Soon, I’ll have Reed trapped and Callie will need someone to turn to…
Again.
32 Callie
“What the fuck happened, Callie?”
I’m not used to hearing Reed so mad. The only time he ever got close to the same tone is when he thought I was going to the prom with Mitch. Even then, however, the coldness wasn’t there.
“Reed,” I whisper, my voice shaky. My hand comes up against my cheek in a defensive reflex that I immediately wish I could take back.
“I’m going to kill him,” he roars. For some weird reason tears just start falling. I’ve kept those tears at bay ever since my father slapped me across the cheek and knocked me down. I didn’t cry even as my mom did. My cheek is slightly swollen and there’s a darkening bruise. I tried to cover it with makeup, but that seemed to just draw more attention to it. I should have known that Reed wouldn’t miss it.
I somehow find the courage to reach out and grab Reed’s arm. “Stop,” I plead. “I’m okay.”
“He hurt you,” he says, his voice shaking and sounding so hurt and upset my heart feels as if it is squeezed in my chest.
“I’m okay,” I tell him as he tentatively brushes the pad of his thumb against the area that is bruised the worst. “I swear.”
“Damn it, Callie,” he growls. I go up on the tips of my toes and gingerly place my lips against his.
“Shhh… I’m okay,” I try to reassure him, and I only start breathing when he puts his arms around me.
“I’m going to get an apartment in town, Callie. I want you to move in with me.”
“I can’t do that, Reed. I need to be at the house to take care of my mom.”
“You can live with me and still go over there during the day and help your mom. You have to see that it’s not safe there anymore. Hell, your mom has to see it,” he counters, pushing his hand into his hair.
“Reed.” I shake my head, stopping to try and sort through everything I’m feeling and to find the words to try and explain it all. “You can’t seriously ask me to move in with you. We’ve barely started dating again. I mean, we’re not even… well, you know.”
“We will be. That’s what today is about, right?”
I frown. We’re supposed to go to the clinic today for Reed’s test. I’m going with him because he asked, but at the same time, I don’t really want to.
God.
It makes me sound like a horrible person, but anything to do with this reminds me of the worst night in my life and I don’t want to remember any of it. It probably says a lot about me—and none of it good—that I would rather run away than deal with the past. I can’t seem to help it, however. Going to Mitch’s yesterday almost killed me. I wish it would all just go away.
“Callie?” Reed prompts and I’m very careful to erase any of the unease from my face. I don’t want him to know how I feel about any of this. If he did, there’s a chance I’d have to explain he wasn’t the only one that made bad decisions that night. I know I’m being a chicken, but I’m terrified that if Reed knew the truth about what happened with me and Mitch that night, he’d never speak to me again.
“That’s a big step. Can I think about it?” I ask him, postponing the decision. Living with Reed sounds wonderful, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. Then, there’s my mom. Would I truly be able to care for her like she needs and not live with her? Not being around my father is definitely appealing and there’s no way he would turn his anger and frustration on my mom. He may not like me much, but he does love my mother.
“You can, but I warn you, Bluebird, I’m not going to give up,” he says, smiling.
“I’m warned,” I laugh.
He wraps his hand in mine, our fingers curling together. He studies my face for a minute before giving me a smile. “Are you ready?”
No.
“Yeah,” I tell him instead. “Let’s go get tested.”
“Let’s? You’re getting tested, too?”
I can feel the heat my face heat with embarrassment, and I nod. It’s silly because Mitch and I used a condom—although he wasn’t a fan, I somehow had the brains to at least demand that. I may not confess what I did to Reed, but I can get tested so that we both start fresh.
A new beginning.
That’s exactly what I want. It’s time for Reed and I to put the past behind us and look to our future. I may not know a lot, but I know that Reed Lane is my future.
“This feels good, Bluebird,” he says. “This feels completely right.”