“This is disgusting,” I groaned, putting the lid back on and tossing it at Griffin.
He caught it before it hit him in the chest, laughing as he flashed a grin at me. My stomach bottomed out, and my breath caught. This wasn’t a new feeling whenever I caught myself admiring his smile. It’d been there for a while, but he rarely showed that happiness, so it was taking a while to place the emotions.
Now, it was hitting me. It’s the same way I felt when I first kissed Tammy Cronin in the garage of her parent’s home at thirteen, except this was more intense. It felt more permanent than that little school kid crush.
This was something more earth shattering, and it fucking terrified me.
Chapter Thirteen
“Iknowit’sscary,love. But it’ll be okay.” Callum’s voice comes through the open door of his home office as I head down the hall. It’s been two weeks since the shooting, and we still haven’t figured out who’s behind it.
I know that’s stressing Callum out. Fuck, it’s stressing me out. But it’s time to address my situation with Camille. She needs to move to Boston immediately, especially if there’s a war about to be brewing. Griffin still hasn’t forgiven me, but he’s been responding to my texts and calls, so we’re heading in the right direction.
“It’s not that, Cal.” Haley’s voice is shaky, and she lets out a huff. “I’m not scared, I’m just… I wish I was the one doing it.”
“You can’t do everything yourself, lass.”
“What have I said about calling me that?” Haley asks.
“You only like it when I call you my good little lass. Come sit on my lap so I can tell you properly.”
At first, I’m nervous about what I’m about to walk into, but he’s the one who buzzed me up, so he knows I’m here. He can’t be fucking Haley in his office. Because letting me up in the middle of that would just be wrong.
I knock on the doorframe of the office to announce my presence, then peek inside. Haley’s sitting on the floor cross-legged, reading from a medical book while Callum is sitting behind his desk.Thank fucking God.
“Hey Murph,” she says, abandoning the book. She stands and heads over to greet me with a hug.
“Hey Savi,” I say, the old military nickname still one that I use sometimes. I glance over her shoulder and nod my head at my brother. “What’s up, Cal?”
I glance at the book left on the floor. The words “Spontaneous Abortion” are bold across the front.
“Nothing,” he says with a huff. He grabs his whiskey glass, taking a swig.
Haley pulls away, heading back to where she was sitting.
“Am I interrupting? I can come back,” I say. But I’d really rather we just get this over with now. There’s no more putting this off.
“It’s fine,” Haley says. She picks up the test on the floor and hands it to Callum. “You do it.”
“What’s going on?” I ask, laughing nervously.
Callum inhales a breath, steeling himself before he glances down at his desk. His eyes squint a bit, but then his mouth forms a frown. His shoulders sag, but he nods at Haley, indicating she can tell me whatever it is.
“Cal had an exam last week, and they found some abnormal cells.”
“Abnormal cells?” I ask, glancing between the two.
She bites her lip, glancing at Callum, who’s turned as white as the paper on his desk. “The cells are precancerous. He’ll be having a procedure next week to scrape them out, and all will be well.”
“Yeah, if I don’t fucking die on the table,” Callum says, his tone agitated. His jaw ticks as he glares at her. “It’s bloody ridiculous. They may not even turn into cancer.”
“But they could. And prostate cancer is a bitch.” Haley turns from him to me. “You should get a colonoscopy too, Murph. This stuff can be genetic. It’s best to stay ahead of it.”
I nod, my chest feeling heavy. As if I need another stressor in my life.
“He already had one, didn’t you,Murph?” Callum smirks, clicking the pen in his hand over and over. The emphasis on the nickname Haley calls me is just a way to get under my skin, and to show me he knows all about my lies.
“Is there a reason you came by when we just saw you yesterday?” Callum asks.
