Wounded; A Brallie Fan Fiction *EDITING*

Chapter Twenty-Four: Destroyed

Brandon's POV
Callie's deep brown eyes were inviting and accepting as they stared into mine with depth and thoughtfulness and all the passion in the world. But that was all I could see; everything around her was black, there were no surrounding objects or people or sounds; it was all empty. It was just Callie, her eyes, and I was so transfixed on them that I forgot about the face they were in.

But then they were gone, and all I could see was the blank nothingness staring back at me. Familiar voices faded in, and my eyes peeled open. As my surroundings came into focus and I wiped the sleep from my eyes, I realized I had fallen asleep on the couch. The last thing I remembered was watching a football game I couldn't follow with Jesus, and struggling to keep my eyes open.

The voices were coming from the kitchen, and they belonged to Callie and Mariana. To my dismay, I heard the mention of Talya's name. I froze thoughtlessly as the confusion set in.

I leaned forward and stretched out my back and my arms, having been locked in an upward position for the last two hours. I stalked hesitantly into the kitchen to find Callie chugging a glass of water, and Mariana twiddling her thumbs as she spoke negatively about who I could only assume was Talya.

"What happened?" I asked, further announcing my presence in the room.

Callie and Mariana exchanged a wary glance. Mariana's expression was thoughtful as she glanced at Callie, who seemed angered. Callie chewed on her lip and opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, but no sound came out.

"We saw Talya at the mall," Mariana said under one breath, and Callie shot her a complicated look of more anger than thankfulness.

I carefully studied Callie's expression, her stance, which both indicated her extreme discomfort with the whole situation.

Talya had been my girlfriend when Callie and Jude moved in with us; she was manipulative and entirely deceitful, a jealous mess. I broke up with her at Mariana's fifteenth birthday party, when her shallow actions and feelings got the best of our relationship, which wasn't even strong to begin with.

Callie pulled her hair up in a pony tail and grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge. I exchanged questionable glances with Mariana as Callie took a seat, seemingly oblivious to the strength of my confusion.

"I'd rather you talked out loud instead of using your eyes to communicate behind my back," Callie said coldly.

"Are you just gonna shrug off everything I say?" I asked, surprising Callie with the snappiness in my tone. I rolled my eyes at myself and inhaled sharply. "I'm sorry."

She nodded and clenched her jawline, distantly looking straight forward, and then at Mariana, who gave her a look of encouragement.

"She tried to make small talk," Callie began suddenly. "We didn't say anything to her, and when we walked away, she started yelling stuff about Liam."

I swallowed. "Stuff?"

"Oh, you know, the usual," Callie said sarcastically. "Like, How you been, You look good, How's it feel to be raped?"

The silence dropped from the ceiling and packed tightly into the room. Anger boiled inside me, but I had nothing to say. I gripped the edge of the table to keep myself steady just as I felt like I was going to collapse underneath the fury of myself.