End Up Here ||michael.clifford||

Twelve

One month later

"Anna banana you're going to absolutely love the newest addition to our household!" I squealed.

Anna and Emily had just gotten back to Sydney and were now coming back to Anna and I's flat. "What do you mean? You did not just take some random person off the street again, did you?" Anna demanded. I laughed. "For the last time, that was my cousin! And no, I learned my lesson the first time." I explained. "Okay... should I be scared?" She asked. I turned around to look at her. "No."

Candice giggled. Meanwhile, Anna and Emily were completely clueless about Lux.

We arrived at our flat, Anna bounded up the stairs ahead of us and waited impatiently for me to unlock the door. "Dude come on! My arms hurt." She whined. "Maybe you shouldn't have packed so much." Emily teased.

"Shut up." Anna mumbled.

I unlocked the door and stepped in. "Stay here. I'll be right back." I said and tottered away.

Let me tell you something. Going from petite to short and fat in a matter of six months is not funny. It's awkward and uncomfortable. And my bladder feels like its going to explode all the time now. Especially because there's a baby due to come out my vajaejae in two months.

I found Lux, sleeping on my bed, just where I left her. I poked her tummy."Lux! It's time to go meet aunt Anna!" I whispered. She opened her eyes, stretched and stood up. She wagged her tail and her whole back end wiggled.

I took a few steps towards the door and clapped my hands. "Come on Lux!" She hopped off the bed and trotted after me.

We walked into the kitchen and she bolted ahead to investigate the new comers. She sniffed their bags and feet before deciding they were non threatening and moving on to nuzzle Candice.

"Oh my god. You got a dog." Anna yelped. "Yep. You're not mad?" I asked. "No! I love dogs!" She squealed. I laughed. "Told you!" I said to Candy. She stuck out her tongue. "She's soo cute! What's her name again? Lux?" Emily asked. I nodded.

They knelt down to pet her. Being the puppy she is, she flopped down on the ground and wiggled around when they pet her.

"She's adorable!" Emily cooed. "I'm glad you got a dog. Now I can leave you alone whenever I feel like it." Anna joked. I rolled my eyes. "I better get going. My dad's meeting me for dinner and then were driving back to Adelaide." Emily announced. "Bye! It was nice seeing you again." I called. She waved and walked out the door.

"I should probably leave to. I'm sure Drew misses me." Candice said. "Okay. Thanks for staying with me." I said and hugged her. She said goodbye to Anna, took her bags and went.

Anna went to her room and unpacked. Afterwards, we watched a movie together. "So how'd it go?" I asked. "It was fantastic! And I took lots of pictures for you." She exclaimed. "Thank you." I whispered. "Hey, what's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing. It's just that I haven't heard from Michael in a while and I'm a little worried." I admitted. "Really? He said he called you every night." Anna said. "He hasn't called me in almost two weeks. I don't think I've even gotten a text in maybe three days." I explained. She put a hand over her mouth. "That's awful. I can't believe he would do that to you." She whispered.

"I really miss him. I want to go out and see him but I can't, obviously." I said and waved to my stomach. "Yeah. Do you want to Skype?" She suggested. "I didn't even know they had Skype." I muttered. She pursed her lips. "Calum told me their shared band account user name. We can try it." She offered.

"Okay. Run and get my laptop, will you?" I asked. She got up and ran off into my room, returning with my Mac clutched to her chest.

"Okie so what's it called?" I asked. "It's just 5SOS."

I typed the log in name and pressed search. It popped up as a private account. I requested to be added to their contacts list and waited. I was accepted immediately.

"Let's do this." I said determinedly.

I pressed call and the screen changed.

Finally, they accepted and Ashton popped up on the screen. "Lily! Anna! Hello there." He squealed. I smiled. What would I do without Ashton? "Hey Ash." I replied. "What's up?" He asked. "I was wondering if Michael was around?" I asked. His face fell.

"No... he's uh... out." He said slowly. He's so lying. "Oh... okay. Could you please tell him to call me or text me or at least acknowledge my existence?" I asked. He frowned. "Sure... has he not been talking to you?" He asked. "No. Completely ignoring me." I muttered. "That dick. Okay um yeah. I actually have to go now. Bye it was nice talking to you." He said quickly before ending the call. The screen went black.

"That was strange." Anna commented. "Yeah. He lied about Michael being around." I pointed out. "How do you know?" She asked. "He hesitated and looked away from the camera." I explained. "Oh."

"I just want to know what's going on." I moaned. Anna rubbed my back quietly. "I know. I promise I'll help you find out." She assured me. I closed my laptop and stalked off to my room, slamming the door.

I raked a hand through my hair.

What if he's found someone else? Someone better, prettier, smarter than me? What if he doesn't want me anymore? What if he abandons me with his baby? What if this was all just a lie?