Who do you love?

Epilogue iii

Six months after finale

It was October eighteenth, her birthday. She thought that perhaps turning twenty-five would make her feel something, she had hoped so anyways. Teal had spent the last five and a half months being completely numb. She'd walked through the motions of her life but she had refused to let anyone close. Even Navy, her twin sister, wasn't immune to her disconnect. She had built a wall, tall and wide, too afraid to let anyone close to her again. Her heart was still black and blue from the last time she had done so.

She threw her hair up into a bun and grabbed her backpack and hotel key before making her way down to the lobby to meet the rest of the crew of the show she was in the city to film. Teal had always loved New York and she was ecstatic to spend the next month exploring the expansive cityscape and working with the documentary crew as they chronicled inner city schools in order to bring attention to the lack of equity amongst public schools depending upon their location.

It was important work. Work like she had always wanted to do and she had gotten the job completely on her own. Sure, she had had to submit her application using her middle name but the director had seen the move as bold and a sign that she really wanted to work on the project and it had landed her her first opportunity in months, since everything with Calum.

His name still hurt to even think about.

She had thought that time would heal the wounds but she had been wrong.

The crew's meeting spot for the day was only a few blocks from her hotel so she decided to just walk. She'd just made it out of the building when her phone dinged with a message from Navy who had just left the country again, off to save the world. It was a happy birthday followed by a second message that was just a link to some radio show and she wondered if her sister was being interviewed, wouldn't be the first time, so she popped in her headphones and pressed play after replying with her own happy birthday message.

She stopped walking as the sound of Calum's voice filled her ears. She hadn't heard it in months. She'd spent the first few weeks after she left him practically stalking him in a desperate attempt to hold on to something that she had been the one to let go of.

Why would Navy do this to her?

The interview was live, or had been, the link seemed to have started the recording from the beginning of the boys segment after an intro that included Calum's voice.

" A big welcome to the boys of 5SOS. We've got Luke, Calum, Michael, and Ashton in the studio today."

"Thanks for having us." Micheal says.

"No problem. So you guys are in the city for the show you played last night. Absolute brilliant performance. We were there and loved every minute. Where are you off to now?"

"Thanks for coming to the show, first off." Luke said. "We've got this interview this morning, then we're off for the day and gonna hang around enjoy the sights with our significant others and then tomorrow head out to Nashville for our show in a few days.

"You mentioned significant others. You're all taken?"

Silence.

Teal waited, her breath held and her pulse rising. Was Calum already with someone else? Could she even be upset if he was?

People brushed by her as she stood frozen to the spot on the sidewalk unable to move until finally she heard his voice speak.

"No. No, we're not all seeing someone."

"Calum, you recently participated in a dating reality show. The show's finale caused quite a bit of stir when you abandoned the girls and instead chose a member of the shows crew. People want to know if you're still involved with Teal Davis at all.