Misfits - Chapter 25 (Patreon)

Rue

When Vitale gave me his terms, I thought that I was going to be the one to mope around. I thought that I would be the one that would end up ignoring Cal. But surprisingly, it’s not me. It’s Cal. He’s distant. Even more so than he used to be. He gets up in the mornings and disappears from the house all day. And if he is home, he literally mopes about, with a frown on his face.

He doesn’t speak to me, he won’t even look at me. And it makes me feel completely guilty about leaving him. I hate myself because I know that what he does is wrong, yet I feel like the bad guy for leaving. I feel like I betrayed him. I’m used to Callum not smiling, but this kind of frown wasn’t his normal face. I could see the constant hurt behind his eyes.

I decided when I woke this morning that we were going to resolve this. We had to come to some kind of mutual agreement, But yet again, he was nowhere to be found.

“Cal?” I call out. But I’m greeted with silence. I walk to the kitchen, and he is still nowhere to be found. I didn’t hear his car, so I know that he is still home. I turn to walk up the hallway to the stairs that leads to the loft. I climb the ladder, and sure enough, he’s in here with his head in the computer.

“Cal?” He furrows his brow when he hears my voice and looks up. His gaze is dead and cold. I’ve never seen him like that before, not since we first met.

“Cal I was calling you. Did you not hear me?” I ask. His eyes drop back down to the screen and he scoffs at me. I blink in confusion. Did he just ignore me?

“Cal, I’m talking to you,” I say again. He keeps his eyes trained on the computer though, not bothering to acknowledge my existence. I huff, walking across the room, and stepping in between him and the computer screen. I see something flash behind his amber gaze, but it disappears as he takes a deep breath and looks up at me. My skin runs cold at his gaze.

“What.”

I have to stop myself from flinching from his tone. His intense gaze is making me forget all about my irritation, and even what I was going to say. I open my mouth, but nothing comes out, so I close it. I look away.

“I’m sorry,” I say.

He scoffs, standing up from his seat so abruptly it causes me to stumble back and into the desk, almost losing my balance.

“Yeah. You already said that in that lovely little note you left me, remember?” he growls. He walks around me, heading for the stairs.

“Cal, wait!” I say. But he doesn’t stop. He really was angry with me for leaving. He couldn’t even stand to be in the same room as me. Gone was that look of adoration he used to give me, replaced with distrust and betrayal. I realize that I’ve been standing in this same spot for a while, drowning in my thoughts.

I run down the stairs after Cal.

“Callum, would you wait-” I stop midsentence, and my blood runs cold. Vitale is standing in the living room. Cal turns slightly gazing at me in irritation, while Vitale sends a chilling smirk in my direction. Cal makes his way towards me, grabbing me by the arm and yanking me out of the room. I’m falling over my feet trying to keep up.

Instead of leading me to the bedroom, he leads me to the guest room, and we step inside, or rather he yanks me and I trip. He whips me around to meet his gaze. He’s once again staring at me with anger.

“Look, Rue.” My heart drops at him using my name.

“Today is not the day. I need to meet with Vitale about something that happened when you left. Stay out of the way.” He turns away from me, leaving the room without so much as a backward glance.

I reach up, and take an involuntary step towards his retreating form but immediately stop myself. There was no warmth in that exchange at all. Nothing. I feel tears welling up in my eyes, and they spill over. I broke him. I fucking broke him by leaving and now he resented me. My knees suddenly feel to weak and I slowly crumble to the floor. Cal was the only man to ever love me, and I may have lost him.

* * * * *

Cal

As I turn away from Rue, I stop right outside the bedroom door, hiding from her sight as I try and get my whit’s about me. She looked so hurt when I was speaking to her. I wanted to just hold her, and tell her that I’m sorry. But then her betrayal pops into my mind, and I feel resentment all over again. I hated the mixed emotions I was having towards her.

I tense, as I hear a small sniffle come from inside the room. Damn. She’s crying. I hurriedly walk away from her room, making my way to Vitale in the living room. The curtains are drawn so my house is dark, except for the warm glow of the dim lights.

Vitale’s watching me with amusement as I step around the corner. He could try all he wanted to convince me otherwise, but he didn’t like Rue. She had control over me that he didn’t. And now, things were getting worse between us, and he was more out of my personal circle than ever. Which meant that he wasn’t immune to my temper. And that wasn’t good for him.

I take a seat across from him, and he sets his jacket on the seat next to him.

“So do you want to tell me what happened?” I still hadn’t explained anything to Vitale of what happened between Rue and me and why I went on a rampage that day. Something tells me he already knew though. Rue’s whole demeanor changed when she stepped into the room and saw him standing there.

It wasn’t her usual demeanor when she saw him either. Something had changed since her coming back. And I’m pretty sure he had something to do with that too. I wasn’t stupid. Rue was long gone when I found her note. And suddenly, she shows up at Vitale’s? She doesn’t even know where he lives.

“I just lost control ok?” I say. A small frown appears on his face, as he sits back in his seat.

“Lost control. Because of your flower?” he says eyeing me closely. I know he’s watching for my reaction.

“Yes,” I say. He crosses his arms, staring at me.

“Lost control...,” he repeats.

“You killed 9 people Callum. And you broke Victor's arm, and almost put Leo’s eyes out,” he says. He watches me once again with narrowed eyes. I know he’s waiting for me to feel some kind of guilt. But I can’t. I just don’t.

“What if I said you hurt your flower? Then how much different would your reaction be?” he says. I narrow my eyes at him, I don’t like discussing Rue with him. He takes my silence as an answer and laughs.

“Callum. What you’ve got with her is really dangerous. Not for her, but for you. She makes your temper less in check. You don’t think straight, and you know you are a dangerous man. If people found out the real reason you went on a rampage, how safe do you think you could keep your precious flower.” he says. I don’t let any emotion show, but he’s right. If I don’t control myself, people will see that pattern and what it falls back to. And they will hunt her down, just to take me out.

“So what are you suggesting,” I say. Now Vitale smiles.

“Get rid of her.” My fists clench at the thought. At that moment I want to punch Vitale in his teeth. I think he senses it too because he shifts slightly in his seat.

“You know that’s not going to happen,” I say. Now it’s Vitale’s turn to get pissed.

“Then you need to keep her on a leash,” he growls out. I jump up from my seat, unable to control the anger that rips through me.

“She’s not a fucking dog,” I growl out. Vitale frowns at my reaction.

“Sit, Callum. Let’s be civilized,” he says. But I can tell that he’s fucking scared. I slowly move to take my seat.

“All I’m saying is, that you need to have a close eye on her. Because if something happens like this again, it won’t be good Callum. We can’t control you. Only she can at this point.” I let his words sink in.

“So you think I should just trap her here. Not let her go anywhere?”

He shrugs.

“I’m not saying that exactly. But she’s not exactly under your watchful eye constantly is she?”

I think about his words. Rue was set to start back school in a few weeks. She was always chanting about her end goal. How she was almost there. It would crush her if I told her she couldn’t go.

Vitale speaks, bringing me out of my thoughts.

“Anyway, thank you for the Vidercii job. That was good intel you got from him. What exactly did you do with his body?” he asks.

“Nothing. He’s still alive,” I say. Vitale raises a brow at me.

“Oh?”

“Yes. You said if he didn’t cooperate then I could kill him. He cooperated just fine. Gave me what I needed and more. He’s recovering offshore somewhere, and making moving arrangements as we speak so he won’t be on your turf anymore.” Vitale still eyes me. He knows there’s more to it.

“He’s a good source. And if I keep him alive, I’ll be able to get intel that I need at the ready. If I had just killed him, I wouldn’t have that opportunity, and you wouldn’t be ahead of the game," I say. Now Vitale smiles. He stands to leave.

“What would I do without you?”

I shrug deciding not to answer. He’d probably be dead. Or the closest thing to it, seeing as I’ve foiled several hits on him.

“I have another job for you,” he says. I feel my skin prickling with excitement as he speaks, and adrenaline coursing through my veins. He places a photo of an older man. My eyes narrow and I realize who it is. It was a much more powerful crime lord than Vitale.

“Boris Viktor?” I look at him questioningly.

“Why do you want him?” I ask. Vitale cracks a small smile.

“Since when do you ask questions?” he throws back at me.

“Since you’re attacking a much more powerful crime lord,” I say. Vitale narrows his eyes at me, then decides to speak.

“I think it’s time for me to expand my horizons. But I can’t do that with Boris in the way. He would never let me especially with so many of his distributors being in the surrounding areas.” Realization dawns on me.

“You want to start a turf war,” I say. Vitale’s eyes sparkle in excitement as he nods his head.

“Just think, Callum. More opportunity for the both of u-” I raise my hand to stop him. Convincing me was the dumbest thing he could attempt to do. If I was in I was in. If I didn’t want to I wouldn’t. But a turf war, especially now wasn’t a good idea. Especially with someone that was more powerful than Vitale.

“So you want me to start this war, and then you want me to finish it with his head on a platter,” I say. Vitale nods. Sometimes, I despise Vitale. And this was one of those moments. He’s the definition of a coward. He wanted to be at the top but didn’t have the balls to climb his way up. So he hides behind me.

I shrug my shoulders.

“Ok,” I say.

“When?” I ask.

Vitale stands to leave, putting his jacket on.

“One week. I’ll contact you later with the details.” He turns and walks to the door to leave. Once he reaches the front door, he turns to me.

“About your flower...” he starts.

“She won’t be an issue between us, will she?”

I sense the underlying threat and feel my irritation boiling. So I step closer to Vitale so that I’m directly in his face.

“I don’t know. Will she?” I say. Vitale looks into my eyes and finally gives a soft smile, backing away.

“No. She won’t,” he smiles. I don’t smile back though. This was the second time he’s tried to threaten me about Rue. And I don’t like it one bit. He turns away, leaving the house.

Once Vitale is gone, I head towards the guest room, and sure enough, Rue is laying in bed asleep. Every time she cries, she immediately falls asleep afterward. I figure it’s a coping mechanism her body has come up with from all those years of abuse from her father.

She’s laying on her side, one arm over her ribs, and one extended with something in her hand. I step closer to it. It’s a picture. I reach out slowly, pulling from her grasp. There’s a woman in it, and she’s smiling. She resembled Rue. Minus the fact that her hair is straight, and Rue’s is curly. I turn the picture over, taking a look at the backside of it.

“Don’t let failure deter your chances to succeed. Every setback is a good setup for a comeback.”

-Mom

I smile slightly. What a sweet thing to write to her daughter. I remember the night I saved Rue from her father when she was drifting in and out of consciousness, she was screaming for this picture. I can’t help but wonder what it must be like to have a loving mother. I try and think back to a time when my mother showed me any kind of compassion.

"Just do this for mommy. I promise it’ll feel good, and you can help mommy feel good.”

My mind flashes to when my mother would pimp me out to fuel her habit. She was a sick woman.

My eyes travel to Rue’s sleeping form. Her hair is splayed everywhere, those wild curls lightly tickling her cheeks. Her lips are parted slightly, and I can make out the tear streaks on her cheeks. She must have been crying for a while. I feel a tightening in my pants as I gaze at her body. She’s so damn beautiful. Every part of me itching to touch her. To claim her as mine. I missed her. I missed her body. I missed her smile and her laugh. I hadn’t seen her smile since I told her the truth. I missed it.

I let out a flustered sigh, placing the picture back on her bed, and leaving the room. I told her to sleep in my bed, that night we came back together because I knew the next day that things would not be the same. And I was right. All the resentment I felt towards her for leaving came flooding out.

I head to the bathroom. I just need a cold shower, and to rest. I would fix things with Rue in the morning. She wasn’t my mother. My mother told me she loved me and left. She always did that. But Rue was different, right? She was just scared, right? That’s what people feel when they learn about things they don’t fully understand. They feel fear. And that’s all that was happening with her.

She was trying to talk to me today, but I was so angry at her for leaving. So I’m sure she would be willing to talk things out.

~

(Flashback)

I stare wide-eyed at the looming house in front of me. I gaze back at my mother in disbelief.

“Mom?” I ask in confusion. She looks at me with those wild eyes. I know that gaze. That constant twitch and random itching she’d have. There were holes in her skin from her scratching at it so much. She was having withdrawals. She needed her fix. And I was about to help her get it.

She reaches out to me with shaky hand, placing them on either side of my face. Her skin felt cool and clammy against mine.

“You love your mama don’t you?” she asks. Her voice was rough and grating from drugs.

I nod my head slowly. She smiles at me.

“And you know I love you. I would do anything for you. You know that, right Callum?” she says. I nod my head.

“So you need to do something for me tonight baby.” I feel my stomach drop as we head into the house. We’re standing in the larger entry area, and a woman comes down the stairs. She was older, but not super old. Maybe in her late 30’s. She had large breasts, and curves. She was wearing a short skirt, and a tight shirt that her cleavage was falling out of. I already knew where this night was going.

The woman gazes at me with lust and hunger.

I look at my mother in confusion. She was doing this to me again? She promised the last time that it would be just that. The last time.

“You’re going to spend the night with Mrs. Laura tonight,” she smiles at me. I know she wants me to, but I don’t want to. I didn’t like doing this with all these women I didn’t know. Most of them were crazy and liked to hurt me.

I slowly start to shake my head, and her face morphs into that of anger.

“Just do this for mommy. I promise it’ll feel good, and you can help mommy feel good.” She forces a smile at me. I look from her to Mrs. Laura as she gets closer.

“It’s good to see you Dana. And your son of course,” she says, her gaze traveling up and down my body.

“Your husband is out of town right?” my mother asks. Laura nods her head.

“Of course he is,” she smiles, reaching in her purse.

“Just as we agreed. $1500 for one night,”  she says handing the money to my mother. My mother all but snatches it from her hands.

“I’ll pick him up in the morning,” my mother says. Laura shakes her head.

“Actually, I think I want him for the weekend. He’s much cuter than Jennifer described,” she says. I shudder at the thought of Jennifer. She was insane. She loved pain. My pain. She loved tying me up, and getting on top of me. I hated it.

My mothers eyes light up in excitement.

“You know that’ll cost you extra.” Laura rolls her eyes reaching into her purse.

“Of course.” She hands my mother a wad of cash, and my mother takes it, grinning happily.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” she smiles, leaving me alone with Laura not sparing me a second glance. I try and tell myself she’s just got a busy schedule to keep to, but I was beginning to believe that was a lie.

An hour later, I’m sitting on Laura’s bed, washed, in only a pair of underwear. She’s in her closet, getting ready for the weekend no doubt. Sure enough she exits the closet in a pair of skimpy heels and barely any clothing on. A bra and a thong to be exact, only a silk robe covering the rest of her.

She takes a seat next to me, running her fingers through my hair.

“Such a lovely color,” she murmurs. I’ve always known I look different. Every woman I’ve ever encountered made it a point to let me know. I had smooth and flawless skin, and hair that wasn’t an off-putting red, but a dark red. Like blood. And apparently I was well endowed down low.

She reaches her hand between my legs.

“You have done this before haven’t you?” she says as if mocking me. I nod my head and she snickers.

“I know that, or else Jennifer wouldn’t have spoken so highly of you. Relax. We’re going to have fun tonight.”

~

They always said that. We were going to have fun. How was any of this fun? Laura had me bound tightly around my wrists, she had already gotten off multiple times on me. And now she was hitting me. With a whip. It was nothing like the one Jennifer used. But it still hurt.

“C’mon Callum. I want to hear you scream baby boy.” She calls out across the room. I refuse to give her the satisfaction. She brings the whip down over my body hard, I bite my lip hard enough to draw blood. I refuse to scream.

She huffs in irritation, dropping the whip. I almost let out a sigh of relief but she makes her way over to me quickly, grabbing my jaw in between her fingers.

“I paid good money for you this weekend, and I refuse to have it wasted. You’re going to scream for me tonight whether you want to or not,” she hisses. She walks away from me for a moment, and comes back with needles. Long needles.

My eyes widen and I begin to struggle.

“Wait.. Please," I say, but she’s not listening to a words I say. She wants me to scream. She stands directly in front of me with a needle.

“Jennifer said she was the only one that could make you scream, and I bet her $500 that I could. So you’re going to scream tonight.” she hisses. She brings the needle back and aims it directly at my flesh.

* * * * *

I jolt awake, a loud scream leaving my lips. I feel fingers on my chest, and immediately lurch at the figure wrapping my fingers around its throat and squeezing. I’m in a haze. I can’t think straight. All I know is that I need to kill her. I need to kill Jennifer. I screamed and she wants more, so now I have to kill her. I squeeze with all my might, and I feel her nails raking at my flesh, and reaching for my face, but I ignore it, reveling in the taking of her life.

“Cal.” A small squeak pulls me out of my haze immediately. I recognize that voice. I let go of her throat as quick as I can, and Rue jumps up, coughing violently.

“Oh, God. Rue,” I whisper in horror.

Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck.

I fucking hurt her. I almost fucking killed her.

“Rue I’m so sorry,” I whisper hastily. I reach out, trying to comfort her in some way, but as soon as I touch her she jumps away from me. She can’t even cry out. Fuck. I hadn’t dreamed about those horrors in so long, it felt so real like I was actually there. I was only fucking 15 at the time, and that bitch stuck needles all over my flesh trying to make me scream.

I immediately grab at Rue in the dark, trying to calm her flailing arms, but she’s not having it. She’s trying her hardest to get away from me.

“Rue! Stop! Calm down.” She’s kicking at me with all her might. I don’t know how long she fights me, but eventually, her breathing gets harder and harder , since her throat is beginning to swell from me choking her.

“Rue, baby, please. You have to calm down or you will suffocate.” I say trying to get her to listen to me. She collapses.

* * * * *

I grab the frozen towel, wrapping it around her throat. I don’t miss the horrid bruising that’s beginning to appear though.

“Rue. I’m so sorry,” I say for what seems like the hundredth time. She’s not looking at me though. She refuses to.

“I didn’t mean to. I didn’t realize it was you. I’m sorry,” I say. She opens her mouth to speak and immediately breaks out into a coughing fit.

“No, princess, you can’t talk. Your throat is too swollen right now,” I say. She looks like she’s about to look at me, but chooses to gaze at the floor. I let out a deep sigh.

“We’re going to have to sleep out here tonight. I need to keep you upright until the swelling goes down,” I say. She doesn’t even look at me though. Fuck I messed up. Bad.

I stand up, heading towards the cover closet to get a blanket for us on the couch. This was going to be a long night indeed.