Finding 4

Chapter 10

Callum

"And make sure you don't give Kennedy any nuts because she will have an extreme allergic reaction," Mam instructs me as Dad shuffles her towards the door. "And don't leave any stoves or ovens on," she continues to ramble, and I just nod along.

She gets nervous about leaving us. Every time she has to go, she does this.

"And-"

"Mam," I chuckle "We've got it here. Go have fun."

Slowing her feet to a stop she sighs and watches me for a moment. "I know, I know." Walking over to me she cups my face "but you're my babies and I would hate if something happened."

"Nothings gonna happen," I put my hands on top of hers. "Now go."

Mam smiles and pats my cheek before turning back to dad. He nods at me "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Well that really narrows down my options," I say sarcastically.

He chuckles and the two walk out of the house, closing the door behind them. Immediately Kennedy starts crying, the sound of her screams booming off of the walls in the house.

My heart rate picks up like twenty times faster than usual and I rush into the sitting room to see what's wrong. When I turn the corner, I see her on the floor, a cut on her hand.

"Oh Jesus Ken," I bend down in front of her, taking her small hand in mine and examining it. "What did you do?"

"I f-fell," she sniffles, her cheeks damp from her tears.

"Oh no," I say, standing up and taking her with me. "Let's go get you cleaned up then."

I walk over to the kitchen and place her down on the counter.

"What happened?" Flynn asks when he walks into the kitchen.

"She fell," I state plainly as I rummage through the cupboards. "Do you know where Mam put the bandaids?"

He sucks in a breath through his teeth "Oh...I used the rest of them."

"What?" I twist around to look at him. "On what?"

He shrugs "We were out of tape."

I let out a breath and bob my head, whispering a simple "Fuck."

"Sorry," he adds.

"No it's okay," I shake my head. "We'll have to run to the mart."

My younger siblings watch me walk through the kitchen and grab my car keys from the hook. "Go get your shoes, we will grab dinner while we're out."

Kennedy gasps "Can we get McDonald's?"

"Yeah," Flynn agrees with her "can we?"

"Yeah sure," I say, wrapping a paper towel around Kennedys hand and picking her back up. "Hold onto that." I instruct her.

I'm not a fan of McDonalds, but I'd rather have an unhealthy amount of grease in my system and two happy kids than a healthy gut and two fussing kids. Plus, she just cut her hand and now I feel bad.

Kennedy holds onto my shoulders as I push her shoes onto her feet and tie up the laces. Flynn comes walking into the corridor and I make sure we have everything before stepping outside. I lock up the front door, get Kennedy in her car seat, make sure Flynn is buckled, and then climb into the drivers seat.

Moments later we are strolling through the mart, trying to find the bandaids, but for some reason they are nowhere to be seen.

"Bandaids, bandaids," I muttered to myself, scanning the shelves with my eyes. "Where the fuck are bandaids?"

"Maybe the next aisle?" Flynn offers.

"Yeah," I sigh, and move to the next row of supplies.

As soon as my eyes land on the blonde girl standing at the end of the aisle, I stop in my tracks.

You've got to be kidding me.

Why is she here?

Why is she everywhere I go?

I can't escape her!

As soon as Marley turns around to leave the aisle her eyes hand on me, and she stops in her tracks. I watch as her eyes narrow and she seems to let out an annoyed huff.

"Oh hey Callum," Keely, who's standing next to Marley, smiles at me.

"Hey Keely," I say, my eyes still locked on the angry looking blonde.

"What are you doing here?" Tierny asks next.

"We need bandaids," I lift up Kennedys arm, "she cut her hand."

"Aw," Keely frowns "she's okay though, yeah?"

"I'm getting McDonald's," Kennedy smiles at Keely.

Keely and Tierny both chuckle "Is that so?"

"Yeah!" Kennedy beams up at them.

"Hey let's go get these bandaids for you," Tierny winks at me and my face falls.

That bitch.

"What?"

"Oh come on Callum," Tierny says as she picks Kennedy up "I never get to see them."

I glare at her as she walks away, Keely and Flynn following behind her.

"You know they really want us to be friends," Marley says.

I look back over at her, clenching my jaw. "Yeah. They do."

"Well don't blame me," she says with a softer tone than usual "you were an asshole too."

God she's so pretty. Her long hair, and those brown eyes. She's...perfect.

What? What am I saying? No she's not.

Shut it down, Callum.

I scoff, suddenly feeling the need to push her away. "Me? You were the one who jabbed at me first."

"Yeah because you ran right into me," she rolls her eyes.

"Because you had your face buried in your phone," I retort, not missing a beat. "Maybe you should pay more attention to your reality rather than your past."

Her face falls "What's that supposed to mean?"

I can't stop the words flying out of my mouth, and as much as I dislike the girl standing in front of me, I hate myself even more for saying these things.

"You know exactly what I mean," I keep going.

Just shut up Callum.

She scoffs and eyes me "You know they all say you're some sweetheart, some nice guy who wouldn't even hurt a fly." She cocks her head to the side "but they're wrong. You're a douchebag."

This time I don't say anything back, because she's right.

"And for your information, you don't know anything about my past," she jabs a finger into my chest and steps closer "you know nothing about me, or my life, so don't act like you do."

Before I can say anything else, she walks past me, shoving my shoulder with hers as she does. I spin around, watching her walk away, probably going to find Keely and Tierny.

God I am such an idiot.