Just Saying - Calum Hood

Chapter 34

Luke's POV:

"I'm hungry." Michael states as we walk around a little in Saratoga Springs.

"When aren't you?" Ashton asks. I chuckle at how right he is. Michael really is hungry ninety percent of the time. We wake up, he's hungry. Five minutes after eating breakfast, he's hungry. We need to write songs, he's hungry. We go to bed, he goes back to the kitchen 'cause he's hungry. He's so hungry he even makes jokes about being pringle! Because he's single and ... Can you guess it? HUNGRY!

He and Ashton tangle into a discussion as Michael claims he isn't hungry all the time. I should back Ashton up but then I notice Calum. He's been a little off ever since we got here. Walking behind us, not joining conversations, always lost in thoughts. I wonder what has gotten into him.

"Hey, you okay?" I ask as I start walking beside him. His head shoots up, clearly surprised that I'm talking to him.

"What?" He asks in shock. His eyes are wide as he looks at me and there's a mix of emotions in them. But sadness overwhelms the others.

"Are you okay? You seem..." How can I say he looks like shit in a friendly way? Damn I'm not good with words. "You seem uncomfortable." He turns his head away from me with a sigh.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He murmurs.

"Ever since we got here you've been acting strange, Cal." He looks at me again. It's dark but I can swear his eyes are wetter than usual. "What's wrong?" He sighs again as his eyes focus on the ground.

"Sarah has family here." I look at him with surprise. I didn't know Sarah had family in the States! "I don't know what they look like and I can't help thinking that every person I walk by might be family of hers..."

"Why don't you ask her for a picture?" I say. He looks up at me again, confusion written all over his face. "If you know who they are and you see them somewhere, you might walk up to them and talk to them." He frowns as my words sink in.

"That's actually not a bad idea..." He says, taking out his phone. I decide to give him some time alone and walk back up to Michael and Ashton who are still in their discussion.

"Michael, you are hungry all the time." I interfere and both their heads turn to me. Ashton starts laughing.

"I win!" He shouts and soon Michael starts to protest again.

A few minutes later Calum suddenly joins the three of us and starts walking on my right side. He seems happier than when I talked to him, a small smile on his lips.

"How'd it go?" I ask. His smile widens as he looks up to me.

"I thought it would take a few hours for her to answer but she woke up early to learn for her exam today and send a picture a few minutes after I asked!" He opened his phone to show me a picture of two slightly older people, early seventies I guess. I could tell the woman was Sarah's direct family. The similarity was evident with the same light brown, slightly curled hair and the green-brown eyes. The man was tall next to the woman. He was wearing glasses and had short, grey hair. He looked friendly but nothing like Sarah's family. "The woman is the aunt of Sarah's dad. She married an american. Their names are Patrick and Micky and they live half an hour away from here." He swiped his phone to show me another picture. This time there was a younger couple, mid forties I guess, and two little kids. "The woman is Micky's daughter, Tamara. That's her husband Nate and two kids, Alden, the oldest, and Ingrid, the youngest. They live near Albany." He slipped his phone back into his pocket. "I haven't seen any of them today." He says with a smile. "I would've felt so bad if I had."

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We found a place to eat since Michael was still hungry. And I have to admit that I was starting to feel hungry too.