Their hands were still linked together as they made their way to the café Anna was waiting in, only letting go when they got out of the car. Calum looked to Leia nervously before he pushed the door open. A small ding resonated in the nearly-empty café, the only occupant being a tall, blonde girl with a severe bob cut seated in the far right side of the room with a latte in her hands.
"Anna!" Leia immediately called out.
The woman looked up to see Leia coming towards her– and her face literally lit up. A genuine twinkle shone from her eyes as she stood up to embrace her sister lovingly. "Oh, Leia, it's good to see you again."
Calum watched them, feeling his heart swell up and sink at the same time. He loved that Leia was so happy seeing her sister, but at the same time he was scared of Anna. He didn't want to interrupt them so he stayed silent until Leia broke away and grabbed Calum by the shirt. "Anna, this is Calum. Calum, you know Anna," Leia said, smirking a little.
Nervousness creeped back in his system. "Hi, it's nice to finally meet you," he said, offering a small smile.
"So this is the famous Calum," Anna said with a grin. She looked him up and down, scrutinizing him.
"Okay, that's enough you two." Leia pulled Calum down and sat on one side of the small booth while Anna sat across them. She was beaming at both of them, happiness welling in her chest.
A waitress came over to hand them menus and glasses of water, which Calum took gratefully. There was an awkward silence that followed after but Anna broke the ice when she said, "So I heard you catfished my sister."
Calum choked on his water.
"Anna!" Leia chastised, patting Calum's back.
Anna threw her head back and laughed. She's so wild, Calum thought. "He didn't catfish me," Leia told her, rolling her eyes. "I thought I was texting you. Turned out I was texting Calum. We kinda met. End of story."
"Hm." Anna turned to Calum, tapping her fingers on the table. "Why didn't you tell her she had the wrong number?"
"Because..." He swallowed down, unable to think of the right words to say. "It's weird, but... I liked knowing about her, about her day." He paused to glance at his girlfriend, who was looking down, playing with their entwined fingers. "Until I realized, I liked Leia." On cue she looked up and met Calum's eyes, and they smiled sheepishly at each other.
"Huh," was all Anna said. She turned to her sister again. "You don't find that creepy or anything?"
Leia chuckled despite Calum's sudden rigidness. "It was a little, I guess."
"Sorry," Calum mumbled miserably.
"But I met you because of it," she added hurriedly, looking at Calum. "And I fell in love. So I don't find it crazy anymore." She paused and smiled at Calum warmly. "You are the most wonderful thing that's ever happened to me."
He was pretty sure he was openly blushing, and he was just about to lean in and kiss her but he remembered Anna was sitting in front of them. They broke away from each other, slightly embarrassed. But that was only the start of their afternoon with Leia's estranged sister.
Calum couldn't help but enjoy how happy Leia was with them, watching her laugh and smile more in an afternoon than the whole time he'd known her. He figured out Anna was different from Leia, more outspoken and loud, with a drier sense of humor. She kind of reminder him of Michael sometimes, which was weird. She was fun to talk to, and that made Calum a little less nervous. It helped that they only skirted around fluff topics, like Pokémon and coffee.
Calum figured that Anna wasn't a fan of being serious and facing real things. Maybe that was why she left home in the first place. He wanted to ask her so many things, but he just couldn't. He felt like if he did call her out for leaving Leia, for making her feel alone–it wouldn't end very well. It would break the blissful spell they were all in.
"Calum, it's getting late, we need to be home for dinner with Mum," Leia said, squinting at her watch.
"Already having dinner with mum, huh?" Anna winked at Calum. "You're doing good, Cal."
Calum laughed. "I had no say in it, so I don't know if it counts."
"Of course it does. Mum probably likes you, only she's being careful, you know? She won't let just any guy into our lives only to get let down."
The table was silent afterwards. Calum didn't know what to do: Anna was sipping at her latte nonchalantly, Leia was looking outside, suddenly very interested in the branches of the tree. But he knew Anna had hit a sensitive topic, so he stayed mute.
"Excuse me, I just need to go to the restroom," Leia said quietly, scooting out the booth. They both watched her enter the comfort room on the other side of the café.
As soon as Leia was out of sight Anna turned to Calum again. "How much do you know about Leia, Calum?"
He paused. Then said, "A lot."
Anna's lips turned up. "Then you probably know about our piece-of-shit dad and you're probably wondering why I'd leave her alone with him threatening my fragile mother."
Calum was suddenly at a loss for words. Before he could speak, Leia continued. "I don't know what went through my head, honestly." She rested her jaw on her palm, deep in thought. "When I saw him with his fists out, like he was about to hit her...I guess I snapped. I screamed at his face. I shoved mum into the other room and just... lost it." She sighed an shook her head. "Leia doesn't know this. She was at school when it happened, and I begged Mum not to tell her. But I swear, I'm pretty sure I thought of killing Dad that time." Her eyes glinted with false mischief again. "But you know, instead I just killed everyone else when I left. Including me."
Calum fiddled with his fingers, unsure of what to say.
"Go ahead, Calum. Tell me whatever's on your mind. I won't bite."
"That was a selfish thing to do," he blurted out. He was surprised by his own courage, but he took the chance. "If I were Leia, I don't know if I can forgive you as easily as she did."
A new expression formed in Anna's face– sadness. It didn't suit her at all. Her sadness looked more hurtful than any other face he'd seen. This was a face meant for smiles only. "Believe me, I know. I hated myself so much. I wanted to go back, but I didn't want to see Leia looking at me with hatred. I...I wanted to keep the memory of her intact in my head. Beautiul, happy Leia. Her, Warren and mum. I didn't want to go back and see them spit venom at the sight of me."
"Immortalize their happiness in your head," Calum mumbled, nodding.
"Yeah." She smiled at him. "But it's weird. Sometimes I wish Leia never forgave me, you know? It's like I don't deserve her."
Her words struck Calum. The same thought had run in his mind but he's never put it in words until now. Beautiful, pure Leia, too innocent for the world. Too good for fuck-ups like Calum and Anna. Maybe they were more alike than he thought.
"But Leia loves you, Anna. Believe me, she loves you too much to not forgive you," he told her.
"Thanks, Calum. And she loves you, too. I know my sister. I see the way she looks at you. Like you're everything in the world to her." She smiled at him approvingly. "It makes me happy, seeing how happy you make her."
Calum couldn't control his schoolgirl smile, thinking about how happy he is when he's with her. "She means everything to me," he confessed.
"Good," Anna said. "It's nice seeing you kids in love. But break her heart and I'll break your face and set your house on fire."
They both laughed at that. They were sort of relieved to put their feelings into words, and Calum was happy to have Anna share about why she left. It gave him peace to know Leia wasn't the only one hurt when Anna left them. But the important thing is that they made their way back to each other in the end.
"No, but seriously, Calum," Anna said quietly when she heard the door of the restrooms swing open and Leia stepped out. She gave him a signature half-smirk, half-smile. "If you tell her you're gonna treat her like a princess, then you better build her all the fucking castles she wants."
a/n: hello guys! it's actually my birthday today (jan 9) so i decided to make people happy (lol) so here's an update! love u all and thank u again for supporting this fic! happy bday to me and (belated) to vessel!
btw abt my new fic: its a tie fam lmao but i think im gonna go w michael sorry guys :) its just that i dont see a lot of michael fics (at least ones i like) so yes! my next fic's gonna be called outer space :: michael ! i cant wait for u guys to read it and i hope u love it as much as i do :D