All Too Well // CH

All Too Well (Pt. 1)

Your POV

Calum puts the key in the lock and turns it slowly. Glancing at you, excitement dancing in his eyes, he pushes the door open to your new house. You'd just bought it---your first big purchase as a couple---and you were ecstatic to see what this new chapter in your life would hold.

He steps in and holds the door open for you, so you pick up the large box sitting at your feet and make your way into the house. From behind you, you can hear him laughing at how ridiculous you look. You ignore him and continue waddling through the empty corridors, into the living room.

The air around you was cold and the room was empty, other than the cardboard box you'd just put in front of the fireplace, but, somehow, it felt like home. You could see it now: The walls are filled with pictures of friends, family, and the two of you. In one corner, there's a bookcase for your never-ending collection of stories, and, beside it, a rocking chair where you could read forever, if given the chance. In the other, a recliner with shelves of albums above it for Calum to come home to after long studio sessions.

You could see him rocking Duke in his arms like a baby while he walks to the kitchen to get a drink---a strangely endearing thing that happens quite often. You could hear him drop his suitcase on the floor and his feet pounding on the floor as he rushes to greet you after six excruciatingly long months away on tour. You could feel his arms wrap around you, squeezing you tightly as your feet just barely graze the ground. He would bury his face in your neck and whisper how much he missed you, and he wouldn't let go for hours.

Everything was as clear as day. It didn't matter that none of it was new to you; you've seen all of it before, but this time it would be... Different. Better than it ever had been, all because of the fact that he would be by your side for it.

Now, all you can feel as you walk in is a numb pain in your chest. Days at work dragged on and at home---if it could even be called that, anymore---, time has never moved slower. It's paralyzing, in a way; you don't seem like your old self, and, no matter how hard you look or where you go, you can't find it, so you're just... Stuck in a terrible limbo.

You got up in the morning, you went to work, you came home, and you went to bed. There's nothing more for you to do other than to survive. It's been a month. Or two weeks. For all you know, only half an hour had passed—which, according to your phone, it had—, but it doesn't matter; every second that passes feels more like a year.

Only one time did you decide to break the cycle; it was just to get a late-night snack in an attempt to soothe your aching stomach, but even then, as you stood at the top of your staircase, you were assaulted by unwanted memories. You haven't changed anything since, afraid of the same thing happening once more.

It was three in the morning and you still had yet to sleep. The empty house was quiet, other than the howling of the wind outside and your stomach's growls. You could also hear Cal and Duke snoring in unison on the other side of the shared air mattress, a compromise you had to make, given that none of your furniture was moved in when it was supposed to be.

The food on the other hand, is a completely different story, so you lift the blanket off of your body and get up as quietly as possible, scared you would wake your two sleeping angels. Once you were able to safely assume that you were in the clear, you race down the stairs and into the kitchen, hoping that you still had part your milkshake from earlier in the freezer.

You stared into the fridge intently, wondering what would go best with chocolate ice cream, which, given what your options were, was nothing. When you were reaching for the can of whipped cream on the top shelf, a warm pair of arms wrap around you from behind, making you jump a bit. Calum's laugh echoes through the tiled room.