Shy // Calum Hood

*•Problems•*

Calum's P.O.V.
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I'd gone from feeling the worst I'd ever felt, to the best I'd ever felt, all in one single hour.
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Bailey liked me back, and she didn't like Eden at all. I couldn't wait to tell my friends who had been pestering me about telling her for months now, I know they will tease us but I don't care because Bailey feels the same way as I do, and she has done all this time.
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It must of been about three in the morning by now, but I'd never felt more awake. My mind kept replaying the kiss we just shared over and over in my mind. I wasn't normally a sappy guy but Bailey makes me so cheesy, I don't know how to explain it.
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"Wait . . ." I suddenly came back into reality, remembering everything once more. "What about Eden?"
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Bailey remained silent, a pained expression came over her delicate features.
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"Should we just stand up to him?" I asked, recalling back to when I went over to his house a few weeks ago.
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She shook her head immediately, Eden obviously had control of her every move.
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"He'll hurt us . . ." She mumbled.
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"He'll hurt me, but I can take him. I've done it before." I shrugged attempting to sound tough in front of her.
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She shook her head as though I wasn't understanding and suddenly everything became clear, the baggy jumpers, the extra makeup, it all made sense now.
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"He's been hurting you?" I croaked out, a mixture of anger and sadness building up inside of me.
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She didn't move, she just kept her head down and watched the gravelled floor beneath us.
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"Since when?" I questioned, using my thumb to lift her chin up so she would face me.
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"Since the day after I met him." Her eyes became glassy and I could tell she didn't want to be sharing this with me.
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My fists clenched and I had do force them into my pockets so she wouldn't see.
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"Has he forced you into anything else?" I tried to sound calm but my tone was desperate for the information.
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She nodded and a knot formed in my stomach as I waited for her to elaborate.
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"He tried to . . . He tried to . . ."
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She was trying so hard to tell me although I could already suss out what she was going to say, I just didn't want it to be true.
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"I mean, he didn't but he, took off most of my clothes and tried to . . . you know." She went back to not looking me in the eye and couldn't even say the word rape to me.
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I was literally shaking with anger now. Eden had done this on purpose, this was not a thoughtless encounter, this was cold, hard revenge. This was all my fault.
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He had touched her, hurt her. Her.
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"I wish you'd of told me." I muttered half to myself.
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"I didn't want you to get hurt."
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Tears were trickling down her cheeks all over again, and this time it was me that couldn't face her.
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"I'd rather it was me than you." I muttered, barley above a whisper.
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I wanted to hurt Eden so bad, all the years I had spent missing his friendship and my desperation for him to understand the rumours weren't true, none of it mattered anymore. I could see everything so clearly now, he was never a friend to me, I was only his way of getting anything he desired because I would do whatever he asked.
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"I don't know what to do Calum." She whispered, her voice scratchy and afraid.
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I looked up and all my anger seeped out of me. Her hands were covering her eyes as the tears were spilling out consistently, she was clearly terrified of Eden, him and all he had done.
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I got up from my sitting position, crouching down opposite her. I gently pulled her hands away from her wet face and pulled her up with me.
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As soon as we were both standing I wrapped my arms tightly all the way around her.
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"Everything's going to work out fine Bailey. Trust me. You're going to be just fine." I muttered into her ear before resting my head in the crook of her neck.
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I hugged her until she calmed down and then let my hands fall to find hers, intertwining our fingers and looking into her wonderfully blue eyes.
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Leaning forward, I kissed her slowly, enjoying the fact I could do that now. Enjoying the fact that she felt the same.
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"I'm gonna walk you back home and you're going to have a nice long sleep, and we will sort out everything on Monday, I promise." I told her, beginning to lead her over to the park exit.
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"I don't want to go back home." She whined, pulling slightly on my arm.
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"Why? Aren't you tired?"
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I knew she didn't not sleep because she wasn't tired, she didn't sleep because she couldn't, and after a while she would be out for the count until the late morning.
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"They told me they wished they never had me again." She mumbled in a daze.
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I also knew that after a while of being awoken in these early hours, she would become baffled and dreamy, almost like she was sleepwalking and talking, she wasn't completely in control.
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Some nights I felt guilty listening to her confessions as I knew she'd never admit half the things when she was fully conscious that she did in these phases.
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"They don't mean it Bailey . . ." I squeezed her hand in attempt to convince her, though I knew what I was saying wasn't true.
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It pained me to admit it, but Bailey's parents generally didn't seem to care if she was around or not, and some of the awful things they'd said about her made me wander why they ever had a child if they weren't prepared to love her, seemingly, at all.
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"She told me never to come back again." She whispered.
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I stopped walking and turned to face her, her eyes were half closed and she appeared drunk and out of it completely.
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I crept closer before crouching down slightly before her, holding my arms sturdily in place.
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"Jump on." I instructed.
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"What if I'm to heavy, they tell me I'm too fat, they say I should eat less."
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I clenched my jaw at the thought of those miserable people telling her she wasn't good enough, but made sure to keep my palms flat and ready to hold her.
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"You're just right Bailey, please just jump on my back." I begged, beginning to become slightly exhausted myself.
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She jumped up gently and I caught her all in one swift motion, noticing for the first time that night that she had no shoes on.
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"You should really wear shoes out here you know, there's glass bottles and all sorts." I informed her, but when she didn't reply I realised it was to late because she'd already fallen asleep.