Push Me Away : Book 2 of the Teeth Series

22

Fallon slept better that night than she had in a long time. While there wasn't any proof that it was a direct result of her finally allowing herself to believe that a future could exist for her and Calum, there wasn't any proof against the idea either.

The clock on the bedside table glowed red showing that it was just after eight in the morning. While she would usually just roll over and resign herself to trying to get a bit more sleep. That particular morning, however, saw her feeling exceptionally rested and wanting to do something nice for Calum. She slid to the edge of the bed and rolled up and walked silently down the hallway towards the kitchen. A quick glance into Calum's partially open door revealed the man softly snoring and shirtless. Duke was curled up at his feet but lifted his head as Fallon walked past, his tail wagging as he jumped up to follow her. She froze in the hallway scared that the movements would have woken Calum but he seemed to be deep in his sleep.

Just as she turned away she heard him say her name. Her heart stuttered to a stop as her head whipped around, convinced that he had in fact woken up but his eyes remained closed, his perfect pouty pink lips puckered in sleep as he once again mumbled her name and shifted deeper into his comforter.

"Love you, Fal."

Those three little words, mumbled unconsciously, had her heart slamming against her ribcage and every inch of her skin lined with goosebumps. She had never heard him talk in his sleep and for a second she wondered if she had heard him correctly. In her soul though, she knew she had. A contented smile leapt to her lips as she gently pulled the door closed until it was only barely cracked and then continued on her way to the kitchen.

Her footsteps were light, her whole body felt like it was floating on a cloud of happiness and optimism that she hadn't felt in quite a while. Maybe things had truly turned a corner. Maybe the back and forth they had been facing for months was coming to an end and there was truly a light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe quarantine had proven to be exactly what they needed.

The sun shone brightly through the glass wall that lined the back of the house looking out into the backyard. The blue skies and scene of the world waking up was practically a siren call lureing Fallon out of the house and into the morning light. Duke followed, tail wagging as he sprinted for the grass, settling down amongst the green blades content to bask in the rays and fresh air.

Fallon slid into a garden chair, her legs extended in front of her as she slid open her phone screen and browsed through her social media profiles. It had been a while since she had willingly subjected herself to the world of social media. Any space where people could hide behind a keyboard and say any vile thing that popped into their head tended to be a bad place for her to be. After all, she was the woman who had broken everyone's favorite bass player's heart. 5SOS fans and the general public alike had all but crucified her following the outing she had received by the paparazzi.

To be completely honest, her hands still shook slightly as she opened her twitter app but she wanted to do this. It didn't take long for her to find what she was looking for, a few tweets congratulating Calum's band on the release of their album. She retweeted two of them along with one from the band's account and favorited a few tweets claiming High as their favorite song. After listening through the songs again she had decided it was hers too. Lastly she pressed the button in the top right corner of her screen and bit her bottom lip as she stared at the blank tweet waiting to be written.

What should she say? What could she say? She didn't want anyone to think that she was clutching at Calum's coattails but she wanted to make it clear that she loved the new album, and maybe subtly that she still loved Calum too. No matter what she wrote there were going to be fans who attacked her and told her it wasn't her place. They would be angered even by the retweets. By the rising number on the notifications tab she suspected they already were.