Ok, sorry I took so long to upload the next chapter, I was away on holiday. This was only supposed to be a one-shot but everyone posted such lovely reviews that I had to give in to peer pressure :) Just a small warning, this chapter is a little dark so please don't expect this story to be the Callian fluffiness I usually write. All of it is a flashback except for the first paragraph. That being said, please read and review (you know how much i love them). I don't own Lie to Me.
***
She sits alone on her bed, the headache slowly starting to invade her skull. Every year. This one day every year she falls apart. Usually she's better at hiding it than this. Usually sitting at home in the dark with her twelfth glass of wine is enough. But for some reason this time it wasn't. So she went out, which was a bad idea in the first place. But then she had to make that one stupid phone call. She knew she was really drunk at the time, incoherent really. But that phone call to her friend was a mistake. And she paid for that one mistake dearly. The one person she didn't want to see, the man she had avoided all day, had come to her rescue. For her that was like adding fuel to her already burning anger and sadness. So she exploded. And man, it felt good. All those emotions she felt came tumbling out, were thrown back at the one man she actually cared for. Plus, he deserved it. She knew her logic was twisted. Causing pain to the one she loved. But that pretty much summed up most her life. Full of her analysing others' issues while secretly hiding her own, which were much larger than she would let anyone know. Sure, they knew about Alec and Sophie. But that was only part of a much bigger picture, the tip of the iceberg. She lies down and closes her eyes. She knows it will all come flooding back but is too tired to care.
***
The keys rattled in the lock as she opened the front door to her dorm.
'Brian?' she called out, wondering why the house seemed so silent. She placed the keys on the coffee table and rubbed her belly. All day it had been kicking something chronic. For something so small it sure managed to pack a mighty punch.
'Honey, where are you? I'm exhausted after my morning classes and work. Do you just want to grab takeaway for dinner?'
Still no answer. She frowned. Something was wrong. He had been having a hard time lately, she knew that. He often got home and took out all his stress on her, which had put a strain on their relationship. But he was her boyfriend and the father of her baby. And as much as she found it hard to bite her tongue sometimes, she did it, for all their sakes. Her's, Brian's and their beautiful baby.
She walked towards the bedroom, wondering if maybe he had fallen asleep. She took note of his keys and jacket resting on the kitchen bench. He was definitely home.
The bedroom door was closed, so she knocked. No answer. She knocked once more before turning the door handle and stepping into the room. No one was there. She turned to walk out the room when she heard a thumping noise in the bathroom.
'Brian?' she called out once more, immediately on guard. If he wasn't home, someone else was definitely there. She looked around for something to defend herself, eventually picking up an umbrella. She shook her head. How ridiculous. What, she was going to club the intruder to death with an umbrella? She took a step closer to the bathroom door but stopped. Maybe she should wait for Brian to come home. The silence was deafening. She decided that she couldn't wait any longer. She took a few more steps, eventually reaching the bathroom door. She slowly turned the handle and peered inside, ready to attach if need. But what she found was far from what she thought she would. She let out a blood curdling scream.
'BRRRIANNNN.'
She rushed over to his limp body, a pool of blood slowly spreading over the tiles. It took her a second to notice the gun he was holding in his right hand. This had been no accident. There had been no intruder. She stood up and took a step away from his body, continuing to sob. 'How could he do this to us?' she thought, 'How could he leave us like this?'
She was covered in blood as she walked over to the phone to call an ambulance. There was nothing else she could do.
***
She stood and watched the flurry of activity around her. Ambulance officers, police, family, friends. Asking questions, making comforting statements, trying to support her, letting her know it will all be ok. All she wanted was for all of them to disappear, but it was late into the night before they finally left.
She walked past the bathroom and peered in. She didn't know why but she supposed it was morbid curiosity. Even though the tiles had been scrubbed, there was a stain where the puddle of blood had been.
***
The crippling pain began a little before midnight. She knew immediately something was wrong when she brought her hand up to her stomach the first time. It was all over after a couple of hours. That night, not only did she lose the man she loved but also the only other thing left in her world that mattered.