Dead End >> c.h au

Chapter Three

     No one spoke as Leo poured the drinks into the glasses. He didn’t even ask Sally what she wanted, but he someone knew she had a love of white wine. He passed a glass to each of them, including Calum. Calum took his grudgingly but didn’t take a sip.

Sally cleared her throat to break the awkward silence. “So, where’s Tim?” she asked, desperate to start a conversation.

        Leo shrugged and swallowed his mouthful of wine. “Probably in his room,” he shrugged. “He lives here, on the third floor. He never lets anyone up there.”

        “That’s a little weird for someone who, and I’m quoting you directly here, ‘loves helping people,’” Calum interjected. “Don’t you think?”

        Leo shook his head. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting a little privacy in your own home.” Leo offered Calum a hesitant smile, almost as if it were a peace offering. He didn’t want to be on Calum’s bad side.

        “Sure, forgive me for being paranoid of our creepy as fuck host for this evening,” Calum said sarcastically. “It’s not like we just met him in a sketchy restaurant an hour ago or anything.”

        “Calum, stop it,” Sally warned him. Leo didn’t do anything wrong. He didn’t deserve Calum’s treatment.

        Leo held up his hand. “No, it’s fine,” Leo smiled at Sally. “I get why you’d be uncomfortable. You just met us and Tim’s not being very welcoming. I get it. I’d be a little off, too.”

        Calum stared at Leo in disbelief. Leo smiled sympathetically. He was so sweet. Sally couldn’t take her eyes off him. Calum scoffed.

        “You just have an answer for everything, don’t you?” he snapped. “You’re like a fucking Barbie doll.”

        “Calum!” Ashton and Sally both exclaimed at the same time. Sally wanted to smack him. He had no right to be this hostile.

        “Am I wrong?” Calum confronted Sally.

        “Usually,” a voice answered from behind them.

        Sally turned and felt a weight lifted off her shoulders as Michael and Luke entered the ballroom. Maybe they could talk Calum and Ashton into leaving Leo and her alone for a while.

        “Fuck off,” Calum muttered. The boys ignored him and instead joined them at the bar. Leo didn’t hesitate to pour them each a drink, as well. Calum was looking at Sally out of the corner of his eye. Any other day she would have cherished the attention he was paying her, however little it was. But today, Sally wanted nothing more than for him to look away.

        “You look really nice tonight, Sal,” Calum said quietly. Sally felt a blush rise in her cheeks, but she forced herself not to look at him. She knew the drill; today he would say everything she had ever wanted to hear. The moment Leo was out of the picture, everything would go back to normal and he would forget about her all over again. She had been on this ride before.

        “I mean it,” Calum kept going. “You always look nice. I don’t tell you enough.”

        “You don’t tell me ever,” Sally answered coldly. She still hadn’t looked at him. Leo sipped his wine slowly and looked between Sally and Calum. The other three boys barely even reacted. These conversations were a fairly common occurrence.

        “You tend to take compliments better after you’ve had a drink or two,” Calum waved towards the wine glass between Sally’s fingers.