Daughter of the Devil - r. peters // 2

𝟸. 𝚠𝚎𝚒𝚛𝚍

The guys were worried about Reggie. Ever since that night, he hasn't been the same. Harsher,  cold, distant. He was picking more fights than usual, not playing right, and after gigs, he would just... Put his bass down, and sit, either reading or staring into space.

They hated to say it, hated to even think it, but... Reggie was acting more and more like his parents every day. Always combative, defensive, and then just getting distant when they confronted him.

So maybe they shouldn't have been surprised when Reggie confronted them.

"You guys are being weird."

Luke and Alex look up from their instruments, looking at each other, then back at Reggie. "What?" Luke says, his brows pinched in confusion mixed with annoyance.

Reggie scoffs, picking at the strings of his bass again. "I said, you guys are being weird."

"Yeah, we got that part." Luke shakes his head, trying to keep his voice even. "I mean, how are we being weird?"

Reggie shrugs, tuning again. "You guys act like I'm a ticking time bomb. Like at any moment I could just break." He says, glancing up at his friends.

Luke and Alex glance at each other, before looking back at him. "I mean... You're not acting so normal yourself." Alex mumbles, lifting a shoulder. "Not since-"

"Don't. Talk about it." Reggie says lowly, his movements on the guitar stopping as he glares at the two of them.

Luke scoffs. "We have to talk about it, Reg." He says, his fists clenching in his jacket pockets.

"No. We don't. I'm fine. And so are you guys. No more jolts, no more stamps, no more Caleb." He says firmly, looking back down at his bass.

Luke narrows his eyes. "No more Callie, either."

Immediately, they can tell the words affected him. He tenses, and something like pain flickers across his features, before they sharpen, as his blue eyes pierce into theirs. "What?"

Alex takes a breath. "Well... We know how she felt about you... How you felt about her-"

"Guys... That's over." Reggie sighs, shaking his head. "Since that day she left the studio, it's been over. It's been two months. Two."

"You forget she also works in a sicko performance club?" Luke snaps at him, before shaking his head in scoffing. "From what Willie said, I wouldn't be surprised if Caleb made her dance on a pole in the middle of the stage." He muttered.

The image angered Reggie. But the curiosity overwon it. "From what Willie said? He's... He's been telling you guys about her?"

Alex nods, sighing softly. "Yeah, she's... She's bad."

"Yeah, what else is new." Luke muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. "She went against one of the most powerful ghosts in the world and actually won. What else did you think would happen?"

Reggie shakes his head, looking at his bass again. "With Caleb... Nobody wins."

Alex and Luke fall silent the the boys sudden change in demeanor, but they don't get any time to say anything before he shakes his head, poofing out of the garage.

///

Callie smiled on the stage, waving to the crowd of people that cheered and shouted for her, the ones that reached and grabbed for her, one of them actually managing to grab for her ankle.

The familiar hand wraps around her waist, tugging her away from the touch, and she would've considered thanking them if she didn't know who they were. Another hand goes up to wave, before both of them poof away from the stage.

Callie immediately starts to go to her wardrobe, fingering through the different clothes to find her normal ones. Once she finds them, she turns around, gasping softly.

Caleb being behind her shouldn't have been a surprise. But... She didn't do anything wrong this time... She was perfect. Like he wanted her to be. He smiles. "Hello, Callie."

She swallows, giving him a tight smile. "Hi..." She says softly, fidgeting with her clothes in her hand, turning back to the wardrobe, taking a breath. "I need to change."

He hums, clicking his tongue softly. "Go ahead, I'm just picking up some things for the next show."

Callie glances back when she hears the drawer open, the contents of the drawer being rifled around, and the satisfied hum he lets out when he finds whatever it is.

"You don't need to wait, puppet."

Callie clenches her fists, not turning around to face him. "I know... I want to."

Caleb hums again, walking up behind her, his hands coming up to rest on her shoulders. "We know each other, Calypso." He murmurs to her, his breath right next to her ear. "I mean... It's nothing I haven't seen already-"

With a shuddering gasp, she squirms away from him, hugging herself. "I'm waiting on you to leave." She says firmly.

Caleb frowns a bit, but sighs. "I suppose it's the respectful thing to do..." He mumbles before nodding. "Okay. I'll let you change." He says, turning, before holding up a finger. "But..." He turns back to her, his gaze set. "I'd watch your tone if I were you." And with that, he poofs out.

Callie sighs shakily, her skin crawling. How could he say that? He's sick. She shakes her head, pulling her costume off, hating how the cool air hit so much bare skin, before she pulled on a shirt that hid everything, then poofing out to the roof.

Her favorite place.

She breathes in the cold air rushing above the roof, hearing the bustling of the crowd below her, even in the dark of the night. She looks up at the stars, her eyes darting across the vast expanse of inky sky.

"Daddy, what's that star called?" Callie points up at one particularly bright one.

Her father hummed softly, following her finger from where he lay on the grass beside her, and smiling a bit. "That's not a star, angel. That one is Mars."

She frowned. "But you said planets were supposed to be a million miles away! That one's close!"

He laughed softly, shaking his head gently at the young girl. "It's still far away, darlin'. It doesn't mean you don't see it some nights. Like, tomorrow, it could be Venus, or Mercury..." He shrugs. "Maybe some other undiscovered planet."

It's silent between them for a minute, before the girl hums. "Is my mommy up there?"

The question definitely surprised him, and he looks over at her, but her gaze stays locked on the sky. He sighs. "Yes. Yes, she's up there. Somewhere, she's sitting down, watching us, waiting for the both of us to go up there and meet her."

Callie takes a shaky breath, tearing her gaze away from the sky, wiping harshly at her cheeks, which had become wet with tears, before she glances a ways down the street, finding the familiar lit up blue sign, and the letters on it sticking out to her.

𝗝𝗨𝗟𝗜𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗠𝗦 - 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗢𝗨𝗧

𝗔𝗨𝗚𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝟴, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬

She sighed. She wondered how the boys were doing.