Rule Four // c.h

Second Chances

Lily🌺
I'm coming back

Calum❤️
I'll be waiting

That was the message that I had sent and that was Calum's simple response. It made me anxious as I read it over and over, sitting in the parking lot of our apartment complex. I had arrived nearly ten minutes ago and had been sitting here ever since, anxious about heading inside. What was going to happen? Were we going to fight? Was I going to find out some god awful secret? I felt queasy just thinking about it. I've never really been good at confrontation and this was the biggest fight the two of us had ever gotten into before. What if it ruined everything? Mustering up all of my courage, my bottom lip trembling, I finally exited the car.

My hands shook as I took out my keys, I was worried I wouldn't be able to open the door but I didn't have to worry about that because Calum opened it for me, very slowly before stepping back further into the apartment as if he didn't want to stand so close to me and maybe... Maybe I didn't want him to be too close.

"Carter's not with you?" Came Calum's soft voice, so much quieter than it was just a couple of hours ago. I shake my head no as I close the door and step fully into the apartment. You can't even tell that we had a fight in here. Can't even tell that he made me cry, made Carter cry. The beer stain on the wall is gone. The carpet smells clean. I swear he cleaned up more than just the broken beer bottle. It's like he was trying to clear away everything that happened. "I wasn't going to hit you." Comes his voice again, following my eyes toward the wall. "I remember how you flinched when I raised my hand but I would never hurt you Lily. I promise." I look over at him, standing in the middle of the living room, right in front of the couch.

"You don't have to touch me to hurt me." I feel bad for saying it but its the truth. Calum looks away, a pained expression on his face.

"Where did you two go?" He asks.

"Lance and Charlotte's."

"Not Mali's? Or Jakes?" I shrugged. I don't really want to explain myself. He's the one that should be doing the talking anyways. He takes a deep breath. "Do you want to sit?" He's asking me to sit down in our own apartment. I don't know why I'm hesitating. Calum takes a step forward when I don't move. "I'm sorry Lily. I'm so sorry."

"I know you're sorry." I whisper. "What I don't understand is why you would do something like that. Calum please, tell me what's wrong." When he finally looks up at me again, he's crying.

"I lost my job." He croaks out.

"What?" I whisper. But... He's been going to work. He gets up at five o'clock every morning, gets dressed, eats breakfast... If he's not going to work then.... "What are you talking about?" He takes a shaky breath as he starts to explain.

Nearly a month ago, Danny, his boss had warned everyone about company cutbacks. Calum was one of the newer employees, having only been there about three years, which was short change in comparison to the people who had put fifteen years into the company. Calum worked hard, tried to become an asset, an essential member of the team. The pressure of keeping his job felt like a crushing weight. And then one day...

"One day I went into work and got called right away into his office. He fired me on the spot, said he was sorry but I didn't have the same amount of experience as everyone else. I was going to tell you. I really was but I couldn't work up the fucking nerve. I felt like such a god damn failure. I couldn't even provide for my family." I couldn't stand here any longer and watch him cry but I also didn't want to give into him so easily just because he was crying. So I stood there and did nothing

"You're not a failure." I said softly as I watched him cover his eyes with his hands. "This isn't the end of the world. You can get another job Calum." My arms ached to hold him, fingers itching to wipe away his tears. "When were you going to tell me?" I asked.