Real Connections

Chapter 12

Chris's POV

I'm dreaming of chasing Callie in a maze, each corner she turns takes her farther and farther away from me until she disappears, and a picture of a body with a gunshot wound takes her place. There's a phone going off in the distance, and it takes me a while to realize that it's my actual phone. Fumbling for it on the nightstand, I see my alarm clock showing it being almost 4 in the morning. I finally latch onto my phone and see Callie's beautiful face light up the screen. I fumble the phone out of excitement and it stops ringing just as I pick it up again. I quickly call her back, praying that she will answer.

"Hello?" Comes her voice, a little raspy, like she's been crying.

"Callie," I sigh her name before launching into a ramble, "I'm so sorry baby. I swear I didn't know, I felt like I had no choice..."

Callie cuts me off with a soft but sad chuckle.

"Chris. We need to talk. In person."

Hope bloomed in my chest. If she wanted to talk in person, we couldn't be over, right? I asked her where she was and if I could come to her. I quickly put her mother's house into my maps app and noticed she was 2 hours away. I was already up and getting dressed before we ended the call. I texted Fiona, letting her know what was up, and got into my car.

I drove as fast as I could without getting a ticket, not wanting to stop until I got to Callie. We may not have been together for long, but it felt right, and so good. I could see myself coming home to her, building a life with her. I want to support her while she follows her dreams of medical school. The dream she got after her father was fatally shot in a gas station robbery gone wrong. A robbery that I was a part of. Pain shot through my chest like a knife. Does she think our relationship is a lie? Things weren't looking good for me right now, but I am determined to show her how much she means to me and that our relationship is so very real.

My GPS takes me into a neighborhood, and before long, I pull up to the address Callie gave me. Here goes nothing.

-Callie POV-

I'm on edge as it gets closer to Chris's arrival. I hear a knock on the door and jump to my feet. I open the door to see Chris standing there, his blue eyes dimmed, his hair disheveled, and a five o'clock shadow on his face. Somehow, it still makes him look sexy as sin. I am torn between throwing myself in his arms and playing it cool. Chris seems to be going through the same indecision because he raises his hand in an awkward but adorable wave.

Inviting him in, I lead him to the kitchen, telling him to sit on a barstool and offering a cup of coffee. He gladly takes the coffee and looks at me nervously. I did the inviting, so I guess I should get this party started. My mind is taken back to the first night I met Chris, when Fiona shouted that same phrase. The day that changed my life. Because it brought Chris to me. I may have never known the passion and love he showed me had it not been for that night.

Shaking my head, I look Chris in the eyes, gaining the courage to continue.

"I think we should start with your side of the story."

Chris takes another drink of his coffee before setting it down and looking at his hands, now clasped together in front of him on the counter. He takes a deep breath and begins.

"When I was 18, I was at a party, drinking with a girl who turned out to be under 18. The police ended up responding to a noise complaint. They saw the alcohol and were about to arrest me before one of my cousins stepped in and took the blame. I didn't know it then, but they would use that as leverage against me later and even threaten Fiona when I didn't cooperate. If only I had told my Dad or someone."

His voice breaks, and he pauses before looking up at me. My stomach flips at his gaze, but I push it down, determined to get to the bottom of this. Chris continues.

"I didn't connect the dots until your first night at my house. When you started to have that panic attack when we passed the same type of gas station that your dad... Chris trailed off, his words unsaid lingering between us.

"I still wasn't sure. Call it denial, but I still thought they were two different incidences. It wasn't until you called me about going to the police station that I realized I couldn't deny it any longer; that I was the...the getaway driver in your dad's...death. And now, here we are."

I wasn't sure how to process all the information, so I busied myself with getting a glass of water to buy time. On one hand, I was so happy that he wasn't some hardened criminal, participating in fatal gas station robberies, not that I ever really believed he was. On the other hand, I wondered If my willingness to believe him was naive.

"So, how can I be sure our relationship is real?"

"You mean, did I use you to keep you from finding out? No," He chuckled darkly, "I would've run the other way if that was the case. I can assure you that my feelings for you are real. So real, I don't know that I'll ever recover if we can't fix this Callie."

I didn't notice that he had stood up until he was coming around the counter towards me. He stopped in front of me. So close that I had to tilt my chin slightly to look up at him. He tucked a stray hair behind my ear, his hand lingering as he said his next words.

"I'll do anything for you to believe me. I'll do anything to make it up to you. I'll go to the police station and admit to what happened. I'll turn my cousins in, and if I have to go down with them, I will."