10. Chapter Ten
My whole body shakes with nerves as I peer at Callie through the small space between her brother’s arms. I can”t see much of her, but from the pictures that I”ve been getting over the past two years from Johnny, I know that she”s still a beauty with added curves that I hope to explore with both my hands and my mouth.
Her hair is longer too and her beautiful blue eyes hold sadness within them. I keep my eyes trained on hers as they skim the length of my body, over my tattooed arm and down my jean-clad legs.
I don”t look at her brothers, knowing they”re raging with me. Callum’s probably okay, or at least I hope he will be once I manage to explain myself.
It’s Connor that worries me.
We used to be close friends, but I know that they”d happily kill me for how much I must’ve hurt Callie when I upped and left. I know for a fact, without even acknowledging them, that they”re both staring at me with murderous rage in their eyes. I respect them for it as well, and I’d be doing the same thing if I were them.
I understand why all three of them possibly hate my guts right now, but that”s why I”m back. I need to explain everything and I want to help them. I can”t stay away from Callie any longer and surely, she must know that there was a good reason for me leaving.
She”s the love of my life, and I never would”ve left her during such a traumatic time if I had any choice in the matter. The saying that distance makes the heart grow fonder is true for me. Every second that I spent without Callie, my heart ached, and my body craved her touch. I don”t feel at peace when I”m without her.
But I had to leave, and it was necessary to keep her safe. If I had stayed, one of us would”ve ended up dead. Most likely would’ve been me, and that would”ve destroyed her beyond repair. I know that leaving the way I did still hurt her deeply, but I also know her brothers would”ve helped keep her together, and Johnny was constantly updating me on how she was, as often as he could.
Callie finally pushes her way between the twins and takes a step forward but doesn”t get much further as they both grab an arm each, keeping her close to them.
Keeping a smirk painted on my face, my eyes rake over her voluptuous body before landing on her striking eyes that are glaring at me with disgust and anger evident.
”What are you doing here?” she questions, her voice hard and unwavering despite her eyes being glossy with tears. My smirk falls a little and I swallow down the fear that starts creeping up as I contemplate that she may actually hate me and not forgive me for leaving.
”Was hoping we could talk, my love.”
She shakes off her brother”s grips and marches towards me with determination. When she reaches me, my mouth stretches into a genuine smile, one that”s quickly wiped off my face when she reaches up and punches me hard enough that I stumble backwards a little before regaining my footing. One of the twins snorts as I shake my head and stretch my jaw to make sure nothing is broken.
Her eyes, brimming with anger, dart across my face and then she reaches up again, aiming to smack me this time but I grab a hold of her wrist before it reaches my face, rubbing my thumb in small circles across her smooth skin as I plead with my eyes for her to give me a chance.
”Please, Callie, let me explain.” Her face softens a tad at my desperate plea, but she shakes her head from side to side and my heart drops. Both of my hands reach up to cup her cheeks and she sobs quietly as my skin comes into contact with hers.
Sparks ignite across my body when we touch, just like it did years ago. She subconsciously leans into my palm as a tear drops down her cheek. I catch it with my thumb and wipe it away.
”Just five minutes, please, Callie.” She draws her bottom lip into her mouth, nibbling on it.
After a moment, she straightens up and takes a deep, shaky breath before she slowly nods. I breathe a sigh of relief and reluctantly pull my hands away from her face.
She turns to face Connor and Callum as they draw closer to us, eyes bouncing back and forth between us.
”You guys go ahead, I”m gonna talk to Ryker for a moment.” Connor”s eyebrows turn inward and his eyes meet mine. He snarls at me, making me take a small step back. The dude has always been scary and I used to find it funny, but after leaving Callie and spending two years away from the twins, I’m choosing to be careful around him.
”Are you sure? We can wait out here for you.” She declines and pulls Callum into a loose hug, whispering something in his ear. He nods, letting her go before grabbing onto Connor, who is glaring daggers at me and dragging him to the entrance door of the fight club.
”Hurt her again, Ryker, and I swear to God, I will hunt you down and kill you! I don”t care if you were my best friend for years. She always comes first!” Connor shouts across the empty lot before Callum reaches past him and slams the door shut. I audibly gulp as his threat settles deep in my bones. If it had been anyone else shouting those words at me, I would”ve laughed at them.
But with Connor, I know that he means the words. The venomous tone of his voice hurts to hear because the twins were always like brothers to me.
I turn back to Callie to see a small smirk on her lips as she stares at the door that just closed, I clear my throat to bring her attention back to me and the smirk disappears in an instant.
Ouch, that burns.
She looks around the parking lot and then motions over towards the corner before turning to walk over there, not even checking if I”m following.
Once we”re hidden in the dark corner behind Callum”s Jeep, she turns to me with blazing eyes, anger pouring out of her. I step closer and lift my hand to run my thumb along her trembling top lip, and when she doesn’t retreat, my heart beats a little quicker.
”Stiffen up that upper lip, baby.”
Any time she was upset, it”s what I always said to her because her lips tremble slightly when she”s trying to keep her emotions at bay. She quickly steps back, breaking out of the daze that we were caught in for a few moments and breaking away from my touch.
”Why are you here, Ryker? Where have you been?”
I push my needy hands into my pockets to stop myself from reaching out to her, like my body and mind are begging me to do. A few more tears drop down onto her cheeks and she swipes them away as quickly as they fall. She never wants anyone to see her cry.
”Uh, I”ve kind of been all over the place, in all honesty, Pretty Girl.” She flinches when I use that nickname and my heart cracks inside my chest. ”Callie, you have to understand that I left for a reason. I know it doesn”t mean much, and I know that it must”ve hurt, but I had to leave. I had no choice.”
”Of course, you had a fucking choice, Ryker!” Great, she”s shouting and swearing. This isn”t looking good for me. She”s never been angry with me before, although I”d never broken her trust or her heart before.
She steps into me, pointing a finger at my chest forcefully. ”No one forced you to leave. No one kidnapped you or threatened you. You just upped and left the same goddamn day that you promised me you”d always be there for me! I don”t see how there is any justifiable reason as to why you left me that day!”
”He was going to kill one of us, Callie!” My voice echoes through the car park whilst Callie gapes at me in shock.
”What... who was... wait, what?” she stammers. I grab hold of her arm and pull her towards me, but she shakes her head and moves away from me again, nostrils flaring from the anger coursing through her.
”Your father!” Her eyes widen at my admission. ”I was never planning to leave you, Callie. I wouldn”t have if I had a choice. But, after I”d put you in bed, I went to the bar to find Johnny, hoping there was something he could do to help. I wanted to try and prevent your dad from finding out about what had happened because I knew it wouldn”t be good for you.” I flex my jaw, ignoring the pain it causes from where she punched me earlier.
She pulls away from me even more and begins pacing back and forth, muttering to herself. I step towards her but her head shoots up and she stares at me, a pained expression taking over her face.
”He already knew, didn”t he?” she whispers, cringing when I nod.
”I overheard him talking, and then I made the decision to leave… How do you know he already knew?” Tears fall from her eyes rapidly and she covers her mouth with both hands to try and quiet the sobs.
I take hold of her arm again, pulling her towards me to wrap my arms around her. I sigh with contentment when she wraps hers around my waist and buries her head into my chest. Rubbing my hand up and down her back, I savour the feel of her tiny body pressed close against mine and the strawberry scent that’s invading my nostrils from her hair. She squeezes me tight, then sighs and pulls back to look up at me.
”Cameron saw me. I”d gotten out of bed a couple of minutes after you”d left because I wanted to clean up the blood before anyone saw it. I was just getting the bleach out of the cupboard when Cameron popped his head around the corner with a big grin on his face… He”d already seen the blood in the toilet and the bits of blood on the floor. I told him I”d come on my period, but h-he laughed and said he”d overheard us when you were there. He t-told me that he”d found the test in my room the week before, and after hearing us and seeing the blood, he sent a picture of the test to Dad.” Sobs wrack through her body again and tears start to form in my eyes.
”I”m so sorry, Pretty Girl. I hated that I left, but I did it to protect us. I promise you I did. He would’ve killed me, Callie. I heard him say it. I left because I knew that if I stayed and ended up dead, you would’ve been destroyed.” She nods against my chest, hands clinging to the material of my jumper.
Her body relaxes against mine and it fills me with warmth, finally having my girl back in my arms. It doesn”t last long though because she pulls back and looks up at me, bottom lip trembling and hands balled into fists against my abdomen.
”I haven”t forgiven you yet, Ryker. I understand why you left but it still hurt. I need some time. You left me when I was at my most vulnerable and I needed you. We”ll talk properly at some point but-” She gets cut off as someone shouts her name from across the parking lot, making her step away from me in an instant.
I look over my shoulder and see a guy standing there with his hands in his pockets and a worried expression on his face. A sharp pain pierces my chest.
Has she already moved on?
I”d understand if she has, and I guess I only have myself to blame.