AN: Just a little heads up! I added a scene in the previous chapter. The added scene is a repeat from a flashback scene that happened in "After the wait" chapter - 61. It was added after Callie sat on the stairs, before the funeral scene.
Before posting previous chapter, I made a decision - not to write in the flashback scene-, because I didn't want to repeat myself. But after I received a review from Lacorra saying, and I quote, "I can't wait to read her reaction when Amy tells her she wants her to stay!". I realize that, probably, no one remembers what happened in the other stories. Too much time has passed. I doubt anyone remembers that I even wrote a flashback scene that could potentially follow a scene I wrote in this story. So, yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if no one pieced the last chapter together with a flashback scene from After the wait.
Because of my decision regarding previous chapter, you didn't get the full picture, you didn't get the full story of that chapter. And I apologize for that. I added the scene in the previous chapter now. I know it's too late, you probably won't return to the chapter, but...I don't know what else I can do :(
I'm sorry :(
Callie POV
January 30th
Ian and Betty flew back home the next day after the funeral. Now that they were no longer here, it was a lot more peaceful. Whenever they were here, they always complicated things. Without them here, there were no more arguments, no more yelling, no more mean looks and snobbish comments. I could breath easier without them.
Nell, Andy's wife, and daughters had a flight back to Boston on Friday evening. Andy decided to stay here for few more days. It was very sweet of him – to stay for his sister. It seemed like he truly cared about his sister and being the oldest, I could tell, he wanted to help Amy as much as it was possible. Amy's parents were still here as well. The family was staying at the closest hotel, because there wasn't that much room in the house.
I woke up this morning, when I heard the front doors opening and closing. After that I heard talking coming from the downstairs. I knew, who it was downstairs. Amy's parents and Andy said they would all come over early this morning. Because I knew they were coming over, I wasn't worried or scared about the noise.
It was only 7AM, which meant that I don't have to get up for another 30 minutes. I decided to remain in the bed and just lay there. When I rolled on my right side, to face the doors, I heard one of Amy's family member walking up the stairs. As I listened closer, I came to a conclusion, that it was Amy's mother. The footsteps were light and quiet.
Once Linda had ascended the stairs, I listened how she walked towards Amy's bedroom and knocked on the doors.
"Aims? Are you up?" The only reason I heard, what Linda said, was because I was listening very attentively to every sound that came from outside my room. I had no idea whether Amy had replied, but Linda opened the doors and then walked in, closing the bedroom doors behind her. I heard Linda walk out of the bedroom some few minutes later, but I didn't hear Amy follow her out.
Time went by. I kept sleeping on my right side. Staring at the bedroom doors. Listening to the sounds that came from the house and waiting for the alarm clock to ring out.
When the alarm clock finally did ring out, without much hesitation, I stopped it, got up, made my bed and started to get ready for school. I took the last of my clean clothes from my blue duffle bag, went to grab a quick shower and got dressed. My backpack had already been packed, so I simply grabbed it from the chair by the desk and went downstairs.
I was greeted by Amy's family, when I walked in the kitchen.
"You are right on time for breakfast, Callie!" Harold said as he turned off the stove and picked up the pan. While Andy was pouring milk in the cups, Harold walked towards the table and put scrambled eggs on all 5 of the plates.
"How did you sleep?" Linda asked, when I sat down at the table
"Fine," I replied in indifferent manner, before I started to eat the breakfast Harold had made
While I was eating, Amy's family started to discuss Amy, about how she has been handling this. To be honest – it was going pretty bad. Amy has barely left her room since the funeral. Her family tried to get her to come out, watch TV with them, get her to make dinner together, join us at breakfast or dinner table, go for a walk, go grocery shopping with them. But Amy had rejected all of their offers and simply remained in her room. She had gone to, what her father described as, dark place, where she simply didn't care about anything or even herself. We all knew she was hurting, but no one knew how to help her.
"What are we going to do with her?" Harold asked his wife and son as he scooped some scrambled eggs on his fork
"I honestly don't know," Linda replied, shaking her head slightly "She wouldn't even listen to me, when I talked to her this morning. I don't know how to help her," Linda sighed and took a mouthful of the scrambled eggs
"There must be something we haven't thought about," Andy gestured with his hand
"Maybe we should call some professional," Harold suggested carefully and warily "Someone, who knows how to help people, who have lost so much, so unexpectedly,"
"You mean like a physiologist or something?" Andy frowned his forehead at his fathers suggestion and lowered the cup he had just raised up to take a sip
When Harold nodded back, Andy called out "No!" he shook his head back "I don't see how a stranger can help her! We are her family. We know her the best. We should be able to help her!"
"Our efforts of trying to help her are not working, son! Do you see her at the table with us?" Harold replied, looking desperate
"She just needs more time!" Andy argued back "You can't expect her to be miraculously okay just few days after the funeral!"
"How much time?" Harold asked back "How much longer are we suppose to watch her be like that! I want my daughter back!" He gestured with his hand towards the upstairs "I don't want to watch my daughter slowly-"
"I don't know dad!" Andy retorted in a raised voice interrupting his dad, sounding a little frustrated with his dad "But certainly more than 5 days! Let her grieve dad! Let her mourn Aaron and Markus death for a while! Aims just needs to come with the terms that Aaron and Markus will no longer be in her life. She needs to understand, what her life without them looks like, she needs a reason...she needs to find a purpose to get up in the morning! No stranger can tell her that. She needs to figure it out on her own, dad!" Andy paused and sighed "She just needs more time, dad!"
Harold stared at his son for a while, till he finally nodded his head and admitted "You are right. You're right. I just..." he rubbed his forehead "I just hate seeing my little girl like that. I hate that she's hurting and I can't fix it..." Linda started to rub Harold's back, comforting him
~o~o~o~
The last 5 minutes of my breakfast time, they talked about what should be done around the house. Linda said she will do laundry and clean the house, Harold said he will do the dishes and do some small maintenance things around the house, but Andy said he will take me to school, like he has the last few days, and after that he will do some grocery shopping.
"Okay. Ready?" Andy said, when he saw that I was done with breakfast
"Mm-hmm," I hummed back as I pushed my chair back
"Have a great day, Callie," Linda smiled at me as she reached for the now empty plate in front of me
"Learn something," Harold added with a smile
"Yeah," I mumbled back to both of them as I grabbed my back pack from the ground
"Let's go then. We don't want you to be late," Andy said walking towards the hallway, jiggling Amy's car keys in his hand
I tossed the backpack over my shoulder and followed Andy to the hallway. When I had reached the stairs, I stopped dead in my tracks. Andy opened the front doors ready to leave. When he noticed that I was no longer following him out the house, he turned back to me.
"Forgot something?" Andy asked, looking back at me. I don't answer him, I stay quiet and keep my eyes on the stairs.
"Callie, your school starts in 20 minutes! We need to go, otherwise you will be late," Andy said walking up to me "Callie?" He said trying to get my attention
I turned to him and extended my arm to him, palm up. Andy looked down to my extended arm, then up to my eyes. He smirked at me and hit his palm to mine, giving me 5.
I roll my eyes at his silly, childlike action and said in dead serious tone "Keys!"
"What?" He chuckled back confused
"Give me the keys," I repeated in a non-nonsense tone, staring right to his eyes
Amy POV
The last few days have all been the same. I have spend them in my room, in my bed, under the blanket. After the funeral, I just didn't see the reason to do anything. My mom, dad and brother helped around the house. I didn't have to make food, clean house, do laundry, buy groceries, I didn't have to take anyone to school or go to work, Markus and Aaron are both gone. There was no reason for me to get up in the mornings.
I was wearing some sweatpants and one of Aaron's t-shirts. It reminded me of him, that's why I had it on. My hair was down and messy. I was snuggled under the blanket, sleeping on my right side, my back turned to the doors, staring at the empty side of the bed, where Aaron used to sleep. In my mind I was remembering our time together.
The bed felt bigger without him. It also felt very empty and cold. There was no one to cuddle with, there was no need to fight for the blanket at night, no one mumbled in sleep or gave out small snores at night. I don't like the silence, the empty bed and how lonely I feel.
"Mom, just leave me alone!" I said in frustration, when I heard the bedroom doors creak open slowly
My mom had already tried to get me out of the bed, few minutes ago. If I had wanted to get up, I would. But right now, there was no reason, no purpose for me to do that. All I wanted, was stay under this warm blanket and reminiscent about the better times, when Aaron and Markus were still alive and we were all a happy family.
Mom didn't say anything. She also didn't walk towards the bed. I don't know what she is up to, but I don't care about that enough to turn to see her or ask her about it.
Then out of no where, something landed on the bed empty side of the bed, on Aaron's side. I got scared when the object landed on the bed. I had flinched back a bit. Once the initial surprise was gone, I looked at the object.
Keys.
My car keys.
Confused, I reached for the keys and sat up in the bed as I turned to look at mom. Only it wasn't mom, who was standing in the doorway. It was Callie.
"Callie-" I looked to the keys in my hand and then back up to her "What is this?"
"My school starts in 15 minutes,"
"Andy will take you," I replied and threw the keys back to her. She caught them mid air.
"I don't want Andy to take me," She said throwing the keys back to me. The keys landed on the blanket, over my legs.
"Callie, I don't have the energy to-"
"Fine by me!" Callie muttered back, swung her backpack off her shoulder and took a step aside. She sat on the ground, crossed her legs, back against the wall. Callie unzipped her back pack and pulled out her History book, notepad and pen.
"Callie," I sighed "What the hell are you doing?" I gestured to her as I watched how she opened her book and notepad. She clicked her pen. Callie dragged her left finger over the text in the book, but with her other hand she was holding the pen, ready to write down something.
"Studying! Obviously, I will miss the first period!" She replied without even lifting her eyes up to me
"Andy!" I shouted out as I tossed the blanket aside, swung my legs over the bed side and got up
"What?" Came a shout from downstairs
"Come upstairs!" I shouted and walked to the stairs. Andy walked up the stairs and stopped on the second from top step
He was holding on to the banister with his right and was looking at me "What is it, Aims?"
"I thought you said you would take Callie to school," I whisper to him and gestured towards my bedroom. Part of Callie's left side – arm and leg – was seen from the hallway.
"She won't go anywhere with me," Andy whispered back gesturing his left towards my bedroom
"What do you mean?"
"She wouldn't follow me to the car!" He whispered back to me "We all tried to get her to come with me, but she wouldn't move a muscle. She ignored us completely!" Andy sounded rather desperate "It was like talking to a wall! She just stood there, till I gave her the car keys. Next thing I know, she's walking upstairs and entered your room!"
I threw my head back, closed my eyes and sighed. Callie had been doing so good all this time. Andy had taken her to school the few days leading up to the funeral and the last few days after the funeral as well. Of course I started to wonder – what caused this, what changed, what made her act out like this.
I turned around and walked back to my bedroom. When I was in the room, I crouched down to Callie. All her attention was on her notes. She didn't even look up to me for a second. I held the keys in my left palm, in my fist.
"Callie, sweetie, you need to go to school," I said in the softest voice I could muster
"I know," she replied with a hint of attitude in her voice, without batting an eye at me
"So why won't you?" I asked curiously, but Callie didn't reply to this question "Andy said you wouldn't go with him,"
"Is someone bullying you"in school?" Callie kept writing in her notepad
"Did someone hurt you?" Silence
"Did someone say something to you?" Callie didn't say anything, she simply turned a page in her History book
"Did something happen – did you got detention, suspension?" Now I was just saying whatever popped in my mind
When I was met yet again by silence, I sighed and ran my palm over my face in frustration. If I was being completely honest, I didn't have the energy, will or the patient to get through his attitude Callie was showing. If this had happened any other day, before the 19th – I would be all over this. Right now, I just got more frustrated with every minute.
"Then what is it Callie?" I asked desperately
Callie raised her head up and gazed back to me. I wasn't sure, what was going to happen, so I gazed right back at her, waiting for her to do or say something. She placed her pen on the notebook and with her left hand she reached out to my left palm. Her fingers touched my closed fist.
When I glanced to my closed fist, Callie started to gently pry my fist open. I opened my fist, I looked down to my left palm and the keys. Callie took the keys from me and held them up.
It took me a little while to realize what she wanted from me "You want me to take you," I said as I looked from the keys, she held up, to her brown eyes. Callie nodded her head back.
"Okay, come on," I said grabbing the keys from her hand and standing up "Let's get you to school,"
Callie quickly closed her notebook, History book and shoved everything in her backpack. She jumped up to her feet and followed me out to hallway, down the stairs. I had to briefly stop at the front doors to get some shoes on, but once that was done, Callie and I walked to the car.
~o~o~o~
When I returned back home, it was some hour later, I walked to the living room. My dad was sitting on the couch, reading a newspaper, but my brother was watching TV.
"Hey, darling," Dad lowered the newspaper and greeted me, when I entered the room "Did you get Callie to school in time?"
"No," I sighed and tossed the keys to the coffee table "Traffic jam. She missed first period,"
"Did you wrote a note for her?" Andy asked briefly glancing to me
"Yeah," I said leaning back to the couch and I sighed deeply
"What is it?" my dad asked after watching me closely for few seconds
"Nothing," I breathed out staring in the distance at nothing
"Come on, Aims. It's me," Dad said and reached for my palm. My palm looked so small in his. His skin was rougher, less smooth, but I liked how it felt on mine. Dad moved his thumb softly over my palm.
"After I had written the note for Callie, she took me to one of the hallways. They had this..." I raised my free hand up a bit, but let it fall down to the couch a moment later "Memorial wall in the hallway for Markus,"
"That's sweet of them," Andy commented quietly and turned lower the volume of the TV
"Yeah...yeah it is," I agreed, nodding my head "They had pictures of him on the wall. Some students had written some notes, letters to him. There were few school newspaper articles cut out, that had mentioned him. His teammates had all signed a football and put it there. The hallway was filled with flowers," Tears whelm up in my eyes as I started to talk about it
Dad tossed the newspaper to the coffee table and then scooted closer to me. I lowered my head to his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around me, like, when I was 10, and held me. I had always felt safe in his strong arms. It was very comforting to be held like that.
~o~o~o~
I ended up falling asleep in dad's arm. When I woke up from the short nap, I realized that I was still on on the couch, but the position I woke up, was not the one I fell asleep in. My head was in dad's lap. There was a blanket put over my shoulders. Now that I was awake again, every once in a while, I heard dad snore out. That only meant one thing – dad had fallen asleep as well. The TV was off. Andy was no longer sitting in the armchair. The house was very quiet.
"Aims?" I heard my moms voice coming from the hallway
"Yeah?" I said in a half-whisper as I sat up on the couch, not wanting to wake up dad
My mom stopped at the doorway, with a worried look in her eyes. The worry look disappeared from her eyes briefly, once she saw that dad was napping on the couch.
"What is it, mom?" I asked in a hushed voice, sensing she wanted to talk me about something
"I was doing laundry upstairs and I -" She said coming closer to the couch "Well, Callie barely had any clothes in the laundry basket. After I folded the few clothes that were Callie's and went to put it away..." Mom paused
"Mom, just say it!" I said, when I noticed she didn't know how to tell me, whatever it was she needed to tell me
"Where are all her clothes?"
"What do you mean?" I frowned up my forehead
"Her closet," Mom gestured with her hands "It was completely empty!"
"What do you mean - empty?" I asked confused, still sitting on the couch
"There isn't a single piece of clothing in there!" Mom explained
I got up from the couch and walked pass mom, without saying anything. As I was walking up the stairs, I heard mom following me up.
When I reached Callie's room, I walked straight to the closet. My mom left standing in the doorway. The clothes mom had washed and folded, stood on the top of the closet. When I pulled open the top drawer and saw nothing in there, I pushed it close and pulled open the next drawer. One by one I checked all of the drawers. They were all empty, just like my mom had said they were.
"Callie, what are you doing?" I muttered to myself confused
With my hand up to my forehead, I turned around and glanced around the room. My look stopped on Callie's bed. I lowered my hand back down and walked towards the bed. When I had reached it, I dropped down to my knees, bent down and looked under the bed. I noticed that something was hidden underneath it. It looked very much like her blue duffle bag.
I reached out, grabbed the bag and pulled it out. Mom came closer. I remained sitting on my knees on the ground. The blue bag was in front of me. I reached for the zipper and opened it. When I saw that it was full of her clothes, by the looks dirty clothes, I dropped my hands to my knees and looked up to my mom, who now stood by my side.
"So she...packed her bag," mom concluded slowly looking down to it
"Yeah...so it seems," I sighed heavily
I didn't understand what was happening. First, the strange acting in the morning and now this. While they were both strange, they were both complete opposite. In the morning, it seemed like she wanted to get attention from me, yet this, this seems like she was getting ready to be taken out of this house. She lived out of her bag, like expecting David to drop by and take her out.
"Why would she do that?"
"She thinks she's going to be taken out," I said sadly looking down to the bag "She packed her bag, so she would be ready to go, when David comes and takes her away,"
"But you told her that you won't send her-" Mom spoke up
"Yeah, I told her," I interrupted her "But that doesn't mean she believed me, when I said it!" I grabbed the bag, and lifted it up to my bed as I stood up
"What are you going to do?" Mom asked walking up to the bed
"Only thing I can do - talk to her again!" I said grabbing all the clothes out of the bag and carrying them to the bathroom
Callie POV
Andy picked me up from school. I knew it was silly of me to wish that Amy would do that. This morning was the first time since the funeral that she had left the house. The ride home was quiet. Andy asked how my day was, but after that we drove in silence. Only the radio was playing quietly in the background.
Walking in the house, I heard and saw Harold and Linda in the kitchen. There was no sign of Amy in the first floor. She was probably again in her room, sleeping. Without thinking twice about it, I headed up the stairs. I walked straight to my room.
I came to halt just one step in the room, when I saw Amy sitting on my bed, with my blue duffle bag by her side. My heart started to beat faster and louder in my chest. I gripped the strap off my backpack tighter and gulped down.
"Hey," Amy said without much emotion
"Hey," I reply warily, without taking my eyes off her
"So..." Amy said pressing her hands to the side of the bed "My mom was doing laundry this morning. She went to put away your clothes in the closet," Amy nodded her head towards it. I started to chew my lip getting nervous, because I knew what they found in there "And it was empty!" Amy finished
She placed her hand over my bag and looked down to it "I was very surprised to find most of your clothes in this bag right here!" Amy looked up to me "Which was hidden under the bed!" I keep my mouth shut and don't say anything back.
"Callie," Amy sighed. Her mouth parted few times, it was like she had trouble finding the right words to say or maybe she didn't know what to say.
"You are not going anywhere," She finally said after few seconds " You are not an object! I won't just send you away, because life got...complicated and things got hard! David is not going to take you away!"
"He always does!" I retorted
"Not this time, okay?" Amy said more surely as she stood up "You don't need to live out of your bag. I already told you few days ago – you are not going anywhere! I meant what I said the other day!"Amy lifted up the blue duffle bag, that she was holding in her right hand, and shook it lightly in the air few times "You don't need this!"
"You will change your mind," I argued back
"I won't!" Amy replied back without missing a beat "I promise you, I won't!"
"Don't make promises you can't keep!" I snapped back "Giving me false hope is the worst thing you could ever do!" I said in slightly more louder voice
Amy came way way and stopped right in front of me. I had to tilt my head back a bit, so I could look in her eyes. There was fire in her eyes that I hadn't seen for a long time. We had a short, yet very intense stare down.
Amy raised her left hand up and rested it gently on my neck. Her thumb was on my cheek, but her palm rested on my neck. I felt her fingers press in my neck, she wasn't hurting me. Her thumb moved over my cheek gently. I have been holding my breath ever since she initiated the contact.
"I don't break promises!" Amy stated firmly. After the statement, she leaned toward me and placed a tender kiss on my cheek. She walked out of my room the next second, taking my blue duffle bag with her.