by Anna Collins
I lost it. I raised my hand and slapped his face so hard, he let go. I didn’t know when had I started breathing heavily, but my chest felt constricted as he snapped out of his anger-induced haze and stared at me.
“I don’t know what kind of person you think I am, but I would never stoop so low that I’d endanger a child for my gain,” I whispered. My voice was so soft, but Apollo flinched as if I had shouted at him. I felt tears start to pool in my eyes, but I ignored them and kept glaring. “If that’s the kind of person you think I am, then consider that slap my two weeks’ notice!” I cried and ran away.
“Callie, wait--,” he said, but I refused to listen to him anymore.
Damn you, Apollo Irons. Damn you for sweeping me into this fucking spiral of confusion. Damn you for making me feel so beautiful one moment and then utterly dreadful the next.
And fuck you for having such a hold on me that even after those hateful words you just said…
I still can’t get you out of my fucking mind.
I ran out of the mall and into the parking lot, fishing my keys out of my bag and clicking everywhere because I had forgotten where I had parked my damn car. I saw some headlights flash in response, I got in my car and drove the hell out of there. Helen could catch a ride with her brothers. She would understand that I wanted to be anywhere but there.
I didn’t know where I was going, but anywhere was better than being near Apollo Irons.
That bastard knew. He could tell how much of an effect he had on me, and he used it to accuse me of such a horrible thing. I mean, I understood he was only concerned for his kid. I knew he was only reacting that way because he was worried about him, but Jesus Christ…after everything that had happened between us, everything I had told him, how could he even think I could do such a thing?
He was a man with many secrets despite the irony of wanting to share his story with the rest of the world. He had too many of them to keep, and he kept each one closely guarded by impenetrable walls with maximum security.
And it was obvious his son was one of those secrets. It was just my luck that I happened to stumble upon it. I was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
I passed by a bar and impulsively made a U-turn, going straight for the empty parking space right by the entrance. Maybe a drink would do me some good. I was probably too underdressed for it, though.
I pulled Helen’s coat from the back seat and put it on in an attempt to cover some more skin. I locked my car and pushed the swinging doors until I went inside, my eyes scanning the western-themed bar with an old jukebox playing some hits from the 1950s.
Okay, Callie. Now, what are you going to do?
I spotted an empty booth at the corner of the bar and jogged towards it, and then the next thing I knew, there were glasses flying across the billiards table and a brawl was breaking out in the middle of the bar. I panicked and crawled under the table, putting my hands over my head.
Screw my dignity, I had enough bumps and bruises to last me a lifetime and a bar fight wasn’t how I wanted to go down, ok?
I waited for the noises to subside, keeping my eyes closed because I seriously did not want to risk seeing blood anywhere when I heard the sound of a male chuckle dangerously close to my ear.
I opened my eyes and blinked as a handsome black-haired guy crouched in front of me, his mouth forming into a grin that made the dimple on his cheek sink.
“Hi,” he said, his deep voice sending shivers down my spine. I blinked stupidly at him.
“Hi,” I said back.
“What are you doing?” he asked, and right behind him, two bikers slammed into the ground, throwing punches at each other.
I had half a mind to tell him to turn around, and maybe that would answer his question.
He kept staring at me even with all that commotion going on behind him, and I couldn’t help but gape.
“Are you blind?” I blurted out, and he chuckled.
“My vision is 20/20,” he replied.
“Yeah, and so is hindsight, as someone told me,” I said, rolling my eyes. “If you must know, I’m hiding.”
“From what?” he asked, tilting his head, and I furrowed my brows at him. Was he serious?
“I don’t want to get involved in this bar fight, dude. In case you haven’t noticed, I hold my life in high regard,” I answered, and it was his turn to roll his eyes.
“It’ll die down in a few moments. It happens all the time here. Trust me, there’s no need to hide under a table,” he said. He got up and extended his hand toward me, and I bit my lip as I watched the brawl continue behind him.
“Come on,” he said, pushing his hand closer toward me. I winced but took his hand anyway, hoping I was right doing this. He pulled me up and placed his hand behind my back just above my waist, and I mentally awarded him with some points for being a gentleman. He guided me towards the bar and waited for me to sit down on a stool before taking the seat next to me.
“What do you want to drink?” he asked, raising his voice a little higher as the brawl intensified and the sounds of glasses and bottles breaking permeated the place. I stared at him again, wondering what the hell he was on before finally shrugging my shoulders. Well, if he was that relaxed and unconcerned, then I might as well do the same thing.
“Scotch on the rocks,” I said, and he raised one eyebrow at me. “Don’t judge. I want to get drunk tonight,” I growled, narrowing my eyes at him. He chuckled and raised two fingers at the bartender who nodded and poured us two glasses with ice and slid them across the counter. The handsome stranger expertly stopped our glasses in front of us before picking up his glass and raising it in between us. I copied his stance and waited for him to speak.
“A toast,” he said. “To brawls that elicit introductions,” and I smirked at him.
“And to the people who just don’t a give a crap about them,” I couldn’t help but add. His face split into a wide grin, showing me some seriously beautiful pearly whites before nodding his head, and the both of us knocked back our drinks together.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Callie
“So, what’s your name, stranger?” I asked after the second drink. Just like he had said, the bar fight had eventually cooled down after a while, and the people who had started the fight were now sitting together, playing cards like nothing had ever happened. The only evidence of there ever being a brawl was the drops of blood on the floor and on the messed up faces who had gotten involved.
I raised my glass and shook it, asking silently for a refill, and the bartender poured me some more. I was only starting to get a slight buzz from the Scotch, but I was nowhere near the drunken state I wanted to be in. The pain from Apollo’s accusation earlier was still fresh in my mind, and I would be damned if I wasn’t near comatose by the time I got out of this bar.
“Why don’t you give me your name first, baby doll?” he drawled, giving me a half-smirk, half-pout hybrid that looked outrageously sexy on him. I rolled my eyes at him.
“Please stop trying to be coy. I’ve had enough of mysterious men in my life lately, and if you’re going to add to the body count, I suggest you take a hike,” I said, not in the mood for such games. He reared back his head, looking both surprised.
“You’re the first woman who’s ever told me that,” he said.
“Clearly, you need to get out more,” I replied, and he laughed heartily. I imagined Apollo laughing the same booming laugh and couldn’t conjure it up. The man was too secretive to laugh like that.
He looked less surprised and more impressed after my quip, and then he shrugged.
“Fine. I’m Drake,” he said, and I smiled.
“Callie,” I replied.
“Nice to meet you, Callie. Now that we have that out of the way, do you mind if I ask you a question?” he asked.
“You’re already asking me one,” I pointed out, and he chuckled. My, my, apparently my snarky side had decided to come out and play. This meant I was getting close to my goal for
the night.
Next stop: Drunks Ville, capital Wasted.
“May I ask you another question after this one?” he clarified, and I nodded.
“Sure,” I said, dragging the word out just in case he didn’t understand me.
“What’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?” he asked, and I frowned at him.
“Is there a rule against a girl like me entering bars?” I asked, and he shook his head.
“No, but judging from your getup and the way you’re knocking back your drinks like you want to drown yourself in Scotch, I’d say you weren’t planning on getting drunk today, but something happened, so you want to get wasted. Am I right?” he asked, and I whistled through my teeth as I started clapping my hands in front of his face, giving him a round of applause.
“Ding ding ding! Ten points to Gryffindor!” I cried. The ceiling started to spin, and I almost slipped out of my seat if it weren’t for Drake catching me, holding me upright with his fingers wrapped just above my elbows.
“Okay, I think you’ve had enough,” he muttered, and I raised my head to glare at him well, glare at both of him, anyway. My vision was going all over the place, and Drake suddenly had a twin brother, and they were both moving around so much, I was starting to get dizzy.
“Stop moving,” I whined in complaint, and he furrowed his eyebrows at me.
“Callie?” he asked, his voice uncertain and I pushed at his chest.
“Tell your twin to quit dancing around like an idiot. You stop dancing around like an idiot, too,” I grumbled, and he shook his head.
“You’re drunk. I think I should take you home now,” he said, and I tried to push him off of me again.
“I don’t want to go home! I want to drink!” I cried.
“You’ve had enough. Now tell me where your car is.”
“You’re gonna have to carry me out of here if you want to know, pal,” I said, glaring at him. His eyes narrowed at me and the next thing I knew, he bent over and placed one hand at the back of my knees as he slung me over his shoulder, and the other hand secured me by my back, his arms around my waist.
“Hey, let me go, you asshole!” I screamed, beating my fists against his back, but he might as well not be feeling a damn thing, for all the good it did.
We got out of the bar, and then he fished my keys out of my purse and started randomly clicking until my car lit up. The traitorous vehicle…I’ll trade you in for a California Spider when I get enough money, jerk.
He opened the passenger side door and deposited me to it like a dead body. He then proceeded to arrange my legs on the floor like I was some fucking doll and I was too outraged to react. He leaned over me to grab my seatbelt, and I snapped at him.
“Would you cut that out?! I can do it by myself!” I said turned my head away, blinking my eyes rapidly. He moved away and shut the door before climbing into the driver’s seat and starting my car up.
“What about your car?” I asked.
“I’ll come back for it in the morning,” he answered, checking the rearview mirror as he pulled out of the lot.
“You’re not supposed to drive,” I grumbled.
“That’s true, but between the both of us, I’ve got lesser chances of crashing this car than you in your current condition,” he said, looking at me from the corner of his eye, giving me a quick smirk. “Now tell me your address before you fall asleep,” he ordered, and I realized that I was starting to feel really drowsy as he had said. I managed to rattle off my address before my eyes finally slid closed.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Apollo
“Well, I checked the parking space where Helen said they parked Callie’s car, but it’s filled up by another car now. Seems like Callie bailed,” Perseus said, and I closed my eyes. Where could she have gone?
“Auntie Hell, Daddy looks scary,” I hear my son say to Helen from behind me.
“Oh, don’t be scared, munchkin. Your daddy was just a grade A butthole earlier and hurt Callie’s ‘feewings,'” Helen said, and I turned around to glare at her. She glared right back, one eyebrow raised, and I heard Perseus sigh.
“Enough with the glaring match, you two. It’s not going to help bring Callie back,” he said, and I broke away from Helen’s stare. He was right, and I was too old for such childish games. “Apollo, what’s your plan? Shall we take the little tyke home and you can apologize to Callie in the morning?” he asked.
“She said she was resigning, you dumb ass. What makes you think she’s going to come back to his place after that?” Helen asked.
“Well, what else is he going to do?” Perseus retorted, and I spoke up before the both of them started shouting at each other.
“Perseus, take my son home. Helen, go with him. I’ll go to Callie’s place and talk to her,” I said.
“How are we supposed to go then? We’ve only got one car. You expect us to take a cab?” Helen pointed out, and I pulled my keys out of my pocket and threw them at her. She caught them deftly in one hand.
“Use my car. I’ll take a cab,” I said, and I ruffled my kid’s hair before walking away from them.
It was an awful mistake to make, and I felt so ashamed of myself. How could I accuse Callie of such a thing? I lost my rationality the minute I realized my son was missing and it didn’t come back fast enough the moment Callie gave him back to me. I was too drunk in my worry that I yelled at her and thought she had an ulterior motive. My paranoia got the best of me, and I drove off, possibly forever, one of the very few people I could trust.
The cab ride was quiet, the driver not once asking for instructions as soon as I gave him Callie’s address, and it allowed me some time to dwell on my thoughts. I had made sure that no one knew Ares was my son, or that I even had a son, for that matter, so the chances of Callie knowing about him were slim to none. Even if Helen had told her about it during their shopping trip earlier, she couldn’t have known Perseus, and I were meeting Ares today, much less that we’d be going to the same mall.
Why couldn’t I have thought about all of this before I lashed out at her?
“Penny for your thoughts, son?” the driver asked, and I shook my head.
“It’s nothing. I’m just dozing off,” I mumbled, and he scoffed.
“I’ve seen that look before, son. You ain’t the first or the last man to ride my cab looking like that,” he said, but I kept quiet, hoping he would take the hint.
He didn’t though, he just kept talking.
“Now, in my experience, there are only two things that could be the source of a look like that: money, or women. And you don’t look like the kind of man who has a problem with money, so it’s gotta be a woman, then, eh?” he said, looking at me through his rearview mirror.
I said nothing. He kept going.
“Is it your fault or hers?” he prodded, and I sighed.
“It’s my fault,” I admitted. He was not going to shut up no matter what, so why not get his facts straight?
“Well, shit. She’s going to hold that over you for a long time, son,” he said, and I winced.
“Which is why I’m going to her place so I can apologize,” I said, and he chuckled.
“Son, I’ve seen time change a lot of things around this world, and there’s one thing I’m certain of: women have only gotten more complicated by the day. If back in my day saying ‘sorry’ and giving a girl a bouquet of roses could solve anything, then it sure as hell ain’t gonna do it no more now,” he said, and I furrowed my eyebrows.
“Then what do you suggest I should do?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Well, son, women are all about the ‘big gesture’ or whatever them lasses call ‘em these days. The thing is, you gotta show her how much you mean it before she considers forgiving your sorry ass. Maybe you should try that,” he said.
“Maybe I should,” I murmured. It wasn’t a half-bad idea. We reached Callie’s place, and I gave him a generous tip for his advice and stepped out.
I didn’t see
Callie’s car anywhere, and I immediately got worried. Where could she be? Did she already come by here and left? Did I beat her here?
I climbed up the stairs to her apartment and knocked on her door on the off chance she was at home, and she had just parked her car somewhere else, but there was nothing. I pressed my ear to the door, straining to hear any noise, but the place was dead quiet.
I pulled my phone out, thinking of calling Callie to ask where she was, but I decided against it. I didn’t want to risk getting her more pissed at me. I sighed before turning my back against the door and settling down on the floor. Well, I guess there was no choice but to wait for her here, then.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Callie
“Callie, wake up. We’re here.”
I felt a warm hand on my shoulder shaking me awake, and I opened my eyes blearily. I caught sight of my apartment and yawned before turning to look at Drake.
“Thanks for bringing me and my car home,” I said, my voice low and laced with sleep. He smiled and picked a stray strand of hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear.
“You’re welcome. But are you sure you don’t need help getting into your apartment?” he asked worriedly.
“No, it’s fine. I can manage,” I assured him.
I got out of the car and he followed suit, locking my car before handing me my keys.
“It was a pleasure meeting you, Callie,” he said, and I nodded.
“It was nice meeting you, too, Drake,” I said, raising my hand to say goodbye.
“Will I see you again?” he asked, and I turned back to look at his warm smile, his dimpled cheeks, his charcoal eyes.
“Probably not,” I said truthfully. I flashed him a smile and skipped inside my apartment building. I sneaked a glance at him through the window and watched as he stood at the corner of the street, raising his hand in the air to probably hail a cab. I heard the elevator doors open, and I got inside, releasing a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
