Something in the Way You Move [O'J]

Breakfast

Jessie's POV

I watch Danny get dressed (probably a little too interestedly for my own good) before I head to the guest room where Callie was. I knock once or twice on the door before I push it open gently, peering around. It's obvious she's not in the bed; the covers are still exactly as they were when I last made the bed. I look around and find her curled up in a little ball in the corner of the room. I walk over to her and kneel down next to her.

"Callie, dear, you've gotta get up," I whisper, rubbing her shoulder. She twitches in her sleep a few times before rolling over to face me. She looks up at me with her brilliant green eyes and rubs the sleep from them. She sits up suddenly, seemingly alarmed, and tilts her head to the side, as if she's listening to something.

"Someone's coming," she states simply, watching the door. Sure enough, Danny pops into the doorway and asks, "Where's your bread?"

I watch as Callie is immediately on her feet, backing away from the door slowly. "Top left cabinet over the sink," I tell him, waving him away. He quickly leaves, and I turn to look at Callie. She's extremely tense, poised to run. "Hey, listen, Danny...he won't hurt you, love. He's worried about you, if anything, and wants to make sure you're okay."

She shakes her head and says shortly, "That's just what he wants you to think. One minute, caring, the next, he's seeing if he can break your ribs with his fist."

I stare at her, shocked. "Callie..." She doesn't say anything more, so I continue quietly, "One of his sisters is a nurse. He wants to call her up to check on you. Would that be okay?" She shrugs, as if she couldn't care. A few minutes pass by in silence---not that awkward kind, more like that comfortable kind---before we can start to smell breakfast cooking; thankfully, it doesn't smell burnt. Callie's stomach rumbles and I laugh quietly and ask, "Hungry?"

She shrugs again, wrapping her arms around her torso. I take this time to really study her, and notice she's painfully thin. I can count every rib she has even despite her shirt in the way, her hair's all tangled, and she's covered in dirt. She has this air about her as if she's ready to flee at a moment's notice. "When was the last time you ate anything, Callie?"

She looks away, as if she's thinking, before mumbling, "Few days ago..."

"You must be starving!" I cry.

"No, no. No, I'm used to it...don't feel the pains anymore," she whispers.

I'm about to ask her what pains she was talking about when Danny yells that breakfast is ready. I wrap an arm protectively around her shoulders and slowly coax her out to the kitchen. She eyes Danny warily before taking a piece of toast and sitting down. I sit next to her, and I notice Danny sits across from her---as far away as he could be from her.

Breakfast is nothing extravagant, mostly because I didn't have much to work with. We have some toast, bacon, and tea, of course. Danny and I eat bacon sandwiches while watching Callie; she's only had the one piece of toast, not a drink or anything. I notice she's breathing a bit heavily, and it takes me a second to realize she's fallen asleep at the table. I gesture to Danny to let him know, not wanting to wake her accidentally. We finish our breakfasts quickly and clear our plates, trying to make as little noise as possible. We sit in what I call my "music room", which has a large piano and some guitars in it.

"So you going to call your sister?" I ask, watching Danny as he sits at the piano.

"Wha---? Oh. Yeah," he replies. Thank God I got to him before he started playing; I don't think I'd have ever gotten his attention then.