the last time you went into town?" I inquired, shifting my body so I was facing him as best as the constricting seatbelt allowed me to.

Calum didn't even glimpse over at me. "Two and a half years ago."