“This,” he says before pulling my lips to his. Definitely the best kiss ever.
Brody
It has been a month since Callie and Molly have been in the same room together. I have talked to Molly and she promises to be on her best behavior. But, with Molly, you never know what’s going to happen. Ash and I arrive at my parent’s house before Callie and Leighton, so maybe I can get it together before I see her again. To have had such a negative opinion of her the first time I met her, I am really dreading seeing her go tomorrow. Last night will rank one of the best in my life and all I did was kiss her a little and sleep on the couch with her.
“Thank you for inviting me,” I hear Leighton say from the door. Oh, that voice.
“You are welcome anytime. Any friend of Callie’s is a member of our family,” I hear my mom say back to her. I wouldn’t mind making her a part of this family. Where did that come from? I haven’t felt anything about any girl since Sam totally ruined my life. What is happening to me? I turn around and practically run straight into Leighton.
“Hey,” I say, watching her turn ten shades of red. “Did you have a good night?” I ask, seeing if I can make her blush a little more.
“I had a very uninteresting night actually,” she says, smiling.
“Is that right?” I ask, before realizing everyone in the room is staring at us. Very rarely do I come into situations I have no idea what to say or do in, but this is one of them. I am trying to think of some clever and smart remark when all of our attention turns to the other room.
“I’m not. I guess you are feeling pretty stupid right now. I’m glad I didn’t tell anybody. That was just an extra eight years I kept you away. The perfect beautiful daughter they always wanted,” Molly is screaming. What could they possibly be talking about? How did they end up alone?
“I can’t believe this, I’ve known for ten years, that’s a couple more than you. The only difference between me and you is I didn’t want to hurt you. I was only sixteen and I knew how devastated you would be to find out your whole life was a lie and you would never be able to meet your real family, so I chose not to find this family for you. I knew everything about every one of you before I ever came here. I can’t believe I cheated myself out of ten years for a spoiled brat like you,” Callie is screaming to Molly when we all rush into the room. They have both known all this time about all of this? How do you keep information like that a secret and how did they find out all of this?
“You’ve known for ten years?” my mom asks Callie with tears streaming down her face. While the rest of us just stand here in shock.
“I’m so sorry. I need to get out of here,” Callie says, before turning to run out the door.
“I’m coming with you,” Ash says, following her out of the room.
“Should we go with them?” I ask, looking at Leighton.
“I don’t know. I had no idea she knew about all of this. I really thought I knew everything about her. Maybe we should just let Ash talk to her,” she says, looking as shocked as I am feeling.
“How did you find out and why the hell didn’t you tell us?” my mom screams at Molly.
“I’m not stupid. I knew I never fit into this family. I think the question is how the hell did you not know? Aren’t you supposed to know that you had the wrong baby?” Molly screams before running out of the room.
“Somebody should probably go talk to her,” Leighton says quietly. Everyone else just stands staring at each other.
“I’ll go,” Collin says, sounding like he is also holding the tears in. What a day. I need to get out of here.
“Hey, I think we should go find them,” I say to Leighton. I really don’t think that at all. I just really need to get out of this house and there is no other person I would rather be with than this girl.
“Okay,” she says, coming to stand beside me.
“We will call if we find out anything,” I say to my family, before grabbing Leighton’s hand and pulling her outside with me. I don’t let go of her until we get to her rental car. “Can I have the keys please? Ash took his truck,” I say, finally letting go of her hand.
“Sure,” she says, taking a key out of her pocket and handing it to me. I open her door and let her in before walking to the other side and getting in.
“I really don’t think we should find them. I think right now Ash is probably the only person she needs. We can go by there later tonight,” I say, hoping she agrees.
“Okay,” she says quietly. I drive straight to my house and pull in my driveway.
“Since we didn’t get to eat, can I make you some dinner? It can be your going away meal. Are you still leaving tomorrow?” I ask.
“I’m supposed to leave tomorrow. I don’t know what to do, maybe I should just wait and check on Callie before making a decision,” she says, opening her door to get out and go inside.
After I have cooked an amazing supper, at least in my opinion it was, we curl up on the couch to watch a movie. Leighton has been extremely quiet tonight and I don’t know if it’s because of what happened earlier with Callie or if it’s what happened between the two of us last night. I’m really hoping it’s not last night.
“Can I ask you a question?” Leighton asks, while flipping through movies on Netflix.
“Of course,” I say.
“I told you a lot of stuff last night about my sister and you know who. Can you give me something? Why are you still single at thirty? Do you date a lot? I mean, I know you have been with me most every night for the past month, but is there someone?” Is she seriously asking me if I have a girlfriend?
“That’s two questions,” I say, smiling at her. She just stares back at me. “I haven’t had a serious girlfriend in a very long time. Seven years to be exact. I was actually in Florida working on a case when I met this what I thought was an amazing girl. We dated about six months. She seemed very normal and she was a lot of fun. We would hang out at the beach all of the time. She wasn’t clingy, needy or anything I can’t stand. About six months into it, things started changing. She would call at least five times a day just to talk while I was trying to work. Then she started driving by my house whenever I wasn’t with her. This fun normal girl had turned into a clingy needy girl overnight. Some other stuff happened and I couldn’t do it anymore. I tried to break up with her, but she never got the hint. She would keep calling and coming by. Like I said last night I ended up having to change my cell number and get a restraining order and will probably never live that one down. A cop getting a restraining order on a girl,” I say, laughing, knowing that is exactly what she said last night. “I moved back home soon after and thankfully haven’t heard from her since. I guess I have been avoiding most women ever since. I can’t do the clingy needy thing. I need someone who can trust me,” I say.
“I understand that. Trust is definitely essential. It’s kind of hard to trust anyone after you get screwed over,” she says, sounding really sad.
“How about we find a funny movie, watch it and then we can call and check on Callie. How does that sound” I ask, trying to change the subject.
“That sounds almost perfect,” she says, smiling. I can’t stop myself when I lean in to kiss her this time. I can’t believe I have finally met someone I want to be with and she is leaving tomorrow.
Leighton
“I need to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back,” I say, when the movie is over. “We can watch another if you want,” I say, hoping he agrees. I am definitely not ready to call it a night especially if I’m leaving tomorrow.
“That sounds great, I’ll see what I can find,” Brody says, grabbing the remote.
I go into the bathroom and pull my phone out. I call a number I have had in my phone for a long time, but never dialed. Clay. He and Callie are really close. I have never completely understood this relationship, but I thought maybe he might know what Callie will do.
“Clayton,” he answers on the first ring.
“Hey Clay, it’s Leighton. Hav
e you talked to Callie today?”
“No, is everything okay?” he asks.
“I don’t know. We were all at Bo and Cindy’s tonight and well it got kind of heated between Callie and Molly. Long story short, apparently they both knew they were with the wrong family for a while now. Callie got upset and left. Ash went with her, but I am worried. What do you think she will do?”
“Why did Ash go with her?” he asks, in a strange tone. That’s what he got out of that conversation?
“I guess he was the only one not family,” I say, not knowing if this Ash thing should be kept from him or not. Wow, my life has gotten complicated.
“You’re not family, you’re her best friend,” he says.
“I know. It’s complicated. I am really worried and thought you might know something,” I say hoping he will get off the Ash subject.
“I am actually in town, I’ll try to figure out what’s going on,” he says, before hanging up. I go back into the living room to watch another movie with Brody. I should probably call Callie or go check on her, but if this is my last night here, there’s no other place I would rather be. I can always go check on her after the movie.
I can’t remember the last time I slept so well. I slowly start to sit up when I realize I am sleeping on a couch with Brody for the second night in a row. I can’t believe I didn’t go back to the hotel. Callie has probably been there by herself all night.
“Brody, wake up,” I say, trying to wake him.
“What? Is the movie already over?” he asks, still sounding sleepy.
“Yes, it’s morning. I need to go find Callie. I can’t believe I fell asleep. I hope she hasn’t been there all night waiting for me. How am I going to explain this one? She told me to stay away from you,” I say, trying to figure out what’s going on. I really hate sleeping in my clothes. Now I just feel yucky and gross.
“We need to go, now,” I say.
“Okay, just give me a minute,” he says, standing up to stretch. He grabs my keys off of the table by the door. “Let’s go. I hope she hasn’t been by herself all night. I’ll call Ash and check to see how she was last night. You can drive,” he says, handing me the keys.
“He’s not answering. I don’t know if that’s good or bad,” Brody says, dialing another number. “Callie’s not answering either. Maybe they are still asleep,” he says.
“I am the worst friend ever. I can’t believe I wasn’t there for her on one of the worst days of her life,” I say pulling into the hotel. “I don’t see her car. Maybe she stayed with Ash,” I say, getting out to head inside the hotel. I open the door and look around. “Oh no,” I say not believing what I am seeing.
“What?” Brody asks.
“Her luggage is gone. I think she’s gone,” I say, knowing he is not going to be happy about this.
“Come on, maybe Ash knows where she is,” he says, pulling me back outside with him. “She wouldn’t leave without telling us, would she?” he asks, sounding worried.
“I don’t know. I have learned a lot about her I didn’t know in the past couple of days,” I say, sounding bitter I know. We have been best friends for ten years now and she never trusted me enough to tell me this. I’m not sure how well I know this girl after all. Brody’s phone starts ringing as soon as we get into the car.
“Hello,” he answers. “I’m not sure. We were giving her some space last night and now her luggage is gone. I’m headed to Ash’s now to see if she is there or if he knows where she is. Umm, she said she was asleep. I guess Callie was really quiet,” he says, looking at me with huge eyes. “Okay, see you in a few minutes.
“Who was that?” I ask, trying to figure out what he was talking about.
“My mom, they are meeting us at Ash’s. By the way, you were too asleep to hear Callie leave, unless you want to tell them where you really were,” he says, smiling for the first time today. He dials another number and starts talking again.
“Can you trace Callie’s car and cell? Maybe her credit cards too. I need to know right now. She’s gone and we need to find her quick. Thanks. Just text me what you find out,” he says, before hanging up.
“I need to make a call,” I say, pulling my phone out. I hit the redial button and Clay answers on the first ring.
“Everything okay?” he answers.
“No, her luggage and car is gone. I don’t know where she is. We are headed to Ash’s now. What do we do if she’s gone?” I ask.
“If she’s gone, that means she probably went home. Give her a couple of hours and call her house. I’ll meet you at Ash’s,” he says, before hanging up.
“Who was that?” Brody asks, sounding odd.
“It’s really complicated,” I say, not knowing how to explain this one. Callie has really made one huge mess.
I finally pull into Ash’s the same time Bo, Cindy and Clay pull up. That man is quick. Everyone looks at him strange, but no one says anything to him. We all start banging on the door trying to get someone to answer. Finally after what feels like forever a very confused Ash opens the door.
“Please say Callie is here,” I say, walking past him through the door.
“She was, but when I woke up she was gone,” he says, holding a letter in his hand and staring at Clay. Maybe they know each other.
“She must have come to the hotel and packed. All of her bags are gone. She left. What did she say to you? Was she really that upset about last night?” I scream at him. I know I need to calm down, but I seriously don’t see her leaving over what happened with her and Molly. Something else had to have happened.
I hear Brody’s phone go off and watch him look at it with a defeated look.
“We can track her car or cell phone. She has to have them,” Ash says to Brody.
“Already have,” he says, babbling some other stuff too. I start ignoring all of them talking and start thinking. She couldn’t have gone too many places. This is Callie we are talking about, the girl who doesn’t like to go anywhere by herself. They are all still talking and looking at the letter when I go over to Clay.
“Where do you think she would go?” I ask him.
“Like I said, I think she went home. I’m not sure why they don’t think that,” he whispers to me. I hope he’s right. He asks to read the letter she left soon after that and thankfully he told the entire family the truth about how he knows Callie and I found out a lot too about how he knows Ash. I’m assuming that is what sent Callie out the door.
“I’m going to try to call Callie again,” I whisper to Brody.
“Okay, I’m going to see what flights were out of Nashville this morning,” he says, grabbing a laptop.
I go outside and dial her home phone instead of her cell.
“Hello,” she answers, sounding exhausted.
“You better have a really good reason for leaving me here while you snuck away,” I say hoping I’m not sounding mad.
“I’m really sorry, I was in a little bit of a hurry,” she says.
“Did you have a good flight?” I ask, knowing it’s only going to piss her off not knowing what is going on around here.
“Seriously, you called to ask me about my flight? Does anyone else know where I am yet?”
“Only Clay, he told me to give a few hours then call. I couldn’t wait that long. He seems to know you pretty well. It seems he used to know Ash pretty well a few years ago. What a morning it has been around here,” I say trying to not give anything away.
“Are you going to tell me what happened?” she finally asks.
“Clay told everything. I’m pretty sure he didn’t leave anything out. For what it’s worth, Ash doesn’t hate you. He is so in love with you he can’t see straight. He feels horrible that he made you feel that way and that you left. They are all really worried about you. They are going out of their minds right now trying to figure out a way to find you. For some reason they never thought you would go home,” I say, trying to figure out how a bunch of detectives couldn’t figure that one out.
“I can’t go back. I should have told the truth from the beginning. He may think he loves me now, but every time he looks at me his is going to be reminded that I’m the reason he has no family,” she says, sounding very defeated.
“Callie, please tell me you don’t seriously believe that. He’s not stupid. He knows it’s not your fault or his dad’s fault. These things happen, he should know that better than anybody. He just needed someone to blame and you were the easiest person. They really do care about you here and are really worried,” I say hoping she believes me. I don’t think she realizes how lucky she is to have these people want her. I would do anything to have a family again.
“You can tell them I’m okay. Just don’t tell them where I am. I really don’t want them to worry,” she says. “I’m really sorry I ran out on you this morning. I didn’t even see you. Were you even there?” she asks. Oh great. How am I ever going to get out of this one?
“Of course I was there, where else would I have been? I better go before they come looking for me. I’ll be home soon. Get some rest, you have had a long night,” I say hoping I can get off this phone before I say something to make her realize I wasn’t there. She had to have come back in the middle of the night. She really must have been upset to not even have noticed I was missing.
“Okay, thanks for everything Leighton. I’ll talk to you soon,” she says, before hanging up. I know I just promised to keep her secret, but right now, I think there is only one person she needs to see. I make one more call to the airport and transfer my ticket to Ash. I think he needs to get there before me.
I walk back inside and head over to Brody. “Have you guys figured out anything?”
“I’m just trying to find out what flights went out of Nashville late last night and early this morning,” he says, watching me write something down on a note pad. I write down Callie’s address in Miami and walk over to Ash.
“I would really think with this many cops and detectives and big muscled guys around you all would be a little better at this,” I say, before handing him the paper.
Trusting You: The Switched Series book two Page 6