Little did Callum realise, the one he was looking for, was currently editing his most recent video.
***
Another all nighter seemed to be on the cards for Livy Daya. But if this is what it takes to have a well paying job, she was never going to sleep again.
Livy worked happily as the Calfreezy's editor, and had done for the past few years. They met when Cal tweeted about his need for an editor. Livy emailed Callum with all her credentials, and after a successful meeting, Livy secured the job.
She found herself also taking up the job as camera women as well. Often being the voice of reason in his videos. She helped out whenever she could, whether that be by supplying her voice in a hate comment video, sneakily filming them in Sainsbury's in a cook off or model his merch when the real model couldn't make it.
But that was just her, always happy to help.
꧁꧂
Livy pressed save and sighed in relief. And judging by the time, it looks like she's going to be able to have a good kip. When she was offered to move in, she originally declined, not wanting to cause the boys hassle, but Cal insisted that she would be no bother. Cal liked having her around, because she was genuinely a nice person to be around. Cal's fans loved her, which was a major added bonus.
She wasn't just nice, she was funny and clever. She was able to keep up with the boys banter and dish it out herself, to the joy of the lads. Her editing skills were top notch, which was often pointed out by Callum's subscribers in his comment section.
'Callum's videos wouldn't be as good if it wasn't for Livy's editing'
'Callum found a gooden in Livy'
'The only reason I watch these videos nowadays, is for the class editing'
Callum showed these comments to Livy and watched her face flush red and smile adorably at remarks. Callum liked watching her smile. He could tell she was tired, so to cheer her up and make her feel appreciated, he never forgot to show her the comments to make her feel better.
Whenever Callum would watch over the videos before uploading, he'd smile at any input she would make.
꧁꧂
"Hey Liv"
Gib whispered.
"Mhm?"
Her sweet high voice echoed.
"Does this wet suite make me look fat?"
"No, you look wide"
"Is that good?"
"Yes, very"
He smiled at her nice nature, thinking of other times where he thought she was the greatest. The cook off with Ethan coming to mind.
꧁꧂
Callum had began cutting the sausages. Due to the time limit, he was cutting quite quickly and carelessly. After cutting the first one, he went to cut the second, cutting his finger in the process.
"Ow Fuck!"
He exclaimed, his finger now bleeding slightly. Livy scoffed playfully and shook her head. Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out a plaster she knew would be needed. Callum took the plaster from her, laughing at the fact that she knew something would go wrong.
Callum applied the plaster, smiling at the blonde. His heart seemed to be pumping significantly faster these days.
꧁꧂
Livy passed over the cooked crickets, seeing the disgusted look on the boys.
Gib ripped open the bag, pouring them all onto a plate. They scattered around and produced a very salty oder.
Gib grimaced, looking straight at the camera, ie, Livy.
"You are disgusting"
Callum shook his head, hitting Gib on the arm.
"Watch your mouth Gibber, that's my camera women"
꧁꧂
All in all, Livy was perfect, perfect for Callum. And neither of them knew it. He was so focused on the videos and getting them out, and she was so focused on editing and making the videos as good as she could, they hadn't stopped to realise that the love of their lives, was right in front/behind the camera.
There was one flaw with Livy however. Livy had awful taste in men.
These men, consisted of Jake, Ryan, Frankie and Aaron. All of the boys were complete scumbags. Jake was sleazy. He could often be found talking to girls in clubs, even though he had the perfect girl at home.
Then there was Ryan. He wasn't as much as a pig as Jake was, but it was clear that he was in this relationship for Livy's money. She earned a fair amount of money, so Ryan saw this as an opportunity to get a few things that he wanted before fucking off.
Thirdly, there was Frankie. He was nicer, but he was a jealous boyfriend. The fact that Livy worked so closely with the boys, rubbed him the wrong way. Even though Livy, Callum and everyone else she worked with, promised him that it was only a professional relationship, this didn't stop him from starting fights or arguments.
All three of these relationships lasted a matter of months. Luckily, Livy came to her sense, and ended them before things could get ugly. However, the one remaining boyfriend Aaron, was the current and worst of them all. He was violent. He drank heavily and took out any anger he had inside, on his girlfriend.
He wasn't always like this though. He used to be sweet and loving. The first boyfriend Callum and the boys approved of. He would take Livy out on dates, splash the small amount of cash he earned on her and introduced her to his parents. For the first couple of months, the couple were happy. But, things soon turned sour when Aaron met a man called Lee, who he worked with.
Lee slowly turned Arron against Livy. Telling him that she was using him for his money and that she was unfaithful. He made him question Livy's intentions. Which was simply to have a nice boyfriend. Lee introduced Arron to binge drinking. Whenever Livy would go visit him, he would always be leant back in his chair, nursing a beer or vodka, when're she would try start up a conversation, he would dismiss her or tell her to fuck off.
But worst of all, the alcohol seemed to be affecting him in the worst way possible. It was a slap at first. All she asked was if he would stop drinking for a few hours. He didn't take to kindly to her request, and answered her question by delivering a harsh slap to her left cheek. This intern, left a red mark.
When Callum questioned the red mark, she knew he wouldn't be happy with truth, so instead blaming it in her clumsy-ness. Callum was hesitant to believe her, but considering she had never lied to him before, he had no reason not to believe her.
Soon after the slap, it was a punch, a punch to the arm. The punch left, not only a lingering burn, but a dark blue bruise. She made the unfortunate mistake of wearing a sleeveless top, if only she had kept her jumper on, she would've escaped the worried look and questions.
"Liv?"
Callum voiced. She was sat by the kitchen counter, listing food for the week. Callum was sat on the sofa. He was originally looking at his phone, scrolling through Twitter, but his eyes naturally seemed to pan up and look at the blonde who was sat not far away.
His gaze first went to her face, how her big eyes shined in the kitchen light, or how she bit her lip when she was thinking of what food the boys would want. His gaze soon shifted, landing on the mark on her arm. It was at least the same size as a tennis ball. He scrunched his eyebrows in. She doesn't do any activity that would cause such an injury, and he knew that.
"Mhm?"
She replied, not looking up from the paper that she was holding.
"Why have you got a bruise on your arm?"
Immediately shooting her head up to lock eyes with the Scott.
"It was a silly accident when I was moving my desk, don't worry"
Callum remained confused. She hadn't moved her desk. Deciding to leave it for now, he nodded his head and looked back down at his phone. The bruise still in his mind. Livy internally sighed with relief. A close one she thought.
The punches didn't just remain on her arm though. Neither did the bruises.
Bruises covered her body. All up her arms and down her legs. Bruises from aggressive grabbing, kicking and scratching. Resulting in Livy always covering up. Wearing jumpers, hoodies, leggings, jeans and joggers.
There were countless times where Callum would notice a new cut or scratch. But whenever he would bring it up, she would shut him down, telling him that it was just her being clumsy.
Callum could tell she was lying. She was never good at lying. Something was wrong, and he was willing to find out.
~~~
Callum sat in the living room, anxiously waiting for Livy to come home from seeing Aaron. His knee bounced up and down as his foot tapped on the floor as the time kept ticking. She stayed over his every Tuesday and Thursdays, which is less than it was a few months ago, which Cal noticed. Her schedule hadn't changed, so it wasn't anything to do with having too much work to do.
Callum had an awful feeling he knew what was going on. He didn't want to say it out loud, and he fought back any thought about her being abused or touched in a way she didn't want to.
He questioned why he cared so much. Of course he didn't want it to be true because she was a friend, but he found himself constantly thinking about her. Thinking about whether she was safe or not. But also thinking about the time they've spent together. How much he enjoyed it. All the trips to central London, or abroad. They would spend as much time together as possible.
He thought about how happy she was when she was with him and not Aaron. When Arron was with them, she would remain silent. Almost as if she was too scared to speak. Callum would casually ask her all time if she was okay, and she would always reply with 'yea I'm fine'
He suddenly could hear the key being turned in the lock, causing him to turn his head and look at the door as his best friend walked through the door, equipped with a sad frown.
"Hey Livy"
She looked up, quickly changing the look on her face. Callum had known her long enough to know when the smile was fake. This being one of those times. But he quickly realised something else. She had been crying.
"Hi Callum"
She greeted softly. Her voice was weak, broken. Which intern, made Callum upset. He didn't like seeing her so unhappy, if he knew the reason why then he could possibly turn things around. But Livy hardly talked to him about Aaron.
"What's wrong Livy?"
Callum asked, somewhat knowingly.
"What do you mean? I'm fine"
She continued with her happy facade. She went to walk passed him, walk to her room and cry her eyes out.
"Wait Livy, I want to talk"
He asked politely. Livy knew what he wanted to discuss. And she didn't think she could deal with this right now, through no fault of either of them.
"Not right now Cally, I'm tired"
Despite her saying this, Callum walked to her moving body, and grabbed gently onto her wrist. He let go when she hissed loudly. Callum's face twisted into a look of confusion. He didn't hold onto her that hard did he? She held onto her wrist, tears beginning to form.
"Is he hurting you?"
He asked bluntly. Livy shook her head, knowing how Callum was going to react to the truth.
"Show me your wrist"
He begged. Livy froze, staring at the floor. How many times is she going to have to lie to him? Tell him that it was just due to her being clumsy.
"Please Livy, if he's not hurting you, show me your wrist"
Livy sighed, looking up at him. She lifted up her sleeve, revealing a red line. Callum gently took her wrist into his hands, inspecting the line. She was about to reveal what was happening, when she thought about what he would do if she grassed.
"It wasn't Aaron. I dropped something on the bus without realising, and when I went to walk away, a man grabbed my wrist a bit to tight to tell me a dropped something"
Callum looked up from her wrist to her eyes.
"You believe me right?"
She asked hopefully. He looked back at the stripe, contemplating whether he did or not. In the recent months, she had gotten significantly clumsier, which was so unlike her. But she never lies, so she must be telling the truth.
"Yea"
He whispered half heartedly, letting go of her wrist. Livy smiled, quickly dashing into her bedroom. Callum remained stood there for a few seconds, looking at her door. Just behind the door, sat a very broken girl.
~~~
"Aaron?"
She nervously called. She was getting more and more worried about what state he would be in when she would go to his flat. It was a rarity to find him sober these days.
"In the living room"
She heard him slur. She sighed, walking into the sitting area.
"Hi Babe"
She smiled a fake smile. He turned in his chair, smiling dazedly. She didn't see him smile often, so she was happy about that. But the smile instantly dropped. It seems Livy made a colossal mistake.
Due to Livy and Callum being so close, Callum would allow her to wear his clothes, just her. It would normally occur if the pair were out and the weather got a bit chilly. But sometimes, she would just wear it if she wanted to, and Callum liked it when she did. It made him feel like they were together in a way that wasn't just friends or colleagues. If only she had remembered to take off Callum's iconic Pepsi/Cola jumper as she arrived.
"Why are you wearing his jumper?"
Livy scrunched her eyebrows in, looking down she realised her error. Widening her eyes, she looked back into the eyes she used to love.
"I'm sorry, I just threw it on without even thinking about it"
She lied. She put it on because it comforted her. She wasn't allowed to wear his clothes, they were 'too expensive' apparently.
He stood up, towering over the shorter girl. He was about the same hight as Callum, but with Callum, she felt safe, she felt protected. But when Aaron was standing in front of her, it was as if every safety guard had fallen.
"How many times have I seen you wearing his clothes? How do you think that makes me look, hmm?"
His voice began to raise, and he started walking towards her. Livy's heart instantly picked up speed. Her hands shook by her side as she backed away from the boy.
"I wouldn't be surprised if I found out you were sleeping with him. Cause that's what sluts do"
The words slipped easily out of his mouth, like he meant exactly what he said. Livy was far from a slut, she knew that, but it didn't stop her from frowning and getting upset.
"I'm sorry Aaron, I didn't mean for it to-"
She was suddenly cut off. Cut off by something colliding with the side of her face. Falling on her back, she raised her hand to her cheek, realising she now had the same bruise on her cheek, as she did on her arm.
Aaron had punched her in the face.
Her tears were falling down her injured cheeks. Her head was throbbing and her body was limp. He had now put his bottle down, walking over to the girl. He grabbed the jumper in his grasp, and pulled her up slightly. He began slapping her face back and forth, both cheeks were bruised and red.
"S-Stop"
She gasped, trying to grab his hands. He ignored her plea and continued the abuse. The tears continued to fall as his hand continued to mark.
"Please Aaron"
She kept telling herself that it was the alcohol. It was the alcohol that was making him do this. He wasn't in the right state of mind. But at this rate, he was never in the right state of mind. He continued his actions, creating a bruise on her eye, a split on her lip and right eyebrow and a busted nose.
Aaron had gone, he was no longer his nice, respectable, loving self. He was a monster. He cared about nothing but himself and his alcohol.
After about 2 minutes, he stood up and walked into his bedroom, shutting the door. She didn't move for a few minutes, trying desperately to catch her breath and calm down. He had just left her to deal with herself.
She reached her arm out to grasp a chair, pulling herself up. Not being able to stand up straight, she hunched over, and limped over to the front door. Wanting to leave before he came back out, she walked out of the apartment, in a pain that was indescribable. she shakily got her phone out, pulling up Callum's number.
Callum was sat on his bed on his computer, rummaging through the many emails he had ignored. Usually, he would be hanging out and spending time with Livy. But it was Tuesday. Which meant she was at Aaron's, to the dismay of Callum.
While reading an email he had received from a possible brand deal, his phone went off.
Incoming call from Livy❤️📸
Accept or Decline
"Hey Livy"
"C-Callum"
She uttered, unable to raise her voice anymore.
"Are you okay?"
He asked, the email becoming completely irrelevant.
"No, Aaron was drunk, a-and he saw t-that I was wearing your jumper. So h-he flipped and started punching me"
Callum's heart dropped. He knew what was happening, but he let it continue by not reporting him, or stressing about it. He immediately got up from his sitting position.
"He then started to k-kick me in the stomach, and now I can't breath"
She sobbed, making Callum instantly rush for the front door, not caring about letting Harry know where he was going.
"Where are you?"
He asked, speed walking out of the apartment block.
"I'm outside his apartment, I can't walk anymore"
He heard her sniffle, she was tired. Too tired to carry on moving. Sliding down the wall of the hallway. She rested her head against the wall, trying to balance out her breathing. Her head was killing as she rested her hands on her lap. She continued to listen to Callum on the phone.
"It's okay Liv, I'm on my way"
She nodded, even though he couldn't see her.
"I'm tired Cal"
Callum's eyes began to water. The last thing he wanted, was for her to pass out, and Aaron find her.
He suddenly knew why he cared so much. He was in love with her. He was in love with her, and couldn't bare the thought of someone abusing her. Putting his foot on the peddle as hard as he could.
It's unbelievable it took this long for him to realise his feelings. 4 years she's worked for him. 4 years of the two circling each other. He'd always been protective of her, he just thought it was a brother sister kind of protectiveness. Turns out it was the complete opposite.
The drive was a painful 3 minutes. 3 minutes consisting of Callum reassuring her that she'll be okay and that he was almost there. Parking up his car, he sprinted out of the vehicle and entered the building. Deciding that the lift would take to long, he began the climb of the stairs.
Callum did his best to stay calm, but he knew it wouldn't take a lot to bust down that bastards door and do to him what he had done to his best friend.
But Callum also knew that Livy wouldn't want that, she just wanted to go home.
He only lived a few floors up, so it wasn't going to take long. He arrived at the 5th floor, turning the corner of the corridor. In front of him, he saw Livy layed on the floor, her head against the wall and her arms crossed over her lap. She seemed like she was asleep, but Callum wanted to get her out a soon as possible.
Callum could've bursted into tears right there and then. Her face was awfully beaten, but he knew crying wasn't going to help the situation. He approached her, leaning down and placing his arms under her, picking her up gently. She woke up instantly, struggling to open her eyes though.
"It's okay Liv, I'm here now"
He whispered lovingly, to the dazed girl. He could see a faint smile, not wanting to smile widely, due to the split.
He managed to get out of the building without being stopped, just wanting to get her home as soon as possible.
꧁Time skip once they get home꧂
Callum pulled up, and ran around the other side to get Livy to some safety. He picked her up once again, and hugged her closely to his chest, whispering calming words into her ear.
He sped walked to the lift, waiting anxiously for his floor to be shown in front of him. The flat was empty, Harry had let him know that he was going out in the night, before Callum received the call from Livy.
Unlocking the door to his flat, he kicked the door shut with his foot and made his way to the bathroom. He gently placed her on top of the counter, making sure she was comfortable. Her hands were resting on his shoulders while he inspected her face.
He raised his hand up to hold her face, move it around so he could see all of damage that bastard had caused. A frown over taking his face when he swiped the pad of his thumb over her cheek.
"How long has this been going on Livy?"
Livy sobbed looking down, ashamed of how she handled this entire situation.
"A few months"
She mumbled. Callum gasped slightly, shocked with a mix of worry. He sighed as he bent down to grab the first aid kit from under the sink.
"I'll be back in a moment"
He whispered, leaving the bathroom to grab an ice pack from the freezer. Returning to the bathroom ice pack in hand and sympathetic look on his face. He gently pressed the pack to her cheek, while stroking the other one.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
He whimpered, seeing her in pain made him feel as guilty as if he was the one who hit her in the first place.
"I was scared"
She continued to sob, scrunching her eyes in at the pressure of the coldness on her cheek.
"I thought, i-if I told someone, he would h-hurt me even more"
She stuttered, struggling to get of her words out. Cal sighed, nodding his head as he listened.
"The day when you saw my wrist, and I said that it was some guy on the bus, I was lying"
Callum thought so. He knew she was lying but he didn't want it to be true. Callum removed the pack, and placed it on the counter. Rinsing a cloth in some hot water, he started dabbing her cheek gently.
"How bad does it look?"
She asked, her voice laced with dread. Callum looked away from her cut, to look her in the eyes. Those beautiful emerald green eyes she owned.
"It doesn't matter, I still think you're beautiful"
He admitted. For the first time that night, her frown went away and the smile crept up on her. Callum reciprocated her smile, continuing his soothing motions. He cleaned up any blood that remained on her face, finishing the job by placing a sweet kiss to her cheek.
"Thanks Cally"
She breath out, using the nickname she had given him a few years ago. He smiled, rinsing the cloth.
"It's okay. I'm sorry this happened to you Liv, I could've stopped it"
He apologised, taking the girl by surprise.
"It wasn't your fault Callum, you didn't know"
She reassured him, raising her hand up to cup his cheek.
"I know, but I just feel like everything is my fau-"
He was silenced by Livy's lips.
The sudden realisation that she was in the arms of 'the one', caused her to act out, completely out of character for her. Callum was taken by surprise, but responded quickly. He gently placed his hands on her waist, sliding her a little more forward on the counter, so she could wrap her arms around his neck.
Their romantic exchange lasted a few moments, before they pulled apart breathless.
"I want to be with you Livy"
He whispered, resting his forehead against hers. She closed her eyes, smiling and nodding her head.
"I do to. I just need time"
She replied. Nervously opening her eyes, they locked orbs, and smiled. Silently agreeing that they were now both off the market.
***
Thanks for 5k readers lads ❤️🥳
This one was quite heavy, I'm sorry if that's not your style, I would hate to make people feel uncomfortable 💖
Sorry my upload 'schedule' is kinda fucked up🙏
If anyone had any suggestions, feel free to let me know, you can message me privately if you want, or you can just put them in the comments 👇👌
That's all for now.
Bye-bye
🤙💛Xx