Eye for an Eye

Chapter 33: I Know How You Think

Memories of Callum came crashing in—happy ones, sad ones, moments of pure joy and anger, moments shared with friends or just the two of us. It was as if I couldn't escape the past, the feelings I tried so hard to bury. The love I once had for him still lingered, no matter how deep I pushed it down.

I had to move on. I was trying to. I was supposed to. Xavier was part of that future, the one I was building with him. He kept me grounded, balanced the darkness inside me. He didn't see me as something broken to be fixed. He made me feel whole.

But love Xavier? How could I? I barely knew him. Yet, in some quiet corner of my heart, I could already feel myself falling for him, and part of me hoped, just hoped, that he felt the same way.

The man holding me down yanked me roughly to my feet, locking my arms behind my back in a painful grip. A gun pressed cold against my temple, and I could feel the sharp sting of the barrel against my skin as I fought to breathe through the tension in the air.

I barely noticed Callum—no, his lookalike—standing there, coldly watching me, his eyes empty and lifeless. The warmth and love I once saw in his brown eyes were gone, replaced by an eerie nothingness. He didn't even flinch as he saw me struggle.

I glanced over to see Miles, Oliver, Jace, Caleb, and a few unfamiliar faces standing behind me, their guns trained on Callum's men. The atmosphere was thick with impending violence, but I couldn't look away from Callum's face, the knife he twirled between his fingers, his eyes scanning me like a predator sizing up its prey.

"Callum..." Caleb's voice broke the silence, both him and Jace moving forward, only to freeze when the gun pressed harder into my skull.

"Not another step," the man behind me snarled, and the harshness in his voice was clear. "You move, and Hope dies. Got it?"

Callum turned slowly, his lips curving into a cold smirk. "Nice to see you both again. Though, it's a bit more crowded than I remember." His gaze flicked over to his men, and I felt a chill run down my spine as I realized all three of them were here. The only one missing was West.

"How the fuck are you here?" Caleb finally managed to choke out, his anger unmistakable, but there was something else in his voice—something that was too raw for me to handle. Jace, still focused on me, barely registered Caleb's words.

"I was dead," Callum said casually like it was no big deal. "Shot saving this one, heart stopped, went into a coma, and—surprise—I woke up. The shitty part? The amnesia. All the memories, gare one."

Caleb took a step forward, the anger boiling in his veins, his voice thick with pain. "You didn't come back to us, Callum? You left us to think you were dead. Do you know what we've been through? What Hope went through?" His words cut through the air like a knife, raw and full of regret.

Callum stormed towards Caleb, his hand gripping the collar of his shirt, yanking him down to his level. His voice was cold, each word cutting through the tension like a blade.

"It's not like I was on fucking vacation," he growled, his eyes flashing with a dangerous edge. "I was in a coma because I was stupid enough to take a bullet for her," he pointed at me, the anger boiling in his veins. "So don't stand there telling me how hard your life has been. I don't give a shit. It's not my fault you chose to follow Hope. West did the right thing by leaving her."

The words hit me like a physical blow, every syllable tearing through what little remained of my heart. This wasn't the Callum I knew—the goofy, carefree Callum who would tease me, call me freckles and make me laugh even when everything else felt like it was falling apart. This Callum? He didn't even remember me.