Page 54 of Bound By Secrets

“I’ll be down here, Callie. If you need me, just call me.” I peer up at him and my eyes connect with his. He tentatively smiles at me, his gaze leaving mine to trail across my face. A crease forms on his forehead as he observes the damage done to me.

“I promise you, I’m okay. I’ve dealt with much worse, Ryker.” He cringes at my words and his eyes drop. I step towards him and lift on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I’ll be back down in a little while. You go talk.”

He presses his forehead to mine, eyes closed as he takes a deep breath. His hands find mine, and he squeezes them before blowing the air out of his lungs. I pull back, and once his eyes pop open, I nod my head to the kitchen doorway. He purses his lips, but he follows my direction and slowly trudges towards the door.

“Thank you, Ryker,” I whisper, loud enough for him to hear. His steps pause for a moment, and I smile as I watch his shoulders relax before he disappears into the kitchen.

As I traipse towards the steps, the doorbell rings, and I huff in frustration of being deprived from some very needed alone time. I call out that I’ll get the door so that they guys stay in the kitchen and hopefully talk things out and then I turn to the door.

I can see the large form of my Uncle Johnny through the glass and a genuine smile breaks across my face. I tentatively walk over, keeping the pain inside of me to a minimum.

When I open the door, Johnny slowly lifts his gaze from the floor and his forehead wrinkles as he examines my face. He pulls his hands from his pockets and gently places them on my upper arms.

“Are you okay?” He winces as he asks the question, then shakes his head, “Sorry, that was stupid for me to ask. You look terrible, and I’m terrified to know what may have happened to you.”

“I’m fine, Johnny. Just a few bruises, they’ll heal. Are you okay?” I question, noticing his unruly hair and his red rimmed eyes. He nods and clears his throat, smoothing his hands down my arms before stepping back and glancing around outside.

“Yeah, of course. I just have a lot going on at the moment, kiddo.” He continues to observe our surroundings, avoiding looking at me. “I’ve spoken to Detective Johnson and informed him about Fraser… I came here to check on you all and also to talk to you about Derek and your mother.”

“Is she okay?” I ask quickly.

His eyes finally meet mine and he nods again. “Yeah, yeah, she’s fine, no need to worry about that. Let’s go inside and we can all talk.”

I step back and allow him through into the entryway. Once I’ve closed and locked the door behind us, I turn to find Johnny watching me with a haunted expression. I cautiously smile at him, unsure of why he’s acting so strangely.

“Callie, I’m so sorry I haven’t been here to look after you properly. I swear to you, I had no idea anything this drastic was going on. I promise you, if I had known, I would’ve put a stop to it immediately, no matter the damning consequences.”

I shake my head, averting my eyes from his guilt stricken face. “Johnny, we didn’t want you to know, otherwise we would’ve told you. We’re all okay, we’re alive and now, we’re somewhat safe thanks to you and Ryker. You have no reason to apologise, none of this is your fault.”

Callum chooses that moment to come out from the kitchen with an ice pack and a box of tablets in his hands.

“Here, take these. Two tablets for now and keep this on your face for a little while to bring the swelling down a bit more.” I thank him and take the tablets and the ice pack, and then I glance over to Uncle Johnny as he awkwardly stands beside us.

“I’m gonna have a shower and check my ribs out. Ryker’s in the kitchen with Grumpy, I won’t be long. Just wait for me to get back and then we can all talk.” I don’t bother waiting for a reply because I desperately need some space. I can feel all of my emotions still simmering inside of me so I walk as quickly as I can up the stairs until I’m locked inside my room.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Nate

"Did she say anything else when you spoke to her?” I ask my father as he shifts gears beside me and drives through the dark streets that separate our house from Callie’s.

“No, Nate. I’ve told you exactly what she said three times now. My answer isn’t going to change,” he grumbles in reply, shaking his head.

Brad sticks his head between our seats, leaning through from the back of the car. “Did they kill him?” Dad huffs and releases the wheel with one hand so that he can push Brad into the back of the car again.

“No, of course, they haven’t killed him. Johnny said that he’s got a few broken bones and he's unconscious, but they’ve kept him alive. He explained to me about Fraser’s actions toward Callie and said they’ve got a confession. He’s also spilled a lot of Derek’s secrets, so hopefully this will be a step in the right direction, and we can manage to get this family the justice they all deserve.” Brad claps a hand down on his shoulder.

“You’re a good man, Colin.” I nod my head in agreement with Brad’s statement when my father casts his gaze my way.

“I just really hope Callie’s okay,” Kat says quietly as she watches the blur of lights out of the back window.

“She messaged us and said she was fine, so I’m sure she is.” I don’t believe the words that flow out of my mouth, so I doubt Kat or Brad do either.

After a few more minutes, the car stops outside of a large white house and my Dad turns off the engine. Brad hastily yanks on the handle to let himself out, but my father's words halt his movements.

“You’ve got to keep in mind that she might not be okay.” He grimaces when he notices us all watching him, waiting for him to elaborate. “I saw how badly beaten her mother was when she left. I’m hoping that Callie is okay, just as much as all of you. But you also have to consider that she might not be. You don’t know what might’ve happened before Derek left,” he pauses as his eyes trail over the lighted windows. “If she is injured, keep it together whilst you’re with her and lose your shit later.”

He turns back to us and waits for us all to agree before he moves to get out of the car, all three of us hurrying behind him.

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