Best friends // Calum Hood

Clumsy me.

- 15 years later -

Stumbling through the cracked door frame into my small kitchen, I attempted to juggle carrying our over sized wash basket and collecting random unnecessary objects in a panicked rush to tidy the house.
Somehow, I managed to loose my footing slipping on some sort of material which had been tossed on the floor. My limbs violently smacked into the cool ground causing me to groan at my own idiocy as I heard a smash behind me.

Within an instant, my head spun around to see stray shards of glass scattered over the floor. Why am I so freaking clumsy? I sighed getting up and placing the fallen washing back in the basket before beginning to sweep up the mess.

I carefully removed my favourite photo from the broken glass and smiled softly at the picture. It was of mine and Calum's first day at secondary school and he was giving me a piggy back there because I was refusing to go and he said he wouldn't go without me.

When we had reached the front door of my house, our awaiting mothers instantly cooed over us saying how sweet we were and rushed to take a picture. I'm laughing at something Calum was saying and he has the biggest goofy grin on his face. I absolutely adore this photo. I absolutely adore him.

I placed the image into a different photo frame under the cabinet and finished tidying up the accident. The reason I was drastically tidying the house was because Calum was coming back tomorrow and I couldn't wait! I'm sick and tired of phone calls and Skype conversations. I need to see him in person.

I wanted to meet him at the airport but he's seeing his family first, which of course I couldn't argue with, and then coming over tomorrow. I was so full of excitement, it felt like I could just burst.

Bending over, I picked up the material that had caused me to fall. My boyfriend, Dereks shorts. Exhaling loudly, I threw them into the laundrette basket. It was safe to say that Derek was not as excited to see Calum as I was. To say they disliked each other would be an understatement.

It was to the extreme where every time Calum came to stay, Derek would literally pack his things and sleep elsewhere until he left. Yes, he was that childish. Nevertheless, I actually appreciated when Derek left for a few days ... our relationship was rocky to say the least and I wanted to enjoy my time with Calum. It was a shame I wouldn't be seeing the others too this time, of course I missed them too, but it was different with Calum, it always had been.

My front door whipped open, the sound of it smacking against the wall snatched me out of my thoughts as it created a heart stopping slam.

"Elizabeth! Where the hell are you?"
His voice echoed throughout our flat, joyful as ever. I sighed, straightening my top.

Inhaling deeply, my gentle footsteps made their way to the front door. His expression was lifeless. He was the type of person that if you saw him walking down the street, you'd cross the road. As I edged closer he looked me up and down, muttering god knows what and shaking his head.

"God. You haven't left the house like that have you?" He spat, chuckling afterwards as if I was some sort of joke. I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to suppress the feeling of unease he brought home.

He wearily grasped my shoulders in his palms, the size of them making me feel smaller than I was. He looked down at me and I had no idea what he was going to do next. Shaking his head, in what seemed to be disappointment, he gripped tighter onto me before shoving me harshly out of his path. He strode into the kitchen and slammed his fists down onto the newly cleaned kitchen table, causing it to noticeably shudder under the impact.

He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw tightly. "For gods sake! I've been working my ass of all day trying to pay the bills for us and you..." He turned his well built body to face me and strode towards my shaking frame.
"You haven't even bothered to make dinner! Do you have any use at all?" He grumbled, walking off again and grabbing a can of beer out the fridge.