The next morning, I woke up before my alarm had even rang. I raced to the shower, praying that there would be hot water and that Eliza hadn't switched it off again. I turned the water on, running it over my hand. Thankfully it was hot and I could actually enjoy my shower.
When I was done, I quickly got dressed for school, feeling excited about it for the first time in a long time. I hurriedly packed my bag, filling it with note books and an assortment of pens. The book that I'd been reading, noticeably missing. Eliza taking my book away from me may have affected me in that moment, but by the time I got home I was over it. The minute I got off from work, I bought an ebook version of the The Testaments, and finished it that very night. Suck it Eliza.
After I had all of my things, I bolted down the stairs, and ran straight out the door that way no one could attempt to ruin my morning.
Once I got to school, I easily found a parking spot, and headed in. I made my way to my locker, and saw that Callum wasn't at his which made me frown a bit. As I continued to put my things away, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to find my gorgeous, six-foot-something, green-eyed, new friend standing over me.
"Good morning, Dylan." He said, beaming.
"Good morning Callum." I responded, trying not to smile so much. "That was one hell of a tip you left last night." I said, looking up at him.
"What can I say, the food was great, and I had excellent service." He stated, with a smirk.
I grinned at him and said "So are we still on for ice cream? I wouldn't want to disappoint Sara."
"Oh yea, we're definitely still on. Sara wouldn't know what to do with herself if you'd canceled." He said, semi seriously.
"Oh really?" I questioned.
"Yup." He responded, popping his P at the end.
"Good, I look forward to it, I think I'm really gonna enjoy her company." I said, nodding my head.
"I just know you will." He said, nodding back, smirking.
After our exchange, we both went our separate ways to class, agreeing to meet up for lunch.
"Psst, hey you." I heard, whispered behind me. I figured they weren't talking to me so I continued to copy down my trigonometry notes.
"Hey, turn around." The whisper continued, and then I felt a pencil hit my back. I turned around in annoyance. The culprit had been Amy Fisher, a raven haired beauty and the wealthiest girl in the senior class.
"Yes?" I asked, staring back at her.
"What's up with you and the new kid? Are you guys like dating or something?" She asked, her blue eyes squinted.
"No, we are just friends." I whispered back, trying not to draw attention to myself.
"So it'd be cool if I made a move, right?" She questioned, flicking her hair back.
"Go ahead." I responded, pretending to be unbothered, and turned back around to finish my notes. I immediately felt a knot in my stomach and an emotion that I rarely ever felt. Jealousy. I was jealous at the thought of Amy and Callum. She was beautiful, rich, and popular. She was everything that a guy could want. I just hoped that she wasn't everything that Callum wanted.
As the day went on, I couldn't get my conversation with Amy out of my mind. I didn't really even know Callum, and yet I felt like a jealous girlfriend.
The bell rang for lunch, and I sprung out of my seat and sped to my locker where I found Callum waiting.
"Took you long enough." He said, jokingly.
I laughed and replied "I bet you just got here a second ago."
"And you my friend, are correct." He said, laughing. He threw his arm over my shoulders as we walked to the cafeteria.
I felt major butterflies in my stomach as we walked, but I knew nothing would come of it. Callum only saw me as his friend, that was clear.
After we got our food, we sat down at the same table we sat at yesterday. Hopefully there'd be no fighting this time around.
"I wasn't kidding about Sara being excited about ice cream today, she's kind of obsessed with you now." Callum said. "She wouldn't shut up about you the entire car ride home, and then proceeded to tell our parents all about you." He continued.
I felt by cheeks betray me once again and start to get hot.
"Aww, that is so sweet." I blushed. "I really enjoyed her company too, she is the cutest." I said.
"She can be cute at times, but most of the time she's a handful." He said, with a laugh.
"Are you two close?" I asked.
"We are, even though there is an eleven year age gap, I consider her my best friend. Not to sound cheesy or anything." He responded, sheepishly.
"That isn't cheesy, I think that's sweet. I've always wanted a little sister." I said.
"Are you an only child?" He asked.
I didn't really know how to answer that question, but I didn't want to lie to him.
So I said "Kind of, I have two step siblings but we aren't close. And my stepmother is pregnant, so I guess I won't really be an only child anymore." I said quietly.
"Why aren't you close with them, is it an age thing?" He asked, curiously.
"Not, it isn't that. I'm actually the same age as them. They're twins." I stated. Before he could say another word, we were interrupted.
"Hey Dylan, want to introduce me to your friend?" Amy Fisher asked, the minute she approached our table.
Interesting that'd she called me Dylan, because just a few hours ago she hadn't known my name.I remained silent and turned to Callum.
"Well then." She scoffed. "I'm Amy, I know you're new here, so I just wanted to introduce myself." She said, her eyes focused on Callum.
"Nice to meet you." He responded blankly.
She put her hand on the table to support her body as she showed off major cleavage. I held in a laugh at her desperation.
"I just wanted to let you know that I am throwing the first party of the year this Friday, and I want you to be there." She said confidently.
He turned to me and back to her, as I sat in silence.
"Alright, is it cool if I bring Dylan with me?" He asked. Surprised, I choked on my spit a little and started to cough so quickly downed my bottle of water.
"You okay?" He asked, looking at me concerned.
"Mhmm." I hummed, not being able to form an actual sentence.
Amy cleared her throat, reminding us that she was still present, and said "The more the merrier." While quickly throwing me a dirty look. "I guess I'll see you around then." She said, before she walked away.
"That was interesting." Callum stated,
"Callum, I don't go to parties." I said.
"Why not?" He asked.
"Well, you see, no one has ever invited me to one." I replied softly.
"Well you're invited now, plus I'll be with you so we'll have a great time." He said, smiling brightly at me.
"Okay." I responded, sending him a small, closed mouthed smile back.
Lunch was almost over, and I started to get up to throw my things away.
"I got it." Callum said, as he took my trash and his, and walked over to the garbage can. Could this boy get anymore attractive, I thought to myself.
He walked back over, looking like a male model. I was on the verge of drooling.
"So, about our ice cream plans. I completely spaced and forgot I have detention after school, and won't be out till three." He said while rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassed.
"That's alright, I can just meet you and Sara at the ice cream place when you get out. I'm not working tonight, so time isn't an issue." I responded.
"Oh thank God." He said beaming. "How about this, after detention I'll go home and get Sara, and then we'll pick you up and all go to the ice cream place together?" He suggested.
"That works." I said with a smile.
"Great, can you hand me your cellphone?" He asked.
"Sure." I responded, confused.
I unlocked it and gave it to him. He began typing away, and then handed it back to me.
"I texted myself so that I have your number, and you have mine." He said.
The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, so I got up and grabbed my bag, walking beside him.
"Text me your address when you leave school." He said as we were about to go to our individual classes.
"I will, have fun in detention." I said, grinning at him.
"You know I will." He responded, with a wink, and went on his way.
Callum's POVI walked into detention with a huge grin on my face, excited to spend some time with Dylan outside of school. I scanned the room, and saw a girl with light purple hair, and the three football players I'd fought yesterday. The guys stared daggers at me as I made my way to the back of the classroom. A short older man with glasses walked in, I assumed he was a teacher in charge of detention."Listen up, I'm not sure how this many of you managed to get detention on the second day of school, but I have some rules. Rule number one, no talking. Two, no using cellphones, but you may read a book or do homework to pass the time. My third and final rule is that only one bathroom break is permitted, if you go and don't come back, another three days of detention will be added on. Do you all understand?" He asked, sternly.There were mumbles of "yes" and "sure" from the group.I pulled out my anatomy homework, and began working on it. I briefly look
The week had gone by in a blur, and spent most of my time with Callum, getting to know him better. We found that we had a bunch of things in common. We liked the same kind of music, watched a lot of the same shows, and discovered that our birthdays were a week apart. Mine being October 20th, and his, the 27th. Though I was born a year after him.The attention we were getting was now simmering down, and it seemed like people were finally getting used to us being friends; with the exception of Mel, Justin, and the other "populars".While things at school got better for me, at home things had gotten worst. After the day that Callum met my step mother Eliza, it had been nonstop harassment from her and her daughter. I thought back to when Eliza had first found out about my budding friendship.I was up in my room changing when I heard the doorbell ring. I feared that it was Callum, so I hurriedly g
It took us two hours, but I eventually found an outfit for the party. Callum ended up getting a few things since we had gone into so many stores. After shopping, we went to the food court to eat, which Callum insisted on paying for. We talked for a while, and laughed majority of the time.When I am around Callum, I feel like my real personality actually comes out. A personality that I haven't been able to show in a long time. All the shyness that I felt when we first met had slowly dissipated.I ended up dropping him home around 5. We had decided that since we were drinking tonight, neither of us would take our cars, instead we would take a Lyft to the party. The party started at 9, so Callum would take the Lyft to my house to pick me up, and we'd go from there.When I got home, I read for a little while, but eventually got tired of the book I was reading. So I went
Disclaimer: This chapter mentions suicide/self harmContinuation.."Why don't you ask him why he was kicked out of his last school?" Justin said, as I stared at Callum.This was the most Justin had ever spoken to me in public. Usually he'd act like I didn't exist, especially in front of his friends. Maybe it was because he was drunk, I wasn't sure, but something felt off about this entire situation. Justin never cared for my wellbeing in the past, so why did he care now?The look that Callum was giving me told me not believe a word Justin said. If Justin thought I would turn on my only friend because of something he told me, he was wrong.I took a step away from him, and walked towards Callum."C'mon." I said, grabbing Callum's hand. Sober Dylan would not have grabbed Callum's hand in front of a room full of people, so lets just say I was a little tipsy from the jungle juice."Dylan! What the hell are you doing! Come bac
I kissed him.Callum grabbed the back of my head, bringing my head closer to his. I gasped, shocked that he was actually kissing me back. He took this opportunity to slip his tongue into my mouth, caressing mine, and instantly we were making out.My whole body felt warm, even though we were outside at night. I could feel his heart beating almost as fast as mine was. He took the lead in the kiss, dominating my mouth, and softly bit my bottom lip. His lips were so soft, I thought I was dreaming; but quickly realizing where we were, and what I had just done I pulled away. I opened my eyes, breathing heavily, and met his confused expression."I can't believe I just did that, especially at such a vulnerable time, I feel horrible." I said, slapping my forehead."Dylan. I've wanted to do that since the moment we met." He said, staring back at me. Callum took both of his hands, placed them on the sides of my face, and brought my lips back to his.Aft
For the next two weeks, Callum and I spent majority of our time together. When I would go to work, he would sometimes stay in the diner for my whole shift just to keep me company. He finally met Hector, and they got along like a house on fire. After my shifts, Callum always insisted on following me home to make sure I got there safely, and my heart melted every time. I couldn't remember the last time I felt so happy.Almost everyday after school I would go over to the Gage's house. Callum's parents treated me like I was apart of their family. Whenever Callum and I found a chance to be alone, Sara would interrupt us, and plead for me to play with her. Callum eventually got fed up with it, and began locking his little sister out of his room, much to her dismay. When we were alone, we talked, watched movies together, and sometimes, we'd kiss, but Callum never took it too far.We were still friends, and hadn't really defined our budding romance. We didn't show each other a
We sat down and immediately my stomach was in knots. With the animosity between Callum and Justin, and the awkwardness between Mel and I, I was sure this dinner would be a disaster. My father added to the equation just made everything ten times worst.The seating arrangement was a nightmare. I sat sandwiched between Callum and Justin, while my father sat directly in front of me, with Eliza and Mel at his sides. He seemed to be studying my face intensely while we all sat in an awkward silence.He then turned to Callum and said "I'm sorry young man, I forgot to ask your name.""My name is Callum Gage, sir." Callum responded with ease, he and my father seemed to be the only ones that weren't nervous."Is that a Welsh accent I detect?" My father inquired."Yes, I was born in Wales, my family and I moved here when I was younger."I just wished they'd stop talking to one another, I felt like I was going to throw up."Interesting. So how do
I sat down in my father's office across from him. He looked upset, showing more emotion on his face than I had seen in a while. He looked at me, his hazel eyes filled with sadness."What did you want to talk about?" I asked.He sat up straight, fiddling with the pen on his desk."Eliza won't be a problem for you anymore. Her and I talked, things will change in this house, so you don't need to worry about her.""Okay." I said, uninterested. A woman that evil would never change. No matter how many talking to's she was given.My father looked like he wanted to say something, but seemed nervous."Was that all?" I asked.He looked into my eyes, pained."Dylan why didn't you ever say anything to me, if I knew-" He shook his head, unable to finish his sentence.If he knew then what? Would he have divorced Eliza? Would he had stopped going on all of those business trips and leaving me with people that hated me? Would he have act
6 months later“So do you wanna grab lunch after your class? I don’t have class until 2:30.”“I have a meeting with my advisor at 1 so it’ll have to be after that.” I said, double checking my schedule on my phone.“Okay great, that works. Text me okay, and good luck on your first day.”“Thanks Davia I will, and good luck to you too.” I replied, waving goodbye to roommate.Still having fifteen minutes before my first class started, I took my time walking to the english building so that I could really take in the campus. Students were spread throughout the quad, some reading, some talking, and a few people napping. As I looked around, it was clear to me th
“Can I take you out to dinner tonight? We can drive up to Sunset and go to Bossa Nova or something.” Callum asked nervously.I took a sip of my seltzer water and shook my head. “I’m sorry, I can’t. My dad has a meeting out of town and I have to watch Spencer after school.”He frowned. “What happened to his nanny?”“I gave her the day off, I wanted to spend more time with him.” I said.He looked down and rubbed his hands on his jeans.“Is everything okay Callum? You seem off.” I reached over and touched his cheek. “We can hang out later tonight if you want, Spencer’s night nurse should be at my house around 9.”“I’m fine, really.” He smiled. “And 9 is good. Can you come over to my house?”I nodded and stood up. &
“How do I look? Be honest.” I asked my father.“Dylan you look perfect.” He said, obviously.“No seriously Dad, are my bruises covered up well? I don’t want to look crazy over there.”He laughed. “As I said, you’re perfect. You did much more damage to the girl than she did to you. I can’t even tell you’ve been fighting.”“Okay, good.”“But no more fighting, right?” He asked, his brows raised.“Nope, but this one was a long time coming.” I smirked.“You know what, it really was.” He laughed.
“I’m so glad you’re back.” A blonde girl in my American history class whispered to me.“Do I know you?” I asked, confused.She looked offended by my question, and said “I’m Alice, I’m on the cheer team with Mel.”I stared at her, still unable to recognize her.“I was at your birthday party.” She stated, obviously.The bell rang, saving me from further interacting with her. I quickly put my things into my bag, and bolted out of the classroom.“Dylan.” I heard, the second I stepped into the hall.“Callum.” I smiled, turning around to him. I could tell he was upset with me by his tone.
“Do you want me to pick you up?” Callum asked nervously.“No, Amy’s on her way to get me.” I said, double checking my hair in my rear view mirror.“And you’re sure you’re okay?”“Yes Cal, I’m fine. I told you, I was just tired. I’ll see you at school, alright?” I said to him.“Okay, I love you. I’ll see you soon.”“I love you too Callum.” I responded, before ending the call.I felt bad for lying to him, but if I told him where I was really going I knew that he’d try to stop me. I approached the building, and saw Detective Clarke standing outside waiting for me.“Thank you
6 weeks later“Wow.” I said, staring at myself in the mirror. My long, dark curls were now shoulder length and honey brown, with blonde highlights. I looked completely different, which was exactly what I was going for.“You like?” My hairstylist, Monica said as she added volume to my hair with her fingers.“I love, thank you so much!” I grinned at her in the mirror.“Of course my love, and it’s on the house.”“What?” I said turning around to look at her face to face.“All I ask is that you post a picture of your new look on instagram and tag the salon.” She said.
My psychiatrist, Dr Scott, sat in my hospital room just as she did everyday for the past two weeks, and just stared at me. In silence.“What do you want me to say? I already told you everything that happened. What more do you want?” I was becoming increasingly irritated with this woman. Every day it was the same thing. I recounted my kidnapping, and my feelings towards Kelly. I had nothing left to say about the situation, I only wanted to forget it.“Let’s talk about the light situation.” She said, pushing her glasses up.“What light situation?” I asked, confused.“Well, since you came out of your coma, you haven’t been able to sleep in the dark. Your room light has been on every night for the last two weeks.&rdq
"So I'm cleared? I can go home now?" I asked Dr Hines.I had been concious for a little over a week now, and I was finally beginning to feel like myself again. My body was getting back to normal, and all I wanted to do was be anywhere but the hospital now."You're cleared from me, yes. Your physical injuries should take a few more weeks to heal; and with a steady and consistent diet you should be back to your normal weight soon. However, Dr Scott still has some concerns about your mental state." He said."My mental state?""Her mental state?" Callum and I said simultaneously.Dr Hines nodded. "Until she clears you, you're stuck here with me." He smiled sadly."But I'm fine, really. I think it's time I go home. I miss my bed, and my books, and my shower." I ranted.Callum held my hand. "I can go to your house and grab some books if you want."I shook my head. "I want to be able to
Amy left before Callum arrived so that him and I would have privacy. The hospital had called my father, who was also on his way. I was excited to see him, but I hoped that Callum would come before he did.I couldn't wait to see Callum.As I lied back, trying to stretch my legs, there was a knock on the door."Come in." I called out, unable to see who was at the door.A woman walked into the room. She wore an expensive looking red dress with a white lab coat over it, and thick black framed glasses.A man walked in behind her, he looked to be in his mid thirties wearing a dark blue suit."Hi, can I help you?" I asked the both of them."Hi Dylan, I'm Dr. Scott. I am a psychiatrist here at the hospital, Dr. Hines sent me to pay you a visit. Is it okay if the detective here asks you a few questions?" She asked.I looked back and forth between t