not in the same way || c.h.

6

After my long shift I finally got to go home. Except I knew my walk to the car wouldn't be a pleasant one because Calum was standing outside smoking a cigarette.

He sat in here for hours doing nothing but bug me every chance he got. Then towards the end of my shift when we started closing he went outside and started smoking. It's almost as if he wants me to be disgusted with him honestly.

When I walked out he turned around and smirked before taking a drag from his cigarette.

"You're killing yourself you know that right?" I asked rhetorically and crossed my arms over my chest to keep the warmth in my jacket. It wasn't necessarily cold out, it was just the nighttime chill that always made me a bit chilly.

"Anything we do nowadays gets us killed. We're gonna die anyway so why does it matter?" He asked and shrugged his shoulders before taking another drag.

"Don't you want to die healthy? Don't you want to actually be able to breathe?" I asked with slightly raised eyebrows.

"If we die does that really mean we're still healthy? I mean we're dead so we can't be that heathy. Not the mention the fact that no matter what we do, we'll never be heathy." He said which only made me scoff.

"You're ruining your body. You weren't put on this planet just to destroy nature." I said and turned to start walking down the street and to my car, which was like three blocks away because I couldn't find a decent parking spot.

"You know I bet some of the food you eat also ruins your body." He said from behind me and started walking behind me down the street.

"Cigarettes kill you. They are evil and disgusting and they completely ruin your body. Do you want that?" I asked and turned around to face him which made him stop in his tracks.

"Again, we're gonna die anyway." He said and shrugged his shoulders.

"You're paying somebody to sell you things that'll kill you. You're basically spending your money away and buying death. Sounds pretty dumb if you ask me." I said and took his cigarette from between his fingers, threw it on the ground, and smothered it with my shoe. He looked at me in shock for a moment before I turned around and kept walking to my car.

"I didn't ask you." He shouted from down the street but I just ignored him. Everything he did was just infuriating to me.

The streets were quiet and pretty much empty. I've always been slightly afraid of walking in the streets at night but it was just a couple blocks to my car. And I really had no choice but to get over it tonight.

As I was walking through the lit up streets I got some texts from the girls asking when I'd be coming home. I guess they were still at my apartment and planned to stay there all weekend.

I was so caught up in my phone and I wasn't paying any attention to my surroundings. I felt someone grab my arm and yank me into a dark alley. I screamed loudly which made them put their large hand over my mouth to muffle my screams. My heart was racing and I was practically shaking right now.

"Shhh you gotta be quite little lady." He said with a menacing chuckle and held his hand tightly over my mouth. He had me pressed up against the brick wall as I struggled to get out of his death grip. I was either gonna die, or something a lot worse was gonna happen.

My screams were still muffled by his hand and his grip was still tight and impossible to get out of. I tried to kick him and just get out but it was no use really.

"Tobin get away from her." Calum's voice said and echoed through the dark alley.

"Hood come join the fun." He chuckled and pushed me harder into the wall.

"Tobin get away from her." He said through gritted teeth. All I could see was his shadow getting closer to us. I couldn't even see who was in front of me or what was around me at all. It was so dark.

Before he could even say anything Calum had ripped him off of me. After that I had no idea what was happening, I couldn't see a thing. But I could hear the grunting and the sound of bones breaking which terrified me. I kind of just stayed up against the wall just in case I got caught up in whatever mess they were making.

I felt an arm touch me after a few seconds of silence, which made me flinch and back away. They gently reached for me again and oh so carefully held my arm in their hand.

"It's just me." Calum said softly. I felt myself relax and a huge breath escape my chest. My heart has never beat so fast in my entire life.

"Let's get you home." He said and walked me out of the alley and under the closest street light.

"You have blood on you." I said and looked at the blood all over his bare arms and on his muscle shirt. I couldn't even tell if this was his or not. I don't think it was, because he didn't seem to have a single scratch on him.

"It's fine. I'll drive you home." He said and caught his breath a bit.

"I um- thank you... for that. You didn't have to-"

"Hey no worries, he won't bother you anymore." He said and gave me a small smile to reassure me that everything was fine.

"How do you know?" I asked and looked up at him with a worried look on my face.

"I killed him." He said which made me gasp and back away from him. I covered my mouth with my hand and backed away from him until my back hit the street light pole. How can he say that so casually?

"Y-you k-killed him?" I stuttered out with wide eyes.

"It was either him or me Brenna, and if it was me then it would've been you too. I didn't do it for me, I did it for you." He said with a guilty look on his face and made direct eye contact.

"But you don't even know me." I said and wrapped my jacket tighter around me.

"That doesn't mean I want something bad to happen to you." He said with a breath.

"W-well what's gonna happen to him?" I asked and looked down the dark alleyway.

"It'll get taken care of don't worry." He said and looked down the alleyway.

"I um- I'd hug you but... you've got a little blood on you." I said and pointed to his arms and shirt that were covered in blood.

"It's fine, you can give it to me later." He chuckled and looked down at himself.

"I can take you back to my place so you can get cleaned up if you want... it's not that far from here. My friends are there, and they might ask questions but you don't have to answer them if you don't want to." I said and he just thought about it for a moment or two before answering.

"Only if you don't mind." He said and I shook my head.

"Come with me." I said and nudged my head down the street so we could get to my car.

"Who was that?" I asked as we got closer to me car.

"Just some asshole. He's never really been a good guy, he was probably going to die at some point anyway." He said and sat in the front seat of my car. What the hell did he mean by he was gonna die anyway? And some point soon? What the hell?

"How do you know him?" I asked and looked over at him as I started my car and buckled my seatbelt.

"He's an old friend I guess you could say. It's complicated, and I don't want you to have to get wrapped up into something you shouldn't be wrapped up in. Just don't worry about it, he's gone now." He said and looked out the window.

Clearly Calum's life was a lot more complicated than I thought it was.