Push Me Away : Book 2 of the Teeth Series

10

"Your car or mine?"

The sound of Calum's voice stopped Fallon in her tracks as she turned around to face him, her left eyebrow quirked upwards.

"Excuse me?"

"Do you want to take your car or mine? We need to talk. I don't want a repeat of last week." He explained.

"We can do it later, Cal." She said, sliding her eyes away from him, her arms rising to cross over her chest as if they could provide some sort of shielding.

"If we put it off we'll never make the time. You and I both know that."

Silence lapsed between them. Fallon knew he was right but she was too stubborn to admit it. Calum had been through this a time or two with her though and so he eyed Fallon. Daring her to challenge him and unwavering in his stare until she yielded to him with an annoyed huff. "Just follow me to my place."

"Do you have dinner plans? I can grab takeout on the way if you like?"

"I'm always down to eat. Just get the usual from the burger place up the street. It'll give me time to clean up a bit before you get there. Do you still remember my order?"

"Number five no tomatoes with fries and a Lemonade." He recited, a sad look in his eyes as she nodded in confirmation.

"See you in a bit." She said after a tense moment of silence, spinning on her heel and quickly retreating to her car. The voice inside her head was screaming at her to be cautious and that this was a completely terrible idea. Just look at what had happened the last time they had been in her apartment alone. It felt like she was toeing a dangerous line but she didn't seem to have a choice in the matter. They couldn't avoid their therapy assignment two week in a row and there was apparently no time like the present to get it done.

The drive back to her apartment was uneventful but her feet seemed to drag on the stairs as she walked up to her floor. She didn't know why. It wasn't like Calum was there yet but she was still filled with anxiety about what would come of their talk.

As soon as she stepped through the threshold into her apartment she went into her panic cleaning mode. For the past few days her mental health had taken a high dive off the deep end and her living space showed it. Clothes and various other items were strewn and scattered over nearly every visible surface of her place. She started with the laundry, gathering all of the clothes into the hamper. Then, she moved on to the dishes moving them from the sink to the dishwasher and letting it start its cycle.She swept and dusted and did more cleaning in the twenty minutes it took Calum to appear at her door than she had done in the previous twenty days.

By the time he knocked on her door, bearing their dinner, she was spent and not in any mood to be dealing with her feelings for Calum. Romantic or otherwise.

"They were out of lemonade so I got you fruit punch." Calum said as he moved to the kitchen area and set the bag of food on the counter.

"God, today just isn't my day." Fallon groaned.

"That seems a bit dramatic." He commented with a chuckle that died in his throat when Fallon shot him a shut-the-fuck-up look.

"Sorry that I'm having a bit of a shit day, Cal. I started out with yet another ignored call from my sister, I've had writers block at the studio for days, I was late to therapy where our therapist chastised us over the assignment we forgot, and now I can't even get the fucking drink I want. And yes, I get that I'm being a bit woe is me but I mean, fuck. Why can't I just catch a break?"

Calum was pensive for a moment, the silence lingering long enough for Fallon to begin to become irritated as she watched him pick at the salad that had come with his meal. "Perhaps you need to change your mindset."

His eyes lifted just long enough to meet hers before refocusing on his meal. "I mean, yeah, the last week's been rough but is your current unhappiness, your mental state, is it the way it is because you've been looking for only the bad things?"

"What?" Fallon asked, genuine curiosity in her words as she stared at him with obvious intrigue. Wisdom was one of Calum's many gifts and as much as it pained her to admit it, it was a piece of him she still desperately needed.

"I'm just saying that perhaps if you chose to focus on the positive things that happened instead of just the negative it might help you be a bit less melancholy."

"I mean but how the hell am I supposed to find the positives in this?" She asked, clearly exasperated.

He allowed her a moment to clear her mind and then he began to talk. "Well, okay so, I don't have much to help the Erin situation. Maybe you should try to bring that up to Dr. Stevens and she'll have some proper advice for that part."

"This is your big pep talk speech!"

"Don't be critical. I'm working up to the good part like look, we're together and this almost feels normal." He said taking a large bite of his dinner. "We're spending time with one another, we're getting help on the things we need and even if you were late and she was a bit miffed with us the fact that we're there at all is definitely a positive."

A long, quiet pause occurred as they worked on the meals in front of them. Fallon took a few bites and then looked at him. "I think this is why we worked so well before we fell apart."

"Why, because I give sub-par pep talks?" He joked.

"No." She answered simply, a soft look crossing her face. "Because when I go all doomsday pessimistic you were always there to show me the brighter side. To promise me that things get better."

"Well, they do...get better, I mean."

"Yeah, I knew what you meant."

They finished off the rest of their plates with only the muffled sound of the television that Fallon had cut on and then settled on opposite ends of the couch.

Fallon could feel the steady drum of her heartbeat within her chest as she waited for Calum to broach the subject of their assignment.

"So..I don't know if we should delay this any longer." He started and she couldn't help the way the corners of her mouth slipped up into an easy smile. "What?" He asked.

She had to just shake her head, unable to describe the amusement that him practically reading her mind had brought her.

"I agree that we should get it over with."

"Get it over with? It really that bad having to talk to me?"

"Depends." She said, "Which Calum am I getting?"

He looked at her, obviously lost as to what she meant.

"I just mean am I getting the Calum I used to know or the one who constantly judges me for the choices that I've made?"

"Aw, c'mon Fallon don't be like that. This is supposed to be a friendly conversation."

"How can you expect me to have a friendly conversation when I'm not even sure we're friends?" She snipped.

"That's a bit daft coming from you."

"Is it? You've kind of been throwing me for a loop with your mixed signals lately. It's like one moment we're who we used to be and then it's like you suddenly remember that you think I'm the worst person to ever walk the planet. Or more accurately, one minute you still love me and want me screaming your name and the next you're running out on me and ignoring my messages. So please, clarify for me where we stand with one another. Because Calum I really fucking need to know."

An: oof
Thoughts?

Ily,
Sav 🖤