Shot In The Dark [Book 1]

1.8 - I Needed You

He pulls away from me, his dress shirt unbuttoned and falling open to reveal his torso.

"You look-" He breathes out and I interrupt him.

"You too." I smile, noticing everyone watching us. I back away from him and look over to Koleton. "This is Koleton, he's temporarily replacing Abe."

"Hi, I'm Calum." Calum holds out his hand for Koleton to shake, only for his offer to be ignored.

"Don't mind him, he's a bit rude." I shake my head. "How have you all been?"

"We could ask you the same. We haven't heard from you in over a year." Luke laughs and I let out a sigh.

"I've been busy with my songs." I laugh softly and Calum looks down at my hand.

"Is that what the journal is for?" He questions and I nod.

"I need a new one, but yeah."

"Here, come inside and I can find one for you. I'm sure I have an extra one lying around." He offers, placing his hand on my waist.

"Alright." I accept his offer as he opens the door. I turn to Koleton as if he's going to say something. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Try not to scare them."

We walk up the stairs quietly, making our way to his room. There's clothes all over the place and a half-packed suitcase lying at the end of the bed.

"Sorry about the mess, we just got back and I haven't had time to unpack properly." He apologizes softly, scratching the back of his head.

"It's alright, not everyone has their life together and that's what makes us human." I smile and he nods, walking over to his bookshelf and squatting down.

"What made you start journaling?" He asks softly, as if the question will bother me.

"Family problems, I guess. It just kind of happened all at once and I felt like writing my feelings down would be better than speaking."

He turns around like I've grown three heads and stands up.

"So you journal all of it?" Calum asks, studying me as I move towards his bed.

"Yeah, I've been journaling everyday since I was a kid." I shrug, not bothering to explain why.

To be completely honest, I started journaling to give my parents a way to experience me growing up. They were never there, and when they were there was usually so many drugs involved that they didn't remember it.

I just thought it would be easier if I wrote everything down.

Then it became a habit.

"Can I read one of them?" He asks, holding his hand out.

I glance down at the journal, studying the cover as if it's worth millions of dollars. I've had this journal since before I even thought about moving here.

Never once have I let someone read the pages it holds.

"Yeah." I hand it to him without a second thought and he gives me a look of hesitation before grabbing it.

He gently flips through the pages and lands on one that catches his eye. I can see that it's near the beginning of the book, written in pink ink.

"This one is called The Letter." He whispers, his voice cracks as he walks over to me. He takes a seat on the bed beside me so I can see the pages as well.

"Yeah, this one I wrote about my mum." I mumble, noticing the hand-writing belongs to a much younger Margo. "It was going to get released, but it felt too personal."