Cal
Cal was in the middle of preparing dinner, frying up some asparagus, when he heard the piercing sound of sirens cut through the air, incredibly close to his house. “What the fuck?” he asked out loud. His anxiety rose in his throat. He turned off the stove and headed for the front door. He was halfway out the door when the sound of the sirens faded away, muffled by the quickly expanding distance between the car and Cal’s house.
He scanned the horizon, searching for some clue about what had happened. Then his eyes landed on a dark spot that contrasting sharply with the otherwise perfect green of his front lawn. “Antonia!” a small voice called out. “Antonia, what’s wrong? I’m scared. Where’s Daniel?”
It was Bobby’s voice, Cal realized, swallowing hard to clear the lump in his throat. He forced himself into motion, slowly walking down the porch and crossing the lawn to get to the bundle of limbs that had apparently collapsed onto his lawn moments before. It’s Antonia, he realized as he got closer, her hair becoming more distinct against the contrasting colors around her. What’s going on?
The next moment, Bobby ran up to him and tugged at the bottom of his shirt to make sure that he got his attention. “Cal! Cal, what’s going on?” his son asked, looking up at him with a panicked expression on his face.
“I was hoping you’d tell me,” Cal said with a sigh. He leaned down to look Bobby in his eyes. “What did you see, buddy? What happened?”
Bobby’s eyes darted from Cal to Antonia and back again, his young face contorted with worry as he stared up at his father. “There was a policeman. I think he was a policeman, anyway. He had one of those blue shining cars. But he took Daniel! And now Antonia won’t answer me when I say stuff to her.”
“Okay,” Cal said, blowing out his breath in frustration. “Okay, I’ll take care of it.” He forced himself to pat the top of Bobby’s head, as soothingly as he could manage, before approaching Antonia. He dropped to his knees so he could whisper in her ear. “Hey, Antonia. I’m here. I’m here with you.”
“Go away,” Antonia moaned out, keeping her eyes hidden behind her long hair.
“Why?” Cal said. “What’s going on, Antonia? Talk to me.”
Antonia sniffled loudly and shook her head. “He took Daniel. It’s over.”
“Who did? Your ex?” Cal asked.
Antonia nodded but didn’t say anything out loud.
Cal was unsure what to do for a few moments. He watched as Antonia’s shoulders shook, her body trembling as silent sobs overtook her. He reached out to place a hand on her back, but Antonia’s spine stiffened underneath his touch, so he pulled away the next second, keeping a safe distance between their bodies.
“Okay,” Cal finally said. He blew out his breath and reached out his hand towards Bobby, who refused to grab it, shaking his head and backing away from his father in response to the gesture. Cal felt a little twinge of pain in his chest at that, the sting of rejection from his son. I shouldn’t care, he told himself as he adjusted his feet so that he was squatting more comfortably on the ground. He’s not my son. Not really.
He cleared his throat a few more times while trying to summon up the ability to solve this fucking disaster of a situation. “We’ll get Daniel back,” he finally said, keeping his tone as confident and self-assured as he possibly could. He wanted to be strong for Antonia. He wanted to show her that there was nothing to be afraid of, even if the whole world was stacked against her, ready to smack her down.
Antonia shook her head slowly and curled forward, burying her face deeper. “No. We won’t.”
“What? Why are you saying that?” Cal asked.
“Because he’s a cop!” Antonia cried out, finally turning her head to stare at Cal through her fingers. Cal could see that her face was splotchy with tears, her chest rising and falling ridiculously quickly as she panted for breath. “He’s a fucking cop. He has friends in high places, and he can do whatever he wants. I should’ve known better than to accuse him of anything.” Her words trailed off into whimpers as she re-buried her face, sniffling into her hands.
Cal swallowed around the lump in his throat again, willing himself to be brave. I have to do this, he thought. He balled his hands into fists by his sides. I have to be strong. For Antonia. I have to tell her everything. Even if she doesn’t understand what I do, I can still use the resources of the MC to help her. I have to tell her. Now.
“Antonia, I—” Before Cal could get any more words out of his mouth, the sound of sirens returned, screaming over their heads. Antonia to lifted her face out of her hands and looked around in every direction to find the source of the noise.
The next second, Cal saw it. A pack of police cars, their sirens screaming wildly as they shot down the street toward Cal’s house. There was no time to get away, even on the bike. They were stuck, easy prey sitting on the lawn, ready for law enforcement to come do whatever it was they wanted to do.
Antonia stood first, slowly getting to her feet and walking to the edge of the lawn. As the police cars slid to a stop, she walked forward holding her arms out toward them. Cops spilled out of the vehicles and swarmed around Antonia.
“Ms. Rogers?” the eldest cop on the scene said to Antonia, brandishing a pair of handcuffs. Cal silently screamed at Antonia to run, to make a break for it, to do anything other than stand there and wait for it.
But instead Antonia nodded and said, “Yes? That’s me. What is it?”
“You are under arrest for reckless endangerment,” the cop said. He flipped Antonia around and locked the handcuffs around her wrists. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you….”
“Antonia!” Cal called out, following along as the cops forced Antonia into movement, pushing her towards the cars at the edge of the street. “Antonia, wait! Don’t say anything!”
“I’m sorry, Cal!” Antonia called back. “I’m so sorry!”
“You didn’t do anything!” Cal screamed back. “Please, just wait, don’t say anything, I can help you!”
“I’m beyond helping,” Antonia called back right before her head was shoved down by the senior officer on the scene. He pushed her into the backseat of the vehicle before moving around to the front, hopping in seconds before the car set back into motion, the sirens blaring again as the car disappeared down the street.
“Fuck. Fuck, shit, fuck,” Cal said to himself, kicking the nearest rock on the ground just to release some of the frustration in his body. “Fuck!”
Cal sagged down onto the ground, his head pressing down onto the lawn beneath him as he listened to the ragged sound of his own breathing, praying silently to any god that might have been listening. Please, please, let this be a nightmare. Let this be a bad dream. Please, don’t let this be real. Please.
A few moments later, Bobby tapped him on his back. “Cal,” he said. “Cal?”
“What is it?” Cal snapped, too angry and lost to be careful of his tone, even when talking to his four-year-old son, who stared up at him with wide, worried eyes.
“What’s going to happen to Antonia?” Bobby asked in a small, insecure voice. “And Daniel? Where is Daniel?”
Cal sighed. His limbs collapsed more against the grass under his knees. He felt completely empty, like all of his hope had been cut out of him with a huge, spiky knife. His heart beat slowly in his chest, all urgency sapped away like he’d already lost the biggest battle of his life up to this point.
“They’re in trouble right now,” Cal finally said, turning to look at his son. He struggled to keep his face even and blank, so as not to show how panicked and upset he really felt. “We have to help them, okay?”
Bobby chewed on his bottom lip for a moment, his eyes darting back and forth between each of Cal’s for several moments before he finally nodded and said, “Okay. We will fight for them. That’s what families do, right?”
Cal was at a loss for words. His blood rushed almost painfully within his veins as he slowly lifted himself back on his feet. Bobby’s words rolled around in his head like a giant boulder, crushing every other thought down into the ground under its heavy weight.
That’s what families do, right? Cal’s inner voice repeated inside his mind. His stomach turned over painfully as he forced himself to head back inside the house.
“Cal?” Bobby said from behind him, following along as he headed back towards the house.
“Yes,” Cal finally forced out. His tongue felt heavy and useless in his mouth even when he was using it to speak. “That’s what families do. They’re our family now, Bobby. We have to take care of them. No matter what.”
He realized after saying the words out loud that he was saying them for himself, not for Bobby. I really believe that, he realized with a sobering sense of reality. He scooped Bobby up into his arms as he marched back into the house. I believe in my family. And there’s no way in hell I’m just going to give it up this easily. I have to fight for us. I have to fight for Antonia. And Daniel. And Bobby. For all of us.
There was no more time for fucking around, no more time to lie to himself about his feelings for Antonia. He had to fight for the people he loved.