netflix & chill x luke hemmings

THIRTEEN

riley's pov

"what the..." luke mumbles after reading the text from calum on my phone. well shit, what do i do?

"i told him to text me when he got home, you know... just to know if he's safe and stuff." i become flustered as i try to find what to say.

"yeah, i can see that." he responds with no evident emotion in his tone. i wish i could read minds; i had no idea what he was thinking right now.

it falls silent. we can hear the muffled laughter from ashton and michael coming from downstairs, but the kitchen is filled with dead air and tension between luke and myself.

i look down at the text once again.

calum hood: I'm home. I'm sorry if you regret what we did that night. I hope you're happy with Luke and I won't get in the way. Goodnight Riley

"that night?" luke finally speaks, questioning me. "what's he talking about?"

i was completely and utterly torn. lying to luke didn't seem like a good idea, but i didn't want to be so quick to trust him with information that i haven't even shared with my best friend.

so i just shrug, hoping it will solve all of my problems.

it doesn't.

"riley." luke says firmly, looking at me expectantly. "what happened with you and calum?"

i go back to thinking about that night, trying to come up with a way to tell luke about what happened without making it seem so bad.

hours later i'm back at ana's party in tears. i pulled over three times on the way back from justin's university because i needed to let out a countless amount of sobs. my chest felt heavy and all i felt was pain and betrayal.

when i got to justin's college, it took me forever to find him. i ended up running into a group of three girls and i asked them if they knew my boyfriend. that's when i learned that he's fucked each and every one of them in the past month.

at first i didn't believe they could possibly be talking about my boyfriend, so i made them take me to him. they informed me that he was at the party they were just on their way to.

and when i got there, justin had a girl on his lap. that's all i needed to see.

his eyes locked with mine just before i turned away, and i could see the panic even from across the room. like i expected, he ran after me, all the way out into the parking lot. i fumble with my keys as i try to hurriedly unlock my car, and just when i open it, justin puts his hand on the window and slams it shut.

"don't fucking walk away from me!" he shouts in my face, and his breath reeked of alcohol.

"you're drunk." i state, disgustedly shoving him away from me. "fuck you."

"riley, she means nothing to me." he grabs my wrist to hold me back from trying to get into my car again.

"who? the girl on your lap, one of the three girls that told me they slept with you, anyone else i don't know about, or...?" i glare up at him, tears filling in my eyes but i fought for them to stay there.

of course, he had nothing to say at first. "fuck," he mutters. "shit. i'm sorry riley..."

"save it." my voice cracks along with my heart. "i'm leaving."

"baby please." he begs, pulling me close to him. it took me longer than it should have to push him away. "i love you."

"no, you don't cheat on someone you love with more than one girl, justin. you don't treat the person you love like shit." i shake my head and yank my wrist from his grasp. he looked hurt and for a second i let my guard down, just wanting to hold him and forget about everything bad.

but there was a certain limit on how much you could forget. i couldn't forget this.

i told luke everything that happened between me and justin that night. starting from him not answering my calls, to me showing up to his college, to me driving away in tears. honestly, it hurt talking about it. he was the first boy i've ever loved and he had me wrapped around his finger for so long. he broke my heart. the sad part is, that wasn't even the night we broke up... that's how stupid i was.

when i'm finished, he says, "okay... i'm sorry that happened. but what does that have anything to do with calum? it's like you're avoiding the subject."

i sigh because that was exactly what i was trying to do. "i should have just went home after that and cried myself to sleep."

"but you didn't." luke says, trying to understand.

i nod. "i went back to ana's party to get drunk off my ass. i didn't wanna feel the pain, you know?"

he holds my hand as i tell him my story. it was a bit harder to tell than i thought. luke brushes his thumb over the back of my hand soothingly as i continue to talk.

"but the thing is, i never got drunk that night." i stop talking for a second, knowing this is where calum came into the story. "on my way to make myself a drink, calum noticed me looking a mess. he asked me what was wrong and i thought it was odd because we've hardly ever talked to each other."

luke nods to show me he's listening, and i go on.

"i remember he said, 'a pretty girl like you shouldn't cry like this, especially if it's over some dickhead.' and it made me laugh through my tears." i smile a little at the memory. i never told calum how much i appreciated how he made me feel a little better that night.

"then what happened?" luke asks, eager to know.

"i told him i needed to go upstairs where i wasn't surrounded by so many people because i was on the verge of a mental breakdown. and since ana is my best friend i know every room in her home, so i took calum upstairs to the guest bedroom with me."

"what were your intentions?" he asks. i didn't like his question.

"i just wanted someone to talk to me, or hold me as i cried... and calum was there so i thought why not." i explain.

"clearly that's not what happened." luke says. i don't think i like his attitude.

"i was feeling so worthless and stupid. for almost my entire relationship with justin i was self conscious around him. he'd always point out things i hated about myself like it was no big deal. i felt like i needed to impress him all the time."

"riley..." luke frowns at me. "i don't like hearing that."

"and that night with calum he was just making me feel so good about myself. i don't know... when he kissed me, i felt like i needed it. it felt so good to be appreciated even if it was only for a night." i tell him truthfully.

after i explained to calum what went down with my boyfriend, he seems genuinely upset about the information.

"you need to be loved the way you deserve to be." he whispers, gently cupping the side of my face. it doesn't take long for his lips to connect with mine, and i hesitated before finally parting my lips.

i kiss calum deeply, thinking with my emotions. i was trying to convince myself i was kissing him because i wanted to, not because i needed a distraction. not because i wanted to get back at justin.

he repeatedly told me how beautiful i was, and i didn't get tired of hearing it because i haven't heard those words from my boyfriend in a long time. with each compliment from calum, it pushed me to go farther with him. farther and farther until we went all the way.

he made me feel amazing, just for the night.

>>>

omg calum!!!