"Calum?!" It was Mitchy....
Hazel looked up at cal and immediately Calum pulled his hands away. 'Fuck' was all he could think
"You never came back to mine last night, cal" Mitchy spoke and looked hazel up and down. "Is she why!?"
"I-I got out of rehab last night so he stayed with me..."
"Yeah." Cal nodded "I stayed back to make sure she was okay after she got released."
"Okay but, babe, I want you to come see me. We are still together right?" Hazels eyes widened
"Cal what is-"
"Yeah!" Calum interrupted. Mitchy nodded and kissed calums cheek.
"I'll see you tonight then okay." Quietly and quickly hazel stood up and walked off
"Haze..." cal called after her. She turned around.
"Take me home, I just want to go home."
"I'm sorry." Calum tried to apologize
"Why would you let me do that with you this morning!? Why would you hold my hand and kiss me if you don't love me!?"
"I love you"
"Then why are you with Mitch!?" Hazel looked down at her feet
"I love him too." He was numb it seemed. His voice was monotone and quiet
"Can we just go home."
———
Calum dropped hazel off at the house and decided to go for a drive by himself. It's been a little while since he had some alone time and now he had way too much to think about. When he got home, he went inside and sat down on the couch next to hazel. She cuddled into his arm and leaned on him.
To Calum, it seemed like he needed to make a choice that he really really didn't want to make. Hazel...or Mitch....it seemed like an impossible choice. He loved them both...he wish he was allowed to love them both but he doubted either of them would be very keen to allow that.
"I love you." Hazel kissed cals cheek softly. "I love the family we have together." Calum nodded
After that hazel went to make some dinner and the kids came home. The boys ran quickly upstairs and Alice went to sit next to cal, complaining about school.
After dinner hazel and Alice took a drive together while issac talked to cal on the couch.
"How's life in the hood household?" Issac joked while smirking. "You planning on staying long or is this temporary."
"Don't talk to me like that right now." Cal sighed and looked at the tv. He knew he wasn't the best dad but he wasn't in the mood to be teased, he was on edge and might have lashed out unexpectedly if issac didn't stop. Issac rolled his eyes
"Okay boss."
The rest of the evening was once again silent, like most evenings seemed to be. Nobody had anything important to say to anyone else. Calum and hazel cuddled on the couch and talked late into the night and the kids all did their own things upstairs in their rooms.
"I love you so much Calum." Hazel said while playing with his fingers as they snuggled on the couch.
"I love you..." Calum was thinking about Mitchy though...Mitchy and everything he had gotten him through.
"Will you be with me?" She looked up at cal. Fuck. He didn't know how to answer...he loved her so much. But she hasn't treated him like he deserved...and he loved Mitchy, and Mitch had been there for him. So who did he pick...not picking hazel would make her and all the kids incredibly upset...she would probably storm out and issac would follow, the kids would take her side and cal would be left alone for the night. If he didn't be with mitch, he would be mad and never talk to Calum again but HE had been calums rock for the past eight years and cal wasn't ready to let that go....so...what the fuck did he do now...
"I love you...." he mumbled again. He couldn't think of anything else to say. Hazel frowned. She moved away from cal and Calum began to get teary eyed. Why was his life so goddamn hard. For once he just wanted something to happen that was okay. It didn't even have to be good or great, it just had to be okay. But nothing ever was. And nothing ever would be.
"But will you be with me?"
"I don't know." Calum whispered.
"Oh...."she looked down at her hands. "Okay..." cal sighed. Silence followed. Calum Listened to hazels soft breathing and thought about the past. He thought about high school and how close they had been and all their fun little dates and about the first time they had sex and about when hazel told him she couldn't have kids and was ashamed of that...
"Wanna sleep with me tonight?" Calum suddenly asked her, although he didn't know why.
"I-in your bed?" She blinked her big dolly eyes up at him and he nodded
Suddenly a girl, who cal had never seen before, walked into the house exclaiming that "issac said just to come inside."
Hazel stood up and walked over to her. "Who's this?" Haze pointed at the small baby in the girls arms
"This is chloe, she's-"
"Ruby!" Issac ran down the stairs and took the small baby out of Ruby's arms. "This is ruby."
Cal nodded but was confused.
"Yeah we're just gonna go upstairs." Issac started up the stairs
"No wait a second."
"What?" Issac groaned and turned around.
"How come I never met her?"
"Because you were with Mitch whenever she came over."
"Oh so she just happened to ONLY come over when I was at mitch's?"
"It's easier. Plus we've only been official for about a week, we just fucked around before that."
"Just.." cal sighed. "Just go." Calum stood up. He just wanted to go for a smoke again. Issac ran upstairs
"Cal....whats wrong?" Hazel put her hand on his shoulder.
"I'm going for a smoke." He walked toward the front door.
"Can I come?"
"Please."
