Leather Jacket Girl (girlxgirl)

Chapter Fifty-Nine

After the two of us had breakfast, Courtney soon dropped me back off at my house. 

"Are you sure you have to go?" I asked her. 

"If staying would make you happier..." she trailed off. 

"It would always make me happier," I said, as I turned to see her finger tips tapping on the dashboard of her car. 

"I would love to, Phoebe...but I have to get home to my dad. I have to make sure that he's alright. I also ordered a hell of a lot of ingredients and I intend to make something out of them, so, I have to go," she said. 

I gave an understanding nod of my head, despite the fact that I really didn't want her to go. I wished that she could have stayed there with me. I wished that the two of us could have just talked. 

"I want to try whatever you make," I said. 

"I'll save you some, I promise," she said, as a kind smile made its way onto her face. 

I felt sort of small in the knowledge that although I wished I could be there for Courtney, ultimately this was out of my control. If her father didn't want me there, then I didn't want to make things any more difficult for Courtney. 

"I might get some art work done, too," Courtney said thoughtfully. I could tell that she was trying to take the subject of the conversation away from her father but it didn't change the subject inside of my head. 

"Yeah. That sounds like a good idea!" I told her, trying to sound as full of enthusiasm as possible. 

I soon said goodbye to Courtney and made my way back up the path towards my house. Although my mind was still filled with many thoughts of Courtney, I soon shifted my attention to something else entirely. 

Callie was in the hall with Ben. 

"Get the hell out of here," I said, as I looked towards him. 

"It's great to see your sister still is as pleasant to be around as ever," Ben said, as he moved around me towards the front door. 

"Touche," I replied. 

Ben looked towards Callie with an apologetic expression. 

"I'll see you around, Cals," he said, before he walked out of the door and slammed it behind him. I winced.  

I turned to Callie and sighed dramatically. 

"I love you, Callie, but what the hell? I thought you were done with him. I tell you this out of the kindness of my heart- you deserve better. You deserve someone who can give you so much more than him! All he has ever given you is heartbreak, while each time I've tried to pick up the pieces and put you back together. I'm not only your sister, I'm one of your best friends. It's my duty as both of those things to be there for you and to also tell you when I think you're being a complete and utter idiot. Right now is one of those times, Callie," I said. I felt my chest becoming warm, but I was fairly certain that was because I was frustrated with her over this whole Ben situation. He wasn't good for her. He had never been good for her. I had told her several times to not trust guys called Ben! All he had ever done was manipulate and use her and she didn't need that in her life. 

"I get that you're upset, Phoebe but...this is my life. I'm the eldest. I make my own decisions. I care about you so much and I would never want you to have to go through something like this-" 

"Then why do you stay with him?" I asked her, "Do you want a coffee?" I added. 

Callie gave a nod of her head. 

The two of us made our way down the hall and into the kitchen, so I could begin to make the coffee for her. I made one for me, too. I needed it. Perhaps the buzz of caffeine would make me feel a little better. 

"I stay with him because I care about him. I know that he's been struggling a lot, especially since his brother was arrested-" 

"Slow down. His brother was arrested?" I asked her. 

"Yeah," she said. 

"And it didn't cross your mind for even a split second that maybe, just maybe, that's not the sort of environment you should allow yourself to become a part of?" I asked her. 

"I'm concerned for him, Phoebs. I can't leave him on his own. He needs me," she said. 

"He 'needs' you," I replied, as I added a sugar to her coffee. 

Callie folded her arms over her chest. 

"I understand that you're upset with me. I do get it...I- It's not exactly as though the two of us are back together and playing happy families. I can't abandon him, though, Phoebe. It's just like how I'll always be there to support you. I want to be there to support Ben, too," she told me. 

I gave a slight shake of my head, as I moved on to stirring sugar into my own coffee. It would probably be far too sweet but maybe I needed that. 

"He's going to take advantage of you, in the same way that he always does," I said. Once I caught sight of her expression, I went on. "I'm only saying this to protect you, Callie," I told her. 

"Well, I already have mother, so I don't really need that," Callie said and then gave a slight shake of her head, as she realised how harsh her words had sounded. "I'm sorry," she said more gently, as she took a sip of her coffee. "Thank you for making this for me." 

"You're welcome," I said. 

"You know what? Maybe you're right...sisters should come first and you care about me so much. I'm your older sister, Phoebe. I should be there to care about you and look out for you, too. You're so selfless and I suppose even though I'm trying to be selfless, too, I've been selfish in thinking that I could sort out this Ben thing. I didn't really take into account how it would make you feel or how it would make Bow feel," she stated. "Maybe caring so much about Ben prevented me from being truly free." 

"You don't need him. You shouldn't feel obligated to take care of him anymore. He's not your problem," I reminded her. 

Callie gave a nod of her head in what I believed to be agreement. However, I could never be so sure with her. 

"I'm going to go and take a nap and think over all of this," Callie told me. 

"Okay. I'll be here if you need to talk," I reminded her. 

Callie met me with an appreciative expression, before she made her way out of the kitchen and down the hall with her coffee mug. 

Soon after that, my phone buzzed with a text from Emmy. She wanted to meet with me soon. I texted her back to say that I could meet her outside my house in several minutes. I knew that Emmy had been struggling recently, too. The best thing that I could do was be there for her.