Flaws

27

"I know, bug, but you have to sleep." Calum sighed, sitting in the back lounge of the tour bus with his girl.

Had the circumstances been different, it would have been such a sweet sight. Calum holding his daughter in his arms, her clinging to him, blanket swaddled around her like she was a little burrito, the works. But, alas, the tender looking moment between them came at a high price.

Anastasia was now scared of sleep.

Ever since that dreaded Sunday, Anastasia's nightmares have been back, and more consistent than ever. And in her little head, she eventually associated sleeping with pain and fear. Which meant that getting her down for bedtime or nap time was a nightmare in of it's self.

So, there she was, refusing to sleep, and there Calum was, trying to convince her that everything would be okay.

The whole thing was taking its toll on everyone; not just the Hoods. Calum felt awful that his band mates had to endure this hardship with him, no matter how many times they said it was alright. He knew that they missed the days when they weren't woken up at all hours of the night after a show by sobbing and the occasional scream.

As for the boys, they were worried about the Hood family. It was clear as day to them that Calum needed some rest, and lately, he hadn't been getting any. Anastasia only wanted him to hold her and be there for her, and although it made her father's heart warm and fuzzy that she depended on him, they also knew that if he didn't get sleep soon, he'd crash. He'd been in snappier moods with everyone, almost never got more than a few hours in, and all of his energy was spend fretting about his daughter. Hell, they couldn't remember the last time that they spent more than an hour away from each other at a time.

Ana's nightmares, however, were always the same, and they all revolved around Calum. More specifically, someone taking her away from him. And to her, that she was worse than anything that could ever happen. She didn't know what she'd do without Calum. So to have to live out that fear every single night as soon as she drifted off... Well, she decided that she'd rather not sleep at all rather than have to go through that more than she needed to.

"I don't wanna." She mumbled, resting her head on his shoulder and balling up his shirt in her tiny fists.

"Well, you need sleep, bug." He retorted. "Growing girls like you need rest, Ana."

"Then I'll stay a baby."

In any other circumstance, Calum would have laughed at that. But at that point, he just couldn't.

Meanwhile, outside of the lounge room and in the living area of the bus, the rest of the boys were having a discussion of their own.

"He can't go on this way," Michael stated. "Hell, it's starting to effect his playing. He needs a break."

"No, what he needs is a good nights rest," Ashton scoffed. "He hasn't had one in ages. I don't blame him. But that won't happen unless Ana starts getting better."

"But how?" Michael asked. "You've seen her, she's terrified of bedtime. It's horrible. Poor thing is petrified."

"We could always try sleeping pills?"

Ashton and Michael were quiet for a moment, looking at Luke with blank faces before speaking:

"Shut up, Luke."

Sighing, Ashton looked at the closed door of the lounge, thinking of all the nights Calum has spent in there, trying to get his daughter to sleep.

"Maybe one of us could step in while Calum went to bed." He suggested.

"Yeah, but there's one problem with that: she doesn't want us." Luke pointed out. "You've seen her, she doesn't want to leave his side."