Calum
Sleep did not come easy these past two days. Not even being in the studio to create music managed to ease my worries even the slightest bit. My mind was always occuppied, thinking of the worst and coming up with every scenario there could possibly be for how this was going to go down.
The knock on my door stopped me from pacing.
I opened the door to reveal Kayla, clad in a pink dress and another pair of high-heels. She smiled at me, I didn't return it. "Nice to see you again, Calum." She stepped inside before I even gestured her to come in.
Kayla didn't look around the place, she's been here before. Though not at my consent. "You had me worried when you didn't reply to my messages. I understand it's difficult, trying to maintain your reputation as well as a relationship."
I didn't even want to listen to her talk anymore. Just having her here, standing in my home, had me enraged. "How can I make sure that you haven't made copies of the video and the moment I give you the money you would just leak it?"
"You can't be sure." Kayla shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest. "But I won't do such a thing. What else is there for me to gain if I did that?" I stared at her. She seemed serious.
When I didn't speak, Kayla continued on. "You couldn't tell Luke? I thought you'd have attempted to make him believe you."
"No," I looked down at my feet, shaking my head. "I was about to.. but I couldn't. I didn't want to take that chance."
Kayla stepped closer. I automatically stepped backwards, but she already had her arm out, gripping my shoulder. "You made the right choice, Calum."
I didn't even look at Kayla before I walked past her. "I put your money in a kitchen drawer," I said, hearing the sound of her heels follow me into the kitchen.
Kayla promptly stopped, freezing in her spot.
"Ms. Evans, I don't believe we've met. I'm Patricia Wilkins, 5 Seconds of Summer's manager. How nice of you to join us." Patricia grinned at Kayla from where she was seated on a dining chair, features scarily calm. Ashton and Michael were stood behind her, both unable to contain their hatred towards Kayla as they glared at her.
"Calum," Kayla breathed out, eyes flickering from me to the other people in the kitchen, looking like she wanted to turn around and leave right away. "Calum, what is this?"
"If it hasn't sinked in, this is the moment you regret ever trying to blackmail Calum," Luke answered from where he was leaning against the kitchen counter.
"To elaborate on what Mr. Hemmings said, I sincerely wished you had not chosen to do what you did, Ms. Evans. Especially because I'm sure you didn't expect me to have connections all over the city and a brother who is a police chief," Patricia adjusted her glasses. Her ability to maintain a cold expression usually terrified us, but now my bandmates and I were grinning in sync.
"You screwed up so bad, Kayla," Ashton sighed in faux disappointment, even going as far as to make tsk tsk noises. Michael nodded along. "So bad. You fucked up big time."
"Why don't you sit down?" I pulled out a chair for Kayla, right in front of Patricia. Kayla was still in shock, but seeing as she had no other choice, she was forced to sit down and listen.
"Now, Ms. Evans, I'll start by showing you this," Patricia said, turning her laptop screen towards Kayla before pressing play. The footage was from the bar the night Kayla and I talked. The security camera was angled towards the bar counter, which meant it had a clear view of Kayla's face and the back of my head. The scene was sped up by Patricia, slowing down only when I got up and headed to the bathroom, making my way through a sea of people on the dance floor.
"You see right there, Ms. Evans?" Patricia pointed towards the drink I left on the counter and the powder Kayla had dropped into it as she nervously looked around to make sure nobody would see her doing so. "This footage alone can guarantee you a cell in prison." The video then showed how a man came over just as I had began to clutch at the bar counter because I was feeling dizzy.
"I'm assuming the man who helped you with this was your boyfriend? I believe his name is Mr. Landon O'James, am I right?" Patricia asked, already knowing the answer. She didn't wait for Kayla to reply, playing the next evidence we collected which was from the security camera in front of the condo. Landon and Kayla pulled up in front of the entrance, and the camera got a shot of Landon opening the backseat and basically dragging me out while I was already passed out. The two of them had kept a grip on my waist, struggling to hold me up.
Patricia paused the footage, letting out a sigh. "If I may be frank, Ms. Evans, I can't seem to comprehend how you would have thought that you would able to pull off this little stunt of yours."
"She was hoping to manipulate me," I spoke up, watching Kayla turn back to face me. The way she had paled in fear truly was the cherry on top and made the past hellish days absolutely worth it. "She was trying to make me believe that Luke would break up with me if I tried explaining what really happened."
"That was really fucking dumb of you to assume," Luke piped up. He walked closer to where Ashton and Michael were stood, staring down at Kayla. I could tell the three of them, including Patricia, were enjoying the way Kayla squirmed in her seat. Luke continued, "What's even dumber is that you'd think Calum wouldn't think things through or try to prove you wrong."
"Breathe, Kayla. As much as you deserve it, you won't be going to jail," Ashton said. Kayla did seem relieved at that, and Michael rolled his eyes in complete annoyance. Ashton gestured towards me, obviously not happy about it either. "Calum didn't want to press charges. Guess your luck isn't over yet."
Kayla seemed conflicted about what to do next. Patricia extended a hand out. "We can do this calmly. You let me delete all images and videos you took that night you drugged Calum and broke into his home, or, we can do this the hard way. You keep your phone, but we'll be presenting the security camera footage we've collected to the police and they'll decide how much jail time you and your boyfriend will get."
"No, that-that won't be necessary. I'll let you delete everything." Kayla started rummaging through her purse, hands trembling ever so slightly. Once she found it, she placed her phone in Patricia's hand. "Just take the phone, do whatever you want with it. I can't go back to jail."
Back to jail?
Everybody looked surprised at that, all except for Patricia. "Good choice, Ms. Evans." Or manager stood up, circling the table and placing a hand on Kayla's shoulder. "Let me escort you out."
Kayla wasted no time, standing up immediately. Her footsteps did, however, falter once she was a few feet away. "Calum, I'm sorry. I-I needed the money an-"
"The only reason you're not going to jail," I cut her off. I didn't see how she even deserved to explain herself. "Is because I don't really need another scandal which would target my relationship, my band, or my management. A restraining order is not out of the question, though."
Patricia coaxed (more like pulled) Kayla back to the living room and towards the exit. None of us spoke until the front door shut, knowing Patricia would sufficiently scare Kayla from ever attempting to try anything like this again.
I released a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Glad that's over."
"You did well, Cal." Michael gave me a few pats on the back. Luke was smiling, and his once tense posture had loosened. You could tell he was happy the whole thing was over, too.
"Thank you for helping Patricia gather evidence, and for trusting me," I couldn't help but say. Truly, I was blessed with wonderful people. Whatever I did in the past life to deserve this, I'm grateful.
"Hey, none of that now. We're family, of course we'd protect you," Ashton said.
Luke came up to me, placing a quick kiss on my forehead. "I never doubted you, Cal." Just that had the weight instantly lifted off my chest.
We waited until Patricia came back. I gave her a hug and thanked her for saving my ass, to which she laughed at. She told me she'd personally handle the restraining order, plus it'll give her a chance to catch up with her brother. "I think it goes without saying that all of us deserve the rest of the night off. I'll be seeing you three tomorrow. And Luke, thank you for all your help." Patricia shrugged on her bag, giving all of us a tight hug before leaving.
"I think I need a drink," I pinched the bridge of my nose. Everyone laughed, but none of them opposed to the idea. Ashton and Michael headed to their own condos to get ready after we settled on going out to celebrate this victory, leaving Luke and I alone in my kitchen.
I sat down on one of the dining chairs, Luke taking the seat next to me. We were silent for a few seconds, letting it sink in. "After two days of trying to find proof, we really got through that," I said.
Luke took my left hand and began running his thumb over my knuckles. "Thank you for believing in me enough to tell me right at the beginning. I really never doubted you. Even when your story was a bit unexpected, I never once thought you cheated on me." Luke brought my hand to his lips to place a kiss at the back of my palm.
I smiled at him, feeling my heartbeat pick up.
"Well, at least not with her," Luke joked. My mouth dropped open in a perfect o shape which had Luke laughing. I scoffed, taking my hand away and crossing my arms. "I would never cheat on you, asshole."
"I know that." Luke was still chuckling, his hand reaching to grasp my thigh before proceeding to massage it. I continued to glare at him until he pinched the inside of my thigh.
"Ow!" I tried to push his hand away but he just continued to laugh, suddenly sitting on my lap and peppering my face with kisses. "Luke! Luke get off me–hey!" This went on for a few more minutes, ending only when Michael called my phone and demanded we start heading down to Ashton's car.
We decided to dine at a Mexican bistro, ordering burritos, quesadillas, and unlimited nachos with too much guacamole. Our drinks came first as Luke fell into a comfortable conversation with Michael and Ashton, their topics ranging from music to video games to childhood celebrity crushes. After a couple more drinks, with our stomachs full delicious food, they all started making the corniest jokes they could think of. Ashton had to shush us multiple times whenever our laughter got a bit too loud.
I turned to my right where Luke was, holding his mojito a few inches away from his lips. He ended up laughing at something Michael said. It was all I could do not to tell Luke how much I loved him right then and there.
Mostly because I didn't want to deal with tipsy Ashton and Michael teasing the crap out of me in bistro filled with people.
Luke felt me looking at him, and he raised an eyebrow in question. I shook my head, because it could wait until we got home. He seemed to understand though, because he intertwined our fingers and gave my hand a comforting squeeze.
"What does a duck made completely out of avocado say?"
"What does it say?"
"Guac."
I'm embarrassed to say that Michael spat out some of his drink because of how hard he laughed at Ashton's joke.
I'm even more embarrassed to admit that I laughed at the joke, too.
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[ a/n: next chapter will be the last one! ]