Unexpected | Calum Hood

7

12 weeks

How exactly does one tell their rockstar one night stand that they are pregnant with his baby?

That's the million dollar question, isn't it?

The bigger problem though seemed to be how I would even get a moment in which I could tell him. A search of his social media, which surprisingly I hadn't done before now, revealed over 7 million followers on twitter and 5 million on instagram. So fat chance of contacting him through those. I followed him on both though, just in case they'd provide me with any insight to where he was.

Scrolling through his pictures reveals that he must have left for tour the day after we met. I glance through all the shots of him and am again struck by how handsome he is. Seeing him now only makes me think of our night together, of how he'd made me feel. A pang in my heart reminds me that it was just a night, and even in the current situation, that was probably all it would ever be.

Finding nothing amongst his Instagram feed I switch over to twitter and scroll back through his tweets, looking for some sign that he was affected by our night together. I scrunch my eyes when they read one in particular:

Calum5SOS: If I'd asked you to stay, would you still have run away?

It was posted on August 18th. The day I left his apartment.

My palms are sweaty. My heartbeat is racing. I screenshot it and my fingers fly over the keyboard of my phone as I send it to Lena.

I put my phone down and it takes only moments for the screen to light up with her name. I slide the screen and answer her call.

"Jessie what the fuck!! Obviously that's about you!"

"We don't know that"

"C'mon, Jes, who else would it be about?"

"That's just it, Len. We don't know."

"You're being ridiculous." She offers and I stay silent. "They're coming back to LA, you know?"

"Really? How do you know?"

"I've got all of them and the band on social media, they're playing a show in a few days here. I read through some update accounts and they're flying in tonight.... you should go."

I don't reply, taking a minute to take in all of this new information.

"Wouldn't that be, like, extremely weird?" I question.

"Well at least it would give you the possibility of a chance to tell him about his child."

She's not wrong. I roll my eyes, though she can't see and tell her what she wants to here, that's she's right. We say our goodbyes and end the call. A few minutes later she sends through a screen shot of the flight details, they'll be here in four hours at 8pm. The airport is only thirty minutes away and I'm exhausted so I settle on the idea of a nap. I set an alarm for 6:30 to give me time to look half-decent and get there a little early. Then, I throw myself on my bed and make myself comfortable under my blankets, only moments later I'm out.

•

The sound of my alarm screeching breaks me from my dream. I rub the sleep from my eyes and slip out of bed. I try to fight the butterflies in my stomach as I get ready. I'm so incredibly nervous. What if he doesn't believe me? What if he wants nothing to do with me or our baby? What if I don't even get the chance to tell him?

I push all of those thoughts aside and turn on my Spotify playlist. The goo-goo dolls whisper through my speakers and I feel myself calm, ever so slightly. I hurry through my makeup routine until I'm satisfied with the results before slipping into a dark green corduroy skirt with buttons up the front and a black tube top. I add a choker, a jean jacket and slide into white slip-on sneakers. My hair is being difficult so I throw it into a messy top bun and call it good.

The ride to the airport feels endless. Each mile closer leaves me feeling like I have a little less air in my lungs. By the time I park my car in the hour lot I feel sick, not due to the pregnancy for once. Maybe this was a terrible idea. Maybe it truly was, but I had to do something. If I didn't at least try to tell him, I'd always wonder if he would want to be in our lives.

As I step into the arrivals area I immediately feel like an idiot. There are girls everywhere. It's obvious they're all waiting for the boys and I groan at how unprepared I am. This is pointless, he won't even be able to see me. Their plane is due in 10 minutes and with each tick of the clock the girls around me grow more excited. None of them seem to notice my lack of enthusiasm, they're all caught up in the what if's of what could happen when the boys arrive.

One minute they're not there, and suddenly they are. In my research on Calum, I'd learned the other three's names. Luke is the first to come around the corner and the shrieks around me are resounding. He's followed by Micheal and Ashton who each receive their fair share of screams before Calum finally comes into view.

He's so beautiful it takes my breath away. His hair is longer now, the curls on top a mess, but on him it looks so damn good. My mind briefly wanders off to thoughts of pulling his hair as he screams my name before I snap myself back to this moment. The girls around me push forward as the boys talk to as many girls as they can. Everyone wants a hug, a picture, a moment. I feel out of place and uncomfortable. This was stupid. I press through the mass of girls and back out to my car, I slide into the driver's seat and slam the door behind me. I put my forehead on the steering wheel and will myself not to cry.

What the fuck am I going to do?

I take the long way home which is made only longer by LA traffic. I haven't eaten since before noon so I stop in at a fast food place to grab a burger. I glance around at the other people dining while I sip my milkshake. My focus lands on a family, a mom and dad with two little boys. The mom is wiping one of their noses while the dad tickles the other resulting in the sweetest giggles I've ever heard. I want that. The realization hits me out of nowhere. Up until this point I'd truly been considering all of the options in front of me equally but staring at this sweet little family I know I want this baby, even if I have to do it alone.

•

Of the dumb things I've done in my life, this may be the dumbest. I stand at the bottom of Calum's apartment building looking at the sky, at the penthouse I know he calls home when he's in LA. I didn't make plans to come. I started driving and ended up here. He's probably not even home. That's what I try to convince myself as the better half of my brain tells me this is incredibly stupid. I know I'll never be able to sleep tonight though if I don't at least try to see if he's here.

I gulp down the lump in my throat and move to enter the front door of the building. I approach the front desk with all the confidence I can muster. "Hi, I'm here to see Calum Hood. He lives in apartment 31."

The front desk man looks at me with suspicion and I begin to wonder how often girls of my age do this. Do his fans try to come here? Do other flings? Do- my thoughts are interrupted when he asks, "Is he expecting you?"

So he's here. In this building.

"No, but it's really important. Could you buzz him and tell him it's Jessie Goodwin...and that it's important?"

He narrows his eyes but picks up the desk phone and dials. He repeats what I've said and I hear traces of Calum's voice through the small speaker.

"Brunette....dimples"

"Yes, sir.....very well, sir. I'll send her up."

Holy shit. He gestures to the elevator and I hurry to it before Calum can call back down and change his mind. I mash the button for his floor and try to gain some sense of composure before the doors reopen. With the ding of the elevator I feel my heart plummet as I stare at his door. When the door opens I know I'll have to tell him. This won't be my secret anymore, and he'll have to decide if he's in or out on us. Part of me is hopeful, while the other part wants to stay here in this bubble, where the possibility he won't want us is just that, a possibility. I fear when he opens this door it may become my reality.

I'll have to face this at some point though and now is just as good time as any. I take one last breath before gathering my courage and knocking on the door.

AN: how do you think Cal will take the news? Let me know! Vote and comment please if you're reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts!