proud// 5SOS

14

Calum

"You are so badass,"

"I know," Esme giggled, climbing into the car, "Can I please go to practice?"

"That is still a no. Highschool cheerleading does not win over health,"

"You are so boring,"

"Yeah, yeah,"

"Can Ashton come round later?"

"Why don't you ask him? You're a busy texter today,"

"What's that meant to mean?"

"You have been texting all morning. Was it Link?"

"It was Clara. She doesn't wanna go to practice on her own,"

"You are not going,"

"Fine. It was Link," she mumbled, "Can we go home?"

"Of course,"

We started driving home and I put some music on, but she turned it off and stared out the window. At home, we got cuddled on the sofa and I make sure to have painkillers by our side, then we put a film on.

Gradually, she became a little less cuddly, and bit more fussy, so I tried to soothe her as best as I could. It still frustrated me a hell of a lot that this could have been prevented if she was taken care of.
Everything could have been. She wasn't even half as happy as before she left. It made me nauseous to think what she might have been through.

"Lovebug, tell me how I can help,"

"I want Link,"

"Link is at school,"

"Take me to school,"

"No," I said, gently playing with her hair, "Why don't we go for a drive?"

"Okay," she sniffled, "To Link's house,"

"We can't just crash,"

"Yeah. His dad works from home today, you can catch up, and I can sleep on Link's bed,"

"No,"

She looked at me weirdly, then got up and huffed her way up to her room. Clearly, hearing the words 'Link' , and 'No' in the same sentence was not a common occurrence. I let her have some alone time for a bit, because honestly, I wasn't sure how I was supposed to comfort her anymore. It was quite frustrating and confusing.

Eventually, she came back downstairs looking for attention, and wanted me to pick her up for a cuddle. I tried, but wasn't as strong as Link. Hell, I was now comparing myself to the boy. I was her dad. I needed to remember that even though we had that time apart, I was her dad.

"You know that I always love you, right? I care about you so much,"

"I know,"

"Good,"

"Are you sure we can't go to Link's house? It would make me happy and I could sleep,"

"Link isn't there,"

"But his bed is,"

"You have a bed here," I said, watching her face drop, "But I suppose that hasn't been your bed for a while... let's see if we are welcome,"

"Thank you, dad. You are the best,"

I felt like if I was really the best, she would want to be here, but I knew she had grown up now and I had to accommodate. If I was honest, she felt like a different person.

Still, I got us in the car and drove us over to his house, watching her march to the front door and ring the bell. His dad answered, giving me an amused look, then let her in and beckoned me through as well.