Chapter 15
Callyn
To say I feel horrible is an understatement. No, I don’t mean my back. I wasn’t lying when I said I was used to it. Before the guys, I would have to walk to and from school with the weight of my bookbag on my back. You get used to the pain quickly, otherwise, it will break you. I can’t let it do that. I will escape one day, and I won’t look back. I don’t care what happens to him after I leave. That might sound harsh, but he doesn’t give a crap about me and hasn’t since my mother died. Max and I are walking to lunch, another thing I’m not ready for.
To make telling this easier, I’m going to have to start from the beginning. The others are already waiting when we walk in. I take my usual seat, between Max and Lucian.
“Before, I continue, let’s eat. If I don’t, I know I won’t be able to when I start.” None of them look happy, but they agree.
I eat as slow as I can, trying to prolong the inevitable. The boys though, they wolfed down their food. I give them credit for waiting. I sigh, pushing away my food. I can’t eat anymore.
“Okay, I told you this morning what happened last night. That is one of many. I’m going to start from the beginning. Whatever I don’t finish now, I’ll pick up later in study hall. Okay? So, my father didn’t use to be like this. He was never overly affectionate towards me, but he was definitely not like this. That changed the day mother passed seven years ago. The day she died, he basically died with her. When we buried her, I felt like we were burying him right along with her. He couldn’t cope with her death. So, he started to drink.
I think to try to forget her. It started off on the weekends. When that didn’t work, it turned into every day. I told you earlier about his job. The first time he hit me, was on the one-year anniversary of her passing. He got so plastered that day and from that day forward the beatings got progressively worse. When I was thirteen…” I shake my head. “I’m a girl, and you know things happened.” I looked around to see if they understood where I was going with this, they nod.
“So, I had to tell him. He grabbed my arms and shoved me. He yelled at me, that my mother should have been here to deal with my problems. When I started to cry, he punched me in the stomach and told me to suck it up and deal with it. For a while, it was like everything set him off. I started to learn when to try to avoid him. I’ve been hit for taking too long in the bathroom, for not having dinner done. As I got older, sometimes it would be because I looked too much like her.
The only time he ever hit my face was because I decided to wear makeup. That’s where the strict rules came in to play, especially after everyone saw the marks on my face. I wasn’t allowed to wear makeup, talk to boys, date, no phones, no friends. No one was supposed to know anything about me. After that, he’d leave bruises in places where people can’t see or is easily covered.”
I push the sleeve of my shirt up to my elbow, so they could see the bruises there. I quickly pull my sleeve down.
“I’ve lost count over the years how many times he has hit me, and how many times we’ve moved because of it. Once someone starts to get suspicious and starts asking questions, we would pack up and move. I’ve just been trying to make it until I turn eighteen and I graduate. I’m leaving there and not going back. He can’t come after me. I’ll be an adult.”
The bell rings. Thank god. I don’t know how much longer I could have talked without crying. The boys are quite the whole time. I don’t know what to make of that. I go to pick up my bookbag but Graydon grabs it and my hand. We start to walk to class. As we walk, neither Zeke nor Graydon has said anything, and I can’t take it.
“Say something, anything,” I beg.
Graydon comes close. “I’m going to try and hug you without hurting you.” He ever so gently wraps his arms around me. “Callie bear, we’re just trying to digest what you just told us. We have questions, but those can wait until later. I know me and probably the others are trying to get their anger under control before we do something stupid, like hunt your father down and beat the shit out of him.”
“He deserves it.”
“I can’t argue with you there. But you need us more than we need to go and find him.”
He lets go and I’m instantly bereft. We sit down, and Zeke reaches over and grabs my hand and gives it gently squeeze.
“We’ll always be here for you Callie. If you question anything, never question that,” Zeke says softly. He quickly kisses my hand before letting go.
First Lucian, now Zeke. I have no idea what to make of them kissing me. I like it. Boy, do I. I suck in a breath. Oh, man, I think I’m falling for them...all of them. What the hell am I going to do? You done messed up Callie. You weren’t supposed to fall for them. Let alone all of them. Graydon’s gruffness, Max’s playfulness, Lucian’s nerdiness, and Zeke’s calmness. Each so different, yet mine. Oh, man I’m in deep.