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

14. Sloane

We've narrowed it down to these three spots. If we're aiming for an October wedding, I think an indoor venue would be best. Look these over with Calum and let us know what you decide. Quickly.

It was that short and precise e-mail from her mother that had Sloane's heart dropping into the very pit of her stomach where it continued to sink lower, her heart beginning to pick up its pace at an uncontrollable rate that made it increasingly difficult to breathe. It was one fucking e-mail that sent reality crashing down around Sloane, reminding her of the quickly approaching end of this trip and, more importantly, her relationship with Luke.

But nothing about this was easy because, fuck, she couldn't just switch off her feelings. She couldn't just pretend that being with Luke for these past few weeks and taking their years of friendship to a completely different level hadn't been the best thing to happen to her. Like this wasn't the happiest she'd ever been in so long. No. No, she wasn't ready. She wasn't ready to let go of the tranquility of this beach, of the easy going and blissful happiness she's felt since being with Luke and trade it in for the suffocation that was waiting for her back in New York.

Sloane shot to her feet, the sand sinking between her toes thanks to the flip flops she was wearing, ignoring the confused calls of her friends as she quickly walked away, directionless, too lost in her thoughts and panic to actually decide where to go. Rather, she just walked under the glare of the sun and away from the bewildered voices of her friends. The sand was hot beneath her feet as she kept going, the thundering of her heart louder than the waves of the ocean and the chatter of other beach goers, and Sloane was too busy drowning in her thoughts to notice that someone had been running after her.

"Hey, hey, hey." Luke's quick voice had her stopping, especially when he came in front of her with his hands on her shoulders. His sunglasses were missing, allowing for her to see the concern in his baby blues, the pendant of his necklace dangling at his swift movements as he took in the sight of her alarmed eyes. "Sloane, what's going on?"

"I can't get married," she rushed out breathlessly, unable to keep her feelings inside, needing to get rid of the thoughts dizzying her head. One look at Luke and she couldn't keep it in. Sloane's breathing was heavy as she ran her fingers through her dark hair and continued on, "I can't go back to New York and get married. Not when I don't love Calum the way I love you. It's not fucking fair."

Luke's lips parted as he stared at her, and through her panic Sloane wasn't oblivious to the confession she'd just uttered. Except it didn't really feel like a confession; it was just a statement of truth, of something that had been true for a lot longer than Sloane ever realized. And telling Luke like this, in the middle of what was about to be a panic attack, wasn't the most romantic situation. But it was the truth. And he deserved as much.

But however obvious Sloane's words were to herself, they weren't as much to Luke as his back straightened, eyes widened despite the heat of the sun as he stammered out, "You love me?"

Briefly, Sloane got a sense of deja vu from that night on the deck when feelings were first being confessed—by him, not by her. And for a moment, she felt a sense of calm as her lips quirked up, features softening as she took in the relieved, joyous, and mildly shocked look on Luke's face. He was too fucking adorable. "Is it really that much of a surprise?" Luke let out a breath, the surprise in it evident, and Sloane took a step towards him and reached up to cup his cheeks, adoring the tickle of his facial hair in his palms as her blue eyes met his. "Of course I love you," she reassured, laughing gently. "I wanna be with you, not Calum."

"Ouch."

Luke looked over Sloane's head just as she turned around, letting out a breath at the sight of Calum squinting at them against the sun, brown skin glistening from the water he'd just emerged from. Getting him to enjoy a day at the beach with all of them had been difficult, given that all he wanted to do was be with River. But her mom, according to Calum, had finally shown up for the reading of River's grandmother's will, and they were currently with the lawyer, something River had wanted to do by herself, apparently.