Walls||CTH AU||

Chapter 22- Guests

As soon as Calum had walked away, Bailey sank back down onto the bench and let out a sob. She had finally done what she had been avoiding for three days and pushed him away. She had seen his face as he picked up his bag and left, he was sad and probably angry at her. She hadn't wanted it to come to that, Calum deserved to be pushed away gently, as she had been trying to do, but the kid just wouldn't give up on her. She had thought that if she ignored him, he would just leave but apparently he was more stubborn than she thought.

It's for the best. She thought. Tattoos was going to leave anyway, it's better to save yourself from the hurt.

As she sat with she head in her hands, she managed to convince herself that she had done the right thing. One of them was going to get hurt eventually anyway, and it was better him than her. She didn't think she could stand it.

When the bell rang signalling the end of lunch, Bailey picked up her bag and walked out of the grounds, wiping the tears from her face. She wasn't planning on going to French anyway.
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"Bailey, I need your go upstairs and change into the dress I left in your bed, then you need to come back downstairs and help me set up for our guest." Kylie ordered in a business like tone as soon as Bailey walked through the door.

"That's tonight? On a Thursday?"

"Yes, now go get changed, and take those bloody piercings out."

"How about no?" Bailey replied, placing her hands on her hips. "I happen to like those bloody piercings."

"Your going to make a bad impression on our guest," Kylie snapped, pushing her blonde hair out of her face.

"It's all about impressions isn't it? Never the truth. I'm wearing my piercings and there is nothing you can do about it!" Bailey yelled and stormed up to her room, slamming her bedroom door behind her. On her bed, was a black dress next to a pair of black heels. There was nothing special about either items, but she noticed that the dress had long sleeves, which she assumed were to cover her tattoos.

"Hurry up Bailey, they'll be here in an hour!" Kylie shouted upstairs. Bailey was surprised the business like tone again, her mother hadn't used it around her since they had moved. Before she never dropped it, constantly trying to boss Bailey about but it never worked.

Sighing loudly, Bailey picked up the dress and threw it back down on her bed. She really wished she had a way out of the dinner but as she no longer even had Calum to run to, she had no choice. She couldn't wander the streets for another couple of hours, she'd been doing that since the end of lunch. Her heart was still heavy with guilt after yelling at Calum, the hurt look in his eyes and the slouched and sad demeanour he had as he walked away.

"Snap out of it Bailey," she muttered, shaking her head. "You're going soft."
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"Good evening Kylie," the tall, dark haired man said as he walked through the door, followed by a woman with blonde hair that was in desperate need of being re-dyed. "And who is this erm.. lovely young lady?"

"Paul, this is my daughter Bailey. Bailey, this is my boss Paul and his wife Helen."

"I thought you said there was only going to be one guest." Bailey said to her mum. Kylie glared at her.

Bailey rolled her eyes as Paul held out his hand to her and folded her arms over her chest. Her mother elbowed her discreetly in the ribs and she reluctantly shook hands with the man.