Page 32 of Outlawed Treat
Chapter Eighteen
Reckless
TOMORROW IS OPENINGday for the haunted house.Today we’re putting the final touches on everything and I’m making sure it’s all been done to Darren’s detailed list.This is in memory of him and I want it to be perfect.It needs to be something he’d be proud of even if we’re simply recycling one of his many grand visions for how he wanted to spend his favorite holiday.The man was a genius when it came to planning epic Halloween parties and ways to spend the day and night.When we say Darren would go all out for Halloween, we’re not lying.If it wasn’t a haunted house guaranteed to leave you with nightmares for weeks after, he’d plan the biggest and best party in Benton Falls and the surrounding towns.He’d have people from all over coming to his parties and they would be so big we could never have them at a house.He’d have to rent some place to hold everyone and we’d help him decorate before changing into our costumes.Cali never went through the haunted houses but attended every party Darren threw.
As I walk through the house with Manic, Link, and Master, my phone starts vibrating in my pocket.I’m expecting a call from one of our suppliers, so I pull it out and am surprised to see Cali’s name flashing on my screen.
“What’s goin’ on, Reina?”I answer my phone as Kreed stops next to me with the other two stopping a few feet in front of us.
“Rory’s got a fever and I can’t get it to come down.I’m on my way to the hospital with her now.She’s already on antibiotics and has an ear infection from teething.I’m scared, Caleb.I’ve never had one of the kids get a fever I couldn’t get to break.I’ve tried everything,” Cali informs me, her words coming out rushed and broken because I know she’s crying.Her kids mean everything to her and this is a situation she can’t fix.
“I’ll be right there, Cali.Where’s Bryce?”I ask her, already turning away from the guys and heading back out to get to my bike.
“He’s at Kreed’s with Tiffany.I know Tiffany has to get home with her family because her mom’s working tonight.I just didn’t want to bring him to the hospital with us.I was thinking of calling your mom to see if she can go up to the house with him,” she answers me as Kreed overhears her.
“I’ve got Bryce.I’m headin’ to the house now.I’ll hang out with him until Cali finds out what’s goin’ on with our princess.If she needs to be admitted, I’ll remain with Bryce until she can come home.At least at night.Your mom and aunt might have to help out if Tiffany can’t work durin’ the day or she needs to leave before I can get out of work,” Kreed says, rushing past me to get to his own bike as we race to get to the people who mean the world to us.
“You need me to stay on the phone with you, Cali?”I ask as I grab my helmet and put it on before turning my Bluetooth on so I can hear Cali on the phone.
“I’m almost at the hospital.I’ll let them know you’re on your way,” she answers before hanging up on me.
Starting my bike, I take off and head for the hospital.It’s a place I loathe but I’ll spend days there if it means Rory and Cali aren’t alone there.I could send my family, but I’ve always been there for things like this and I won’t change now because of whatever is going on between Cali and me.Rory is innocent and I will always be there for her.I’ll always be there for Cali even if I can’t be with her and things are awkward.They’re the most important girls in my life besides my family and deserve to have everything I can give them.
We’ve been at the hospitalfor hours.Doc has been in to see Rory and given her another dose of medicine.He’s ordered a ton of tests to be done so he knows exactly what’s going on with her.He thought she had an ear infection but is now concerned it might be something more.She’s been asleep the entire time we’ve been here and Cali let Doc know that’s essentially all she’s been doing.Rory hasn’t had an appetite and it takes forever for her to drink a bottle of anything.Cali hasn’t even been nursing her because Rory refused to nurse.Seeing her look so small and fragile breaks my heart into a million pieces while reminding me of how little Darren actually did with the kids toward the end of his life.He wouldn’t have come here with Cali and someone still would have needed to sit with Bryce despite him being home.Fucker!
In two days we’re shipping out on another mission.Cali planned a dinner for us because it’s what she always does when we’re preparing for a deployment again.It’s like she’s making the last memories of all of us together before we leave and possibly not coming home in one piece.This is something she’s always done and none of us complain about it because it’s her way of dealing with being alone again for an undetermined amount of time.We never know how long we’ll be gone and she can’t know where we’re heading.Cali puts all of her trust in us to not only come home alive but to remain loyal to her and one another.The loyalty to her part is mainly for Darren and so far he’s never cheated on her to my knowledge.I’d kick his fucking ass if he did.
Walking in the house, I find Darren sitting on the couch with a beer in hand and the TV having his full attention.He’s watching the replay of a race from weeks ago as Cali works in the kitchen while heavily pregnant and keeping an eye on Bryce as he plays on the living room floor.Bryce ignores his dad, not that Darren is interacting with him at all.I’ve noticed the last few years that he tends to ignore his family and only says something when it’s to yell about something Cali or Bryce has done wrong.He’s turning into his father and I hate seeing Cali shrink into a shell of herself whenever her husband is home.This is what Kreed and I have worked so hard to pull her from over the years since we met her and now we’ll have to start all over again.
“Unca Caleb!”Bryce calls out as soon as he sees me.
Darren barely looks over his shoulder to nod his head at me in acknowledgment.I ignore him completely.Bryce jumps up and races toward me as the door opens again and I know Kreed has arrived.As I watch Bryce rush toward us calling out to Kreed, I notice Bryce get tripped up by Darren’s charging cord for his phone.Moving toward my nephew, I don’t make it in time as he falls and his head slams off the floor with a loud thud.Cali immediately stops what she’s doing and turns to see her son crying on the floor as I drop to my knees next to him.
“Hurts,” Bryce cries out when I lift him into my arms and Kreed drops down next to me just as Cali gets to us.
Bryce has a large bump and gash that’s bleeding heavily on his forehead.I get off the floor with him in my arms and turn toward the door.He has to go to the hospital to get looked at.Even if he didn’t have an open wound, I’d still take him because this is a head injury and you never know the extent of the damage.I refuse to have something horrible happen because we didn’t take him to get checked out.
“Darren are you comin’ to the hospital with your son?”Kreed asks him, his voice full of worry and fear.
“Nope.You three can handle it.I’m watchin’ the race,’ he responds, taking another sip of his beer and not even looking in our direction.
“Are you not concerned at all about your son, Darren?He has a damn head injury and you’re just sittin’ on your ass like it’s not a big deal.This is a very big deal,” I ask him, anger filling me with the thought of him being so nonchalant about his injured son.He hasn’t even looked over at Bryce.
