Who's Gonna Love You Like Me? [Brother's Best Friend!Calum AU]

Part 10

this is the last chapter of this short fic! hope you all enjoyed it as much as i enjoyed writing it! thank you for reading, voting, and commenting!

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         Josie smoothed down the front of her dress, the floral maroon print one she admired as she fixed the slit on the skirt. It was a happy occasion and despite the weight on her chest, Josie was determined to enjoy it. So with her heels strapped and her hand grabbing her purse, she left her bedroom and went downstairs, heels clicking against the stairs as she tried to listen for Luke. Her eyebrows furrowed when she looked out the window in the living room, letting out a breath. His car wasn't in the driveway. He'd already left.

Which was fine, Josie figured. Calum was picking her up anyway. Josie sighed once again. And so the silence from her brother continued.

When Calum pulled up in front of the house, Josie locked the door behind her and slid into the passenger seat, feeling some relief as Calum leaned over and greeted her with a kiss. His thumb brushed against her chin as he lightly cupped her face, brown eyes light as he said, "You look beautiful."

Her cheeks warmed as she settled in her seat, eyeing the black suit he was wearing. "So do you," she responded with a cheeky wink, earning a laugh from Calum as he began driving.

They chatted comfortably as Calum drove them downtown where the party was. It had been a while since Luke found out about everything, but that didn't overshadow the excitement of Michael proposing to Crystal. He'd been planning it for a while, and her two friends' happiness was a welcome focus that helped Josie ignore the fallout her own love life had brought. She spent the days listening to her brother's footsteps around the house if the two of them happened to be home at the same time, and every time Josie would think Luke was about to come to her, to finally talk, she'd be sourly mistaken as he continued to do his own thing.

Luke's lack of communication bled into his act of sometimes spending the night at Sierra's place, leaving Josie to either spend the night alone in the house or spend it at Calum's. Every day of silence from him gave her more of an initiative to find a place of her own. That had been the plan from the start, hadn't it? Crash with Luke for a while as she searched for an apartment of her own. So she had started looking; asking her coworkers if they knew of any apartments for rent, searching some up whenever she could. There were a few potential prospects, but Josie hated that even just the thought of moving out of the house—Luke's house—had her stomach twisting uncomfortably. She didn't want to move out, honestly. At the very least, have the memory of her moving out of Luke's place be sadder than it already was.

Josie bit her lower lip. When had she started thinking of it as Luke's place instead of home?

They arrived to the destination about forty-five minutes later, a restaurant right by the beach, and Michael and Crystal had rented out the roof portion for their engagement party. It was beautifully decorated, no doubt Crystal's doing, with lights strung up above their heads and floral vines wrapped around the railings. The sun was going to set soon, and the air was filled with the salty scent of the sea, the sound of waves crashing against the shore forming a symphony, almost, with the music playing.

There were rectangle tables, seating ten, scattered around purposefully, leaving enough space for a dancefloor, all around with beautiful floral center pieces. A bar was set up, as well as a table filled with dessert foods, including the engagement cake, and a lettered banner spelling out the couple's names hung behind it. The colors of everything were a pretty combination of white and lilac, and the lights provided for a soft glow throughout the rooftop.