Page 26 of Outlawed Treat
“Unca Caleb,” Bryce calls out as Cali walks in the living room with Rory’s diaper bag in hand.
“Hey, Little Man.Are you ready to go get your costume?”I ask him, taking in Cali from head to toe.
Today she’s wearing a pair of jeans that fit her like a glove and one of Kreed’s hoodies.It’s his football hoodie from high school.She’s ended up with all of ours and wears them randomly when it’s chilly outside.Seeing Kreed’s name on her back pisses me off and makes me want to rip the damn thing off of her.Instead, I clear my throat and give her a smile while Bryce runs up to me.Lifting him in my arms, I use him as a distraction from Cali moving around the room and getting Rory ready to go out.
“You’re gonna need a hoodie, Little Man.Go grab one while Mama finishes gettin’ your sister ready,” I tell Bryce before setting him back down on the floor and watching as he races down the hallway toward his room.
“Are you sure you want to take us shopping today?”Cali asks me, her voice soft and melodic as I turn my attention to her and Rory.
“Why wouldn’t I?I’ve taken Bryce to get his costume every year when I’m able to for his entire life.I get shit is weird between us right now, but that doesn’t change the tradition of me takin’ you guys shoppin’.This year I get to add Rory to it.I’m happy to take you all out,” I tell her honestly.What I don’t say is that I’ve missed seeing her and want to spend time with her any way I can.That’s why I’ve been staying at the clubhouse and not allowing myself to come over here to see them.
I know I said we can’t be together, but that doesn’t change the fact that I want to more than anything.By limiting my time with her, I’m hoping the need will slowly disappear and we can get things back to normal.It hasn’t happened yet over the years, but maybe one day something will change.
The difference now is I’m not drinking and fucking my way through the Feral girls.I’ve been keeping my focus on the haunted house, working on paperwork I neglected, and working with Master to figure out who attacked Cali at the hospital and who’s stalking her.Both of us believe it’s not the same person.Whoever is stalking Cali knows way too much about her and gives her things we know she either loves or hates.Things only Kreed, Darren, and myself would know about.Kreed and I aren’t the ones stalking her and Darren isn’t alive.It’s what makes this entire situation so confusing because Cali doesn’t allow just anyone to get to know her.
“I’m sorry, Caleb.Things are so messed up between the two of us.I miss you and I miss the relationship we had in the past.I wish we could go back, but we can’t.I can stay home if you’d rather take the kids out alone,” Cali says, her voice muffled as she reaches under the couch for something.
“Not happenin’, Cali.We’ll get through this one way or another.But avoidin’ one another, we won’t get used to how things are now.We’ve changed and the situation between us has changed.It’s out there that we both have feelings for one another.We can’t change that fact.Now, we have to deal with it and figure out how to move forward.I’m not gonna walk away from Bryce and Rory because I love you and can’t be with you.I’m not gonna walk away from you, Cali.I’ll always be here for you no matter what is goin’ on between the two of us,” I tell her, knowing we both need some kind of assurance that our friendship will always be between us even if it’s changed over the years.
“Okay.Did Kreed tell you that we talked about only doing that trunk or treating thing instead of walking through the streets and going house to house?”Cali asks me when she pulls out one of Rory’s shoes from under the couch.
“Yeah.We talked about it in church.None of the guys are comfortable with you and the kids goin’ house to house.With my parents, grandparents, and aunt and uncle in town, they would’ve gone with you, but none of us would have been comfortable or able to focus on the haunted house knowin’ the three of you were out and seein’ so many random people,” I respond to her as Bryce comes back in with his hoodie half on.
“Help, Unca!”he says as I turn to look at him before starting to laugh my ass off.
Kreed and I got a smaller version of Darren’s football hoodie for Bryce last year.We talked to Cali about it before ordering the thing.Neither one of us wanted her hurt by seeing her son wearing a version of his dad’s hoodie.Right now, Bryce has the thing half on his body and is stuck with his head buried so he can’t see what’s going on around him or where he’s walking.
“Little Man, you’re gonna hurt yourself.Stop walkin’ before you slam into a wall,” I tell him, still laughing as Cali finishes getting Rory in her car seat.
I help Bryce get in the hoodie so he can see what he’s doing.Somehow, he got it twisted around and was putting it on backwards.Once I’m done helping him, Bryce races back toward his room and I wonder what he’s doing.His sneakers are by the front door already.Bryce walks out in a few minutes wearing the hat I bought him to match mine.It’s a simple black hat he wears backwards like I do.This fucking kid.He’s always doing something Kreed and I are doing and I love it.Besides Cali and Kreed, Bryce and Rory are the only people in this world who want me to be the best version of myself.A man they can look up to and be proud of.A good role model for the kids as they grow up and become more independent.I want Bryce to know he can always come to me no matter what’s going on in his life.If that means he wants to dress like me, then that’s cool with me.It just reminds me I need to change my ways and be the man he sees and not the asshole I’ve been over the last few months.Talk about a humbling moment and a reminder that hits like a damn truck.
Bryce picked out hiscostume and it wasn’t anything he wanted to be over the last few weeks.He found a costume as a racer.When I asked him if he was gonna be Daddy’s favorite race car driver for Halloween, Bryce informed me it wasn’t for cars like his daddy watched.He was dressing up as Kingston.Kingston is Fox’ and Kim’s son from my Dad’s club.I grew up with him even though he’s younger than I am.Kingston races sport bikes and that’s who Bryce wants to be.We’ve taken him to some of Kingston’s races and the kid loves it.He’s always loved it.Especially when King puts him on the bike and takes him for a short ride around the track.Cali about had a heart attack the first time Kingston took Bryce for a ride even though she gave her permission.It hooked Bryce and I see him owning a sport bike in the future.
Cali found the cutest costume for Rory.She’ll be an angel complete with a halo and wings.I don’t know how my niece will like wearing the costume, but it will be adorable.I can already see her dressed up and Cali taking a million pictures of her.The same with Bryce.Cali hasn’t stopped taking pictures over the years.We all have a ton of them filling our houses and my parents and grandparents get sent pictures once a month that Cali prints out specifically for them.
After dropping Cali and the kids back off at Kreed’s house, I head for the clubhouse to grab lunch before I go to the haunted house.I tried to take them out to eat, but Cali refused.She wanted to get back to the compound.My best friend was nervous being away from Kreed’s house.To see Cali constantly looking over her shoulder and jumping at every small noise she hears is more than enough to make me see red as rage fills me.This isn’t who she is.Cali might not put herself out there and doesn’t come across as the most confident person out there, but she’s strong as hell and doesn’t react to everything in the world that startles her or makes her feel uncomfortable.She’s usually able to hide her emotions and not tremble in fear.Today, that wasn’t the person I saw.I saw a timid animal being stalked and fear filling her.For the first time I realized how bad this is for her and how she truly feels about the situation of her stalker and the asshole who attacked her.
Walking in the clubhouse after parking my truck, the first person I see is Abigail.She tries rushing up to my side and I keep walking while brushing her off.My mom is sitting at a table alone and I make my way over to her as Sidney enters the common room.Sidney is one of the few Feral girls I remember because she’s never tried anything with me and she’s so quiet.Honestly, she reminds me of Cali in a lot of ways.
“Sid, can you please get me somethin’ to eat?I know I missed lunch.If there’s anythin’ left, I’ll take it,” I ask her, not sure if there is any food left since the clubhouse isn’t full today.The members are all at the haunted house working.
“Of course.We haven’t put the food away yet.Master called and said a bunch of them are on their way back for food,” Sidney answers me, disappearing back in the kitchen with a smile on her face.
“Did you have fun with Cali and the kids?”my mom asks as I sit down across from her.
“Yeah.Bryce is gonna go dressed as a racer.Says he’s a bike racer like Kingston,” I inform my mom as she starts laughing.
“Cali’s gonna have her hands full with him.I see him busting his ass to buy a sports bike to race with King.King is gonna get one call after another from Bryce when he gets old enough to start racing,” my mom says, laughter filling his voice as she leans back in her chair.
“He will.King loves it though.Every time he’s around Bryce, he lets him sit on his bike and goes over every part of it with him.Bryce knows more about sport bikes than anythin’ else at this point.By the time he’s ten I bet he’ll be able to fix one with help from King.The kid is crazy obsessed with them and racin’,” I say, thinking of the times I’ve been able to witness King and Bryce together over the years.King is so patient with him and takes the time to talk about his races and bikes.
Even after his crash when he didn’t talk about racing or riding with anyone, King still talked with Bryce about it.The little boy didn’t understand the pain it caused King to talk or think about racing with the pain his body was in.However, he didn’t let it ruin their time together and diminish what they built their bond on.It was the only time we saw King come alive after the crash that almost took his life.
“How was it being around Cali today?”my mom questions me with a serious look on her face because she loves Cali like her own daughter and wants to make sure she’s not hurt.She doesn’t want to see me hurt either.
“It was different.Our relationship will never be the same again and that’s on me,” I tell her honestly “If she had been with anyone else but Darren, we wouldn’t be in the position we’re in right now.I’d be able to be with her without hesitation and could do everythin’ I’ve imagined over the years.”
“Caleb, you’ve always been loyal to a fault.It’s one of the many amazing qualities you got from your Dad.That’s also a drawback because it means you’re missing out on something truly special with Caliana.And she’s missing out on something really good with you.She needs a man like you in her life, Caleb.You’re the only one who knows how to give her what she needs without her saying a word about it.I’ve watched you take care of her in so many ways over the years.She truly loves you with every bit of her and you love her with every bit of your heart and soul.Caleb, it’s rare to have a love like the two of you share.For you to push her away because of Darren proves once again how loyal you are.I hate seeing the two of you hurting because you can’t get past the relationship they had.Especially knowing she didn’t really love him and he never loved her.For Darren, it was about doing what was right and nothing more.We all saw it,” my mom says, the pain in her voice is enough to bring me to my knees if I were standing.I hate when any of the women in my life are hurting for any reason and this time, the pain is caused by me.
