Educating Callie

by Emma Jayne Mills

  “You don’t seem fine. Ten minutes Cee, let me stay. Look, new phone.” He waved it in my face.

  “No!” I answered.

  “We can argue this back and forth all day babes, but the quicker you give in the sooner I’ll be gone.” He smiled at me because he knew he’d win.

  “Ten minutes.” I caved. Ten minutes was all he was getting though.

  “Where’s your phone?” he asked and I gestured to the arm of the sofa. Jase walked over and picked it up.

  “Did you save my new number?” he asked, swiping my phone to open it and scrolling through our texts.

  “No.”

  “Look, two different numbers, see?” he came to stand beside me, closely, and showed me the numbers.

  “Well duh! I already figured that one out genius.” I was not playing his game.

  “Cee, I lost my phone days ago, I don’t even know when. And I am telling you that this was the last message I sent you. The rest after that were not me!” He frowned, suddenly looking concerned as he read the messages that followed the one he claimed was his last.

  We both leant over the phone screen. If Jase was telling the truth then the last messages he had sent me had been the day he came to the pub asking if it was ok to stop in. Anything after that wasn’t him.

  “Do you expect me to believe this?” I looked up at him.

  “Cee, you know after everything that happened to you last year I would never mess with you like this.” At least he had the decency to look hurt at my accusations.

  “Do I?” I asked, truly not knowing what to think anymore.

  “Really Cee? Fucking really?” He was hurt and angry as he looked at me, a hand on the back of his neck.

  “I don’t know what to think anymore.” I admitted with a defeated sigh and stepped away from him.

  “Baby, this wasn’t me. It’s obviously someone who knows us both playing silly buggers with my phone and when I find out who they’ll regret it!” He said angrily.

  “Maybe.” I half agreed.

  “Look, they call you Callie. I never call you that, not even when I’m talking to someone else about you. You’ve never been Callie to me.” He pointed out.

  “But if you were messing with me you’d do exactly that Jase.” I refused to let it go, my head was spinning with ridiculous theories. And I knew they were just that, ridiculous, but I couldn’t stop.

  “So, you think I would go to the trouble of buying a second phone just to fuck with your head? After everything I watched you go through. After everything I was by your side for? Listen to yourself Cee.” He reasoned, struggling to remain calm.

  “Shit Jase, I don’t know...” my words trailed off and I shrugged helplessly.

  “Baby...” He stepped towards me.

  “Don’t, don’t!” I snapped. I couldn’t hear him call me that anymore, despite the feelings I couldn’t shake for him, that word sounded wrong on his lips. Jase gathered me in his arms in spite of my efforts to fight him and he held me tight. I think I knew he was telling the truth, I just needed an excuse to keep believing it wasn’t my worst nightmare coming back for round two. So I kept questioning Jase’s honesty. Jase had gone through it all with me before. But how many times would I fall for his words and trust him only to be disappointed by his lies again?

  “I went out of my mind when you were missing. And then I got you back and you were broken. All I wanted to do was fix you. I did everything I could to be there for you Cee. I was with you babe. I saw all of it. I know I didn’t deal with it in the best way, but I saw what it did to you. I would never, never use it against you. No matter what’s going on between us.” He told me.

  “I know, I’m sorry. I just...” I couldn’t hold back the tears any longer and Jase held me tighter.

  “It’s okay. Sshhhh baby. We’ll figure this out. Someone has stolen my phone, we just need to work out who it is. We’ll talk to Cam.” He tried to calm me.

  I nodded against his chest and he lifted my chin so I was looking up at him.

  “I know you’re freaked out and paranoid with all that’s going on right now, but you’re safe Cee.” He looked into my eyes as he spoke. There was a time when Jase’s presence would comfort me completely, but that feeling wasn’t there anymore. That feeling came from someone else now, I realised. Someone who didn’t need any words from me to know what was wrong. The thought saddened me with its finality. I knew with absolute clarity in that moment that Jase and I would never again have the trust and love that we had once taken for granted. We were different now and we couldn’t change that.

  “It’s him Jay, I know it’s him. He won’t stop until he gets me. I’m what he wants.” I said between sobs.

  “Cee stop, we don’t even know that he’s back. You can’t think like that. That’s how he wins.” He rubbed his hands up and down my arms.

  “It’s him.” I whispered and Jase pulled me against his chest again and held me for a few more minutes.

  “I’m alright. You can go.” I sniffed and pulled away from him, gathering my strength back together. I needed to be in control of the situation again. Everything had spun so far out of my control recently and I had stood back and watched it go. I was stronger than that, it was time to start acting like it.

  “I don’t want to leave you Cee.” He admitted. His outstretched arm hung in the air as he reluctantly allowed me to move away from him.

  “I’m fine, really Jay. I promise. You should go back to work.” I wiped my eyes with my sleeves and composed myself.

  “Yeah, that can wait. You’re more important.” He smiled at me and moving into my space again, he took over wiping my tears away with gentle strokes of his thumbs. His phone rang, he ignored it.

  “Go.” I told him, stepping back from him. “I’m okay. You just got promoted Jay, you need to prove yourself. Go.”

  “You’re sure?” He asked and I nodded. “You phone me straight away if you need me. Anything. Any time. Okay? I saved my new number in your phone. Whatever you need Cee. Promise?”

  “Yeah.” I said quietly, knowing he wasn’t going to be the first person I went to anymore hurt more than I thought it should after weeks of not being together. That’s when I realised my love for Jase had changed. Somehow, somewhere along the line it had become something else. It hadn’t gone away, it was just different now.

  “And tell Cam about this. I’ll talk to him too.” He bent slightly to meet my downturned eyes.

  “I will.” I promised.

  Jase wrapped me in his arms once more, laid a soft kiss on the corner of my mouth and whispered something that I thought was I love you into my hair. Then he left.

  Jase’s visit left me reeling. I think I went through every possible negative emotion there is in less than a minute. I believed Jase had lost his phone, but I also knew exactly who had taken it. There was no doubt in my mind that my tormentor was back now and it was only a matter of time before he came for me. He obviously knew where I was, he was probably watching me that very second. And until he had me he would keep hurting the others, he would keep killing. I actually found myself toying with the idea of contacting him on Jase’s old number and telling him to come for me, because at least that way it meant he would leave the others alone. I didn’t do it. I didn’t do it because I had too many people to live for.

  I went around the house and closed all the curtains, leaving the place in darkness while I paced the living room for ages. I was so lost in thought, figuring out what to do next, that I didn’t hear Cameron arrive home, Adam close behind. I don’t know how long they had been watching me when I finally noticed them. I jumped out of my skin when I turned to see them both standing side by side, silently watching me with matching frowns on their faces. No doubt they both thought I had finally lost all of my marbles. Perhaps they were right.

  “Shit!” I gasped, “Seriously you two, creepy much?”

  “What’s going on Callie?” Cameron demanded and turned a lamp on as Adam came towards me and took my ha
nd to lead me to the sofa.

  “Sit down Angel.” He told me when I looked at him quizzically. The concern in his eyes was unmistakeable.

  “Want to tell me why I’ve just received a frantic phone call from Jase telling me to get home now and not let you out of my sight?” Cam walked towards me and dragged the armchair across the oak floor to sit opposite me. My distracted mind told me that Mum would have yelled at him for scratching her floor.

  “He spoke to you already?” I asked, frowning. Jase must have literally been on the phone as he was leaving.

  “About twenty minutes ago. What the hell is going on Cal?” Cam was getting frustrated now and I knew I needed to fill him in fast.

  “His phone. His old one, he lost it. But I’ve been getting messages from it. Weird messages, like he was spying on me. I thought it was him, just messing with me. But then he told me he had a new phone. I didn’t believe him at first, but he came over and it’s not him. The messages use Callie, not Cee or CeeCee, Jase would never call me that.” I rambled.

  “So, someone is using Jase’s old phone to send you messages?” Adam clarified and I nodded. He held out his hand and I gave him my phone.

  “The one that says I looked pretty, that was the first one after he lost it. From then on it wasn’t him. I didn’t click at first, but now I can see it’s obviously not him, they aren’t his words. That’s not how he speaks.” I explained, slightly more coherently.

  “Could Jase have two phones? He could be messing with you Cal. I wouldn’t put anything past him these days.” Cam speculated.

  “No.” I was adamant, “I said the same thing, flatly refused to believe it wasn’t him to begin with. But you didn’t see him Cam. He was angry and concerned when he read the messages, he just wanted to protect me. He knows how much something like this would freak me out, he was there remember? He wouldn’t use that against me.”

  “The abduction?” Adam confirmed, his brow creasing as he scrolled through the messages.

  “Yes. He was here, he saw what it did to me. He was there in the middle of the night when I was screaming the place down. He knows. And no matter what else has happened between us I believe him when he says he loves me, he wouldn’t do this.” I noticed the strange look that crossed Adam’s face, but ignored it. I couldn’t deal with his Jase issues right now; I was only barely dealing with my own.

  “You know him better than anyone sis, if you say it’s not him then I believe you. But we have to pass this on to the detectives in charge of the murders. It may not be related but we can’t take that chance and Jase is still on their radar.” Cam explained gently.

  “We both know who it is Cam. He’s coming for me. He’s watching, those messages prove that.” I wrung my hands together until Adam reached out and took them in his own.

  “He is not getting anywhere near you. We will not be leaving you alone for a second.” Cam said with finality.

  “The books.” I suddenly remembered.

  “Books?” Adam asked, rubbing my hands between his.

  “On the window ledge, they were left on the porch with the other stuff. I thought they were Jase too but I was wrong.” I said.

  “These?” Cam had picked them up and shared a look of concern with Adam, I nodded. “Exactly how many gifts have been left here Callie? I only know of the stuff I found.”

  “I don’t know, I didn’t count. A few. Mostly chocolates and flowers, I thought it was Jase so I was binning them. There was perfume too, but I threw that away with everything else. I don’t know why I kept the books. I suppose I just knew there was something different about them. Not Jase’s style.” I filled them in with a shrug.

  “I need to take your phone Angel, we’ll get you a new one.” Adam moved closer and put his arm around my shoulders. He nodded at Cam who went outside to the car and came back with evidence bags to pack it all up. “The books too.”

  “Any chance any of the other stuff is still in the rubbish bin?” Adam asked Cam, while holding me close to him. I think it was as much of a comfort to him as it was to me.

  “Doubtful,” Cam replied walking towards the back door. “The bins were emptied yesterday. But I’ll check anyway.”

  “They’re probably going to want to come and look over the house. If there is any chance he could have been here...” Adam trailed off as my tears broke through and he yanked me fully into his arms. “It’s going to be okay Angel. I am not letting you out of my sight. Twenty four seven, between Cam and me you will not be left alone. We will keep you safe Angel.”

  “We’re going to get him Callie.” Cam assured me as Adam relaxed his hold on me.

  And just like that I was under twenty four hour surveillance once again.

  *****

  Bright sunlight shone in through the patio doors in Mick’s simply furnished living room. The doors led out onto a small balcony that I loved to sit on in the summer evenings during my breaks at work. It wasn’t warm enough for that yet so we were sitting on his black, Chesterfield sofa, drinking tea and discussing up-coming events for the pub while waiting for Jared to Skype us about our possible future plans.

  “Mick? Callie? You up there?” Greg’s voice carried up the stairs, interrupting our discussion.

  “Come on up buddy.” Mick called back, leaning back from where he had been hunched over the coffee table looking at the papers in front of us. He stretched his arms in the air and sat back. He had been filled in on events from the day before and added himself to my elite team of body guards. He knew I was a strung out mess over it all though and had attempted to make it as light hearted as he could. He had even jokily stood guard outside the bathroom earlier and I had yelled at him that I couldn’t pee while he was out there listening, so he’d started talking about waterfalls and running taps. It was silly and childish but had been exactly what I needed.

  Greg and Adam both came up the stairs and walked into the room looking serious. They were obviously here officially.

  “What is it?” I asked, my eyes pinning Adam’s. Something was wrong and my mind immediately went to Cameron, despite the fact that I had seen him a couple of hours ago, I couldn’t help my panicked reaction.

  “Cam’s fine.” He met my gaze, somehow knowing the thoughts running through my mind and I let out the breath I hadn’t realised I was holding. He came towards me and handed me a mobile phone. “All set up ready to go, same ringtones as the other one. Cam, Greg and I put in all the numbers we had. Charger is in my car, I’ll get it for you later.”

  I smiled up at him as I took it, “You’re too good to me Adam. Let me get you the money for it.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” He said and planted a kiss on the top of my head.

  “We need to talk to you both about your chef, Katherine March.” Greg told us, sitting down in the armchair as Adam took a seat on the sofa next to me.

  “Is Kat alright?” Mick asked, concerned.

  “Her husband reported her missing. He hasn’t seen her since before her shift here on Tuesday.” Adam explained. “We know she made it to work because Cameron and I were both here for lunch that day and saw her.”

  “What time did she leave?” Greg aimed the question at Mick.

  “You’d have to ask Callie mate, I was at a meeting with my accountant.” Mick told them and they both looked to me. My head began to spin as images swarmed inside my mind. Suddenly I was chained in that damp cellar again, the knife scraping slowly down my arm, the metal cuffs digging into my skin, my throat sore from screaming...

  “Angel.” Adam whispered against my ear, grabbing my hand and stilling the movement where I had begun unconsciously rubbing my wrist. He squeezed tight to bring me back to reality. “You’re not there anymore. You’re safe in the pub. Mick, Greg and I are here with you. Come back to me Angel.”

  “She, erm...she worked her shift and left as normal.” I managed to provide as I shuddered and blinked a few times, then anchored myself to the feel of Adam’s hand in mine. “Actually no, she stayed
a little later than normal, maybe half an hour, so she would have left around four o’clock I think.”

  “Did she seem ok? Nothing bothering her?” Adam asked, leaning forward and attempting to make eye contact and keep me with him.

  “She was fine. If there was anything wrong she didn’t tell me.” I said numbly, removing my hand from his and picking at the frayed rip on my jeans, needing something else to focus on. My mantra was running in circles around my mind. It’s not him. It’s not him. It’s not him. The flowers. The chocolates. The perfume. The books. It’s not him. It’s not him. It’s not him.

  “When was she due to work again?” Greg asked, his voice soft and gentle.

  “That would have been tonight.” Mick said, running his hand through his hair, his eyes had become fixed on me. “Are you alright, love?”

  I nodded, automatically. I wasn’t. He knew it. They all knew it.

  “Why did she stay later than usual?” Greg asked me and my eyes snapped up, I instantly knew how this was going to go. Jase.

  “Jase was here. She offered to stay until he left so I wasn’t alone with him. I told her it was fine, but she hung around anyway and left a few minutes before him.” I still didn’t look at him but I knew what was coming as soon as I felt Adam tense beside me.

  “Jase was here? That would be the day his mobile went missing? The day of his last texts to you?” Adam snapped, moving back from my space slightly.

  “Yes. He was passing and stopped in to say hello.” I shrugged. After he had been there for me with the messages I wasn’t going to go back to the Jase hating tip again. He was in no way connected to any of this. I knew it, I just couldn’t prove it.

  “He just seems to keep turning up lately.” Adam said under his breath. He was clearly annoyed but being there in official police capacity he couldn’t exactly show it.

  “So Jase could confirm he saw her leaving too?” Greg slid Adam a sideways glance, attempting to gage his mood.

  “Yes. He walked out a few minutes behind her.” I said, looking at Greg.