Calum and Darby have history.
A lot of it, in the form of their one year old Ava Kai.
When life pushes them back together they work to identify what really went wrong between them.
They love each other. But do they love each other in the same way.
...
My fingers hover over the keyboard of my phones as I contemplate how to put into words all the hurt I'd caused Darby.
I have to do this, for myself, to free myself from all the guilt I'd felt about my actions, and for our relationship, the clean slate necessary if we ever hoped to really move forward.
I'd heard Darby, up until the wee hours of the morning, talking with all my friends girlfriends. I know she says the stuff online doesn't bother her, hell, she might even really believe that but I know her and I know that's not completely true.
She laughs it off with the other girls to cope but I'd watched her retreat inside herself in the past because of the judgement of others who didn't even know her.
"What are you doing?" Darby asks, pulling me from my thoughts and frantic typing as she joins me in the living room, Ava on her hip. She sits next to me on the couch, letting Ava down to crawl over to my lap. Aves falls forward clumsily as she tries to kiss me and I chuckle, easily catching her and pecking her quickly before letting her down to wander to the corner of the room where all her toys reside.
"I'm typing up what I'm gonna say about everything. You wanna hear what I've got so far?"
She pulls her lower lip back with her teeth and thinks for a moment before shaking her head.
"I think I would just rather see it once you post. This is something you wanted to do and I think you need to do it your way to be able to get whatever it is you are wanting from it, I don't want to make you second guess whatever you're trying to get out."
"Yeah, but Darbs, this affects more than just me."
She's quiet but leans her head to rest against my shoulder, her own shoulders falling with the exhale of a heavy breath.
"No matter what we do there are always going to be people who find something wrong us, it's just how the world works. Get what you need to off your chest and we'll sort out the rest as it comes. Okay?" She looks up at me, her pretty blue eyes slightly hidden by her long eyelashes. She's gorgeous and as I take her in I wonder for a moment how I was ever capable of doing the things I did to her.
I lean towards her and kiss her forehead, the feeling of her body so near to mine giving me the courage to type up the rest of what I need to say.
I check it over for errors and screenshot the note where I've written it, posting to my social media and closing out the app.
"Want me to read it to you?" I ask her, she lowers herself so her head rest in my lap and nods.
I run my fingers through her brown hair and reopen the lengthy post I had typed out.
"Okay, here goes." I tell her as she settles in, her eyes trained on me.
"Over the past few weeks I've seen a rise in the talk about my relationship with the mother of my child. In the past, I have refused to talk about my private life, and while I still believe that some parts of my life are meant to remain my own, it has reached a point where my silence is causing harm to people I love, and I don't want to repeat my past mistakes. Having said that, Darby and I had a genuine relationship nearly two year ago. We were together for over a year and I was the one who refused to be forthcoming about it. We broke up because of MY actions. Darby put up with far more than she was required to. I was dishonest, unfaithful, unsupportive and generally a bad person. I know that for many of you, that may distort the picture of me you have painted but it is the honest truth. I am only human and I most certainly am not perfect. I can no longer allow her name to be dragged through the mud because of speculations over the end of our romantic relationship when our daughter was born. Let me make one thing clear: I was the one at fault. When it became apparent that quarantine was going to be mandated, I invited Darby to stay with me in an effort to best serve the child we share. Being in quarantine has offered us a lot of time to reflect and being in such close quarters, along with our daughter's accident, has forced us to resolve many of our issues. This is me openly saying I am in a relationship. I am happy and hopeful that you will think before you continue to spread false narratives that attack my girlfriend's character. She is the kindest and most loyal soul I have ever known. Be safe. With love, Cal."
I return the phone to it's spot in my pocket, shifting my eyes until they meet Darby's blue ones.
"So?" I say nervously, my heart hammering in my chest as I wait for her to respond to that.
"That was um, that was a lot." She says sitting up and turning to face me, our knees brushing.
"Fuck, I messed up didn't I?" I ask, groaning as I lean forward, my hands brushing through my blonde curls and tugging at the roots in frustration.
"No, no. This is an awful lot of information to give them for fodder but the premise is sweet."
"You think I said too much?"
"I don't think there was like a wrong thing to say, babe. This is just a little unusual for you. Your fans know that you typically keep things like this private I just hope they doesn't try to spin this into something I know you didn't mean for it to be."
"You think they will?"
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there, okay?"
"Dada." Ava calls from the corner, drawing my attention from my conversation with Darby.
She hold up her plastic drumstick for me to see and hits it against the baby drum Ash had given her for her birthday.
I stand and walk over to her, joining her on the floor and placing my hands over hers as I help her play the small set. She giggles and I press a kiss to her cheek, scooping her up and blowing raspberries against her stomach as she squeals in delight.
I catch Darby watching us. "What?"
She offers a tight lipped smile. "I'm really proud of you, you know? Even before you were trying to fix things with me, you were a really good dad once you decided to be and she adores you."
"Yeah, well, she still likes you better. I pick out an outfit for her and it's a fit, I tell her mum picked it out and she's all smiles. Little diva." I reply, covering Aves' cheek in kisses.
"No, dada."
I lifts my eyebrows and turn to Darby, offering a blank look as if to say "see."
"Whatever comes of all of this..." She starts, drawing my attention up to her eyes. "I hope that this part stays the same."
"What do you mean?"
"I just mean, if the fans try to come between us, or if we get down the road a bit and things don't work out, I just want us to both be able to be there for Ava. It's all I've ever wanted."
"Well," I say sitting up and pushing myself off the floor, Ava toddling behind me as I move over to the couch and throw my arm behind Darby. "I have no plans to mess this up, but whatever comes I promise I will always do what is best for Aves."
I lean over a kiss her, my lips catching the corner of her mouth as it breaks into a soft smile.
"It's all gonna be alright, Darbs. You'll see. We're meant to be together, it's destiny."
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Liked by ashtonirwin, sierradeaton, and 129,932 others calumhood starting over 🖤
AN: What do we think of Calum's little braindump that he gave the whole internet?
Was it wise?
How do you think fans will react to everything? It's finally time to see them weigh in a bit I think.
What are your predictions for the story I think we have between 5-10 chapter left I'm not sure yet but I would love to see what you think will happen!
