Push Me Away : Book 2 of the Teeth Series

28

Fallon cried for a long time. Long enough that her sobs eventually tapered off until they were replaced with the sounds of her even breathing. Her eyes gently fluttered closed as she fell into sleep.

Calum felt his heart rate pick up as a gentle buzzing occurred in his pocket. His phone. He huffed out a breath as his eyes focused in on the sleeping woman in his arms, grateful that the slight movement and sound hadn't woken her up. It was obvious her distress has taken a toll on her and she could use the sleep.

Moving slowly he repositioned her body so that she was cuddling a pillow instead of him and tactfully removed his body from the bed, his hand reaching into his pocket. His eyes widened and his nostrils flared as he pulled his phone from his pants and revealed a missed call from Erin.

If he were a betting man, Calum would have been willing to place an entire year's worth of his income that she was behind Fallon's current emotional state. Quickly he moved to the hall, his thumbs flew over the screen until he was returning the call, his steps heavy with annoyance as he stalked down the hall and out onto the patio. His call connected just as he inhaled his first breath of fresh air.

"This had better be good." There was a touch of malice in his voice, a silent threat, and a reminder that things had changed and that he wouldn't stand by idly while Fallon was ostracized.

"It's not what you think." Erin's voice didn't sound confident and it was missing the hint of sarcasm and spunk that Calum had come to expect when dealing with the love of his life's older sister.

"So you didn't throw a damn tantrum about she and I working together? Please do explain then why she was a sobbing mess when I found her. She fucking cried so hard she put herself to sleep."

"Fuck." The word came out sharp and breathless like the wind had been sucked from the woman on the other end of the line's chest and she was genuinely distraught over what to do.

The gusto that had been fueling Calum's reaction, the anger, and assumptions dissipated as he began to wonder if everything truly wasn't as it seemed.

"Well..." he started, clearing his throat."If you didn't maker her cry, who did?"

There was a lengthy pause in the conversation and after a moment with no continuation, Calum held his phone out so that his screen was visible to make sure the call hadn't dropped.

"Erin?"

"Y-yeah. I'm still here." She said softly.

"So what happened?"

A heavy, defeated sigh echoed through the phone, and Calum's lips pursed. He wanted to stay angry. He wanted to remain on defense, crouched and ready to protect the only woman he had really ever loved should the need arise for it. Instead, though, he felt the ice in his veins start to thaw as Erin finally began to open up to him about what had occurred during Revelry's meeting.

"It's been kind of tense with the girls lately." She started, her words coming out so slow that Calum had to physically bite his tongue to stop himself from asking her to spit it out already. "Every time we get together on zoom or even in the group chat it feels like we're all on different pages, I mean shit, sometimes it's like we aren't even reading the same book."

"The boys and I have been through that...when Luke was with you-know-who and all of our priorities weren't lined up. I think a bit of conflict is to be expected in our line of work. Given how much time we spend in confined spaces with the same small group of people under immense pressure."

"But that's just it, Cal." She protested. "This wasn't a problem before the world went to shit. When we were on tour, even when Fallon was a total fucking mess, we all were so sure of where we wanted to be as a band and what we were doing. It wasn't until we took a step back from everything that things got to be so damn messy."