Daughter of the Devil - r. peters // 2

𝟽. 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚎

Whatever good mood Caleb was in the night before, it was gone. Not that Callie was surprised. She figured the small amount of bliss that came with having the day off would fade quickly.

Charlie was avoiding her. She assumed it was because of Caleb, because every time he saw her talking to Charlie, he simply stared at her. And not the good kind of stare. The stare that sends shivers down her spine.

Whatever. She had Willie. That was all she ever needed. Even as she walked through the club with bruised lips and a raw neck.

Even when the boy noticed the new bruises, even when he noticed how she ignored them...

She wasn't the same. He could tell. She wasn't doing good. Well, she hasn't been doing good for the past two months, but now... It was like she was fading.

He has to tell the guys.

///

Luke was being weird. Reggie noticed the secrecy from the night before. He didn't show up at the garage until much later last night, and he wasn't saying anything about where he was.

Until Willie poofed into the studio unexpectedly.

"Willie?" Alex said, stepping towards the boy, shaking his head. "What are you doing here-"

"Listen, I-I know it's a little sudden, but... But it's Callie."

Reggie feels something in his chest crack, and he clenches his jaw.

"Callie? What about her?" Luke says, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Caleb realized she left again last night. He knows she went to see you guys." Willie says quickly.

"She what?"

All three of the other ghosts look at the bassist, who's fists are clenched, as he looks at Luke. "You knew this?"

Luke opens his mouth, before turning back to Willie. "What- what do you mean?"

"She's hurt again. Worse than before. Her-her face is bruised again, and-and she's just... She's acting like nothing's wrong! I don't think she.... I don't even think she cares anymore."

"Luke, she came to our show last night?" Reggie says, his voice hard. "Is this where you went last night?"

The blonde sighs. "Reggie, now's not the time-"

"No, now is very much the time. Luke, did you see her last night? Is that why you were so late?" His voice is sharp, cold, leaving no room for argument.

Luke sighs, closing his eyes. "Yes, I went to see her last night."

"You went to the club? You know how dangerous that is-"

"Alex, please, just listen for a minute." Willie says softly, grabbing his hand. "Luke, you saw her last night. How was she then?"

Luke shakes his head. "I-I don't know, she was... Y'know, fine, I guess... We were talking just fine... Nothing seemed wrong..."

"Luke, you went to see her, and you didn't tell us?" Reggie says, his voice a little louder, as he steps forward. "We promised not to keep secrets from each other, dude! We agreed to stay away from Callie. And everything that was about her!"

"Reggie, you did that. Neither me or Alex agreed to that. Just because the girl you had a crush on hurt you, doesn't mean we can't help her-"

"She hurt us! Her father hurt us! Threatened us, everything! How can you just forgive that?"

"Reg-"

"No, just... Leave me be." He grumbles, before poofing out again.

Luke sighs, raking his hand over his face, looking at both of the boy's faces there. "He'll cool off eventually. Just... What's been going on?"

///

Reggie was livid. How could Luke just do that? Just disappear out of nowhere, and then he finds out he was talking to the person they shouldn't talk to?

He walks down the streets of Hollywood, not caring about the lifers that pass through him, not caring about anyone that's there-

At least, not until he bumps into someone else.

He stumbles a bit. "Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going-"

"Hey now, no need to apologize."

Reggie looks up at the man he bumped into, and takes a breath. He didn't recognize him, never seen him before... But there was something about him...

Something that made his heart twinge a little bit.

The man smiled a bit, lifting his hand to the boy. He was taller than him, must have been at least half a foot taller, but his presence was just that much more. "Name's Charlie Jameson."

Reggie takes his hand, shaking it once, giving a small smile. "Uh, Reggie... Peters. You're... You're a ghost."

Charlie chuckles softly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah... Yeah, I'm a ghost... Died in 1947. You... I recognize you from somewhere..." He mumbles, before snapping his fingers. "Ah, right. You're in that band, right? The one that played last night at the Orpheum."

Reggie grins, nodding. "Yeah, we're... Julie and the Phantoms. I, uh... Play bass."

"Yeah? You like it?"

"Definitely." Reggie could feel his mood getting better. He couldn't even remember what he was mad about. "I've been playing with the guys since I was... 13, and we started a band... Then we... Died, I guess, right before our big break, and... Came back 25 years later, met this girl... And long story short, we joined her band, and now we're... Here." He shakes his head. "Sorry, I was... Rambling."

"Nah, it's alright. Don't gotta worry about ramble 'round me. I do it myself all the time." His accent...

"Okay, I don't know if this seems... Rude, or something... But... Where... Where are you from, I guess? It's just..." Reggie shrugs. "Haven't heard your... Accent before."

Charlie grins, shrugging softly. "Ah, yeah. Not rude." He says, waving a hand. "My mum was from here, father from Wales. Parents divorced when I was young, and I spent most of my time with my father. Guess I picked it up from him."

Reggie nods. "Oh, cool! I mean, not that your... Parents divorced, but..." He can feel his face heat up, and he chuckles awkwardly, raking his hand over his face. "God, sorry..."

"Hey, hey, it's alright. Really. I know what you mean." The man laughs softly, causing the boy to look up, thinking he was laughing at him, but, seeing the easy smile on his face, Reggie smiled back.

"Yeah, I... I'm not really good with... Words, I guess..." He mumbles, rubbing his neck.

"Ah, me neither." The man waves a hand again, before taking a breath, pointing behind him with a thumb. "Why don't we... Get out of the middle of the sidewalk, yeah? These lifers are getting kind of annoying."

Lifers...?

Reggie nods softly, looking up at him. "Smart." He says, smiling a bit.

And the man smiles back.