Mess is Mine // Calum Hood

Chapter 20

October 2019

Calum

I woke up with a start to someone lightly shaking my shoulders. I groggily rolled over to see Ashton peering down into my bunk from the small hallway of the bus. 

"We're at the hotel," he spoke quietly, giving me a moment to fully wake up and register his words. I picked up my phone and checked the time. It was almost seven in the morning, and we had just arrived in Chicago after playing a show in Detroit last night. We wouldn't be staying the night here, but we needed somewhere other than the flat, hard tour bus beds to sleep in before the show. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and rolled out of my bunk, placing my feet on the floor and pushing myself up. 

"God, it's early," Michael groaned from his bed as I slung my duffel bag over my shoulder and followed Ashton off of the bus. I was more than eager to get my ass into a real bed. It usually took me a long time to fall asleep - it was hard to get the racing thoughts to calm down long enough for me to slip into unconsciousness. We waited outside for a few minutes for Luke and Michael to leave the bus. Sierra and Crystal had arrived from their separate bus as well. After the whole gang was assembled, our security lead us through one of the side doors of the hotel and into the lobby, where we were greeted by hotel employee who led us to the service elevators that were hidden from the other guests. Our security and management teams always made sure we took every precaution when first arriving to a new city.

After the four of us stepped off the elevators, all of our phones dinged in unison. I didn't bother reaching for my phone; I saw Luke pull his out of his pocket out of the corner of my eye.

"We got some of the Calm demos back," he spoke, his voice still slightly groggy from sleep but also containing a hint of excitement over some of our new songs being sent over from the production team. Considering it was about four in the morning in Los Angeles, the team must've been hard at work trying to put the album together and finish the demos. 

"What songs?" Michael asked before releasing a yawn. 

"Best Years and Wildflower," he responded, running his fingers through his messy hair. Sierra trailed not far behind us, deep in conversation with Crystal. 

"Shall we give them a listen before we go to sleep?" Ashton suggested, looking between me and the other guys. As tired as I was, I was pretty excited to hear the potential finished products of the two songs. I shrugged and nodded along with Luke and Michael. "Let's go to my room." 

We wordlessly trudged down the hall to Ashton's room. Luke handed Sierra the spare key to their room and kissed her on the cheek as he told her to go ahead and go to sleep. Michael did the same, passing the key to Crystal and telling her he'd be there in a little bit. The girls left to find their rooms, dragging their little suitcases behind them. I smiled at the sight of them, and my heart clenched as I looked at Sierra in particular. Seeing Sierra made me think of Cameron, and I'd been thinking about that girl a lot lately. We hadn't really talked since the pool party, and as much as I've wanted to reach out, I wasn't sure if I even should. She probably didn't want to hear from me, the guy who was consistently hot-and-cold. 

In the past when we weren't speaking - usually due to me pushing her away and not wanting to get too close to anyone - I didn't really think twice about her. This time had been vastly different. I thought about her on a daily basis, and my thoughts often drifted to our times together, from the deep late night talks, to the parties we'd been to together, to all of the laughs we'd shared. It was almost like I'd been woken up to how much of an impact she'd had on my life the past two years.