Catch 22

24

Morning brought with it a new wave of anger for me. I'd changed my plans with Rowen to allow her to go out with the crew. She had had hopes of establishing relationships with her peers and finding a place for herself amongst them.

I am aggravated and angry that once again they had made her susceptible to their lies and betrayal. I free myself from her arms in the bed, replacing myself with a pillow tucked under her arm as I grab my boxers off the floor and slide into my jeans, grabbing my shirt from the carpet before moving quickly down the hall to the room that was meant for me and Ash to share.

I can't shake the overwhelming urge to do something as I shower, nor as I get dressed and down to the lobby for this interview we have today. I probably am not in the most desirable mood considering I already can't stand press like this. The other boys seem to sense that I'm more off than usual before an interview and leave me to my thoughts. Even as we take our seats and the questions begin I can't seem to focus on anything but my anger at Caleb.

I stare at the ground, the dirt beneath my fingernails seeming a lot more interesting than whatever it is Ash and Luke are droning on and on about with the interviewer.

"Cal?" I jerk my head to my left to look at Michael who just said my name.

"Huh?" I ask.

"They asked about your girl, mate." He chuckles and my cheeks gain a rosy hue.

"Sorry, what about her?" I ask, nervous but excited to get to talk about Rowen.

"Well, we just heard that in your last interview you said you were seeing someone. Your fans want to know if that's still the case?"

"Oh, yeah." I smile happily.

"Anything else you want to share?" The host presses, digging for information.

"What do you want to know?" I ask. I feel confident talking about Rowen since we had discussed the things we were and weren't comfortable sharing publicly.

"First of all, what's her name?"

"Sage." I smile. "That's her middle name she goes by mostly, but I call her by her first name."

"Aw pretty, and how did you meet?"

"She's actually on tour with us. She's a member of our sound crew."

"Oh really? Got the best of both worlds there don't you? Get to work and play at the same time."

"Something like that I guess." I laugh. "It's still new and we're getting to know each other better, but I'm really happy. Hopefully I can still say the same as this spreads. I hope our fans will respect me and my relationship, as well as the other relationships involved in this band. It's something I've watched the other boys deal with for years now but never personally really had to deal with."

"Is that something you're concerned about?" The host asks.

"Um, not really concerned as much as I am just not wanting to see my girl hurt." I admit.

"Think that's understandable."

I nod and sink back into my silence, Luke picking up the conversation where I left it and taking the chance to defend Sierra against the ridiculous amounts of hate she gets.

It's all bullshit. A person shouldn't receive death threats just for who they love. Luke is far stronger than I though, if Rowen was going through what Sierra does daily I don't know that I would be able to hold my composure the way that Luke does.

After another twenty minutes we wrap things up with the radio hosts and head back out to the van and witness the return of stewing, angry Calum.

By the time we get back to the arena I'm furious again and all I want is to find Rowen and let her presence calm me back down.

"Hey!" She calls, her arms sliding around my neck as she surprises me by jumping on my back as soon as I make it to side stage.

"Hi, love!" I say turning my head and puckering my lips. She kisses me quickly and hops off of me. I throw my arm over her shoulder and she brings her left hand up to hold my own.

"God am I glad to see you." I tell her.

"I heard you interview." She says smiling widely.

"Oh yeah?" I ask, even though we had discussed what would happen, I still get a little anxious as I await her response.

"Mmhmm and I checked out Instagram which is now flooded with our pictures from that night they saw us walking out the arena together." She says confidently.

"And you're not like, worried or mad about anything right?" I ask, checking that her feelings still haven't changed.

"Cal, no. I told you it was fine, we talked about it, and you didn't say anything I didn't approve of. Why would I be mad?"

"I don't know. I guess I've just had girls say one thing and do another and I'm so scared of fucking this up Row. You're like the best thing to happen to me in a really long time and that's really exciting but also really nerve wracking." I tell her, trying to be as honest as possible.

"You've gotta trust me if this is gonna stand a chance, Cal." She says softly and I nod. I know she's right.

"That's gonna be hard for me, just be patient okay?" I ask of her and she agrees.

God I don't deserve her.

"I was pretty angry this morning." I say and she turns to face me.

"About last night?" I nod and she seems surprised. Does she not see how much her being unhappy and hurt affects me? Can she not see how much I care for her? Does she not know how I feel about her?

"Cal don't worry about it. It'll all blow over. At least I had a good time, even if Caleb was an asshole."

"Yeah, but Caleb doesn't just get a free pass for being a dick to you."

"I just don't want to stir up problems again. The rest of the crew seem to be genuinely starting to accept me and I don't want to ruin that."

"I don't know if I can promise you that I'll stay out of it, Row." I tell her, not wanting to keep her in the dark on how I'm feeling or lie to her.

"Please try, okay? For me?"

She bats her eyelashes at me and it's really not fair what she does to me.

How the fuck am I supposed to say no to her? She's so beautiful and kind. Funny and charismatic. She has completely stolen my heart. I can't force myself to say the words yet, but I know how I feel.

I had realized last night, when our sex suddenly felt like a whole lot more.

I love her. I love her with every piece of me.

AN: Drama is brewing

How do we feel about Cal's anger?

His interview?

Rowen asking him not to stir the pot?

Let me know!
ILY
Sav 🖤