“I am at the Sheraton, room 315,” I say hoping she is really not serious about this.
“I’m on my way. I’ll be there in about twenty minutes,” she says, before hanging up. I guess I won’t be getting any rest tonight.
About twenty minutes later, I hear a knock on the door. I open the door to find the same little blonde I found earlier when I opened Callie’s door. I used to really like blonde girls. I don’t really know what it was about them, but that’s pretty much all I dated in high school. Of course it only took one for me to break that habit. I had to go to Destin for an undercover job and met Sam. She was a lot of fun at first, but she became a little too clingy for my tastes. I actually ended up having to change my number to get her to stop calling. I’ve stayed away from all women in general since then. I don’t need clingy crazy around me.
“Thank you for letting me come by,” she says, before coming into the room. I close the door behind her and lead her to the sofa in the room. I guess it’s a good thing I have a suite, this could get weird and uncomfortable if there was just a bed in this room. I really hope this girl didn’t come here hoping for that to happen.
“What did you want to talk about?” I ask her. I know I need to be nice to her. She is Callie’s best friend and if I am going to keep Callie around for my family and for me, I need to make sure this one likes us too.
“I really just wanted to meet you. Callie and I have been best friends for ten years. In those ten years, I don’t know of anybody she has anything else to do with other than me. She has had no family, just the people that were pretending to be her grandparents. When she turned eighteen, they pretty much kicked her out and said good luck with your life. She acts like it doesn’t bother her, but you know it has to. I really want her to have the family she deserves. I also want to make sure it’s going to be okay when your sister wakes up. I know how mean, girls can be and I don’t want Callie to have to go through losing another family.”
“I don’t want Callie to lose another family either. Now that I have met her, I can assure you that she will always be welcome with me no matter what Molly has to say about it. I promise I will take care of her.”
“Good, I need to tell you something else too. She is scared to be by herself. I don’t know if you noticed all of the locks on her doors, but for some reason, she is really freaked out when she is by herself. She also doesn’t like for anyone to stay with her,” she says, looking up at me. “I know that makes no sense, but I was her roommate in college and believe me when I say it wasn’t easy. She used to have some really scary nightmares. She says it’s better now, but I just thought you should know. I doubt she will tell you any of this, but I wanted to make sure she had someone to take care of her. I’m assuming you will do that,” she says, looking at me.
“Of course I will take care of her. What are her nightmares about?”
“I don’t know the specifics, she never talks about them. I assume they are about her parents being killed. You will have to ask her if you want to know more. She doesn’t talk about personal stuff very much. I just wanted to talk to you first and make sure you knew what you were getting yourself into,” she says, getting up and walking toward the door. I am not ready for her to leave. I still need to find out more about Callie.
“Is there anything else you can tell me about Callie?” I ask, before she opens the door. “I don’t know anything about this girl. I don’t want to do or say anything that will make her run back here,” I say hoping she will stay and tell me more about Callie.
“I shouldn’t have come here to start with. She would be furious if she found out I was here. In fact, she told me to stay away from you, so it would probably be best if she didn’t find out about this. I just needed to make sure she was okay going with you. If you want to know more about her, you will have to ask her. Just don’t put a lot of pressure on her to like your family. Don’t smother her. She has gone ten years with no one and she is okay with that. Thanks for letting me come by. I really hope she likes it in Tennessee. Please take care of her,” she says, before opening the door and walking out. That was a pleasant surprise. I usually have girls all over themselves trying to talk to me. Maybe she’s not as bad as I thought. I wish I had at least gotten her number. What if I have a question about Callie? I’m never going to be able to sleep now and I have no idea how tomorrow is going to go. One thing is for sure, Callie is a lot braver than I would be. There is no way I would go to another state with a complete stranger, even if they did say I was family. Maybe tomorrow won’t be too bad.
This has definitely been one of the longest days of my life. It has been a lot of fun getting to know Callie, but I am exhausted and have no idea where I am going to stay tonight. I don’t really blame Callie for not wanting to stay with my parents tonight, I mean she did just meet them, but I really hate to leave her by herself. Especially after what Leighton told me last night. Leighton. Why can I not get that girl out of my head? She is definitely not my type, but for some reason I can’t stop thinking about her. I better stop though, especially if Callie really told her to stay away from me. I really don’t want to lose her trust.
I pull into the driveway and get out of the truck to get our luggage out of the backseat.
“Who is Ash and are you sure he would be okay with me staying here tonight?” Callie asks, standing beside me waiting for her bags.
“Ash has been my best friend for as long as I can remember. This is actually his place. I just started crashing here and never moved out. He’s like family to us. He lost his family a few years back and we sort of just took him in. He doesn’t really talk about it so I don’t know details. We are pretty much all he has. Anyway, he won’t mind you being here, but I’ll call and tell him everything in the morning. He had to go out of town for a couple of weeks for a case he’s working on.” At least I hope he won’t mind. I should probably call and warn him tonight.
“Another cop, of course,” Callie says, smiling at me. “Thank you for letting me stay here. I know they probably wanted me to stay with them, but I am not ready for that. I’m sure when Molly wakes up she wouldn’t be ready for that either.”
“It’s no problem. We are actually pretty clean around here for two guys,” I say, knowing I spent all day the day I found out about her cleaning, because I was determined to get this girl back here. “I’ll show you my room and you can stay in there.”
“I feel really bad taking your room. I can sleep on the couch,” she says, looking at me. Does she really think I would bring her here and make her sleep on the couch?
“My mama raised me right, there is no way I’m letting you sleep on a couch. You are taking my bed. It even has clean sheets and everything,” I say, carrying her bags into my bedroom.
“You actually cleaned this house knowing I would come with you, didn’t you?” Callie asks, coming up behind me. I just turn around and smile at her. I guess I’m not as smooth with things as I thought.
“Jax and Collin don’t live too far from here. It’s a very small town so we can all be here in a matter of minutes. There are horses here if you want to look around in the morning. I can also take you back to my parents sometime tomorrow and you can look around there too. I can crash with Jax and Collin tonight. If you need anything, just give me a call. I’ll give you a quick tour, and then I will give you some privacy,” I say, before leading her around the house.
“I have a gun,” Callie blurts out when we walk back into the living room. Why would she tell me that? Did I do something to scare her? I hope she’s not some crazy girl that is fixing to shoot me.
“Okay, how did you get it through an airport?” I ask.
“I didn’t. I mean I have a gun at home. Actually I have two. They are legal. I have a permit for them both. I just don’t have them with me,” she says, looking at me with huge wide eyes.
“Do you need them? Detective Clayton was going to surprise you with your car so you would have a way of getting around. I can call him and if he h
asn’t left, he might be able to break into you place and get them if you want them,” I say, pulling my phone out of my pocket to call him.
“There is actually one in the glove box. I keep one in my car and one in my purse usually. They make me feel a little safer,” she says, almost looking embarrassed. I put my phone back in my pocket and walk over to the couch. I am exhausted and have no idea when or if I will ever get to go to bed tonight.
“Do you want me to stay here tonight? I promise you are safe out here, but if you would feel better, I can sleep on the couch.” I know Leighton told me she didn’t like to stay with people. I am totally confused now.
“I would feel better if you would stay here, but if you don’t want to, I understand. I don’t really sleep very well. I have some medicine that helps me sleep I can take, but I might still wake you up during the night and would really hate to keep you up all night,” she says. Maybe I can get her to talk now.
“Why would you wake me up?” I ask, but she just looks down. “You have nightmares,” I say, watching her nod her head at me.
“They have gotten better, but after being here and meeting everybody today, I don’t know what will happen,” she says, sitting down beside me. “I’m sorry. I’m a pretty big mess. You should have just left me in Florida,” she says quietly. Is she kidding right now? I want to find whatever monster has caused her this much misery and kill him myself. I can’t believe she could even possibly think I wouldn’t have wanted her to come if I had known.
“When did they start?”
“The night I found my parents,” she quickly says.
“What are they about?” I ask, looking over at her. I know she probably doesn’t want to talk about it, but I need to know.
“Blue eyes, that’s all I saw that night, but I will never forget them, probably because I have seen them hundreds of times in my dreams,” she says.
“I’m really sorry you had to go through that alone. I have seen a lot of messed up things in my life, but I can’t even begin to imagine walking into a room and finding my parents that way,” I say, quickly regretting it. I don’t guess she needs to be reminded my parents are fine while she had to witness the worst thing any human could go through.
“I’m going to take a shower and go to bed. Thanks for everything today. You are staying, right?” she asks.
“I’ll be right here if you need anything. I’m just going to call and let everyone know you are okay. I hope you can sleep well tonight and Callie, thank you for coming and giving us a chance. I know you didn’t have to and I really appreciate you taking a chance on us,” I say, walking over to grab some blankets and a pillow out of the closet.
I put the blankets down on the couch and grab my phone out of my pocket. I really dread this call, but I guess I better tell them I am staying here with Callie.
“Hey. Is she okay?” my mom asks, answering the phone.
“She is fine. I am actually staying here with her tonight. I just wanted to let you guys know,” I say.
“Oh, okay. Are you sure she’s comfortable with you being there? I mean, she did just meet you two days ago,” she says.
“I know, I offered to leave, but she asked me to stay. I really don’t think she likes being by alone. I’m sleeping on the couch and she has my room. Everything will be fine, I promise.”
“Okay, make sure she knows she can stay here anytime she wants. We can fix a room up for her,” my mom says. I’m not sure she is realizing Callie is twenty six and not six.
“I’m sure she knows that mom. I think she is trying to stay out of the way for when Molly comes home. You know Molly is not going to be okay with any of this, don’t you?”
“I have more faith in Molly than the rest of you. Yes, I know it will be hard, but Molly will be fine. I know it,” she says actually sounding like she believes it. I know how Molly is going to react, and fine is definitely not a word I would use to describe it.
“I hope you’re right mom. I’m going to sleep now. It has been a very long day. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” I say, before hanging up. I need to call Ash, but I am exhausted and it’s late. Maybe I can catch him before he gets here tomorrow.
“Hey man, why are you on the couch?” Ash asks, shaking me awake.
“What time is it?” I ask, trying to sit up.
“It’s a little after eight. Why are you in here and not in the bed?” he asks again.
“It’s been a long week. I need to talk to you about something. My sister is in my room. Is it okay if she crashes with us for a while?” I ask, waiting for him to blow up at me. I know he can’t stand Molly. She has always thrown herself at him and he has always been able to politely ignore her. I’m sure he’s trying to figure out how he’s going to be able to do that with her here.
“Are you kidding me? There is no way Molly can stay here. You know how uncomfortable she makes me feel?” he says, looking at me like I have lost my mind.
“It’s not Molly, like I said it’s been a long week,” I say, watching him relax a little. Maybe since he knows it’s not Molly, he will be okay with it.
“Since when do you have another sister?” he asks, sitting in the chair next to me.
“A week ago Molly was in a car accident. It was pretty bad and she is actually in a coma right now.”
“Wait, Molly has been in a coma for a week and you didn’t call me. I’m your best friend, I would have come home or done something to help,” he says.
“I know, I have actually been in Miami all week. After they did some blood tests and other stuff on her, my parents found out she’s not really their biological daughter.”
“Are you kidding?” he asks, interrupting me again. “Who is in your bedroom, Brody?”
“Her name is Callie. Your dad is actually the one who found her. At least legally he’s the one who found her. I found her the next day, but it took him a week. Maybe he’s not as good as we thought. Anyway, I went to Miami to talk her into coming here with me and it worked. So she is staying in my room for a while. Are you good with that?” I ask.
“Of course, it’s fine. Please say she is nothing like Molly,” he says smiling at me.
“I promise she is nothing like her. She is probably the total opposite. So, here’s the deal. She may be my sister, but I’m not stupid, and if you touch her, I will shoot you,” I say knowing he would never do anything I asked him not to.
“No problem. I have enough family drama to deal with already. I sure don’t want any of this crazy drama in my life. She can stay as long as she needs. It’s no problem. I need to go check on some stuff. I’ll be outside,” he says, slapping me on the back on his way out.
I get up and head to the bathroom to shower. I guess it’s a good thing my bags are still out here. I would hate to have to wake Callie up to get clothes. After getting out of the shower and dressed, I walk into the kitchen to fix some breakfast. We actually have no food in this house. I guess I didn’t think of that when I was cleaning and buying plane tickets. Grabbing my keys off of the counter, I head to my truck to go get groceries. Maybe I can be back before Callie gets up looking for something to eat.
I don’t remember the last time I went real grocery shopping. Ash and I usually just grab whatever to eat. Maybe I should buy some actual food you can cook since Callie is staying with us. I have no idea if she knows how to cook or what she likes to eat, so I guess I can just get a little bit of everything.
After spending way too much time and way too much money on groceries, I come home to an empty house. Where could Callie have gone? I have just finished putting up the last bag of groceries when the front door opens. I turn around expecting to see Callie or Ash, but it’s Jaxon and Collin instead.
“Hey, where’s Callie? We thought it would be a good idea to come and talk to her this morning,” Jaxon says, looking around the house.
“I don’t know,” I say, walking out the front door. “She was still in the bed when I left. Maybe she’s just looking at the horses or something.
” I know I shouldn’t be worried, but I have a really bad feeling that I can’t find her.
“Do you have her number?” Collin asks, pulling his phone out.
“Yeah, it’s in my phone. I’ll call her,” I say, pulling my phone out and finding her number.
“Hello,” she answers.
“Hey. Are you okay? I came back to the house, but I can’t find you,” I say, going back inside to look around the house.
“I’m fine. I met Ash after you left I guess. We were just going to get some lunch. I’ll be back later,” she says sounding like she really wants to end this conversation. That can’t be good.
“Okay, can I talk to Ash a second? I forgot to tell him something this morning,” I ask, watching Jax and Collin stare at me. They don’t look any happier than I feel that she is with Ash right now. Didn’t Leighton tell me Callie didn’t usually trust people or even hang out with anyone but her?
“Sure,” she says.
“Hey man,” Ash says.
“Where are you taking her? I thought I told you to stay away from her,” I say hoping she can’t hear me.
“I’m just giving her a tour of the town before grabbing some lunch. We have no food in the house. I didn’t want her to starve,” he says, like he really thinks this is okay.
“Okay, tell her I bought groceries, so she doesn’t have to worry about starving anymore. We will probably see you both very soon.”
“I’ll tell her,” he says sounding bored with this conversation. When did I become this over protective crazy person? What is this girl doing to me?
“Don’t forget what I said, I will shoot you if I need to,” I say, watching Jaxon and Collin bust out laughing at me.
“I understand,” he says, before hanging up on me.
“Why did you threaten to shoot your best friend?” Jaxon asks, shaking his head.
Trusting You: The Switched Series book two Page 2
