Trusting You: The Switched Series book two (3 page)

“I’m sure she knows that mom. I think she is trying to stay out of the way for when Molly comes home. You know Molly is not going to be okay with any of this, don’t you?”

“I have more faith in Molly than the rest of you. Yes, I know it will be hard, but Molly will be fine. I know it,” she says actually sounding like she believes it. I know how Molly is going to react, and fine is definitely not a word I would use to describe it.

“I hope you’re right mom. I’m going to sleep now. It has been a very long day. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” I say, before hanging up. I need to call Ash, but I am exhausted and it’s late. Maybe I can catch him before he gets here tomorrow.

“Hey man, why are you on the couch?” Ash asks, shaking me awake.             

“What time is it?” I ask, trying to sit up.

“It’s a little after eight. Why are you in here and not in the bed?” he asks again.

“It’s been a long week. I need to talk to you about something. My sister is in my room. Is it okay if she crashes with us for a while?” I ask, waiting for him to blow up at me. I know he can’t stand Molly. She has always thrown herself at him and he has always been able to politely ignore her. I’m sure he’s trying to figure out how he’s going to be able to do that with her here.

“Are you kidding me? There is no way Molly can stay here. You know how uncomfortable she makes me feel?” he says, looking at me like I have lost my mind.

“It’s not Molly, like I said it’s been a long week,” I say, watching him relax a little. Maybe since he knows it’s not Molly, he will be okay with it.

“Since when do you have another sister?” he asks, sitting in the chair next to me.

“A week ago Molly was in a car accident. It was pretty bad and she is actually in a coma right now.”

“Wait, Molly has been in a coma for a week and you didn’t call me. I’m your best friend, I would have come home or done something to help,” he says.

“I know, I have actually been in Miami all week. After they did some blood tests and other stuff on her, my parents found out she’s not really their biological daughter.”

“Are you kidding?” he asks, interrupting me again. “Who is in your bedroom, Brody?”

“Her name is Callie. Your dad is actually the one who found her. At least legally he’s the one who found her. I found her the next day, but it took him a week. Maybe he’s not as good as we thought. Anyway, I went to Miami to talk her into coming here with me and it worked. So she is staying in my room for a while. Are you good with that?” I ask.

“Of course, it’s fine. Please say she is nothing like Molly,” he says smiling at me.

“I promise she is nothing like her. She is probably the total opposite. So, here’s the deal. She may be my sister, but I’m not stupid, and if you touch her, I will shoot you,” I say knowing he would never do anything I asked him not to.

“No problem. I have enough family drama to deal with already. I sure don’t want any of this crazy drama in my life. She can stay as long as she needs. It’s no problem. I need to go check on some stuff. I’ll be outside,” he says, slapping me on the back on his way out.

I get up and head to the bathroom to shower. I guess it’s a good thing my bags are still out here. I would hate to have to wake Callie up to get clothes. After getting out of the shower and dressed, I walk into the kitchen to fix some breakfast. We actually have no food in this house. I guess I didn’t think of that when I was cleaning and buying plane tickets. Grabbing my keys off of the counter, I head to my truck to go get groceries. Maybe I can be back before Callie gets up looking for something to eat.

I don’t remember the last time I went real grocery shopping. Ash and I usually just grab whatever to eat. Maybe I should buy some actual food you can cook since Callie is staying with us. I have no idea if she knows how to cook or what she likes to eat, so I guess I can just get a little bit of everything.

After spending way too much time and way too much money on groceries, I come home to an empty house. Where could Callie have gone? I have just finished putting up the last bag of groceries when the front door opens. I turn around expecting to see Callie or Ash, but it’s Jaxon and Collin instead.

“Hey, where’s Callie? We thought it would be a good idea to come and talk to her this morning,” Jaxon says, looking around the house. 

“I don’t know,” I say, walking out the front door. “She was still in the bed when I left. Maybe she’s just looking at the horses or something.” I know I shouldn’t be worried, but I have a really bad feeling that I can’t find her.

“Do you have her number?” Collin asks, pulling his phone out.

“Yeah, it’s in my phone. I’ll call her,” I say, pulling my phone out and finding her number.

“Hello,” she answers.

“Hey. Are you okay? I came back to the house, but I can’t find you,” I say, going back inside to look around the house.

“I’m fine. I met Ash after you left I guess. We were just going to get some lunch. I’ll be back later,” she says sounding like she really wants to end this conversation. That can’t be good.

“Okay, can I talk to Ash a second? I forgot to tell him something this morning,” I ask, watching Jax and Collin stare at me. They don’t look any happier than I feel that she is with Ash right now. Didn’t Leighton tell me Callie didn’t usually trust people or even hang out with anyone but her?

“Sure,” she says.

“Hey man,” Ash says.

“Where are you taking her? I thought I told you to stay away from her,” I say hoping she can’t hear me.

“I’m just giving her a tour of the town before grabbing some lunch. We have no food in the house. I didn’t want her to starve,” he says, like he really thinks this is okay.

“Okay, tell her I bought groceries, so she doesn’t have to worry about starving anymore. We will probably see you both very soon.”

“I’ll tell her,” he says sounding bored with this conversation. When did I become this over protective crazy person? What is this girl doing to me?

“Don’t forget what I said, I will shoot you if I need to,” I say, watching Jaxon and Collin bust out laughing at me.

“I understand,” he says, before hanging up on me.

“Why did you threaten to shoot your best friend?” Jaxon asks, shaking his head.

“I told him not to touch her. We just got her here and I didn’t want to have to worry about her running off because he broke her heart,” I say.

“First, I don’t think Ash would break anyone’s heart because he doesn’t let anyone know he has one. Second, I don’t think you ever threatened to shoot anyone for Molly. Third, where are they, so we can go too?” Jaxon says.

“He was taking her to lunch because we had no food in the house. Are y’all hungry?” I ask, turning off all of the lights to walk out the door.

After hunting Callie and Ash down, I got a call from my mom saying Molly was awake. Now, two hours later we are finally pulling into the hospital. I hated leaving Callie alone, but Ash promised to take care of her, so I really hope he keeps his word.

“Does anybody else want to call mom and tell her we didn’t feel right leaving Callie and go back home?” Collin asks after a very quiet trip here.

“You know mom and dad are going to need us here. Molly is going to freak out. I dread it like everything, but I guess technically she’s still our sister,” Jaxon says, getting out of the truck. I know exactly how they feel. I have been feeling it the whole way here. I love Molly, she has been my sister for twenty six years, but there is no part of me that would have ever felt bad leaving her the way I did after leaving Callie today. I should really call and check on her later, but I have another call to make first.

While we stopped to get gas before leaving town, I put a call in to a friend at the station to get me Leighton’s last name and phone number. Sometimes it’s really nice having my job. In less than an hour, I had her name and phone number texted to me. Now, if I can just get this over with, I can find a quiet place and make this phone call.

We all walk into Molly’s room to find my mom in tears and my dad just looking completely worn out. I guess they decided to tell her without us.

“Hey,” I say, walking over to Molly. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling great. It’s wonderful to wake up from a coma to find out your entire life has been a lie and you have no one because your entire family is dead. She gets parents and three brothers and I get no one,” she says in the only way she knows how to talk to anyone lately.

“You know you have all of us,” I say, sitting down beside her.

“That’s not true. I wake up to find out you were all with her. I guess now we know why I have never fit into this family,” she says, starting what looks like a new round of fake tears. My mom hands me two envelopes that she was holding in her hand. One has her name on it and the other has Callie’s. I open the one with my mom’s name on it and look at it. It’s the DNA test. Callie is definitely her daughter. I give her envelope back to her and fold Callie’s and put it in my pocket.

“I need to make a phone call to work, I’ll be right back,” I say, walking out the door. I walk back outside and climb back into my truck. I don’t really want anyone else to know I am making this phone call. I open up my text and dial the number that was texted to me. I hope this is the right one.

“Hello”

“Hey, is this Leighton Lancaster, Callie’s friend?” I ask hoping it doesn’t sound as stupid as I think it does.

“This is Leighton, who is this?”

“It’s Brody, we met the other day. You know, when you came to my hotel.”

“I do remember you. Is Callie okay?” she asks.

“Callie is fine, I just wanted to ask you some more things about her, if that’s okay,” I say sounding unsure. I guess I should have planned this conversation out a little better. I’m usually really good at asking questions to find out what I want.

“You can ask me whatever you need, but wouldn’t it make more sense to ask Callie?” she asks.

“Probably, but I really don’t want to scare her off yet. When we talked before, didn’t you say something about how she doesn’t have any friends but you and never really talks to anyone else?”

“That is what I said. I have no idea why Callie is feeling all trusting with all of you, but I like it. She hasn’t had a lot of people on her side and I’m glad to finally hear that she does. She seems happy. I just hope your sister doesn’t ruin it,” she says.

“Have you talked to her?” I ask.

“She called earlier. She said she had met everyone and they were really nice, she is just really worried about what will happen now that Molly is awake. What kind of guy is Ash?” she asks, throwing me off.

“How do know Ash?”

“I don’t. Callie just said he was taking her horseback riding. I’m assuming if she is going somewhere alone with him, he’s safe. All she could tell me about him was he’s hot,” she says, with a laugh.

“Callie called to tell you she was going with Ash and he is hot?” I ask making sure I heard her correctly.

“That’s not why she called me. She called and told me lots of other stuff too, but if that’s all you heard, should I be worried about her?”

“No, Ash is harmless. He is actually a great guy. He usually doesn’t give anyone but his close friends a second thought. I’m not sure why they feel so comfortable with each other.”

“Well, Callie seems happy and I have not heard her like that in a long time. I have always had to go on all of her dates with her. She is scared to death to be alone with anyone. So the fact that she ran off with you and trusts him that much says a lot. Please don’t let her get hurt,” she says sounding worried.

“I will try. The problem is Molly. She is not very nice and she already hates Callie. I don’t know what’s going to happen when they meet. If I need you, can I call?”

“You can call me anytime and I will come get her. She is like a sister to me and I would do anything for her. Please keep me updated and let me know if she’s okay.”

“No problem. Thanks for caring so much for her. I’ll talk to you later,” I say, before hanging up. Maybe I had this one pegged all wrong too. I thought she was just some clingy blonde when we first met. I don’t do clingy, ever. I made that mistake only once. Thankfully, I will never have to see that girl again. I put my phone back in my pocket and head back in to see Molly. I already want this day to be over.

“Why don’t you all just go back to her? I know you would all rather be with her anyway. I’m surprised you didn’t drag her here with you so I could see how happy you all are.” I can hear Molly screaming halfway down the hallway. I really wish I had stayed at the house.  I walk back into the room to see my mom in full blown sobs and everybody else looking like they are ready to kill.

“We would not rather be with her. We just think it would be a good idea if we were there when she found out. She is our daughter after all. We would do the same thing if the situation was reversed,” my dad calmly tries to tell Molly.

“I’m not your responsibility anymore. I am nothing to you. Go back and stay with her. I seriously don’t care what you do,” Molly screams back at him.

“I can hear you all the way down the hallway. Try to lower it an octave,” I say, walking back over to sit by Molly. “We can all stay here tonight. I just looked outside and it looks like a horrible storm is on the way anyway. Maybe you can come back home with us tomorrow and we can deal with everything then,” I say, trying to calm Molly down. I know there is no way we can deal with all of this. She is going to hate Callie and she is going to hate her even more when she finds out there is something going on with her and Ash, if there is something going on with her and Ash.