Finding You: The Switched Series book one

by Brittany Bromley

  We walk into the house and I immediately start looking at all of the family pictures. I have all of mine hid in a box in a closet. I was so mad when I found the letter from my mom that I didn’t want them out anymore. This family is definitely close.

  “Anybody home?” Brody yells, looking in the kitchen.

  “In the living room,” somebody yells from the opposite direction.

  It’s eerily quiet in this house. There is no sound, not even a television. Brody grabs my hand and pulls me behind him to the living room. Before we go in he turns around and smiles.

  “I promise this is going to be okay. They will love you,” he says. I try my best to smile back, although I’m pretty sure it’s more of a grimace. He pulls me into the room where four people are sitting like statues staring at a turned off television. What have I gotten myself into?

  “We finally made it,” he says. They all stand up and turn to us at the same time. Four sets of eyes are all staring at me like I’m the greatest thing ever and I once again have no idea what to say.

  “Hi, I’m Callie,” I say, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.

  “Hi Callie, I’m Jaxon,” the guy closest to me says coming toward me. He’s also very tall and very muscular. What is it with this family? Maybe I should be working out more. He surprises me by grabbing me and giving me a big hug. I like this one already. He lets me go only to be hugged again by another tall muscular boy.

  “I’m Collin, it’s really nice to meet you,” he whispers in my ear. I’m not sure this one is going to let go. Suddenly it hits me who this is, my twin. This is not the first time we have been together. I guess technically we have spent nine months together already. I know I have tears falling down my face right now and there is no way I am going to be able to stop them. He finally lets me go and just stares at me for a while. “I’m sorry. We are pretty big huggers around here. I hope I didn’t scare you off,” he says, backing away from me.

  “No, you’re fine. I met Grams earlier, she warned me that was a problem with this family,” I say smiling at him.

  “She found y’all? I told her to stay away. I am so sorry.” I turn around to find what I will probably look like in another thirty years, my mom.

  “It’s okay, I really liked her,” I say, having no idea what I’m supposed to say in this moment. It’s not every day you meet your mom for the first time.

  “I’m Cindy and we are very glad you decided to come,” she says, coming over to give Brody a hug beside me. “Thank you for getting her here,” I hear her whisper to him.

  “I’m Bo and we really appreciate you coming to meet us. I’m sure it was very shocking hearing about all of this. Thank you for trusting us enough to come meet us,” he says, walking over and giving me an awkward hug. “We have supper ready for y’all if you haven’t eaten anything yet. Just come on into the kitchen,” he says, walking out of the room.

  After an awkward supper that mostly consisted of everybody talking over each other and staring at me, we are all finally sitting in the living room. I’m assuming they were just letting me eat and get my thoughts together before they decide to bombard me with questions. I am very grateful for that, but I am starting to feel very nervous about what is about to happen now. I sit down on one of the sofas in the living room. Brody comes to sit beside me while everyone else finds a comfortable spot to sit down. It’s really quiet for what seems like forever before Cindy finally decides to start the questions.

  “So, Callie, I would really love to hear about your parents. What were they like?” she asks, looking at me like she really wants to know about them. I had imagined a lot of questions they would ask me over the years. This was definitely not one of them.

  “They were really wonderful parents. My dad was a cop, which I’m sure you already knew. My mom was a nurse. She actually quit working when I was born. She stayed home until I started high school,” I say, not really knowing what they want to know about them.

  “Did you have any pets growing up?” Jaxon asks.

  “No, my mom was allergic to everything. We tried a dog and a cat once, but neither worked out.”

  “They sound exactly like Molly. She is also allergic to everything. At least that’s what she says. We all thought she just said it because she hated them. Maybe she really is allergic to them since your parents were really her parents. You know what I mean? Anyway, do you have any pets now?” It was Collin asking this time. He was looking at me like this was the most normal conversation to have in the world. The rest of the family are all looking at him like he has lost his mind by saying that. I am pretty sure Collin and I will get along just fine.

  “No, I never really thought about getting one. Maybe I should though, maybe a dog,” I say, wondering why I never have gotten one before. A dog would probably make me feel a little safer, especially at night.

  “Well, we have all kinds of animals around here. Consider them all yours while you are here. Horses, dogs, chickens, cattle, and probably a few other critters we don’t even know about,” Bo says, looking straight at me.

  “Thanks, maybe I can get to know them all, except maybe the cattle. They have always looked a little intimidating to me. Horses on the other hand, what girl hasn’t dreamed of having her own?” I say, immediately regretting it. They are all looking at me with pity right now. The one thing I can’t stand for people to feel for me. I know we are all thinking the same thing. If I had grown up with the family I was born to, I would have had all of these things. Unfortunately life is definitely not always fair.

  “If Molly is so allergic to all of these animals, why do you have all of them?” I ask, not understanding why they would have all of these if they make her sick.

  “Like I said, we all thought she was faking. She’s never been close enough to any of them anyway. She really hates animals of all kinds. Stay away from the black lab at Brody’s. He hates girls, especially Molly. Just a warning,” Collin says, smiling at me again. I’m beginning to think these boys aren’t so close to Molly after all.

  “Why would you have a horribly mean black dog if it doesn’t like Molly?” I ask Brody, trying to figure all of this Molly stuff out.

  “I don’t, it’s my friend Ash’s dog. He’s had him forever and he has never liked her for some reason. Anyway, it’s getting late and I know you are tired. We should probably figure out sleeping arrangements,” Brody says, leaning over tapping my shoulder with his. That’s the one thing I have been meaning to talk to him about all day.

  The room is completely silent. Apparently no one has thought about this or they have all just assumed the same thing. “You are welcome to stay with us if you are comfortable with that. We have plenty of room,” Cindy says, looking at me.

  “Umm”

  “Why don’t you stay at my place tonight until we get something figured out? I can crash here or with Jax and Collin,” Brody says, looking at his parents.

  “What about Ash? You can’t honestly think it’s okay for her to stay there with him?” Collin practically yells at Brody.

  “Of course not, Ash is still gone. He’s not supposed to be back until tomorrow. I will talk to him then and we will try to figure out something then.”

  “Are you sure you don’t mind?” I ask Brody realizing how lucky I am to have him here with me through all of this. We may not have started out on the right foot, but I am very thankful to have him now.

  “I don’t mind at all,” he says, getting up. “I’ll go get her settled in and let you know where I’ll be tonight,” he says, turning to his parents. I know they probably wanted me to stay here tonight, but I’m not ready for that yet. We say our awkward goodbye’s and Body and I get back into his truck. We drive a couple of miles and pull into a long driveway that leads to a smaller house. It’s gorgeous. It has a porch that wraps around the house. There’s a barn in the background and a small dock leading to a larger pond. I may not ever want to leave here.

  “Who is Ash and are you sure he would be okay with me st
aying here tonight?” I ask while we are unloading his truck.

  “Ash has been my best friend for as long as I can remember. This is actually his place. I just started crashing here and never moved out. He’s like family to us. He lost his family a few years back and we sort of just took him in. He doesn’t really talk about it so I don’t know details. We are pretty much all he has. Anyway, he won’t mind you being here, but I’ll call and tell him everything in the morning. He had to go out of town for a couple of weeks for a case he’s working on.”

  “Another cop, of course,” I say, smiling at Brody. “Thank you for letting me stay here. I know they probably wanted me to stay with them, but I am not ready for that. I’m sure when Molly wakes up she wouldn’t be ready for that either.”

  “It’s no problem. We are actually pretty clean around here for two guys. I’ll show you my room and you can stay in there.”

  “I feel really bad taking your room. I can take the couch,” I say, hoping he is getting my hint without having to come out and say it. I know it’s crazy to want someone I met a few days ago to stay with me, but I would feel safer with him here.

  “My mama raised me right, there is no way I’m letting you sleep on a couch. You are taking my bed. It even has clean sheets and everything,” he says, carrying my bags in the house and into his bedroom. He sets them down beside the bed. He’s right, this is a very clean house considering two guys live here.

  “You actually cleaned this house knowing I would come with you, didn’t you?” I ask him already knowing the answer. If you are going to buy someone a plane ticket to come home with you, you might as well clean up your house too.

  He just looks at me and smiles.

  “Jax and Collin don’t live too far from here. It’s a very small town so we can all be here in a matter of minutes. There are horses here if you want to look around in the morning. I can also take you back to my parents sometime tomorrow and you can look around there too. I can crash with Jax and Collin tonight. If you need anything, just give me a call. I’ll give you a quick tour, and then I will give you some privacy,” he says, showing me around the house.

  “I have a gun,” I blurt out. He just looks at me with a very confused look.

  “Okay, how did you get it through an airport?” he asks.

  “I didn’t. I mean I have a gun at home. Actually I have two. They are legal. I have a permit for them both. I just don’t have them with me.”

  “Do you need them? Detective Clayton was going to surprise you with your car so you would have a way of getting around. I can call him and if he hasn’t left, he might can break in your place and get them if you want them,” he says, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

  “There is actually one in the glove box. I keep one in my car and one in my purse usually. They make me feel a little safer,” I say, hoping he will understand being in a strange house in a town that is close to the town that causes my horrible nightmares is really starting to scare me. Brody walks over and sits on the couch.

  “Do you want me to stay here tonight? I promise you are safe out here, but if you would feel better, I can sleep on the couch.”

  “I would feel better if you would stay here, but if you don’t want to, I understand,” I say, hoping he will stay with me after he hears the rest. “I don’t really sleep very well. I have some medicine that helps me sleep I can take, but I might still wake you up during the night and I would really hate to keep you up all night,” I say, hoping this will not make a difference.

  “Why would you wake me up?” he asks, looking at me like I have just lost my mind. Suddenly his expression changes when he figures out what I am talking about. “You have nightmares,” he says, looking at me. I just nod my head at him.

  “They have gotten better, but after being here and meeting everybody today, I don’t know what will happen,” I say, sitting down beside him. “I’m sorry. I’m a pretty big mess. You should have just left me in Florida.”

  “When did they start?”

  “The night I found my parents,” I say, really not wanting to relive that night right before bed.

  “What are they about?” he asks, looking at me. Why is he asking about this now?

  “Blue eyes, that’s all I saw that night, but I will never forget them, probably because I have seen them hundreds of times in my dreams.”

  “I’m really sorry you had to go through that alone. I have seen a lot of messed up things in my life, but I can’t even begin to imagine walking into a room and finding my parents that way.”

  “I’m going to take a shower and go to bed. Thanks for everything today. You are staying, right?” I ask him. He better not leave me after asking questions like that. I answered them, so I think I deserve to not be alone tonight.

  “I’ll be right here if you need anything. I’m just going to call and let everyone know you are okay. I hope you can sleep well tonight and Callie, thank you for coming and giving us a chance. I know you didn’t have to and I really appreciate you taking a chance on us,” he says, walking over to a closet to pull out a blanket.

  I go into the bedroom to grab my bags before going into the bathroom to shower. After showering, I climb into Brody’s bed, which is actually a lot more comfortable than mine, and pray I can get a good night of sleep.

  Chapter Six

  I wake up later in the morning, after a very surprisingly great night of sleep to an empty house. After throwing on another pair of yoga pants, a tank top and flip flops, I head to the kitchen to look for some caffeine. I am not a big breakfast eater, but I have to have my caffeine. Of course there is no coffee in this place. How do these boys survive without coffee? I open the refrigerator hoping to find some kind of caffeine. I really hope there is a grocery store around here because there is nothing to eat or drink here. There are a couple of bottles of water and a few cans of Ski. I’m not sure what that is, but maybe it has caffeine. I grab one and open it before heading outside to look around. I take a drink and decide I have just found my new favorite drink. How have I made it without these my whole life?

  I have never been on a farm, but I think I just fell in love. It’s so calming here. Miami is always so loud and crazy busy. Maybe small town life is the way to go. I walk down the back steps to head to the barn to look around when I am met by a very large black dog. I have never had any pets and don’t know much about them, but this one looks like he could tear me up. I guess this is the dog I’m supposed to stay away from that hates girls. This is great, I haven’t been here an entire day and I am about to be attacked by a dog.

  “Hey big boy,” I say, wishing they had at least told me his name. He’s not barking or growling at me so maybe that’s a good sign. He just walks over to me and sits beside me. Maybe this is another black dog. I reach down to pet him hoping he’s going to continue to stay this calm. He opens his mouth and for a split second I think he’s going to bite me, but instead he licks me, all over my hand.

  “You’re not so bad, are you,” I say, still petting him. He is wearing a camouflage collar with a name on it. His name is Scooby, who in their right mind would name a dog Scooby? Is that even a real name? I stop petting him and start walking toward the barn and pond. It is really gorgeous out here. I look down beside me to find Scooby walking with me. Maybe he likes me after all.

  The barn has a big fence around it and inside the fence are three very beautiful horses. I don’t know anything about horses, but I know they are beautiful creatures up close. I climb up on the fence to sit on it and watch the horses. I hope horses don’t usually attack people. I look down beside me to find Scooby lying on the ground beside me asleep. He definitely doesn’t seem mean to me.

  “I guess I need to get a better guard dog.”

  I turn around to see another very tall and also very muscular man staring right at me, but instead of dark hair, this one has blonde. I can’t tell much else about him, but I can see his eyes. They are very gorgeous and very blue, especially with the sun shining in them.
I usually don’t like people with blue eyes. In fact, I try to stay away from them. Other than Clay, I don’t think I have any friends with blue eyes. I know I’m staring, but I can’t stop. His eyes look so familiar, but not in a nightmare kind of way.

  “You must be Callie, I’m Ash,” he says, walking over to shake my hand.

  “Hi, umm, yes I am Callie,” I say, shaking his hand. I can’t even form a coherent sentence with this one around. He’s going to think I’m crazy. What is wrong with me?

  “I see you’ve met Scooby,” he says, pointing at the dog. “He usually hates people, especially women. You must have really charmed him.”

  “Oh, yes, Scooby and I go way back. I had been warned of a very big black dog that would hate me. I have been watching out for him, but instead found this big sweet thing that really likes to lick a lot.”

  He just continues to stare at me like I have lost my mind. This is a great first impression.

  “Thanks for letting me stay here last night,” I say, pointing back at the house. “It’s really gorgeous out here.”

  “It’s no problem, stay as long as you need,” he says, staring at me like I’m a puzzle he’s trying to figure out. “Do you ride?”

  “Do I ride what?” I ask not having any idea what he’s talking about.

  “Horses.” he says, coming to sit by me on the fence.

  “Oh, no, this is the closest I have ever been to a horse before. I know nothing about animals. Are all of these yours?”

  “They are, we always had horses when I was growing up. When I bought this place, I thought it needed some horses. I couldn’t decide which I wanted so I got all three.”

  “Lucky horses,” I say, turning to look at him. He just smiles at me and shakes his head. “What?” I ask.

  “Nothing, you are just not what I expected after talking to Brody.”

  “How long have you known Brody?” I ask. Maybe he can give me some insight into the Taylor family and I can find out what the deal with Molly is.