Rose Tattoo | tattoo artist/single dad!calum

chapter 6

Calum tried his best not to let his mood influence his work. Though he sometimes had no choice but to let his personal and professional lives overlap - his job wasn't exactly the typical 9 to 5 and his home life wasn't exactly Leave it to Beaver -, he tried to keep the influence of one to a minimum on the other. He had always, for the most part, been able to keep his composure despite any personal turmoil.

Regardless of what was happening in Calum's life, he always tried to check it at the door. He only spoke openly in the shop about his feelings when the neon blue open sign in the window was switched off and the plate glass doors were locked. Although Calum was often a sounding board for his clients, listening intently as they spoke about their problems or discussed music with him, he never delved too much into his own life. He had pictures of his son on his station and would answer the odd question about him but talking about Tāne made him happy. The negative things, the issues that popped up every now and again, never made it inside the shop. It was easier that way, to keep that boundary up, and it was easiest to keep that boundary in place when he pretended to be unaffected by whatever existed outside of the four walls of the shop.

The situation at hand, however, was not one that he felt capable of ignoring.

Calum had been in a bad mood when he arrived at the shop. Though his moods weren't always discernible to those who didn't know him, there was an obvious dark cloud hanging over his head. He wasn't exactly known to be a chatterbox but he remained stoic and somewhat sullen as he tattooed his few clients. Some of the regulars, the ones who would return no matter how he treated them, chalked it up to him being overworked. They knew that he had to put in overtime after dealing with Tāne's illness and imagined that it was just taking a toll on him. Those who were visiting Calum for the first time just imagined that was his personality.

None of his clients took it to heart and none of them really worried about the shift in attitude. His friends, however, could tell that this wasn't related to overworking or even to a typical bad mood; something was wrong. Ashton had a feeling that it was related to El and the impending custody battle, there was nothing else that could upset Calum that much, so, when the last client of the day left the shop, Ashton bolted the door behind him and gestured for Michael and Luke to join him in the studio where Calum was cleaning up.

"Okay," Ashton stated as he leaned against the counter near Calum's station, "what happened?"

Calum, who had been so focused on cleaning one particular spot that he hadn't noticed the boys surround him, flinched at the sound of Ashton's voice so close to him but didn't bother looking up from his work. Instead of answering verbally, he nodded in the direction of his coat and, curious, Ashton reached out to grab the pile of black fabric from Calum's station. He almost asked why Calum pointed out the article of clothing but, before he could open his mouth, he caught sight of an envelope sticking out of the pocket.

Michael and Luke crowded over Ashton's shoulder, Luke easily towering over the other two, as they read over the document. It was a court order, one that outlined the details of El's suit against Calum and why she felt the need to file for primary custody, and Ashton felt a flash of anger on behalf of his friend as he read through the document.

The shop fell silent as Ashton, Luke, and Michael processed the typed words they'd read. It was surprising that she was attempting to not only step back into Tāne's life after several years but to gain full custody when she was the one who left in the first place. Calum lifted his head, his expression weary and his shoulders slumped, as he watched Luke lean against the doorframe and fold his arms over his chest. Michael, one of Calum's oldest friends, breathed a deep sigh as he took a seat on an empty stool.