Unexpected Beginnings {Calum Hood & Luke Hemmings}

Chapter Twenty-Eight

*~ Crescent's POV ~*

My body shook violently as I stood up to walk to the front desk. I looked around the room and felt as if everything was moving at the speed of molasses. I saw Scarlet looking completely blank. Empty. I saw Luke trying to break her from her trance. I saw Calum watching my movements closely. I saw Scar's dad being walked into a room by a guy in a hospital uniform. Therapist obviously. Ashton and Michael were sitting side by side, looking at the floor. My eyes darted to the door and my feet followed the motion.

I didn't realize I was barefoot until the cold surface of the midnight concrete hit my feet. I didn't know where I was going, or what I would do when I got there. If I got there. I ran and ran until my calves were burning like fire. I came to a stop by an abandoned gas station and sat along the speed bump. I wrapped Calum's jacket that he had handed me earlier around my arms. The chilly night air still seeping through. I inhaled his cologne and closed my eyes, trying to imagine a world with Arden still in it. Like nothing had happened. I brought my head to my knees and squeezed my eyes shut. I felt my face get hot as the tears started threatening to poor out again.

I'm not going to cry. I'm not.

I lifted my head back up and zipped up Calum's jacket. I'm not going to let this crush me. Arden wouldn't want that.

I took a second to recover. I stood up and started walking back the direction I had come from. I had been walking for a while when a guy came into view in front of me, coming towards me. The guy slowed down when I got closer and then ran at me.

My heart started pounding in my chest, as well as in my head. Adrenaline was sent coursing through my veins as I ran. I screamed as I felt a hand grab the back of my jacket. "Sl-slow down!" He muttered.

"Calum?" I asked coming to a stop. Suddenly all of the previous fear was gone.

"Y-yes." He panted. I turned around and wrapped my arms around him. He hugged me back and kissed my forehead. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Mhmm." I sighed, trying to be convincing.

"Cress.." He whispered doubtfully.

"I'm okay. Just sad." I said, offering him a false half smile. He rubbed my back for support and led me back to the hospital. I had unzipped his jacket and put it around both of our shoulders. The jacket was supper baggy so it was possible. When we got back to the hospital everyone was gone.

"They told me they were going back to your parents' house. Luke said he couldn't get Scarlet to speak to anyone. She's stayed silent since her mother's passing." He said, looking around. I walked to the front desk, what I had been meaning to do earlier.

"Where is Arden?" I asked.

"I'm sorry to tell you but our patient Arden Newton passed away earlier." She said sympathetically.

"She's not dead. You're lying to me. Where is she?" I asked, gritting my teeth. She bit her lip as if she didn't know what to say.Calum put his arm around my shoulders. "She's lying to us Calum." I stated.

"Come on, I think it's time I take you home." He said quietly.

"No. She's still alive." I gulped.

"Baby please.. Let's go get some sleep." He cooed in my ear. I just shook my head, unable to say anything. I let him lead me out of the hospital, to a rental car. He drove with his hand over mine on the console. Neither of us broke the silence of the atmosphere.

Everyone, including my parents, sat quietly in our living room. My mom stood up and hugged me whenever I walked through the door.

"She's in denial." I heard Calum whisper to her. She just nodded stiffly. One by one, everyone eventually left the room to go to bed. It was just Calum, Luke, Scarlet, and I.

"Scar?" Luke sighed weakly. Her eyes just stared deeply at an unidentified object across the room.

"Scarlet, you can stay silent forever." I said, standing up. "Or you can allow yourself to heal." She didn't show any acknowledgment of my words. "But in order to heal, you can't push us out! We heal each other!" I said in a begging tone.

Her eyes shifted over to me. She stared at me for a few seconds before I saw the tears filling her eyes. One slid down her cheek, but no noise escaped. Luke walked over and wrapped her in his arms. She buried her face in his chest and started bawling. She's letting it out. Finally.

"I think you've had enough excitement for today." Calum whispered from beside me. I hadn't noticed it until now, but I feel like I could drop dead at any minute. I let Calum carry me to my room and crawl in bed beside me.

He started snoring heavily within minutes. I was exhausted, but I couldn't sleep. I kept getting the chills. I started having an anxiety attack. That's when I saw someone standing in the doorway. Not someone. Arden.

My heart started racing in my chest as I sat up quickly. I started wheezing as she approached the side of my bed. She put her hand up to tell me to stop my panicking. I calmed myself down. "Crescent, I need you to do something for me." She smiled.

"W-what?" I asked hesitantly.

"I want you to use your gift to help me talk to my daughter." She smiled.

"My gift?" I asked confused. I must be so tired that I'm hallucinating.

"Yes, Cress. So you don't know?" She asked.

"I guess not." I whispered quietly. Or maybe I wasn't even talking. Were we speaking through my mind?

"You're a medium, Crescent." She smiled, tilting her head.

"That's impossible." I laughed breathlessly.

"It's very possible. I also wanted to thank you for singing to me. I heard you. It was lovely." She beamed. "Get some sleep. Tomorrow, I would love for you to give my daughter a reading. There are things she needs to know." And just like that she disappeared.

Me? A medium? I'm sure I'm hallucinating. Or maybe dreaming.

There's no way I can speak to dead people.