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My phone rings over the Bluetooth in my car, and I jump so aggressively it causes me to swerve onto the dirt embankment.I right the car before pulling over. My brother’s name flashes across the console screen. I take a deep breath before I answer.
“Hey big brother,” I say, trying to sound normal.
It doesn’t work.
“Belle? What’s wrong?” Cal asks immediately. Our relationship is in a weird place and has been since I decided not to be a part of Shattered Halo. But Cal is still my brother, and he’ll worry about me no matter what.
“Nothing, I —”
“Bellamy. Don’t lie,” Cal demands in a low voice that brokers no argument.
I sigh and gather what little strength I have. “I left,” I whisper.
Cal is quiet for a long time before he speaks again. “Where are you?” he asks in a much gentler tone.
I look around for a road sign or mile marker of any variety and only see trees. “I don’t know. I got in the car and drove.”
I hear his loud sigh on the other end, and I close my eyes, preparing for a lecture about safety. I’m pleasantly surprised instead.
“Put my address into your phone. I’m home for another week before we go on tour. Come stay with me.” It’s not a request.
I look at myself in the mirror and see the black eye Brad left on my face and feel the probably broken rib every time I inhale. I want to tell Cal no, that I can handle myself. But looking and feeling the damage done to my body while trying to hide the weakness I feel in my soul, I decide to letCal take care of me. I don’t have anyone else. I can’t go home to my mom looking like this.
“Ok,” I say quietly.
“Ok?” Cal asks, surprised by my easy acceptance.
“Yeah. Ok,” I say again. I can tell he wants to ask more questions. Agreeing isn’t like me. Especially when it comes to letting my brother take care of me.
“I love you, Belle,” he says.
“I love you too,” I tell him before hanging up the phone.
I cry silently as I punch in his address and head back to the small town I used to call home.
Two hours later, I’m pulling into the circular driveway of Cal’s cliff-side mansion. The place is massive. It was white when he bought it, but he had it painted black almost immediately. I thought he was crazy when he told me what he was doing, but I have to admit, it looks really cool.
“Cal?” I yell as I open the red front door with the key he gave me when he bought the place years ago.
“In here!”
I follow the sound of my brother’s voice, finding him propped on a barstool in his massive kitchen. I stop in my tracks when I notice the large man sitting next to him.
“Kai,” I whisper. His head whips around and his eyes land on mine. The always messy black hair on his head is now longer and curly. I’ve seen him a few times over the years, but we never got back to the place we were when we were younger. A wedge came between us the night Ezra disappeared and has only increased in size.
I watch Kai’s eyes go from surprise to anger the moment he notices the bruising under my eye. He stands quickly and marches over to me. When he lifts his hands, I flinch back on instinct. I register the shock and hurt in Kai’s expression before he schools his features.
“Who did this to you?” he asks, his voice a mask of deathly calm.
“I’m just clumsy,” I say, my voice weak even to my ears. “I fell down the stairs on my way out of the house this morning.”
Kai lifts his hand slowly and gently takes my face in his warm hand. His touch is gentle and sweet. Just like the old Kai that exists only in my memories. A tear falls from my eye, even as I will it to stop. Kai catches it with his thumb, his expression pained.
“Who did this to you?” he growls through clenched teeth.
Cal, who until now was doing something on his phone, comes charging over.
“I’m going to fucking kill him!” he screams the moment he sees my face, causing me to cower and then whimper from the pain in my ribs.
