"Jade, my sweetheart, you aren't listening to me," my mum sighed in exasperation, "you cannot go to New York. The trip runs right into your graduation ceremony, and you have to graduate. You aren't going."
I had just told mum about Calum's plan to take me with he and the boys to New York, but I figured she would be happy for me and encourage me to go. Instead, she told me I couldn't go, then yelled at me. I sighed again, preparing my rebuttal.
"Mum, I don't care about graduation or school, for that matter! I want to go to New York with Cal and explore and adventure, I don't care about getting a fucking diploma!"
"Watch your language, Jade Elizabeth! I told you that you aren't going to go with Calum and his band to New York, and I meant it. I don't want my daughter running off with four teenage boys to another country-"
"It's Calum, mum. You know he is going to protect me and keep me safe." I argued with her, mainly trying to convince her to let me go.
"No, Jade. I said no, and that's final."
And with that, mum left the room. I wanted to scream and shout and kill her. Calum was going to be so sad when I told him I couldn't go. I hate breaking Calum's heart like that too, but there was literally nothing else to do except leave and not tell mum.
My dad entered the kitchen, probably to get another beer, and that's when the idea popped into my head.
"Hey daddy?" I asked. The classic daddy's-little-girl act. It would totally work.
"No, Jade. Your mum already told me what happened between you two." he muttered, then left the kitchen with his beer in hand. Sighing, yet again, I had no choice but to talk to Calum.
In the morning.
>>>>
My palms were sweating like crazy as I paced my family room. I had called Cal and told him to come over to talk about New York, and he sounded so happy. I would do anything to keep him happy, but mum said no, and I didn't know what else to do to change her mind.
I heard the roar of Calum's truck engine, causing the knot in my stomach to only grow. He was going to be pissed, or sad. And I didn't know which one would be better.
"Jade?" he called as he entered the house. I took a deep breath and shakily took a step toward the door.
"Hi Cal." I smiled. Thank God my voice didn't shake as I spoke.
"Hey babe, what's up? Is everything okay?" he asked and smiled sweetly. Damn, that only made things harder.
"I actually have, um, to talk to you about New York. See, my graduation ceremony is gonna be in, like, the middle of the trip. So, you see, I can't - I can't go to New York with you and the boys. I'm so sorry, Cal-"
"It's fine." he shook his head. I knew it wasn't. His body language was all wrong, not to mention how he wouldn't look me straight in the eye.
"Cal-"
"I said it's fine, okay? I'm late for band practice, I gotta run." he mumbled and turned his back on me. I felt like crying in that moment, and I wasn't sure why exactly. I just didn't understand why Cal wouldn't be straight with me if he was pissed or upset.
"Cal, seriously. What's wrong?" I asked, stepping in front of the door so he couldn't leave.
"Nothing, Jade." I cringed as he called me Jade, I hadn't heard him call me that in a while. It was always 'babe' or 'baby'. "Can you please move so I can get to band practice?"
He still wouldn't meet my eyes.
"No." I shook my head. Cupping his cheek in my hand, I pulled his face up so his eyes were looking straight at me.
"Jade." he groaned. His voice cracked a tad, but he made no attempt to move or make me move. He and I both knew he could make me move if he really wanted me to.
"Babe, what's wrong?" I whispered, brushing the palm of my thumb across his cheek. He closed his eyes at my touch, and didn't speak for a few seconds.
"I don't want to go, dammit. Not without you." he murmured.
"Cal, you have to go. You're in the band." I laughed in a sad way. Nothing about this was funny. Calum looked so vulnerable, and I knew if the boys could see him right now, he would never hear the end of it.
"Luke called me a selfish fucker last week because I didn't want to go to New York unless management would let me bring you. I don't want to go halfway around the world if you need me." he shook his head.
"Listen to me, Cal." I sighed, "are you listening?"
He nodded.
"I am almost eighteen years old. I took care of myself when you left for two years, so I think I can handle two weeks. Im not saying I won't miss you like hell, because I will, but I'll make it through." I cooed and continued rubbing my thumb over his cheek very gently.
"Stop." Calum brought his hand up to mine on his cheek, and he removed it, letting it drop to my side, "you're making it really hard for me to be mad."
"Mad? You can't be mad at me, Calum." I shook my head. I was praying to God that he was joking or something.
"And why not?" he scoffed, but kept his voice low. He wasn't screaming at me. Yet.
"Because I have to graduate, Cal. Because even though I want to go, mum won't let me. Because you love me and even though you want my safety, you don't want to fight with me. Again."
My thoughts went back to the last fight Calum and I had, and how it ended. How he punched the wall and almost hit me. How his face fell into deep sadness and despair when he saw the look on my face after he just about hit me. I didn't want that to happen again, I didn't want to fight with Calum at all. Let alone over something as stupid as this.
"Come with me, then. Sneak out. Like you said, you're almost eighteen. So act like it. Sneak out with me, babe." he smiled and stepped toward me.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He wanted me to not only sneak out and lie to my parents, but he wanted me to leave the goddamn country with him while my parents slept soundly in their beds. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd go anywhere in the world with Calum. But against my parents will? Uh....
"Cal, you're talking ridiculous. I can't just leave." I shook my head. His face fell instantly, his hands dropping from mine.
"Of course you can't." he scoffed.
"And what does that mean?" my voice began to get louder, even though I didn't want the fighting to begin.
"Goddammit, Jade, I'd do it for you. I'd do it for you in a heartbeat. I'd leave Mali and mum and dad for you, I'd leave the band for you if you wanted me to. Fuck - why won't you do the same?" he sighed, roughly taking my face in his hands so I had to look up at him.
Hearing Calum say that he would leave his entire family for me warmed my heart, even though I already knew he would. It was just always in his nature; in his eyes when he would tell me he loved me that much.
"I'm sorry, I can't go." I shook my head. As much as I wanted to give into the puppy dog eyes, and as much as I wanted to see him smile, I couldn't promise him to sneak out and run off I another country.
Calum didn't say anything. I pushed away from his hands around my cheeks and paced. I knew I had made the right call, so why did I feel like I was hurting one of the few people that I love?
"I have to leave." Calum muttered and picked up his car keys and started toward the door.
"I love you." I attempted before he would completely disappear.
"Yeah." he mumbled, then slammed the door behind him.
And that was when I completely and totally broke down.
