Deals (Calum Hood)

Chapter 23

I stared out into the bleak darkness of the outdoors as I saw Calum's taillights fade away. I stood there for a good ten minutes, in the utter silence, just staring, before I went back inside. 

"Dylan?" I said as I peeked into my brother's room. "I'm going to go to bed now, if you want to join me."

He hopped up from his spot on the floor with our puppy, and ran out of the room. He followed me as I walked into my room. Buddy quickly jumped up on the bed, making himself comfortable on my pillow. I laughed, rolling my eyes, as I picked him up and moved him from my spot. Once my brother and I were comfortable, Buddy curled up in between us, on top of the covers.

"Goodnight Allison." Dylan said. I looked at him. His eyes were closed and one hand was on Buddy.

"Goodnight Dyl." I replied as I closed my eyes.

"I love you."

"I love you more."

It rained for the rest of the night. No, correction, it poured. Precipitation fell rapidly from the sky as well as from my eyes. I managed to leave the bed and lock myself in the bathroom, not wanting to cry and wake up my sleeping brother. I felt the puffy, red bags under my eyes, damp with my tears. The only sounds I could hear was the rain pounding on the roof and the window, and my quiet sobs. My quiet sobs of confusion and question. I thought I didn't know what to do before, but now my confusion was tripled. I didn't understand why I didn't stop Calum. But I knew deep down inside I didn't want to forgive him. I was having a serious internal conflict with myself and I was nowhere close to resolving it.

Not being able to sleep, I slowly tip-toed into the kitchen. I rummaged through the numerous cabinets and found myself a bowl and a box of cheerios. I added the milk and got a spoon, stirring around the cereal in the bowl. The kitchen chair became too uncomfortable for me so I switched to the sofa. I decided to turn the television on, keeping the volume on low not to disturb anyone that was asleep. Not thinking and watching mindless television was what was best for me right now. I scrolled through the channels until I set on my childhood favorite, spongebob. The corny jokes and annoying shenanigans that the episode focused on sent me into a relaxed state. I focused on what was on the screen, drawing out the depressing thoughts that hung over in my mind. 

The night drew on, and the mindless television watching continued for another hour or so. I ended up passing out on the sofa, cereal bowl in hand. At sometime around six o'clock in the morning I was rudely awakened by licks from a certain energetic puppy.

"Buddy…" I groaned, turning on the sofa so his tongue couldn't reach my face anymore.

Annoyed with me, Buddy jumped up onto the sofa and therefore up onto my body. I felt his heavy paws step across my legs and waist. 

"Buddy!" I said almost too loudly.

He paused and turned to me, an exciting expression on his face as he took a pouncing position. He was taking this entire situation as a game and I was getting annoyed.

"Get off of me." I sternly said as I turned my body towards the floor, hoping to dump him off of me in the process. He fell off but stood by the sofa, looking up at me. His energy wasn't going to go away by itself so if I wanted to get some rest I'd have to do something about it.

I got up and found Buddy's leash, hooking it onto his collar and walking out the front door with his leash in hand. A short walk wouldn't be such a bad thing for either of us, so why not. I ignored the fact that I was out on the streets of my neighborhood with pajamas on, it's not like I'd actually see someone at six in the morning. I was just walking my dog, simple as that. I'd be home in no time, anyways.

After an almost thirty minute walk, Buddy and I got back home. I unclipped his leash from his collar and he ran straight to the water bowl, slipping on the kitchen floor a few times on his way there. Soon enough he'd be passed out somewhere so I cleaned up my cereal bowl and put away his leash. Instead of going back to sleep on the sofa I went back into my room and crawled back in bed with Dylan. I knew if I wasn't in bed when he woke up questions would be asked, and they'd probably be questions I wouldn't want to answer.

My mom woke my brother and I up at nine o'clock in the morning, which normally would be an okay time for me, but because of my late-night adventures, I was exhausted still. I told my mom I was going to go back to sleep and after talking her out of giving me medicine since she implied I must not have been feeling well, I crawled back under my bed sheets.

I was knocked out until one o'clock in the afternoon and this time when I woke up I felt refreshed. It was a lazy day and I was enjoying catching up on my sleep. A lot of sleepless night had popped into my life since I met Calum. Speaking of Calum, the thoughts of him rushed back into my mind. All I could think about was how he must be feeling right now. It hurt to think that he could be heartbroken right now, not knowing that I actually did love him. I was the stupidest person for letting him just leave like that. My mind wasn't in the right place, but now it was and I was ready to fix the situation.

I got up from my bed, slipping on my vans and grabbing my purse. I was still in pajamas but I didn't care.

"Mom, I'm going out." I said as I took the keys off of the rack. 

"In your pajamas? At 1:30 in the afternoon?" She asked, startled. I feel like she was more worried about her reputation than mine.

"I need to go talk to Calum." I added. She gave me a single nod of understanding and I took that as a signal to go.

I scrolled through Calum and I's texts, finding his address again and programming it in my GPS. In current traffic his house was 20 minutes away. It gave me time to think. I turned the radio on low and regrouped the steering wheel tighter than before. I was nervous to see Calum. All I could think about was the pain I made him go through overnight when I let him drive home last night. I should've stopped him. I should've kissed him. I should've told him I loved him. But I didn't. But that was all okay, because I was going to do all of that now.

I pulled into Calum's driveway and turned the car off, popping the keys out of the ignition and into my pocket. I slammed my car door, treading lightly up to Calum's front door. I peered inside the windows as I rang the doorbell. No lights were on, no nothing. The house seemed completely empty. After waiting almost five minutes with no reply, I went to his back door, peering into those windows as well. The house was still dark and vacant. 

I suddenly remembered that when we were still dating, Calum programmed his garage door into my garage door opened so I could easily get in and out of the house. I jogged back to my car, hitting the button and watched the garage door open. To my surprise, Calum's car wasn't there. Which meant Calum wasn't there. He must've just been at the store. I dialed his number and leaned against the hood of my car, tapping my nails on the metal as the call started. It went straight to his voicemail. I pulled the phone away slowly from my ear, biting my lip. This wasn't good.

I dialed another number, praying for an answer.

"Allison!" Michael's perky vocie greeted me. "Whats up?"

"Have you seen Calum lately?" I asked, straight to the point.

"No, why?" He asked.

I sighed. "I think he's missing."

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I HAVENT UPDATED IN SO LONG WOW IM SO SORRY IM SUCH A DICK WILL YOU GUYS EVER FORGIVE ME :-( I was just so busy with school stuff, I honestly feel so bad I hope you guys still love me ily