Cliché (c.h)

13.

Calum slid his key into Cori's door with his eyebrows furrowed at the remnants of torn corners of paper that appeared to have been previously taped there. Calum shrugged and decided he would get an explanation later. Walking into the dark apartment, he noticed the muffled sobbing coming from the couch.

Cori's shoulders shook softly with each new wave of tears upon hearing Calum walk in. Of course she wanted to be strong. She wanted nothing more than to tell him to fuck off and leave her alone forever. But goddamn this hurts. There is no point in acting tough when she knows damn well her heart is in billions of pieces.

"Baby what's wrong? Did somebody get hurt?" Cori stiffened as Calum enveloped her in a tight hug, one hand rubbing circles on her back and the other lifting her head up to look at him.

Tears continued to slide down her face at an increasing rate as she reached for her phone which sat on the couch cushion. Calum continued to throw questions at her but she ignored them. Opening her photo gallery, she tossed the phone onto Calum's lap and scooted away from him to the other end of the couch awaiting his reaction.

She watched in the utmost silence as he looked at the picture of her door before she tossed the manila folder into his lap. The Kiwi boy had yet to make eye contact with her as he sifted through the pictures but Cori could see each emotion run across his face. Shock, surprise, regret, sadness. Each new emotion flickered past within a second of the one before.

"Cori I never mea-" Whatever he had to say she did not want to hear the rest of it.

"I'm going to ask you one question. After that, I want you to get up and walk out of my life for good." Although her voice shook and she physically trembled, it was clear she meant every word that she spoke and that is what scared him the most. He had never seen her in a state quite like this. Void, cold, and unreachable.

"Cori I love you, I do-" Again Calum was cut off but this time the girl was livid.

"I told you I'm going to ask you one question. You do not get to give me a bullshit apology. You do not get to touch me, I barely want you to look at me. Most of all you do not get to say you love me when you made it crystal clear that you don't." Cori was against women putting their hands on men just as much as she is men putting their hands on women but good lord she wanted to choke Calum.

"My only question is why, Calum? What did I do to you to make you want to hurt me of all people the way that you did? If you wanted her you could have had her. You could have ended things with me a long time ago. So why. Just why?" The anger within Cori substantially faded and returned back to sadness. Calum began to tear up as well knowing that he really did fuck up.

"I can't give you a good answer. I wish I could, but I can't. You have no idea how much I want to beg for the forgiveness I know you aren't going to give. I regret what I did and I owe you a million apologies. I love you and I'm sorry, Corinne." Calum's brown eyes were glossed over with tears and he distractedly ran a hair through his ruffled black hair.

"Next time don't be sorry hoe, be careful. Now get the hell out." Calum willingly stood up without another word and walked out that door knowing this was not a battle he would stand a chance in.
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Hey guys! So I'm thinking of ending this book early with two more chapters left. But, I also plan on starting another book that I think yall might like. Should it be Calum, Michael, Luke, or Ashton? Its going to be a little less 💖 👧🏿👶🏻 and a little more 😏🍆🍑. Don't forget to vote and comment. 💘
-C