Chapter 34
Lana
Rocco insisted on cleaning the kitchen and told Holland to take me to the living room.
He told us to turn on the TV and pick a movie.
He said he’d handle everything in the kitchen, so we wouldn’t worry about the mess from his cooking.
I appreciated his help, and his efforts to lift my mood.
He cracked small jokes with his familiar dry humor.
It worked for a moment, and I smiled once or twice.
But the pressure in my chest stayed. The video sat in my mind, and nothing could push it out.
Holland guided me to the couch. She sat close and kept her hand on my arm. I didn’t mind her touch because it helped with the ache in me.
She grabbed the remote and scrolled until she found some random movie I didn’t recognize. She didn’t ask if I liked it, but I didn’t care what was played. She clicked play, then looked at me.
“You’re safe,” she told me as she studied my face. “You’re here. Nobody can touch you here.”
I nodded, but the knot in my chest didn’t move. Holland kept talking, reassuring me with her soft and honest words.
“You did nothing wrong. You didn’t cause this. You didn’t ask for it. What they did was illegal. It was sick. Callan knows that. Rocco knows that. I know that. You’re surrounded by people who care about you.”
“She’s right,” Rocco said as he came into the living room. “We’ve never really talked, but I’ve always liked you.”
I looked up at him with a tight smile. “Thanks, Rocco.”
“You don’t deserve any of this,” he continued.
“You’re a good person. Anyone can see that.
What they did says everything about them and nothing about you.
” He was careful with every word. Holland glanced at him, then looked back at me with a small nod, like she agreed with every part of what he said.
“Nobody is going to judge you,” Holland said, her hand squeezing mine.
I held her gaze for a second. “I know. I just feel…stuck.”
“That’s normal,” Rocco said, and I snapped my head back to him. “Just know that this feeling is temporary.”
Temporary. I held on to that word and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.
Their words were what kept me sane, but all the hopeful thinking made me tired.
With Rocco going back into the kitchen to finish cleaning up, and Holland keeping her hand holding mine tightly, I let the tiredness finally take over.
I let myself sink into the cushions. Holland shifted so I could lean against her shoulder if I needed to. I wasn’t sure when my eyes started to close, but I just let it happen. I shifted again and curled slightly toward Holland, and without missing a beat, she let me rest my head on her lap.
“She’s falling asleep,” I heard her whisper a few minutes later.
“Good. Let her.” Rocco’s were the last words I heard before I fell asleep.
I woke up in my bed the next morning, unsure how I got there.
But before I could wonder about that too much, my mind immediately went to the video.
It hit me the moment consciousness returned in a wave of shame.
My eyes snapped open, and I stared up at the ceiling for a long time, just listening to the silence surrounding me.
My mind kept replaying the scene on Karlee’s phone, and their nasty grins on their faces as they showed me.
My body went rigid, and I shut my eyes tightly to push every thought of them out of my head.
When I heard faint voices coming from downstairs, I sat up and rubbed my face with both hands before getting out of bed.
I headed into the bathroom first, needing to splash cold water on my face, then I went downstairs, unsure who would all be there.
I hadn’t seen Callan since he left last night, and I wasn’t sure if I could face him again. I missed him, but something in me was still being careful. I was trusting him to fix this, because he had promised me he would, but I couldn’t believe it until everything truly settled.
I saw Holland’s back first, standing by the stove. She had changed out of her dress from last night and was now wearing my clothes. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, and she moved efficiently in front of the stove, preparing breakfast.
Callan and Rocco stood by the kitchen island, their backs turned to me, and their heads lowered as they looked at something in front of them. From the clicking noises I heard, I guessed that it was a laptop.
I stood there for a moment, not saying anything, but just watching them. The scene looked so peaceful, as if this were normal. I let it settle for a moment, listening to Callan’s low voice as he explained something to Rocco who nodded slowly.
Without seeing his face, Callan seemed exhausted. He was wearing the same clothes he had on yesterday, and his body looked tense. His shoulders were slumped, and his overall posture showed me how tired he was.
Had he been up all night? Surely, he would’ve come to bed if he’d come back shortly after I fell asleep.
“You did the right thing,” Rocco said, lifting his hand and giving Callan’s back a quick pat. “But you could have come back here. You didn’t have to stay all night, man.”
“No, I couldn’t,” Callan replied, lifting his head. “I wasn’t leaving until I filed the report. I needed them to know I was serious. I needed it on paper. They have a detective assigned to the cybercrimes unit. They’re serving them both with a subpoena this morning.”
Holland turned from the stove, her expression hard and serious. She slid a mound of scrambled eggs onto a plate. “And what does that actually mean?” she asked. “What happens next?”
“They have a legal right to seize all their electronics,” Callan explained. “It means they’ll formally interview them, and it’s now an official criminal investigation.”
I kept standing in the doorway, listening and observing their conversation that was about me.
When Holland turned around again, she saw me standing there. Her expression immediately softened, and after putting the pan in the sink, she came over to give me a hug. “Hey, how are you feeling?”
I hugged her back and closed my eyes for a moment. “Fine.”
I felt eyes on me, and when I looked up, Callan was standing right there with a hopeful expression. His eyes were bloodshot and tired, with dark circles under them. He truly hadn’t slept all night, and all to make sure Karlee and Kira were getting what they deserved.
“Lana.” He took a step closer but stopped. His hands clenched at his sides, as if he was afraid he might frighten me away.
Holland stepped aside, looking between us before giving me a gentle smile. “He fixed it,” she told me. “He kept his promise.”
I wanted to understand what she was telling me. Wanted to let myself believe that it was over. But I couldn’t let go unless I knew one thing.
“Is it gone?” I asked, my voice small. “The video. Is it gone?”
Callan didn’t hesitate. He didn’t try to soften the blow or give me a half-truth to sugarcoat anything. He looked me straight in the eye when he said, “Yes, it’s gone. I had the police save the evidence, and then they removed it from the site. I watched them do it. It’s gone, Lana. I swear to you.”
The knot in my chest that had been right for hours finally loosened.
I could finally breathe again. A sob escaped my lips, and all the sadness I had been feeling turned into unadulterated relief.
My legs felt weak, and my body trembled with the sudden release of tension.
I moved, not thinking about it too much, and threw myself into his arms.
He stumbled back slightly from the force of it, but then his arms were around me, crushing me to his chest. He buried his face in my hair, his body tightening against mine. I could feel his heart hammering in his chest in a wild rhythm that matched my own.
“It’s over,” he assured me, cupping the back of my head in a protective manner. “It’s done.”
I held on to him, digging my fingers into the fabric of his sweater, and he held me with a strength that told me he wasn’t going to let anything else ever happen to me.
His arms didn’t loosen, and the fear that had followed me all night eased.
He had protected me when I needed it most, and he wasn’t backing away now.
But while it was gone physically, the mental pain this had caused would stay for a while.
We stayed like that for a few minutes, just holding each other, until the tension in my limbs was gone.
Eventually, we pulled back enough to look at each other, but he kept his hands on my arms, as if he was afraid I might collapse.
Holland and Rocco had given us our space, standing near the sink with their backs turned.
The plates of food Holland had made were sitting on the table, and while I appreciated her effort, I didn’t feel like eating. But Callan gently guided me toward my chair. “You need to eat something,” he said softly. “Even if it’s just a few bites.”
I sat down, and he took the seat next to me, pushing the plate closer. I picked up my fork and poked at the scrambled eggs. My appetite was nonexistent, but he watched me closely, his expression encouraging.
“Just a few bites,” he repeated with a soft smile on his lips.
“I’ll be really mad if you don’t eat the food I so lovingly prepared for you after you ate everything he made last night,” Holland said, pointing at Rocco who was grinning next to her.
“You gotta admit…my food looked way better than what you whipped up here. Is this your first time cooking?” he teased.
I managed a smile as their usual banter lit up my mood. As much as she denied it, I could tell there was something more between them. Rocco liked her, and Holland was playing hard to get. I sensed something bigger growing between them.
Holland rolled her eyes at him and then smiled at me. “Eat, Lana. It’ll make you feel better.”
“Okay. Thank you, Holls.”
I scooped up a small bite and put it in my mouth as Callan did the same, and once Rocco and Holland sat down too, we ate in silence for a while. I felt Callan’s eyes on me occasionally. I knew he was trying to make sure that I was okay, and it didn’t bother me, so I didn’t say anything.
His protectiveness was something I had quickly gotten used to, even though, at first, I hadn’t been sure why he cared so much about me.
We had never talked about our feelings, and he had never given me a reason to think he wanted me as more than just a fun time.
And, still, he was sitting here with that fierce expression on his face, making sure that nothing could hurt me again.
“You gotta stop staring at her like that, man,” Rocco said, looking amused. “She’s right here. She’ll be fine.”
Callan scoffed and leaned back in his chair, shooting a glare at his friend. “I know she’s fine. I just can’t—”
“Stop looking at her because you’re so totally in love with her,” Holland chimed in.
My cheeks burned instantly, and I looked at her wide-eyed. “Holls.”
“What? I’m just saying what he’s too afraid of. It’s written all over his stupidly handsome face,” she said with a shrug before pushing another forkful into her mouth.
I glanced at Callan who was frowning, and I smiled tightly. “Ignore her,” I told him, not wanting him to feel pressured or put on the spot. “I’m fine. Really. I’m glad the video is gone. I’m still a bit shaken, but I’m fine.”
He studied me for a moment, running his hand over his head before dropping it to my hand on the table.
He gave it a gentle squeeze as he leaned in closer.
“I fired them. Karlee and Kira? They’re gone.
I terminated their contracts earlier. You’ll never have to see them again.
They won’t be coming around here anymore, and they won’t come anywhere near you. I made sure of it.”
Another rush of relief rushed through me.
Maybe that’s what I was waiting for. He confirmed that he was done working with them.
He stood behind me and wouldn’t allow them anywhere close to me.
He hadn’t only apologized for everything that happened, which wasn’t even his fault in the first place, but he had also acted without thinking twice about it.
He had cut them out of his life completely and permanently.
And, still, one little question lingered on my mind. “Why?”
His eyes widened a little, like he couldn’t understand why I even needed to ask. He shifted closer, turning fully toward me, and he pulled my chair in until our knees touched. His expression tightened, with his serious gaze holding mine without looking away.
“Because you matter to me,” he said, his voice filled with raw honesty. “They don’t. They never did. Not compared to you. And I’m not letting anyone hurt you like that again.”
I let his words linger as a warm feeling settled in my chest, with my heart beating fast and hard. My eyes filled with tears, and I couldn’t get a single word out. I didn’t know how to explain what his answer did to me. So, I let the feeling take over instead.