By Your Side

Chapter 2: Freaking out

Callie's POV

Any amount of calmness that I had left escaped when we heard the second gun shot being fired. The tears that had just finally managed to control came rushing back. Brandon and I hold each other tighter and I bury my face in his chest. That's when it hit me. How could I have taken so long to think about where the rest of my family is. Where is Jude? He has to be scared out of his mind right now. And what about Steff. She was here so she had to be looking for the shooter with the other cops while the rest of the school hides in fear. What if she has been shot again? These thoughts are too much to handle right now.

I lift my head and look at B, who was now crying as well. " I need to text Jude and make sure he's okay."

'Hey, I'm sure he's safe. He isn't going to have his phone on him right now so there is no use in you texting him."

"But he's probably freaking out. I've always been the one that could handle stressful situations, not him. And look at what a mess I am right now."

"Look at me." His voice is very sincere and concerned. " You are going to stay here with me until it's safe. Okay? Jude is fine. Everyone is going to be okay. You freaking out isn't going to do any good for anyone. You and I are a team. We are going to get through this." He looks in my eyes and pauses before continuing "all of it." That was it. That was what I needed to hear. Brandon always knows how to get me to stop panicking. He isn't mad anymore either, so the part of me that was worrying about people finding out about our relationship can finally relax. I rest my head back on his chest as he wipes away tears from his eyes.

Only a few minutes pass before the sound of glass breaking comes from the main part of the office. Brandon quickly gets out from under Lena's desk and tells me not to move. I cover my mouth to hold back any crying noises. Oh my God... what is he about to do? He tip toes over to the door, and then I figure it out. The door is unlocked. That is how he got in here earlier. As soon as he locks it, I hear footsteps coming down the hall and the sound of door knobs turning. Brandon looks back at me and quietly moves himself against the wall. I see him close his eyes and I know that I should do the same but I cannot let him out of my sight. I feel like if I close my eyes he won't be there when I open them. I know he would never leave me in here but I am still protective of him. Then it comes. The door handle to the room we are in starts to move. We stay perfectly still. Then, the person kicks the door in frustration when it doesn't open and leaves the office area.

Brandon runs back to where I am and this time he is the one to start freaking out. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a hot mess but having him back over here with me makes me feel a little better. "Deep breaths, I'm here" I say to him quietly as I hold him. It doesn't take long at all before he slows down his crying .

He pulls away from our hug with a forced half smile on face and leans in and kisses me. It wasn't a long kiss like the others we have shared, but it was rather quick and comforting, only lasting a few seconds. "Me and you, were going to get through this" he says as he holds my chin up. At that moment I believed him. I smiled. I actually had a real smile on my face for a second. Kissing Brandon will do that to me. He smiled back and wipes my tears from my face. How can a person be that perfect? We make our selves comfortable again and wait for any news.

After a little while, noises fill the halls. People are getting let out of the classrooms. We can finally relax. I stand up and Brandon does the same. After I let out a very dramatic sigh of relief, he laughs "Told you" at a normal volume. I laugh a little too and then go to grab my phone.

I turn the phone back on to see several texts from Jude, Marianna and Jesus in our group message with Brandon. "Everybody is okay" I inform Brandon and he just nods and smiles. I had another text from Steff that read 'Lena and I are both outside. Stay where you are and be quiet until someone lets you out.' I read the text to Brandon, who probably received the exact same message but his phone wasn't in the room with us. He must have left it in the main part of the office when he came in here.

Voices began to filter into the office before I hear a key opening the door. Lena walks in and looks at the two of us. " Are you both alright?" Her voice was full of concern. By the time we respond she already has her arms wrapped around the two of us. It was nice having her hug me. A little over an hour ago I was sure she would never want to hug me again. I know we will eventually have a serious conversation about Brandon and I having sex, but right now we were just glad we were all safe. She lets us go and tells us to go home. Brandon and I leave the office and grab his things.

We wait in the hallway for our siblings. Every time one of them arrived we celebrated. Jude was the last one to get here and when he did we both started crying again, but this time it was a happy cry.

"Is everybody ready?" Brandon asks. After we all say yes we make our way towards the car. Jesus and Marianna have their arms around each other which have not seen in a while. When I first came to this family the twins were inseparable, but then they never fully got over the drama of their birth parents. It was really nice seeing them so close again. Jude followed behind them while Brandon and I trailed in the back. As we walked, the two of us kept playfully bumping into each other. I am so grateful that my family all made it out safe. I honestly don't know what I would have done if anyone had been hurt. I would not have gotten through this day without Brandon by my side.

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Hey guys I hope you like the story so far! Let me know what you think and if I should continue! I will be posting the third chapter within a few days so keep an eye out for it. Thank you so much for reading <3