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“I’m calling the cops,” Katie says, and I hear her keying the number in on her phone. I take off running, following the path of blood. My stomach lurches as it brings me to the master bedroom. The door is closed and locked. I don’t even think. I put my shoulder into it and break the door free. I go in and what I see is something that I will never forget for as long as I live.
It will haunt me forever.
Callie is naked, lying sideways on the bed. There’s a knife sticking in her side and her leg is covered in blood. Her face is so ravaged that she’s almost unrecognizable.
I approach her slowly, dreading what I’ll find. She’s been stabbed and beaten mercilessly. There’s no way she could survive it. Logically, I know, but I don’t want it confirmed.
“Oh, God,” Katie cries, the sound almost inhuman.
“Call 9-1-1 back. Tell them you need an ambulance,” I order, my voice not even sounding like my own.
“Is she…”
She doesn’t finish her sentence, but I know what she’s asking. I put my fingers on Callie’s neck, trying to check for her pulse. I have no idea if I’m doing it right. It’s not exactly something I ever thought I would have to do.
I don’t feel anything. My heart feels as if it freezes in my chest. I can’t breathe. I feel the tears sliding down my face. Without thought, I pull her into my lap and hold her as the sobs rack my body.
“Oh, baby. God, why didn’t you tell me?” I cry. “God, Callie, baby, why didn’t you tell me?” I just basically keep repeating the same thing over and over, my world crashing around me.
“Reed,” Katie says, and I look up at her. I can’t see her face. The tears are too heavy, my heart too broken.
“Why didn’t she tell me?”
“Reed—”
“I’m going to kill him.”
“Reed, honey…”
“I’m going to fucking kill him,” I growl, holding Callie close. I look down at her, letting my anger slow my tears. They don’t stop, I don’t think they’ll ever stop. My world has been destroyed. She might not have been mine, but she should have been. I should have protected her. I should have made sure she was safe. I should have listened to Katie more when I talked to her on the phone a while back and she mentioned her worries. I tried to reason it out and think that my brother was human. He’s not human. He’s a fucking demon. I’m going to choke the life out of him with my bare hands. I’m also going to enjoy every minute of it. I don’t care if I spend the rest of my life in prison. It will be worth it knowing I sent Mitch to hell.
My hand reaches down and wraps around the bloody handle of the knife.
“Reed, stop! We need that for evidence.”
I ignore her, pulling the knife out. We don’t need evidence. I’m going to fucking kill him. I might even bury this knife in him when I do it. I’m lost in thought for a moment, freezing when I hear a strange sound. For a minute, I think it’s my hearing just playing tricks on me. I go completely still.
“Callie, baby. Are you…” God, I can’t even get the words out. I have her gripped close to me. I didn’t think she was breathing, but what if I was wrong? “Callie?”
“R—Ree—”
“Oh fuck, she’s alive,” I cry.
I lay her as gently as I can back down. I grab a pillow, rip the case off, and push it against the wound where the knife was. She whimpers again. She breathes in a rattled gasp and her eyes open. They can’t open all the way, but I see it.
I rub the side of her face.
“I’m right here, Bluebird. I’m right here. Hang on, sweetheart. The ambulance will be here soon.”
“S-s-or-ry,” she says, the word little more than a breath and broken haphazardly. You can tell it’s taking everything she has to speak.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Bluebird. It’s going to be okay. We’ll get you to the hospital. It’s going to be okay.”
I kiss her forehead, sobbing hysterically, with no way to get control. I can feel in my heart how hard she’s struggling. What’s killing me is the fear and pain I see mingled in her eyes.
“I love you, Bluebird. I love you,” I confess.
“Let—ter b-b-bathroom,” she says, looking past me to Katie. “S-sink.”
“Show me later, Cal. Try to rest until the paramedics get here.”
“N-n-ow,” she insists.
“Cal, really—”
Callie shakes her head in disagreement and then whimpers in pain.
“Jesus, Katie. Just go find the letter,” I snap, unable to take having her in more pain.
Katie hurries to do that and I just keep holding Callie, needing to touch her.
“Ree-d,” she utters, letting out a squeaking noise while trying to breathe and then, everything goes still. She goes still.
