Beginnings • c.h

Chapter Thirty Two (part one)

Chapter Thirty Two

Anni POV

Considering I had been over the Hood's house a few times now, you would think that the abundance of nerves would have disappeared, but you couldn't be more wrong. Even now, turning into the familiar driveway, I can't help the fluttering of my stomach, and the overwhelming need to smooth my hair out.

Cal peels his hands off the steering wheel once the car stops, to grip my hand and squeeze it lightly.

"Anni, you already know they like you. C'mon." he says gently. I nod and open the car door. Once we reach the front door, Cal jams his key in and rattles it for a bit. After strugglnig to get the door open for at least thirty seconds, we finally walk over the threshold.

"Cal, honey, is that you?" I hear Joy call, probably from the kitchen. Cal calls back that I was with him, and seconds later, Joy's head sticks out around the corner of the wall, a grin on her face.

"Anni, dear! So lovely to see you." she says as we walk towards the kitchen.

"Good to see you too, Mrs Hood- I mean, Joy." I mumble as I am collected into hug from Joy.

"I've been telling Cal to bring you around for dinner lately, he must have finally listened for once in his life." She says jokingly, pinching her sons cheeks. I let out a small giggle at the sweet gesture, and Cal's cheeks darken in embarassment.

"Mum!" he whines. We round the corner to the kitchen and Joy opens her mouth to say something, but I don't hear her over the loudness of the other Hood child. 

"Anni! Good to see you, babe!" she yells enthusiastically from her seated position on one of the counters. I join her, sitting at one of the stools instead of the counter. We start a conversation on her music and possible tours, except I can't help but notice the growing tension within Calum.

Through my peripheral vision, I see him speaking with his mother, his shoulders set stiffly. After speaking softly back to her son, Joy turns and addresses Mali.

"Mal, can you help with dinner for a second? I need to set the table." Mali jumps down from the bench, rolling her eyes slightly, I stand up as well and ask Joy if she wanted any help.

"Oh no, dear! You go and spend some time with Cal in his room for a bit." she replies, waving me off good-naturedly. I nod, slightly suspicious over the fact that what she said sounded slightly scripted. Deciding to ignore it, I follow Cal on the now all to familiar route to his bedroom.

He still doesn't say anything as we enter his room, and reaches up to open the entrance to the attic. He climbs up before me, which I am grateful for. Sometimes, short denim cut-offs aren't the answer when wondering what to wear when going shopping.

Cal stands near the entrance, but I gently brush by him, plonking down on the same mattress from our date. I turn towards Calum who is still standing by the entrance. 

"Alright, whatever you want to say, just spit it out, you're making me anxious." I say, not bothering to beat around the bush. Cal hesitates, as if contemplating on what he wanted to say.

"I have some questions, I guess..." He says, finally moving towards me. He sits and I nod my head, telling him to continue.

"I don't know whether you would want to answer them." he admits.

"How 'bout this: Whatever you ask, I'll answer honestly, but if I don't want to answer I'll just say next." I compromise. Calum nods and sits up a bit straighter, crossing his legs like how you would sit in primary school. 

"Okay, fire away." I say. He narrows his eyes at me slightly, and rapildly asks,

"Why don't you ever want to talk about what happened between you and Ashton?" After he asks that, I swear my hearts almost stops. Looks like Cal wasn't exactly one to beat around the bush either. Struggling to swallow with my suddenly dry mouth, I croak out,

"Next." 

"Come on, Anni! That's the easiest one!" Calum groans. My lips twitch up in amusement. The way he was acting, you would have thought he was a ten year-old stuck in a sixteen year olds body. My brain continues to think over what he asked, and after much hesitation, I finally say,

"Because I thought no one would care."

Calum frowns at my answer, but doesn't respond. Impulsively, my hand reaches up and I use the pad of my index finger to smooth the crease between his eyebrows. My finger rests on his face for a few seconds. Pulling away I say,

"Okay, next question."

"Anni-"

"-Next question." I interrupt, not allowing him to continue.

"O-okay, um, what made you break up with him in the first place?" If I was hesitant before, it did not compare to how I felt now. I closed my eyes and tried to control my breathing, getting ready to decline the question. But I stop.

Maybe it was time I let someone in, rather than shutting everyone out.

"Ashton is the only other person to know the whole story of why we broke up, considering he was the other person in the relationship, if that's what you could call it. Megan only knows the basics, but Luke knows almost everything. But, there are some things that I couldn't even tell him."

Throughout the beginning of my speech, I kept my eyes closed. It was easier to pretend I was speaking only to myself, that Cal wasn't even there.

"Actually, I'll start right at the beginning, that way you won't get confused." I gulp a few times, still finding it hard to vocalise the story I had kept to myself for so long.

"It all started out around a year and a half ago..."

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Hey Guys!! So the next chapter will be up tomorrow because unfortunatly wattpad decided to spaz out and deleted the next part of the chapter. Sorry about this though, we wanted to be able to post it in quick succession, but that isnt an option anymore. But, be prepared!!

Annie + Morgan