Stuck in the Middle (Two Stories in One) [Calum Hood & Luke Hemmings AU]

12. Sloane

"Has anyone talked to him?"

Sloane puckered her lips to the side, gaze on her mug of tea as she circled the rim with her finger. She shook her head as everyone else mumbled their dissent to Crystal's question, and she let out a sigh. He'd been locked in his room since yesterday, and if he happened to come out, he wasn't himself. A shell of a man too heartbreaking to look at and the worry gnawed at Sloane, wanting to do nothing more than go talk to him. She had no idea what had happened, none of them did, and she cast a glance towards the staircase. Calum was upstairs, hadn't joined them for breakfast, and the concern for their blue haired friend was heavy in the room.

Ashton sighed. "Do you think something happened with River?"

Sloane felt her breath catch, and the mention of the other girl had Sloane putting her mug down on the coffee table and getting up to her feet. Luke's arm dropped from her shoulders as all eyes went to her, and she licked her lips and announced, "I'm gonna try to talk to him."

"Good luck," Michael mumbled as she walked past him. Sloane would probably need it.

She let out a deep breath as she reached his closed door, stupidly feeling kind of intimidated to even knock. But she pushed past it, her concern for Calum winning out as she rapped her knuckles against it and called out gently, "Calum?" She waited for a response, not getting one, and tilted her head back to look at the ceiling as she sighed once more. "Come on, Cal, I know you're in there."

Chewing on her lower lip, Sloane grabbed the door knob before she could change her mind, and opened the door slowly while peering inside. The bed was unmade but Calum wasn't on it. Instead, he was sitting on the floor, leaning against it, knees brought up, arms folded on top while his gaze was turned towards the window, looking out at the bright sky that didn't at all match the mood he obviously was in. Biting the inside of her cheek, Sloane felt as though she was intruding into his space, into a dark corner of his mind he was shutting everyone out of, but she couldn't turn back now.

"Hey," she spoke up, her voice soft as she padded further into the room after shutting the door behind her. "Everyone's asking for you."

She was met with silence, but Sloane didn't let that deter her from approaching Calum's seated figure. Quietly, Sloane sat down next to him, running her palms over the soft material of the rug the bed was placed on top of as she turned her gaze to him. He was still looking out the window, only allowing her to see the blue of his head.

"Please talk to me," Sloane said, unable to bring her voice any louder, too afraid of breaking the quiet of the room—no matter how uneasy and heavy it felt. "What's going on?"

He was silent, the quiet deafening as Sloane's throat worked, waiting for an answer. She kept her gaze on him, on the tightness of his jaw, and the way he was absently twisting one of the rings he wore. She wondered if he was gonna say anything, if he was gonna let her in, and she probably shouldn't push him, but after a few minutes of silence, she spoke up once more. "We're not gonna be very good partners if you don't let me in."

More silence. Until—

"She knows." Calum's voice was hoarse, deep and slow and nearly catching Sloane off guard. He finally turned to look at her, and she felt her heart stop momentarily at the emptiness she saw in the brown of his usually lively eyes. It was... harrowing... seeing him like that. "I fucked up."

Sloane pressed her teeth together as she expelled a slow breath through her nose, knowing exactly who and what he was referring to. Oh, no. She squeezed her eyes shut, giving a shake of her head as she started, "Calum—"

"I should've listened to you," he cut her off, shaking his head to return his gaze to his fingers. She heard the guilt and defeat weigh heavily in his tone as he clicked his tongue in disappointment. "I should've been more careful. I should've either told her the truth or just never have fallen for her—"