Chapter 8 #4
He was quiet for a moment. “Most of what I did was stupid. I stole, not just when I was hungry or to give it away like it was a noble thing. I stole for fun and to hurt people because I was so pissed. Nothing too big, just stuff I wanted for myself or stuff I wanted to destroy out of anger.”
I nodded. It sounded normal to me.
“When I got bigger, so did my fuck-ups,” Callum continued. “I went from shoplifting stupid crap to stealing parts off cars. Then I stole entire cars. But I learned that my size was more valuable in other areas, like fighting and scaring the shit out of people.”
“Did you get hurt?”
“Yeah, some.” He shrugged like it hadn’t meant anything. “I never carried a weapon and I never killed anybody. I probably came close and I’m very glad that things never went that far.” He paused. “Are you scared of me?”
“Am I scared of you?” I asked incredulously. “No, of course not.”
“Even after I just told you that I was close to killing someone with my bare hands?”
“You wouldn’t do that anymore.”
“You sound very confident,” he told me and I nodded because I was.
I was thinking about the orange juice and how he’d wrapped up my foot so carefully, too.
There were really a million things that he’d done to show how gentle and considerate he was, except when he put defensive linemen on their asses.
But that was different because that was football and the whole point was to put them there.
We did the slow post-game walk in from the parking lot, and I thought he was limping.
“No, I’m ok. I’m just glad my room is on the first floor,” he told me.
And he did take his time on the three stairs that led up to our front door.
I went to change out of my orange accented outfit and I heard him brushing his teeth in the bathroom that he fit very well in, before I took my turn, too.
“Rainey?”
I went to his bedroom door. “Yes?”
“Can you rub my back?”
I was very happy to do that. “Scoot over,” I said, nudging his hip with my knee. “This bed is so much nicer than the one at the motel.”
“Someday, I’m going to have one where I don’t have to sleep diagonal, like in the hotels where the team stays. You should see those places.” He paused. “Yeah, you really should see them. Why don’t you come to the next away game?”
“To stay with you?”
“You can’t be in my room but you could be at the same hotel. It’s in Iowa, pretty close,” he told me. “Mmmm. That feels good.”
I leaned forward, putting more weight on my hands so I could rub deeper. “That would be expensive. The plane ticket, the hotel room. Food. Ride shares to the stadium.”
“I have money and now, so do you,” he reminded me. “I want to save but why can’t we also enjoy it?’
I thought about that. “I don’t know where to draw the line,” I admitted. “I don’t know what’s—what’s wrong?”
Callum had jumped a little. “That’s a sore spot.”
I was more careful. “Better?” I asked, and he made the mmmm sound again. “I don’t know anything about money,” I continued. “I never had any and I never thought about saving what I got, except one time I was keeping a stash in my makeup bag.”
“What happened to it?”
“Millie found it and she told Damian that I was stealing from him. It was a whole thing.” I sighed, remembering the fallout. “I like the bank accounts better.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. His voice was deeper and the word had been soft. “I love those accounts.”
I kept massaging until I knew that he’d fallen asleep, and then past that point, too.
I went to my room and briefly checked what was happening with all the videos, the funny one of nacho cheese-me and then our response.
The number of views on each of them was shocking, as was the number of comments.
Some people were being mean but most were laughing along with us, and the mean stuff was easy to ignore.
I’d heard much worse in the past and I’d gotten over that, so strangers trying to insult me meant nothing.
When they insulted Callum, though? I had a hard time holding back but I forced myself not to respond. They were just ignorant. I’d have enjoyed watching the guy who made remarks about poor pass protection get out on the field and try it himself, the asshole.
I fell asleep but something woke me. It wasn’t a dream this time but maybe a noise in the distance that made me sit up straight in the bed.
It was quiet in the condo and I could hear Callum breathing, because I’d left his door ajar enough to be able to listen to him.
Was that what I’d heard? Had he talked in his sleep?
I got up and walked through the rooms, listening, but there was nothing to hear.
“Rainey.”
I spun, hands out for protection. “Oh, shoot, did I wake you?” I asked Callum as I lowered them.
“No, something else did.” He went to the door and checked it, but the lock that he thought was flimsy held up against his rattling. “Are you ok?”
I nodded. “Do you need me to go with you, though? I could rub your back again, until you fall asleep. You need to sleep.”
“Uh, sure. Yeah, that would be good.”
I went into his bedroom and the night stayed quiet.