recover // c.h. au (DISCONTINUED)

Five

. : | F I V E | : .

We were sitting at a booth beside the window, with Calum across from me and Lucy by my side in a baby booster seat. I felt at home in this place. The sweet aroma of pancakes and the scent of bacon wafting in the restaurant has gotten my stomach in a frenzy gurgling mess. I hadn't realized that I haven't eaten anything since I've stepped off the airplane.

The waitress came over to take our drink orders, handing us menus and going back to where she came from so that we could go over what we wanted to eat.

"What do you want?" Calum asked me, glancing up from his menu to look up at me with his eyebrow raised.

"Pancakes and bacon would sound lovely. Same goes for Lucy here," I ordered for the both of us. Calum nodded and waved the waitress over. She came back with a small notepad and a pen, waiting for Calum to say our orders.

"Three orders of pancakes and bacon, and one order of... never mind, that's all," Calum smiled at the waitress, closing the menu and handing it back to her. I gave her mine as well and looked at Lucy who was kicking her legs out alternately and grinning, seemingly excited about eating bacon again. I don't let her eat that much bacon because I know she would love it that much that all she'd ever ask for when she's going to eat is bacon.

A pitcher of orange juice and a glass of water for Lucy was served on our table. Calum poured me a glass of orange juice while I transferred the water from the glass into Lucy's bottle so that she could drink it easier and not make an absolute mess and ruin her dress.

Our food arrived shortly and we began eating. I fed Lucy every after two bites I eat from my plate. She was a slow chewer but she had a fast metabolism. Calum and I made small talk while we eat.

"So, why did you move?" He questioned, after he swallowed a forkful of pancake.

"Certain reasons... Just wanted to have a nice change, you know?" I answered, chewing my lower lip nervously. Apparently Calum noticed the gesture and it seems like he wanted to ask more, but decided to just drop it for my sake.

"Ah, alright then. How old is Lucy here?"

I smiled at the change of topic, relieved that he didn't ask further. "She's two and a half; her birthday's on December 5th."

He smiled fondly at Lucy who was chewing her bacon happily, swallowing and reaching across the table to grasp Calum's fingers afterwards. He seemed surprised at first but then his eyes softened and a genuine smile graced his lips. "She's lovely," Calum commented, letting Lucy play with his fingers before adding, "Just like you."

I looked up from their hands to see that Calum was smirking at me, leaning down to kiss Lucy's chubby fingers without breaking eye contact with me and making her giggle and push his face away. Calum laughed at her and sat back up in his seat, noticing my flushed state and smirking proudly. No other boy has got me so flustered and so happy at the same time.

I have steered clear away from men for the past three years-well, except for my father and brother but they don't count-and Calum's the only other boy I've ever spoken to. Should I stay away from him too? He seems nice and all but I don't think he's going to stick around once he finds out what happened to me. It's all so complicated and I don't like it.

He made it seem like everything is normal but it isn't. My life will never be normal. It's just how it was supposed to be. I don't want Calum to be involved in all this mess. Well, not that Lucy was a mess, but the mess that was me.

I didn't want that. I don't want to ruin Calum because he's such a gentleman and that he's so sincere and kind. This has to end now, whatever this was. I have to stop it before it blooms into something and it's too late to take it all back.