Poppy's PoV

Of course news travelled fast. By the time I'd left the hospital, reporters from all over were crowding the parking lot, desperate for me to let slip more information on Naomi and her fainting. Part of me played out the satisfaction of announcing it smugly, but also knew this could complicate a lot of things and show me in a bad light. Right now, all Calum and I needed was calm and simplicity in our lives. My wish for that was short lived as soon as i walked into our hotel room where Calum and Ashton were talking. Calum already seemed furious and that was only added to the minute he saw me come back in.

"Hey guys." I said flatly, knowing I wasn't going to receive a good response. Ashton offered me a smile, too scared to say any words whilst Calum glared at me.

"After everything she did to us, you went with her?" Calum didn't bother with niceties. He sat, staring at me with his eyebrows furrowed as if I'd just signed his life over to her or something. I let out a breathy laugh, amazed that he decided this actually needed arguing about.

"A pregnant woman collapsed in a restaurant. I helped her." I said blatantly, trying to spell it out to him. Why did this need a discussion? I could see Ashton shift uncomfortably as his gaze moved between the two of us.

"Not just any pregnant woman, Poppy. My stalker. Someone who hates you." He reiterated as if to say I was missing the point. His eyes were wide with shock as I stuck up for myself and my actions.

"So? I wasn't going to leave her on the floor to die. She could have had a bleed, she could have a seizure, who knows? I was not risking it." I snapped back, eyes narrowing at him for being so narrow minded.

"What if she latches onto you now and tries to be your best friend? What if she stalks us both?" Calum was getting upset with me, I could tell, but there was no way I was letting this go. I was a grown woman and nurse who wanted to help someone. He had nothing on me.

"I don't care. I did my job." I said shortly, fed up of the fight.

"You don't care? What do you think she had planned next for you? She fucking ran you over, Poppy!" He suddenly snapped, his eyes widening as he clamped his hands over his mouth like he regretted what he'd said instantly. Despite the hurt that coursed through me, I remained still, looking into his eyes so that he could see the pain building.

"You don't think I know that? I was the one that got hit! I was the one in hospital because of it. I was also the one who got an early cancer diagnosis because of it." I let out a sad, shaky breath. "I can't. I'm not having this conversation." I turned on my heels, ready to leave the room.

"I'm sorry." Calum's voice was instantly saddened. He had dropped the volume to be as quiet as a whisper. I'm sure Ashton beside him barely heard what he'd said. I glanced back, catching Calum's eye. "I'm scared for you. I'm scared for me. I'm scared she'll find a way to weasel her way into our relationship and ruin it. I'm scared she'll take you from me. I'm just scared." The admissions came from Calum as he looked down at the floor, a pained expression on his face. Ashton put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Where was mine? I was the one who just got a barrage of abuse for helping someone.

"I get that, Cal. But you also have to appreciate that I'm a grown woman who can decide whatever she wants, and a nurse. It would be against my better judgment to leave anyone who was hurt or in trouble. If you can't handle that, maybe we need to have a separate discussion." My words were soft but venomous, cutting deeply into Calum to prove my point. No longer was I scared of not pleasing everyone. This was about me and what I wanted. I had a life to lead, to discover and explore, not to just follow instructions. I could see Calum deflate as soon as I mentioned us needing to talk. He really was hurt by my words and I hated myself for it, but he didn't care about my feelings when he ranted to me, so I wasn't going to give him to pleasure of softening what I thought. "How would you feel if I said you couldn't play bass anymore? Had to leave the band?" Both his and Ashton's eyes shot up to me in shock. "I did that for you. I gave up nursing in wards that I loved for you. I'd hate to think that after all that you couldn't trust me to help Naomi and come out of it unscathed." Calum wrung his hands nervously, his eyes back on the floor.

"I trust you. I just don't trust her." Calum's voice was raspy with emotion. I felt so bad that I'd hurt him but at least the argument had ceased, now we were talking like adults. "I know what she's like, she'll see you're nice and she'll latch onto it, squeezing all the life out of you until she's used up everything. Then you're left as a shell , trying to get back to normal." He said, finally expressing some feeling towards his relationship with Naomi, something he'd kept to himself. "I'm not letting that happen to you." The protectiveness was back, wanting to stop any bad from ever happening to me. I let out a small smile of appreciation.

"I know. Thank you for looking out for me." I said softly, his eyes finally moving from the floor and meeting mine.

"And thank you for keeping me grounded and always keeping my head straight." We both smiled at each other before he shot up from the bed and ran to me, pulling me in for a hug. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close, breathing him in.

"Maybe Naomi will come to her senses now. The baby should be her priority, not you. She needs to look after herself." I said, an air of hope in me that it would come true. Calum nodded.

"Well, you never know. I've seen weirder things happen!"

Authors note!!
Do you think Naomi is going to change?
What did you think of Calum's reaction to Poppy?
I love you all and thanks for reading!! ❤️❤️❤️