Darkness Falls (The Darkness Duet #2)

Chapter 23

Sebastian

I hear her whisper her safe word and turn the toy off immediately before cutting the car’s engine and striding over to the passenger side door to stand next to her. Tears flow from those hazel eyes, and I feel guilty for pushing her so far, especially since she is just opening up to me. I knew it would be too much, but something about this girl just messes with my mind. I want to push her to the edge over and over.

Her resilience and determination are two of the biggest things that have always impressed me most about her, so I wanted to test them. A few minutes pass, but she doesn't speak, and I'm starting to get concerned.

"Are you okay?" I ask cautiously.

Her eyes meet mine, and fuck, it does something to me. She looks so weak and vulnerable. I instantly hate myself for doing this to her.

"I'm sorry," she whispers.

My brows furrow as I'm filled with confusion. I bring a hand up to caress her cheek, and she leans into my touch. "Sorry for what, Callie? You didn't do anything wrong."

"I couldn't take it. I' m sorry, but I had to make it stop." She bows her head, looking away from me.

I tilt her chin up. "That is the purpose of the safe word, trouble. You never have to apologize or feel ashamed for using it." I pull her in for a hug, and she lets me hold her as she cries for a few moments. "Thank you for trusting me enough to use it."

She sighs but still doesn't pull back from my hold. Once she finally calms down and the tears have dried up, she lets go of me, and I look down at her.

"Let's get you home so I can take care of you properly."

I lean in and gently press my lips to hers. She seems surprised, but it felt like the most natural thing to do. I want to kiss her, provide her comfort even. I know she needs it right now, so I'll happily give it to her.

When I step away, her hand comes up to touch her lips, but she doesn't say anything further. I walk back around the car and slide into the driver’s seat to get to the house. We are only a minute or two away, but I still make a point to intertwine my fingers with hers so that she knows I'm here for her. She looks down to stare at our connected hands but again doesn't say anything.

Fuck, Kyler and Barrett are going to kill me if I’ve broken her spirits somehow. Seeing her in this weak, vulnerable state isn't as satisfying as I thought it would be. I'm so proud of her for using her safeword. That just shows how much she fully trusts me. I'm still not entirely convinced I deserve it from her after everything, but being included in her small bubble is a blessing.

I finally pull into the driveway and park the car before hopping out and walking to her door. I open it and reach out a hand, making a mental note of how she looks at me with eyes full of caution before she takes it. I lead her into the house and straight up the stairs, not caring if anyone else is around. Once we are inside my bedroom, I sit her on the edge of the bed.

"Wait here for a minute while I get everything ready." She nods, and I walk into the adjoining bathroom.

My room is the primary suite in the house, so I'm lucky enough to have a private ensuite. With Callie living with us permanently, I should consider giving her this room and moving my stuff into the 4th bedroom. It would be the gentlemanly thing to do, and it might even earn me some extra points with her. Fuck’s sake. What the hell has happened to me? This girl is making me soft.

I turn on the water in the big, jetted tub to run her a bath and grab some lavender-scented bubble bath to pour into it. I hope she doesn't ask me why I had this on hand. I may be a stubborn asshole, but who doesn't love a nice relaxing bath every now and then?

When I finish setting everything up, I head back to where I left her. I only make it one step into the room when my entire body freezes. Callie is right where I left her on the bed, but she's singing a song that I haven't heard in a long time. My mind pulls me into a distant memory .

"Mommy sing song again?" my sweet little voice echoed across the room. I was only a few years old, and she was tucking me into bed for the night. I looked up at her with nothing but pure adoration as she tucked in the sides of my dinosaur comforter around me.

"Of course, my love," she told me before she walked over to turn the overhead light off and then came to sit on the side of my bed.

"Mommy sing?" I giggled, and she leaned in to kiss me on the cheek.

"Hmmmm, what was that song again that you love so much?" She teased while messing up my hair. I laughed at her again. This moment brought me nothing but pure joy and was a true testament to the innocence of my childhood with her.

"Goodnight! Goodnight!" I yelled, and she smiled down at me. My dinosaur night light gave the room the perfect amount of light to keep the monsters away.

My mom's eyes looked so kind. Shimmering brown eyes, much like my own.

"Okay, lovebug, I’ll sing it again, but only if you sing it with me," she said, and I felt so excited. My part of the song was always the beginning.

"Da Da Da Da Da," my little voice sang out, and she leaned in to sing with me.

"Goodnight, sweetheart; well, it's time to go," she sang.

"Da Da Da Da Da," I said.

"Goodnight, sweetheart; well, it’s time to go. I hate to leave you, but I really must say."

"Goodnight, sweetheart, goodnight." We said the last goodnight in unison before she hugged me and placed a kiss on my forehead.

"Goodnight, Mommy," I told her before she stood up.

"Goodnight, Sebastian. I love you," she said before she left the room.

I snap myself back to reality and stare at Callie in disbelief for a moment as she continues to sing the song on repeat. She stares at the floor and hasn't noticed me standing there yet.

"Goodnight, sweetheart; well, it's time to go. I hate to leave you, but I really must say. Oh, goodnight, sweetheart, goodn—"

"Callie," I interrupt.

Her head snaps in my direction, eyes locking with mine, and worry stretches across her face. "Yeah?"

"What was that?"

Her brows furrow in confusion. "What was what?"

"That song you were singing. What was that song?"

Her face relaxes when she realizes she was singing to herself. "Oh, that." She brings a hand up to rub the back of her neck. "I don’t know. It was just a random song that popped into my head."

"My mother used to sing me that song," I confess as I close the distance between us. "It's been a long time since I've heard someone sing it. I couldn't even remember the words for the longest time." I cross the room, crouch down in front of her, and look up into her eyes. "Thank you for bringing me back to one of those moments. "

She lights up at my confession. Up until this point, we haven't really opened up to one another, but this feels important. What are the chances of her singing a song that brings a piece of my mother back to me?

I stand and offer her my hand. "Come on, we don’t want the water to get cold."

"Water?"

"I told you I’d take care of you when we got home. Let's go soak in the tub for a bit." I say with a smile.

We walk to the bathroom, but I can’t stop the thoughts from spinning in my mind. How was she singing the exact song that my mother used to sing to me when I was a child? Part of me wants to think that she had to know somehow, but there is no possible way. I couldn't even remember what that song was, and I have been trying to recall it for years.

Her eyes land on the tub, and she turns to look at me with pure joy all over her face. I step forward to undress her. She still has the toy inside her, and I need to take it out. I pull the shirt over her head and unclasp her bra, letting it fall to the floor before looking down at the way her nipples pebble from the air. I carefully unbutton her jeans next and pull them to the floor with her panties. She places her hands on my shoulders to steady herself as she steps out of both of them.

I lead her over to the vanity and say, "Bend over." She looks up at me, eyes full of concern, and I shake my head to reassure her. "I'm just taking the toy out. We're done playing for the day."

She takes a breath and nods before turning to bend over so I can pull it from her. A small whimper leaves her as I place the soaking-wet vibrating stimulator in the sink. I turn her back around and guide her over to the tub.

Before she can get in, I free myself of all my clothing, and she slowly eyes me up and down. My cock is fully erect, and I don't miss the way her eyes linger on it for a moment. I step forward and place a foot into the tub before extending a hand for her to join me.

"Together?" she questions.

"Unless you would rather be alone," I say, but she shakes her head. She wants me there to give her this comfort after the events of the day. I find myself needing this moment with her just as much after having that flashback of my mom. I've never connected with another person like this before, and it's a strange feeling.

I sink into the tub and pull her into me with her back pressed firmly against my chest. Everything I need to help her relax is set up along the edge of the tub, so I reach out to grab the loofah and squirt some grapefruit-scented bath wash onto it.

"Close your eyes and relax, trouble," I whisper in her ear before bringing the loofah to her chest.

She always smells like grapefruit, so I thought it was fitting to have a similar-smelling body wash here for when we brought her back to the house. I gently move the loofah across her body, washing the stress of the day away. She sighs and relaxes into me, soaking up the entire experience. When I finish, I wrap my arms around her to hold her in place. We sit like this in silence for a while before Callie breaks it.

"Want to tell me about her?"

"Who?" I ask, knowing all too well who she's talking about.

"Your mom. If you want to talk about her, I want to listen."

I take a deep breath and hold her hand under the water. "It's hard because I don't remember a lot about her. When they put me in foster care, nobody thought to put aside any of her belongings or photos. All I have to look back on are the very few pictures that I've been able to find online. She always seems so much different in my mind, though." That makes me a little sad to admit. "It's weird because she was only part of my life for a few years, but I still miss her so much."

"You never stop missing someone you love," Callie says, looking up at me with eyes full of sympathy.

"She always used to sing to me. That song you were singing was part of our bedtime ritual. She would sing it to me every night before I went to sleep. We used to sing and dance all the time. After dinner, she would make it a fun game to pick a song to dance to while we cleaned up. The goodnight song was the only one that we always sang every day." I let my mind wander back to the earlier memory for a moment and smile. "She had the weirdest laugh. That’s one of the strongest memories I have of her."

Callie smiles up at me. "A weird laugh?"

"Yeah, it was a combination of a cackle and a wheeze. Everywhere we went, people would stare at her every time she laughed, but she never let it bother her. She would just tell me people were staring because they were sad they weren't in on the joke, too."

"She sounds like she was an amazing mom."

"I was just a kid. I didn't know any better, but she did everything she could to make sure I was happy. I got so angry after she died..." I trail off and realize I've never really let that anger go.

"Seb?"

I sigh. "She was taken from me way too soon. I hate that there was nothing I could do about it. It's part of the reason I'm so protective of Barrett and Ky, and I guess now you. I don't want to think about what would happen if more of my family was taken from me."

"That’s why you wanted me to make up with my mom. You know that happiness can be taken from you at any time, and you can't control it."

"Yeah, something like that."

She squirms in the tub and turns to face me. "She would be proud of you if she were around today. The way you protect your family over everything, she would be proud of that."

I let myself absorb her words, and they settle something deep inside me. I really hope she’s right and that my mother would be proud of me if she were still here. I reach out and trail my hand down Callie's cheek before gripping her chin and leaning in to kiss her.

"We should get out. The water’s getting a little cold," I whisper, and she nods.

I step out of the tub and hold out my hand for her to help her out before leading her to the shower stall and turning on the water. She looks annoyed, but we need to rinse the oils from the bubble bath off of us.

"Just real quick."

After a minute, I turn the water off and grab towels for us to dry off with. There is a big fluffy pink robe in the corner that I reach out to grab and help her into.

"When did you get this?" she asks. "It's seriously super comfy."

"We had it here for you… um… before. I just didn't have the chance to give it to you."

Sadness fills her eyes, and I wish I hadn't said anything at all. Her sadness quickly morphs into something else entirely, and she reaches out to touch my chest. "You guys bought me a robe?"

"Barrett did. He did most of the shopping for your clothing."

She giggles. "He's the one that bought that damn taco shirt and the smiley face slippers."

"Are you surprised? The guy has a twisted sense of humor sometimes."

"I should have known." She rubs her arms, feeling the comfort of the robe.

"We have two options now. We can either take a quick nap or head downstairs and get started cooking dinner."

She tilts her head with interest. "What are we making? "

"Chicken pot pies. You don't necessarily have to help, but having you around might not be so bad."

"Ooooh, I love your chicken pot pies!"

"I know, Ky told me. So, nap or kitchen?"

"I'll sleep after dinner," she tells me, but it looks like she wants to say something else. I don't like that she's keeping it to herself.

"What's wrong?"

"Um. I uh. Would it be okay if I slept in here with you tonight? You know, give it a try?"

Relief floods through me. She is trying to work out this new common ground between the two of us, just like I am. "You can sleep wherever you want, whenever you want," I reassure her and grab her hand to lead her downstairs.