Her Persistence - Completed

Chapter 25

Ashton's PoV

It didn't take long for the story to make front page. They couldn't say who it was, nor what the motive was, but the stories of how Poppy had been involved in a hit and run were plastered over every newspaper and gossip magazine we had come across. It was awful. We couldn't go anywhere without paps hounding us for information, wanting us to slip up and say something incriminating. Calum kept his head down and his mouth shut, just like management had instructed us. We'd been told we couldn't go and see Poppy without prior arrangements being made between our security and the hospital, that we had to continue the tour despite this setback and that we had to say literally nothing to give the paps ammunition. We'd stuck to it so far but it was hard, especially on Calum who had become reserved and quiet pretty much constantly.

"It'll be okay Cal." Mike had tried to soothe him as we headed into the arena for the first soundcheck without her. Calum looked like he was going to break.

"Will it?" He snapped, quickly averting his eyes back to the floor as he stomped away from the group. The rest of us stopped still for a moment, not knowing quite how to proceed. I sighed heavily.

"I'll go and talk to him. You guys go and get some lunch." I said as I waved, leaving Luke and Michael to enjoy their time whilst I tried to sort Calum out. Something in my gut told me that there were other factors making him act like this, but I would never know unless I asked, trying to work out the issue and solve it.
In the dressing room, Calum sat alone with his head in his hands looking distressed, like his world was crumbling around him and no one seemed to notice, care or want to help. "Calum?" I spoke carefully, waiting to see how he reacted. Slowly, he lifted his gaze to meet mine for a second before he looked back at the floor with a sigh. Walking further in the room nervously, I shut the door behind me and sat beside him, resting my clammy hands on my trousers. Why was I so nervous? Was I scared of what he may tell me?

"Hey Ash." He said sombrely.

"What's going on with you, man?" I was quick to ask, saving the awkward small talk. I could see he was hurting and he was acting out because of it. We just needed to help him.

"I just miss her." Calum sighed, the pain obvious in his voice. His eyes were glassy, like he hadn't eaten, slept, functioned properly since it had happened. "Normally we'd be having a laugh now or just spending time before the show." He stood suddenly, fury taking over him and making me jump back in fear. "And management are saying I can't fucking see her? What's that about? We're due to get married soon and I can't even take one day out to sort everything out? They're taking the piss."

"And what Luke said, about Naomi being behind it...?" I asked carefully. Calum's glare was on me in a second.

"Don't fucking mention her." Calum snapped.

"Cal, we need to talk about this. Your ex girlfriend who has been manipulating you since the day you met might have just run your fiancée over!" I didn't mean for the words to come out as harsh as they had but it was too late. Calum stormed over to me, grabbing my shirt in his fists as he pushed me against the wall.

"I said: Don't. Talk. About. Her." His eyes bore into mine with hatred. I was finally hitting a raw nerve. He was upset about something to do with Naomi. I had to scratch the surface and see where this led, as much as it'd pain both of us.

"Why? What are you hiding?" I snapped back, shoving Calum away from me. I always knew he'd say things he didn't think about more when he was angry. If I wound him up enough, he would spill what he was keeping a secret.

"Nothing." He was defensive, stepping away from me as he glared at me with irritation.

"Yeah, that was believable." I scoffed, annoying him more. I was so close to uncovering this, I could tell.

"Fuck off Ashton." He retaliated, turning his back to me.

"So why can't we talk about Naomi? Scared you'll say something you're trying to hide?" I hissed, knowing he'd say the wrong thing. I waited with baited breath for his answer.

"Yes!" He shouted out, suddenly hesitating when he realised what he was said. He spun round, his eyes wide with fear as the secret had come out. "I mean, no." I raised my eyebrows expectantly, waiting for him to explain himself. Folding my arms across my chest, I tapped my foot impatiently. "Shit." Calum breathed out, collapsing on the sofa. "Naomi came to my room after it happened..." Oh no. Please tell me this wasn't going where I thought it was going...

"And?"

"I was so mad, so upset. I could barely think straight. Before I knew what was happening, she was kissing me." Calum breathed out as of what he was saying pained him. "I was kissing her back." He closed his eyes for a second, regret filling his face.

"Please tell me you didn't." All that I could think about was whether he'd just screwed his life up with one massive stupid decision. If he'd been intimate with her, that would be the end of him and Poppy. He'd go back with Naomi and the band would break. It was the worst case scenario.

"Oh no, God no." Calum said, shocked that I even thought it. I let out a huge sigh of relief. "We kissed, but then something seemed to click in my mind and I stopped. I told her to get out. I told her no matter what happened, I wanted Poppy. And if I couldn't have Poppy, I still didn't want Naomi."

"Ouch." I exclaimed, knowing Naomi wouldn't have taken that information well.

"Yeah, she told me I was about to regret it all. She said she was going to ruin me." And with that his eyes fell back to the floor. I put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. However, my gut told me this was going to get worse before it got better. If Naomi was willing to run Poppy over, what would she be willing to do to ruin Calum?