recover // c.h. au (DISCONTINUED)

Seven

. : | S E V E N | : .

I was squeezed in between Calum and Luke in the booth. Luke somehow convinced me to sit in between him and Calum so he could feed Lucy himself. Apparently he loved kids and it was absolutely adorable watching him. Lucy was still strapped in her stroller because there were no booster seats for kids in this diner.

Calum elbowed me playfully and asked after swallowing his food, “You like the food?”

“Yeah, the hamburgers are amazing. Better than the ones I have at home,” I said after chewing a mouthful of patty.

“Yes!” Michael cheered. “We definitely have to take you out more.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’ve been saying to her when we were at home,” Calum smiled.

Luke, who had been listening in to our conversation but was busy shoveling mashed potato into Lucy’s mouth said, “How about Macy? I thought she was coming back tomorrow.”

“Right, how about her?” Ashton nodded.

“I’ll be picking her up still, you guys take Elliot out tomorrow,” Calum replied, somewhat annoyed.

“Who’s Macy?” I couldn’t help but ask. I had a strong feeling that Macy was—

“Calum’s girlfriend,” Luke answered for me, confirming my suspicions.

“Oh,” I murmured, shoving a forkful of hamburger in my mouth and staring down at the plate. My heart sunk a little at Luke’s answer. I expected this already but I wanted to deny it. I pushed my plate and picked up my soda, drinking from the straw and setting it down and sighing.

“You don’t want to eat anymore?” Ashton asked in concern.

“It’s fine, I’m a bit full anyways,” I answered, flashing him a grin, hoping that it would be convincing. It was a bit hard nursing a crush on somebody who was already taken and possibly in love. At least it was just a crush. Hopefully it wouldn’t grow into something bigger; I didn’t want that to happen.

As if sensing my apprehension, Luke said, “Hey, would you like to go to the zoo tomorrow? Take Lucy with you, if you want.”

I smiled giddily and then remembered that I should be looking for a job instead of roaming around and stuff, my smile faltering. “Thanks guys, I really appreciate it, but I have to go find a job. My parents just gave me enough money for two weeks so I could keep Lucy and I filled for those days but I’ll need to find a job if I want that to keep going.”

“We’ll help you find one, it’s fine with us, right boys?” Michael offered, smiling.

“Yeah,” Ashton and Luke said at once, high-fiving each other afterwards. Lucy clapped as if she knows what was happening and we all laughed.

“See, even your daughter wants to come see us,” Ashton commented, grinning, his dimples showing.

“Hell no, she only wants to see me,” Luke huffed, pouting at Lucy, who poked Luke’s dimples the way she does with Connor at home. I suddenly missed him. How was he right now? How was his work? What is he doing right now? I also made a mental note to call him later when I get home, right before he goes for work in his night shift. We all laughed at Luke and I noticed that Calum was quiet beside me, eating his food silently.

“You okay?” I questioned Calum.

“Fine,” he snapped, clenching his jaw. “Will you excuse me for a second?” I nodded and Luke and I slid out of the booth, watching Calum as he strode out of our view and into the washroom. We slid back in and the boys all looked at me apologetically. I waved them off and said, “It’s fine, don’t worry.”

“We’re sorry about him. He tends to get moody sometimes. I just don’t know what’s gotten into him this time,” Michael apologized, shrugging sadly.

“Like I said, it’s fine, I understand,” I told them, smiling.

“Shit,” Luke mumbled. Lucy knocked off the spoon from Luke’s hand and the mashed potato fell straight onto Lucy’s leg.

“You need help with that?” I asked as I gently pushed Luke out of the way. I got a napkin and wiped the mess on Lucy’s leg. Luke glanced at me with a tint of a blush on his cheeks, grinning embarrassedly. I laughed lightly at him and continued wiping Lucy’s leg.

“Mummy, full,” Lucy rubbed her little tummy, smiling contentedly at me. She sat back in her stroller, raising her arms and flopping them back down.

“Aww,” Luke cooed at Lucy, pulling her dress down so that her nappies won’t show. I looked at them in admiration and Calum came back from the washroom, smiling. But as quickly as it flashed it went away. He was looking between Luke and me in confusion, his eyebrows knitted together and his eyes narrowed.

I was bent over Luke’s lap because I cleaned Lucy’s leg and our position must really have looked uncomfortable and inappropriate right now. I immediately stood up and Luke did as well, confused, until he looked over at Calum. He smiled at him and moved away so Calum could get back into the long booth.

Calum slid back into the booth and Luke and I followed. Michael and Ashton watched us three while sipping their sodas with a straw, a trace of amusement clear in their faces. I glared at the both of them and they immediately looked away, chuckling to themselves. Calum sighed heavily and looked around to see that everyone was done eating. He motioned the waiter over and called it a night.

“But we haven’t talked enough,” Luke whined. “And I’m going to miss Lucy.”

“I’m wounded,” I murmured, faking a pout and joking.

“Well, I’m going home, can one of you guys take Elliot back?” Calum said. Now I’m truly wounded. I was kind of looking forward to ride home with him. Maybe hangout in my flat for a while before he heads home, but obviously he has other plans. I felt a pang of hurt in my chest and I faked another smile. I hated it when I was rejected. It was a fear I’ve acquired ever since I got depressed when I was seventeen. And it wasn’t pretty, to say the least.

Being depressed felt like drowning. It would feel as if I’d try to swim upwards but I get pulled down and I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe. I’d lock myself up in the room because of the incident, crying because of how disgusted I felt with myself. I felt used in the most horrendous way and I can’t help but remember all that right now.

I tried to even my breathing, tried not to panic in front of these lovely boys, tucking my hair beneath my ear. I took deep, even breaths, trying not to make a scene. Suddenly I felt a hand on my back and I turned to see Luke. He rubbed circles against my back and surprisingly, it calmed me. I got back to my normal breathing and I smiled weakly at Luke, silently thanking him. I wonder how he sensed that I was panicking. 

But either way, I’m glad he noticed. There are only a few people who care about me and I could never be thankful for those people. Luke smiled back at me and my eyes flitted away for a second to see Calum glaring down at his empty plate.

“Think I’m gonna go now,” Calum stated indifferently, standing up to go. “Why don’t you take her home, Luke?” He just nodded at Calum and he and I followed suit and we moved away from the booth, Calum walking away and fishing his keys from his pockets. We all sighed simultaneously and then laughed afterwards at the ridiculousness of it all.

“Who’s got more room for ice cream?” Michael grinned.

The boys paid for the meals, much to my dismay, and then we headed out of the restaurant. We roamed around the mall for a bit until we got inside this famous ice cream parlor. “What kind of ice cream do you want?” Luke asked, turning to me. Lucy fell asleep inside the stroller minutes ago and Luke was pushing it the whole time. He was damn good with kids.

heEEEEEY 

double update yaaaayyy 

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