After All • Calum Hood (Sequel to ISTTY)

41

—I don't want the hours to fly away -I admita

—Mad... -his hands caress my hair-

—Do you know how much I'll miss you?

—Not more than I'll miss you two. But stop, please, I don't want to get nostalgic -he says and I nod-

—I'm sorry, I'm sorry -I say making him chuckle-

—It's okay, but, do you know that I hope? -I look at him expectant- I hope you won't cheat on me and keep on watching the episodes of the serie -he says making me laugh-

—I'll try not to, but I don't promise anything

—Madeleine Collins! You can't cheat on me like that -he plays pretend to be offended and I laugh even louder-

—Let's go to sleep, Cal. We have to be at the airport in a few hours, if we don't go to sleep, we're gonna be sleepy and Wyatt will possibly be the most energetic baby

He pulled me in closer to him, making me feel protected

~

—I can't believe my little brother is about to leave again to be a rockstar! -Mali hugs Calum-

—I'm gonna miss you, kiss Wyatt for me whenever you have the chance -Calum asks his sister-

We were already at the airport, all of us, but each one of the guys were gathered with their family: Luke was with his brothers, his parents and newly girlfriend, Sierra. Michael was along his parents and Crystal, Ashton was with his siblings, his mom & stepfather... We greeted each other once we got here but now we separated to say goodbye more intimately.

—Dad, take care... You know what we talked about, remember it -David and Calum share a hug, patting their backs-

—And you remember what I told you -David speaks- and don't forget you make us prouder than you think, I mean it

I was there, carrying Wyatt on one of my sides, waiting to say goodbye to my boyfriend. His flight has been called through the speakers aand I was fighting my tears, but I was -almost- sure they were going to win. Calum walks to his mother with teary eyes, they share a silent, long hug without even saying a word; seeing that warmed my heart even more and the first two tears started to roll down my cheeks. 3 months, it'll be 3 months where Calum and I won't see each other, 3 months where I'll be alone, without my whole family, 3 months of Wyatt's evolution and his dad won't be there to see it.

Calum and Joy break the hug, he turns around to see me and I feel my lungs run out of air, my breathing agitates along with my heart, my eyes flood in tears and my knees become weaker. I wanted to feel protected one more time by Calum's arms,  but I knew that those arms wouldn't hold me for months, that's the reason why I also wanted to avoid the hug. While he's approaching us, I could notice tears rolling down his cheeks too, he surround us with his arms holding us tightly, the only thing that could be heard were my sobs, Wyatt was looking at us kind of confused; the more time passed by, the more I hold him tight, he separates a bit to kiss us and then goes back to hug us some more until we both realize it's time for him to go, we're taking longer than we should on this goodbye, but it ain't easy for me to see my man leave for months even though it made me happy at the same time. Once again, his flight is called through the speakers

—I'm going to miss you with my whole soul -Calum says as his voice cracks-

—I love you, don't forget that I love you, never forget it. You're our world -I say speaking in behalf of Wyatt and I-

—...Okay, it's time -he breaths in deeply-

The guys were already together looking at us, waiting for Calum

—Dad, please, remember what I told you, take care of my son and my girl while I'm away -his father quickly nods- I hope time flies so we can see each other again -he kisses each one of us, the only difference was that our kiss was on the lips and the other's on the cheek- I love you all so much -he says as he starts to walk away, I couldn't stop crying-

Once he was beside the other three men, they turn around waving at their families, Calum threw a kiss to my directs and walked into the door. I stayed still, holding onto my son, my breathing was uncontrollable and my tears won't go away, I could feel my lips swelling and possibly, my face too

—Time for us to go too, Madeleine -Mali grabs me by the arm, turning me around slowly, I nod and start walking with them-

When we were on David's SUV, the place was quiet, I didn't know what to say to comfort them and they didn't know what to tell me to comfort me, David turns on the engine and looks at me through the rearview, Mali, Wyatt and I were on the backseat

—Where do you want to go? Would you like to stay at our house? -David politely asks, I shrug, not being able to find my voice to answer-

—That'll be the best -Joy turns to look at me from the passenger seat- that way you won't be alone and I don't think lonely will be a good ally for you right now

But still, no word from me. Wyatt looks outside the window and reach out for it

—Dadda -he difficulty calls out his dad-

All eyes were on Wyatt now, clearly touched by the moment

—Take us to my flat -Mali decides for me, realizing it was hard for me to even talk- I think that'll be the best, that way I get to spend more time with my nephew, too -she chuckles but no one smiles. I only nod letting her know I agreed with her decision-

David turns his eyes back to the front as he starts to drive towards my sister-in-law's flat. Around 4 minutes of silence and my phone vibrates, catching everyone's attention, I take it out of my pocket and unlock it, to find a message from Calum

"You're the woman of my life, you gave me Wyatt who's the reason of my life. I couldn't thank you enough for everything you've done for me, I couldn't even show you how much I love you... We're about to take off, it's an almost 10h flight, I'll let you know as soon as I land. Take care, I love you with all my soul."

And I couldn't do much but cry, I handed my unlocked phone to Mali so she could read the text and understand the sudden reason of my crying. I rest my elbows on my knees, putting both hands on my face to cry even more