10:53 [calum hood]

28

➸ r i l e y

I woke up in Luke's guest bedroom, and judging by the way the sunlight wasn't blinding me for once, it was still early. I could hear the faint sounds of whistling coming from downstairs and assumed that it was just Luke making breakfast.

I slid off the bed and padded out of the room and down the stairs. I didn't really care that I probably looked horribly scary because Luke had seen me at my absolute worst anyway. I entered the kitchen, not really glancing in his direction.

"Good morning," I chirped, grabbing a stray bowl from the counter,

"Riley!" I spun around to face the other person in the kitchen, finding not Luke, but his mother Liz instead.

I instantly blushed and gave a sheepish grin. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you down here and I thought you were--"

"It's fine." Liz laughed, continuing to flip pancakes on the stove. "Luke didn't tell me you were staying the night."

"Well, I wasn't planning on staying, but he needed me for a dire emergency."

I almost jumped out of my own skin once again when Luke's head popped around the corner and eyed both of us briefly. "Mom! Ry!"

"Good morning to you too, babe." Liz rolled her eyes and motioned for Luke to take a seat at the island. "Riley, put that bowl away. You can have pancakes, on the house."

I gave Liz a polite smile and sat next to Luke, who looked exhausted. "Why are you up so early?" Luke whispered, wrinkling his forehead.

I shrugged. "I'm not tired, I guess. I could ask you the same thing."

Luke giggled quietly and covered his mouth with his hand. "I'm really excited for tonight and I stayed up just thinking about every single detail. I want it to be perfect."

"She's lucky to have someone who cares just as much as you do." I nodded my head in satisfaction as he continued daydreaming.

I was suddenly reminded that I had to call Calum back since I had so rudely left him last night. I felt horrible for hanging up on him so quickly after his grandmother just died when I should've stayed to keep him company.

Without second guessing my decision, I excused myself from the room and dialed his number on my phone, hearing the ringing tone in my ear. Glancing at the clock, it was probably around 6:30 in California, and I instantly regretted calling him because I would probably wake him up.

"Hello?" a groggy voice answered, sounding sleep deprived.

"Calum? Did I wake you?"

"No, I was already awake. I don't think I've slept all night," he admitted, and I could picture him biting his lip.

"Why not?" I asked, even though I already knew his answer.

He sighed into the phone. "I was just thinking about how much I miss the people I love. I mean, I miss my grandma so much. Even though she was always halfway across the country, she would always call me on weekends to make sure I was doing okay. She was like a second mother to me. And I miss you too, and it's killing me that you're thousands of miles away when all I need right now is your arms wrapped around me."

I gulped, feeling even guiltier for hanging up on him. "I'm so sorry, Cal. You'll be back soon, right? I'll be right here waiting for you. It's only a few more weeks, babe."

"Yeah, but a few weeks is a long time when you're not with me."

We both stayed silent for a while, and I wasn't sure how to answer him. "Are you doing alright?" I asked in a small voice that was merely above a whisper.