Wrong Number / Calum Hood

104

Ellie's PoV

I felt more nervous than I ever had before as I stared out of the window beside the front door waiting for a taxi to show up. There was something unnerving about Kai and Calum meeting already and seeing as Kai had been in prison for the last four years, I wasn't really sure on how much he had changed. He was always overprotective, but not overbearing and I was hoping it was the same.

"Els, come and sit down. Staring at the road isn't going to make him turn up any quicker." Calum called from the kitchen where he was putting together a snack board for Kai's arrival. I let out a sigh as I turned my back on the window for the first time. I made my way into the kitchen and stood beside Calum, my head resting on his arm as he chopped some tomatoes. Stopping mid-chop, he lowered the knife and turned to me, pulling me into a much needed hug as he kissed the top of my head.

"I can't believe he actually came out here." I said into his chest. "And I can't believe you let him come here." I pulled away slightly to look up at Calum, taking in his dark eyes as they locked with mine. His hug tightened slightly before he let go, getting back to chopping.

"Hey, he's your brother. I'm not getting rid of family. He made the effort to come all the way out here." He responded softly, a smile tugging on my lips. It felt so nice to have someone who wanted to get to know me and my life, to allow my brother to come here even with his record and still be a good host and make a good impression. He was such an amazing guy and I felt lucky to have found him.

"Thank you." I said as there was a knock on the door. I rushed over, panicking that suddenly the room wasn't clean enough or I didn't look good enough, but flung the door open before I talked myself out of it. I'd seen Kai only once before and that was whilst he was still in prison, we were both sitting down and he wore baggy prison clothes, so when I greeted my brother this time, it was like looking at a different person. Stood in front of me was the six foot male, muscular and pruned, yet emanating that bad boy persona. He wore black skinny jeans, a green polo shirt and a leather jacket with black boots. He eyed up the room behind me with a critical gaze, before checking over me and making sure I was okay.

"Hey." I managed to say, nerves taking over my ability to form small talk. Kai smiled, knowing his persona would be enough to make or break Calum if it made me speechless, and without a second thought he headed into the room.

"So where's the lucky guy?" Kai said, his booming voice travelling the length of the flat. Calum was quick to poke his head out of the kitchen and offered Kai a smile. He headed into the front room with the food and placed it neatly on the table before he offered my brother a handshake.

"Hi Kai, I'm Calum. It's good to meet you." Calum tried to be nice. Kai took his hand gruffly and shook it hard.

"Is it?" Kai narrowed his eyes at Calum, who tried not to falter. "I hope you're treating her nice, man."

"Kai, shut up!" I said, swatting his arm as the two of them backed away from each other and into the closest chair. "Be nice." I hissed.

"Of course. She's a strong person, she definitely has helped me over the time we've known each other." Calum was singing my praises and making himself look good. Kai nodded, almost impressed.

"But why the quick reaction to move in with each other?" Kai was back quizzing him. He leant forwards, elbows being propped up on his knees, as he waited for Calum's answer. He'd already quizzed me the same way, making sure I wasn't falling for a fraudster or making any hasty decisions that would bite me in the ass.

"Well, I mean, we'd been speaking a lot and FaceTiming and we'd met in person a few times and we loved it but we just wanted to see each other more. It was my idea but of course I asked Ellie and gave her time to think about it. I think she thought no one was there to look out for her so she was quick to say yes but I'll support her no matter what. If she decides she wants to go back then that's fine too. We're just trialling to see how our relationship goes like this." Once again, Kai's eyes narrowed at Calum as he took in every word of what he said and processed it. He was used to doing this in prison for people who would be making underlying threats or gossiping, he'd evaluate what you said down to the letter.

"Alright. Sounds good to me." Kai responded. "I'm glad she's found someone so open to seeing what is best for both of you. You either mean it or you're a really fucking good actor." Calum straightened in his chair at the accusation.

"Kai please!" I rolled my eyes but he chose to ignore both my outburst and gesture.

"She's my baby sister, if you mess with her you'll regret everything." Kai barked. "If you break her heart, I'll break your-"

"Kai!!" I shouted, interrupting his threatening speech. I sighed and put my head in my hands. "I'm so sorry Cal. He's not always been this..." Calum shook his head.

"It's fine. I get it, I've got a sister too albeit that she's older. I'd still get mad if someone hurt her." Calum was once again sounding perfect, his soft smile and his clasped hands just showing how gentle he really was. I could see Kai relaxing with every correct answer to this interrogation.

"Alright, Cal, let's hear more about your life..."