Page 7 of Storm the Night

Her mouth dropped open and then she shut it immediately and she looked confused. “Why? How? You want me to live here? With you?”

I laughed. “I knew it could be a long shot, but I wanted to get a big enough place that you would have your own space. This is your room to do with whatever you want. Stay when you want, leave when you want, go to sleep when you want, have over whoever you want… whatever you want. I’m not pressuring you to stay here, but this is yours.”

She walked further inside the room, approaching the window and looked out. All you could see were pine trees that blockedthe house across the way. She had privacy, though I was sure she would want curtains up. Turning toward me, she brought her hands up to her cheeks. “I don’t know what to say. This is so much.”

I took one step toward her but still leaving her with enough space that she didn’t feel caged in. “Say you’ll stay here. This is how we get you out. The rest of this week we will move a little over at a time until everything you want and care about is here.”

“What about when Colin returns? He’s not just going to let me leave.”

“You’ll already be gone. We’ll go to a lawyer and get the papers filed. I know it all sounds too easy, but I truly believe if we do this one step at a time, you’ll finally be free.”

She closed her eyes. “Free.”

I stared at her. “Free, Calliope. Free to live your life how you’ve always dreamed. No one dictating your every move.”

Her eyes opened and they were filled with tears barely holding back from spilling over to her cheeks. “Calliope Grace,” she said in a whisper.

“What?” I asked.

“My middle name. It’s Grace. Calliope Grace.”

“It’s a beautiful name. It fits you. What do you want me to call you?”

She smiled. “You can call me whatever you want. My dad always called me Calliope Grace. As I mentioned before, I only go by Callie because Colin started calling me that.”

I felt a scowl forming as my eyebrows pinched together. “Will you move in here?”

“Ok.”

“Ok… as in, yes?” My scowl was gone as hope returned.

She nodded with a small smile and said, “Yes. I’m scared but yes.”

“I promise, I’ll keep you safe. If you want, you’ll never have to be alone. If I can’t be near, I can make sure someone is.”

“No. I need alone time too. I can do this. Someone has always watched my every move. I don’t want to leave that house to have it happening again, no matter whether it’s good intentions or not.”

Nodding I said, “I respect that. I’ll follow you’re lead. OK?”

“Ok, yes.” She smiled, I smiled, and then we went out to the living room to eat our to-go meals. It was the lightest I’d seen her since I talked to her at her mailbox. She was eating, laughing, and telling me about growing up and what her father was like, and I shared a little about me. It was a comfortable conversation, and it didn’t feel like a ton of pressure.

When we finished, I took her home, made sure she locked up and reassured her everything was going to be alright. One step at a time was how we would get her free and I knew the guys would do anything to help her too.

Chapter 5

Calliope

Wednesday

Icouldn’t believe Ryder had moved and gotten a whole new place just so I had somewhere to go. I also couldn’t believe I was putting my trust in someone that I still hardly knew. Everything seemed like a dream. The days since meeting Ryder flew by, and I got to know him a little bit better over that time. As well as one can under such a short and chaotic timeframe.

Over dinner, I learned that his mama lives in town but stays in a mental health facility. He’s an only child and his father left when he was a kid. His mama deals with some mental health concerns, but Ryder has made sure she is taken care of and has what she needs. The club is his family and while I still don’t know a lot about them, he seems to really love it.

Colin was going to be home in just two days, and I still had so many things to get out.

“Knock, knock! Calliope, you here?”Ryder.

“I’m upstairs! Come on up.” I yelled down to him.

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