{completed}
"You killed me but didn't make sure the casket was sealed."
-
Ashton was an evil monster, a demon with an angelic shell that honestly did nothing to cover up his horrible soul. He preyed on the innocent, his victim being that of Calum Ho...
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Calum pushed up off the floor as he listened to the silence, hearing the bustle outside of the barren room as he kept his focus before him. He hadn't fallen asleep yet, not when he had so many things on his mind to think about and go over before he made his finally decision.
He wasn't sure if he was ready to have Luke back in his life, if he could forgive Harry for hiding so much of what he needed to know from him. China had been forgiven merely out of her death and he knew if she was still here, he'd carry resentment for her too. He wasn't even sure if it was resentment what he was feeling, choosing to call it that then hurt because he couldn't be hurt.
When he was able to be hurt, it meant being vulnerable and Calum was done being that way. He was done being helpless and weak about what happened in his life. Calum thought he was done with those feelings but learning that he still never really escaped Ashton and that all the power he thought he had wasn't even his to claim made him feel like he fell ten times harder.
Everyone ran around him and over his head to do what they thought was right and while Calum tried to understand where they were coming from, he couldn't help the way his blood boiled until it could've killed him where he stood. He didn't want their help if it meant stripping away his own power, if it meant acting like he ever did have power in the first place.
It felt worse getting to know that his power was an accidental facade, that having Harry, China, and Luke try to shield him from the truth would feel different than just being weak because of Ashton. He was used to be push down and downgraded by Ashton but, even if it wasn't on purpose, it was something else when it was who he thought were on his side.
They were on his side, Calum had to keep reminding himself that they weren't the enemy and were allies that made dumb mistakes because they thought it would help him. It did help him, he was trying to convince himself of that. He couldn't help but keep having his thoughts of pure hurt and resentment resurface every time he thought too far into it all.
Not hurt. It wasn't hurt-hatred. The thoughts of pure hatred and resentment towards all three of them and he wasn't sure if it was more than how he felt about Ashton yet. Luke had uncovered what had really happened between himself and Ashton months ago when Calum thought he had lost everything only for it to be a lie.
Ashton had been double sided in his words to Calum and Luke, that while he went out to "kill" Luke, he had turned his back and claimed to be going back to kill Calum over the same fantasy of cheating. Luke knew they hadn't done anything together, that the worst thought he had of Calum was taking the time to point out every single perfection on Calum's body and marking them with a kiss.
He knew that Calum never had a thought of impurity about him, that even if the opportunity had presented itself for something to happen that went too far, the opportunity would've come to pass with nothing in the middle. There were more than enough times where he could've went too far and there were more than enough times where Calum could've let him.
