Page 34 of Fighting Our Forever

Chapter Twenty-Two

Callie

I’ve been tossing and turning all night, listening to the storm rage on outside. Ever since Brenna left here earlier this afternoon, I’ve had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. My anger got the better of me, and I showed my ass, I think I messed up.

Hearing glass shatter I jump out of bed and pull on my leggings I took off a few hours ago and ready myself to go downstairs to assess the damage. Rush is sound asleep when I peek my head in and check on him. I cover him up with his blanket and go downstairs hoping the mess isn’t that bad. My dad will help me with it tomorrow, I just need to patch it until then.

Walking into the living room, I’m not expecting the hit to my back. I fall to the ground and roll over to see Brenna holding my metal bat in her hands. “Didn’t think you’d see me again, did you bitch?” She swings, this time breaking the glass top of our coffee table, glass flying everywhere. I shield my eyes and try moving away from it.

“Couldn’t get Ryan out of my mind after I saw him with Rush.” Brenna swings again and misses hitting the ground. I get on my hands and knees and try crawling away from her, listening to her crazy talk. “I picked wrong. Ryan was the one I should have been with. I left my husband, knowing I’d be able to get Ryan back easily. He was in love with me once, I could make him fall again.” She swings, and I move out of the way just in time for her to miss my head and hit my collar bone instead. Grunting in pain, I curl up trying to protect myself.

“Rush is my son!” She screams, hitting my arms and ribs. “Do you hear me you fucking cunt? He’s mine, and so is his daddy!” She hits me again, this time in the back of the head. The last thing I see is Brenna walking upstairs where Rush is unprotected. Closing my eyes, my heart breaks knowing I couldn’t protect Rush from her.

∞∞∞

“Callie!” A familiar voice says shaking me awake. I moan in pain when I open my eyes to the morning sun. I close my eyes fast and then remember everything that happened last night. Opening my eyes, I sit up as fast as my body will let me and immediately regret it.

“Easy baby. Oh, my sweet girl, what happened?” He says, holding me close. The smell of Stetson fills my nose, and I know who it is. “Dad?” I cry holding him close.

“Callie, what’s going on, where’s Rush?”

I sit up with my dad’s help and look around the room. We’re sitting on the couch, but the room is wrecked, broken glass littering the ground. “She took him, Dad. She took Rush, and they’ve been gone for a while. This happened last night. Oh my god, she has Rush.” I cry into his chest feeling like my world just stopped, my son, is gone.

Dad holds me close as I cry and explain everything that happened. Eventually, I stop crying, fucking pissed that my son was taken. Get a grip Callie, you need to get him back. You can do this, you’ll do whatever you have to and get him back home where he belongs. I go to stand, but my dad stops me.

“Watch out for the glass. Let me get your shoes, Cal.”

I stand when dad gives me my rain boots, and I put them on.

“I called the police and your men. They’re on the way right now.” He says while I take in my surroundings.

“Why didn’t they come last night? I know I set the alarm.”

“The storm last night was nasty and caused a lot of power outages.”

“Right. I’m going to clean this up and change, so I’m ready to go when everyone gets here.”

“You got it, need help up the stairs?”

I’m sore as hell, but I push through the pain, needing it to get Rush back. I shake my head and wobble my way up the stairs to Rush’s room. Everything is exactly where I left it, except Rush isn’t here.

“God damnit!” I scream, staring down into his crib. I stand there long enough that I’m lost in thought when Ryan and Paul walk up beside me. When they touch me, I flinch away, wrapping my arms around my middle. “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry I let her take him. I’ll get him back, I promise you.” I go to walk out of the room when Ryan grabs my hand stopping me.

“Fucking stop Callie.”

Biting my lip, I’m trying my best to remain strong and not let the tears fall. “I fucked up, so fucking bad.”

Paul walks up to me and pulls me into his arms, and I flinch, hurting everywhere. “What the hell Callie?”

He shoves my shirt to the side, and his eyes go from concerned to angry. I’ve never seen him look this pissed before and I start shaking and fall to the floor. “Fuck!” Paul curses and lifts me in his arms, carrying me to our bedroom where Ryan follows and closes the door.

Paul takes out his pocket knife and cuts my shirt off me, so I don’t have to lift my arms. They both hiss when they look at me, and I can only imagine what they’re seeing.

“You need a fucking doctor Calliope. Ryan, get those paramedics up here now. She’s going to the hospital. I don’t care if she wants to or not.”

“It’s not that bad, I need to find Rush.”

“You’re barely able to walk. How the hell are you going to be able to find our son in the condition you’re in?” Ryan seethes through clenched teeth.

I look down at my hands ashamed I couldn’t protect him. “I should have protected him better. I thought it was the storm, I wasn’t expecting her.”

Ryan walks to me and kneels in front of me where I’m sitting on the bed. Grabbing my hands, he kisses them. “I’m fucking furious, but not at you sweetheart. You did nothing wrong, do you hear me?” I hear the sincerity of his words and a little bit of the guilt I’m carrying falls a way.

Paul pushes the hair out of my face and behind my ear. With his hand on the back of my head, he rubs his fingers through my hair and touches the spot where she hit me. “Mother fucker! Baby, you need to be checked for a concussion. You’re going to see a doctor.”

“No!” I shout.

“We need you better so once we get Rush back, he can have his momma ready to take care of him. Precious, you do this for Rush, okay?”

I nod. I get better for Rush.

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