REMIND ME // Calum Hood

Twenty one // awake

I'm awake.
Fully awake and very aware of my surroundings - although pretending otherwise.
With my head resting on Calum's chest and my arm draped around his torso, I keep my eyes closed while all my other senses come to life. Light snores can be heard from the sleeping boy next to me, his tummy rising and falling peacefully as he keeps me glued to his side. Strong arms keeping my captive, with no intent to loosen its hold anytime soon. The warmth of Calum's skin is something that has always drawn me to him - no matter the weather, he keeps me warm.
"Look how cute they are" Ashton praises, giggling softly and forcing Mali to shush him, not wanting to wake us up
Little did they know, that's exactly why I was awake, seeing as their quiet whispers aren't so quiet. Being two of the loudest people I've ever met, Mali and Ashton aren't as subtle as they'd like to think, and even their hushed voices could be heard from meters away.
"I don't want to wake them up" The boy reasons "And I bet Cal wouldn't want it either"
It surprises me that they haven't woken Calum up seeing as he isn't the heaviest of sleepers, and seeing as Ashton kicked a chair on his way down and let out an audible squeal.
"But my parents are waiting to have breakfast with us" Mali argues, and the sole mention of her parents is enough to make me freeze in my place, although I wished to stand up and run away "They just got here yesterday, they want to spend time with him"
The main reason why I was pretending to be asleep is to listen to their conversation - but that was while they were paying us compliments, saying how Calum was happy to have ran into me and how good we were to each other. Now, that they were talking about the parents, I feel guilty to be eavesdropping.
"Invite them over for breakfast" Ash suggests, making my heart pound against my fragile chest "We can eat here"
But much to my relief - and eternal appreciation - Mali is quick to deny his offer.
"Yeah, right" She scoffs "Because that's how Cal wanted Gia to meet our folks. You know how worked up he got when we mentioned it"
"He's thinking too much into it" Ashton disdains "Just let it happen... Pretend he didn't know and make Gia accidentally bump into them. Done, problem solved!"
"I wonder what happened between them" Mali comments, making my insides tighten "Everything was so perfect, and then it became a tragedy. It was obviously ugly but, Cal is so in love with her and Gia is so sweet... I just can't imagine them doing anything to hurt each other, you know?"
"That's a long conversation for such early hours"
I'm beyond thankful when Ashton dismisses the topic, but still highly intrigued by the fact that Calum hasn't told his sister the entire story. Being his best friend, I simply assumed Mali was onto the whole thing, but apparently Calum was never brave enough to admit his mistakes to the women in his life - and that hadn't changed still.
"Wait! You know it?" Mali inquires, her tone both surprised and pissed "He told you and not me? I'm his sister!"
"I'm his brother" Ashton brags, making fun of the girl, that lets out an annoyed huff "Relaaax, he didn't tell me"
"How do you know then?" I can perfectly picture Calum's sister with both hands on her hips and head tilted to the side
"I was there"

Ouch.

The thought of Calum cheating me out in the open, disrespecting me in front of all his friends and publicly disregarding our relationship makes my skin hot - in the worst possible way. While I was sitting at his house, missing him and wishing that freaking tour would come to its end; he was out partying every night, having sex with famous models only to brag about it to his friends, thinking he is some hot shot celebrity.

What was I thinking?

Calum's grip around my body suddenly feels too tight, sinking into me with the weight of the new found information. His touch burns me, every inch of skin that is in contact with him begs that I move away, but I'm trapped. Confined in his embrace when all I want is to storm out the door and leave. I don't want to be here anymore, at the same time that I can't move. I can't give any sign or indication that I was listening to their conversation, so I keep my eyes closed while my insides boil with disgust, hatred and regret.