[ 22 ] 2014

[ 22 ] 2014 

-

"I know I've been a shitty boyfriend these past few days and I'm sorry. I didn't want to leave you all alone, I just--" 

-

With all of Arthur's money and influence, Calum was released from the hospital almost immediately and put into private care rehabilitation at home. For days, he still refused to see anyone who wasn't either Arthur, Niall or Andrea. He refused to have Harley see him in the state he was in, less than he was with his missing limb. And with a slight depression sinking in, he thought it would just grow more pity in her heart towards him. 

It was only a week after he had gotten his arm amputated that Arthur showed up with a black briefcase. He greeted Calum with a nod and set the briefcase down on the nightstand without explaining anything. But Calum knew that Arthur was a man of few words and that his questions would be answered in a moment. Calum was curious to know what was inside, but he soon found out. 

As Arthur opened it up, Calum found there was a prosthetic arm of a mechanic silver color and it was like something out of a movie. Inside the brief case was also a skin tight black glove that would go above it, were he choose to wear it like that, to seem as though it was his normal arm. Removing both items from their place in the box, Arthur started to explain while he motioned to set everything up. "This is what my contact at the prosthetic lab came up with. He says its made from light weight yet durable metals and hooks to your nerves in order to transmit orders from your brain to your new limb just like it were part of you. He also mentioned its water resistant, so you can shower with it if you so wish."

Calum only sat silently in his bed, raven hair disheveled and eyes tired. There were circles beneath them from the times he could not sleep at night. Those were the nights he thought of Harley and how much he missed her, but he did not want her to see him that way. 

Looking to Calum for permission first and finding his nephew agreed with a nod of his head, he began to attach the limb to his arm after first removing the white bandages. Underneath was still tender from his healing wound which was not exactly closed yet. Sometimes Calum would forget that he no longer had his right hand and would try to reach for something, re-opening the wound by accident and causing some bleeding. 

Calum felt the cool metal touch his skin at first, before he felt the painful prickling of a thousand hair thin needles piercing his skin. Those were probably the prosthetic hooking up to his nerves as Arthur explained to him. But he couldn't deny it hurt like hell anyway. Calum winced in pain, his left hand shooting towards his right one on instinct, and he fell back into his bed. But not once did he ask his uncle to stop with the procedure. If there was a way that he could at least look normal again, Calum would try it. Anything to feel like his life was back to normal. Now he needed help for even simple things like getting dressed and eating. 

Niall and Andrea were very helpful as well. But he saw the pity on their faces as well, and he figured it would be a matter of time before they'd get tired of him and throw him away like he was nothing.

It was that determination that kept him going until the pain ceased moments later. The limb felt cold, different than he remembered his real arm feeling. and he looked down at it in awe, wondering if it really worked. He lifted his arm, looking down at the metallic palm of his right hand. "Just think of it." Arthur encouraged him. "Think a command for it to ball up into a fist, and it will happen."

Calum closed his eyes and visualized it. He thought about closing his right hand into a fist, something that had been simple for him to do. He never had to think about it before. A gasp escaped his lips when he felt the metal fingers twitching at first, before slowly starting to close into a fist. Calum couldn't help but feel a smile form on his lips at his little accomplishment. Even Arthur was proud of him, as he patted him on the shoulder with encouragement. 

He slowly willed his hand to open and tried once again. This time, there seemed to be a glitch in the mechanical hand and his fingers bent the opposite way. At that, Calum huffed in frustration and slammed his hand down on the bed. But Arthur remained optimistic and offered some words of encouragement. "It just takes some getting used to. You'll find its just like the real thing in no time." Gesturing towards the door, Arthur said. "I should get going. Harley has been arranging everything for Ashton's funeral on her own and I think I should offer my help and my support. I think you should try to drop by and talk to her too. The funeral is in three days."

With the fact that Harley was Arthur's daughter, Calum knew it was only a matter of time before the leader of the hunters would bring her up. He was only surprised it had taken him a week to do so. But even hearing the name brought a stinging pain to his chest. He wanted to talk to her, he wanted to see her so badly. But his pride wouldn't let him. He didn't want her pity. He wanted her love and he wanted to master the use of his new limb to show her that things were the same, and they would still be the same. But in doing so he was pushing her away and he knew it. He only hoped that she could wait for him. Though he also understood if she didn't. If she moved on without him. He was doing this to himself anyway, and he knew it was selfish. 

But he couldn't stop himself.

-

Since Ashton had no living family members left in Sydney, it was up to Harley to arrange everything for the funeral once the body had been claimed. The people at the morgue had been adamant that they would rather have a family member claim the body, but they quickly changed their minds after Arthur brought in his connections. Her parents were supportive and helped her with everything--Harleen, Aaron, and Arthur. Arthur and Aaron had both put in money for all the expenses, and Harley thanked them a lot for it. She knew it was the least she could do for him. Ashton had been so good to her, and he had loved her with a love so pure. She wanted to help put his body and soul to rest finally, and she hoped that wherever he was now, that he was finally at peace.

Whenever she saw him as a ghost, even when he was happy, she couldn't help but see hints of sadness in his hazel eyes. He missed his family, and he missed having been alive once. 

The funeral was a small ceremony, celebrated at the church of St. Genevieve's, where Ashton had gone to school fifty years prior. The people she expected all showed up. Her parents, Paul and Dempsey, but she was surprised when she saw three people Ashton had known from when he was alive. The first was Harley's grandmother Hayley. She walked up to the altar, where there was a picture of the boy who had passed away in 1963 and she performed the sign of the cross upon herself. No matter how bitter her grandmother was now, it was a big gesture for her to come see Ashton off. She had known him in her youth briefly, and she knew he was a good person. After paying her respects, she went to find a seat and waited for the religious ceremony to begin. 

The last two who arrived were an old couple, one who resembled her classmate Luke Hemmings slightly. She figured they were Mary and Lucas, Luke and Cindy's grandparents. They did the same and went to sit by Hayley. Harley didn't think they would come. Then again, once it had been reported on the news that the body of Ashton Irwin had been found, they probably wanted to say goodbye to an old friend. Harley had made sure to mind control the police detectives into leaving a lot of information out of their reports as they would be unable to explain how his body could have been preserved like that for over fifty years.

The ceremony was a short one, and then the remains were taken to the cemetery on the other side of the church. Harley felt her eyes well up with tears as the procession followed outside. There was an ache in her heart as she had looked around the church and didn't spot Calum. She figured he was still at home with his depression, not wanting to see her. But she stopped in her tracks when she saw a familiar figure leaning up against the wall by the exit of the church. He stood with his head lowered, and his arms crossed over his chest. He was dressed in a black suit, and she noticed how his right hand was back, and he seemed to be wearing a black glove over it.

People passed her as she stepped off to the side to talk to him. "Calum..." Her voice cracked as she said his name. Her eyes clouded up as she looked up at him.

His dark brown eyes found her blue ones and the tiniest hint of a smile formed on his lips. "I know I've been a shitty boyfriend these past few days and I'm sorry. I didn't want to leave you all alone, I just--" 

He stopped when he felt a knot in his throat. There were tears coming, but he willed them away. Tears at his whole situation, but also tears at the fact that they hadn't been successful. The whole point of their trip back in time was to save Ashton's life and he had perished anyway. He felt bad that he would never get to see Ashton again, that he didn't get to say goodbye. 

Harley pushed herself up on her tiptoes and gave him a short kiss on the lips. She was quick to offer him reassurances. "I understand how you were feeling. But please don't shut me out again. I need you. I've been so lonely."

"I've been the same." He admitted, in a voice barely above a whisper.

As the last of the few people piled out of the church, Calum stepped forward and draped an arm over her shoulders, his left arm. He didn't want to use his new right arm around her yet, as he had not gotten the hang of it after just three days, and the last thing he wanted was to accidentally hurt her. The two walked out the door silently and followed the procession out into the cemetery.

The burial was another hour long, and the two teenagers ended up staying long after everyone else left. Hayley was the first to go, then Mary and Lucas. 

Next were Paul and Dempsey, who had already talked to Arthur and had decided they wanted to continue with the organization, but they wanted to transfer to Mexico. Paul felt like he had been away from home too long, and was aching to get back to his home country and his younger brother. And Dempsey, who had lost her family and her home, found that she was happy wherever Paul was because he was her home now. Arthur agreed to let them transfer without question. Paul was one of his best, most disciplined, and most loyal hunters. They were waiting until after the funeral to leave the country, and the two walked up to Harley and Calum with sad smiles.

"Please take care." Paul said to both of them. "And don't hesitate to call us if you ever need any help."

Harley smiled gratefully and pulled the two of them in for a warm hug. Even though they had never been really close with Calum, they hugged him as well. They left the cemetery that afternoon, and they would be leaving the country the next morning. 

Next was Aaron to leave. He offered his condolences to his daughter and informed her that he would be going back to Perth. He had talked things out with Harleen and though there were no hard feelings on his behalf, they had decided that it was best for them to get divorced. At the moment, he was living with his parents in Perth, while Arthur was starting to formally see Harleen again. Harley was both happy and sad by that new turn of events.

Arthur and Harleen were the last people to leave the funeral, finally leaving Calum and Harley there alone. 

As Harley looked sadly at the tombstone with Ashton's name on it, she heaved a forlorn sigh. "I'm going to miss him."

"Believe it or not, I'm actually going to miss him too." Calum confessed.

That was when Harley remembered some of Ashton's last words to her, right before he passed away. "You know," She started, tearing her gaze from the tombstone and looking towards Calum. "One of the last things he said to me was that he wanted to thank you for calling him your friend that night we showed up to save him."

"Yeah." Calum sighed. "He was insufferably nice. But he was my friend."

-

this chapter is very filler. but i thought i wwould update for you all. i hope you like this, we're well on our way to finishing up this book finally.

only about thirty more chapters. 

so please stay tuned for one last plot point before we finish up with this story. im going to sleep now because its almost midnight and i am very tired. thank you all loads for reading and supporting this story. it means the entire world to me.

also, i know this kinda feels like an ending because literally everyone is leaving, or dying. but its really not the end yet. harley still has to live out her senior year, and do some more things before this story finishes.

-clary

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