Unexpected | Calum Hood

10.

Little trigger warning:talk of suicide

"No one's gonna take it from you" Calum laughs as I shovel in my burger and fries. We'd stopped at a mom and pop place on the way home from the doctor's.

"I'm starving, don't judge me. Your child has given me the appetite of a small army." I chuckle.

He smirks and shakes his head before returning his focus back to his own meal. As he stares off into space I take the opportunity to steal some fries from his plate. "Hey! Eat your own!" He lightly smacks my hand but I grin as I bite into the fries I had managed to steal anyways.

"Yours are better!" I reply as he rolls his eyes. I like this. It's comfortable. It's normal.

We settle into silence and finish off our plates. Calum takes our trash to the bin and then slides back into the booth seat across from me. He slurps his drink through his straw seemingly lost in his head.

"What are your plans for the afternoon?" He asks suddenly.

"Nothing really" I reply after a moment. "I took the day off from work so I was just gonna go home and relax, maybe binge watch Netflix."

"Do you...would you mind if I joined you?"

I swallow the lump in my throat.

"Sure" I answer nervously. If we are going to have a baby together the least I can do is spend time getting to know him.

•

"I thought it was called morning sickness" Calum says as he rubs my back with one hand and holds my hair back with the other as I lose my dinner into the toilet.

I let out a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah and I thought this was supposed to have ended by this point in my pregnancy, but here we are." He frowns and stands to get me a wet rag. He gingerly dabs it at my forehead where sweat had gathered before I stand and set to brushing my teeth.

He disappears from my bathroom and I hear the sound of cabinets opening. I raise my eyebrows and make my way towards the noise as my curiosity gets the best of me.

I find him in my kitchen with my hot water pot boiling, a mug on the counter, and rifling through my tea cabinet.

"What are you looking for?"

"I read online last week, when I was researching literally everything about pregnancy, that ginger tea can help with the nausea. Do you know if you have any?"

My gaze softens at his thoughtfulness. "Um...I'm not sure. I think it's all like mint and earl grey."

"I can go get you some, if you want" he offers.

"I can just pick some up on the way home from work tomorrow, thank you though" I say offering him a small smile. "Could you just grab me a glass of water? I'm still a little dizzy."

He nods and moves to fetch the glass before sliding it across the kitchen island to me. I sip at it slowly trying to will my stomach to settle. After a few minutes I'm back to feeling like myself.

"C'mon the TV's in here." I move from my seat at the island and into my living room. I collapse into the sofa and snuggle into my favorite spot. Calum sits beside me on the small couch and I'm surprised at how natural he looks there, like we've done this a hundred times before. I'm nervous having him in my home, it's a far cry from his ritzy apartment, but it's mine.

I've spent the past five years getting it just how I like it. I'd bought the house as a fixer upper and planned to sell it to make a little money after I'd completed my degree, but by the time I'd graduated, I had no reason to leave LA anymore, so I'd stuck around and made it home. I'd redone the original hardwood floors and painted the walls a light grey. I'd ripped out a wall to make the living room and kitchen flow and decorated everything in greens and whites.

"What do you wanna watch?" He asked handing me the remote.

"I'm on season 11 of Grey's Anatomy, but we can watch something else if you want"

"That's fine with me" he agrees so I flick on Netflix and resume my spot in the show. About half way through I find myself in quiet tears. It's not that uncommon with this particular show but this episode is hitting a little too close to home. Calum turns to look at me and concern falls onto his face. He grabs the remote and pauses it.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry. I'm usually not such a sap, it's just, the pregnancy is making me extra emotional and this scene..." I trail off. On screen Meredith had just learned of her mom's suicide attempt.

"My mom...she um...killed herself, when I was in high school." I look away and focus on the wall. I hadn't anticipated revealing any of my incredibly fucked up family stuff just yet, but I guess there's no time like the present.

He doesn't speak. He doesn't try to comfort me with meaningless words. He just reaches out and takes my hand, intertwining our fingers. After a moment he shifts so that I'm pressed against his chest with his arms slung around my torso. It's so nice to just be held. I cry for a moment more before sitting up and wiping my eyes.

"Sorry. I didn't mean for this to get so dark."

"No, that's some real shit. That's the stuff I want to know about you."

"I don't think you know what you'd be getting into. My life certainly hasn't been butterflies and rainbows."

"We're having a baby together, Jes. If you're going through something, if you're struggling, I want you to tell me. I imagine this, the pregnancy and baby, is something you'd have wanted to share with her, yes?" I nod. "So I'm assuming it's only brought up all that pain again and then to see it played out on TV" he shakes his head.

"I'll be fine"

"Jes, you don't have to put on a front, it's just me. Knowing this, just makes me see how strong you are."

I smile at him softly and move back to my side of the couch. He turns his attention to the TV. "Let's pick a movie, yeah?" I nod and he selects one from the suggestions. I lay back and he pulls my feet up to rest in his lap. We get swept into the cinematic wold on the screen as he absentmindedly rubs my feet. It's a heavenly sensation and I'm in love with the way this moment feels. Like, for the first time in a really long time, I'm not alone.

AN: So there's the first big reveal about Jessie's life up until this point. What do you think? What other secrets may she be hiding?