Calum's POV:

The next morning I feel surprisingly okay. I don't feel good, but I don't feel bad either. I just feel okay. It's a good feeling. I fell asleep on the couch yesterday while watching Men in Black 2 with my mom, but I'm unsure whether my mom fell asleep here as well or not. The side she would have slept on is messy, but that doesn't mean that she slept there.

The scent of pancakes wipes out all the thoughts in my mind and replaces them with one single thought: I'm so f.ucking hungry. I get up and stretch a little bit before I follow the smell into the kitchen. My mom's soft humming is to be heard the second I enter the kitchen, and I smile automatically. I've missed this.

"Good morning, dear," my mother says as she stops humming, her back to me. She's standing in front of the stove, flipping what seems to be the last pancake. The other pancakes have been stacked neatly on a plate next to her, all of them shaped as almost perfect circles. Her pancake-making skills never cease to amaze me.

"Good morning, mom," I smile back, inhaling the delicious scent once again. My mouth almost starts watering and my stomach lets out a low rumble, trying to tell me how much it's craving food.

"I'm going to have to take a trip out later today, I just have to run some errands, but you'll be okay alone for a couple of hours, right?" she asks while putting the last pancake on the plate.

"Of course mom, I'm not five," I reply with a mild chuckle, but when she turns around, I can tell that she was actually serious. She was actually wondering whether I could be left alone.

"I know, I know, I just..." she mutters and puts the pancakes on the table. "I don't want to leave you if you don't want to be alone here..." she adds with a small sigh.

"It's okay mom, I'll just watch some TV, I'll be fine," I reassure her. She nods reluctantly and kisses my forehead.

"I just want to make sure that you're fine with it," she says softly as we both sit down by the table that she has already set. I reply with a small nod and a soft smile before we start eating.

The pancakes are good as always, but they're not as good as they used to be. I know, however, that it's because of me and not my mom's cooking. I haven't had pancakes in months, and now I can't seem to enjoy them anymore. They hold memories of happy times, and the happy times are over. Now there are only mere shadows of how things used to be left, and the pancakes aren't as enjoyable anymore.

Once we're done I help my mom clean the table. It doesn't take too long, and when we've finished she says that she'll be back soon and presses another kiss to my forehead before she leaves. I do just what I said I would; I go back into the living room and plump down on the couch. I turn the TV on and quickly flip through the channels until I find something mildly interesting and decide to just watch it. Better than nothing.

After maybe an hour of mindless TV watching the sound of the doorbell rings throughout the house. I sigh heavily as I get up, pulling my hand through my hair. It's not to look more presentable or anything, it's just a habit. I walk over to the door, but when I open it, my eyes widen slightly as my heart picks up its speed considerably. In front of me is Jake's parents.

"Hello Calum," Jake's mom, Ellen, says with a soft smile. They both look better than when I left, they look a lot less drained now. I guess they've finally managed to (at least somewhat) move on. They're lucky.

"H-Hello," I stutter, cursing myself in my head. This is what happens when I get too nervous, my mouth and brain refuse to work with each other and I end up stuttering.

"There's no need to be nervous, dear. Can we come in?" Ellen asks with a gentle laugh. Ellen and Peter have always been like parents to me, I haven't even realized how much I've missed them before now. I nod and step aside so there's room for them to enter. I remember all the blankets and pillows on the couch, so I quickly move them all to my own room before we sit down in the living room.

"Your mother told us that you're permanently moving to Norway, so we thought this would be the right time to come here and talk to you before you leave again," Peter smiles kindly. I'm still shaking out of nervousness and mild panic, my heart beating rapidly.

"Are you okay Calum?" Ellen asks me with slightly furrowed brows, clearly worried.

"Y-yeah, it's just... It's kinda hard being back and seeing you again. Don't misunderstand, it's great seeing you and I've really missed you, but it's also very, very hard after..." I say quickly, my speech turning into mumbling by the end as it trails off.

"I know Calum, we understand," Ellen says and takes my hands in hers. Her hands are warm and soft, but I'm pretty sure mine are just clammy and disgusting.

"If you think that we for whatever reason blame you for what happened, then you couldn't be more wrong. It wasn't anyone's fault, and we're not going to make it seem as if it was either. We love you a lot Calum, and we've finally started to move on. I think it's time for you to do so too." My eyes gradually become wetter and wetter as she speaks, and I try my best to hold back the tears, but when she starts crying as well I can't hold it in anymore.

"But it was my fault..." I mutter quietly while choking back a sob and trying to retreat my hands. Instead, Ellen pulls me in for a hug. My head rests on her shoulder as she hugs me tightly and strokes my back gently.

"It wasn't your fault Calum, it was an accident," she says in a soothing voice. I know she's only saying it to make me feel better, but the sincerity in her voice has a certain effect on me. It actually soothes me and brings my crying to a halt. I sniffle quietly and raise my head again, using my palms to wipe away the tears. Peter reaches for his pocket and takes something small out of it.

"Jake would have wanted you to move on, he wouldn't have wanted to see you like this. While packing his things we came over this," he says and holds out the familiar plectrum. "And we thought that maybe you would want it."

It's Jake's first plectrum. He used it for years before he lost it, but we both knew it was still in his room somewhere. It had just gotten lost in his mess. It's a black plectrum with the words 'Plug in... Tune up... Rock out' on it, and we both thought it was kind of stupid by the time we mastered our instruments, but it had too much sentimental value to just put away. I didn't think I would ever see it again.

"I'm not sure if I should have that..." I mutter nervously, fiddling with the hem of my shirt.

"I think you should, it'll be good for you," Peter smiles and reaches it out for me to take it. I look at him for a couple of seconds before I take the plectrum. I look down at it and sniffle again, and as the memories come back, a soft smile spreads across my face, much to my surprise. I was expecting to break down again.

"I remember the day he lost this... We re-traced all of his steps that day to find it, we turned his bedroom upside-down, but we never found it," I say with a quiet chuckle, my eyes becoming slightly glossy again. "Where was it?"

"Weirdly enough it was inside one of his shirts, it fell out when I picked it up to fold it," Ellen laughs, shaking her head slightly. "How it got there is beyond me."

I laugh and look at the plectrum again. Maybe this can mark the start of something. Maybe it can mark the start of me finally moving on. If his parents can, then so can I, right?

"Well, we better get going," Peter says and looks at Ellen. She nods softly and we all get up. I walk them to the door and stand there as they put on their shoes.

"It was really great seeing you again Calum, I'm sorry it took so long... I guess we all just needed some time, but now we can all finally move on. There's no point in living in the past when we can't do anything about it, so we should just focus on moving forward from now on. The key is just to forgive yourself." Ellen hugs me again as she says the words, and a weird feeling washes over me. I quickly figure out that it's relief, because I realize that they really don't blame me. Maybe they used to, but in that case, they've forgiven me.

"Make sure to call us sometimes Calum," Peter smiles and hugs me as well.

"I will," I smile.

"Take care of yourself, darling," Ellen smiles before they leave. I stand there, watching as they get into their car. I watch as they pull out of the driveway, and I watch as they drive off, and a small smile rests on my face the entire time. Now that I have their forgiveness, perhaps I can finally start working on earning my own as well.

A/N: Finally another chapter up! It's just so hard to write sometimes, even when I know exactly what's going to happen like wth

Anyways, tell me what you think about the chapter! 

I feel like I want to do something for the people who actually read this story bc you guys are so important to me, but I have no idea what, so hit me with suggestions if you have any or want me to do something for you bc I'm up for it lol

ily guys