Want You Back | c.h.

12.

Calum could remember the first time he met Emi with complete clarity. He'd been flying back to Los Angeles from London, it was right after the boys had made the move and he had had to fly back to tie up a few loose ends. He had never flown solo at that point and planes still left him feeling unsettled. 

He was nervous and jittery until she had sat down beside him, her in all her glory, what with her long brown hair and emerald green eyes, she was exquisite and he had immediately felt unworthy to be sitting next to her. He had always been quite shy and when she'd first spoke to him he'd been unable to offer her more than a smile, his palms sweaty and his throat closed off from nerves. 

Even through his awkward shyness she hadn't given up, instead when she had seen his apprehension grow as they neared take off, she'd reached across to the arm rest and placed her hand on top of his, shooting him a soft smile that he returned with one full of gratitude. 

He'd been a goner from that moment on.

He neared the hotel as he thought about his first memories with Emi, stepping into the warm lobby that seemed anything but welcoming at the moment. He didn't suppose anything would make him feel better at the moment. He'd found the girl of his dreams again, had another shot to show her they were meant to be together, and still he'd blown it. 

The elevator ride to his floor seemed to pass agonizingly slow and he found himself straying from his own room to Ashton's instead. He knocked, waiting patiently until his best friend opened it allowing him to step through. Calum immediately fell face first against the bed, feeling all the emotions of the day hit him.

"So, are we gonna discuss what happened to your face?" Ash asked cautiously.

"An asshole. He looks worse." Calum replied, avoiding Ashton's gaze. Cal knew that Ash had a disdain for violence and surely wouldn't approve of Calum's actions today. 

"Why?"

"It was Emi's boyfriend. I went to her work." Cal rubbed his hands over his face, wincing slightly as they passed over his tender nose. "I had a word vomit of everything I've been wanting to tell her and everything I felt about last night because, apparently she showed up here last night, but accidentally knocked on Luke's door and he sent her away. Anyways, I completely spilled the beans about us having sex last night, without realizing the boyfriend was in the room."

"Holy shit, Cal."

"Yeah, I know. So then he called her a slut in front of me and it pretty much went downhill from there."

"I'm proud of you."

"What?" Cal's head snapped around to look at his best friend, sure that he had misheard him.

"I mean, obviously not for the fighting or home wrecking, but you stood up for her. I'm sure she at least appreciated that part."

"I don't know. There's something else wrong, I could tell it. She was so upset afterwards and not just because her boyfriend and I got into an argument and ruined her kitchen. She seemed more upset that they were gonna have to close and her sous chef was freaking out, but I couldn't figure out why."

Cal tried to remember any traces of the conversation he had overheard, but he was able to recall very little. Something about the payroll and a loan.

"Maybe she's having money issues? I think she said something about having to take out a loan to make their payroll."

"Fuck. I mean, when we were there the other night we were able to walk right in with a big group and a last minute reservation. You said they couldn't open last night, right?"

"Yeah, she made their front of house guy cancel all their reservations for the night."

"Fuck, Cal. You probably cost her a shit ton of money when it sounds like she was already struggling."

"Ugh." He groaned throwing his head back as he flipped over on the bed and sat up. "I don't know what to do, Ash. I have to fix this."

"I don't know what to tell you mate, and we leave tomorrow."

"I don't know if I'll be able to live with myself if I don't do something."

The sound of the door opening caused  both of the men to glance up.

"Calum! Your face!" Luke yelled as he entered, Michael trailing a few paces behind him, his eyebrows shooting up when he saw Calum. 

"I haven't looked at it yet." Cal said, standing and moving towards the mirror. When he saw himself he was taken aback, leaning forward towards the reflective version of himself to take it in more closely. 

His nose and the area surrounding it was a deep shade of blue, almost black and the structure itself was slightly crooked, almost definitely broken. The cut above his eyebrow was deeper than he had expected it to be and dried blood was still clinging to it. His lip was puffy and reddened, he could barely recognize himself.

"You best just be glad we're here to plan the music video and not actually film it. Our director will have your ass if your face still looks like that in two months when we come back."

"Sorry, Luke. I really wasn't thinking of our next video when I was fighting that dick."

"Did you start it?" He sighed.

"No, that asshole called Emi a slut. He was asking for it. Fucking prick. As fun as this has been, I think I'm gonna go to my room and take a nap, maybe try to think of a way to fix this whole mess."

"We have meetings in two hours we have to be in the lobby in an hour and a half."

"Yeah, well." Was Calum's only reply as he ventured to his own room. 

He really didn't care to be bothered with their band stuff right now. As much as he loved the band and music and their fans and everything they had built, he loved Emerson more. Right now, she was the only thing that mattered to him. The only something that meant anything at all.

AN: What is Cal gonna do?

Do you think they have a chance?

Cal's leaving in less than a day, does he have time to fix it?

Vote and Comment!

ILY,

Sav