Chapter 18
The Boys- Zeke
I was late walking in the locker room, but there was no way I was leaving before I made sure Callie was okay. I’ll take whatever punishment coach gives me. As I sit on the bus on our way home, I wish I could text her. Her not having a phone is a real inconvenience. We lost the game, even though I let my frustration out on the opponent. Graydon isn’t the only one pissed that Callyn didn’t say that the girls at school where being caddy.
I understand where they are both coming from though. We all want to protect her, but we can’t be there or with her all the time. She needs to know that she can talk to us about what is going on in her life. Those girls may not be a big deal to her, but for me, I feel like that is our fault. We barged into her life and made her a target. But Callyn needs to know that those girls don’t hold a candle to her.
I run my hands down my face. I think back to when she kissed my cheek. Her lips felt soft and I wanted to turn my head and see if they felt just as soft on my lips. No one can say I don’t have any willpower because that took everything I had. This girl has me all twisted up in inside. It’s getting harder every day and I’m trying to be patient. Callyn is still healing from what her father did to her at the beginning of the week. Who knows if she can emotionally deal with a relationship. On the outside, she seems so stable, normal. But who knows how she feels inside.
I pull my phone out of my pocket, along with my headphones. I start my music app and pick the playlist Callyn made. Her music taste is all over the map. Some of the songs I wouldn’t normally listen too, but for her, I gave them a try and honestly some aren’t that bad. I let the music play in the background and pull my text messages. I send out a group text to the guys.
Me: Hey, how did Callyn seem when you left her?
Lucian: She was okay, but you know how she gets when we pull up to her house.
Graydon: I made her promise to tell me if the girls harassing her get worse.
Max: Is there any way we head this off?
Me: I don’t know. I feel like this is our fault. We basically made her a target.
Max: What do you suggest we do?
Lucian: I don’t think there is anything we can do. She said it’s happening in gym. We can only stop the stuff that’s said in our presence, like today.
Graydon: She needs to speak up and start defending herself. She can’t let people keep walking all over her.
Me: I agree. She is starting to do that with us, you especially Graydon. You like to push her buttons.
Graydon: Yeah, but I like seeing her get feisty.
Max: You know, you’re not quite right in the head.
Graydon: I mean, when she gets mad she doesn’t have time to overthink anything and she does what comes naturally.
Lucian: She’s going to revert every day because she has to go home and hide.
Me: I hate that I can’t text her.
Max: It’s been hell all week. Luckily, we can fix that problem tomorrow. Are we still splitting the cost four ways if she doesn’t have insurance?
Graydon: Hell yeah, she isn’t leaving without a phone. I’m not going through another week of this. This shit got me stressed out.
Me: Agreed. We just pulled into the school parking lot. I’ll text you later.
Lucian: Before you go, I think I came up with a way to semi get around the Council.
Max: Do tell.
Lucian: We are forbidden from saying anything about us being shifters and what she means to us, but they didn’t say we couldn’t date her like a regular human.
Graydon: Hell yeah!!
Max: Sweet! Loophole!
Me: Well damn.
I grab my equipment, leaving my headphones in until I get to my car. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I go through the motions when I get home. I’m lying in bed trying to sleep, but I toss and turn, like I have most nights this week. You got to love Lucian and his mind. This could work out in our favor. Now, to figure out a way that we can all date her and Callie being okay with that. After what seems like forever, I finally start to drift off with thoughts of Callyn on my mind.
Lucian
We have been at Graydon's since eight this morning. I was to geared up to stay home. Zeke and Max trickled in a few moments after I did. Looks like I wasn’t the only one. I have been checking my phone, for the time, every five minutes, wishing the time would speed up. Partly, so Callie can get her phone but mostly because I can’t wait to see her again. Finally, at ten on the dot, there is a knock on the door. All of us get up and walk to the door, but Graydon answers.
Callyn looks adorable in her hoodie and jeans, her bookbag slung over one shoulder. It’s approaching the middle of October and it’s starting to cool off. Graydon steps back so Callyn can come in. She sees all of us standing in the hallway.
“You pulled out the welcome wagon this morning I see,” she says with a chuckle.
Graydon takes her bookbag and starts to walk toward the living room. He places it by the couch.
“I just have to grab my keys and we can head out,” Graydon states.
A few minutes later we are piled into Graydon truck.
“Did you happen to bring your old phone? There is a chance they might be able to fix it.” I ask.
“I have it in my pocket, but trust me, there’s no fixing this,” she replies.
“Can I see?”
She sighs. “I will on one condition.”
“Which is…” Graydon trails off.
“That no one is to get mad. What’s done is done. There is nothing any of us can do about this now.”
“It’s that bad?” Max questions.
Callyn pulls a small Ziploc bag from the front pocket of her hoodie and hands the bag back to me. I was expecting the screen to be cracked, or something that would make the phone useless. But this…this is something else. I carefully open the bag and pull the phone out. When I do the phone falls apart. It’s even worse than how mangled it looked in the bag.
“What the hell is that?” Max voices.
“Jesus,” Zeke exclaims.
“How bad is it?” ask Graydon. I hold the phone up, so he can look in the rearview mirror. “Fuck, that’s not even a phone anymore.”
“How did he do that much damage again, Callyn?” This coming from Zeke.
Callyn takes a deep breath. “When he caught me dancing, he grabbed the phone and threw it against the wall. After he berated me, he went over to the phone and kept stomping on it. He said he was going to make sure I wouldn’t be able to use it. That’s when he took his belt to my back.”
“Well, he sure as hell did that,” growled Graydon.
I put the phone back in the bag, just staring at it. I’m glad he took out some of his anger on this phone, otherwise, Callyn could have been in worse shape. I glance at Callyn she has her face turned toward the window. I take a deep breath. I want to pull her onto my lap and never let go. Never let another thing harm her. I will figure it out somehow. I will correct everything with the Council as well.