After All • Calum Hood (Sequel to ISTTY)

54

—Sierra -I go find her as soon as we got backstage-

—You'll be leaving to Australia in 4 hours -she says with a wide smile on her face and I hug her so tight-

—You don't know how much I appreciate all of this -I separate from her and look at Crystal, who's close to us, I walk to her and hug her as well- and to you too, you don't know how much I appreciate you two

We all are in the same place trying to cease the adrenaline shot of being onstage -besides the tiredness, of course- luckily, I had packed my suitcases before so I just had to go back to the hotel, take a shower and go to the airport, it'll be the 5 longest hours of the world. We talked for a while, I checked my phone more than usual but Mali wouldn't answer me and that kept me worried, meanwhile Madeleine hadn't seen her phone since the morning

"I'll leave to the airport in a while... I need you to tell me where you are. Who's Wyatt with?"

I send the message waiting for an answer but I hadn't receive anything and I have sent Mali more than 10 messages already... I write my mom who luckily was on line by the time I grab my phone

"Mum, do you know everything that's going on?"

"Yes, Cal. And I'm really sorry"

"I need Dad or you to pick me up from the airport in some hours, I'll be heading out to the airport here in minutes"

"At what time do you land?"

"At 6AM. Mali won't pick up my calls, do you know anything about Wyatt? I'm worried, Mad'd at the hospital, Mali won't pick up and Wyatt is god knows where. The idea of him being taken care by Annie, who just lost her husband, is nothing but worrying"

"Son, calm down, Mali dropped Wyatt hours ago, he's with us and he's totally fine; right now he's playing with your dad"

"Thanks mamma... For being there for me whenever I've needed you, and not only for me but for my family"

"Do you happen to know why Madeleine has been admitted? Mali told Michael but she told him not to tell me anything—which I think is one of the most stupidest things she's ever said"

"No need to thank, son, that's why I'm your mother. Yes, I know, but just like Mali said to Michael, I'm not the one to tell you"

What the fuck happened that everyone's denying to tell me, they're not helping my anxiety issues at all. The need of punching someone's body won't leave my torrent, I turn around to loose focus on my thoughts and realise that all eyes were on me.

—Let's go? The hotel's close, we'll take you to the airport from there -Luke walks to me-

—Hmm? Are you taking me?

—Are you taking me? -Michael mocks me while rolling his eyes- of course we're taking you, idiot. If not us, who then?

—I mean, I could grab an Uber or something, you guys don't have to ruin your night because of me

—We're not ruining anything, Calum. You're our friend and our priority right now is to help you -Crystal stands up and I take a deep breath-

—Thank you so much for everything, having friends like you is completely unreal and incredible.

—Let's save it for later and let's go -Ashton claps motioning is to hurry, I smile at my friend's silliness-

Everyone on the staff knew what's going on so they let me -us- go earlier than expected, generally we stay doing vocal exercises to relax our chords, or we would lay back drinking or talking about anything but tonight the staff told us to go. There was an SUV waiting for all of us, we were a little bit tight but we didn't care, the hotel was 30 minutes away from the arena we had the show in so the arrival to the hotel was quick, because there wasn't literally any traffic because of the hour. On the entrance of the hotel there were some fans waiting for us and even though we -or I- were in a hurry we stopped to talk to them, snap a few pics, film some videos and autograph some things. Ashton was asked to autograph a boob and we couldn't hold back our laughter.

—Do you need any help? -Luke asks me as we're walking to the elevators-

—No, no. You go get ready and I'll let you know as soon as I'm ready to leave, I'll take a quick needed shower -they nod, the walk to the bedrooms was silent-

Only Ashton and I had rooms on the same hotel floor so we said 'goodbye' by just nodding at each other, any exchange of words.

I walk into my room and the first thing I do is getting rid of my shoes, following by my jacket and the belt. I grab an already packed suitcase and grab a pair of grey joggers that's really comfortable, some red vans and the "Did you get the sensation today?" shirt that I love, I walk to the bathroom and take a cold shower, after finishing our concerts our bodies would stay so hot for a long period of time, as if we've spent the whole day at a beach. I walk out the bathroom and check on my phone while drying my body, hoping to find any new message

"My mum called me to let me know you're coming, I'm sorry I hadn't seen your texts, I really don't have time to check on my phone. We're at the Mater Hospital on the north of Sydney"

"The private hospital? I'm getting dressed to go to the airport"

I supposed Mali wouldn't answer right away but for my surprise, she did.

"Yup, that one. I already let Madeleine know you're coming, Wyatt's with our mom and Annie is on my flat. She's a total mess—she can't even be here"

"What is it with Madeleine that anyone wants to tell me what happened? You don't know how worried and bad I'm feeling. Remember we're talking about the love of my life and the mother of my son here"

"Cal, Madeleine's out of danger. If I don't tell you then I won't allow anyone to but the person who needs to tell you, and it is Madeleine we're talking about. It's not that dangerous, you can relax. It's just that Madeleine really needs you right now"

"Okay, Mali... And thank you for what you've been doing"

I grab my phone and type down on our iMessage group chat that I'm ready, they answered right away that they'll be waiting for me in the lobby. When I got there, everyone seemed to be fresher, wearing different clothes, oil and sweat less.

The ride to the airport was quiet, they'd talk between them but I'm so focused on my thoughts that I wouldn't participate in their conversation. When we got to the airport the first thing I did was the check-in, I needed to be there on time and luckily, the hours went through fast. I said goodbye to my friends before entering the passengers terminal and after almost 2hrs of waiting, I could board the plane

"I'm on the plane, we'll see each other in 5 hours"

I text Mali to let her know I'm on my way. I lay back on the seat preparing to sleep once the plane took off. Sleeping, the hours would pass faster, besides, I'm really tired, physically and emotionally.