Who do you love?

Epilogue ii

One month after finale

A cold sweat lingered on Calum's skin. The network had just shown the finale episode of his season, an accelerated season thanks to spoilers that had gotten out about what happened, meant that after tonight this shit would be over and out of his life for good.

His four best friends, Roy, along with his bandmates, as well as his family, were all in the audience. The show had convinced them to be available for questions. They wanted to know if anyone else in his life had been privy to the fact that he had planned to pick Teal. Of course they knew he was into Teal but he himself hadn't planned to pick her on the show. It had been a spur of the moment decision and now that he knew the fallout of the decision it was easily the one he regretted most.

Out on the stage, which he could see from behind the curtain separating him from the room of fans and all the ladies he had hurt, Eric began to speak.

"You just watched one of, if not, the most dramatic bachelor franchise finale of all time. Now it's time to hear from the women as well as our Celebrity Bachelor, Calum Hood, about how it all went down. Ladies and gentlemen please give it up for Mr. Calum Hood."

His ears rang and he couldn't hear anything over the sound of his heavy heart and the blood that rushed between his ears as his legs carried him without permission to the center of the stage and to the chair that had been reserved for him. His cheeks flamed as he looked at the ten women who had trusted him and who he had betrayed, he couldn't look at them so he picked a random spot on the wall in front of him and stared at it. He'd been put through the seventh circle of hell (aka media training) for this, given the fall out, but all the things they had instructed him to say had gone in one ear and out the other. He had never been one to let others dictate his words. He liked that what he said always meant something and he wasn't about to change that tonight.

"Calum, how are you?" Eric asked.

Cal had to stifle a snort. How was he? He'd looked like a complete jackass on national TV and then been dumped by the only woman he had ever loved. He was doing just fucking dandy.

"I've been better." He said, his words brisk.

"So take us through what you were thinking that night right before you gave your rose to Teal."

"I was thinking that I agreed to be on the show to find love. My friends have all found amazing people who they adore and I wanted what they have, and I found it, just not in the way I had anticipated."

"So, how long exactly had this been going on?"

"I don't know, since the beginning pretty much. Teal, she just, she had me from day one. She got me to my trailer on the first day of filming when I felt completely out of place and overwhelmed and then she became my only friend. I couldn't give you a day that it really developed into more, I was fighting this undeniable connection we had for a while because I knew what I was supposed to be here for and I did have genuine connections with other girls."

"Then why Teal?"

"Because I didn't have what I did with her with anyone else. I fell in love with her." He admitted truthfully.

"So now I want to ask our ladies. By a show of hands how many of you at least had an inkling that Cal was involved with Teal."

Calum was unsurprised when Rileigh raised her hand, a smirk of satisfaction on her face, that couldn't be good. His eyebrows did lift a little however, when he saw Ava Lynn, Jules, and Ansley all also raise their hands.

Rileigh stood to speak, her petite frame meaning that even standing she still struggled to be seen above the other girls who were seated. "I had more than just a feeling." She stated matter of factly and Calum raised his hand, dragging it down his face.

She was really going to do this. Fuck. Fuck. Fuckity fuck. Fuck.

"He said her name instead of mine in an intimate moment."

The room, full of people, went dead quiet, you could hear a pin drop and finally Eric was signaled to go to commercial. As soon as the light indicating they were off air blinked on Calum was up and across the room to the backstage area. His eyes scanned frantically for a trash can and he promptly lost the entire contents of his stomach.

"Are you okay?" The small, soft voice surprised him and he was even more surprised to turn and see Jules standing behind him.

"Yeah, yeah I'll be fine I just need some water."

"I didn't know Riliegh was going to do that. I'm sorry." She said quietly.

"Why are you apologizing to me, Jules? If anyone should be sorry here it's me. I still feel like a complete and total douchebag for what I did to you."

"Why did you do it?" She asked quickly. "I came to you the night before the finale and gave you an out. Why didn't you just tell me then? Why did you blindside me?"

"I blindsided myself." He gave a humorless chuckle. "I had zero intentions of ending things like that but then Teal saw me kiss you that night and I found her crying and it broke me. I don't even know how to describe what it was like to see someone I was so completely and one hundred percent in love with broken because of my actions and I had to make it right. So I got to the finale and I couldn't do it. To you or to her. Originally I was going to pick you and go along with it until after all this then quietly end things and be with her but I didn't think you deserved to be strung along like that either because I mean it Jules, I really do think you're great."

"Just not great for you." She sighed.

"Exactly, and I am so, so sorry for that. It just was always her." He said emphatically.

"Don't be sorry for the way you feel, Calum."

"I'm also really sorry about our night together. I used you to try and get Teal out of my head and that was wrong and a mistake and I wish I could take it back." She widened her eyes and fiddled with her fingers but eventually nodded, her bottom lip trapped between her teeth. "Thanks for being honest with me."

"I'm sorry I wasn't from the start."

They were called back to stage and Calum huffed out a breath before retaking his chair, hoping that the rest of this would pass by quickly. It didn't of course, the girls each gave their take, snippets of conversations and moments they had observed of him and Teal that they dissected in front of him. He felt like he had been laid bare and rubbed raw by all of the memories they were bringing up, all the painful reminders of the girl who had so easily walked out of his life and never looked back. The night of his birthday in the guest house, the hotel which apparently really did have thin walls, their shared meals in catering. All of it was laid out in front of him and it fucking hurt.

It had been weeks now with no word from her. He hadn't gotten a call, an email, a carrier pigeon or even a measly text. How could he mean so little to her when she meant everything to him. It wasn't fair and he practically missed when the girls were dismissed and his friends filled the chairs they had left behind.

He was on auto-pilot, answering the questions asked with whatever bounced into his brain first without any sort of filter, he had made himself numb to the whole experience. He couldn't listen to Ashton and Mike talk about how textbook perfect Teal was for him, not when he didn't have her to come home to.

He had half a mind to simply stand up and walk out but he'd put enough dents in his contract as it was, he was skating on thin ice and didn't dare risk it. His contract wasn't so much the one he was worried about, he had begged them not to punish Teal for his actions and to let her ride out at least what was left of hers. He couldn't risk taking that away from her too so he stayed. Even though it killed him

An: poor cal ☹️

One last chapter left! What will Tealum's ending look like?

My new story "Empty Sounds and Endless Stories" is on my profile along with the Prologue! Check it out 🖤

Ily,
Sav