31. Chapter Thirty-One
”Ithink I should’ve stayed upstairs. I’m too much of a distraction for you,” Brad mutters, his breath fanning across the side of my face as his body brushes against mine. Giggling, I push away from him and walk over to my father’s desk, putting the paperwork I’m holding into the junk pile that we’ve created.
“You are distracting, I’ll agree to that, but I’m glad you came downstairs. I feel bad that you’ve all taken the day off of college to come over here and sort through all of this.”
“We could take a break after we’ve all eaten, maybe go and do something fun,” he suggests as he removes more folders from one of the cabinets that line the walls.
“I wish we could, but I don’t trust that he’ll be gone for long. Especially if he’s left something here that may be incriminating or important, so we should keep looking.” I huff and drop into the brown leather chair behind the desk, pulling another stack of papers onto my lap.
Brad walks over and wiggles the mouse, bringing the computer to life. I roll my eyes and lightly smack his hand away.
“Don’t touch that. Ryker and the twins are figuring out the passcode, and then they’re going to go through it.”
“You won’t let me do anything apart from taking files out of the drawers, this isn’t any fun,” he whines. I roll my eyes and try to stop myself from laughing at this grown man acting like a child.
I lose the battle when he huffs loudly and slumps down in the chair opposite me with an exaggerated frown on his face. I start laughing so hard that I snort. Brad stares at me with wide eyes, amusement spreading across his face as he too begins to laugh.
“You just snorted! No way!” He chokes out through bouts of laughter, throwing himself backwards in the chair.
The sound of someone clearing their throat from the doorway diminishes our laughter. Lifting my gaze, I find Ryker standing there with a grim expression on his face.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, lifting myself out of the chair and walking over to him. “Have you found something?”
He nods gravely. “Let’s go into the living room. Connor and Callum are just pulling up now, and I need to talk to you all together.”
I frown, narrowing my eyes at him and I feel my muscles tense when he avoids looking at me, shaking his head before turning and walking away.
Brad comes up behind me, lightly wrapping his muscular arms around my slim frame.
“Come on, cutie. I’ll be right beside you.” He places a soft kiss against my bruised cheek and takes a hold of my hand, interlacing our fingers together. “I’m sure it’ll be okay.”
As we walk out of the room together, coasting down the hallway, I hear the front door slam shut.
“Dinner has arrived!” Callum calls out, snickering to himself afterwards.
When Brad and I turn the corner into the kitchen, I spot Nate and Kat sitting together in the living room on the cream-coloured three-seater. When they notice me staring at them, they look away from me, choosing to look at the floor instead.
Why is everyone being so weird?
As Callum and Connor stroll into the room with bags of McDonald”s in their hands, everyone seems to busy themselves with an unnecessary task.
Ryker takes Callum”s bags and begins emptying the contents, one at a time, onto the glass table in the centre of the room. Nate grabs the drinks from Connor and places them on the table as well, taking his time to put a straw through each plastic lid. Meanwhile, Kat stares at the TV, scrolling through Netflix.
“What’s going on?” Connor asks, his face scrunched in confusion as he observes the scene before him.
“They’re all being weird because they’ve found something.” I reluctantly pull my hand from Brad’s and walk over to where they’re standing. “Ryker wouldn’t tell me what they’ve found.”
Ryker straightens his form before turning to face us. The twins are openly glaring at him as they stand tall with their arms crossed.
“It’s not like I was planning on keeping it a secret. I just wanted to wait until Connor and Callum were home. This involves all of you.”
“In all honesty, Kat and I weren’t sure about telling you just yet, but Ryker was the one that suggested we should,” Nate says, moving to stand beside Ryker as he nervously glances between the twins and me.
My brows raise in surprise, and my eyes dart over to Kat. She must see the hurt in my eyes because she stands and starts to walk towards me, but I shake my head before turning my attention back to Ryker.
“What did you find?”
He reaches behind him, retracting folded papers from his pocket. He stares down at them for a few moments, blows out a heavy breath and then passes them over to me.
Connor and Callum move closer to me, waiting for me to unfold the papers and see what information is on them, but I stand frozen, clutching the papers in my hand and staring at the textured paper.
I feel a warm, heavy arm wrap around my waist as Brad slips beside me.
“It’ll be okay, cutie.” He reaches for the paper, slipping it from my grasp and hands it over to Callum as he pulls me tighter into him.
I breathe him in and melt against his side.
My eyes travel towards the window facing the front of the house, and the sight of the unmarked police car parked at the end of our driveway causes my stomach to twist uncomfortably, dread sitting heavy in my gut.
I understand that the car and the officers are here for our safety, but they”re a constant reminder that we’re still in danger. Any slither of safety that I feel now that Cameron and my father are gone disappears when my eyes catch on that black BMW.
A sharp intake of breath has my eyes darting to Callum’s face. I watch his Adam”s apple bob in his throat as he swallows and frantically flips the first piece of paper over, scanning his eyes over the next one.
His eyes widen as the colour drains from his face and his eyes flit up to meet mine.
“Callie,” he croaks.
I feel my stomach plummet when he says my name. Connor snatches the paper from Callum as he continues to stare at me in a state of shock – or maybe it’s fear. I’m not too sure.
“Will someone just tell me what the fuck is on those papers?” I snap, forcing my gaze away from Callum. Brad softly squeezes my shoulder, but the comfort he’s trying to provide me doesn’t come.
Instead, my body turns rigid when Connor curses, the paper crinkling in his hand from his tight grip.
“Take it, I need to call Johnny.” He shoves the paper towards me, and as soon as I grasp it, he storms out of the room, Ryker hot on his heels.
“Is it bad?” I ask, not daring to glance down and see for myself.
When Callum doesn’t answer me, Brad removes his arm that was securely wrapped around my shoulders and nudges my brother.
Callum clears his throat and steps towards me, a sympathetic look on his face.
“It’s shocking, that’s for sure,” he mutters, blowing out a choppy breath and looking toward the ceiling for a moment, gathering himself. “Honestly, Little C, I’m not sure if it’s good or bad… Do you want me to tell you what it says?”
I contemplate his suggestion for a moment and then slowly nod my head. Callum mutters an ‘okay’ and takes the papers from me, folding them back up into a square.
Whatever is on those papers must be serious to have everyone freaking out and for Connor to call Johnny, and I don’t think I’m prepared to read the contents of this page.
The last few days have been a whirlwind for me. Hell, the past few weeks have.
Meeting Nate, Kat and Brad was unexpected, but I think, in a way, it was fate. I’ve never clicked so easily with people in my life.
Then Ryker coming back stirred up a whole new wave of emotions for me, but after learning the reason behind his absence and then spending that night together, having compassionate, emotional, consensual sex, I could feel within myself that something was starting to heal.
Plus, you have the matter of Colin Johnson.
If these guys hadn’t come into my life and gained my trust, I never would’ve met Colin. I wouldn’t have peace of mind knowing that my mother and my baby sister are safe.
But, after everything with Fraser and then Derek and Cameron leaving, I don’t think I could handle reading what’s on those sheets of paper right now.
Everything has been happening so quickly and it’s overwhelming.
Terrifying.
I’m not even sure I want to hear Callum tell me, but I know that I need to be kept in the loop.
My eyes stay transfixed on my brother as he slides the paper into his back pocket.
Brad moves closer to me again, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into his chest, surrounding me with his warmth. I rest my head against him, listening to the steady beat of his heart as it beats against my ear, and he presses a firm kiss to the top of my head before whispering, “It’ll be okay. I’ve got you.”
“I’m not even really sure what document to tell you about first,” my brother mutters, pushing a hand into his dark hair, ruffling the already messy strands.
“Cameron’s first,” Nate says, slapping a hand down on Callum’s shoulder. They share a loaded look, and then Callum nods and faces me.
“There were two papers together. One was Cameron’s birth certificate, and the other one was adoption papers.”
My brows furrow in confusion and I loosen my hold on Brad as I subconsciously lean towards my brother as if maybe I misunderstood what he said.
“Adoption papers? What do you mean adoption papers?”
Callum throws his arms out in an elaborate sort of shrug. “Mum adopted him! On his fifth bloody birthday.”
“B-but that means that she’s not his-” I stop my sputtering speech as my brain works overtime, connecting all of the dots together and replaying everything that Cameron has said or done over the years.
Beating us for years on end with no remorse.
“I would’ve been fine if it wasn’t for her.”
“Nothing wrong with it Cal, you ain”t no sister of mine.”
Pleasuring himself whilst watching Fraser assault me.
“It all makes sense now, all the comments he used to make about us not being related.” Callum’s face twists when I speak, and I watch as he pulls his bottom lip between his teeth, a light sheen forming over his eyes.
His chin wobbles, and he draws in a shaky breath as he steps towards me, pulling me out of Brad’s embrace and into his.
“Your birth certificate was there as well, Callie. We were right, Derek’s not your dad.”
My body stiffens and I feel my heart clench at his admission.
“Is that good news or bad news?” Brad asks from behind me, placing a hand at the base of my spine.
“I’m not sure how to feel about it, in all honesty,” I whisper, pushing my face into my brother”s chest.
“You know it doesn’t change anything for us,” he murmurs, lightly squeezing me. “There won’t be none of this half-siblings bullshit. You’re still our little sister.”
I peer up at him and smile despite the sadness coursing through my veins.
I should be ecstatic learning that I’m biologically not related to that devil. I guess I am, but I also feel confused and betrayed.
My mother knew that Derek wasn’t my father and she never told me. The only reason I ever had suspicions was because of Cameron’s snarky comments over the past few years.
If my mother managed to keep this and Cameron’s adoption a secret, then what else could she be hiding?
“Well, apparently, Johnny had no idea. He’s fuming. How many fucking secrets does this family have?” Connor shouts, stomping back into the room with Ryker. When his furious gaze lands on Callum and me, his features soften and his brows crinkle.
“You okay, Little C?” Biting the inside of my cheek, I force myself to smile and nod my head. Connor watches me for a moment and shakes his head. “No, you’re not.”
Tears blur my vision as he walks towards us. When he wraps his arms around me and Callum, my tears start to fall.
“Mum will have an explanation for all of this, Callie. I know she will.”