Catch 22

35

An: double update read 34 first! These are both short chapters so I'm giving them to you together 🖤

"Cal, mate. What can we do?" Ash asks, taking a seat on the couch of our green room.

"Can you get Rowen back on the crew? Or, fuck, can you just get the girl to answer my fucking calls?" I ask, my voice catching, full of the anger and sadness I am doing a terrible job at hiding.

"Cal it's been like three weeks. I wish there was something we could do..." My friend trails off.

"Yeah, well. We talk all this big game about respecting women and empowering them and then we let a girl on our crew, the most amazing woman I've ever met, the woman I love, get bullied off our staff and we just sit back and do nothing?" I voice my frustrations.

"Our hands are tied, mate. You know that." Ash says sadly.

"Are they? Because I've been thinking for the past three fucking weeks without her how I'd rather be literally anywhere else if it meant I could be with her. Surely, there is someway, somehow that we could do something to bring her back."

"I get it."

"No. You don't. You and Kay have fixed things. You don't have to wonder if your relationship will be okay. Even when you guys were fighting, she didn't shut you out. Rowen hasn't talked to me in a fucking week. She hasn't been on social media, I don't even know if she's fucking okay. I don't know where I stand or if this is her just ending our relationship without having to actually face me." My words fly from my mouth exposing the thoughts that have been troubling me for the past twenty three days.

Where the fuck is she? Is she okay? Is she blaming me for her firing from the crew? Is this really how she is going to allow us to end? Is she not hurting like I am? Does she not love me like I love her?

Ashton is quiet for a while.

"Fuck, man. I think that if there was a way though, you'd have already found it."

"Yeah." I reply shortly. I don't know what else to say. "I'm gonna go for a run. I'll be back for stage if anyone asks."

I rise to my feet and head for the bus. I change quickly, sliding a pair of black gym shorts up my legs until they hang from my hips and slip a long sleeve T-shirt over my head. I shove my feet into a pair of Nike sneakers and tug at the heel of the shoe until they are on correctly.

I fit my wireless headphones into my ears and head back out. The Arizona air is still warm even in late November. I am thankful to almost be done with this tour. Whatever the situation with Rowen, it will be a lot easier to deal with once we are both in the same state.

The beat of the music drives me forward, my feet stomping down harshly as little bits of my anger seep out of me and into the pavement. I run and run until my cheeks are flushed and my chest aches. I rest my hands on the top of my head and gasp as I try to even my breathing.

I ran for longer than I had planned so I quickly order an Uber to get me back to the arena and take a seat on a bench to wait.

I flip through my phone to help with my boredom as I wait for my car, my finger hovering over Rowen's contact until finally I gather the courage and hit the call button.

It rings for a moment and I groan, already resigned to the fact that, once again, she won't be picking up.

"Hello?" A voice calls through the line but it's not exactly the one I'm hoping for.

My brain is a jumble of words as I try to force out a reply.

"Row? Rowen?" I ask.

"Um, no. Sorry, Cal. It's Kate." I frown and furrow my eyebrows. Why is Kate answering Rowen's phone?

"Oh, uh okay. Well, is Rowen there?" I ask, picking at the skin on my thumb and standing quickly as the Uber I had ordered pulled up.

"She is but she's not up to talking right now. Look, Cal, I know you haven't heard from her and there's a reason for that you guys have a lot to talk about. We were talking last night and she mentioned you guys were gonna be in Cali this week."

"Yeah, um, tomorrow actually." I say, giving the driver the address and sinking down into the seat.

"Could you come by?"

"I don't know, Kate. I mean, does she even want to see me? She's been ignoring my calls and I don't know what this means. Does she not love me? Was I just a fling? Are we even still together?" I spew, my words coming out faster than I can even process and much more telling of my feelings than I had intended to be.

"I think all of your questions are valid Calum, but I don't have the answers you're looking for."

"Where is she?" I ask, needing at least that much information.

"She's here, she's resting."

"Resting? Is she okay?" I ask. I can hear the fear in my own voice.

"Come visit. I promise she'll be happy to see you, okay? Besides, Cope has been saying 'calcalcal' every time she sees Sage."

"Really?" I ask, a small smile making an appearance on my face as the car pulls to a stop at the Talent entrance for the venue and I hop out, the hood of my sweatshirt pulled up over my head, and slip into the confines of the fence.

"Yeah. She really likes you. I really like you. You're perfect for my sister. Come prove it to her, okay?"

"Okay." I agree quickly, resolving to make it my top priority as soon as we change cities tonight.

I've spent the past three weeks longing for and missing my girl. I don't even know if I've really lost her but if I have, now is my chance to prove myself to her. Now is my chance to get her back.

I rush in and head straight to stage, apologizing to everyone as I enter and flipping off Anthony when he makes a remark about my tardiness.

Fuck him. He's the reason we're in this mess in the first place. He and Matt.

We run through our set and I retreat to the green room. My sense of hope is renewed at least but a feeling of dread settled on my chest.

Soemthing isn't right. Why did Kate answer Rowen's phone? Why wouldn't she give me a straight answer?

An: anyone have guesses about wtf is going on?

We'll get some answers soon!

Ily
Sav 🖤