Taken // Calum Hood

Apologies

When break finally rolled around, I raced to find Calum. I had to see him, apologise for not being there when he needed me most. In all of my eagerness, I slammed smack into another body. My eyes trailed up, and I breathed a sight of relief as I realised who it was. The relief rapidly turned into despair. Luke glared down at me, completely and utterly unamused.
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My stomach knotted as I quickly began to dread his upcoming words. The normal sparkle that would shine brightly against his blue eyes had fizzled out, they had turned utterly emotionless. "What the hell were you playing at last night, Hayley?" He hissed.
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"I . . . Zach just . . ." I mumbled, fazing out, my sentence which suddenly made it even clearer how much I had let everyone down. Luke rolled his eyes, even more frustrated that I didn't have a real excuse.
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I gulped, wishing I could just go back in time and change it. Wishing I could just of been there to help.
"You know what he's like when he's upset. You know we can't ignore him when he's like that, Hayley. You know it makes him so much fucking worse!" He exclaimed, his voice raised making a few heads turn briefly in our direction.
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He was right. I did know. I knew better than anyone how upset he got sometimes.
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I couldn't look him in the eyes.
"I'm sorry." I muttered, feeling more and more ashamed. "I never meant to upset anyone. I didn't know they had gotten that bad." Luke's face softened slightly and I knew he understood, even if it was only slightly.
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He took a long rugged breath, running a large hand through his hair.
"It's not me you need to apologise too, he got pretty messed up last night."
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I winced hoping that he was alright. The bell rattled throughout my body and I was almost thankful that I now had more time to plan out my apology.
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~~~
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I sat down cautiously at the table. I sat opposite him. He refused to look at me.
I decided to blurt everything I had to say out straight away, I couldn't see the point in holding back. He needed to know I felt bad.
"Look, Calum . . . I'm so sorry. I should have been there, I sho-"
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"Don't bother." He grumbled. My stomach twisted. "Just go and ditch me for your stupid boyfriend again." He looked up, his eyes venomous. His voice threatening.
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I sunk down a little in my seat. I wasn't sure what to do, and a lump was already forming in my throat.
"He isn't my boyfriend." Was all I mumbled back. It was so stupid. I knew it was stupid the minute I said it.
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He clenched his fists.
"I needed you Hayley." He raised his voice a little. "And all you could do was ditch me for some other guy." He spat. I felt defensive all of a sudden. I found the pain and the guilt turning into anger quite rapidly.
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We were still staring at each other. My hazel eyes flickered, I was sure of it. "Okay listen. You and Megan get in a fight every single week. And I'm there for you every single week." I began to raise my voice. "You have got no right to be mad at me for ditching you. You ditch me every single day for her. You ignore me all the time, you leave me for her, you take her side over mine even though you know I'm right. I do it one time and you don't show up to walk? You get this mad?" I hissed. I was steaming with anger, but there were tears in my eyes.
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He seemed speechless for a moment and then angrier than ever.
"That is not true." He said sternly, his jaw tensing.
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"Isn't it?" I snapped. We stared at each other a little longer. Everything else had faded away. He seemed apologetic. Good I thought. I wanted him to feel bad. I wanted him to feel worse. "I-"
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"Hayley." Luke cut me off, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Be careful." He leant in closer, whispering in my ear. "You know where this is going."
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He was right. I did know. It would end in me telling him. I exhaled slowly. "Whatever, see you after school. If you decide your actually going to walk with me that is." I glared at the sulking boy. Did he really not understand what I was saying? Could he really not see how much he's changed?
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I shoved my belongings into my bag, storming away to find Zach. Screw him.
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