Chapter 10
Hating that Calliope didn’t have friends made me want to find that fuck face and punch him again. I absolutely would’ve loved nothing more than to take Calliope to Kai’s but I had a sneaking suspicion after everything, she really wanted some friend time. I called Sawyer because I had thought of the perfect solution that would make me feel comfortable leaving her and make her happy too.
“Hey man, what’s up? Callie ok?”
Sawyer was one of my best friends. “Yeah, she’s great. She’s a little sore still but she’s healed up mostly really well. Listen, I need a huge favor.”
“Of course. What’s up?”
“Calliope wants to go to Kai’s. I told her I would take her, but I really think what she wishes for is to go with some girlfriends. Is Lily free tonight?”
“I actually think she has tonight off. Let me talk to her.” Lily worked at Sharon’s Diner, and she worked a lot so I hoped she would be off for the night.
“Please do. If she’s free, maybe she can see if Mika is free too. Maybe even Stella. Just as many of the girls as possible. It would be great if they picked Calliope up and took her to Kai’s to hear the DJ.”
“Yeah, I gotchu, man. Let me shoot you a text after I talk to her. I know she’ll love pulling everyone together.”
“Thanks, man. Keep me posted. I’m headed to see my mom for a bit, but I’ll pay attention to my phone.” I hung up from him and hoped that as many of the girls would be able to go as possible.
*
Unlocking the front door and heading inside the house, it was quiet. I was exhausted. My mom took pills to try and kill herself. She has suffered from bi-polar disorder and schizophrenia for a long time. She said she was hearing voices of a man telling her to end her life. That’s why I had to leave Calliope and head to see my mom.
I sat down on the couch, tossed my keys onto the coffee table, and blew out a breath. Leaning back, I laced my fingers together over my stomach and closed my eyes for a second. It’d been a hell of a two weeks since Calliope’s stuff and then my mom.
“Ryder! Is that you?”
“Hey, yeah. I’m here. You ok?” When I looked up, I felt like I was holding my breath. She looked incredible. Stunning. “You look beautiful.” She was in a pair of jeans that hugged her curves in all the right places along with an oversized sweater. She had a thick headband in hair, but her hair looked wild and fucking stunning all natural.
“Thank you,” she said as she looked down at her outfit. “Is your mom ok?”
I blew out a breath. “That’s a loaded question, sweetheart.”
She walked over and sat down next to me on the couch. “What happened?”
“My mom tried to take her own life tonight.” I could hear the shock in her gasp.
“Ryder! Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Is she ok? Do you need anything?”
Turning toward her on the couch, I said, “I’m fine. This isn’t the first time she’s tried. It’s why she lives in the facility she’s in. She suffers from bi-polar disorder and schizophrenia. When she’s good, she’s great, but her lows are extremely low and on top of it she has voices in her head telling her bad shit. Tonight was one of those nights for the lows and bad shit.
“She’s gonna be fine. They called me to let me know so I went there to talk to her. She’s just not in her right mind, ya know? They had her sedated, so she kept going in and out of sleep. I just sat with her for awhile.”
Calliope moved closer to me. “Do you need anything? How are you doing?” She rested her hand on my shoulder.
“I’m fine. I don’t need anything. Well, maybe just one thing.”
She smiled. “Anything? Name it. You’ve done so much for me. I want to help you in any way I can.”
Smiling, I said, “Have a good night tonight. Have fun.”
She looked confused. “Wh...what do you mean? I thought you were taking me.”
Just then a knock came from the front door. I looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
“What did you do?” She asked.
All I could do was laugh. She hopped up and opened the door. I sat back and watched as the girls came barging in one by one, loud and beautiful. Calliope stood to the side with the door opened, eyes wide and her mouth kept opening and closing like she wanted to say something.
“I don’t understand.” She finally said.
I just smiled at her and let Lily take point.
“Girl, I’m Lily! This is Mika, who I believe you met already since she works at Kai’s. She’s Country’s old lady. Sorry, Chase. She’s Chase’s old lady. I’m Sawyer’s. That wild woman over there with the short skirt is Stella. She’s Smoke’s old lady.”
“Smoke?” Calliope asked.
“Sorry. Jedrek. Smoke is his club name. You’ll meet everyone eventually. I mean, we all met you at one point while you were in the hospital but you were kinda out of it.”
“Oh my god. I’m sorry that I don’t remember.” Calliope looked embarrassed.
Lily smiled at her. “Don’t apologize. We’re so happy the guys were able to get to you. The lady next to Stella is Harlow. She’s Ethan’s old lady. She’s quiet but she’s always down. The other ladies wanted to come but they were tied up with other plans.”
“You guys came for me?” Calliope looked shocked.
“Yes!! Ryder said you needed a girl’s night. Well, Kai’s has a DJ tonight so let’s go have some fun!” Lily was all smiles.
Finally, I stood up and walked over to Calliope. “You ok?”
Her eyes looked a bit misty. “You’re really incredible, you know that?”
I shrugged. “I’m alright.”
She punched my shoulder. “You’re more than alright. Thank you for this.”
I looked at her and said, “I want you to have a good time tonight. You deserve that. I’m only a phone call away if you need anything.”
Lily came up to us and put her arm around Calliope. “Ok, enough of all that mooshy! Let’s have some fun, girl.”
I was a little nervous about letting her go but I knew she was in good hands with the girls. “Lily, she’s still sore. Be gentle with her, please.”
“Duh! Byeeeeee, Ryder!” I laughed and watched them all file out of the house.
*
Calliope had been gone for almost two hours. I tried watching tv, doing dishes, doing laundry and then pacing. I was trying hard not to bother her or any of the girls, but I was going a little crazy.
Just then my phone went off. It was Sawyer. “What’s up, man?”
“Are you going crazy?” He asked.
“I mean, no I’m alright. Just getting some stuff done around here.”
“Fuck off. Cuz I’m going a little crazy with Lily gone.”
His declaration made me laugh. “Ok, yeah, I’m going fucking batshit, man.”
I heard multiple people laughing. “That’s what I fucking thought. Smoke, Griller, and Country are here too and they are in the same boat.”
“Well, aren’t we just a jumble fuck of bitches.” I said and we all laughed.
“I say we go to Kai’s and mosey on in there and see how the girls are doing.” Only Country says mosey. It made me laugh.
“Yeah, alright. Let’s go mosey. I’ll see you guys there in five-ish minutes.” Kai’s wasn’t that far from the house, and I was sure they were all at the club house which also was maybe a seven minute drive. The night had gotten more interesting.