Right Now | Elvis Presley

Six: The Past and the Present

WHEN CALLIE woke, she was unaware of where she was. It took her a moment to come back to reality, when she remembered watching Star Wars episodes IV, V and VI with Elvis.

Slipping her arms out at her sides, she opened her eyes and lifted her head from the pillow flat beneath her cheek. The brunette yawned and rolled over, noticing the sleeping figure beside her.

Elvis was laying on his stomach, his arm tucked beneath the pillow as he slept. With his head facing her, she found herself staring at his long lashes, casting shadows over his cheekbones. His curved nose and his full lips slightly parted as he slept.

Callie sat up slowly, but it was enough to wake him. Of course, he was a light sleeper.

His blue eyes opened and the man yawned as he rubbed his eyes.

"I fell asleep during Return of the Jedi, didn't I?"
He nodded. "Around the time Luke surrendered to Darth Vader."

She groaned. "Episode VI is my favorite, out of all nine movies."

His eyebrows knitted together. "Nine?"

Callie laughed. "I told you, it's an entire saga."

Elvis groaned as he stretched. "Well, we've got to finish the rest of 'em soon."

The two got up from the floor and she helped Elvis pick up all of the blankets and fold them. As they did this, Elvis looked over at her.

"I saw some pictures of your nana." Elvis mentioned. "You look just like her."

She chuckled. "So I've heard. Where'd you see the pictures?"

"On your laptop. I was on Google and I accidentally pressed a button, your pictures came up."

Her cheeks tinted red as Elvis watched her intently. "I hope that's all right."

"Well, I'm glad they weren't R rated photos." She said. "I've never had to take them, anyway."

Elvis stared at her. "Tell me about your nana."

Callie hummed. "What do you want to know about her?"

He shrugged. "Anything. What were her interests? What did she do for a living?"

She sat beside him on the couch. "She was a teacher at an all girls school, but she wasn't strict. I always tell her how rebellious she is. . . She taught for twenty-five years. She met my papa in her third year of teaching, he was a coal miner. They were together until he died ten years ago."

"Coal mining." Elvis said. "That's a tough life."

Callie laughed. "Nana always talked about how a lot of her students were so obsessed with you. She said there was one girl who had sat at her desk and wrote your name all over her paper as if she were writing disciplinary sentences."

Elvis hummed. "There was a girl at the hayride once, she tore my jacket clean off of me while I was still onstage. Mama was so mad."

Callie laughed. "That's in the movie about you."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Okay, enough about my family. Tell me about your parents. Tell me something."

He shook his head. "Mama was the love of my life. My bestest girl. She was the one woman who truly loved me for me."

Callie could feel the atmosphere change, and the melancholy change caused her to lower her eyes. Elvis clenched his jaw, the muscles ticking as he thought about her.

"Of all of the things I can't remember, why'd I have to remember her bein' gone?"

She leaned forward. "I know how you feel. . . My mom and I didn't have a great relationship in the last few months of her life, but she still meant the world to me. She was my mom. They're the only people in the world that would put themselves in front of you if anything happened."

"That was mama." Elvis grinned. "God, I remember how angry she was at that show. She was always so worried about me, wherever I went."

Callie smiled. "She was a good mom."

Elvis inhaled. "I hope she was proud of me."
"Are you kidding?" She nudged him with her elbow. "She was proud of you, not because of what you did, but because of who you were. Who you are."

The man shifted on the couch to face her, and her heart swelled inside of her chest. "You've helped me with so much, Callie. More than you probably realize. Why?"

Callie blinked, unsure of how to respond. Because, although he was Elvis Presley alive and in the flesh, it wasn't only because of that. It was because as soon as he scared the hell out of her on that fire escape, she felt an odd connection between them both; an attachment to the man that she didn't want to break.

"Because I care about you." She said to him. "Maybe that sounds stupid, but I do."

Elvis shook his head slowly, his eyes lingering over her lips. "It's not stupid at all."

The man leaned towards her, taking Callie by surprise when he lifted his hand towards her face. The woman flinched, and Elvis frowned.

"Callie?"

The woman hesitated. "I—I can't."

Elvis leaned away. "Did someone hurt you?"

She leaned forward and hugged her knees. "It was a while ago, I don't want to talk about it right now. . . Do you want some breakfast?"

She quickly stood to her feet and entered the kitchen. Elvis rubbed his jaw for a moment, before standing to his feet.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." Elvis told her.

Going through the refrigerator, she pulled out the gallon of milk. "You didn't make me uncomfortable. I'm just pushing my own limits."

"How so?" He asked.

"Never mind." She said to him. "How do eggs sound?"

Elvis placed his hand on top of hers, stopping her from moving. Callie clenched her jaw as she looked up at him.

"You know everything about my past." Elvis said to her. "Trust me with yours."

Callie pressed her tongue into her cheek. "It was a few years ago, okay? I was dating this guy, and he was one some drugs and things just happened."

"What kind of things? God, Callie, did he—"
"No." She cut him off, because she knew what he was going to ask. "No. Almost, but no."

Elvis sighed of relief. "Well, forget him. He doesn't deserve you. You deserve so much better, Callie. It's not fair, what you went through."

Her eyes met his. "Why do you care so much?"
The man scoffed. "Why do you care about me?"

They were very close, close enough for her skin to tingle as his breath fanned her lips. Callie swallowed hard, turning her head away nervously.

"There's something I want to show you." Callie told him.

"What's that?"

The woman crossed her arms over her chest.

"Do you want to go to Graceland?"