It was late Saturday night, which meant I only had one more full day to spend trying to get her to talk to me before I had to leave again. But I was running out of options.
I’d already been up to the lodge for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but she’d been absent from every meal. I’d almost worked up the courage to ask her sisters about her at lunch but chickened out. I knew how private Callie was, which meant she wouldn’t appreciate me talking to her sisters about her. Besides, I was being a bit of a punk anyway.
I wanted to see Callie, but I was also terrified of coming face to face with her. Most of that stemmed from the fact that I had literally no idea what was going on or why she’d run away from me.
I’d thought things were taking a turn for the better with us.
After seeing her fight Aubrey, knowing full well I was part of the reason behind the animosity, I’d decided I was done running from her. Done running from myself. I wanted her, and I’d promised to do whatever it took to have her.
And when I’d kissed her in that bathroom, every emotion I’d worked to suppress came surging to the surface. Every desire, every wish, every late-night dirty thought ran through my brain and I knew I’d never wanted anything more than Callie McCoy.
Knew I’d never want anything ever again as long as I could have her.
And when she finally opened up to me, when she stopped fighting what’s always been between us and let me touch her, my whole world tipped back upright. I hadn’t even realized it’d been upside down for so long, but with Callie’s soft skin beneath my fingertips and her taste on my tongue, my entire universe aligned, and everything made sense.
Until we were done.
When the haze of our lovemaking subsided, I’d been ready to carry her upstairs and do it again, but better and for longer, when she ran away from me. I stood there in that bathroom with my pants around my ankles for far longer than was appropriate, absolutely stunned at the turn of events.
Now, she wouldn’t talk to me.
Now, she wouldn’t see me.
Now, I was left wondering if I’d hurt her in some way. If I’d done something she didn’t want to do. If I’d taken something she hadn’t freely given.
It was enough to turn my stomach and I’d been sick with the thought all week. Barely able to sleep. Hardly eating. My mind just ran over the events in that bathroom over and over until my head throbbed and my heart ached in my chest for her.
I heard the back door open just before my brother’s obnoxious voice greeted me.
“Hey, dipshit. Good to see you’re finally home.”
I heard a slapping noise and a grunt before Mom spoke up. “Don’t talk like that,” she chastised my brother.
I finally turned around to find Wes rubbing the back of his head and my mother eyeing him with contempt.
“Nice to see you too, brother.”
“Yeah, it is nice to see me. It’s always nice to see me, but you wouldn’t know that, would you? You spent all week in Raleigh, and when we finally get you home, all you want to do is sneak up to the lodge. You missed every meal with us today. We’re your family, Wyatt. You need to remember that.”
I blinked slowly at him before turning to my mom. “Ma, how did you throw your voice like that? And when did you shove your hand up Wes’ ass? He sounded just like you.”
Her lips twitched with a smile before she frowned and shook her head. “Don’t you talk like that either.”
Wes continued to grumble as he walked over to the table and set down a tray full of tea and snacks. I reached for a cookie, but he smacked my hand.
“That’s not for you.”
Mom turned around and smacked his hand before passing me the cookie I’d been reaching for. “There’s enough to share, Wes. Don’t be like that.”
My brother shot me a narrow-eyed look and I knew if Mom wasn’t out there with us, we’d already be fighting it out over the still-warm shortbread.
“So, where were you all day?”
“So, where’s Callie been?”
The first question came from my brother, the second from my mom, and they were asked at almost the exact same time. Which made it easy to ignore both of them simultaneously.
I bit down on my cookie and slowly poured myself a cup of tea as I did my best to avoid eye contact with either of them.
“Aah, you know what, Ma? I think those two questions are linked. What do you think?”
She glanced at Wes before settling her familiar brown eyes on me. I swallowed hard, the cookie suddenly dry and stuck in my throat. “Is that where you’ve been, son? With Callie?” I could hear the smile in her voice and wished I deserved it.
“No.”
“Then where were you?” Wes asked again.
I shrugged. “Around.”
“And where has Callie been? I haven’t seen her in weeks.”
I finally got the cookie forced down my throat and took a sip of hot tea, hoping I could drink long enough that they’d forget about their questions and drop this line of conversation.
“Wyatt? Did you two have a falling out?” she asked.
More sympathy from her that I didn’t deserve.
I shrugged and rubbed my chest, hoping to get rid of the ache in there. “Yeah, kinda,” I finally said, my voice low enough that I’m sure Mom barely heard me. Wes had no issue though.
“Oh my God. You fucked her, didn’t you?”
I whipped my head in his direction just in time to see Mom slap him on the back of the head. “Wesley Barnabas Carter! You will not speak like that in front of me and you will not talk about Callie like that!”
My brother reached up to rub the back of his head, his angry eyes narrowed in my direction. “Just look at him, Ma. He did fu– batter dip his corndog,” he corrected disgustingly. “Just look at his stupid guilty face.”
Mom turned to me, her gaze critical as she studied me in a way she hadn’t since I was little and I lied about chipping her favorite mug. Her lips pursed together, and she sighed. “Is he right, son? Did you two have relations?”
Wes snorted into his teacup but we both ignored him.
My stomach was knotting as I tried to dry my sweaty palms on my jeans. “Uh. Maybe.”
“I knew it!” Wes yelled, disrupting a nearby cardinal that took off with a huff.
“Settle down, Wes.”
“Yeah, pipe down, shit head.”
“Language, Wyatt.”
I dipped my head in apology and picked up my teacup again. I studied the murky brown drink, hoping for a way out of this uncomfortable-ass conversation, but there were no answers there.
“So, what happened? Did you not get her off or something?” my idiot brother asked.
“Wesley!” Mom reprimanded him. “I’m sure your brother did a fine job. Quit picking on him.”
I buried my face in my hands as it heated to volcanic levels. “Oh my God, Ma, please. Can we drop this?”
I never thought I’d be having a conversation about sleeping with Callie, but here we were. My brother assuming I was shit in bed and my mother sticking up for me when neither of them should know this much about my personal life.
“Have you tried talking to her, dear?”
I sighed and picked my heavy head up, only to rest it on my palm so I could look at her. “I’ve been texting her for weeks. She hasn’t answered any of them.”
My mother scoffed and shook her head. “What have I told you about this technology crap. You’re going to forget how to have an actual conversation! You need to go to her. Talk to her face to face. Figure out what’s going on and then fix it.”
Like it was that easy.
“I’m not sure this can be fixed, Ma.”
What I really meant but couldn’t say out loud was I was already pretty sure things between me and Callie were done for good. If she wanted to work on this at all, she would have attempted to talk to me in the past few weeks. But every minute that passed by with her ignoring me was like another nail in the coffin of
our would-be relationship.
“Nonsense. You’re both reasonable people. Go on up there and talk to her. I’m sure you can get things sorted out.”
“Nothing can fix a bad lay, Ma,” Wes said with a smirk.
Lightning fast, I reached over and punched him in the arm. He deserved worse, but I’d have to settle for that.
“He’s wrong about the lay, but he’s right about nothing fixing this. I think it’s over, Ma. I just need to move on.” I reached for another cookie and she smacked my hand away. For a woman who wasn’t a werewolf and had no extra abilities, she sure could hit hard.
“No. I’m not accepting that. I like Callie and I want her to keep coming around, so you need to go fix things. I don’t care if you need to beg, grovel, or just pick her up and kiss her. You go make things better and then bring her down for a visit. I want her to see how well my snapdragons are doing.”
My head spun with everything Mom said as I tried to settle on just one thought.
She wanted me to fix this, no matter what the outcome. I guess I could do that much for her. I owed the woman my life, the least I could do was make sure things weren’t awkward between me and Callie anymore so she would still visit and at least one of us would get to spend time with her.
I stood up and snatched another cookie off the tray. “All right, Ma. I’ll try one more time.”
Chapter 28
Callie
Heartbreak.
I’d used to think it was an exaggeration.
A personification.
Hearts can pump blood, they can race in your chest, they can clog, they can stop beating, but how can a heart break? It’s not like someone reached in and snapped it in half. It just never made sense to me before.
Now, everything was different.
Now, I could feel the fissures in my heart, the cracks and gouges made by a careless man who’d been reckless with it.
I still blamed myself partially. Wasn’t it my idea to not give up on him? To give him a second, third, and then fourth chance? I was the idiot for not learning the first time. Wyatt Carter couldn’t be trusted. Not with this. Not with my fragile heart.
I covered the abused organ with a shaking hand as tears continued to trickle down my face. I used to try to stem their flow, but that took too much effort. No matter what I did, the moment I was alone in my room, the heartache I’d walked around with all day would gather in my eyes and leak down my face.
I sat on the bench next to the window that overlooked the field where the enforcers practiced and tried to figure out where things had gone so wrong. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized they were never really right to begin with.
How many times did a man have to walk away from me before I accepted the fact that he was never going to stick around? Apparently, that answer was four.
My phone buzzed and my fingers itched to check it, but I knew who it would be, and I knew I shouldn’t read it.
Wyatt had been texting me for weeks, his messages getting more desperate as time went on. I’d typed out so many responses to him and never sent a single one. Even now, there were things I wanted to say, things I wanted to yell at him, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. Because beneath all the anger was an ocean of hurt, and I was currently filling it with my tears.
My phone vibrated again, and I glanced at the lit-up screen before turning away. I knew it would just be more of the same. He’d have some lame excuse for the way he acted, and I, being so infatuated with him, would believe all his pretty words and welcome him back into my life.
Well, no more.
It was time for me to cut the cord for good and be done with him. No matter how much it hurt. No matter how wrong it felt. No matter what my heart screamed in the silence of my bedroom. I needed to let him go if I was ever going to get me back.
My phone vibrated again, and curiosity finally got the best of me. I wiped the tears as best I could so I could see straight. Pulling up my messages, I read them one by one.
Wyatt: Please, just give me 5 minutes. After that you can ignore me again.
Wyatt: Callie, you need to let me make this better. Please.
And finally, the text that sent my heart into my throat and my hands trembling.
Wyatt: I’m outside your door. Let me in.
I glanced at my bedroom door with wide, frightened eyes. He had to be bluffing, right? There was no way he was really up here, where anyone could see him.
I heard a soft knock before my phone vibrated again.
Wyatt: If you don’t let me in, I’m going to knock loud enough that your sisters will hear, and I know you don’t want that.
Blackmail.
He was freaking blackmailing me right now.
Rage raced through my veins as I jumped up from my seat and stormed across the room. Without thinking it through, I whipped my door open to find Wyatt with eyes wide open and his hand poised to knock again.
“What are you doing?” I whispered.
His eyes darted around my face and I hated to think what he saw there. “I need to talk to you.”
“Well, I have nothing to say to you. Go away.”
I tried to close the door in his face, but he’d positioned his boot in the way so it wouldn’t shut. “You don’t have to say anything, I just need you to listen.”
“I don’t want to hear anything you have to say.”
“Callie. Please. Give me five minutes, and I promise, if you still want me to go away, I will. I’ll leave you alone forever if that’s what you want.”
Was that what I wanted?
I’d thought it was, but now hearing the promise of never seeing him again, never talking to him again said out loud, I wasn’t so sure.
I heard rustling from down the hall which sent my blood pressure soaring. I grabbed Wyatt by the arm and dragged him into my room before closing the door as quietly as possible. My forehead thudded against the door as I tried to get my bearings. When I thought I had myself under control, I turned around to face Wyatt.
His eyes traced my face again as his slowly fell. “You’ve been crying.”
It wasn’t a question, and I refused to answer anyway. I sniffed and looked away, fisting my hands in the hopes they’d stop shaking.
Wyatt sighed loudly and took a step closer. “Is it because of me?”
I ignored that question too and kept my eyes on my closet doors, wondering if I hid myself behind them if he’d just leave.
“Callie, please look at me.”
I shook my head and whispered, “No.”
He took another step closer and I shuffled backward, but I was out of room. My heart ached as it raced in my chest and I did my best to slow my breathing, but that was almost impossible with him so close.
Why did I think I could do this? Why did I think I could handle being so close to him again? It didn’t matter that he hurt me. It didn’t matter that my brain wanted nothing to do with him because my heart and body fully disagreed. They didn’t care about all the times he’d turned his back on me, they just wanted him in any way they could get him.
He took the last step that separated us and reached up to stroke my cheek. I closed my eyes and grit my teeth until he removed his hand.
“You’re still crying,” he said softly.
I opened my eyes to see his finger was wet from my tears. I sniffed and turned away again. “Is that all you have to say?”
He blew out a deep breath, his leather scent enveloping me for a moment. “No. I came to say I’m sorry. About everything. I let my bullshit get in the way and in the process, I hurt you. I didn’t realize how badly until you ran off after we… you know.”
Boy, did I know.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay. That we didn’t do anything you didn’t want to do…” He trailed off and got quiet for a moment before continuing. “Callie, if I hurt you…” He seemed lost for words again as I waited to see what he’d say next. “I’d never be able to forgive myself,” he finally finished.
> I shook my head, eyes still turned away from him. “We didn’t.”
He was quiet for a moment. “We didn’t what?”
I blew out a deep breath and glanced at him quickly. “We didn’t do anything I didn’t want at the time.”
The silence stretched between us, growing and morphing until it felt deafening. Finally, he broke it. “Then I don’t get it. Why’d you run away from me?”
The hurt and anger swirled together, forming a toxic cocktail inside me. I clenched my hands into fists and turned to him, careful to avoid his gaze. “I ran because it was a huge mistake,” I spat. “I ran because I was mad at myself for letting you get that close to me. I ran because I never should have slept with you, knowing what you’re like.”
“What I’m like? What the hell does that mean?”
I threw my hands in the air, my blood boiling in my veins. “What does that mean?! It means you’ve been giving me the runaround since day one. I’ve given you chance after chance, and every single time, you’ve let me down. You’ve run away from me. You’ve turned me away. And I still had sex with you. I still let myself be vulnerable with you. I was stupid enough to make that mistake once, but I’ve learned now. And that’s why I haven’t been talking to you. That’s why I still don’t want to talk to you. And that’s why I want you to get out of my room and leave me alone.”
My chest heaved with my labored breaths as I watched his mouth turn down with a frown. I’d thought my speech would send him running like usual, but he stayed where he was. I didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.
Because despite everything, I still wanted him.
I still cared about him.
I still loved him.
Which only made me angrier.
“I can’t do that, Callie.”
“Can’t do what?” I spat.
“I can’t stop talking to you. I can’t walk away right now. I can’t just leave you alone.”
“Why the heck not?!”
He ducked his head until he caught my eyes in his gaze. I resisted as best I could, but it didn’t make a difference. That connection to him was still there and as strong as ever. It seemed like nothing could stop it. Not time or distance, or anger, or resentment. The world stopped just for us every time our eyes met, no matter what.
Chasing Callie (Southern Werewolf Sisters Book 1) Page 23
