Dear No One (Wattys2017) (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

Dear No One, Is This The Truth About Forever?

Luck wasn't on my side for the rest of the night.

After unpacking our stuff in the tent, I realized just how close I was going to have to be to Callum all night. That thought quickly dissipated when I walked out to ring of chairs around the fire and found that there wasn't an empty one.

It left me with one of two things to do; turn around and go make a nest for myself in the tent, or sit on the muddy ground. I chose the former.

"Here you are, sweetie." Mr. Baxter set a plate of mystery meat in my hands, offering me a warm, welcoming smile. I tried my best to return it before whirling around and making my way down the hill to the rocky shore of the lake. Sitting on a mossy rock, I set my plate on my lap and stared out over the lapping water.

Despite my luck being flushed down the drain and not being able to eat in a chair, I felt peaceful. The sound of the low tides washing ashore and animals around me made me feel as if I had become one with nature.

"What are you doing down here all alone?" I started to stand up at the sound of the voice, my gut clenching.

"There wasn't anywhere for me to sit." I answered Eric directly, not in the mood to drag the conversation out. The corners of his mouth tugged downward into a frown.

"You could have sat on my lap," I gagged, "Or Callum's. Hell, I'm sure my brother would have gotten up if he knew you wanted to sit down."

"I'm fine out here. Alone." I snapped, sitting back down.

"We're having fun up-"

"Then go back and have fun, Eric." I set my plate down beside me and crossed my arms over my knees. "I'm fine."

He sighed, but to my relief, rose to his feet, "Know that you can come join us any time you want."

I watched him walk off through my lashes, shaking my head to myself once he was gone.

The last thing I wanted to do was sit within a hundred feet of Stephanie and the disgusting, pathetic excuse for a man she was with. There had never been a choice given to her, I wouldn't have ever made me choose between a guy or me.

She had made the decision to exclude me from her life entirely on her own.

"Hey." Callum stood a few feet away, hands tucked deep in his jacket pockets as he stared down at me. I moved over on my rock and stared silently as he fell into the vacant spot beside me, eyes falling on the sunset behind the mountains.

Neither of us said anything, but sat there side by side, shoulder to shoulder, watching the sun finally set behind the mountains.

*

"You aren't even a little scared you'll get hypothermia?" I questioned, my eyes following Callum as he dove under water. Once he broke back through the surface, he shrugged and fell back so he was floating.

"Hypothermia is the least of my worries, Kasey." he eventually answered, eyes trained on one of the thousands of stars splattered across the midnight blue sky above us.

"It can kill you." I pointed out.

"I'm not afraid of death." he said quietly, "I welcome it."

"Callum-" he stopped me before I could even begin.

"No lectures, Kasey." he sighed, throwing a look back at me, "Why don't you join me in here? It's not as cold once you're in."

"I really don't think. . ." I trailed off when I saw a glint of sympathy flash through his eyes. I pulled my shirt over my head and kicked my pants off without allowing myself to think it through. I stepped into the water and gasped, wrapping my arms tightly around myself to stop the goosebumps breaking out on them.

"Just throw yourself in." Callum suggested, standing up again. Even with most of his body submerged, he still towered over me.

"I'm good." I laughed nervously, rubbing my arms. He shook his head and swam over to me.

"Have you ever ripped off a band-aid? If you do it quickly, it doesn't hurt as much." He gestured around us, "If you go under and come back up, it won't be as intimidating."

I took a deep breath and ducked my head under water, gasping when I resurfaced. "Jesus, it's freezing!"

"You're just too warm blooded." Callum responded. I laughed a little, my shock starting to drift as my body adjusted to the temperature of the water.

"Or you're cold blooded." I retorted, splashing water at him. He blinked in surprise, then splashed an even bigger amount of water in my eyes.

"You idiot! I'm wearing contacts!" I gasped, splashing repeatedly in his face as I fell into an obnoxious fit of giggles.

I saw a hint of a smile on his face as he threw his arm out and wrapped it around my waist, pulling me so close that my cheek was inches from his slippery chest.

My hands had a mind of their own. They had inched up his chest and started brushing along the white welts along his shoulder blades. One of them looking fresh, as if it had been done recently.

"I'm not good with human contact." he breathed out, body incredibly stiff under my fingers.

"You seem to be doing okay to me." my voice was shaky. I slowly tilted my head back to look at him, but his lips fell against mine before I could get another word out. One hand stayed against my damp cheek, finger tips brushing against it; the other was hovering over my waist, one of his fingers barely touching it.

He seemed shocked when I didn't pull away and deepened the kiss a moment later, his hand burying itself in my wet brown locks. I pressed my hands against his chest, eyes shut tightly.

It wasn't until his hand moved down a fraction on my waist that I jumped back with a cry, swatting his hands away, "Stop!"

I saw a mixture of hurt and worry in his eyes as he held his hands up in surrender, "Okay, okay. I'm sorry."

I climbed back on shore and gathered my clothes before collapsing in the mud, the tears stinging my eyes starting to escape. I could see flashes of the night fading in and out, hear myself begging somewhere in the back of my mind.

"Kasey?" Callum's blurry figure fell to his knees in front of me, "I'm sorry. I didn't. . . I didn't mean to trigger anything."

I buried my fingers deep in the mud instead of facing Callum, every ounce of energy I had draining from the tips of them and into the mess beneath me.

"Kasey, I'm sorry." Callum's eyes glistened as his hand hovered over my knee.

"It's. . . it isn't you." I started to push myself from the mud, "It's not you, Callum."

Before he could say anything, I threw myself into his arms and buried my face against his wet shoulder, my dirty nails digging into his back. After what seemed like hours of hesitation, he wrapped his own arms around me and clutched me against his chest as if he were afraid of what would happen when he let go. 

****AN****

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~ChasingMadness24