Unpredictable | Luke Hemmings & Calum Hood. (Cake/5SOS)

Chapter 52

I had the intention of yelling at Vanessa to piss off completely when I slid my finger across the screen to answer her call. I had the intention of yelling at her when I answered, accusing her of always wanting to be a part of my life whenever everything was satisfyingly calm and for a moment, I was going to go through with my intentions, but the second I heard her voice tremble with her pleads for me to just listen, I restrained.

I restrained cautiously. I've never heard her so genuinely distraught before. She sounded terrified and helpless. I couldn't just yell at her. I just couldn't hang up and ignore her, so I didn't.

I didn't yell at her, I didn't accuse her and I didnt hang up. I just sat at the end of my bed in my room, patiently waitng for her to begin as the darkness began to fill my room.

"You have five minutes," I tell her emotionlessly, gripping my phone tighter than usual in my hand.

"That's all I need," she says, almost in a whisper. "I'm sorry for calling you. It's been months since I've last called, but I just desperately needed to get through to you now, more than ever and I know you have a life of your own. I'm hoping you've fixed things with the blonde, I hope you're happy, I do. I know your heart doesn't rest here in California, but things have been going on, Calum, dangerous things," she says, sighing dramatically, leaving me in anticipation with a million and one questions on my mind.

"Are you okay?" I find myself asking.

"Me? Yeah, I've always been. A little on the fat side lately, but what can you do? That's what pregnancies cause," she says lowly and I can't help but feel my breath hitch.

"You're what?" I question, wanting to make sure she did indeed say what she said, since she said it as if it was the most calmest thing to escape her mouth, almost as if being a 17-year-old mom is an easy, simple life.

"Yeah, found out in October. I don't think I've ever felt this happy, truly happy," she tells me, breathing through the phone contently.

"Who's the dad?" I asked shakily since I knew what was going to come out her mouth before she even said it.

"Charlie's," she comes out, the tremble in her voice coming back as if she's holding back tears. "Calum, he isn't okay. He was never okay."

"What are you talking about, Vanessa?" I can't help the pang in my chest at the mention of Charlie. I can't help how my chest physically aches for him still, even after everything, but that's what he did to me. He always had this affect on me, this great power over me. Even I truly didn't understand and I can physically and mentally feel myself sink into my bed before she begins to speak again.

"I've tried forever to get in contact with you, and I don't blame you for not answering your calls because I wouldn't either if I were you, but I hoped you would. Every now and then when I called, I prayed you would. No one understood Charlie like you did and no one ever will.

"When I came back home from Amsterdam, I knew something wasn't right. I told him about our break-up. I told him what I thought of you and that guy over there. I told him you'd be happier because I knew the second I boarded that plan, you would, you deserved to and he blanked out before quickly becoming completely aware of us being done. I didn't know what was wrong with him at first, but he quickly slipped out of it. After that, he was more aggressive with me, physically and sexually. He's been off, almost as if he's a walking mental patient reaching the outside world for the first time. He's been getting into way more trouble around here, messing with the wrong group of people, dropped out of school, even drinks every now and then, sneaking into bars and fighting.

"The worst thing of it all is there'd be days when he acts out and is completely repulsive than others, where he's normal, completely stable and kind and I don't get it. He won't get his shit together. We have a baby on the way and some days, he cares more than anything and others, he doesn't give a damn. A part of me thinks he's insane, almost as if he has demons within he isn't revealing completely and it's scary. It's tiring and it hurts. I can't do this by myself, but this isn't why I called. I didn't call to complain about how I got myself into this shit because I did.