Misfits - Chapter 14 (Patreon)

A psychopath is someone that lacks remorse. A missing part of their brain prevents them from feeling regret or guilt about their actions...

I want to bang my head against the table. I was granted an extension on my paper due to my circumstances, but here I was struggling like hell to get it done. I can't focus. My mind was frazzled. All my professors agreed to send my work to me since I was unable to attend school due to my injuries. And since they knew me as a hard working student, they had no problem with helping me out especially since they finally learned the circumstances.

I look out the window once again. It was a beautiful day, the sun was high in the sky but the air was still chilly despite the suns rays. I was sitting in the house, Cal had already left for the day. He didn't even wake me up upon his exit, He just left me a note.

Had to go to work, I'll be back by dinner.

And I'd been here catching up on classwork since. It was strange being in his house alone. It was so silent here, the only sound coming from my pencil as it constantly tapped against the hardwood surface of the table. I end up getting up from the table and walking towards the garage. There was a large door leading into the glass garage he kept all of his cars in. So I decide to walk around and inspect them. It was like being in a showcase.

Each car was parked pristinely, and was insanely clean. Not a scratch or smudge or even speck of dirt. Callum had a total of six cars that were parked, along with 2 motorcycles. I know he probably took his mustang to work since that seemed to be his favorite car. I look around until I see the silver Aston martin he picked me up in that one time. He had all of these expensive cars, yet I had no idea what he did to be able to buy them. And if I asked he would just say, deal with people.

Was he like a partner at a firm? A lawyer? A business executive? It was hard to picture him as any of those. Especially with the tattoos and piercings that marred his skin. And I've never seen Cal in a suit. But that would be an amazing sight to see. I look on the far wall by the door to see the hook that had all the keys hanging from it. Even in the garage everything was organized. It was like this guy had to have order in every aspect of his life.

I walk back up to the living room and head to the room I was snooping in the other day. I bypass the drawer I knew had mason jars in it, and pull on the others. They're locked. Well this was pointless. I was stuck in Cal's house, bored out of my mind and he had everything locked up so I couldn't even snoop to figure out more about this guy.

"I'm nobody."

What did that even mean? Did he not exist? Did he not believe that he was important? I tried to make myself not even worry about it, but I was living with him. What man opens his home up to an abused stranger? And leaves that stranger in his house alone. Without a care in the world? Did he have valuables in these drawers? Or did he have something to hide from me? Cal was a walking mystery. I could never figure him out. Not even if I asked him questions. He would just give me vague answers.

I head back down the stairs and into the kitchen. Even the cabinets were organized. All the spices in their rightful places. Cal had left containers in the fridge labeled 'breakfast' and 'lunch' on them. He had thought of everything. He was so kind and attentive to me. Always going above and beyond to see that I was taken care of and comfortable. And I had no idea why. He told me on several occasions that it was because he liked me. But I found that hard to wrap my mind around. You take people you like on dates. Maybe let them stay the night after you end up sleeping together, but Cal and I had barely even kissed and he had me living with him. He bought me clothes, anything I could ask for he had already taken care of.

I let out an exasperated sigh pushing my hair out of my face. I was wasting time thinking about Cal when I should be studying and doing my homework. I walk back into the living room taking a seat and going back to my homework.

* * * * *

My eyes flutter open when I hear the sound of the door opening. I seemed to have fallen asleep on the couch reading my book for class. The sun had set, leaving the room enveloped in a dark glow. The door was opened quietly, and I can hear footsteps making their way towards the living room. I crack my eyes slightly, just in time to see Cal walk by. It's hard to see him in the dark light, but he looks drenched. His clothes are sticking to him. And his usually wild hair is flat. He has a blank expression on his face, and he doesn't even falter as he walks by the living room. After a few minutes I hear the shower running. I wait for about 5 minutes and decide to get up from my seat on the couch, heading towards the bathroom.

I know I should give him his privacy, but I was a little disappointed he didn't acknowledge me when he walked in. It was out of character for him.

I head down the dark hallway, to the bedroom and see the bathroom door is closed. The light is on though. I hesitate a little. I didn't want to be weird. What was I supposed to say while he was in the shower? Just knock and be like "oh hey I was just saying hi." I feel ridiculous for even being here.

Maybe if I just ask if he's ok then it'll be fine. I make up my mind to go with that and stand in front of the bathroom door, raising my hand to knock. Before I can the door is whipped open and all the steam from the shower comes out, but that's not what makes my body feel as though it's on fire.

Cal is standing in front of me, in all his naked glory. There isn't even a towel around his waist. His hair is sticking to his face, small curls visible at random. And there are still water droplets running down his body, along with steam coming off his skin. I can see all the ridges and muscles, as well as his endowment between his legs...

"Princess?" His voice pulls me out of my gawking and I immediately close my mouth, hiding my face in my hands. I feel like I'm about to explode into a ball of fire. From embarrassment, or lust, I can't even distinguish the difference.

"Oh my gosh," I whisper. I hear a deep chuckle followed by some rustling. I feel Cal's warm hands around mine, slowly pulling them from my face. My eyes flicker down and now he has a towel around his waist. My gaze travels back up to his face, his smile making my heart melt.

"I-" I open my mouth to speak but don't even know what to say in the slightest. He laughs again and tilts his head while studying me with that amber gaze.

"Well hello to you too." I blink realizing what he said.

"Hi," I lamely reply.

"Enjoy the view?" he says with a cocky grin and a waggle of his pierced brow. I can feel my face burning. I drop my head in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry," I whisper.

"Hey, princess you have nothing to be sorry about ok?" I feel his fingers under my chin and he guides my face up to meet his. I take in his features, as he does the same to mine. How could such a perfect man exist? He reaches out ruffling his fingers in my hair giving me a wide smile and stepping away in the direction of the closet.

"You hungry?" he says nonchalantly, as if I didn't just see him butt naked.

Cal's trying to get me to cook with him, and all I can do is make a mess everywhere. I spilled the flour, I knocked over the spices, and managed to get some pepper in my eye. I also managed to burn the rolls and boil all of the water out of the pot. I felt helpless. He's laughing at me from the corner of the room.

"What's so funny?" I growl in irritation. He only shrugs and watches me some more.

"Not everyone can be the perfect man and cook like you, Cal," I say in irritation. He doesn't speak. He only stands tall from the counter and makes his way over to me with a small smirk on his face. He narrows his eyes slightly as he stands over me. He reaches out with his thumb and wipes the tip of my nose.

"You have flour all over you," He snickers to himself. I roll my eyes and push away from him, making my way to the counter. I grab the bag of flour sneakily and turn around ready to throw it at him, when he slaps it right out of my hand causing the flour to explode in the air and fall all over me. I stand in shock and embarrassment.

Cal bursts out in laughter, the loud sound echoing off the walls of the kitchen. I dust flour off my body.

"Happy now? I look ridiculous," I growl. He grows serious and studies me.

"You don't look ridiculous." He walks near me, pulling me in his embrace. Out of nowhere an egg is cracked over my head and drips from my curls into my face.

"Now you look ridiculous." Cal laughs even louder. I try, I really do try my hardest to be angry, but his smile and his laugh is so contagious, I can't help but join in. A smile was rare from Cal. A full blown smile like the one I was witnessing right now. And it brought me joy that I had played a part in It appearing there.

An hour later we're sitting at the table, eating quietly. After I showered and he cleaned the mess in the kitchen,  he made some kind of pasta, and it was delicious. I eat my food slowly, savoring the flavor. He could cook, he was neat, he was kind and caring, was there anything he couldn't do?

"How was your day?" He breaks the silence and I raise my gaze. He's still chewing and I can't help but become mesmerized by that muscle working in his chiseled jaw each time he bit down.

"It was fine," I say trying to sound nonchalant.

"Get all your work done?" he asks. I nod my head in response.

"How was your day?" I ask. He only shrugs.

"It was good."

"What'd you do?" I ask. He stops chewing and looks at me with a challenging expression.

"I went to work, did my job, and came home," he says. I can sense an undertone in his voice, but I can't quite decipher what it means.

"That doesn't answer my question," I say.

"You never want to talk about yourself," I complain. I even throw a pouty lip his way, he keeps a straight face for a moment, but then a smile finally breaks through as he looks at me.

"What do you want to know?" he asks warily.

"Well, for starters. What do you do when you go to work. What does dealing with people mean?" I ask. I watch his reaction carefully. I can tell he's getting irritated by the way his grip tightens on the fork and the muscle in his jaw begins to furiously move.

"Why do you want to know so bad?" he asks. This time his gaze meets mine head on and I want to shiver from that look, but I force myself to stand my ground.

"I don't know, you have like expensive cars and things, as you so eloquently put it, yet you never went to college and were able to land a job that pays for all of it? I just want to know what you're so good at that-" I'm cut off as he brings his fist down on the table, causing me to jump.

"Dammit Rue! I told you I didn't want to talk about it, why the hell can't you just leave it alone?" he shouts. Fear explodes in my chest from the way his muscles are tensed and his sudden fit of anger. My breathing catches in my throat and I can feel the tears stinging my eyes. An involuntary reaction of fear that I had accustomed from my father.

Cal immediately realizes his mistake, his eyes growing wide. He reaches out to me, but I immediately flinch away out of fear. I can't help it.

"Rue... I'm sorry-" I don't even stick around to listen. That's how it started with my father. He would get angry, and then he would apologize and then it got worse and worse and the apologies got less and less.

I'm sitting outside by the pool. I don't know for how long I've been here. The cold air is biting at my nose but I don't care. The fresh air is helping me clear my mind. I know I pushed him. I shouldn't have continued to ask even after he told me not to. I keep trying to tell myself that it was me, and he would never hurt me. But I keep reverting back to the fear driven state my father beat me to.

"Princess." I tense slightly when I hear his voice behind me. He was always able to sneak up on me. Never could I hear him when he was around or coming in my direction.

"C'mon princess it's cold out here. You don't need to be in this weather while you're still recovering." I know he's right. He's always right. I slowly stand and turn around, walking past him and into the house, still not speaking.

"Princess, wait." I feel his hand wrap around mine. The warmth from his body seeping into my palm. It's comforting. It's always so damn comforting. It always calms me down.

He slowly turns me around so that I am facing him. I can see all the regret and guilt in his eyes.

"I'm so so sorry. I shouldn't have gotten upset like that." He slowly brings my hand up to his lips and places a long, slow kiss to it, never breaking eye contact with me.

"I know your background, I should have been more sensitive and I'm so sorry. There is no excuse. I don't want you to be afraid of me. Ever." He places his palm against my cheek and I can't help but close my eyes as I revel in the feel of his skin against mine. I loved it so much.

"You don't ever have to fear me princess," he whispers.

"I'm going to protect you. Always." I can't help the small smile that crawls onto my face. I nod my head in understanding. He would never hurt me. Never.

His hand travels from my cheek to my chin as he tilts my head up, lightly brushing his lips against mine. Immediately after the simple brush turned into something more needy. His lips capture mine, almost as if he were trying to show me how much he needed me.

He brings his hand down the small of my back, pulling m body tight against his. I feel as though I'm going to melt. I can feel every hard muscle of his body through the fabric of our clothing. All too soon he pulls away from me, and I have to bite my lip in frustration. He's squeezing his eyes shut as if he's in pain.

"What?" I ask.

"Are you ok?" I ask, a small tinge of fear brewing in my stomach. He senses my distress and lets out a small laugh nodding his head.

"What is it?" I ask confused. His amber eyes wander up to mine, filled with lust.

"You have no idea how bad I want to make love to you, princess."

I open my mouth, immediately closing it. I don't know how to respond. I know that Cal was a man and that sex was probably something normal for him, but for me it was a part of my life that had never been explored. I didn't even know the moral code for sex.

All I knew was that the reason I didn't want to right now was because I was embarrassed of myself, my body, and the fact that I had no idea what to do. I had taken sex Ed in class. I knew how it worked. I just didn't know how I was supposed to do it.

I don't know what he makes of my silence, but he leans in giving me a long kiss on the forehead.

"I won't force you into doing anything you don't want to do. But when the time comes that you decide you're ready, I promise to make it the most memorable night of your life," he says with a wink.

"Come on, let's get you ready for bed." He wraps his arms around me, pulling me in close to his body, and I smile as the familiar scent of him fills my lungs.

* * * * *

Once again he lies next me in bed, but stays atop the comforter. I'm dozing off to the rhythm of his heartbeat, when he decides to talk.

"I was born in a crack house. My mom was a whore and my father was a bastard. My mother left me at so many places, just so she could go get her fix. My father was a high paying customer that got his moneys worth and more with her. When she realized she was pregnant, she kept me to use as leverage against him and his wife. Trying to make him leave her. But he didn't. And he used every resource available to him to ensure that we never show up in his life again." He laughs to himself as if remembering something.

"I can't tell you the many times I was living under the bridge because of that bitch. Sometimes she even sold me just to get her fix. I always got away though. And went back to her like an idiot."

"Then when I got old enough she started pimping me out for money. Making me sleep with women to get her money so that she could get doped up out of her mind." He laughs bitterly.

"I vowed to myself that I would change my life. I would make a better one for me, through whatever means necessary... And I did." His arms tighten around me as he brings me closer to his body. The room is silent for a few minutes as I take in his words. He was opening up to me. And his life was just as hard as mine. It made me see him in a whole new light. This new and open side to him. After a while he begins speaking again. And judging from his choice of words, I guess he thought that I was asleep.

"I never gave a second thought to women. And never did I think I would want one living with me. But having you here, coming home to you everyday, makes my job worth it. One day, I promise I will tell you everything. I just hope that when that time comes, you'll be able to understand.."

~

Bzzzz Bzzzzzz Bzzzzz

Bzzzz Bzzzzzz Bzzzzz

The vibration of a phone pulls me from my deep slumber. Cal shuffles next to me, rolling away from my body. I roll over slightly, still feigning sleep while listening to him.

"What." His tone is ice. He doesn't even sound as if he was asleep moments before the phone rang. There's silence as he listens.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me. This late?... How do you know?" He slowly moves out of the bed, taking his conversation to the closet. After a moment he comes back out.

"Yeah I'm heading out now. You sure it's him?... Consider it handled." The room is silent. I feel the bed dip next to me followed by Cal's warm lips against my cheek. The bed lifts as he gets off and I hear the door open and close quietly. A few minutes later, the loud roar of his mustang fills the night.