Reach For You [Dad!Calum Hood AU]

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

GETTING A GOOD night's sleep just didn't seem to be in the cards for Aspen, it seemed, ever since the night she told Calum the truth. Ever since the night they slept together. It had been days, and she felt like a zombie when she went to work, not entirely there and just absently doing what she was supposed to, as if her duties had been pre-programmed into her mind. But her thoughts were all on Calum, on what she did, on what the consequences of everything would be. He hadn't spoken to her, didn't try to reach out, and she didn't push it. What she had told him had been a lot, to say the least, and she was well aware it would take him a while to process everything. To comprehend that, while Aspen was to take the blame as well, it was his own mother who put everything into action.

His reaction had any semblance of resentment she may have felt for Calum melting away, not for the first time struck with the realization that, at the end of the day, she didn't have much of a reason to be angry at him. What Aspen was, was nervous. They hadn't spoken in days and she had no idea what kind of mindset he was in. They had so much to figure out, talk through everything that transpired that night, and Aspen was two seconds away from anxiously biting her nails off to the stub. Never in her life did she want to talk to Calum, to see him, so badly.

Things had already been so rocky between them; now it just seemed like everything worsened tenfold.

"I can't fucking believe you slept with him!"

And Jodi's incredulity over everything wasn't helping too much.

"How many times are you gonna say that?" Aspen hissed, shooting her best friend a look from across the table. They were at Smashburger, both of them on early lunch breaks, as Jodi, for the hundredth time, guffawed in disbelief.

Jodi shook her head. "Until it starts making sense," she returned with an incredulous laugh. "What the hell happened, man? Weren't you two just barely tolerating this co-parenting thing? Now he ended up in your fucking bed?"

Aspen let out a breath, dipping her fries in some ketchup as she muttered, "Believe me, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it, too." Though, Aspen very much doubted she'd be able to comprehend it at all, since so far she was still thrown in for a loop.

She didn't necessarily regret what happened between her and Calum, but she was conscious of the fact that it could definitely make things a lot more complicated. Throw in the fact that Calum now knew of what happened that led to Aspen leaving him, and she just was not sure what to expect. He had left in a rage and hadn't spoken to her since, leaving her stomach in knots since that night. Calum was the only one who could undo them.

Later in the day, Aspen's shift ended and she had planned on running some errands before heading home when her phone began ringing. When she saw that it was Luna's school, Aspen's heart thumped as she answered the call, still sitting in her car in the parking lot of the clinic. And when she hung up, Aspen headed straight for the school, grip on the steering wheel tight as she wondered what possible incident could've happened involving Luna that required her to come in during the middle of the school day.

The secretary had said it involved another student, and Aspen clenched her jaw because she had a pretty good idea who that student might be.

When she got to the school, Aspen made her way to the main office after pulling on her jacket over her scrubs, hair now falling over her shoulders as she hurried down the halls. She entered the office, a light buzz in the air between secretaries, as she approached the one that had called her. "Hi, Mrs. Gregory," Aspen greeted kindly, "I got a call about coming in to see Principal Wallace?"

Mrs. Gregory looked up at her with a smile. "Go right in, Ms. Russo."

Thanking her, Aspen headed to where Principal Wallace's office was further inside, pausing when she sat the two girls sitting on chairs opposite of each other in the small hallway. Aspen took in a breath at the sight of Brooke Clarkson sitting with her arms crossed over her chest with a frown and pout on her face. She was glaring right at Luna, who sat innocently opposite of her, sitting on her hands as she looked down at her lap. It wasn't until Aspen neared her daughter that she saw a slight rip in the left knee of her pants.