Mindless

Twenty Two

~Callie~

I was lucky. 

That's what the doctors had kept telling me for the past 36 hours I was sat in that hospital bed. Lucky the car hit the wrong side, lucky I was wearing my seatbelt, lucky people were watching, lucky I'd only come out with minor injuries, lucky I was still alive. Half of me knew it. I'd sat in the car, wriggling toes and making sure I could feel everything as I watched my own blood pool on the roof of the car below me. Pain was touching every single inch of my body but all I could think of was Cole and the panic I'd heard in his voice before the phone went dead because- of course I forgot to charge it. 

Now I'm home, in some pain but the painkillers are making it manageable and my friends have travelled from across the country to lay on Cole's kitchen floor, cackling about - I don't even know what. Cole and Theo have gone to get breakfast before they all go back to Lil's and give me some space to rest for a few days. 

Everything could have gone south and the people that were rushing to be by my side were the people I'd want to be by my side. No judgement, no questions, no prying. Just them trying to make the best of a bad situation. 

My phone buzzes in my hand and I glance down, head still feeling fuzzy. 

----
Unknown
Hey, heard about the car wreck and thought
I'd make sure you were okay? Wouldn't 
surprise me if that 'boyfriend' of yours
forgot to check the brakes before he let 
you drive it. I'd offer to come pick you up, but
the address I have for you is empty. When'd
you move? 
----

My heart pounds in my chest. I blocked Sebastian's number months ago so how he's getting through to me right now, I have no idea. How did he even know about the accident? Kredrith center isn't part of his jurisdiction. The officers that came in bitching about the car were from the right precinct. I saw the numbers on their badges. 

"You okay Cal?" The laughter around me dies down and I slowly look up to see all 3 sets of eyes firmly planted on me. The girls worry so much about the whole Sebastian thing. Probably more than me. They only know about it because I freaked out about it the first time it happened and broke down and now they just pick up on when things have happened. After the wedding everything was fine until I had a rough few days at work and everything piled up and I made it to Lil's to breakdown the day before Theo came home from whatever trip he'd taken with Owen. My phone buzzes again. 

----
Unknown
You've got until your birthday to tie everything up and 
come home Caroline or I'm doing it for you.
Don't think you can hide from me. 
----

I swallowed. He had to have had something to do with this. Had to have. The coincidences were too weird for it not to be. 

"Cal?" I'm still looking between the girls when the front door opens, Cole and Theo's chuckles filling the apartment as they call out to us. Lilah walks across the room, taking the phone out of my hand and reading it herself. 

"Hello? Anyone here?" 

"We're in the kitchen." Lara poked her head up to reply to Cole before stepping across to peer over Lil's shoulder. "Who is it?" 

"Sebastian, clearly." Lil looked up at me. "Why is he texting you? I thought you blocked his number?" 

"I did. He must have kept it anyway, changed his number and be texting on that?" 

"So just change your number." 

"He'd just get it from my parents anyway." 

"Who'd get what?" The 2 boys appeared, sliding bags of food onto the counter top between us and them. There was far too many people in this place right now. Too many people, too much talking, too many mentions of Sebastian and how he was probably behind all of this. They were all just talking about it like some crime thriller TV show that had ended on a cliff hanger and they were all trying to finish the story before the next episode came out. All except Cole and me, who just sat in silence. 

It wasn't his fault all of this was happening but it was our fake relationship that was pushing Sebastian to get more serious about his attempts to force me home. He's clearly tried to kill me once already. With how lucky the doctors were saying I was, who knows if I'll be that lucky again. And all for what? Because I'm putting off the inevitability that I'm going to end up there again? I thought that even Sebastian would have a limit to how far he would go but apparently I was wrong and if he doesn't have a limit, who knows how far this could go, who else could get pulled into it. 

"Stop." Cole gripped onto my thigh, whispering in my ear whilst the topic at the table suddenly changed to other dating disaster's we've all had. "He's not going to get within 30 feet of you Cal." 

"He doesn't need to get that close to do it again." I turn my head to face him, keeping my breathing steady. "He's not going to stop Cole and someone else is just going to end up getting hurt." His jaw tensed but it was the god honest truth. "I don't want-" Cole pushed his fingers between mine, pulling me up from the table and pulling me down to his room, slamming the door closed behind us. 

"Do you trust me Cal?" Cole slowly wrapped an arm around my waist, taking one step at a time until the back of my bed met the soft fabric of his bed set. "Hm?" 

"I guess." 

"So why do you keep doubting my ability to keep him away from you?" It's not that I was doubting Coles ability to protect me. From the fury in his eyes right now I know he would burn the world down if it meant I'd be safe permanently. My worry comes from the knowledge Sebastian would burn it down to have me. "Callie. Talk to me. I can't reassure you it's okay if you don't tell me what you're worrying about darling." 

"I don't want him." Cole sits me down on the bed, getting to his knees and moving so I can wrap my legs around his waist, his hands holding onto my face with just enough pressure for me to lean into him. 

"I know you don't." 

"But he doesn't stop. He won't stop." Cole nods slowly, bringing his forehead down to mine and I close my eyes, taking in a shaky breath as the tears free fall. But Cole doesn't shush me. Doesn't tell me my fears are irrelevant or that I was going to be okay. He just holds me, wipes the water from my cheeks and keeps quiet until I stop. Only then does he plant soft kisses on my forehead, cheeks and the tip of my nose. 

"Okay. I need you to listen closely to me now Callie okay?" I nod. "I swear to you, on my mother's grave, I will not let him get away with any of this and when I'm done with him, he's going to regret breathing the wrong way in your direction. He's not going to dare even think about you, let alone try any of this crap again. I don't give a fuck who he is. He didn't listen to his first fucking warning and I'm done watching you in pain over a piece of shit that doesn't deserve your tears. I told you, I'm not letting you go and if he thinks he can blackmail you into it and that I'll just back down then baby he has no idea who he's fucking with because he's just pissed off the wrong fucking Ambrose brother."