5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Calista

Waking up in the morning takes every ounce of energy I have. Never in a million years would I have expected Rune to treat me the way he did last night. My head feels like it’s being torn apart as I swing my legs over the side of the bed. I slowly make my way down the hall toward the bathroom, each step causing my stomach to do somersaults. When I reach the bathroom door, I find it locked with my annoying little brother on the other side.

“Please hurry, Warren, I’m going to throw up.” I plead through the door. A few seconds later I hear the shower start up and my heart deflates even more. I didn’t grow up in a fancy house like Rune, my parents were barely able to afford this tiny three bedroom, one-bath house. Rune offered to buy them a bigger place, but they refused, saying that they had more than enough already. My two brothers were never happy that they had to share a room, and often pulled mean pranks on me because of it. With Christmas only a few days away, this really was the worst time for this shit to happen. Warren is back home from college and Emmett will most likely be here as well, but his wife just divorced him and took the kids, so I want to avoid him altogether.

Just as I’m about to give up this waiting game, the door flies open and I’m standing face to face with my older brother.

“You got ditched, too?” He laughs, but it's not an amused sound, it’s almost sinister. “Must run in the family, little sister.”

“Good to see you too, Elliot.” I jab, trying to squeeze past him to finally use the bathroom. His fist comes out of nowhere, hitting me directly in the stomach, causing me to throw up all over his chest. He stands there stunned while I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. “No wonder you’re single, you pathetic piece of shit.” I spit, pushing him backward as hard as I can. Everyone assumes that just because I’m only five feet tall, that I'm just some weak little girl, but they don’t know that the man I love is the King of the underground fight arena. The back of his legs hit the edge of the bathtub and his arms fling out to the side, trying to catch himself from falling, but there’s no use. His ass hits the bottom of the tub, his head smacking off the wall with a satisfying thud. He stares at me in disbelief as I leave the bathroom and go back to my room. I need to get dressed and get the fuck out of here. I’ll go get a hotel room or something, but I can’t stay here.

I pull into the parking lot of the hotel and pull my phone from my pocket, quickly sending my friend Josiah a text. I’ve been clean for two years now, but at this moment, I just need something to take the edge off. A new text pings through, and I pull open the thread without checking to see who it’s from.

Rune: We need to talk, Cali.

Me: You had your chance to talk last night when youproved just how little I actually mean to you.

I send my response and wait patiently as the little gray bubbles dance across the bottom of the screen. Fuck him for thinking he can treat me like that and send a stupid little text and think everything is fine and dandy. Nothing is okay right now, my mind is spinning, my heart is being ripped in half, I’ve got dried tears and crusty make-up on my face from last night.

Rune: Calista Jane Sanders, you mean so muchto me it fucking hurts. But this path we’vewandered down is only gonna make shit worsefor both of us.

I suck in a breath as tears build behind my eyes. He’s not wrong, I know where this path leads… Right back to Josiah and the drugs.

Me: Sorry, new number. Who is this?

Rune: Grow the fuck up.

Me: Big talk coming from such a small man.

A text from Josiah pops up, and I quickly open it to see how long I have to wait.

Josiah: Meet you? So you can flake likeyesterday? No thanks.

I slam my head against the back of the seat and smash my fists against the steering wheel while screaming at the top of my lungs. Why can nothing ever go my way in life? Because you won’t let it go right, you do everything in your power to mess it up.

I grab my small bag of clothes from the passenger seat and get out of the car to check into my hotel room for the week. I’m extremely lucky I was able to get a room anywhere this close to Christmas.

I check into my room and head straight for the bathroom to shower. When I’m finished getting clean, I wrap myself in the fluffy robe and dig through my bag for a pair of comfy pants. My options are pretty limited since most of the stuff I own is at Rune’s house. Grabbing my phone from my jean pocket, I pull open the texts from Rune.

Me: Can I at least get my stuff back, please?

I send the text and drop the phone on the bed. Unshed tears fill my eyes as I stare at the wall, wishing the past twenty four hours never happened. If only I didn’t go out with the girls last night, none of this would be happening right now. My phone pings and I wipe away the tears that have fallen before unlocking it and reading his response.

Rune: I’m at your parents to bring youclothes. Where the fuck are you, Cali?

Me: I can’t stay there while Emmett is intown, I booked a hotel room.

Rune: I’m on my way.

Me: Thank you. I’m at the Comfort Inn.Room 303.

I set the phone down on the nightstand and fall onto the bed face first, letting the tears flow freely now. We’ve had little fights before, but I never thought he would completely give up on me like this. My heart breaks more and more with each tear that falls, the realization of how much I fucked this up weighing on me like a ton of bricks. I run to the bathroom to wipe my face with a cold wash cloth, deciding today is the day I finally grow a backbone and fight for what I want. When Rune gets here, I’m going to make everything right.

Grabbing my phone again, I open my group text with the girls and send them a message.

Me: I know I’m an adult, and I shouldhave kept saying no to drinking lastnight, but fuck you all for leaving meby myself like that.

Once I send the message, I block them all. Who needs friends that leave them at the bar alone with no way home? If I’m going to make my relationship work, I need to be willing to make sacrifices. That is one sacrifice I’ll gladly make for the love of my life.