Runaway [cake au] ✔

Chapter 16 [Final Chapter]

Chapter 16

Avana came out and said, "He's a builder!"

To everyone's surprise, Calum started guffawing, doubling over and clutching his stomach as he laughed. "Oh no, if we get Luke to build the new block for us, he'll make a complete mess – jeez!"

A little smile played at my lips. I opened my arms, dropping my bag and letting Calum engulf me. "I'm so sorry," I whispered. "I should've listened to you – Harper was such a bitch to me. You know, I went to the hospital and she was there, holding the baby with Victor at her side!"

He smirked. "Don't say I didn't tell you so!"

"Yeah, yeah... it's ridiculous. What did they want me to do at that point?"

"What did you do?"

He pulled away, looking me in the eye. I took this moment to run my eyes over his beautiful face, features and hair. It had only been a few months but I was so glad to have him back in my arms – this time, for real. "I told them off real good, packed my bags and left. I found your note in the guest room and forgot about it for a while – then conveniently, it showed up when I needed it the most."

"You know, I left it there on purpose. Since you didn't seem to care what I was doing when you sent me off, I felt I had to leave something in my presence in case you missed me."

My stomach curled in regret. "God, I feel awful about it. I am never ever going back to New York."

Calum pouted. "Well, it's not like you can stay here..."

"Oh, damn I didn't even think about-"

"I was joking, Luke! Of course you can stay!" he said with a laugh. I let out a huge sigh of relief. "But you'll have to work, okay? Don't worry though, the kids are gonna love you."

The orphanage really was a great place for me. I loved children, after all... in fact my love of them is probably what got me into the whole Harper mess.

And with Calum by my side every day, it was like each and every one of them belonged to us.

That day, Calum and I talked into the early hours of the morning; about how the heck we ended up here, how we'd been castaway by society, and how unpredictable life really was. When I was five years old, I never would've thought I'd be living in an orphanage with the man I loved the most, caring for the less fortunate of those living in Fiji.

What's more, there was only one staff bedroom (Avana lived in the village with her family), so even if I wanted to escape Calum, I couldn't.

~

A few months later, as it reached Christmas, the building work was very almost finished. In the end, Calum and I decided to work together to build the new block, since it was just one storey. We decided it would be much cheaper, and leave us with a lot more money to spend on running the place.

On one quiet afternoon, when the kids were listening to Calum read, I headed out into the village looking for a payphone of some sorts. I decided it was time to call Michael, Ashton and my family, to let them know where we were.

"Hello? Who's speaking?" Michael spoke over the crackling sound.

"Mikey. It's me, Luke."

"Holy – what the fuck! Luke?! Where the fuck have you been?!" he shouted, so loudly that I had to pull the phone away from my ear in order to keep my ears alive.

I explained what happened, and our exact address. He went on to say how every single one of his relationships had failed him, and how work was taking over his life. However much I wanted to be with Calum alone forever, I thought that was a little selfish of me, so I suggested he come over and live with us.