6. Chapter Six
My heart’s pounding and my chest is heaving with rough, choppy breaths. I power walk through the corridors, trying to find the way to Connor and Callum”s mechanics class whilst also trying not to have a panic attack. My hands are shaking profusely as panic soars through my body.
It”s just a nickname. I shouldn”t be this overwhelmed with panic and fear just because of that one little word, but because of the events from this morning, it was all too fresh. As soon as ”sweetheart” left Brad”s lips, my body went stone cold. My mind replayed the events of this morning: Fraser”s rough hands all over me and inside me, my father’s smug face staring at me, and my eldest brother watching with delight and touching himself as the twins sat there trying to block out everything that was happening.
I just need to breathe and let my mind settle and the twins are the only ones that can help. I slump against a row of lockers, sliding to the floor and tucking my knees to my chest, yanking my phone out of my back pocket. It takes a few tries to successfully unlock my phone due to my teary eyes, but once it”s unlocked, I find Callum”s contact instantly and press the call button, greedily gulping down a lungful of air to try and calm myself enough to talk.
”Callie?” he answers, sounding cautious, probably wondering why I”m calling him shortly into our first lessons. A sob escapes me, and I hear him curse before hearing the muffled sound of chairs scraping and footsteps moving.
”Where are you?” he asks calmly. I manage to whisper the word ”lockers” before I”m gasping for air again. Resting my head on my knees, I squeeze my eyes shut and count to ten multiple times, hoping to slow my breathing.
I hear pounding footsteps and feel two sets of almost identical arms enveloping me from either side. Callum softly rubs my back whilst Connor counts out loud with me until my breathing calms and my body stops shaking. Connor lets out a relieved sigh and then loosens his hold on me, but Callum keeps me tightly wrapped in his embrace.
”I”m sorry, I don”t even know what happened. It was just a stupid name and everything was still fresh in my mind. I had to leave,” I mutter, shaking my head.
Callum loosens his hold on me, nudging my arm so that I look his way. His brows are furrowed whilst his gaze flits over my face.
”What do you mean about a stupid name?” Connor asks gruffly from behind me. I shake my head slightly, knowing they”re going to build a mountain out of a mole hole with this one.
”I was in class with Nate-” Connor lets out a sound of disgust and I whack him before continuing. ”We were talking and then Brad came and sat down with us, He said hi to me, but... he, he called me sweetheart, and I just froze and then freaked and ran.” Callum squeezes my arm but stays silent whilst Connor glares down the hallway, all menacing and broody. Releasing a deep, rumbling growl, he lifts himself off the floor and prowls down the hallway towards my class.
”Oh shit!” Callum and I quickly jump up and race after the grumpy psycho. ”Connor, stop!” I shout, getting closer to him as he’s about to round the corner, the one that I ran around earlier, laughing and happy like I haven”t been in a while. I now realise that I didn”t make it far from my class in my panicked state.
”Connor, stop!” He turns on the spot, glaring at me and Callum as we continue to jog towards him. When we reach him, I grab his arm and tug him back the way we came to increase the distance between him and my classroom.
”You can”t go in there and have one of your tantrums because someone called me a name and it triggered me. It wasn”t his fault! These things are bound to happen and we all have to learn to deal with them for now. I want friends, and I want to feel normal for the short period that we”re away from that hellhole. I will learn to be okay with things like people calling me sweetheart. I may get panicked sometimes, but I need you to calm me down. I don”t need you to go all alpha male on the guy who said something innocently. No one is to know that calling me that is gonna set me into a panic, and we can”t afford for anyone to know that either, so calm the fuck down!” After my rant, I take a deep breath and stare up at Connor, who nods his head before turning and stomping back off, assumingly back to his class to relieve some of his anger on a car or something.
Callum wraps me up in a quick hug before following his twin. I turn to head back to class when the squeak of door hinges echoes through the hallway. Spinning on my heel, I spot a shell-shocked Kat standing in the bathroom doorway, nervously wringing her hands together.
My heart pauses as my mind runs through everything that I”ve just said in the hallway, praying that she didn”t hear anything damning.
”I wasn”t eavesdropping or anything, I swear. Well, I heard everything,” she trails off, stepping out of the bathroom and moving towards me. ”I, uh, I was in there and was about to walk out when I heard the shouting, and I chose to stay because I didn”t want to interrupt and then I just kind of heard everything. I”m sorry.” She”s talking a mile a minute, staring at the floor and shuffling from one foot to the other. I walk forward, closing the gap between us and reach out to stop her hands that are still nervously twisting together.
”Hey.” She looks up at me, eyes darting back and forth between mine, ”It”s okay, my fault for airing my dirty laundry in the middle of the hall. Do you mind if I ask you to keep whatever you heard to yourself?” I ask her, now nervous myself and hoping that I can trust her.
I can”t have her telling people about my panic attack and that she heard me calling my house a hellhole. If that gets out, then there”s no doubt in my mind we”d all be punished for it. She agrees quickly, raising her hand between us and wiggling her pinkie finger.
”Pinkie promise I”ll keep it to myself, and I won”t ask any questions. Just promise me, if you ever need something or if you”re ever in danger, you”ll come to me for help.” I watch her for a few moments, taking in her genuine, soft smile and saddened eyes and concluding that she seems somewhat trustworthy. So, I link my finger with hers.
”Promise.” We both say, cementing our promise.
”We”ve missed most of our classes by now. Wanna go sit in the cafeteria with me and wait till they finish?”
“Uh, yeah, sure.”
She links her arm with mine as we walk off to the cafeteria. I”m less nervous now about this whole making friends thing. Yes, I had a little blip, but apart from that, I think I”m doing surprisingly well. Maybe I can eventually have a normal life after all.
When we enter the cafeteria, Kat drops her bag onto one of the tables and walks over to the water cooler. ”You want some?” I nod in response and sit at the table waiting for her to join me. It”s then that I notice I don”t have my bag on me.
”So, I know I promised I wouldn”t ask anything, but can I ask one thing?”
I glance around the empty cafeteria and then back at Kat who’s watching me with caution. I nod, and she releases a sigh, probably from relief that I’m allowing her to ask a question. She looks at me for a little while before reaching forward and grasping my hands in hers.
”Are you in danger?” Her voice is soft and tinged with concern as her eyes assess my face, looking for any indication of an answer from me. Thankfully, I”m used to masking my emotions, so she doesn”t get any clue as to what my answer will be. I worry my lip between my teeth as I think about whether I should give her a truthful answer or not.
Can I trust her if I tell her the truth? Will she ask more questions if I tell her that I am?
My eyes dart around the room to ensure no one else is around before my eyes connect with hers again. Her lips tilt down in a slight frown and her eyes soften as she waits for me to say something.
”I”ve kind of been in danger for a while now, but I can”t get out of it and in all honesty, I”m fine. Might need some therapy for a while but I”m okay.” I try to joke and lighten the mood but she doesn”t laugh. I squeeze her hand and smile. ”Honestly Kat, I”m fine.”
“Yeah, you seem to say that a lot… Just make me another promise, okay?” I nod, indicating that she should continue. ”Promise me that you”ll tell me when you”re not okay. My dad could probably help you, and we could get you somewhere safe.”
”Okay, but, Connor and Callum as well. If I decide that I need help, then they have to come with me.” She gives me another sad smile and wiggles her finger. I lift mine and we twist them together, securing another promise to each other.
”Anyway, sad stuff out of the way, let”s talk boys. Are you interested in my brother?” My head pulls back in shock at her straightforward question and she giggles. ”Sorry, but I have to know. I can tell already that he”s attracted to you and probably going to fall madly in love with you at some point. Call it twin tuition if you want to.” My mouth opens and closes, not knowing what to say.
”Uh, well, he”s good-looking for sure, so yeah I”d say I”m attracted to him, but I”d also then have to say that I”m attracted to Brad too.” She smiles at my answer.
”So, you like the brooding bad boy vibes as well as the nice golden retriever vibes, too.” I laugh at how she phrases it.
”Yeah, I guess you could say that. I don”t know if I have a type, to be honest.” She raises an eyebrow in question and I feel my good mood start to deflate. ”I”ve only ever been with one guy, and that didn”t exactly end too well. I haven”t been interested in anyone since him, and I also don”t know if I”ll ever get over him either. It”s been a couple of years now, and he”s still etched into my heart.”
”Did he hurt you?” I shake my head as soon as the words leave her mouth.
”Not physically or anything, and he didn”t cheat. He didn”t really do anything. He just left. Completely vanished without a word and I haven”t heard anything since. Even his Mum has told me she doesn”t know where he went.” My eyes tear up, so I tilt my head to look up at the ceiling and blink them away.
”Ahh, sounds strange and complicated... I guess that still hurt though, right?”
”Hurt like a bitch.”