Chapter Seven
Annie
Caleb pulls up in his black Lexus LFA, the engine purring as it comes to a stop. It’s such an awesome car, and normally I love riding in it, but tonight the novelty barely registers. For a split second, though, I almost forget about the storm waiting for me inside.
Almost.
“Are you coming in with me?” I ask, needing the backup more than I want to admit.
“Yeah, Annie. Of course,” Caleb replies. “You’re going to need me. We’re family. And someone’s gotta calm Colt down after you go to bed. Even if Dee can handle him, she might need support.”
I nod slowly.
This is going to be brutal.
It’s two-thirty in the morning, and everyone is exhausted. I want to sneak inside, crawl into bed, and pretend none of this happened until tomorrow, but there’s no chance of that.
“Will you explain to Dad what happened?” I ask quietly.
Caleb glances at me. “I don’t know, Annie. Shouldn’t it come from you? You’re the only one who really knows why you did it.”
I frown, unbuckling my seatbelt. “Dad can’t know why. He’ll kill him.”
Caleb’s head snaps toward me. “Kill him? Did someone do something to you?”
“No… no, nothing like that,” I rush to clarify. “It’s just… Aston tried to kiss me.”
For a second, Caleb stares at me, and then he smirks. “Kid finally grew a pair,” he mutters.
“This isn’t funny,” I snap. “It could ruin everything.”
He shakes his head, still half smiling. “So you didn’t kiss him back?”
I scrunch my face. “What? God, no. I don’t want that.” The sharpness in my voice makes my head throb, and I wince, pressing my fingers to my temple.
Caleb chuckles as he unbuckles his seatbelt and opens the door. “Yeah… maybe leave that part out. That won’t end well for anyone.”
I glare at him as he steps out, his grin entirely too pleased with himself.
I hesitate for a moment, wondering how long I could sit here before Dad realizes we’re home, but Caleb rounds the car and opens my door.
No escape.
I sigh and climb out slowly, still a little unsteady. “Okay… let’s just get this over with.”
We walk up to the front door, and Caleb rings the bell. A few seconds later, Mum pulls it open, relief washing over her face.
“Oh, thank God,” she breathes, immediately pulling me into a tight hug. “We were so worried about you, Annie. Caleb, where did you take her? And why do you look so pale? Are you okay, baby girl?”
“I’m okay, Mum, I promise,” I murmur as she fusses.
She ushers us inside while Caleb steps in behind me.
“I think we should wait for Colt before explaining,” Caleb says carefully.
Mum pauses, frowning slightly. “You’re being very cryptic, Caleb.” She leads us into the kitchen, where Dad stands at the counter making coffee. He turns as we enter, and the second his eyes land on me, the concern in his face hits like a punch to the chest.
“Jesus, Caleb,” he says, striding toward us. “Why the hell did you take her from her own party? And why does she look like she’s about to drop?”
His hand comes up to my forehead to check my temperature, his movements quick and agitated.
I glance at Caleb, my stomach twisting.
“I… uh…” he starts.
“Spit it out, Caleb.”
“I took her to the hospital.”
Mum gasps. “What? Why? Annie, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I say quickly, pulling away from both of them and stepping closer to Caleb, needing the support.
“Annie,” Dad says, his voice hardening. “Tell us what’s going on. Now.”
I look at Caleb. He nods and squeezes my shoulder gently. So, I take a breath, staring down at the floor.
I can’t look at them.
“Annie!” Dad barks, and I flinch.
“I… w-went to the hospital because I was d-drunk,” I blurt out quickly, the words tumbling over each other.
Silence crashes down over the room.
I force myself to look up.
Mum is shaking her head, stunned.
Dad?
His nostrils flare, his face darkening rapidly as that familiar look settles in. The one that means he’s about to explode.
“Colt, take a breath,” Mum says softly.
He doesn’t.
“You’re sorry?” he roars when I try to speak. The force of it makes me jump.
“Babe—”
“No, Dee. I will not take a breath.” His gaze snaps to Caleb. “Were you the one giving her the alcohol?”
He moves toward him quickly, and instinct kicks in.
I step between them, my hand going up to stop him. “No. It wasn’t Caleb,” I say firmly. “It was me. I took the drinks. I stole them. Caleb just helped me when I got sick and took me to the hospital. That’s it.”
Dad’s glare shifts back to me, sharp and cutting.
“I’ll deal with you later, Caleb,” he says coldly, before his full attention locks onto me. “But you… what the hell were you thinking? You could have killed yourself, Annie. Do you understand that?”
My eyes burn, tears spilling over as his voice fills the room. “I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“Sorry isn’t enough,” he snaps. “What if someone had taken photos of you? Did you even think about what that would do? To you? To the band? To everything you’re working so hard toward?
” Each word hits harder than the last. “You think the world is going to be kind about this? The daughter of a former addict getting drunk at seventeen?” He drags a hand through his hair, turning away for a second before spinning back. “I cannot believe you’ve done this.”
“Why did you do it, Annie?” Mum asks gently.
I look at her, and that’s what breaks me.
“Because I was… uncomfortable,” I admit, my voice shaking. “I didn’t want to be there, and I didn’t know how to get out of it. I just… wanted it all to stop. I thought alcohol would help.”
Dad scoffs, the sound sharp. “If you were uncomfortable, you come to us,” he says, his voice rising again. “We would have taken you home. You don’t get to make reckless decisions every time something doesn’t go your way.”
I shrink slightly under the weight of his words.
“This is a big mistake, Annie,” he continues. “Do you have any idea how bad this could’ve been? What if you’d passed out somewhere? What if no one found you in time? You don’t think things through, and that’s what makes this dangerous.”
My chest tightens, shame curling through me.
“Well, that stops now,” he says firmly. “Do… you… hear… me?”
I nod, unable to speak, staring at the floor as his words settle over me.
I can feel his gaze on me, heavy and totally unrelenting.
But I can’t look up.
I’m too ashamed.
“Do. You. Hear. Me?” Dad snaps, his voice sharp enough to make me flinch, and this time, something in me snaps back.
“Well, I didn’t even want the stupid party in the first place,” I fire back. “All you care about is what people think. You don’t care about me at all!”
Dad’s head jerks back slightly before his expression hardens. “I don’t care about you?” he repeats, disbelief flashing across his face before it’s swallowed by anger. “What a load of bullshit, Annie. Do you think I’d be this angry if I didn’t care about you?”
His voice rises again, louder than before, his face flushed red.
I huff, folding my arms tightly across my chest, but this time I don’t have a comeback.
“Right,” he says, his tone turning cold and controlled, which is somehow worse. “No more parties. No more outings. Not until I can trust you again, and God knows how long that’s going to take.”
My stomach drops.
“You did this to yourself,” he continues.
“And when you’re in the public eye, you don’t get to act however you want.
The media could have turned this into a complete shit storm.
Did you even think about that?” I stay silent, my throat tightening.
“Do you have any idea what could have happened?” he pushes on.
“Child services could get involved if they think we’re not taking care of you properly.
Do you understand that? We fought too hard to have you in our lives, Annie, for you to risk that because you felt… uncomfortable.”
That word hits me like a slap.
“Well, did you think about your m-mum?” he adds, his voice breaking slightly under the anger.
“About what it would do to her if you were taken away? What about your sister? Or me?” My chest aches.
“I love you, for fuck’s sake,” he says, the anger cracking just enough to reveal something deeper beneath it.
“And you’re out here risking everything over one stupid decision.
” Mum steps closer, taking his hand as his whole body starts to shake.
“I can’t lose you, Annie,” he says, quieter now.
That hits harder than anything else.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper. “I didn’t think—”
“You’re right,” he cuts in, turning his back to me. “You didn’t. Now go to your room. I can’t look at you right now.”
I bite my bottom lip and glance at Mum. She gives me a small, sad nod, gently urging me toward the stairs while rubbing Dad’s back.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper again.
I look at Caleb, and he gives me a small, reassuring smile, his hand brushing my shoulder before I turn and walk out of the kitchen, my legs heavy, my chest tight. The second I hit the hallway, I stop and lean back against the wall, closing my eyes as the tears spill freely down my face.
“We could have lost her, Dee,” Dad’s voice carries from the kitchen, quieter now… broken.
My eyes snap open.
That hurts more than the yelling ever could.
“I know, babe,” Mum says softly. “But Caleb took care of her. You saw her. She’s okay. Our girl is okay.”
I drag a shaky breath in and press my hand to my forehead, guilt crashing over me.
“Thank you, Caleb, for taking her to the hospital,” Dad says. “Was she really that bad?”
“She wasn’t great,” Caleb admits, his voice steady. “But Indi got fluids into her. She’ll be okay. Just a rough morning ahead.”
Chairs scrape softly, and I picture them all sitting at the table.
“Why didn’t you come and get me?” Dad asks, his tone calmer now. “Or tell us you’d taken her to the hospital?”
“Because I didn’t want that scene happening in a hospital full of people with phones,” Caleb replies. “If anyone saw you there, it would’ve blown up. I figured it was better to sort it out quietly and bring her home once she was stable.”
There’s a pause.