Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Ghost
The door opened without a knock. Only Callie did that now, moving through our space like she belonged here. Like she belonged with us. With me.
Her scent hit before I saw her, spun sugar and chili pepper, but layered now with honey, whiskey, ocean spray, and that electric energy that was pure Crash. Four bonds. Four marks on her neck.
Not mine.
My fingers stilled on the Lego pieces, a half-built bridge suspended between two towers. Bridges were the hardest to build. They required trust that both sides would hold.
"Couldn't sleep?" Her voice was soft, careful. She knew my tells by now, knew that 3 AM Lego sessions meant the noise in my head had gotten too loud.
I didn't answer. Couldn't. The words tangled in my throat like they always did when it mattered most. It had been years since the accident, and I still couldn't make important words come out right.
She moved closer, bare feet silent on my carpet. The oversized hoodie she wore was mine, I realized. The one I'd left in the nest last week. Seeing her in it did something complicated to my chest.
"Mind if I sit?"
I shifted slightly, making room. She settled beside me on the floor, close enough that I could feel her warmth but not touching. She understood my boundaries, the careful distance I needed even when every instinct screamed to pull her closer.
We sat in silence for seventeen minutes. I knew because I counted. I always counted when things felt too big. She didn't try to fill the quiet with words or demand explanations. She just... existed beside me, her breathing gradually syncing with mine.
"That's beautiful," she finally said, looking at my city. "What's this building?"
I pulled up my phone, typing quickly. Thankfully Callie was used to me occasionally going nonverbal by now.
Memory museum. Each floor is a different year with the first pack.
She read it, then looked at the structure more carefully. Five floors. Five years of happiness before everything shattered on a highway merge.
"And this one?" She pointed to a towering structure made entirely of black bricks.
Where I keep the things I can't say.
"Must be getting crowded in there."
A laugh escaped before I could stop it, rusty, barely there, but real. She smiled at the sound, not making a big deal of it even though we both knew I rarely laughed.
I went back to building, and she watched. Not with the frustrated attention of people waiting for me to be "normal," but with genuine interest. After a while, she picked up some loose bricks.
"Can I?"
I nodded, watching as she started constructing something beside my city. Her fingers weren't practiced like mine, and her structure wobbled, but she kept going. It took shape slowly. A small house with a garden, simple and warm-looking.
"It's us," she said quietly. "If you want it to be."
My hands shook as I reached for specialized pieces, the ones I saved for important builds. Working in silence, I created a pathway between my city and her house. Not a straight line. It curved and wound, with small rest areas and lamp posts. A journey, not a destination.
"Ghost," she said, then caught herself. "Sorry. I know you don't like—"
"Theodore." The word scraped out, barely a whisper. "With you, I'm Theodore."
She turned to look at me fully then, those brown eyes seeing straight through every wall I'd built. "Theodore died in that hospital waiting room."
"He did." I met her gaze, letting her see the truth. "But maybe... maybe he's been rebuilding. Piece by piece. Like Legos."
"I'm scared too," she admitted suddenly. "The others, their bonds feel so natural. Easy. But with you... it's different. Deeper. Like you see all the parts of me I try to hide."
I pulled out my phone again, typing carefully.
You sit in my silence and make it feel full instead of empty.
It was the same thing I’d written on the note in the gallery but I had no idea if she’d read it on the website or even been able to tell which was mine if she had gone to the website. All I knew was that for some reason this was something I needed to say to her, needed her to know.
She read it, and tears gathered in her eyes. "I need that. The silence. Everything else is so loud, the streams, the comments, the constant performance. But with you..."
"Peace," I whispered.
"Peace," she agreed. Then, softer, "I want your mark, Theodore. But only when you're ready. Only if you want it too."
The fear rose immediately, sharp and familiar. The last time I'd bitten someone, claimed someone, they'd died. Logic said it wasn't connected, that the bond hadn't caused the accident. But trauma doesn't speak logic.
"The others need you more," I managed.
"No." Her voice carried certainty. "They need me differently. But I need you too. Need someone who understands that sometimes the most important things can't be said out loud. Someone who builds entire cities to hold their feelings because words aren't enough."
I looked at our Lego structures, my complex city of memory and grief, her simple house of hope, the winding path I'd built between them. Then I looked at her, really looked. At the four bites on her neck, each one a choice she'd made. At the space that remained, like it was waiting.
For me.
"Not tonight," I said, and her face started to fall before I continued. "Tomorrow. When the sun's up. When it's not the same time of night I got the call about the accident. When I can be Theodore choosing Callie, not Ghost running from memories."
She smiled, soft and understanding. "Tomorrow."
We went back to building in comfortable silence, our structures growing closer together with each piece.
At some point, she leaned against my shoulder, and I didn't pull away.
When exhaustion finally hit, we were surrounded by a complete world.
My past and our future connected by careful construction.
"Stay?" I asked, the word easier than expected.
She nodded, and we curled up on the floor among our Lego city. Not touching beyond necessary points of contact, but connected nonetheless. I fell asleep to the sound of her breathing, the weight of her presence making the silence feel less like absence and more like home.
Tomorrow, I would bite her. Tomorrow, I would choose to let Theodore live again.
Tonight, we just existed in the quiet together.
I woke up to the soft glow of my Lego city, the miniature lights casting long shadows across the ceiling.
Callie was still asleep beside me, her breaths deep and even, one hand resting on my chest. She looked peaceful, her features softened in sleep, nothing like the fake relaxed expression she usually wore.
I watched her for a moment, taking in the curve of her cheek, the way her lashes cast shadows on her skin. She was beautiful, not just in the conventional sense, but in a way that made something in my chest ache. She was fierce and vulnerable, strong and soft all at once. And she was mine. Ours.
She stirred slightly, her eyes fluttering open. When she saw me watching her, she smiled, a genuine smile that made her dimples appear, and not in the forced way that she used when she was streaming. "Morning," she whispered, her voice husky from sleep.
"Morning," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper. I reached out, tucking a strand of pink hair behind her ear. Her scent hit me then, stronger than ever. Spun sugar and chili pepper, with that underlying note of vanilla that made my mouth water.
Her eyes met mine, and I saw the question there. The same one that had been echoing in my mind since last night. Are you ready?
I nodded, a small movement, but it was enough. Her smile widened, and she shifted closer, her body pressing against mine. I could feel her heartbeat, steady and sure, against my chest.
"I want to bite you, Theodore," she said, her voice steady and sure. "I want you to bite me."
I rolled her onto her back, pinning her beneath me. Her breath hitched, but she didn't look away. I leaned down, pressing my forehead to hers, inhaling her scent. "I want that too," I admitted. "More than anything."
She tilted her head, baring her neck to me. The trust in that gesture made my heart pound. I leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to her pulse point. Her heart raced under my lips, her breath coming in quick gasps.
I trailed kisses down her neck, over her collarbone, to the swell of her breasts.
She arched into my touch, a soft moan escaping her lips.
I took one nipple into my mouth through the thin fabric of her t-shirt, sucking gently as I rolled the other between my fingers.
She gasped, her hands coming up to tangle in my hair.
I moved lower, kissing a path down her stomach. She squirmed beneath me, her breath coming in quick pants. I hooked my fingers into the waistband of her shorts, pulling them down along with her underwear. She kicked them off, spreading her legs for me.
I settled between her thighs, looking up at her. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes dark with desire. I pressed a soft kiss to her inner thigh, feeling her tremble beneath me. Then I moved higher, inhaling her scent. Sweet and spicy, pure Callie.
I parted her folds with my fingers, revealing the slick heat within. She whimpered as I blew a soft breath over her clit. I looked up at her, holding her gaze as I lowered my head and took a long, slow lick.
Her taste exploded on my tongue, sweet and rich and utterly intoxicating. I licked her again, circling her clit with my tongue. She moaned, her hips bucking against my mouth. I slid two fingers into her, curling them to hit that spot inside her that made her gasp.
I worked her with my fingers and tongue, feeling her body tense beneath me. Her moans grew louder, her breath coming in quick gasps. I could feel her orgasm building, her body coiling tighter and tighter.
I looked up at her, holding her gaze as I sucked her clit into my mouth. She cried out, her body convulsing as her orgasm hit. I rode out her pleasure, licking and sucking until she was a trembling mess beneath me.
I crawled up her body, settling between her legs. She wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me down for a kiss. I deepened the kiss, feeling her body respond to mine.
With a few deft movements I shucked my pants and t-shirt before I reached down, guiding myself to her entrance. She was coated in slick and hot, ready for me. I pushed in slowly, feeling her stretch around me. She gasped into my mouth, her nails digging delicately into my back.
I began to move, slow and steady, feeling her body respond to mine. She wrapped her legs around my waist, pulling me deeper. I picked up the pace, thrusting into her with long, hard strokes. She met each one, her hips rising to meet mine.
I could feel my knot swelling, the base of my cock growing thicker with each thrust. Callie moaned, her body stretching to accommodate me. I reached between us, rubbing her clit with my fingers. She cried out, her body convulsing as another orgasm hit.
I thrust into her once, twice more, before burying myself deep. My knot locked us together, and I came with a groan, filling her with my release.
Callie panted beneath me, her body trembling with aftershocks. I leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. She smiled up at me, her eyes soft and sated.
"Ready?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.
She nodded, baring her neck to me. I leaned down, inhaling her scent. Then I bit, my teeth sinking into her flesh. She gasped, her body arching against mine. I felt the bond snap into place, a warm, golden thread connecting us.
I felt her emotions flood through me, her joy, her love, her contentment. And underneath it all, a deep, abiding trust. I looked up at her, seeing the same emotions reflected in her eyes.
"I love you," I said, the words coming easily for the first time in years.
She smiled, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "I love you too, Theodore."
I rolled us onto our sides, holding her close. We stayed like that for a long time, just breathing each other in. The bond between us pulsed with warmth and love, a living thing connecting us.
Eventually, Callie looked up at me, her eyes soft. "I want to show you something," she said.
I raised an eyebrow, curious. She smiled, sitting up and reaching for her phone. She scrolled through it for a moment before handing it to me.
It was a picture of a Lego city, similar to mine but different. The buildings were colorful and chaotic, with no clear pattern or structure. But there was a beauty to it, a wildness that called to something deep within me.
"It's us," she said softly. "The way I see us. Chaotic and colorful and beautiful."
I looked up at her, seeing the vulnerability in her eyes. I pulled her into my arms, holding her close. "It's perfect," I said, meaning it.
She smiled, snuggling into my chest. We stayed like that for a long time, just holding each other. The bond between us pulsed with warmth and love, a living thing connecting us.
Eventually, Callie looked up at me, her eyes soft. "I want to build it," she said. "With you. I want to build our future, one brick at a time."
I smiled, feeling a warmth spread through me. "I'd like that," I said. "I'd like that very much."
One brick at a time, we would build our future. Together.