Sweet Neighbor; cth

42//I Love Her.

((A/N- wE SHIP CASHTON IN THIS CHAPTER and the song for this chapter is My Kind Of Love by Emeli Sandé))

-Calum

I'm currently at Michael's house and talking to Ashton. I don't believe my ears when he tells me, "Jackson hurt her again.".

Then again, it's Jackass. Why wouldn't he?

"He did what?!"I snap.

"Hush! She's asleep! Mikey and I just got her to stop crying 10 minutes ago!"Ashton whispers. He gestures a small head nod to Hayley, laying on Michael's bed, wearing just my hoodie and her under garments. Tears stains are still covering her flushed cheeks.

She looks so innocent and perfect, it angers me that someone would even touch her- even more that they would hurt her like that.

"Where are the bruises?"I ask quietly. He sucks in sharp air and kneels down beside her before slowly sliding the hoodie up, just enough to see her underwear and the bruises. She stirs but stays asleep.

I look at the marks with worry, anger and frustration. They're red and purple, and the nail marks he left looks like they were once bleeding but aren't anymore.

This wouldn't happen if she was mine.

"Oh God, Hayley."I whisper lowly and run a soft hand over her head. Ashton sets the hoodie back and stands back up.

"She told me not to say anything but I couldn't just keep it to myself. She said Jackson got angry about you two and went psycho. She's been crying since one this afternoon."he informs me. "5 hours?"I whisper. He nods.

I look down at her again, she's stirring around with a pained expression.

"I love her so much, Ashton. She means the world to me and the fact that he put his hands on her like that-"

"Do not fight him, again, Calum. You know how upset she would be."he warns me. I roll my eyes and nod. "Right, but they aren't even together anymore so-"

"No, they're still together."he says flatly and crosses his arms. My eyes widen at his sentence-

"Why is she still with him? She didn't break up with him?"

"She's too scared to. She thinks he'll hurt her again."

Of course, why wouldn't she be scared? This is the second time this has happened.

"I'm not letting her get hurt again,"I say, gazing down at her. She scrunches her nose up before going back to resting again. "I love her and I'd do anything for her."

Ashton sighs and nods.

"She's like a second little sister to me, I know what you mean."he adds.

I love Hayley, so much it might kill me. But I'm fine with that. She's all I care about, all I want, all I need. To say I'm madly in love with this girl would be an understatement. I just hope she trusts that I won't hurt her- at least not this badly.

After Ashton leaves the room to go help Michael with something, I lift her from his bed, bridal style, and kiss her head softly.

She flutters her eyes half way open and looks up at me with confusion.

"It's okay, baby, I'm gonna take care of you. Okay?"I whisper. She weakly sets her head against my chest and nods. "You saw them?"she whispers, about the bruises and markings. I nod slowly and begin carrying her out of the room. She frowns and cuddles into my chest.

"Why didn't you tell me first?"I ask softly.

"You would've overreacted and fought him, Cal."she sighs. Her voice is raspy from crying.

I nod, admitting it's true.

I carry Hayley out to my car and carefully set her in the passenger seat. She closes her eyes and takes my hand tightly. I look at her with worry. "What's-"

"Calum, I'm scared."she snaps her eyes open. I furrow my eyebrows. "Scared? Baby, I'm right here-"

"I can't see him again, I just can't. I'm scared, Calum. What if he hits me the next time?"she asks meekly and looks at me with tears eyes.

Oh, Hayley, you sweet angel.

"There won't be a next time. I promise."I rub her cheek softly and pulls her into my arms. She wraps her arms around my waist tightly and sniffles. "I love you, Hayley. I'm never going to let anything happen to you, not again."I pledge. She nods and sighs.

We separate so I can get in on the other side. I start the car and begin driving down the street; one hand is on the wheel and the other is holding hers as she leans against the door, falling asleep again.

Her hair is everywhere, she's barely wearing any clothes, her eyes are droopy, tear stains are still left on her cheeks along with a slobber line coming down from her lips. She looks so perfect.

I pay my attention back to the road, avoiding any chances of getting into an accident.

God, I love her.

—

Hayley's still asleep as I carry her upstairs to my bedroom and lay her down on my bed. She's out cold.

I press a small kiss against her cheek softly and back away from her.

She sleeps with a distressed look covering her face.

I take my shirt off in one swift movement before sliding my jeans off and replacing them with random gray sweats I find on the floor.

After flicking off the light, I crawl into the bed with Hayley and wrap an arm around her; I pull her closer with ease and kiss her forehead. She shuffles around a bit before resting her face against my chest and laying a hand on my stomach.

"Calum,"she barely whispers. I tuck her hair behind her ear. "Yes, baby?"

"Can you- um- can you sing to me?"

I smile small and nod.

The lyrics to the infamous our old song Unpredictable spews from my lips, causing hers to turn upward. Her eyes remain shut and she hums along against my chest.

Hayley- I love her.

——————————————-

A/N- cALUM LOVES HAYLEY SO MUCH ITS SO CUWTE

-Jenna💕