Adelaide's Point of View

My jaw dropped instantly, my mouth lingering in a wide open position. I frantically scanned his face for some kind of proof that this was a joke. I had to be being Punk'd. Ashton Kutcher was going to be coming through the door at any minute. I spun around on my heel swiftly, but Lucy just nodded, assuring me that this information.

"I'm sorry," Michael said sadly, his hands reaching out to grab mine.

I swatted them away. "No," I stated firmly, shaking my head rapidly. "No. No. No. No he didn't. He couldn't do that. No."

Tears were forming in my eyes and they burned as I blinked, doing my best to supress them from falling. I was beyond overwhelmed. Calum was not capable of killing someone. He was my baby. He couldn't.

"Yes he did, Addy! I'm not lying!" Michael shouted, gripping onto my wrist so I was prevented from jerking away. "Why do you think I hate him so much? He's a jealous, cunning, murderer."

"Tell me the story," I demanded, now full on sobbing. I collapsed onto the concrete floor, curling my knees into my chest into the fetal position.

"Oh, Addy," Lucy cooed, kneeling down next to me. Her soft fingers stroked through my hair in an attempt to comfort me. Nothing was working. My stomach was tied into nervous knots that would never be broken.

Michael crouched down across from us. He swallowed before porceeding. "Ellie and Calum dated for, like ever. Her parents always tolerated Calum, but they didn't like their daughter being so serious at a young age. Calum was caught drinking at a party so they didn't like him very much because they thought he was a bad influence. Then her parents found out they were having sex, and Ellie got in a lot of trouble. She broke up with him because her parents were more important to her than Calum, and she was sick of getting in trouble because of him.

"Calum was furious because of this. Anytime Ellie was even around another boy he would get extremely jealous and got in a fight with a guy because of it once. He was always glaring at Ellie in school and everyone knew how much he hated her for breaking up with him. Then one night he kidnapped her out of her bedroom, forced her into his car, then purposely crashed the passenger side into a tree. Ellie died instantly and he had the nerve to cry about it. Then he was in jail for a long time until Mali, Ashton, and Luke all bailed him out. And now he has the possibility of doing this to you."

I sat there in silence for awhile, digesting his words. None of it added up. Calum looked at me with such love and pain in his eyes. There was no chance that he would ever do that to me, or to Ellie. Right?

I scrambled to my feet, dusting my clothes off and wiping away the tears that were clouding my vision. "I need to go talk to him."

Michael gripped my elbow tightly. "What? Don't you see how dangerous he is? You can't go near him anymore!"

"I have to hear it from him. I need to hear him tell me firsthand," I declared, shaking out of his grasp.

"Do you not believe me?" He shouted angrily, his eyebrows knitting together with his accusations.

"He's telling the truth," Lucy added in a much softer tone.

I nodded my head rapidly. "I believe you. But I want Calum's side of the story too."

I pushed the glass door open without muttering another word and sprinted down the street, my feet practically floating by how fast I was running. The truth was, I did not believe Michael. But, I would listen to what Calum had to say. My shoulder collided with various pedastrians as I turned street corners, desperate to get to the Hood's House.

The front door came into view and I dashed towards it, my heart pounding against my chest due to my lack of running. I panted for a bit before grazing my knuckles against the door, knocking loudly. I would have barged right in and ordered an explanation if it wasn't for his mum's unpredictable health.

"Addy!" He cheered as the mahogany door opened, Calum with his goofy grin was revealed. His face altered instantly at the sight of me being completely distraught with wind-dried tear stains. "Baby, what's wrong? Is everything ok-"

"Tell me it isn't true," I screamed forcefully, my chest rising and falling dramatically. "Michael told me that you, k-killed Ellie."

His jaw clenched tightly, making the bone protrude out of his bronze skin. His lips pursed together into a flat line and his eyes narrowed with fury. "Why did he tell you that?" Calum hissed, punching his fist against his thigh with furiousity. "I'm so sick of him not minding his own damn business."

I winced at his profanity. "This isn't about the fact that Michael told me. I want to hear it from you.I want you to tell me the truth."

Calum sighed, running his calloused palms through his fluffy hair. He took a step outside into the brisk air. "Fine. Let's go to the pier," He suggested, his hand extending out to grasp mine. I flinched at the contact and jerked my hand which obviously hurt him. But with the information I had just recieved, I was being entirely cautious over my well-being. It was a pecuilar feeling, having a sense of danger sweep through your veins.

We walked in sync, our feet stepping into the grains of sand at the same exact time. The silence that fell upon was unbearable, making the thoughts of being afraid only seem louder in my mind. Another tear rolled down my cheek, causing me to hiccup in an effort to supress myself from sobbing once again.

"Please don't cry, Ad," Calum begged, fixating his stare on me. "I will explain everything when we get there. But I will never harm you, okay? Please don't be afraid of me."

I wasn't afraid of him. I was afraid of not knowing the truth about what happened. I was afraid of what he was capable of. I was afraid of how hard I fell over a boy who I may not even completely know.

My mouth stayed tightly closed, not letting any words escape them. I had no idea what to say. My impatience was growing with each step we took towards the pier. The subtle sounds of Calum's sighs were evident and they filled the air around us like a melodic tune. His heavy breathing and my shaky fingers, rattling against the hem of my shirt, created a harmony like no other.

After an eternity of strolling, we finally reached his getaway. It was as serene as usual, except this time, it would forever hold a negative connotation. I was petrified for the news that I was about to endure. I slowly sat down at the edge of the boardwalk with my feet dangling over the waves rippling beneath them. The uncertainity of what his confession could be was enough to make me jump off of this pier again.

Calum fiddled with his fingers nervously. "I didn't kill Ellie. I never in a million years would ever do that to anyone, especially not Ellie, or you, for that matter. Everyone just thinks that I murdered Ellie. But it wasn't me. I am being one hundred percent honest right now. I hope you trust me enough to know that I'm not lying."

I gulped, a wave of relief flooding across me. "Why does everyone think you killed her, then?"

He bit down on his lip, which undoubtedly only increased his attractiveness, before proceeding. "Well when Ellie's parents forced us to break-up, we didn't actually break up. We were too in love to ever break-up. I was planning on marrying this girl, alright? So we dated secretly. No one knew this, except for Luke who caught us in the janitor's closet at school, but he promised to not tell a soul. Ellie and I had to sneak out in the middle of the night to be together, so we did that one night and we were driving to the beach in the next town so we wouldn't be seen, but on our way back we got hit by a drunk driver and crashed us into a tree. The asshole drove off after hitting us, leaving no evidence."

Calum was crying as well now, his own tears clouding up his vision. "I tried everything to save her. She was my whole world, you know? But I knew as soon as the car hit her that she was dead. I called the ambulance but there was nothing we could do. She was gone, all because some idiot was driving under the influence. I swore right then and there to never drink again. When Ellie's parents got to the hospital they accused me of killing her, and Eric, who was staying at their house that night, said that he saw me take her out of her room, which was true but not in that way. I told them that it wasn't me but everyone thought I was lying, except for my family and for Luke. Luke told Ashton, who also believed me, but Michael was convinced that we were all lying devils. I went to the court, was found guilty, went to jail, got bailed out, and now I'm here- where every single person is afraid of me over something I didn't, and would never, even do."

I instantly threw my arms around his neck, snuggling as close to him as physically possible. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," I cried in an exasperated tone, repeating them over and over again. He held me tightly as if I was the most precious thing he could ever hold. The two of us were wailing uncontrollably and I left kisses all over his face. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," He mumbled. "Thank you for listening to me."

Every word made perfect sense. His story matched all of the hints I had recieved from him, Mali, his friends. I couldn't fathom how he had to get over such grief of losing his girlfriend while being harassed by the entire population of the town.

He clutched even tighter to me, his forehead nuzzling against my neck. "I lost all my friends, Ad," Calum whimpered, making my heart ache even more than prior. "I lost my girlfriend, my friends, my chance to ever get a job! I have a criminal record and I'm not a criminal! I hate it, Addy."

"I know, baby," I murmured, peppering more kisses along his smooth face in an attempt to provide some sort of comfort. "I'm so sorry. You are so strong having to go through that. Don't listen to what other people say, okay? You are the most amazing person I've ever met."

"No I'm not," Calum argued through his hiccuped sobbing. His hand that was pressed firmly around my back lifted up to wipe his tears. "You are, Addy. You're the one who made me happy again. I don't know what I would do without you."

I wiggled away from our close-knit embrace so I could properly kiss his lips without an awkwardly tilted angle. "Well, at least you don't have to worry about my parents forcing us apart."

Calum's expression lightened and he stifled out a small giggle, shaking his head. "I can't believe you just said that."

I chuckled lowly as well, caressing his prominent cheekbones, feeling the strength of them protruding against my palms. His reluctantness to start dating me all suddenly made sense. He had enough troubles due to his previous relationship. I needed to be there for him in every way possible, he deserved someone after all of that chaos.

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AUTHORS NOTE; OK HERE IS THE EXPLANATION. I HOPE IT MAKES SENSE

THANK YOU GUYS SOOOOO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR COMMENTS I LITERALLY HAD OVER 500 COMMENTS ON THE LAST CHAPTER AND THAT HAS NEVER EVER HAPPENED BEFORE SO THANK YOU SO MUCH

I LOVED SEEING PEOPLE IN THE COMMENTS WHO HAVE NEVER COMMENTED BEFORE LIKE AW I LOVE READING WHAT EVERYONE HAS TO SAY ITS SO CUTE YOU GUYS ARE ADORABLE FEEL FREE TO TALK TO ME WHENEVER I ALWAYS REPLY

LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT (sounds like were getting married) ON THIS STORY I DEDICATE THIS CHAPTER TO EVERYONE WHO READS THIS OK I CANT THANK YOU ENOUGH

enjoy the youtube video on the side of a calum montage ;-)