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

37

The sounds from inside the cabin were loud and boisterous. Michael's birthday festivities had been exactly what they all needed to relax and take a break from the overload of stress they had all been under.

Fresh snow had greeted them that morning and they had spent hours outdoors enjoying the hot tub and each other's company. The afternoon had been reserved for a photography session and that had quickly spiraled into a snowball fight, henceforth dubbed Snowmageddon, when Calum's band grew bored. The result was nine soaking wet and freezing people huddled near the sizzling fire trying to dry off.

KayKay had shown up just before the start of snowmageddon. She and Ash had been locked in a bedroom since then, someone from the group glancing in the hallways direction every time there was a bump or muffled yell. Everyone hoped that this would finally be the time they fixed things.

Fallon was a little jealous. It was painfully obvious that their whole group was rooting for Kay and Ashton to figure things out and she hated that she didn't feel the same support for her own relationship with Calum. She tried to play it off as her own brain overthinking but she couldn't help but wonder if there was a reason that their friends were so adamant about the rekindling of one relationship and yet so impassive or against the same for another.

The realization that the members of Calum's band might simply just not like her hit her square in the chest and she had to fight from visibly recoiling. Calum, who seemed to always sense when something was wrong, lifted his hand and rested it in her lap, intertwining their fingers together. He was seated on the floor in front of where she sat on the couch, each of them observing the conversations that swirled around them. His gentle touch and squeeze of her hand helped her rationalize that their mess had been going on for far longer than the stuff with Ashton. That was the only reason for their behavior differences. Or at least, that was what she fucking hoped.

*

"You okay?" Calum asked gently as he stepped out onto the back porch where Fallon was nestled up next to the space heater, a blanket thrown over her as she sat in a deck chair and looked up at the stars. More of the twinkling orbs were visible there than any other place she had ever thought to observe them.

"I'll be fine. Just came out here to get a bit of air and enjoy the quiet. I love being around everyone but sometimes it's nice to just be by myself."

"Would you like me to leave you to it then?" He asked. "Or can I be out here alone, with you?"

"You can stay. Might want to go grab a blanket though, it's freezing out here." She told him, her eyes glancing over and scanning over his jeans and sweater.

"Be right back." She turned her attention back to the stars as his footsteps faded back into the house.

The sky and stars had always had a way of keeping her grounded. How could her problems really seem so big when there was a whole universe out there reminding her of how small she was. It made everything seem more manageable when she was forced to remember that in the scheme of things, she was just a speck of dust in the vast and immeasurable macrocosm.

Calum rejoined her but she didn't acknowledge him. She didn't need to. He would respect her wishes for quiet. This wasn't the first time they had sat together in simple observation. Fallon was aware that he didn't quite comprehend her fascination with the sky but he had never belittled her for it and when they had previously been together they had spent many a night simply silently staring at the moon, stars, and planets. She had even taught him a little about constellations but usually when she did this it was because she needed to think and he had always seemed to understand that.

"You're shaking love." Calum's voice cut through the cold Utah air.

Minutes had passed, or maybe it was hours. Time always seemed to slip through her fingers. Time was a sneaky bitch like that, passing both too slow and too quick all at the same time.