Somebody I Don't Know : Book 1 of the Teeth Series

15

Trigger Warning: If you have triggers please revisit the warning at the beginning of the book and proceed with caution with your mental health in mind.

To say that Calum hadn't been sleeping well would have been one hell of an understatement. He had tried everything but every night when he lay down his dreams were full of Fallon. Her in his bed, her holding onto him in that club in New York, her voice on the phone when she had called him, her lips on his when they had kissed.

She had given him all of these new happy memories to hold on to and then she had simply ghosted him. He understood that things were complicated. They had work and friends constantly around them and he knew that maybe she felt confused or conflicted about that night but he hadn't expected her to completely ice him out.

Fallon wasn't like that, or at least she hadn't used to be.

When they were together she had never feared to give him a piece of her mind. He had rarely had to guess what she was thinking because she simply told him what she thought with no holds barred. That was why her complete absence from his life following the events in New York had him so confused, he didn't know what her reaction to that night was, which was a scary feeling. He hated the unknown and it had him tossing and turning in bed.

His inability to sleep was what had him in an already foul mood when there was a knock on the door. Their tour buses had only rolled into Washington, D.C. a few hours before after driving through the wee hours of the morning from their last stop. They had just gotten checked in and he had just gotten settled in his real bed, content to waste most of his off day enjoying the luxury of a full size mattress. He gave a loud, irritated groan and huffed before rolling up, out of the bed and stalking towards the door, fully prepared to give whoever was on the other side a piece of his mind. All of his gusto evaporated however when he saw Fallon, a sobbing mess, standing just outside his door.

"Fal, what the fuck? Come in." He said, reaching out and gingerly wrapping his fingers around her wrist, guiding her into his hotel room, the sleep that he had desperately craved before now the least of his concerns. His half-clouded mind struggled to wake up and worked to rationalize the scene in front of him.

He led her to the side of the bed and sat down beside her, the duvet sinking as they sat, his hand absentmindedly moved to hold hers as hiccup-y sobs caused her chest to rise and fall sporadically.

Was she okay? Was she hurt? So many questions plagued him but her current state of total disarray told him that she had no answers for him at the moment.

His arm was around her before he could overthink it, his breath caught in his throat as she tensed for a moment and then leaned into him.

Surely, that was a start. She had sought him out and allowed him to comfort her. Calum knew that alone meant that whatever had her upset was a big deal and his mind turned with ideas of possible scenarios that would have made running to him for comfort an appealing option.

"Fallon, are you hurt? Did someone hurt you?" He finally asked. The words tasted bad coming out of his mouth and he did everything in his power to not let his thoughts wander too deeply into whatever dark things his brain could think up.

She shook her head, no, as another sob wracked through her. Gasping for air around cries she leaned further into him, her face completely buried in his bare chest and her tears hot as they fell against his skin.

"Fal, try to breathe with me okay? We gotta get you calmed down so you can tell me what happened and I can get Erin or one of the girls to help you." His voice was soft and loaded with emotion, his concern for her well being overshadowing everything else.

As he mentioned her sister and bandmates her eyes flashed up to his, dark and terror filled. Her breathing became somehow even more irregular.

"Okay, okay, or not." He said, his hands rising quickly to either side of her face, his gentle hold keeping her eyes in line with his. "We don't have to get anyone. Just me and you, Fal. Breathe."

Her eyes fell to his parted lips, watching as he took exaggerated breaths until hers began to align with them. Her tears still fell but she no longer was inconsolable.

Calum stood and bent down to open the mini fridge, producing a bottle of water and uncapping it as he handed it to her. "Slow sips."

Her hand shook as she reached for it but she did as he said until finally she gained her composure.

He had expected that as soon as she was capable of getting the words out that in true Fallon fashion they would rush out of her so fast he would have felt as though he was listening at warp speed but instead she sat quietly beside him. His arm had moved around her when he had sat beside her again on the bed, after getting her the water, her head was leaned into the space made by his head and shoulder, a perfect fit.

They sat like that a long time and though Calum had shared innumerable silences with Fallon, this one felt different. It wasn't comfortable, like the rainy days they had once spent curled up in bed or reading any of the books they both loved while sitting right beside each other. It wasn't awkward either, the way it had sometimes been in the few instances before their breakup where they had been through a real fight and were struggling to find the words to apologize. This silence was just...silent.

Calum was growing impatient but he took a few breaths, the last thing she needed was him unable to control his emotions while she was obviously going through something.

He watched her out of the corner of his eye, studying her the way that she was currently studying her own hands. Fallon started to speak, opening her mouth and closing it again in frustration.

"It's okay, love. Take your time." He encouraged, brushing his thumb against her shoulder as she leaned into him.

"It's today." She croaked out.

His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. "What's today?" He asked.

"Our baby, Cal. Our baby's due date was today."

An: 👀 so there's a bit of the tea

Did anyone other than Sprinting_Ginger
see that coming?

What do you think?

Posted early bc I'm out of data and didn't want to wait until late tomorrow to post 😂

Ily,
Sav🖤