Alyssa's PoV

Before I knew it, it was dark and I was starving. With the whirlwind of the day we'd just had, time seemed to have slipped away like sand in an hourglass. I'd completely unpacked Cody's new room and had finally put my last bits away in my new room. It felt odd, almost lonely, standing in this large room knowing it was just for me. These types of houses, with their huge rooms, were often for big families. Husbands and wives who would share the super king sized bed, the room filled with memories, photos, knickknacks, hobbies and general household clutter. The kids they'd have would have first pickings of the many rooms to decide which were to sleep in and which were to play in, their laughter echoing the halls and filling the room with an innocence and energy all adults missed having.
Oh what I wouldn't give for some cluelessness about this whole situation. How a PJ Masks lunchbox ended up with a stalker nearly hurting my kid. How our very normal and boring lives had suddenly taken this huge turn into an alternate universe neither myself or Cody knew anything about. With a huge sigh, I folded my last pair of jeans into the drawers.

From the silence, a gentle knock emerged from the door. I composed myself, quickly turning towards it and offering a small 'yeah?' to whoever was behind it. The door opened slowly and Calum appeared, a small smile trying to warm the room.

"I hope you don't mind the intrusion, I was just passing and I heard you sigh pretty heavily. Just wanted to check in?" I perched on the corner of the giant bed and patted for him to sit down too.

"That's kind of you, thank you." I said quietly, not wanting my conversation to carry into the hallway and Luke's room, knowing he felt bad enough already. "I suppose I was just trying to line up all the pieces and make them make sense. My life has been turned upside down, yet tomorrow I'm supposed to be back to work and Cody's supposed to go to school as if our lives were the same as some weeks ago." I ruffled the hair at the front of my head to try and quickly get a grip on what I was saying. "I mean, you're all famous, you have a stalker, there's all this security detail and huge houses with gates and codes. I'm just not used to it. And it feels really stupid to complain about it, seeing as you guys are currently living it, especially with today being the anniversary of Olivia's death. I suppose I'm just a bit... lost?" I finished rambling and looked over to Calum, realising he had clung onto every word I'd said. I'd not had someone listen to me like that for years. My sister did her best, but she was also very headstrong and when she had an opinion you weren't going to change it but she would be trying to change yours to fit her narrative. This guy was actually a part of what I was complaining about, yet he didn't interrupt, turn it around onto him and his friends. He just listened.

"I understand." He said carefully. "Well, I think I do." He shuffled a little closer to me and grabbed my hand in his. It was warm and comforting, and enveloped my small hand completely. "When we first got famous, the adjustment was crazy. I'd gone from a boy in a town that was at school and had a handful of friends, to this name that was starting to take off. I remember us performing in the streets to thirty people and feeling like we'd made it. Suddenly, we were being asked to be the supporting act for a huge band and overnight everything changed. I had to leave all my comforts behind; the room I loved, my memories, my friends, family..." It was his turn to sigh. I placed my free hand on top of his to show my support for him. "I relied heavily on the guys for support. We all kept each other going, but it was hard. It's not the same situation, I know... but I'm just trying to say I understand." We fell into a comfortable silence for a few seconds before a smile tried to escape my lips.

"You're good at this." I said softly. "I can see why-" I cut myself off. It really wasn't a good idea to mention Olivia right now. I looked away and mentally cursed myself.

"Olivia?" Calum pried carefully. I nodded. He let out such a wide smile as he thought back to something. "She was an amazing woman. She was beautiful both inside and out with a heart of gold, she'd do anything for anyone. She lit up the room. She lit up Luke's life, and mine. She was my best friend."

"I can tell." I smiled back.

"It seems to be a common theme for you, eh?" Luke's voice cut through the conversation, causing me and Calum to jump apart, our hands moving back to our laps. Luke walked into the room, a snarl on his face as he took in our closeness. "You're unbelievable." He scoffed at Calum, shaking his head.

"Luke, please, he just came to check on me. To see how I was adjusting to-" I began, but Luke cut me off. The moment his sharp tongue was aimed at me, I straightened and sat silently, like a kid being scolded by their teacher.

"Don't let him fool you, Lys. He got too close to Olivia, I'm not letting him do the same to you." He turned on his heels and went to leave the room. "Dinner's ready." He marched out of the room, suddenly changing his persona as he called the kids to dinner. The two of them were cheering as they realised they were still staying together, that this was not time for them to say goodbye and go back to their own homes. For now, this was our home. I put my hand on Calum's shoulder but he sighed dejectedly and stood up, walking out of the room without another word. My head was a mess, it felt like a plate of spaghetti. Was I letting Calum in when I shouldn't? Were we too close for comfort? Was I not seeing a sign that Luke was?

I closed my eyes and took a huge breath in and out before standing, making my way over to the dining table where I, like Luke, changed how I was because of the kids. I gasped at the great spread put out before us, and thanked Luke for doing it. The kids were already discussing what they wanted, picking the bits that they enjoyed. I grabbed the serving spoon and scooped out a big helping of mashed potato which I put on Luke's plate, followed by Calum's, then a smaller scoop for each of the kids. Finally, I put myself a small amount. I dished out the meat and vegetables, and sat down ready to tuck in. My stomach twisted as I took in the delicious food and the smell that enveloped the room.

"Thank you daddy, this looks great!" Kira smiled, grabbing her fork and spoon.

"Yeah thank you Da- umm, Luke." Cody said, looking down as he was embarrassed by his mistake. Luke and I exchanged glances and a small smile crept on my lips. There was a warmth growing inside me from Cody's slip up. My mind wanted to wander to the idea of that being true, of us being a family where Luke was Cody's new dad, but I knew it wouldn't help us right now. We needed to focus, so I needed to park that idea until we were all safe.