Aftershocks | Calum Hood

19

An: a double update. This never happens.

15 weeks

"Run it again." Luke said, his voice sounding almost robotic.

Calum sighed and looked over to him. He'd done his best not to cause problems as things had been tense since everything with Mack and the baby had come out. They'd had fights before, four boys around each other nearly constantly were bound to have some arguments, but he'd never felt so isolated by his friends.

"Luke, I'm sorry, but I've got to go. Mack's appointment is in half an hour and I promised I'd be there."

"Fine." Luke huffed.

"Jesus, mate. No need to be childish." He muttered as he put away his things, grabbing his keys and heading for the door.

He slumped in the seat of his Range Rover, his head hung as he tried to get himself together. He hated fighting with his friends. It felt like the whole world was against him at the moment and he was struggling to carry the load.

He took a calming breath and put his car in drive, taking the ten minutes to Mackenzie's doctor's office to try and pull himself together for her.

He approached the door, having received her text that she was inside waiting, his hood was pulled low over his eyes in hopes of moving inconspicuously as he stepped inside. He did a quick scan of the room and found her seated in a corner of the waiting room, awaiting his arrival.

"Hi." She said softly as he took the seat beside her.

"Hi,how are you?"

"I'm fine, my back was hurting earlier."

"I'm sorry, love. Anything I can do to make it better?" He asked.

"I don't think so, bub. It's just growing pains." He nodded and settled into the chair, readjusting in the seat until he found a comfortable position.

Only a few more minutes passed before the nurse emerged from the back and called for them. Calum followed closely behind as they were shown to a private room and Mack took a seat on the exam table.

"So what all are they doing today?" He asked, feeling slightly nervous not knowing what to expect.

"Um, they'll just check the baby's vitals, let us hear the heartbeat and we might can find out if it's a boy or girl too."

"This soon?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, if the baby will cooperate we should be able to find out."

He gave a tight smile, excited about possibly finding out.

Mackenzie studied him as they waited. He was trying so hard to give off this aura of being fine but she knew him and she knew it was all just a facade. His shoulders were slumped and his normal bright and sunny demeanor had been replaced by a look of strained happiness. He was putting on a brave face for her, but she could tell he was hurting.

The doctor swept into the room, being a family practitioner, Dr. Lee was handling all of her prenatal appointments and would be there for the birth.

"Hi, Dr. Lee." Mackenzie smiled.

"Hi, Kenzie. How's everything been? Hi, Cal!" She added.

Cal offered a small hello before Mack began to speak.

"Just having some growing pains. My back and sides have been giving me issue."

"Aw, yeah. Unfortunately that's to be expected and their isn't much we can do except tell you to take any of the approved pain killers, use a heating pad, make Cal give you a back rub." The woman said sadly.