Adelaide's Point of View

A smile formed onto my plump lips at the sight of the three boys all completely passed out on the floor of my living room, their bodies snuggled up against each other. After playing stupid board games and having never-ending conversations for the entire night, they finally fell asleep while watching a film. It was too cute to wake them and redirect them to the bedrooom, so I guess I would just have to suffer through listening to them complain about their sore backs tomorrow morning.

I carefully tip-toed away from the sleeping beauties and headed upstairs. My hands grasped the window in the guest bedroom and pressed it up and I manuevered my way through it to take a seat on my sturdy roof. The dark sky was illuminated by the layers of bright stars peeking out beneath the thick clouds. The waves from the ocean were crashing as loud as ever with the gentle breeze from them whipping across my face gently. 

I figured that if I was going to have the dreaded conversation with my mother, it might as well be up here where it is absolutely serene and where I am not able to disturb anyone. My shaky hands dialed my mother's number and I lifted the cell phone to my ear, waiting for her to pick it up. 

"Adelaide?" Her soothing tone greeted in confusion. "Are you alone now?"

"Yeah," I replied nonchalantly. "So can we discuss the plans for next week? Because I really do not want to come home. This is my home now and I'm intending on staying here."

My mom scoffed. "You've lived there for two months. There is no way Australia can be your home. Your home is wherever your family is. Your home is America."

I shook my head, although she couldn't see it. "No, it's not. Home isn't just a place. It's a feeling. I feel at home here, Mom. It's because of Calum, and my friends, and my job, and my beautiful house. I'm not coming back. I'll come visit, of course, but this is where I want to live."

"Your job? Honey, you work part time at a florist. Unless you want to become a florist, that job isn't going to help you with anything in life. We made an arrangement for you to find a steady career path and you haven't. So you're coming home and you're enrolling in college again. You'll finish your degree in biology and your dad will help you get into med school. You can be a nurse like you wanted to when you were little." 

My fingers gripped tighter onto my phone as my fury and impatience with my mother grew deeper. "When I was little! I don't want to be a nurse anymore. I hate sick people and I hate blood. How on Earth would I make a nurse? Shouldn't I be allowed to pick an occupation that makes me happy? Why do I need to make all these decisions now? Can't I just be happy for once?"

She sighed almost as loud as how I desired to scream. "Adelaide, we just want the best for you. I'm not going to let my daughter have absolutely no money and waste her life away. A nurse is a stable job. Don't you want to make your parents proud?"

A dog-like growl escaped my lips. "Honestly, I couldn't give a crap about making you guys proud because of my job. You should be proud of me for being brave enough to move across the world. You should be proud of me for being a good human being who cares about others. You should be proud of me for falling in love."

My mother merely chuckled. "Oh baby girl, I am proud of you. But you don't know a thing about love. If you two really loved each other then he would be willing to move with you, right? Or you two would be able to make distance work. I know this is all about you not wanting to leave your boyfriend. But it's not like some summer fling is going to last anyways."

I opened my mouth wide in complete and utter shock. I let out a blood-curdling scream of frustration, one in which got carried away by the continous waves. "Mom! You don't know anything about Calum and I. This isn't some stupid fling. He's my best friend in the entire world. I'm not leaving him. I'm almost twenty years old and a legal adult. You can't make me leave." 

The muffled sound of her shuffling around filled my eardrums. "Listen here, young lady. Sure I'm not legally responsible of you anymore, but if you do not come home next week our entire family is cutting off complete contact with you. Which also means that you will have no economic support from your parents any longer. Do you really want to never see your family again, Adelaide? Because if you don't then please just stay in Australia. The Winters have always been raised that family comes first, I'm appalled at your behavior right now and will feel very disappointed if you do not come home."

"But Mom-"

"No buts. I'm being one hundred percent serious right now, Adelaide," My mother barked, her firm tone surprising me.

As badly as I wanted to stay, I couldn't give up my family. My parents may be a pain in the ass, but they are still my parents. They raised me. I couldn't just not speak to them anymore, nor could I do that with the rest of my family. My mother would be powerful enough to even make my grandma stop speaking to me. That would be a tremendously lonely life to live. Although I might not be completely happy, it was what I would have to do.

"Fine," I grumbled. "I'll see you next week." 

I instantly ended the call with the flick of my finger. I whipped it into the back of my pants as fast as possible before climbing back through the open window and making my way to my fluffy bed. I peeled my clothes off of me and changed into some baggy shorts and one of Calum's oversized t-shirts before cuddling up with the large pillows. 

My heart was beating rapidly. I wasn't sure how I would be able to break the news to Calum. The image of his face altering to complete sadness was forming in my cluttered mind. Unfortunately, I was well aware that I was going to have to see that face in real life.

My legs were restless as I tossed and turned beneath the layers of blankets, eagerly attempting to get comfortable. I tried to soothe my chest that felt like it was caving in by taking deep breaths and eventually my body relaxed enough to fall asleep.

--

I lifted the bland cup of coffee to my lips, tasting the hot beverage slide down the back of my throat and just barely burn my tongue. Ashton was buzzing around the living room in an effort to pack all of his things up. They had to get back to Sydney very soon since he was unable to get anyone to cover his shift at work. 

He set his duffel bag on top of my kitchen counter before plopping down into the seat beside me. "Thanks for letting us stay here, Ad. It was so much fun. I can't wait for you two to stay with us for a whole week next time." 

I swallowed hard, suddenly realizing that I wouldn't be here for next time. It wasn't just Calum I was going to be missing. It was Ashton and Luke. It was Michael and Lucy. It was Mali-koa. It was even Calum's parents. "I'm going to miss you so much," I blurted out.

His eyebrows knitted together in confusion and he stifled out an awkward giggle. "We'll only be gone for two weeks, Ad! Come on, don't be so upset. Your boyfriend is finally innocent. Don't ruin the party!"

I shook my head rapidly and placed my cup down, lifting my hands to press against the side of my temple with my elbows flat on the counter. "No, I have to go back to America. I don't know when I'll be back and I'm really upset I have to leave."

Ashton instantly grimaced, a melancholy look sweeping over his features. "Oh. Does, um, does Calum know?" 

I glanced over to his sleeping body in the living room. He was still sound asleep and clutching onto Luke's body without a care in the world. He was just relieved of his charges and found innocent, and yet I'm going to have to ruin his good mood. "Not yet. I just found out that I had to come home last night."

Ashton tugged on his caramel colored curls in frustration, his frown deepening even further. "Ugh, Addy. That's going to crush him."

"It's going to crush me too," I added quietly, sipping up another bit of coffee.

"I know, I know. But I just don't want to see him get bad again," Ashton explained worriedly. 

My grip on the mug tightened as my heart clenched at the hearing of those words. "What do you mean?"

Ashton sighed heavily, sitting up straighter. He glimpsed over his shoulder to make sure they were still sleeping, which they were. "When Ellie first died he became so depressed. Like really depressed. He barely ate anything and he was always getting into fights and he had really bad panic attacks. He would scream at everyone, especially when he was in jail. But he spent more time crying than anything else. He was so distraught, you know? Like he had to deal with grief of Ellie, anger over being falsely accused, and then the sadness of losing all of his friendships and gaining such a bad reputation. I was so scared for him. I would come by everyday to check up on him. But you fixed him, Addy. I don't want that to start up again when you move." 

I wanted to cry right then and there. I was being so selfish thinking about missing Calum, when in reality I needed to think about Calum's happiness. I didn't want to break his heart again. "What do I do, Ash? I'm going to ask him to move with me, but I doubt he will come all the way to America when he won't even move to Sydney. He will never leave you and Luke, or Mali. So I don't know what to do." 

Ashton pursed his lips together after groaning in frustration. It was beautiful how he was as affected by Calum's emotions as I was. As much as these boys all mess around with each other, they truly loved one another like brothers. "Maybe Luke and I could move to America for a bit. We're always up for an adventure. And I've always wanted to go to the United States."

"No, no, no," I protested. "I could never ask you guys to do that. This is between Calum and I. I can't be a burden to everyone else."

Ashton reached out and placed his hand over mine in a comforting manner. It soothed my panicking inmediately. "Addy, I'm just as concerned with how Calum is doing as you are. Either Luke and I will move with you guys or we will get Calum to move in with us. He can't be alone. Besides, we love you, Ad."

"You are the cutest thing," I cooed, pinching his chubby cheeks and making the two of us giggle. "Thank you, though. I appreciate it. I'll talk to Calum about this when you two leave. Do you need any help packing up the car?"

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AUTHORS NOTE: ALRIGHT IT WASNT SHOWING UP IN THE APP SO I HAD TO REUPLOAD THIS CHAPTER????

PLEASE DONT HATE ME IM SORRY FOR MAKING ADDY GO BACK OK BUT WE HAVE TO BE REALISTIC THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN JUST A TEMPORARY LIVING SITUATION

THANK YOU GUYS FOR ALL THE LOVE AND SUPPORT I HONESTLY CANT THANK YOU ENOUGH YOU ARE ALL THE SWEETEST PEOPLE EVER

I JUST POSTED TWO NEW CALUM STORIES THAT WILL START SOMETIME AFTER AFRAID ENDS SO YOU SHOULD GO CHECK THEM OUT ON MY PROFILE OK!!!!

THANKS AGAIN EEP I LOVE ALL YOU HILARIOUS PEOPLE SO MUCH