I'm With The Boys

Chapter Seventeen

Callan's father killed my wife.

That sentence repeats itself in my head, again and again, like a broken record. My jaw drops, and I try to speak but no words come out. Eventually, I say, "What?" My voice is barely above a whisper.

"Callan's father killed my wife." John repeats, vehemently. There's anger in his eyes. It scares me, I have to admit.

"Uh... why?" Raiden asks hesitantly, eyeing him warily.

"That's the million dollar question, isn't it?" John says rhetorically. "I'll start at the beginning, shall I?"

We both nod dumbly. Satisfied, he begins. "When we were kids, Jake, Callan's father, and I were inseparable. We always stuck up for each other and constantly played pranks on each other.

We grew up, still as close as ever. Until we were about twenty-seven. Jake and Sally were happily married by then, and Sally was six months pregnant with Callan. I was engaged with Jasmine, my wife, who was also pregnant." John's face softens as he mentions Jasmine, before turning cold and angry again, "Even though he was married, I saw the way he looked at her. He kept sneaking glances at her when Sally wasn't looking. I saw every look though. Jasmine told me she had no interest in him; and I believed her. I love and trusted her, why would I doubt her? Jasmine told me that Jake was harassing her. He was constantly sending her texts and when she continued ignoring him, he resulted to threats and blackmail.

Jake was wrong in the head. He became obsessed with my Jasmine. He stalked her and took photos of her. We went to the police and got a restraining order against him. That only made him angrier though.

So one day, I was out at work, when I got a call from the police. And I knew. I just knew it was about Jasmine. I drove home as fast as I could and shoved past all the police until I reached her.

She was laying on the floor, covered in blood. Her arms, neck and face were covered in bruises. She's been repeated grabbed, and hit. She'd banged her head on the edge of the bedside cabinet as he pushed her. Then he'd stabbed her repeatedly in the heart." John's voice cracked, and tears poured down his face. Maddox reached out, placing a comforting hand on his father's forearm. "HE KILLED HER! THAT BASTARD KILLED HER!" John explodes, causing Raiden and I to jump. "I made him pay. I found him standing in the exact spot he first met her.

I screamed at him, and started punching and kicking him. I was so angry; I wanted him to feel the pain I was. He had a gun on him, and I wrestled it away from him. Before I knew what I was doing, I shot him repeatedly. In the heart. Once I'd realised what I'd done, I covered my tracks. I made it seem like a suicide. The police never found out it was me. To this day, they still don't know.

But Callan knew. He knows. Everything. Every. Single. Thing. I threatened him; I told him I'd kill Sally if he didn't keep his mouth shut. I kept tabs on him as he grew up. Finally, I found something I could do to destroy him. His precious first girlfriend. What was her name?" John stops and turns to look at me.

"Heaven." I whisper, my voice empty and emotionless. I feel numb. And it's still not the end.

"Heaven, that was it! I thought I could crush his heart. How? That's where Maddox comes in." John slaps Maddox in the back.

Slowly, more of the puzzle pieces fall into place. "You got Maddox to sleep with Heaven." I say.

"Exactly! Callan was in pain; betrayed by his dear cousin. We paid Heaven a lot of money to get her to pretend to love Callan. He was even more crushed when she told him." John laughs cruelly. He turns and focuses on Raiden and I now. "Sadly, you two got caught in the crossfire, you could say. Callan met Lucas, and then met you both through Lucas. And after a while, Callan fell in love with you, Jesse. He loves you a lot more than he ever loved Heaven. All Maddox had to do was follow you both to the club and bam! That's why and how you're here. When we go to the warehouse tomorrow, I'll kill you. Right in front of Callan's eyes. Callan will experience the same pain I've spent the last seventeen years experiencing. And Raiden, the only reason you're here is because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time." John finishes, leaning back into the couch.

Raiden and I stare at each other. No words can describe what we both feel right now. Slowly, anger fills up inside of me. "Don't you think Callan's experienced enough pain as you! You murdered his father! You got your revenge! Why don't you just stop?!" I scream at him, hot tears pouring down my face.

"And once you're dead, we'll leave. No one will ever know. No one will ever find out." John continues, as if I hadn't said anything.

"You won't get away this this!" I snarl at him. "The police will find you and hunt you down!"

John smiles evilly at me, ignoring the second part of what I said. "Yes, I will. We've planned this for years." He turns at looks at the Hulk who brought us in. "Now we've finished our little chat, take them back to the cell." John says dismissively.

Raiden and I both struggle against the Hulk dude. "Let us go!" Raiden shouts.

The Hulk says nothing and continues dragging us back to our cell, and roughly shoves us back in. He locks the door and leaves without a backwards glance.

And we're back to square one. Only with more answers. "You know the saying, "ignorance is bliss"?" Raiden asks. "I've never really appreciated it before now."

I stare at him. "Thanks for that Raiden. After everything he said, that's what you say?"

Raiden throws his hands up in the air. "What do you want me to say, huh? That John is a complete and utter psychopath?"

"It must be a brother thing." I mutter absently.

"What?"

"So was Callan's father. He stalked and murdered Jasmine!" I snap.

"John murdered Jake and is going to kill you!" Raiden snaps back.

"Yeah, I got that." I sigh. "I can't believe it. Callan never said a single thing."

"Well, John did threaten to kill Sally, his mum. Also, do you really think that Callan could tell you, the girl he loves, that his father murdered an innocent woman? It's not something that's going to come up in an everyday conversation, is it?" Raiden says.

"True. God, I don't know what to think anymore, Raiden." I say, tiredly.

"About what?"

"Callan, John, about everything he said!"

"I know that Callan would never do a thing like that. Callan is nothing like his father Jesse, you understand me? Nothing!" Raiden grabs my shoulders and shakes me, as if trying to shake sense into myself.

Slowly, I nod. Because deep down, I know that Callan would never do a thing like that. Yet I can't help the doubt that starts creeping in.

But what if he is?

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A/N: Wow, this was depressing to write. It also took quite a while to get it right.

What are your opinions on John now? Have they changed?

And what about Callan? Do you think he's like his father or not?

Vote and comment as always please!