bandages || calum hood

thirty-two

"Yeah." Michael directed his attention to the door, gulping as Megan scoffed.

"Poor girl is in jail because you couldn't protect her. I still don't know why Rose went back to you." Megan knew all about what had happened between Michael and Rose in the past; she was one of the girls who had helped Rose after the overdose situation.

"I fucking know that." Michael gritted his teeth as his anger radiated towards Megan. Megan seemed to feel the same towards Michael; she thought of Rose as her little sister.

"She delivered drugs for you so that they wouldn't kill you." Megan clicked her tongue as she popped a bubble that she made with her bubblegum.

"I already know that." Michael groaned as Megan rolled her eyes again. Both of them seemed too irritated with each other to even decently communicate.

"Where did she get the drugs?" Ashton spoke up for the first time, stretching his back since he had been sitting for a long time. I almost forgot he was there, Michael and Megan seemed to be the only people in the room, and we were the audience.

"My boyfriend." Megan diverted her attention to Ashton, her voice softening unlike her usual harsh tone with Michael. "She bought them from him."

"Why would he supply a seventeen year old girl with that much drugs?" Michael's leg anxiously bounced up and down as he sat, his elbows resting on his knees.

"She offered over a thousand, of course he wouldn't deny her. He didn't know that it was Rose -she contacted him through one of his sellers." Her boyfriend seemed to be well-known in the area, possibly more popular than Michael.

"So what do we do know? Megan, I have to get her out of there." Michael urged Megan to help them, she was going to help us anyways, but Michael was too stressed to even realize that.

"My boyfriend said he would help, but Calum can't come along." Megan bit her lip, enunciating her words slowly as if I would've gotten butthurt about it. Michael furrowed his eyebrows, tugging on my sleeve to join them.

"What why?" Ashton stood up, his biceps flexing as he reached for a cigarette on the table. Michael tossed a lighter to him, missing by a few inches on purpose. Ashton rolled his eyes as Megan groaned, looking at me.

"You know that guy you got into a fight with at the bar?" Oh shit. This was not fucking happening. Nodding reluctantly, I stuffed my hands into my pocket. "He's in my boyfriend's gang. They want to meet you tomorrow."

"They want to fight?" Smirking when Megan nodded, I leaned my back against the wall, catching the lighter Ashton gave me. "Do they know who they're messing with?"

"More like do you know what gang you're messing with?" Megan's faced scrunched up at my attitude as I lit my cigarette. Blowing smoke into the air, I twirl the cig between both of my thumb and index finger.

"A fight's a fight. Just tell me when, and I will go there to fight them." Fighting had become my therapy after what had happened. I would just get my anger out by punching the living shit out of stupid wannabes, and in fairness, I was doing a good deed for others too. Well, fighting and drinking, that is.

"The alley between the two apartment complexes down in the bay area. The one where you and Michael used to hang out." Megan seemed quite disgusted by me all of a sudden, probably disgusted by all of us for that matter. She was used to all of the badass stuff that goes around in the streets, but she seemed to hate when people fight.

"What time?" If it was early in the morning, I better start drinking now so I pass out sooner. I wasn't suicidal or anything -I just loved the feeling of forgetting everything.

"9:00 AM sharp. Don't be late or they'll legitimately kill you." Megan scoffed as I grinned.

"I'll be there for sure."

The three had left hours ago, not one of them calling me to inform what was going on. I was pretty sure that Rose's parents would just bail her out, but the consequences would've been severe, especially since Rose was planning to attend Julliard. She now had an arrest in her record which would completely ruin her plans. So maybe my situation with Belle wasn't as severe as theirs.

"Michael's not here," I dead-panned at the redhead who was pouting in front of me. Alice suddenly decided to skip her ass towards my apartment just to look for her ex who wasn't even there. My vision was blurry since I drank a lot of alcohol, too many bottles for me to count.

"Oh shit, Calum what happened?" Alice grabbed my arms as I stumbled forward. My eyes were rimmed with red, the alcohol taste remaining on my tongue.

"Go away, bitch." I laughed as Alice tried to walk me towards the couch. I honestly didn't understand why people got so worried when I would drink. Except Michael, of course.

"How much did you drink?" Alice gently set me on the couch, her dress rising up a little as she bent over. My vision got hazier, I couldn't even see her face anymore.

"Not enough," I snickered as I reached out for a bottle on the table. My hand groped for the bottle since I couldn't even see anything.

"Where's Belle?" Alice sighed as she took a seat next to me. Her hand brushed against mine when she tried to take the bottle away from me.

"The bitch killed my baby." I rolled my eyes and then pouted. I hated remembering about what happened. I hated thinking about what the future could've been or how my life was going to finally be happy for once.

Michael was right; nothing good happens to rejects like us.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Alice snatched the bottle from me, and instead of putting it away, she put the rim to her lips, downing the rest of it.

Lips.

Belle always had such soft pink lips that tasted like her cotton candy lip gloss. Fuck, I missed her so damn much. Closing my eyes, my mouth stayed slightly open as I thought of Belle.

Next thing I knew, my face was cupped between two cold hands with their manicure lightly against my cheek.

Belle never had cold hands, they were always so warm, and he nails were short since she played the piano.

A pair of plump lips met with mine, tugging on my lips as her hands pulled on my shirt. It was like I wasn't even there anymore, I didn't even know what I was doing. All I knew is that I missed Belle so much, and I couldn't stand it anymore.

My brain couldn't even function anymore. My actions were reflexes in result to what was happening.

What was I doing?

"Belle," I moaned out, pulling her body closer to me.

She wasn't Belle, but at the moment, I didn't know that. My mind created an illusion that it actually was her because I was too much of a dick to realize that I lost her.

~

this book is ending soon. praise

-kat hoodings