Want You Back | c.h.

14.

Calum spent the next three days with the boys, filming the music video and trying to come to terms with the fact that he wouldn't be getting to put his plan, to save Emerson's restaurant and help get her back, into action.

He didn't know where to go from here.

He didn't know what to do, he didn't know how to help her, he didn't even know where she was at this point.

He'd found her, only to lose her again.

"Calum, you've got to cheer up mate."

"I don't know what to do, Ash." He said, his voice thick. "She's it for me, I know it. I was this close." He said raising his thumb and forefinger up in a visual. "This close, to having her again and now she's just, gone."

"You found her once Cal, you've always said you believed in fate. So lean into it, trust that whatever is meant to happen will be. Make your peace with it."

"What if I never see her again?" Cal asked his best friend, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Then you'll let go. Eventually, you'll meet someone and you won't be able to believe someone that perfect for you was out there. You'll question how you ever thought you could be supposed to be with anyone else."

"She's the only person who could convince me that love isn't a trap, Ash."

"You never know what the future may hold, Cal. Come on, we gotta get back to work."

Reluctantly, Cal stood and returned to his position amongst the group, going through the motions until finally they were dismissed. He hung his head and followed the others out of the warehouse location they were shooting at, into the car that was waiting for them outside.

He tried to contribute to his friends conversation, but he just had a hard time bringing himself to focus on anything but Emi. He'd been clinging to the idea of her and their relationship for over two years now. Maybe it was time he followed Ash's advice and tried to move on, or at least opened himself up to other possibilities. They had just felt so right together, their last night together had showed Calum that she still felt something for him too, even if she wasn't ready to admit it to herself.

He didn't know what to do, but he knew something had to change. Maybe he just needed a little intervention of fate.

•

"Can I just say how thankful I am for this warm weather?" Callie said to Emi as she stepped outside onto the balcony of the apartment the two girls had rented in LA and leaned against the railing. The girls had only been in town for around two weeks but they were finally settling into their new apartment and jobs.

"Girl, yes. As much as I hated to leave New York, I do not miss the cold. I've always hated it."

"Me too." Callie laughed.

"It's only April, but I feel like I could go for a beach day. It's definitely warm enough, what do you say we go down to water. Not like we get many random days off like this, might as well make the most of it."

Em turned around, slipping back inside and heading towards her bedroom with Callie close on her heels headed towards her own.

She slid her pajama shorts and T-shirt off and replaced them with a bikini, throwing a white coverup dress over the top and slipping on a pair of brown sandals. She grabbed a scrunchie from her dresser knowing she'd need it to tie her long hair up to fight the sea breeze. She stuffed her towel and sunblock into her beach bag along with her speaker before heading out to find Callie.

"Cals, you ready?"

"Yep!" She called shutting the door behind her in her own room as they began the descent to the street.

"Uber should be here in just a minute." Em told her as they reached the bottom of the building.

The car pulled up only moments later and they piled in. The ride to the beach took only twenty minutes and Emerson had forgotten how great it felt to have the sand between her toes.

She breathed in the salty air as she gazed out at the water, the waves crashing in the distance. She unrolled her towel and placed her bag on top rifling through the mess for her sunscreen. She mindlessly rubbed the lotion across her body enjoying the way the warmth from the sun coated her skin.

She was trying to focus on the positive parts of leaving New York. Her return to LA had been mostly painless. She'd managed to land a Chef de Cuisine job thanks to her resume, only a slight step down from executive chef and Callie had found a sous chef position nearby. It was weird to not have her best friend working alongside her but she was managing.

So far, the hardest part of her return had been all the memories it had brought back up. Images of she and Calum seemed to hang from every building and city light she passed. His face literally was hanging on the billboard she'd passed her first day back on the car ride from the airport.

She'd had him on her mind nearly constantly it felt like since the last time she'd seen him. He'd fought Kyle, but to defend her honor, and she didn't know what she had expected afterwards but it hadn't been radio silence.

She thought he'd come after her. She hadn't been sure if it was what she wanted at the time but looking back now, she wished more than anything that he had.

•

"Calum, get out of the damn bed. We're going to the beach."

"Fuck off, Ash. Go on without me I don't want to go." He replied as the man entered his doorway.

"I couldn't give less of a fuck what you want. Do something about it or move on, but I'm not going to let you continue to wallow in your self pity. It's getting pathetic Calum."

"Fuck, Ash. I'm so sorry that my heart being ripped open has made me pathetic."

"It didn't. You refusing to do anything about it for two years and then giving up when plan A didn't work, did."

"Fuck off." The dark haired man responded, rolling over in his bed.

He felt the bed dip a moment later. "Cal, I love you mate. I'm just tired of seeing you so sad. Everyone is. It's been so long since happy Cal was around, we'd just like to see him again. Why don't you just come to the beach? You can sleep there too but at least you'll be with your friends and we won't be so worried about you."

Ash was playing on Calum's weaknesses and he knew it. He knew the boy hated to be a burden on his friends and he hoped that would be enough to make him cave.

"Fine." Calum muttered.

An: So Emi's at a beach in LA and Calum's in LA going to the beach....interesting

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