9. Chapter Nine
Chapter Nine
Cecilia grabbed a glass of milk, some cookies, and the cover off the back of the couch before settling down to think. She’d wanted the wine in the refrigerator, but dulling her senses with liquor would only create more problems later on down the road.
She tried to remember when her mom had first mentioned that Calliope’s personality had started changing.
She remembered a month ago her mom sending Calliope to her room to think about her actions because Calliope had smarted off to her.
Her mom had chalked it up to Calliope having a bad day at school.
Now Cecilia had to wonder if there had been something else going on.
The pocketknives in her room could be excused.
Their dad had always had one. He said there were so many times a person needed one.
Cecilia remembered her dad saying she could carry one as young as fifth grade, which was the age Calliope was, but Cecilia hadn’t ever had other knives in her room.
Even though it made Cecilia’s stomach turn, her mind kept going to the only reason Calliope would need any weapons in her room was if she was scared.
But what had made her scared enough to stock her room?
Cecilia could sit here and imagine all sorts of things happening to Calliope that would warrant her wanting to protect herself, but imagining all the things was only making Cecilia more upset.
She needed to confront Calliope but there were two problems with that. One, she didn’t want to bring up something that would upset Calliope more than she already was with what they’d experienced, and two, Cecilia was barely hanging on as it was.
Trying to keep from breaking down in tears each day was a trial in itself. Now, to add in what could have caused Calliope’s behavior seemed insurmountable. How was she supposed to help Calliope through whatever this was when she was so close to breaking herself?
Torrent had been very sweet, but would he and the MC decide that the baggage she and Calliope carried was too much?
Sure, they were married, but there were ways for the MC to end the marriage and still keep themselves safe.
She didn’t want to believe that Torrent, Dragon, and Maverick would consider doing something to her or her sister, but when it came right down to it, she didn’t know them.
Her dad had trusted Torrent enough to help her in a bad situation, but did that translate to having her back always?
A knock at the door had her jumping. She set down her drink and walked to the door. This was one time when she wished Torrent’s door had a peephole. Opening the door when she didn’t know who or what was on the other side was nerve-racking.
She pulled the door open, surprised at who was on the other side. It was the Whisper who had glared at her on her wedding day. Well, maybe she was trying to make nice now that Cecilia was a part of the club.
“Can I help you?” Cecilia asked, keeping her tone polite.
“Yes, you can leave,” the Whisper spat.
“Leave my room? Leave the club? Exactly what are you saying, and I’m sorry, I don’t know your name,” Cecilia replied.
Despite being upset, Cecilia wasn’t going to let some woman treat her like crap. She’d dealt with enough of the Bitchy Brendas at work to know that she needed to set the tone for what she would and would not accept.
The Whisper rolled her eyes and sighed.
“Sure, you don’t know my name. I’m sure Torrent has talked about me,” she sneered.
Hmmm, self-important, much? Who was this woman?
“No, he hasn’t. If you want to tell me your name and why you came by our room, I’d appreciate it,” Cecilia said evenly, keeping her voice steady.
“I’m his and like I said, you need to leave,” she insisted, crossing her arms.
Oh, for fuck’s sake, this woman was getting on Cecilia’s last nerve. She didn’t know or care what the woman wanted. Cecilia had more things to worry about than this woman who seemed stuck in high school antics. If she couldn’t even tell Cecilia her name, Cecilia was ending this.
Cecilia stepped back and closed the door in her face, locking it for good measure. She walked back and crawled under the cover, picking up her plate and dipping a cookie in the milk before taking a bite.
For the moment, she was going to savor this cookie.
When she was done, she’d head downstairs and see if Sally might be willing to sit with her while she questioned Calliope.
Cecilia was positive Torrent would do whatever she needed, but there was that little part of her that wondered if Calliope would open up in front of him.
Torrent stood behind Gunner as he pulled up the cameras and microphones for the club’s medical room. Torrent felt a twinge of guilt that he’d manipulated the situation by texting Sally and suggesting which room they chat with Calliope in.
The members’ rooms didn’t have cameras or microphones, but the medical room did, as did the club’s main room and kitchen.
They weren’t on most of the time, but tonight, Torrent, Dragon, and Maverick had joined Gunner to watch how Calliope responded to being questioned and if she shared any information.
Cecilia, Sally, and Calliope had just come in and sat down at the table and chairs Bravo had in the room for meals or discussions with people. Willow had left to finish her deliveries, but she said she’d be back later in the week to catch up.
“Why are we in here?” Calliope twisted her hands together, her voice small before sitting down in the chair Cecilia indicated.
“It’s been a whirlwind since everything happened, and we haven’t had a chance to talk. How are you doing?” Cecilia asked gently.
“It was scary, but I’ve been scared before,” Calliope faltered, looking everywhere but at Cecilia’s face.
“She’s avoiding looking at Cecilia. She’s definitely hiding something,” Dragon muttered.
Torrent agreed. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but something was off.
“I understand. I think, though, there are different kinds of scared. There’s the scared of, ‘oh my gosh, did I lose my phone, and will my parents be mad,’” Cecilia softly coaxed.
“Oh, what about the scared when you have to walk in a new place and don’t know anyone?” Sally added, keeping her voice low.
“Yes, like a new job or new school. Ugh, I hated moving from middle school where I was the oldest to high school where I was the youngest again. So scary,” Cecilia reflected.
“Oh, I’ve got one. The kind of scared when you have to tell someone something you think will upset them because you don’t know how they’ll react.
I was parking the truck while I was talking on the phone, and a little itty bit of my bumper scraped the fender on one of Dragon’s motorcycles.
I was so worried about telling him because he might think it was my fault when really it was just an accident,” Sally shared, leaning forward slightly.
“What did he say?” Calliope wondered, her eyes shifting over to Sally.
“That he loved me and was glad I didn’t get hurt but that maybe next time I should tell someone right away,” Sally concluded.
Dragon chuckled beside Torrent. “Well, that’s the PG version. I also told her she needed to give me a blowjob to make it up to me,” he said, smirking.
“Ugh, Dad. I don’t care how old I get. I do not ever want to hear anything about your and Mom’s sex life,” Maverick whined.
Torrent tuned the bickering out to hear what Calliope said.
“That’s good, but it’s because he’s your dragon and he protects you,” Calliope said.
Cecilia reached across the table, her hand on Calliope’s while she pulled Calliope’s backpack up from the floor, placing it on the table.
“Do you need someone to protect you? The guys brought me your backpack, and there are a lot of weapons in there that I know had to have been in your room. Officer Horse’s Ass didn’t give you a chance to go to the kitchen,” Cecilia noted carefully.
Torrent forced himself to stay and watch when seeing the devastation roll across Calliope’s face had him wanting to run down the hallway and hold her. She was too young to have to deal with something that hurt her so much.
“I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault. I should have done what he wanted,” Calliope wailed, throwing herself into Cecilia’s arms.
Cecilia held Calliope as she sobbed against her.
“What’s going on?” Cauldron asked, walking into the room to stare at the monitor.
“When Ashe got Calliope’s backpack from the vehicle, he found a huge amount of weapons—some from the garage and some from the kitchen. The only thing is that Officer Horse’s Ass didn’t let Calliope go in there. They had to be in her room for some reason,” Dragon explained.
“Fuck,” Cauldron mumbled, dropping heavily into the seat beside Gunner.
Cecilia was holding Calliope and patting her back.
“Sweetie,” Sally said, running her hand down Calliope’s back as she cried into Cecilia’s chest. “You sound so upset. The best way to make you feel better is to tell us how we can help you. What’s all your fault?”
“Turn it louder,” Dragon directed. Gunner turned up the volume.
“Everything,” Calliope whispered between sniffles.
“Well, I doubt that, sweetie. Sometimes we think it’s all our fault but it’s not. Tell me one thing you think is your fault. Just blurt it out,” Sally cajoled.
The sound was amplified enough that Torrent could hear each breath Calliope took. Cecilia sat there, patting Calliope’s back and letting Sally lead.
“Mom and Dad dying,” Calliope choked out. If Gunner hadn’t raised the audio, Torrent didn’t think they would have heard. Why did Calliope think she was the reason her parents had died? It had been a fire, and after everything that had happened, Torrent had zero doubts that it was arson.
“Oh, Calliope, it wasn’t your fault,” Cecilia soothed.
“Yes, it was,” Calliope insisted, louder. She leaned back and stared at Cecilia.
“He said if I wasn’t nice, Mom and Dad would die. I tried. I really tried, but he made my skin crawl,” Calliope sobbed.
Cauldron slammed his fist on the desk, “Motherfucker.”
Torrent agreed. If only he were still alive in the Boneyard, Torrent could extract some vengeance.
Cecilia leaned her forehead against Calliope’s. “There is nothing you did wrong. Mom and Dad dying is not your fault. It’s the fault of two brothers who believe they should do whatever they want. You are not at fault,” Cecilia vowed, staring into Calliope’s eyes.
“Are you sure?” Calliope asked.
“I’m positive,” Cecilia assured her.
“I am too, sweetie. All this emotional stuff is making me need a sweet. How about we go to Dragon and my room, and we can have some of the brownies I baked?” Sally said.
Sally, Cecilia, and Calliope left the room.
“Why did Sally take them to your room?” Cauldron questioned.
“Sally knew we were watching. I’m sure my Ol’ Lady decided she’d get the rest of the information and then give it to us later.
Is it only me who wishes I could resurrect that sucker and spend the day killing him and bringing him back, because no one deserves whatever he did to that little girl,” Dragon growled.
Torrent agreed but didn’t say anything. This was one of those times he wanted to scream at the injustice, and his girls hearing him scream wouldn’t help them.
They both needed him to be calm and caring—a safe spot during the storm.
He’d bottle this up inside, and when he was finally able to let it out—well, let’s just say that he really fucking hoped he could unleash it on Horse’s Ass’s brother.