44. Chapter Forty-Four
The sound of an incessant beeping rattles around my brain, along with a mix of voices, some familiar and some not. I can feel a numbed, burning sensation coursing through my body and the discomfort that it causes has me forcing my eyes open.
Blinding light enters my vision, and when I turn my head to the side, trying to avoid it, pain shoots through my skull.
A deep, manly voice calls out my name and I slam my eyes shut as a whimper makes its way up my throat.
Memories crash into me at full force.
Cameron, the knife, the blood, the video and the burning.
“No,” I mumble, the images of everything that happened before I passed out crashing around inside of my mind. “No, please. Let me go.”
“Callie, open your eyes.”
“No!” I shout, squeezing them tighter and shaking my head, my breathing picking up pace as panic settles into my bones,
I didn’t kill him.
The knife must’ve missed.
“Please,” I beg. “I can’t handle more. Please, let me go.”
Something heavy lands on both of my arms, pinning them down, and a sob releases from me.
“Little C, open your eyes.”
My body freezes.
“You’re safe, Callie. It’s okay now. You can open your eyes.”
My hand is lifted before it’s placed back down on top of someone else”s. My fingers move, tracing every inch until I feel the shortened stub of the last finger, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Callum?” I whisper.
The hand beneath mine turns over and squeezes three times.
“Yeah, it’s me. I’m here.”
I slowly open my eyes, and when I find Callum’s face looking down at me, tears flood my eyes as relief flows through my body, numbing the pain and the fear.
“You know I’m here too. It’s not all about Callum,” Connor playfully scoffs from somewhere in the room. His voice has the tears spilling down my cheeks as I draw in a ragged breath.
“W-where’s everyone else? Is K-kat - oh, god. Please tell me she’s okay!”
Connor trudges over to the bed and gently grabs onto my hand.
“Hey, hey, calm down. Kat is perfectly fine, she was released from the hospital yesterday, so she’s at home resting. Brad, Ryker and Nate also went back to Sophie’s and Colin’s so that they could have a shower and eat some proper food. No doubt, they’ll be back at some point today.”
I frown, looking at him in confusion.
“She got released yesterday? H-how, what?” My gaze flickers between the twins, waiting for an answer.
“Callie, you’ve been in the hospital for four days.”
“Four days?”
He nods, grimacing at my expression.
“We found you at the house, thanks to Johnny. You’d lost a lot of blood, and you weren’t breathing. Callum did CPR, and I tried to stop the bleeding until the ambulance arrived.”
“Wait,” I interrupt. “What about Cameron?”
“He was already dead when we got there.” My hand shakes in his grip. “Hey, there’s no need to panic. It was self-defence, and there is video evidence of everything that happened. There’ll be no repercussions.”
I gasp at the reminder of the video feed.
“Y-you all saw everything?” I ask, my voice shaky and tinged with horror.
Callum and Connor both stare at me with teary eyes as they shake their heads.
“We didn’t watch, we couldn’t, so Ryker and Brad did.”
A pained cry comes out of my mouth at the thought of them witnessing everything that was said and done.
“I don’t want to hear any more. I-I don’t want to think about it all.”
“Okay, okay, that’s fine. We can talk about something else if you want, or we can leave if you’d prefer that?”
I shake my head immediately, gripping onto both of them despite the pinch of pain that it causes in my hand. I clear my throat and take a deep breath, not wanting them to realise how panicked I am with the thought of being alone.
“I’m okay with you staying. I could do with some water, though, and maybe one of you could help me sit up so that I can see you properly without hurting my head.”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll go get you some water and also ask a nurse to come and check on you. I think we were meant to do that as soon as you woke up, so I best do it now,” Callum says, chuckling softly.
He presses a soft kiss against my forehead and exits the room whilst Connor stands from the chair and begins to help me into a sitting position.
“You got something to tell me, Grumpy?” I ask, settling against the pillows he’s propped up for me to lean against. He sighs, slumping into the chair beside me as his concerned gaze traces my face.
“Well, with Cameron being dead and Colin arresting Dad, he deemed it safe for Mum and Crystal to return home. So whilst you’ve been in a coma, they’ve come back and are staying with Jasmine.”
“Has she been here?” I watch him shuffle uncomfortably in his chair at my question, and a myriad of emotions rush through me.
“We told her that we think it’s best if she wasn’t here whilst you weren’t awake. We wanted to wait until you were able to tell us if you want to see her or not… She did sneak in here at some point to check on you, though, and had a little run-in with Ryker”
My brows shoot up in surprise. “What do you mean she had a run-in with Ryker?”
“Oh, come on. We both know Ryker’s always been very protective of you. He didn’t think you’d want to see her, and he’s not exactly happy with her after everything, so some words were exchanged.”
I grimace as pain radiates through my leg and Connor jumps from his seat, immediately at my side and asking if I’m okay.
“I’m fine,” I huff, swatting him away. “So, does that mean you’ve spent time with Mum and Crystal then?”
He nods, a small and genuine smile appearing on his face.
“Yeah, well, I’ve spent a lot of time with Crystal anyway, she’s amazing! You”re gonna love her.”
“Why haven’t you spent much time with Mum?”
“It’s just weird, you know? She’s been gone for so long and so much has happened. We’re different to the people we were when she left and she’s different in some way as well.”
I frown and narrow my eyes at him, sensing that there’s something else he’s not telling me.
“Connor, for the past few years, you’ve been obsessed with the thought of having Mum back in our lives and being a family again. I thought you would’ve been elated when she came back.”
“I am. I’m beyond happy that she’s home, and I’m relieved that she’s safe and doesn’t have to hide anymore, but after everything that happened with Cameron, it’s made me look at things differently.”
I reach my hand out to him and when he takes it, I squeeze my fingers around his.
“You’re curious about why she lied, and you’re wondering if she could’ve done more to help us get out of the situation before it got this bad, right?” He nods, and I sigh, understanding his conflicted feelings. “I feel the exact same, Con. I think it’s going to take us a while to build a relationship with her and when we’re ready, we all need to sit down and talk about everything.”
His saddened eyes lift to meet mine.
“You don’t want to see her, do you?”
I roll my lips inward and shake my head.
“I don’t think I’m ready for that any time soon. As much as I’ve missed her, I just need some time to process everything that’s happened lately before I sit with her and ask the questions that I need to.”
A knock at the door interrupts our conversation. A nurse walks in, a clipboard under one arm and a little white pot in her hand.
“Hello, dear. I’m Mabel, your nurse for today. It’s so good to see you awake! Do you mind if we just run through some tests with you and check you over?” She asks, her voice sweet and caring as she glides into the room.
“I’ll go and call the boys. Let them all know that you’re awake,” Connor mumbles, patting my hand. A spike of fear rises inside of me as I watch him walk towards the door.
“No need to worry, darling. You won’t be alone for long. All of these boys have been hard to get rid of these past few days,” Mabel says as she squiggles a few things on the clipboard. “Now, let’s start by asking you a few basic questions first.”
“You have no idea how happy I am to see those beautiful eyes open again,” Ryker exclaims as he rushes into my hospital room, Nate and Brad bounding in behind him.
A smile spreads across my face as a blush creeps across my cheeks. They all crowd my bed, placing their hands on some part of me as they bombard me with questions.
“How are you feeling?”
“Are you okay?”
“When can you come home?”
“Are you in any pain?”
I lightly giggle, my eyes growing watery as their frenzied voices fill the room.
“Okay, calm down! One at a time, please.”
They all apologise, looking at me sheepishly as silence settles in the room. My eyes dart between them all, admiring their features.
“I’m really happy you’re all here,” I say, emotion clogging my throat. “I was so worried that you’d all look at me differently after everything that you saw.”
“If anything, it showed us how strong you really are,” Ryker assures me, cupping my face in his palms. “You are so strong, Pretty Girl. I’m so proud of you.”
A tear falls down my cheek and he swipes it away, kissing my forehead before releasing my face from his hold.
I turn to look at Brad and Nate, seeing them watching me with smiles.
“We’re proud of you too. You were amazing and so incredibly brave,” Nate says, lifting my hand to his lips and placing gentle kisses across each knuckle. More tears begin to drip down my face from their praising words and their comforting tones.
Brad steps around Nate and settles himself on the edge of my bed, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
“We’re gonna be here for you through everything, cutie. We’ll all get through this together, okay?” I nod my head, resting it against his chest as my emotions flow out of me.
Warmth seeps into my blood as I lay in this room with each of them beside me. The fear has dispersed, my worries have been pushed to the back of my mind, and my muscles finally relax.
I feel some sense of peace having them with me, knowing that everything that’s happened hasn’t changed anything between us. It hasn’t made them pity me or see me as vulnerable and weak. Instead, they view me as being strong and brave.
Finally at ease, I feel my lids droop as sleep begins to pull me under, and when I hear their whispered words, a smile dances across my face.
“We love you too, Callie.”
After having a good few hours of sleep and some pain medication, Mable suggested having a shower to help myself feel refreshed.
I’ve been standing in the bathroom that’s connected to my hospital room for the past thirty minutes. I’m still wearing the hospital gown, and I haven’t removed my bandages. I can’t bring myself to strip myself naked because I know that I’ll find bruises and stitches all over my body.
I don’t want to see how ruined my body is now.
I don’t want to be reminded of what Cameron did to me in the hours that I was with him.
A soft knock sounds on the door, breaking me out of my pity-filled thoughts.
“Callie, it’s me, Kat. Can I come in?” Surprise rocks through me at the sound of her voice, and I move over to the door and unlock it for her.
She opens the door just enough to squeeze her body through and then she shuts and locks it again before turning to face me.
A crease forms between her brows when she sees me still in my gown.
“Hey,” she says, striding towards me and wrapping her arms around my waist. “I’m so glad that you’re okay.”
“Same goes for you,” I tell her, squeezing her against me. “I’m so sorry that you got hurt, Kat.”
“You don’t need to apologise, Callie. It wasn’t your fault.” She draws back, her eyes sweeping my covered body. “Okay, let”s get you in the shower so that you’re nice and clean. If you’re in here much longer, I think the guys might lose their minds.”
My hands grip the gown, and I shake my head.
“I can’t take it off. I don’t want to see it all, Kat. I can’t.”
“Callie, it’s going to be okay. If you don’t want to look, then you don’t need to. I’m here to help and if you need me to wash your body, then I’m perfectly happy to do that.” She winks at me and then giggles at my confused expression. “You seriously haven’t clocked on, have you?”
“Clocked on to what?”
“Callie, I’m a lesbian. You know, attracted to girls instead of guys.”
My brows raise and I choke on my own spit, patting my hand against my chest.
“For real?”
She nods, a small smile on her face
“Yeah, for real. So, like I said, if you want me to wash your body, then I’m happy to do so.”
“I’d appreciate that. I just don’t think I’m ready to see it all just yet.”
“Callie, I understand why you don’t want to, but I think you need to. It’s bound to be upsetting for you, but I’ll be here with you.”
We watch each other for a few moments, silence hanging heavy around us. Kat takes a step back and turns to press the button on the shower. As the water pours down, splashing against the tiled floor, she walks over to me and unclasps my hands from the gown.
“Let’s just do it in small steps. First, let’s take this off.”
My legs start to tremble as I turn around and let her untie the garment.
I press my lips together and take a deep breath as she slides it off of my body, leaving me standing naked with only thick white bandages covering my healing wounds.
“Step one complete. Do you need a few minutes before step two?” She asks, gesturing at the bandages.
My gaze flickers down to my legs, and I clench my jaw as I think about the pain I felt from the knife slicing through my skin and the smell of my flesh burning when Cameron pushed the hot metal poker into my thigh.
Curling my hands into fists, digging my nails into the palms of my hands, I shake my head and lift my fearful eyes to meet hers.
“Let’s get it over with,” I tell her, voice shaky yet determined.
She kneels beside me and begins to unwrap the bandages from my legs with delicate fingers.
When the top of the bandage falls away from my leg, I can’t help but look down at the exposed skin.
I gasp when I see the two big C’s scorched into my upper thigh.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Kat whispers, her eyes glancing at the initials burned into my skin before she continues unwrapping the rest of the bandage. “Don’t freak out, just keep breathing.”
I follow her instructions, breathing deeply as my eyes stay glued to the raw burn on my thigh.
“I know that right now, you think of Cameron when you look at that, but maybe in the future, it’ll have a different meaning for you. It could be for the twins, or maybe for your mum. Something like that, you know?”
I don’t answer Kat as my eyes drift away from the burn and focus on the long line of stitches that she’s now uncovered.
“You could even get it covered up once it’s healed. Nate told me that Ryker keeps talking about you getting a tattoo to cover it. That would be quite cool, don’t you think?”
Again, I don’t reply. I fear that if I open my mouth, all that would come out is a scream.
“Okay, let’s get this bandage off of the other leg, and then we can get you under the water,” she mumbles, moving to my other thigh.
Once she’s taken off the bandage, she stands and leads me over to the shower, guiding my numbed body beneath the water.
I stand beneath the water, letting it soak my skin as Kat grabs my wash bag and pulls out some products.
“Do you think they’ll still want me?” I ask, watching as she squeezes some shampoo into her hands.
She scoffs, rubbing her hands together before pushing them into my hair.
“Callie, of course they will still want you. You may end up with a few added scars, but that doesn’t change you. You’re still beautiful, caring and strong. You’re still going to be the same person that they each love and care about. Having a few extra scars on your body isn’t going to change anything. Please don’t be worried about that.”
I think about her words as she tilts my head back and washes the suds from my hair.
“Thank you, Kat. For everything,” I mumble.
“Anytime, Cal.”