the hating game ; lrh

forty-five

"HAVE YOU GOT YOUR meds?" Calum asks, not bothering to conceal the stress he is feeling through his creased brow and concerned frown.

"Yes," I answer with a sigh, my own brows raised at him, challenging him to finally stop grilling me.

We are standing in the middle of the airport, right by Luke and I's boarding gate, with only minutes before boarding and Calum running through an extremely repetitive checklist in his head of what he thinks I should have packed for our trip to Yale.

Luke stands beside me, arms crossed over his chest and hip popped out, looking as bored as if he were watching paint dry as he waits for our conversation to cease. Although Calum remains extremely wary of Luke and his behaviour, almost as if he is on guard all the time, the two have mostly made up and thankfully returned to their previous state of friendship.

I can't say the same for Anna and I. Despite endless calls and texts, as well as multiple confrontations at school, I simply cannot get Anna to talk to me. I want to be honest with her, regardless of what Luke might say, but now she won't even give me the opportunity. I've tried to apologise, I've tried to tell her that I want to come clean, but she won't accept it — it's too late. I only hope that eventually, after some space, she is open to hearing me out and hopefully resuming our friendship.

For now, though, I'm stuck with only Calum and his friends — which is how it has been for a while now, anyway.

"Enough clothes?" Calum continues, not even allowing me to finish before he adds on, "Warm ones?"

"Yes," I respond, glancing at the screen above our departure gate to see that we will be boarding in less than two minutes. "Cal—"

"Do you have the number of mum's friend in Connecticut? In case anything happens?" Calum interrupts. When I part my lips to answer, however, he is already whipping out his phone, presumably to relay the information to me once again. "She lives in Hartford, but she won't mind coming to get you."

I place my hand on Calum's arm, stopping him from typing anything into his phone. He looks up at me, finally taking a deep breath, and I offer him a sad smile. "Cal, I'll be fine," I assure him, earning a half-hearted nod in response. "Luke will look out for me."

Calum glances over at Luke warily, almost as if second guessing his decision to allow us to go on the trip, but before he can voice any such opinion a muffled announcement comes over the speakers. I don't understand what is being said, and seemingly neither does Calum, but Luke readjusts his backpack and looks like he is about to make a move for the departure gate.

"We'd better go," he nods to the queue of people beginning to form at our gate, all with their tickets out and ready to be scanned.

Calum swallows visibly, looking over at the queue for a moment before turning back to us. He steps closer to Luke, encasing him in that odd 'bro-hug' that all guys seem to love.

"Don't pull any shit like banquet night, okay?" Calum speaks sternly and lowly to Luke, more aggressive and serious than I have ever seen him. Luke nods at this, but it doesn't seem enough for my brother. "I'm serious, Luke. I don't want to get a call to say that she's hurt again."

Luke shakes his head, gulping visibly though seeming certain. "You won't," he assures my twin. "I promise."

Calum nods once at this, seemingly accepting the notion, and then turns to me. He lets out a sigh, then breaks into a nervous smile and encases me in a gentle hug. "Be careful," he mumbles in my ear.

"I will," I respond honestly. The accident seemed to take a far greater toll on Calum than it did on me — aside from the panic attack on my first day back at school, that is. Since then, however, I have felt mostly fine. It's Calum who has been particularly protective and worrisome. So, I know that I must be careful from here on out — no more stupid decisions like banquet night. Calum doesn't deserve that.