“Thank you Leighton. You really are the best friend a girl could ask for, but stay away from my brothers please, at least for now,” I say, knowing she would do anything for me.
“You know I have your back. I’ll just look. No touching, I promise,” she says smiling at me. “Now, let’s go get you packed up. You have a big day tomorrow.”
Leighton stays with me until around ten o’clock that night. We end up ordering a pizza while going through my entire wardrobe. I have no idea what to pack so I’m just letting her do it for me. I have way too many outfits and even more shoes. I guess that’s the perks of having Leighton for a best friend. She loves to shop. I’m good with a pair of yoga pants and flip flops, but she believes everyone should always look their best because you never know when you are going to meet the love of your life. She is definitely a romantic.
I call Clay after Leighton leaves to give him an update on what I have decided. “Hey sweetheart,” he answers on the first ring.
“Hey Clay,” I say back.
“How are you holding up?” he asks.
“I’m as good as I can be. I had an interesting talk with Brody this afternoon. Why didn’t you tell me Molly was in a coma and has no idea about any of this? That really freaked me out,” I say, while I am still trying to pack up my last bag.
“They didn’t tell me she was in a coma. All they told me was exactly what I told you. She had some scratches and bruises, but was going to be okay. Like I told you earlier, I don’t talk to them very often anymore. It’s complicated. We were good friends when my wife and I had just gotten married. I really don’t keep in touch anymore like I should.”
I should have known he would have told me if he had known. That is the best thing about Clay, he doesn’t sugar coat things to make me feel better. He has always been that way and I think that has definitely made me a stronger person.
“Do you really think this is a good idea? You know these people better than me,” I ask him.
“Callie, I am going to tell you one thing and I mean every word of it,” he says seriously. “If anybody I know could raise my kids other than myself, it would be this family. They are good people and I would tell you if I thought this was a bad idea.”
I know he means this. We don’t have a lot of serious talks, but when we do, I know he is speaking from his heart. If he thinks I’ll be okay, I guess it’s worth a try.
“There’s only one other thing I’m worried about,” I say quietly. “What if he finds me? What if I go into a store or a restaurant or look out the door and I see those eyes? Clay, I really don’t think I can do this after all. I am not ready to go back to that town. Not yet,” I say. I feel a panic attack coming on. I have panic attacks pretty often, but usually at night. They used to be worse. I would actually wake up screaming when I saw those blue eyes in my dreams. I haven’t had one of those nights in a long time. What if going back to that town brings them back. Maybe being alone isn’t so bad after all.
“Callie, listen to me. Brody came by to see me this afternoon when he left your house. He really likes you, Callie. He said he thought he would come here and find some whiney annoying little girl that he wouldn’t be able to stand, but found you instead. He already cares about you and was worried about your safety going back there. Here’s what we have come up with. The Taylors have a lot of land. It’s actually on a farm, about an hour and a half outside of Nashville. They have very few neighbors. The boys live pretty close and some of their friends. We think if you stay around there and don’t go into Nashville by yourself, you should be okay. There are enough of them to watch out for you. They also have friends that are around a lot that can help look out for you too. I really think you will be okay. There is no reason anyone would be looking for you in this little town. I don’t think there is a lot there, so you may go crazy not going into the big city. “
“So you’re saying I am going to have a lot of cop babysitters watching my every move. That will drive me crazy. I doubt I’ll be there long anyway. A couple of weeks tops,” I say, knowing that’s not true. If the rest are anything like Brody, I’m afraid I will never be ready to leave. I really hope I’m not making the biggest mistake of my life in the morning.
“Not babysitters, just people who care about you and want to keep you safe. It’s going to be fine, Callie, I promise. If you ever feel like you have had enough, just give me a call anytime and I’ll come get you.”
“I thought you would come with me. Clay, I can’t do this without you.”
“I have a new case I’m starting tomorrow. I am leaving in the morning, besides it will be easier to keep us a secret if I’m not there. You can call or text me anytime. I’ll check up on you too. You are going to be fine,” he says.
“Okay, I guess better try to get some sleep. I have a big day tomorrow. Be careful Clay. I’ll talk to you soon,” I say, needing to get off of the phone before I lose it for the second time today.
“You’re going to be fine Callie. You are a lot stronger than you think. Call me anytime if you need anything. I promise they are good people. You will love them. Get some sleep now. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye sweetheart,” he says, before hanging up.
As I get into my bed a little later that night, I once again can’t stop the tears. I have cried very few times in my life. I cried the first time a boy broke my heart. I cried the night I found my parents. I cried at their funeral. I have cried every Fourth of July since my parents died. I cried today when I found out I have a twin brother. I’m not one of those girls that cry over everything. They cry when their makeup is messed up or when their favorite jeans are dirty. Girls that cry at movies really bother me the most; I mean it’s not even real. In my opinion, real life is a whole lot sadder than any movie I can think of.
I didn’t take my sleeping pills tonight since I had no sleep last night, but decide I better if I’m going to get any sleep. My mind doesn’t seem to want to shut down. I go into the kitchen to get them and a drink of water. As I’m walking back to bed I look down on the coffee table and see the picture I left there from this afternoon. I pick the picture up and go get back into the bed. I look at all of these faces one more time and wonder once again how you don’t know you have the wrong daughter in your family. I really hope tomorrow doesn’t turn out to be the new worst day of my life.
Brody is knocking on my door around ten the next morning. I overslept, so now I am going to look really horrible when I meet these people. Leighton would kill me right now if she could see me. I am wearing my yoga pants and flip flops and thrown my hair up in a ponytail. I figure if I’m going to spend the day in an airplane, I should at least be comfortable.
I open the door to find Brody standing outside with two coffees in his hand. “I didn’t know if you would let me in or not,” he says, handing me one of the cups. “It’s French vanilla, I hope that’s okay” he says, looking at my three suitcases. “I hope this means you have decided to come with me.”
“I’ll go on one condition,” I say.
“What would that be?” he asks with his ever so annoying smirk.
“You call your parents and the hospital and set up a DNA test for as soon as we can get there. I want everyone to know the truth. I don’t want any assumptions going around. If I’m going to be around, we need to know what is really going on.”
“That can definitely be arranged. I’ll call on the way to airport,” he says, looking very relieved. “Is this really all your luggage? You must not be planning to stay very long.”
“Yes, this is all of it. I’m not staying long. Two weeks tops. My home is here. This is where I live now,” I say. I honestly have no idea how long I will be there. I just don’t want them planning to have me stay. I’m still not sure their sister is going to want me anywhere near them when she wakes up. Do they not understand how this girl is going to feel about me being around?
“Okay, two weeks,” he says, grabbing my suitcases. “I’m just really glad you decided to come with me. I was rea
lly afraid you wouldn’t. This means a lot to me and my family. They will be so excited to finally meet you.” I really hope he’s right.
I lock up my house and turn to follow him to his rented SUV. I open the passenger side door and start to get in when I see the airplane tickets in the seat. Tickets purchased a week ago. I pick them up and look at him. “You were pretty confident you could talk me into coming with you,” I say.
“Like you said yesterday, I usually get what I want,” he says, smiling at me. On the way to the airport, his cell phone starts ringing through the speakers. “It’s my mom, are you okay if I answer?” he asks, sounding concerned.
“It’s fine, just please don’t expect me to talk.” I say, not really wanting him to answer, but what can I do, he does have a sister in a coma in the hospital right now. Maybe she woke up. That might take some attention off of me.
“Hi mom, you’re on speaker and I’m not alone in the car,” he answers.
“Oh okay,” she says shocked. “I just wanted to check in with you and see when you were coming home.”
“We are headed to the airport right now. Shouldn’t be too late tonight when we get there,” he says to her.
“Good,” she says. “We have been at the hospital all night, so we are going to go home and try to get some rest, Grams is going to stay tonight. We should be home if you want to come by when you get in.”
“That sounds good to me. I need you to me a favor before you leave the hospital. Go set up a time to do a paternity test. You can go ahead and do it before you leave and we can come by before we come to the house. Just let them know we will be there,” he says to her.
“I thought y’all already had the test done,” she says.
“We did, they just said it could take up to two weeks. It’s quicker and more accurate if it’s a parent. I just thought that might be better than waiting,” he tells her.
“Of course I will,” she says. “I’ll go right now and do that. Be careful travelling and we will see y’all tonight. I love you,” she says.
“I love you too mom. Bye” he says right before hanging up.
Once again the tears are streaming down my face. I can feel them. He reaches over and opens the glove compartment to get a tissue and hands it to me. He pats my leg and then puts his hands back on the steering wheel. He doesn’t say anything the rest of the drive and I’m very thankful for that. I don’t think I would be able to carry on a conversation about anything.
When you’re a baby, you don’t really remember hearing your parents voice for the first time, it’s just a voice you have always known. I guess I should be happy that I just got to do something most people never get to do. I got to hear my moms voice for the first time. I don’t think I will ever forget that moment. I have done my research on this family. I knew what they all looked like. I knew what they all did for a job. I did not know what they would sound like. Maybe if I had seen her first, I would have been more prepared. All I know is I just heard a voice I will never be able to forget.
I’m still a mess when we arrive at the airport. Brody just turns the car off and sits there while I try to find some way to stop the tears.
“I’m sorry,” I say, wiping tears from my face.
“I’m the one that should be sorry. I shouldn’t have answered it on speaker. I didn’t think that one through. I am really sorry,” he says. “We need to go if we are going to make the plane”
“I’m ready,” I tell him opening my door. I’m just praying that I really am ready.
Chapter Five
The flight to Nashville wasn’t too bad. It was smooth and quiet. Thankfully Brody didn’t feel the need to make small talk. I guess he knew I was a ticking time bomb ready to lose my mind at any second.
Now we are sitting in the plane waiting to exit and I am about to have a full blown panic attack. Not because I am fixing to have to go meet the family I never wanted to meet, but because I am back in the same town with the man who killed my parents. I haven’t been back here in ten years and I’m beginning to think ten years still hasn’t been enough time.
I turn to look at Brody who is staring out the window. “I changed my mind. I don’t think I can do this. I can’t get off this plane,” I say.
“Too late now, we are here and you are going to do it. My family is not bad. They just want to get to know you. I convinced you to come with me and I can guarantee I’m the scariest one of all. That’s why I wouldn’t let them come. They’re too nice,” he says, finally turning around to look at me. His eyes widen, I guess he is finally realizing I am about to have a full on freak out right here on this plane. “Are you okay?” he asks.
“No, I am not okay. I don’t care if I have to go meet your family. I actually wish they were here now so I wouldn’t have to step off this plane. I can’t go into this city again. I am scared. What if he’s here just waiting for me? You don’t know what he looks like. I don’t even know what he looks like for sure. He could be on this plane. What if he’s on this plane?” I know I am talking a little too loud at this point, but I can’t help it. I never wanted to come back to this town and here I am.
“Hey, look at me. I ‘m here and I give you my word that you will be okay. I will protect you with my life. My mom would kill me if I let anything happen to you. All we have to do is get our luggage, get to my truck and make a quick stop at the hospital. After that we will head out of town and you never have to come back to this city again unless you want to. I promise you will be okay. Just stay close to me and remember to breathe. You’ve got this. I’m here if you need anything. We have to get up now,” he says, reaching for my hand.
I let him take my hand and lead me off of the plane. I am trying to think of anything and everything that will clear my mind of the two things that I don’t want to think about. I don’t want to think about running into those blue eyes that I will never forget. I definitely don’t want to think about that. I also don’t want to think about meeting this family for the first time. My family.
We go straight to the baggage claim. Brody grabs his suitcase and one of mine while I grab the rest of mine. We head out the doors and go straight to his truck.
“Just one stop at the hospital and then we can head straight home,” he says, putting the key in the ignition. I just nod my head and look out the window. I stare at all of the things I haven’t seen in years. I always loved this city. It’s so full of life. I’m not a big country music fan anymore, but there’s no denying this town is all about it. There’s always something to do around here.
We pull into Vanderbilt Hospital and find a space in the parking garage. We both get out and start to head inside the building. Brody pulls his phone out and opens up a text he got earlier with the room number we need to find to have the test done. Since it is so late, they are doing it as a favor to us.
After I have taken the second DNA test in two days, we are finally ready to head home. I didn’t really think this through and have no idea where I am supposed to stay tonight. They really wouldn’t expect me to stay with them, would they? They say this town has nothing, does that mean there’s no hotel available? I am about to ask Brody this when an older lady steps in front of us with her eyes directly on me.
“Grams, what are you doing here? I thought you were staying with Molly tonight,” he says to her. Oh no, this is his grandmother, so she is technically my grandmother. I definitely wasn’t expecting this.
“Molly is obviously asleep. She will be fine for a few minutes. Your mom said y’all would be coming by and I wanted to see you. Actually, I just wanted to meet her,” she says, looking back at me. “I’m JoAnne, but you can call me Grams. Everybody else does. If these boys give you any trouble, just let me know. I’ll take care of it,” she says to me.
This is all very strange to me and I have no idea what I should be saying right now. “Hi, I’m Callie. It’s nice to meet you,” I say to her not knowing what else we should be talking about right now.
“I know who you are,�
� she says, staring at me. “You are absolutely gorgeous and you have made us all very happy by coming to meet us. Now, come give me a hug. I’m a hugger, we all are, so get used to it,” she says, pulling me in for a tight hug. “Thank you for coming,” she whispers in my ear before letting me go. “Get her home, she looks tired,” she says to Brody, before turning around to head back down the hallway.
“I’m sorry about that. I should have known she would look for us if she knew we were stopping by. I didn’t mean for you to be bombarded like that,” he says, leading me back out of the hospital.
“It’s okay. She seems really nice. I liked her,” I say smiling. I really did like her. It’s funny how one person can make you feel like home. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
It’s a little over an hour and a half drive from the hospital to the Taylor’s home. I have no idea where we are right now. It’s getting darker and he keeps turning down a lot of back roads. I will never be able to find my way out of here if I need to make a quick getaway.
We finally pull up to a beautiful home sitting on a lot of land. It’s a smaller house sitting near the road. Behind the house is what I love. I can see a barn and a pond. There are two gardens and I can’t wait to see all of the animals that have to be hanging around here somewhere. “This is gorgeous,” I say, getting out of the truck.
“It’s been in our family for years,” Brody says, coming up beside me. “Are you ready to do this?” he asks smiling.
“As ready as I will ever be. Who all is going to be here tonight?” We haven’t really talked about what would happen once I showed up here. I have a ton of questions right now, the most important one being where they expect me to sleep.
“It will only be my mom, dad and brothers. You have nothing to worry about. I’m the mean one and you already love me, so they will be a piece of cake,” he says smirking at me. “Come on before they think you have changed your mind.” Once again, I really hope he’s right.
Finding You: The Switched Series book one Page 3