Educating Callie

by Emma Jayne Mills

  For five years Cam and I had built our lives back up with the support of a very close group of friends, Jase included (and their parents when we’d needed a full blown adult). Times like that were when living in a small town where everyone knew your business was a bonus. We’d leaned on each other. When I broke Cam fixed me. When he broke I fixed him. It had been far from easy, but we’d done it. And we both knew our parents would be proud of us. I also knew neither one of us could have done it without the other.

  “Okay,” I sighed, no longer wanting to fight. “So if you’re going to put me under house arrest the least you can do is ply me with take away and alcohol!”

  Cameron grinned, “Way ahead of you tiny twin. The beer is in the fridge and the curry should be here any minute. Wussy chicken korma for you!”

  “Did I ever tell you how awesome you are?” I lifted my head from his shoulder and looked up at him.

  “Not today.” He grinned, picking up the TV remote and flicking to the movie channels.

  “You’re awesome.” I smiled and laid my head back on his shoulder.

  “And you’re short!” He said and snickered when I slapped him in the chest.

  *****

  Several days had passed since my “sleepover with the hot bobby”, as Liv and Vinnie had taken to calling it. I tried explaining that nobody used the word bobby to refer to police officers anymore, but they thought it sounded good. The nightmares, which had calmed somewhat recently, were inexplicably back with a vengeance and I hadn’t slept for longer than three or four hours a night. Cam had, true to his word, kept me under house arrest. Mick, my saviour, had done his best to come over and entertain me with pub gossip and good whiskey when he could, but he still had the pub to run and was currently down his right hand woman, as he had put it. Liv and Vinnie both worked, as did Greg and Dana and my other friends. And Nick had gone AWOL, he’d called me on the house phone, many times, so I knew he was alive and well but I hadn’t seen him and that was unusual for us.

  I had read my newly bought books, I was a quick reader. I was up to date on all my college work, after emailing my tutor to get him to send me the assignments I was missing. Now I was climbing the walls! Also, all this time alone had given me ample opportunity to mope about Jase and our failed relationship. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t about to go running back to him, but it felt weird that he wasn’t around. Seven years is a long time to be with someone, especially when you got together so young and hadn’t spent any of your adult life not being one half of a couple. And aside from that, Jase had been my friend first, for as long as I could remember he’d been part of my life. Despite the end, most of my memories of Jase were good ones and I had to admit, I missed him.

  I leaned over to kiss Jase as I climbed into the passenger side of his car.

  “Hello gorgeous.” He greeted me with a smile and a sensuous kiss, his hand snaking its way into my hair to pull out the band holding my ponytail up, as he always did. He ran his fingers through the dark strands as it fell around my shoulders and gently rubbed the spot where it had been gathered, knowing my scalp would ache from my hair being tied back tightly all day. I moaned happily and leaned into his touch. I loved the feel of his fingers in my hair.

  “Hello handsome.” I answered. Twisting in my seat, I shoved my hands under my t-shirt and fiddled with the clasp on my bra, “I cannot wait to get this thing off, it’s killing me!”

  He pulled back and watched with a lop sided grin on his gorgeous face, his honey coloured hair falling messily into his eyes, as I pulled the straps of my bra down my arms under my t shirt. I reached underneath the front of my shirt to pull my bra out before stuffing it into my bag. I sighed in relief. There is no feeling in the world like taking off your bra at the end of the day. I had just finished work, it was the middle of summer and I was hot and sticky and couldn’t wait to get home and have a shower.

  “I will never get tired of watching you do that.” Jase winked at me and I smiled back while I buckled my seat belt.

  He pulled the car out from the curb and began to drive slowly down the street, tapping the breaks intermittently every few seconds. A wicked grin appeared on his face as he kept glancing back and forth between me and the road. I looked at him and stifled a laugh.

  “I know what you’re doing.” I told him sternly, feigning anger.

  “Don’t give me fake angry face.” He said, continuing to tap the breaks, his hazel eyes now fixed to my chest.

  “Jase!” I growled, still not really angry.

  “I can’t help it.” He laughed, “They bounce when I do that!” his foot touched the break again before he lowered a hand to his crotch and adjusted himself. “See what you do to me?” he moaned.

  I laughed and he continued to drive normally, resting a hand on my thigh and squeezing lightly. “Love you baby.” He said, smiling at me.

  “Love you too.” I replied.

  “Pull yourself together Callindra Wilson!” I scolded myself in the mirror as I snapped out of the memory and pulled my dark brown hair into a messy pony tail. I hadn’t been able to look at myself in the mirror for a long time after the abduction. Not without seeing him standing behind me. Thankfully, unlike the nightmares, that hadn’t lasted very long and I studied my reflection now. The scars from the knife marks on my face had faded to almost nothing over the last year and I no longer caked on the concealer to cover them. A few faded white lines covered my arms and of course there were the deeper marks on my wrists, but on the whole I considered myself lucky to have come out of my ordeal with very few physical reminders. The doctors had told me I’d done some damage to my vocal chords through prolonged screaming, leaving me destined to spend forever sounding like I had a severe case of tonsillitis, but Liv and Dana had assured me it was sexy as hell.

  Having looked in the fridge that morning I’d decided a trip to the supermarket was in order. A girl couldn’t live on ice cream and vodka alone, well, not permanently anyway. So I pulled up my big girl pants and decided to go and see Cam at work to get the car keys from him. I yanked on black jeans, a long sleeved grey off the shoulder sweatshirt, wound a thick black scarf around my neck and took a last glance in the mirror, I’d do, I shrugged at my reflection. Grabbing my jacket I shoved my purse and keys in my pockets (I rarely used a bag) and I was ready to go.

  Cam and I shared our Dad’s old land rover and he had taken it to work that morning in an attempt to keep me in the house and away from “psycho ex boyfriends” as he had put it. The sun was trying to make an appearance as I trudged through the snow covered streets of Frost Ford town centre towards the station. I shook off the feeling of being followed as I stuffed my paranoia and my hands into the pockets of my leather biker jacket, because guess what I’d forgotten? The police station was almost opposite Mick’s pub, The Irish Rover, right in the centre of the High Street. Next door to the pub was Nick’s tattoo parlour, he was incredibly talented and his clients came for miles to be inked by him, he was always booked up months in advance. I made a note to myself to hunt him down at some point soon.

  A little further down the street was “Denver & Sons” Nate’s Dad’s garage, where Nate also now worked since training to be a mechanic under his dad. He would take over the business completely when his Dad retired. Nate and I shared a love of American muscle cars, my Mum’s influence on my part, and a few years before he had found an old Mustang at a car auction and bought it. It had needed a lot of work and he’d completely overhauled the engine and re-sprayed it all himself. It had taken him forever. I smiled and waved now as I spotted Nate climbing out of the beast outside the garage, I loved that car as much as he did, she was a beauty. He waved back and made the universal “call me” hand signal in the air. I gave him a thumbs up as I pushed open the door to the police station and made my way inside.

  “Hey Cam, can I get the car keys? We need food dude!” I said as I walked towards his desk in the office at the back of the main reception. It was a small, old fashioned looking station.
Main reception desk at the front, the pc’s desks and filing cabinets arranged behind it and an office to one side. A hallway led off to other rooms and the cells at the other side. Small town, small police force. Not like we really had a high crime rate to warrant anything larger, as long as you overlooked the whole serial killer thing obviously. Everyone in town knew each other and each other’s business. Even the less savoury members of the community knew not to shit on their own doorstep. I glanced over to the door and what I knew to be Adam’s office, being the sergeant he got his own. I could hear his muffled voice inside; he was obviously on the phone to someone.

  Cam looked up at me and leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms above his head and then reaching down and rummaging around his coat pockets for the car keys.

  “You want a coffee Cal?” Greg asked as he stood up from his own chair opposite Cameron.

  “Yeah, I have time.” I said as Greg moved his tall, lean frame towards their coffee machine.

  “Anything you want me to get?” I asked Cam, perching on the edge of his desk facing him, my black biker boot encased feet crossed at the ankles.

  “Usual.” He shrugged, looking up at me. “You look tired sis.”

  “Not sleeping will do that to a person.” I shrugged. He didn’t need to know just how bad it was. Of course there wasn’t much fooling him, he knew better than most, being the one who came running when he heard my screams in the night and talked me back to reality after the nightmares took hold.

  “What’s keeping you awake?” Greg asked over his shoulder, as if he didn’t already have a good idea.

  “Life and nightmares. All the good stuff.” I supplied as Greg handed me a cup of black coffee and put Cam’s usual white and as much sugar as you can fit in the cup on his desk, before sitting back at his desk with his own and spinning his chair to face me.

  “You should drink camomile tea before bed. Dana swears by it.” Greg offered helpfully, folding and turning a piece of paper on his desk over and over again.

  “I prefer hot chocolate, with a generous slug of brandy!” I winked at him and we laughed as the door to Adam’s office opened and he stepped out. Oh did he know how to wear a police uniform. Tall, dark and handsome just wasn’t a big enough description for this man.

  “Angel.” He greeted me with a smile and I didn’t swoon at the open use of the nick name he had given me. Nope. Not a swoon in sight. He didn’t attempt to hide the term of endearment nor did he show any embarrassment in using it. It was what he had decided he was calling me and he didn’t care who knew or what they thought. I made a mental note to ask him about it when I got chance.

  “Adam.” I smiled back, sipping my coffee and failing miserably at hiding the fact I was eyeing him up yet again.

  “Are you drooling over my cousin Callie?” Greg teased, grinning at me.

  “I’m heartbroken Greg, not blind.” I admitted jokily and Greg laughed and threw a paper aeroplane at me. I chuckled as it hit the top of my head and skidded to the floor. Cam bent forward to pick it up and threw it back at Greg.

  Adam winked at me as he leant on the edge of Greg’s desk and crossed his arms over that rock hard chest of his and I wondered what he looked like without the shirt. Did he have those V lines on his abdomen that made ordinarily intelligent women’s brain cells turn to mush? Our eyes locked and held for what seemed like an eternity and then my brother’s voice snapped me out of my little dreamscape.

  “You know what you need to get?” Cam poked me in the leg with the car key.

  “What?” I snatched the key and pocketed it in my jacket before he could poke me again.

  “A new phone!” He raised his eyebrows at me; he’d been on at me for days.

  “Yeah, I suppose I should.” Another paper aeroplane hit me and I smirked at Greg.

  “And I’ll super glue it to your arm or something so you can’t lose it next time you decide to go off on a little adventure in the middle of the night!” Cam scolded and took out a pair of my gloves from his desk drawer. “Maybe I’ll put a tracking app on it too!”

  “What’s a tracking app?” I asked absently and held out my hands to let him put the gloves on me, switching the coffee cup from hand to hand as he did so. Then he flicked my leg. “Ouch! You’re such a bully Cam!”

  “Right, you look bullied don’t you?” He said, blandly. “A tracking app is to let me know where you are, so you can’t go running off again.”

  “You want dinner tonight?” I asked him as I stood, deciding it was time to leave and ignoring his jibes about running off. Instinctively I handed my barely touched cup of coffee to Adam. He smiled intimately at me, his eyes not leaving mine, as he took it and drank. Nope. Not swooning. I mentally drew a no swoon zone around myself and built the walls really, really high. Impenetrable!

  “Yeah, I’ll be home.” Cam replied as I walked towards the front of the station.

  “See ya’s later.” I called over my shoulder. Greg giggled like a girl as another paper aeroplane hit the back of my head and I gave him a special wave with my middle finger.

  “Bye Angel.” Adam said and I felt his eyes all over me as I walked out. I put a roof on my impenetrable no swoon zone.

  “Don’t forget to use your cushion so you can reach the pedals, Hobbit!” Cam called.

  Comedian!

  *****

  Having killed two excitement challenged (and somewhat creepy when my paranoia snuck out to play) hours wandering around the supermarket, I changed into red tartan pyjama bottoms, thick, grey woolly socks and an old Guns n’ Roses t shirt that used to be my Dad’s. I collapsed into my favourite arm chair in front of the roaring fireplace, with a tub of strawberry cheesecake flavoured ice cream and my current book. I was back to feeling sorry for myself.

  I’d spoken to Mick and told him there was no way I was taking any more time off work and that I’d be in for my usual Friday night shift the next night. Tonight, however, I was a mess. I just wanted to escape into my book with my comfort food and pretend the world as I knew it didn’t exist for a few hours. Books were my escape and escaping was something I had been doing a lot over the past year.

  Cam was pretty easy going about the books I had lying around the house in piles, but it used to drive my Dad mad. He’d yell at me to pick them up and threaten to throw them out if I didn’t. I always laughed at him, knowing there was no way he would ever do it. Mum would never have let him because she was just as bad when it came to her own books.

  Tonight I needed that escapism. Tonight I needed to pretend that Jase Montgomery had never existed, never been a part of my life. Never broken my heart in the most horrible way. But I just couldn’t get him out of my head and my latest book boyfriend, despite being a badass fallen angel with actual wings, just wasn’t cutting it for me.

  Jase and I were in my room, sprawled across my bed on our stomachs, school books strewn around us. We were supposed to be doing homework, well, I was. Jase had just thrown his pen at the wall and announced he was done for the night. I ignored him as he began kissing, nipping and licking his way up the backs of my bare legs. It had been a warm spring day and I was wearing denim cut off shorts. He paused to lick a circle around the back of my knee and I squirmed and giggled. He gave a moan of appreciation in response and continued his way up my leg.

  “I should give you a love bite right here.” He poked a finger into the flesh of my left bum cheek.

  I laughed, “Can you concentrate, please?”

  “I am concentrating.” I could hear the grin in his voice but I refused to turn and look at him, “Concentrating on distracting my girlfriend.” I still got butterflies in my stomach when he called me that, despite having been together almost two years. Seventeen may be young to be in love, but I knew how I felt. Jase was it for me. We were good together.

  He trailed his fingers up and down the backs of my thighs lightly, “Is it working?” His voice was suddenly right by my ear and his hand drifted further up to squeeze my hip, as he bent to k
iss the side of my neck.

  “No.” I lied, “Go and get me a drink.”

  “In a minute.” He groaned as he climbed over me, covering my body with his and tugged gently on my ponytail to get my attention. “Take a break, a sexy break.”

  “Jay, I need to finish this.” I grinned, not doing very well at refusing him.

  “Do it later.” He pressed his groin into the tops of my legs, letting me know what he wanted. Since we had decided a month ago to take that final step in our relationship he had become insatiable. Not that I was much better myself, I had a gorgeous and very attentive and adventurous boyfriend, what girl wouldn’t make the most of that?

  “Soon.” I mumbled and shuffled around on the bed, now well and truly distracted.

  His weight shifted and I shrieked when he playfully sank his teeth into my bum cheek through my shorts. I turned to see him climbing off the bed.

  “Ten minutes Cee. I’ll give you ten minutes. And then you’re all mine.” He turned and left the room, smiling like the cat that got the cream. He knew I wouldn’t turn him down.

  “Alright twin?” Cam called as he came in, snapping out of my Jase induced stupor. “I brought Adam home for dinner.”

  “Hey. I made lasagne. Hi Adam.” I gestured to the counter top in the kitchen and feigned interest in my book. Our house was open plan and all on one level, with the kitchen, living room and dining room all together, so wherever you were you could still see each other.

  “Angel. How are you doing?” he asked, smiling at me as his eyes took me in. He was looking deeper than he was letting on, noticing, taking in the things that others couldn’t see.

  “Fine. I’m fine. You? How’re you finding life in Frost Ford?” I rambled, more out of politeness than actually wanting to make conversation. My memories of happier times with Jase had put me in a sour mood. I put my head back in my book and managed to regain interest when I realised that I was almost at the end and it was going to be epic. How could I not have been concentrating on this?