twenty-six #3
I open my mouth, but Callisto cuts me off, already seeming to know what I’m going to say, “We don’t know he’s going to kill me. I’m sure my parents will give him what he asks for when they realize their own lives are in danger as well.”
“He will kill you, Callisto,” I insist, my voice nearing a whine. Why won’t Callisto understand that? Peadar will kill him.
“How do you know that?” Callisto asks, his tone challenging. He looks at me expectantly, pretty much daring me to say it’s more than that.
“I don’t. He just said something about blackmailing you so that you’d keep your mouth shut about us. Do you have anything in your past that he could potentially blackmail you with?”
I ask, watching Callisto’s expression carefully.
He looks confused for a split second before he considers it, as if he’s racking his brain for something.
“Not that I can think of.” Callisto shakes his head, just like I expected. Callisto’s record is as spotless as a blank piece of paper, while mine resembles a Rorschach Test.
“That’s what I thought, so there’s only one other way to keep you quiet.” I let the statement hang in the air.
“He could use something on my family. He probably has a whole list made for my dad alone,” Callisto says.
“He knows that wouldn’t work. It wouldn’t be enough since they didn’t even pay your ransom. That would not guarantee your compliance,” I point out, and Callisto opens his mouth to respond. I cut him off, “I know it’s just a feeling, but you have to admit that it’s rooted in facts.”
“But it’s mostly a feeling. You don’t know he’ll kill me, Leo, so my plan could work. It would mean we all survive.”
Callisto puts emphasis on the word ‘all’ like I don't understand the difference.
I pause, thinking about what he said. I shake my head, almost frantically.
The risk is too great. I cannot handle that.
I cannot keep doing this. No. It has to stop. It stops now.
“That’s not a chance I’m willing to take. I’m not letting you take the fall for this. You’ve been through enough. You had a good life, and I had to go and fuck it up. I’m so fucking sorry for that. I didn’t know you. I didn’t know… Fuck. Let me do this, Callisto. I need to keep you safe!”
I am yelling now, begging Callisto to understand.
I need to redeem myself. I cannot walk Callisto into his death. I can’t.
“Leo will you fucking listen to me!” Callisto exclaims, his harsh tone and use of a curse word yanking me from his internal panic.
Callisto grabs my arms and shakes me. “I am not going to let you do this. I am not going to be the reason you sacrifice yourself. No. You’re not a monster! I know this now, so you don’t have anything to fucking prove. We’re doing this together.
That’s the only way because I will not leave with Daron. I don’t give a fuck if you hold a gun to my head. You’ll have to kill me. I will not leave here tonight. I stay with you, and only you.”
Callisto’s green eyes are fierce, a fire behind them that I have only seen once before.
When Callisto was refusing to call me a monster last night in the shower.
My bottom lip trembles and my eyes sting with unshed tears.
No one has ever looked at me the way Callisto is looking at me right now, as if I matter.
There’s something hidden behind his eyes that has my heart skipping a beat, and more tears spring to my eyes.
“Okay,” I concede after a few moments, not being able to handle the look in Callisto’s eyes any longer. Not only does Callisto sigh in relief, but Nico and Daron join him.
“So… um… do you want to invite the other boys over. Let them in on the plan? Maybe they’ll have some ideas on how to keep Callisto safe?” Daron asks, clearing his throat, sufficiently breaking the silence that has fallen over us after our intense moment.
I blink, the rest of the room coming back into focus. I was so absorbed in my conversation with Callisto that I had almost forgotten the other boys were there to witness it. The room spins, as if, when my world started back into motion, the inertia threw me off balance.
“Yeah. I’ll call Fletcher, tell him and Evan to come over. I’ll make up some excuse in case Peadar is listening. Daron, you can leave tonight with Nico, maybe hold a gun to his head or something for effect like Callisto suggested.
Fletcher and Evan can follow behind you to make it look like they’re helping.”
“That sounds plausible,” Daron says.
“Can you all search the house and make sure Peadar didn’t bug this place? We can’t keep music on forever. We shouldn’t raise any more suspicions. I need to do everything in my power to be on this mission tomorrow,” I plan, the feeling of apprehension wrapping around me, nearly smothering me.
“Got it,” Daron says, and the other two men nod. I grab my phone, turning off the music, quickly finding Fletcher’s contact.
I take a deep breath, trying to think of some kind of excuse.
I glance over at the pizza, but I still feel nauseated.
I’m not sure if it’s because of the current situation or the fact that I haven't eaten anything all day.
It’s already late into the afternoon. As the others poke around my house, Fletcher answers on the first ring.