Finding 4

Chapter 20

Callum

The medal bar clanks against the rack as I set the weights back down. I lift my shirt and wipe the sweat off of my face, only to peak over the fabric when the garage door opens.

"Hey kid," Johnny smiles, looking around at the gym. "This is a nice place."

I laugh, feeling better now that I get to see him. "You can thank dad for that. He built everything in here."

"Did he really?" Johnny inspects one of the lifting racks. "And Mae trusts you around these things?"

I laugh again "Took some convincing."

He smiles and sits down on a bench. After letting out a deep sigh he adds, "How are you?"

I slept with the most beautiful girl last night, and now she won't talk to me.

"Grand," I sit down too. "Just grand."

He chuckles and clamps down on my shoulder "Yeah I get that."

Even now, when I'm sitting here with my uncle, I'm thinking of her. It's even worse now that I've gotten to have her. I don't even think about Marley sexually. I mean I do, and last night proves that, but it's not the only thing I want from her.

I don't know what I want from her actually, but I do know one thing, and that is that the girl I'm supposed to hate makes me feel everything but rage.

"Can I ask you something?" I stand up and walk to the fridge.

"Of course," he nods, leaning his elbows on his knees.

"How..." fuck, how do I ask this without it becoming a big deal? "When you and Shannon..." I can't find the words so let out a loud sigh and whisper "shit."

He laughs "Tell her how you feel."

"What?" I look up at him.

"The only way you're going to not lose your mind, is by telling her how you feel."

I sigh and lean against the fridge "I can't do that."

"Why not?" He raises a brow at me.

Because she hates my guts.

"It's complicated." I twist the cap off of my Gatorade before mumbling, "way too complicated."

Johnny chuckles again and this time he stands up before walking near the door. Before he leaves the garage, he looks over at me.

"Just tell her." He places his hand on the doorknob. "You never know when it's going to be too late."

His words leave a ping in my heart. Not a ping of pain, or hurt. No, a ping of jealousy. The thought of Marley with another guy, kissing them the way she kissed me, or looking at them the way she looks at me. That thought hurts.

The thought bugs me all the way to Marley's house. It bugs me as I put my car in park, and as I get out of the drivers seat. Hell, it's even bugging me when I knock on her front door.

It swings open and I'm met with Brody, standing tall in the doorway. "Hey Lynchy."

Brody steps to the side, letting me in. When the door closes, I turn to face him.

"Is Marley here?" I ask, almost awkwardly until I realize it's just him.

He smiles and nods, "Yeah. She's in her room."

I nod, "Thanks Brody."

"Hey Callum," he stops me again as I start to walk up the steps.

"Yeah?" I turn to face him, leaving my hand on the railing.

He seems to have changed his demeanor, because now that usual playful and happy look isn't on his face. Instead, an almost worried expression is carved into it.

"You'll be careful with her, yeah?" His words catch me off guard, and I can feel myself tense up.

Of course I'll be careful with Marley. I wouldn't even dream of hurting her. That's not what bothers me though. What bothers me is the fact that something has to be wrong for Brody to think that way.

As a brother I know what it's like to be protective over your siblings, especially your sister. Even then, something serious has to happen, or you have to know something for you to ask someone to be careful with her.

"It's just...Mason was a real asshole." He shoves his hands in the pockets of his jeans and leans against the wall. "He did some really shitty stuff. And on top of that...everything with our mom. Marley acts like she's tough and okay, but it's all just an act." He swallows before continuing. "She won't admit it, but she's hurting, and she's fragile, so...just be careful with her." He takes on a more playful tone as he adds, "or else I'll have to beat your ass. I can't do it to Mason because he isn't here, but you are so-"

"I won't hurt her Brody." I chuckle slightly. "I wouldn't even dream of it."

He nods "I know you won't." Standing back up straight he looks at me. "I just had to put it out there."

I give him a clipped nod, but right before I move to turn around I add one more thing. "Hey uh...you won't tell anyone about this, right? Me and Marley, I mean."

A small smirk appears on his face and he nods. "My lips are sealed."

A few beats later I push open Marley's door, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't relieved to see her sitting at her vanity, instead of curled up in her bed like a dead person.

She looks up at me through her mirror, and instead of being greeted with "leave me alone" or a "get out" I'm greeted with a small smile.

I got a smile out of her.

"Hi," she says softly, spinning in her chair to look at me. "What are you doing here?"

I close her door and walk over to her bed, lowering myself onto the edge. "I came to see you."

"Oh," she spins back to her mirror and sections off her hair before picking up a curling iron. "We should probably talk...about last night."

I know the conversation following can either go two ways. One: she tells me it can never happen again, and that we really shouldn't even be talking, or two: she tells me that we should keep doing this, and have a relationship. So in that case, it can either go really bad, or really good.

"Yeah," I agree, folding my hands in my lap and rubbing my palms together. "We should."

I watch her as she twists her hair into the curling iron, working with the contraption like she doesn't even have to think about it.

"I don't regret it," I say after a moment of silence.

The small smile that tugs at her face doesn't go unnoticed. "Really?"

"No," I shake my head.

"I don't either." She sections off another layer.

I can't fight the smile that pops on my face either. "Good."

We don't talk anything else about relationships, or what happened last night, but we do talk. We talk about our lives, and our goals. Our favorite things and our least favorite things.

Normally I have a bad memory, but I can already tell that I won't be forgetting how Marley wants to become an Athletic Trainer once she graduates. Her favorite animal is giraffes, and her least favorite animal is snakes. She likes the color pink, but she loves crimson. She also loves steak, but she can't look at it as she eats or else she'll throw up from the way it looks. Those are things I'd never remember, maybe not even about myself. For Marley though, they're carved into my brain.

Just like she is.