Imagines and One-Shots (Book Three)

Come Back to Me (Calum Hood) *

​Trigger warning: Mentions of car accident and suggesting suicide

~

This was not how you wanted to reconnect with your childhood best friend.

You and Calum were closer than anyone else you knew growing up – your moms were friends and that, in turn, created a friendship between their kids as well. You were an only child, so having Calum and his sister made you feel like you had these two older siblings you'd always wanted – even if you were only a few months younger than Calum. You were in the same classes for most of elementary and middle school, but when you entered your freshman year of high school, things started changing.

The most notable change was Calum's attitude toward you.

You would try to say hi to him in the halls, but he would always ignore you. He never even gave you so much as a second glance when he heard you sigh and continue walking. And that only increased when he gained popularity and started hanging out with his current friends.

They weren't all bad – most of them were actually incredibly sweet – but the ones that weren't were, of course, the ones he hung out with the most. And they didn't even acknowledge your existence every day. But when they did, they were relentless.

You could handle the name-calling and the laughter and the whispers and the snide remarks about whatever they decided to pick on you about that day – you really could. But what you couldn't handle was the fact that Calum would just stand there and watch it happen.

So when Calum got into a car accident and ended up in a coma, you decided to take the opportunity to finally talk to him when he couldn't ignore you or just straight-up walk away.

You were the only one in the hospital room with him – much to your relief – but that was probably only because hospital visiting hours for non-family ended in a few minutes. You promised the woman at the front desk that you'd only need half that time though. She let you go to his room – it was still technically visiting hours, so she couldn't exactly turn you away – and you had a mini reunion with Calum's mom before she stepped out to give you some time alone with him.

You sat down on the chair beside his bed, looking at him for a moment. No matter how much you resented him now, it was still hard to see someone you used to care about so much in this state. You couldn't stop yourself from reaching over, carefully pushing the stray hairs off of his face.

"Hi, Cal..." you started softly, "I'm sorry I don't have a lot of time to spend here, but I... I guess I just wanted to come see how you're doing... I hear you're improving every day though-" You smiled slightly, chewing on your bottom lip. "-so that's good... Definitely wish I could say the same for me..." you murmured, taking in a deep breath, "I don't know how much more of this I can take, Calum... And, God, I know it's shitty of me to finally be admitting all of this to you when you can't hear me or answer back, but..." You let out a small, humorless laugh as you wiped the tears from your cheeks. "I know I'd never have told you any of this if you weren't here right now... And I sure as hell know I won't talk to you when you pull through... 'Cause you and me, Calum... We're not the same anymore... We don't live the same lives, and we certainly wouldn't get along with each other's friends. I don't know if that's just how life works or if I did something terrible to one of them, but your friends... They're not nice to me, Calum. And I just... It really hurts to know you watch it happen and don't do anything about it... So, you know, I hope they don't get too bored without me around to pick on, and I'm so sorry to the next person they choose to fill the void, but... I can't do it anymore, Calum-" Your voice broke as you wiped more tears away. "-I'm sorry I never told you this while you could hear me... And I really hope you don't blame yourself for this... But if I'll be able to feel anything after all is said and done, I'm really gonna miss you, Cal."