21. Chapter Twenty-One
Once I’d run back into the diner to apologise to Ruth and Norman for the drama, and I’d promised to return soon, we all piled into Kat’s car to endure an awkwardly silent trip back to their house. Kat had told me that their parents were out for the next few hours on their monthly date night, so I informed the twins and sent them the address, telling them to meet us there.
There was hardly any noise in the car with us, just the quiet hum from the radio and the squeaking of Kat’s wipers as they swished back and forth along the windscreen. Light rain trickled down from the grey, cloudy sky as I watched the droplets racing down the window.
Nate blows out a breath and then leans forward, his head pushing through the gap between mine and Kat’s headrests. “Callie?” His voice is soft, shaky even. I turn my head and face him, tearing my eyes away from the rain. His blonde hair is messy, sticking in every direction from running his hands through it multiple times. His glassy green eyes connect with mine and his lips lift the tiniest bit, offering me a sad smile.
“I’m so sorry, Callie.” His large, warm hand rests on mine, his eyes following the movement. I rest my other hand on top of his, and our eyes lock again. Now, it was my turn to give him a sad smile. I lift my hand and cup the side of his face. His smooth jaw brushing against my palm sends heat flaring through the veins of my arm.
“There’s no need to apologise. Not to me anyway,” I tell him. I peer around him so that I can see Brad too. “I probably would’ve come to the same conclusion if I was you guys. I should have stayed and carried on talking, answered any questions you had. Your thoughts were valid. It’s just unfortunate that Callum overheard you when he did… I’m sure the twins will forgive you both. It just might take a little time. Especially for Connor.” Nate nods and squeezes my hand before slumping back in his seat. Brad stares at me for a few moments, and then his lips part as he mouths ‘sorry’ to me.
“Are you sure Callum and Connor are going to want to sit and talk with us all at our house?” Kat asks, pulling on her lip with her thumb and index finger as she watches the red light we’re stopped at, waiting for it to turn green again.
“Yeah, it’s why I mentioned my mum outside the diner. They’ll force themselves through anything when it has to do with her,” I mumble. Kat glances over at me sympathetically and squeezes my thigh before pulling away so that she can drive through the now-green light.
Headlights wash over me, illuminating my body as I sit, waiting on Kat and Nate’s doorstep. The rumble of Callum’s engine turns off, and not a minute later, I hear doors slamming shut. I peek up from behind my hair, watching my brothers amble towards me, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
I was doubting whether they would come here. I’d understand if they didn’t, given what Callum heard in the diner, but I’m glad they did. Now, I just need to be able to talk to everyone about everything and come up with some sort of plan for what we’re going to do moving forward.
I stand up, stretching out my limbs, and hug both of my brothers when they reach me. “Thank you for coming,” I say, pulling back so that I can see them both.
Callum steps back, his eyes wandering from one window to the next of the house behind me. Connor, however stays close to me, his breath even, body relaxed and calm. My heart squeezes as I watch him and notice that his usual scowl is gone, he doesn’t look like the hard, cold, armoured man that I’m used to seeing. I reach forward and squeeze his arm, smiling up at him.
“You can write to her, Connor. Mr Johnson has assured me that he’ll be able to get letters to her and he told me that both she and Crystal are okay and they’re safe.” His eyes fall to mine and he gives a stiff nod before turning to Callum who’s still glancing around the property as if he’s expecting someone to jump out and scare him.
“Come on, Cal,” He barks, gaining Callum’s attention. He nods his head towards the front door, and Callum rolls his eyes before huffing and stepping back towards us.
We all sit around the wooden oak dining table that’s situated in the Johnson’s kitchen. There are six seats altogether. I’m at the head of the table with Connor and Callum sitting to my left, Kat is on my right with Nate next to her and Brad is sitting opposite me at the other end of the table. All of us have a steaming cup of coffee in front of us but Nate’s the only one that’s taken a sip so far.
We’ve been sitting in silence for the last few minutes, everyone’s eyes darting between each other. Callum’s eyes are blazing as he stares holes into the side of Brad’s head. Brad is doing his best to ignore it, watching me instead, and patiently waiting for me to speak up and get this conversation started.
I clear my throat and place my palms flat against the table, drawing everyone”s attention to me. I face Connor and Callum, “I want to start by explaining what was said earlier with Colin before I explain everything else to these guys about our situation at home.” Both of them nod at me and then Connor rests his hand atop mine.
I give them a rundown of coming here earlier and being blindsided by Colin I tell them the night I remember Mum meeting him and their conversation. Then I tell them about Colin offering to help us contact our Mum. They both stare at me intently the whole time I’m speaking, listening to every single word and nodding at me. They don’t interrupt me until I start to talk about the other part of my discussion with Colin.
“All he needs is some evidence. Like statements from us all. Maybe some proof of his dodgy dealings, give them the locations of his warehouses or something like that.” Connor and Callum look at each other before facing me again and nodding. I take a deep breath, centring myself. I tear my gaze from theirs and stare at my cup of coffee.
“I also agreed with Colin that I would gather some evidence for him as well…” I pause, waiting for one of them to process what I mean. I keep my eyes on the table, tracing the patterns in the wood in front of me. I can hear the shifting of Connor’s clothes as his leg bounces up and down beneath the table. Callum”s chair legs scrape against the marble floor, and he comes to crouch by my side.
“Callie, you don’t need to do that,” he whispers, his hand coming down to rub my back.
“You’re not doing that!” Connor growls from beside us.
I huff out a breath and glare up at him. “If I do this, I could help get them all put away, Connor! Mum and Crystal could come back home, we’ll be safe, and we’d all be able to live a normal life!” I shout back.
He stands up and slams his hands down on the table, making me cringe, considering his weight could probably break it. His stormy greyish-blue eyes meet mine, his face slowly turning red as he grits his jaw in anger.
“What are you planning to do, Callie? Are you gonna record yourself being beaten, try and smuggle your phone down into the basement with you? Is that what you’re planning?” He asks, taking a step towards me. Callum places a firm hand on his chest and nudges him back.
“Con, stop it!” He snaps. Connor looks down at Callum and shakes his head.
“You should be agreeing with me, for fuck sake!” He pushes Callum away from him and his fingers plunge into his inky hair. He turns away from us, pacing in a small line, back and forth across the kitchen.
“You get put in the basement?”
Nate’s soft voice cuts through the thick tension in the room. My eyes connect with his, and my heart stutters to a stop at the pain I see inside them.
“Fuck!” Connor shouts, walking back to the table and slumping into his chair, mumbling an apology to me. My gaze doesn’t leave Nate’s. I bite down on the inside of my cheek as I contemplate how to tell them about every little fucked up thing that we’ve all endured over the past few years.
Callum sighs from beside me and pats my hand.
“Our dad puts us in the basement sometimes. It’s a man-made torture maze in all honesty,” he mutters. Three pairs of brows raise and Kat releases a strangled noise. Callum briefly glances at them all before continuing. “It’s dark and cold, and there’s a bunch of tunnels. He drugs us, with god knows what, and then they dump us down there, they always put something harmful down there with us in the hopes that we’ll hurt ourselves… It’s not so bad if we’re in the basement together.” He shrugs and squeezes my hand.
“How can you just shrug it off like it’s perfectly okay?” Kat asks, her voice shaky. “That sounds awful!” Callum watches her, studying her teary eyes and wobbling lips. His gaze drops to her hand connected with mine on the table, and he closes his eyes, drawing in a deep breath.
“The basement isn’t a big deal. We know our way around some of the tunnels by now, we’ve just got to be cautious because we never know what they’ve put down there each time,” he tells her, opening his eyes again and looking between me and Connor. “We usually come out of there unscathed, right?” I nod in agreement and Connor grunts.
Brad lets out a humourless laugh. “This is so fucked up.” I ignore his comment because, yeah, it is fucked up. We know it is. Unfortunately for us, it’s our normal.
“What happens in the basement is child”s play compared to what happens outside of it,” Connor says. Kat’s hand tightens on mine whilst Brad leans his elbows on the table, bringing him closer to us all. Nate just sits between the two with wide, worried eyes.
“What happens outside of the basement?” Brad asks quietly, so quiet that he might as well have whispered. My muscles freeze up, and I let my eyes fall to the table again.
This is it. This is where I need to tell them. If they know everything, then maybe they can help. They could give suggestions on how to get what Colin needs so the police can put Derek away. On the other hand, this could also make them all see me in a completely different light. I don’t want them to look at me like I’m this fragile little girl. I don’t want to be coddled. I have had enough of that from my brothers. I don’t need it from my friends.
There are also doubts creeping into my mind about if they’d even want to stay friends with me after they know the truth… My heart starts to beat rapidly as my internal thoughts cause panic to flare through my body. I close my eyes, squeezing them shut, and force myself to count to ten whilst taking calming breaths.
In through your nose… Out through your mouth…
That’s it Callie, one more time.
Deep breath in. 1… 2… 3… And, let it out…
My eyes snap open and I instantly search around the room. My body relaxes when I see that only Kat is staring at me. Everyone else seems to be in their own heads, staring into space.
Kat smiles at me, encouraging me. ‘It won’t change anything’, she mouths. I bob my head up and down, choosing to believe what she’s telling me.
Just as I’m about to explain about Fraser, a phone starts ringing. Everybody jolts a little at the unexpected noise interrupting the somewhat comfortable silence we’d fallen into after Brad’s question. Connor shifts in his seat so he can grab his phone from his back pocket. His eyes go wide when he pulls it in front of his face. He stands abruptly, mutters something about Johnny, and then escapes the kitchen, through the living room, heading for the front door.
Callum and I exchange confused looks with each other but he shakes his head, silently telling me we shouldn’t follow. If it was important, Connor would’ve said something. If it were my father or one of his lackeys trying to find out where we were, Connor would’ve shoved both Callum and me out the front door as soon as he could.
Brad snaps us out of the distracted moment, rapping his knuckles against the table. “So, what happens outside of the basement?” He asks again, a little impatiently this time. Nate comes out of his stupor and nudges Brad, hissing at him to relax.
“Well, you all know about my missing finger,” Callum says, lifting his left hand and waving it before their faces, showcasing his stubbed finger. “That’s one thing that happened outside of the basement.” Kat slaps a hand over her mouth, eyes wide with shock.
“Your father did that to you?” She asks, a tear tumbling down her smooth, freckled cheeks. Callum laughs, and Kat’s eyebrows furrow in confusion at his response to her question. “No, it wasn’t Daddy Dearest that cut off my finger. Don’t get me wrong, he issued it, but my supposed Uncle that did it. After I’d been beaten close to death by our brother and father.”
Nate’s complexion pales instantly, and he rests his head on the table, hands pulling at his hair. Brad and Kat stare at Callum wide-eyed like he’s a madman. In all honesty, he did just laugh before telling them that and he’s still smiling now, despite the topic of conversation.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a little unhinged, I’m starting to think my whole family is.
Connor walks back into the room. His brows furrowed in confusion as he slips his phone back into his pocket. He looks at me and Callum then shakes his head and then sits down at the table.
“What was that about?” I ask him. He frowns, holding my questioning gaze, and shakes his head again. “Nothing,” he grunts.
“Okay, can we get back to the topic at hand, please? Because I’m not over the fact that you’ve had your god damned finger cut off!” Brad exclaims. Callum chuckles again, Connor groans and slouches in his seat, and Nate finally lifts his head. He’s not as pale as he was a few moments ago, so I think he’s wrapped his head around everything that he’s learnt so far.
“What would you like to know?” Callum asks them, his gaze flicking from one face to the next. Kat leans forward in her seat.
“What’s the worst thing that’s happened to any of you? Is it the missing finger incident?” Her eyes find mine for a brief moment, concern leaking through the connection before they focus back on Callum. Callum’s face is now solemn as he stares back at her. Connor lifts himself up, sitting straighter now, and his stormy-coloured eyes meet mine as he lifts his brows in question. I know what he’s silently asking me.
Are you going to tell them?
“Having my finger chopped off is the worst that’s happened to me,” Callum offers, pausing as he looks between me and Connor. “Connor’s lucky in some sort of way. He doesn’t do much that they deem troublesome and worthy of punishment. If he does, he just gets beaten until they can jab him with a syringe, and then they fight with him till he passes out.”
Kat sneaks a glance at my mostly silent brother, sympathy pouring out of her. Connor’s gaze is glued to the table but no doubt he can sense everyone’s eyes trained on him.
“I’m glad one of you has it relatively easy, but that must still be painful and horrible for you,” Kat says softly. She reaches across the table and tentatively places her hand on Connor’s closed fist, squeezing it before pulling her hand away again. Then her eyes fall on me and I can already see the tears starting to form again.
I look away from her but instantly regret it when my gaze catches on two sets of eyes, one pair a chocolatey brown and the other a swirling deep green.
I guess by now, they’ve all realised that I surely have it the worst at home, and I can only assume that all three of them are coming up with different conclusions as I watch each of their expressions increasingly turn worried.
“Callie?” Nate’s voice breaks as he says my name and my stomach plummets at the sound of it. “W-what’s the worst that’s happened to you?” he asks. I grimace at the thought of telling them all. Nate’s eyes dart to both my brothers as I stay silent, trying to think about how to tell them all about Fraser.
Brad moves from his seat and makes his way over to me. When he reaches my side, he crouches and waits to speak until I’m facing him.
“Callie, it’s okay if you don’t want to tell us. It’s completely up to you. We just want to try to help in any way we can. We want you all to be free from the torturous things that you’ve all had to go through.” He cups my face in both his hands and leans in to gently place a kiss on my forehead. “Do you think you’re able to tell us? Or would you rather leave it for now and tell us at a later date?”
I mash my lips together as I contemplate telling them. I look over to Kat and she offers me an encouraging smile. I nod my head and wipe my clammy hands against my legs.
“Yeah, I think I can tell you.” Brad kisses my cheek and then retreats to the chair he was previously sitting on. Everyone seems to move inwards, tucking themselves under the table, prepared and ready to listen.
So, for the next thirty minutes, I tell them everything. I tell them about the first time I was told that I’d be expected to give myself to Fraser, and I explain a few of the worst beatings that I’ve received over the years, like when I was lashed with a horsewhip because I hadn’t hidden my bruises well enough. I also tell them about the times that I’ve woken up in the basement and been taunted by my brothers” voices being played through the speakers. When I speak about the first time Fraser raped me, Nate leaves the room with Callum following him, and Kat holds me tight against her as tears fall from both of our eyes.
“The last time anything happened was only the other morning…” I pause when Connor bolts out of his chair and strides through to the living room. Brad and Kat watch him go and then turn back to face me. “Fraser turned up for breakfast, and he forcefully fingered me at the table. My father, Derek, made the twins stay there while it happened. The worst part of it all was the fact that my eldest brother, Cameron, was sitting there enjoying it, pleasuring himself whilst he watched it all go down.” Brad cringes and looks away from me to try and stop me from catching his reaction.
“Oh, Callie, I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through all of this,” Kat sobs, tears now cascading down her face as she pulls me tighter against her side.
“We’re going to help. We’re going to make sure these sick bastards go down for everything that they’ve done to you all.” Brad’s voice is firm and laced with confidence when he speaks. It warms my heart to see that they care even though we haven’t known each other for long.