recover // c.h. au (DISCONTINUED)

Six

. : | S I X | : .

Calum and I hung out for a little while, watching over Lucy and making small talk. It was nice having some company after a long time of not interacting that much with other people. I know we've only met just yesterday but in the short amount of time we spent, I was truly enjoying his company.

"My name's Calum. Ca-lum," Calum said to Lucy, chuckling.

"Caaaah-luhm," Lucy babbled on, giggling and poking at Calum's cheek.

"You got it! She got it!" Calum cheered, turning to me with a victory grin. I chuckled and nodded, cheering with Calum. Our laughter died down and we kept staring at each other with silly smiles on our faces.

"Wanna go now? They might be waiting already. I told them to meet me at 12 noon," he said, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees as he looked over at me.

I nodded and said, "Okay then." We both stood up and Calum assisted me in bringing the stroller and baby bag once again. Guess we'll be sauntering around after all. The time read five after 12 noon. I carried Lucy and rounded the stairs, taking careful steps while going down, Calum trailing after me. I waited for him at the bottom of the stairs and eyed his biceps that were flexing as he went down, carrying the stroller and bags.

We reached his car and we both got in after Calum hauled in the stroller inside the SUV's trunk. Calum's phone suddenly started ringing and he checked the caller I.D. before answering the call, a smile evident on his face. "Hey...yeah, no, I'm just going to meet the boys at the mall. I'm bringing a friend with me. Yeah, I know," he said, rolling his eyes, still keeping his smile. "Okay, love you, too. Bye."

He hung up the phone immediately and I felt a bubble of curiosity in my chest as to who he could be talking to. But it would be rude if I asked, so I just kept quiet and stared ahead. Lucy kept wiggling in my arms, unsettled, and I asked Calum if we were still far from the mall he was talking about on the phone.

"We're almost there," Calum said, not even bothering to look at me. I stared at him with no doubt a confused look on my face, wondering about his sudden mood change. He was always cheery, but then, I've only met him for about a day and I know close to nothing about him. I decided to ignore his change of mood and held Lucy closer to me.

She kept whining and was even fussier by the time we reached the mall. I knew I said that I hated it when Lucy cried but nothing beats Lucy’s whining. She would be kicking out her legs until I let her down—which, by the way, I don’t—and would start fussing and say, “Mummy, floor!”

I suddenly remembered a distinct memory of when I was a child, merely 3 years old, and I would start to whine about not getting the largest stuffed toy in the toy store. I would cry and tug the hem of Dad’s shirt until he would look at me and sigh, grabbing his wallet from the backs of his pockets and buying me the damned stuffed toy to shut me up. I smiled faintly and the memory, though I know it comes out strained because I still feel stressed about Lucy whining and being fastidious right now.We got down from Calum’s car and I stood silently as he unloaded the trunk and took Lucy’s stroller. I set Lucy down in the stroller and strapped her in, pushing it as I fell in step alongside Calum. “So, where are we going?” I asked.

“Just this clothing store and then we’ll be heading out for early dinner,” he answered nonchalantly, as if nothing happened, tucking his hands in his pockets like he usually does. I nodded and continued walking beside him.

We entered a clothing store and he immediately went straight to this blond guy paying up at the counter. “Luke, man!” he exclaimed, going in for a hug. “Great to see you again.”

“Calum, hey! You too,” he spoke, hugging him back. He saw me coming up behind Calum and he smiled confusedly at me. “Who’s this?” He pulled away and Calum did so, turning back around to me.

“It’s, uh, Elliot, my new neighbor. She lives across the hall from me,” Calum answered. I nodded towards this Luke guy, gripping the handle of the stroller tightly. Luke smiled at me and leaned forward to hug me. I was surprised at first but I put my arms around him after a moment, smiling.

He pulled away and said, “I’m Luke.” He eyed Lucy adoringly and added, “Your daughter?” I nodded and he crouched down to brush back Lucy’s hair. “What’s her name?”

“Lucy,” Calum and I say at the same time. We glanced at each other and laughed slightly. Luke eyed us both with a smirk on his face, making my cheeks heat in a blush. Calum immediately cleared his throat and looked away.

“Luuuu-cy,” Lucy said excited from where she was sitting, clearly loving all the attention on her. We all awed and chuckled at her. There are times that she would shy away from people but there are times when she would bask in it, being all smiley and stuff. And today was one of those days. Can’t say I don’t like it, though. At least she wasn’t fussy now that people were gawking at her.

“May I push her stroller?” Luke asked kindly, smiling warmly at me. I couldn’t say no, so I just nodded and let them walk in front of Calum and I. We walked side by side, arms brushing occasionally.  

“So, m’sorry about Luke,” Calum started sheepishly, “He’s always just so loud and obnoxious at the wrongest of times.”

“It’s okay,” I shrugged. “I love those kinds of people.” He just nodded and smiled at his blond friend. We walked out of the store and into this fancy diner where they use forks and knives to eat their hamburgers. Back in Houston when I was eight, we would be having lunch at my favorite diner after we go to Church and order as many mini hamburgers as I want. I would reach only up to four and my brother would reach up to seven or eight. It was fun and I miss them so much. I made a mental to call them later when I head home.

We met up with two more of Calum’s friends and I learned that their names were Michael and Ashton. Michael, being the one with lime green hair and green eyes as vibrant as his hair. And then there’s Ashton, being the one with black bandana wrapped around his chestnut colored hair and alluring hazel eyes that could captivate you anytime. Calum and his friends are no doubt, very, very attractive. People kept glancing at them because of how loud their laughter is; booming at the entire restaurant and making me chuckle at them.

After we took our orders—which consist of an insane amount of hamburgers, considering they’re all guys with huge appetites, an even insane amount of fries and onion rings, a mushroom soup and mashed potato for Lucy, and sodas—we got into talking. 

hi guys omg sorry i updated so late i was busy the past few days and i hadn't been able to write

another sorry because this chapter is so short and it sucks but hey it's all i can give for now and at least i updated right

so thank you for sticking with me and yeah!

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