If Walls Could Talk

Fifteen

Calum shuts the garage door as quietly as he can, heading down the hall towards his room, his mind full of everything the boys had said to him about the Skye situation, along with everything Nate had explained to them. Trying to figure with what the hell he is supposed to do...

He freezes as he passes the kitchen, seeing the back door slid open. It's nearly one am, everyone should be asleep. He can feel his heart start pounding as his mind jumps to the worst conclusions, hurrying to the closed door down the hall, swinging it open as quietly as he can in his panic. Relief washing over him as he sees Nika wrapped in her blankets fast asleep. Silently hurrying across the room he places a feather light kiss on her head before heading back into the hall.

Cracking Skye's door slightly to check on her too, he is surprised to see her bed perfectly made and empty. Frowning he turns back towards the kitchen, wandering through the space to the door, stopping as he sees her. She's laid out in her pajamas on a blanket by the pool, eyes watching the dark sky. A small laugh bubbles from her lips before she responds softly to the person on the other end of the phone call. He can't help but watch her for a minute, the bright moon overhead shining off her face, eliminating her eyes. She looks beautiful, and happy. Something she's seemed to have lost in the last week.

Slipping back into the house Calum wanders to his room, changing into more comfortable clothes himself before busying himself with making a couple cups of tea. Stepping back out through the door, he pads carefully towards Skye, "Why are you up so late?" He smiles tentatively as she turns her head towards him.

"I'll call you back later, Jord, okay?" She holds up a finger.

"Ya, love you too." She smiles, listening for a moment before ending the phone call.

"Why are you getting home so late?" She replies, ignoring his question as she sits up and takes one of the mugs.

"It's complicated..." He sighs.

"I was talking to my cousin. He and I have a very special bond, and when his nightmares or reality get too much he calls me." She shrugs.

"So you laid on the concrete staring at the sky while you talked to him in the middle of the night?"

"It's our thing. Don't judge." She laughs.

"Was he laying outside watching the sky too?"

"Always." She nods, taking a cautious sip of the hot tea.

"There's something I need to tell you, Skye." He sigh, setting his mug between them.

"Is something wrong?"

"Kind of? It's probably going to stress you out a lot, and it's not a good thing, we'll maybe in the big picture it is... but um..."

"What is it, Calum?"

"California is being placed under a shelter and place order as of tomorrow morning. All our album finishing stuff and everything has to happen over zoom. That's why I came home late, we were trying to figure it all out. All our Europe promo for March has been canceled, and they think the rest of the country will be following in this direction really quickly."

"My mom..." He can see the fear as it flood her eyes.

"Skye, it's going to be okay. I still need you." He reaches out quickly, taking one of her hands in a comforting way. "Maybe now more than ever. If I have to work from home Nika has to be in a different part of the house when I'm working. They are talking Instagram lives, and twitch streams, video interviews from isolation. I need you more than ever through this, because even more than Nika being found out because of the article, she could so easily be found out because of this stuff. And it fucking scares me. You will have a job. A big job still. You'll be able to help your family still. I want to make sure you know that."

She just nods, her eyes downcast towards her lap.

"And, Skye... I want to apologize to you." He sighs, "I've acted like a dick to you this last week. I shouldn't have gotten offended because of that post on Instagram. I wasn't thinking about all the reasons you need to keep everything professional. I was being selfish, thinking with my dick. No wonder I turned into one. It's been a long time, a very, very long time, since I had anyone come into my life and pique my interest, and I reacted wrong to being shut down. You were just being rational. I'm sorry. I'll work on that."

"I can't compromise my employment, Calum. I can't."

"I know. And I respect that."

"Thank you."

"It's getting really late. We should get some sleep. Nika isn't going to care that we were up until all hours of the night."

"Ya. Maybe tomorrow we can restart. Just this time, don't fall in love with me." She smirks, pushing herself up to her feet.

Calum chuckles as he watches her head towards the house, "Too late..." He whispers to himself, breathing out heavily.

After a moment he picks up the mugs and blanket she'd been using, taking them all back inside. Locking the back door before wandering to bed himself.

This girl has him whipped, and he has to figure out how to deal with that. Live with that. And literally spend all of his time with her, along with Roy and Nika, for the foreseeable future, and not fall farther, while keeping his feelings hidden.

Until she falls for him too...

At least, that's what he's hoping for. He wants to win her over, to change her mind without ever speaking a word on the subject. Maybe self isolating with her could make that happen...

***

"Daddy?" Calum startles, turning over to see Nika standing beside his bed, her Hei Hei tucked under her arm, a couple tears on her cheek.

"What wrong, baby girl?" He frowns, pulling her into the big bed with him.

"Bad dweam." She mumbles, curling into his chest tightly.

"I'm sorry, princess. You want to sleep with daddy tonight then?"

Her small head nods against his chest.

"Go to sleep, baby." He cuddles her close, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Sing, daddy?" She yawns again.

"Some things are meant to be secret and not to be heard
So if I tell you, just keep it and don't say a word
Yeah, when the doors are all closing, it's bound to get loud
'Cause all these bodies are hoping to get addicted to sound..." Calum sings softly the song he'd wrote with Ashton after Nika had come into his life. The song that encompasses some of the pure terror and emotion he feels towards people finding out about Nika...

Nika drifts off somewhere before the end of the song. Calum can't help but move back slightly, studying his beautiful little girls face. She is growing up so quickly, her baby chub almost completely gone. Her face looking more and more like a kid and less like a toddler. It's hard to believe that only three years prior he'd laid here with her in his arms, convinced he would never make it through the first year. That he was in way over his head with wanting to be her parent. It had been a spur of the moment decision and he had not been prepared, but looking back; he wouldn't change anything he did.

"I love you so much, Nika Joy Hood." He mumbles, pressing a kiss to her head again before closing his own eyes. His whole world in his arms. Committing himself mentally to use this forced time at home to spend as much time with her as possible. Before she grows up and doesn't want anything to do with her dad anymore.

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~M =)