Shy // Calum Hood

*•Phone calls•*

Bailey's P.O.V.
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I waited for Calum at our corner as he knew if he knocked for me he'd have to go through my parents.
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He was considerably late, but I waited for him and at the last possible moment I spotted him running towards me.
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"Thanks for waiting, sorry about being such a dick yesterday." He hugged me, his breath rugged and out of puff.
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"It's fine, you were upset about Ashton."
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He smiled warmly before intertwining our fingers, causing my heart to thud ridiculously hard against my chest.
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We held hands and chatted away all the way to our first lessons.
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"See you at break?" He squeezed my hand softly before breaking away.
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"See you at break." I repeated, walking into English.
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~~~
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(After school.)
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"Do you want to come round for tea? Mum's making pasta." He nudged me gently, knowing that was my favourite.
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I sighed irritated that my family had come in the way of what could of been a great evening.
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"I would love to, but I have a ton of homework." I lied.
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I was actually scared of my father, I didn't want to get . . . In trouble, should I say. And he made it very clear that he wanted me to be home tonight, so I could make his dinner as my mother was due to be absent, her duties at work needed her to stay home without breaks.
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"That's fine, another night then?"
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"Yeah. Another night."
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He grinned as we came to our separating roads, leaning down and kissing me gently.
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"Call me if you need help on your maths."
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I thought he was teasing me again but he brought me into him and hugged me tightly.
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"Thanks." I murmured into his jumper.
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~~~
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"Bailey, I'm hungry now." I heard my father yell up the stairs.
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I rolled my eyes and trudged my way to him. His face grimaced once he saw me and he grabbed my wrist tightly, dragging me into the kitchen.
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I spent ages making him his curry, just the way he liked it, before serving him up a steaming bowl, complemented with rice.
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I tried to dart away as soon as he began eating but he reached out and grabbed my T-shirt.
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"Dgffl ahhhhre." He said between mouthfuls which I presumed translated into something like 'don't go anywhere.'
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I watched nervously as he chewed and swallowed a few mouthfuls, patiently awaiting his reaction.
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After around three or four forkfuls, he slammed his cutlery onto the white table cloth, leaving an orangy stain making him even madder.
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"There's not enough spice." He grunted, his voice slow and on edge.
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"I'm sorry, I'll add some more." I attempted to make another get away.
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"You'll do no such thing!" He stood up. I backed away into the wall. "I gave you one simple task." He growled.
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He reached forward and grabbed a fistful of my hair, causing my pulse to race.
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He raised a hand a smacked it right across my left cheek. A sharp sting remained and I grew tired. His grip tightened as his other hand formed a triangle shape with his fingers and drilled into my side, an unbearable pain following as I made a strangled cry.
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"Go up to your room, and if you try and tell your mother to leave me once more, the pain will be brutally worse." He changed his position, wrapping a palm around each of my shoulder blades and slamming me into the wall.
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"Understood?"
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I nodded shakily, in too much pain to argue. He finally released me and I rubbed my shoulders weakly. He spat in my face, making me feel sick to the stomach and utterly worthless.
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I scrambled up the stairs, bounding up as fast as I could manage, and collapsing on my bed in tears. I didn't want to be weak to my father, but I was just as weak as my mother, the realisation of this was only infuriating me further.
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My phone began to sing out as Calum's user ID popped up on the screen, I contemplated ignoring him but I would never give up an opportunity on hearing his voice.
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"Hey, you never called me." He whined.
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"I didn't need any help." I couldn't see the issue.
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"I only said that as an excuse to talk, I would help you if you needed help though of course." He explained into the phone, I tried to laugh but I could hardly hear him, I was so deep in thought about my father.
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"Anyway, sorry if the signal keeps flickering, Ash has been calling me non stop since I got home."
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"He clearly feels bad Cal, maybe let him explain?" I focused again.
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"You don't understand Bailey, he would of known at the time not to do it." He sighed into the receiver.
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"Then help me understand." I begged, desperate to be on board in the boys' big secret.
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I heard him give a long sigh and he didn't say anything for a few moments, I waited patiently, just incase, knowing from personal experience that if I have up on the subject he would never tell me voluntarily.
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"I'm sorry I can't do this, not over the phone." He mumbled softly.
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"It's okay Cal, another time. I'm not going anywhere." I understood, I really did, but I was beyond curious by now.
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"Thank you, anyway, what are you up too?" He asked.
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"Homework I told you earlier." I lied again.
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"Oh yeah, hey listen Ash is literally calling me every two minutes . . . You really think I should hear him out?"
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"Yeah, go!" I urged.
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"Okay, I'll call and tell you how it went after."
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I dove straight under the duvet, hearing my mother arrive as I did so. I was confused. She was never home so early?
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I sighed and rolled out of my warm blankets, letting curiosity get the better of me. I strode into the lounge, my heart skipping a beat as I realised we were joined by guests, yet again.
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Just as I was about to make a sharp exit four unknown faces turned around and looked me up and down, confused as to who I was, and why I was there. My cheeks grew heated as I became panicked, readying myself for any possible conversation.
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"And who is this?" An elderly yet stern looking women watched over me disapprovingly.
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My mothers head snapped around in an instant, becoming aware of my presence for the first time. Her face turning cold and hollow the moment she spotted me.
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"That would be my daughter . . . You can't pick your children right?" She tittered, the others joining in with the polite giggles.
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"She was just leaving, weren't you Bailey?" She glared at me.
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I nodded, turning to leave again. I was desperate to escape from there, desperate to escape their brutal stares.
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"No, no. I'd quite like to meet you, Bonny."
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"Bailey." My mother corrected, she always took great pride in my name, telling everyone it was beyond original and inventive. It was probably the only thing she liked about me.
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"Yes, well. Sit down then." The next women instructed, patting the empty space next to her.
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I eyed the sofa cautiously, wanting nothing more than to speak up for myself and excuse myself from the situation.
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"Bailey." My mother said in a threatening tone. I sat down.
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"So, do you enjoy school?" The youngest one who had noticeably large ears asked.
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I nodded, too nervous to say anything else. Especially under the pressure of possibly saying something else and pushing my mothers current anger further.
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"And was it hard making new friends?" She continued.
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I shook my head, trying as hard as I could to make eye contact, my mother was forever forcing it down my throat that eye contact was the politest part of speaking and I didn't want to come across as rude.
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"She's not much of a speaker is she Anne?" A women on the opposite sofa looked to my mother.
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Her cheeks glowed and I knew I had embarrassed her, I hated the fact that had made me feel bad.
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"No, she's just stupid, I don't know what's wrong with her but she never understands a word of what people say! She only responds with head gestures, totally useless waste of time."
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They all chuckled at me as I sat there dumb founded. How could she say something like that? Make it out as though I was dumb simply because she knew I wouldn't respond.
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"Yes, a stupid mistake. I'll tell you something now ladies, the moment she turns eighteen she's leaving this household, she can learn about the real world!" She stood up and ushered me away into the kitchen, excusing herself as she did so.
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"Do you think this is funny?" She hissed once we were alone.
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"Do I think what is funny?"
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"Too embarrass me in front of my friends? I didn't want any of my colleges to find out about you. You are no daughter of mine."
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"You can't say that to me!" I screeched, furious. What kind of a mother was she?
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"Shut up!" She slapped me hard across the face, worsening the pain from where I had been hit at dinner.
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"You're fat, you're ugly, you're stupid, you're utterly worthless in my opinion. I hate you and I hate your presence. Get out of my sight." She growled, taking a deep breath, straightening out her jacket and going back into the sitting room.
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I hurried up the stairs as felt hot tears prickling my eyes. Why was I stuck with her? Why was I stuck with the parents I'd been given? Why was I so shy? Why was I such an embarrassment?
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I sunk into my bed again, hiding under the covers as I sobbed into my pillow. She made me feel so pathetic, so invaluable.
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My phone vibrated as Calum was trying to call me again. I was curious to know how his conversation with Ashton went down and picked up immediately.
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Calum flowed into the conversation straight away, not even stopping for a hello.
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"He wants to meet up tomorrow after school and talk it through properly, and he promised it was only a one time thing. I want to be his friend, I really do, but this is ridiculous. He knows how much I hate her. He knows and he fricking did it anyway!"
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Calum babbled on about how much he hated Klara for many minutes as I managed to muffle my sobs into the poofy white pillow.
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". . . And he just- Bailey? Are you alright?" He asked mid-sentence.
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"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Carry on." I forced out, my voice sounded scratchy and upset, despite my best efforts.
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"What's wrong?"
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"Nothing, I'm fine. Carry on Cal."
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"Hold on." He instructed, hanging up straight after.
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I broke down in tears again, letting everything that had been piling up from my mother flow out of me whilst I still had the noise of her friends to block out my cries. I didn't want her to discover that her words had such an effect on me. I wouldn't dare give her the pleasure.
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I waited by my phone for him to call again, unsure of what was about to follow. I waited for a good ten minutes and gave up. Ashton had probably rang him or something again, I didn't want to be a pain.
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I heard random taps on the window and rolled out of bed onto the floor, too lazy to stand and walk. I plodded over to the window and peered outside, only to see Calum with a handful of pebbles grinning in my garden.
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I couldn't hold back the smile that he always brought out in me, opening my window straight away, cautious of my parents below.
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"Are you crazy?" I whisper yelled down.
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"Can I come up?" He asked.
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