Cal
Cal stormed out of the jail, breathing hard as if he’d just sprinted through the building. He hopped on his bike and took off onto the road against the protests of the MC members who were waiting for him. He couldn’t waste any more time. He had to take care of his family, no matter the cost.
Cal was halfway down the highway before he realized where he was going. The lawyer had given him the address of where Paul, Antonia’s ex, lived. He knew it wasn’t the smartest decision, rushing there without any witnesses, but he just couldn’t hold himself back anymore. It was all that asshole’s fault—Daniel’s bruises, his nightmares, Antonia’s arrest, all of it. Cal couldn’t stand to live in a world without consequences. Even if he himself had to suffer alone for the rest of eternity, he couldn’t stand the idea of Antonia suffering the same fate. She needed to have Daniel back, as soon as possible, and Cal was going to win him back for her, no matter the cost.
Why am I doing this? Cal wondered as he raced even faster down the road, speeding up as he took the final corner towards Paul’s house. She doesn’t love me. She doesn’t give a single fuck. Somehow, even when he repeated that thought to himself again and again, it didn’t seem to have the expected effect. He didn’t stop caring about Antonia. It didn’t matter if she didn’t care about him, if she didn’t care if he lived or died. Cal cared about her, and that was all that mattered.
He finally skidded to a stop on the edge of Paul’s neighborhood, barely waiting for his engine to cut off before he hopped off his bike and broke into a run towards Paul’s house, his lungs burning with the exertion of his muscles as he pushed his legs as fast as they could go.
Cal slowed down when he saw the house number, careful not to press his feet down too hard on the fallen leaves as he approached Paul’s house, his heart thudding against his ribcage. What am I going to do? Cal thought to himself. His tongue was going as dry as sawdust as he weighed his options. He couldn’t exactly barge into the house, at least not without expecting to be shot straight away.
As he was debating his course of action, a sudden high-pitched scream tore Cal away from his thoughts. “Ahhh! Noooo!” a small voice shouted from the other side of Paul’s house. Cal broke into a run, dashing towards the origin of the sound. He crawled over the line of bushes to make it to the backyard.
Standing there in the center of the back lawn, dressed only in a pair of white undies, was Daniel, crying his eyes out. “Come here, you little shit!” an angry voice shouted from the other side of the yard. Cal turned around to see a grown man brandishing a knife.
“Whoa, what the fuck?” Cal said. He stepped in between the man and the little boy. “What’s going on here?”
Paul came to a stop, panting for breath and still holding out the knife, which gleamed in the sunlight. “Stand aside,” Paul said between clenched teeth.
“What the hell are you doing?” Cal asked. He spread his arms out as a shield to keep Paul away from his sobbing son.
“Get the fuck out of the way!” Paul shouted, waving his knife around in Cal’s face.
Cal’s heart picked up in his chest, beating like a drum, but he felt weirdly calm, everything slowing down around him as he spread his body out as far as it could go, creating a stronger barrier between Paul and Daniel. “You’re not touching this boy,” he said. He was strangely calmly despite the circumstances. “Not again. Not anymore.”
“He’s my fucking son,” Paul spat. His eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. “Who the hell are you?”
“I’m his family,” Cal said, and he knew as soon as the words left his mouth that they were the truth. “I’m not going to let you hurt him. Back off now, while you still have a chance. I won’t run after you if you go right now.”
Paul scoffed and laughed a little. He turned his head to the side for a second before his whole body launched forward, driving into Cal’s body so forcefully that he was almost knocked entirely off his feet. Luckily, Cal was able to keep his balance and immediately buried his fist into Paul’s stomach, forcing him across the lawn, away from the little boy who was still whimpering and crying behind them.
“You’re. Not. Touching. This. Child,” Cal sad in between punches. He swept his leg out to kick Paul in the crotch, forcing him to fall to the ground. His knife clattered out of his hands. Cal didn’t waste any time. He reached down to grab the weapon and held it to his opponent’s face. “Stay put. Stay fucking put, you pervert!” he screamed as he slowly backed away from Daniel’s father. He reached into his pocket to grab his phone while still holding the knife firmly in his other hand.
“Mr. Amos!” Daniel called out from behind him. He was still sobbing loudly, but a little less hysterically than he had minutes before.
“I’m coming, Daniel,” Cal promised, calling over his shoulder. Then he refocused his attention on the man in front of him. “Hello?” he said into the phone as soon as someone picked up on the other end. “Yes, please come to 112 Oakhurst Drive, as soon as you can. A man is hurting a young child. Get here as soon as you can.”
“Cal! Please!” Daniel called from behind him, sniffling in between the words.
Cal backed up, keeping his eyes on Paul, until he collided softly with Daniel, tucking the little boy under his arm, shielding him with his body. “Hey. Hey, it’s going to be okay. It’s going to be fine. Everything’s going to be fine.”
“How do you know?” Daniel asked. He reached down to grab Cal’s free hand.
He didn’t know what to say at first, so he just squeezed the little boy’s hand as reassuringly as he could. When the sound of police sirens appeared over their heads, he sighed in relief. “I’m going to protect you, Daniel,” Cal said softly.
“Why?” Daniel asked in a low voice, barely audible as the sirens closed in on their location.
“Love,” Cal said. “Because of love.”