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“I’ll be right back,” I say as I brush past her, not waiting for a response.
It only takes a few seconds before I’m standing in front of Maverick’s door, fist pounding on the wood. He swings the door open with a smile on his face. It immediately falls when he sees me.
“Dude, what’s wrong?”
“Where’s Cal?” I ask, teeth clenched.
Mav just moves aside and lets me in. Cal is standing, heading towards the door. I stop him with my fist to his face.
“What the fuck!” he screams, clutching his bleeding nose.
“How could you let that happen to her?” I roar in his face, fists clenched at my sides so I don’t hit him again. Hot rage is burning in my veins, turning my vision white.
“What are you talking about?” Mav asks from where he’s standing. I can tell he wants to get in the middle, but he’s the type that likes to get all the information before he does anything.
I ignore him and step closer to Cal, who, to his credit, doesn’t move. “How could you let him hurt Belle? She’s your sister. You’re supposed to protect her!” Cal flinches at my words, and I know he must be asking himself the same questions, but I can’t stop. “Two years! He hurt her for two years and you let him!”
“I didn’t know!” he screams, dropping his hands andletting the blood flow down his face. “I didn’t know,” he says softly before collapsing on the end of the bed.
Maverick hands him a towel and moves to sit on the couch by the window. It’s not a huge room, so he’s only a couple of feet away from us.
“How could you not know?” I ask him, surprised by how much calmer my voice sounds. The burning rage from a moment ago is boiling down to a simmer.
“I was so busy with the band. We packed our schedules so tightly that I barely had time for anything else. I should’ve tried harder to be in her life. She still called me, but I could tell she was distant. I just thought that was my fault. I never thought…” Cal’s words trail off as he gasps and starts crying into the towel. “I never thought she was being hurt, Kai. I swear. I would’ve killed him myself if I had known.”
I watch my best friend break, but I’m still too angry to comfort him. Especially when I’m to blame too. I pushed her away. I ignored all her calls and texts. But Cal didn’t. He took every call and returned every text. He saw her on holidays. I can’t get past blaming him, even if I know that isn’t fair.
I spin on my heel and leave Cal to sit in his blood and tears. I may not have protected Belle then, but I will now. Whether she wants me to or not.
Pushing my door open slowly, I see Willa sitting on my bed next to Belle, looking worried.
“She’s getting worked up again. She’s not screaming, so I haven’t tried to wake her up.”
“Belle was always a heavy sleeper. Do you remember when she passed out in the car on the way to Boston and Cal carried her over his shoulder for like forty minutes beforeshe woke up? People thought he was dragging a drunk lady around.”
Willa chuckles softly. “Yeah. I wish she grew out of that, though. This is horrible to watch.”
I walk over to Belle and gently stroke her cheek with my knuckles. She instantly calms. I look at Willa, surprise written all over my face, but she just smirks.
“I told you she needs you, Kai,” she says before hopping off my bed and leaving the room.
I think about sleeping on the couch, but the moment I pull my hand away, she whimpers, and her breathing speeds up.
“It’s ok, mo chridhe. I’m here. I won’t leave you.”
Belle relaxes the moment she hears my voice. So before I can overthink it anymore, I strip out of my jeans and t-shirt, then crawl into the bed next to her. I watch her for a moment, unsure where the line is in this situation and afraid to cross it. Her face scrunches up, and she takes in a jagged breath, like she’s about to cry.
I grab her waist on instinct and pull her into me, resting her head on my chest and running my fingers up and down her back. Belle melts into me, snuggling even closer. I wait until her breathing is even, and I’m sure she’s free of her nightmare, before I close my eyes and let sleep take me too.
nine
BELLE
“The new peopleare moving into the house across the street!” Callahan yells, half running, half stumbling down the stairs.
I’m already staring out the window, watching them. I hope they have more kids for me to play with. I only have Willa and she has to stay home a lot. Her mommy is sick, and my Dad says she’s going to heaven soon.
“Mom? Can I go say hi to the new neighbors? I think they have boys!” Callahan screams the moment his feet slam into the floor.
