Trusting You: The Switched Series book two (5 page)

I am on my way to my parent’s house when my phone starts ringing. I grab my phone to glance at it before answering it on speaker. Leighton Lancaster, I haven’t talked to her in about a month. That is surprising since I can’t seem to stop thinking about her. I don’t know what it was about that girl, but I can’t get her out of my head.

“Hello,” I answer.

“Hi Brody, it’s Leighton. You were supposed to be keeping me updated on how it’s going with Callie, but I haven’t heard from you in a while,” she says.

“I did say that, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did. I’m assuming no news is good news with you. I would hate to think she is miserable and you have yet to call and let me know,” she says.

“She is fine. We are really enjoying getting to know her. My family already loves her and I promise she has lots of protectors,” I say hoping she’s not really mad I haven’t been keeping her updated.

“I know she’s okay, I talk to her every once in a while when she gets a second to call me. What are her plans tonight? Please don’t leave her alone. I meant to call sooner, but I have been busy,” she says. Why should I not leave her alone tonight? That is an odd thing to say. 

“She is going to my parents tonight. They always have a big party on the Fourth. It’s also the first time she will meet Molly,” I say.

“Please say you are kidding,” she practically screams at me. I pull into my parent’s driveway and cut the truck off.

“Why is it that so bad? We will all be here to support her. I really think it will be okay. Molly has had a month to get used to the idea of having to share her family with her.”

“Here’s what you are going to do. You are going to make sure Molly is nice to her and you are going to make sure Callie does not get upset. Not tonight. Here’s what I am going to do. I am going to go straight to the airport and fly into Nashville tonight. Text me directions to your house and I will be there as soon as I can be. Tonight is not Callie’s favorite night of the year. It’s the night her parents were killed and she hates it, so please take care of her,” she says, before telling me bye and hanging up. I really wish Callie had told me all of this. She didn’t seem that upset when we mentioned this to her, so maybe Leighton is just blowing it out of proportion. Too late now, I just hope Molly stays nice like she promised.

I get out of the truck to go find Molly. A quick reminder may be just what she needs. I head inside to see my mom staring nervously at the door.

“Hey mom, where’s Molly?” I ask, giving her a hug.

“Out back, I really think tonight will be fine. Did Callie not come with you?” she asks.

“No, she wasn’t ready and I wanted to talk to Molly first. Ash is going to give her a ride over,” I say, heading outside.

“That’s really sweet of him,” she says. I really wish they would just stop trying to hide what’s going on with them from everyone. Honestly, I can’t believe my mom hasn’t figured it out yet. I open the back door to find Molly sitting outside by herself.

“Hey, why are you out here all alone?” I ask, sitting down beside her.

“I’m just thinking. Did she come with you?”

“No, I wanted to talk to you first. Ash is bringing her over in a little while,” I say immediately regretting it.

“Of course he is. I’m sure she is exactly his type,” she says. I don’t even know what to say to that. I know she is going to be furious when she finds out about them. I don’t see any reason to tell her now.

“You don’t know that,” I say, standing up. “I’ll go see if I can find her and send her out here. I don’t think y’all need a big audience to meet each other. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Please be nice,” I say, heading back in. Hopefully they will be here soon and we can get this night over with.  I go back to the front door to stand and wait on them. I feel like I really need to make sure this goes well especially since Leighton told me what she did. Leighton, I almost forgot she said she was coming. I think I will let that be a surprise.

“Finally, the door opens and Ash and Callie walk in. I grab her immediately and give her a big hug. “Thank you for doing this, I know it’s not easy,” I say, watching her smile at me.

“Where’s Molly?”

“I think she’s in the back yard. Come on out with me. I’ll try to clear it out before you see her,” I say doubting anyone voluntarily went outside to talk to her. We walk out the back door to find my mom sitting with Molly. Why in the world would she go out there now? This is either going to go really good or really bad. My mom stands up and walks by motioning for us to follow her. I really don’t think it’s a good idea to leave them alone, but hopefully my mom knows what she’s talking about.

After a few minutes, I can’t stand it anymore. I go look outside to find the back yard empty. I have no idea where they went, so I head out to find Ash. I think I have talked to every one of my family members in the last ten minutes except the ones I need to. Finally I see Molly down the hall, staring into the bathroom before turning around and heading back outside, slamming the door behind her. Great, that must have gone really bad. Callie quickly comes out of the bathroom and heads straight to the front door. Ash follows her out and I quickly figure out why Molly is so upset.

Ash looks up and sees me and shakes his head. I head down the hall to try and figure out what is going on.

“Are you crazy? Hiding in the bathroom with her is not a good way to hide what’s going on with you two,” I say trying to be quiet.

“We weren’t doing anything. Apparently Molly was her usual self. I found Callie in the bathroom sobbing, so I was trying to make sure she was okay. She is in my truck now. I’m taking her home. This was a really bad idea,” he says, heading into the kitchen. We walk into the kitchen to find my mom fixing plates to go.

“I heard Molly slam the door and saw Callie leave, thought you might want to take some food,” she says, handing Ash the plates. “Thanks for taking care of her. I’m glad she has you too,” she says. I don’t know if my mom knows what’s going on or is just thinking of him as another son right now, but I am also thankful she has him right now too. I should probably go home after her, but I am pretty sure all she wants right now is to be with Ash. I probably should have warned him she hates this day, but I guess she will tell him if she wants him to know.

“I promise I will take care of her. Y’all have a good party. I’ll see you later,” he says to me, before walking out the door.

Finally, after lots of fun family time I am on my way home. I’m not sure how serious Leighton was about flying to Nashville tonight, so I give her a call on my way home.

“Hello;” she answers on the first ring.

“I’m assuming you are almost to town if you found a flight,” I say kidding.

“I just got in my rental car. Should be your there in a little under two hours,” she says. Is this girl serious?

“Are you really almost here?”

“I really am. How is Callie? I haven’t called. I wanted to surprise her, unless you already told her I was coming,” she says.

“I didn’t tell her because I didn’t believe you. I’m glad you are coming though,” I say. “She didn’t exactly have a good night meeting Molly.”

“I didn’t think that could possibly go well. Don’t tell her I’m coming. I have a hotel for the next month, so I will come get her in the morning and steal her away. Hope that’s not a problem,” she says. 

“I think it will be good for her, but Ash may not feel the same,” I say wondering how much she knows about Ash.

“Ah, the hot horse guy is still around. Callie has been holding information from me,” she says. “Please say he is really good for her,” she adds.

“He is really good for her and she is really good for him. I just wish they would let the secret out already. I’m really getting tired of pretending to not know what is going on,” I say, pulling into the driveway. “We may not have to keep it a secret,” I say.  “I just got home and they are in the swing together and she is not jumping up to move off of him. Wish me luck and be careful. Call me when you get to the hotel, so I don’t have to worry about you too,” I say.

“That’s so sweet of you to worry. If I don’t forget, I’ll call. Take care of her until I get there,” she says, before hanging up. I am really looking forward to having her here for the next month. She could be a really good distraction from this life I am enduring right now.

I get out of the truck and walk up to the porch. She does not even try to move off of him. She must have had a stressful night.

“Hey, we missed y’all tonight,” I say, sitting down in a chair.

“I’m sorry. It was a little bit more than I was ready for,” Callie says.

“I understand. I hope Molly wasn’t too mean. She has been a little difficult lately,” I say, looking over at them. She is not even looking like she wants to move. “Y’all could at least try to hide it from me,” I say, standing up to go inside. “I have a surprise for you tomorrow Callie. I hope Ash can make it one day without you, “I say, before heading inside. No reason to tell him he is going to have to make it a month sharing her yet.

I take a quick shower and catch up on some work stuff before heading to the couch I have been sleeping on for a month. One thing good will come out of Leighton being here, I will get my bed back. The house is quiet, so I am assuming they both went to bed while I was in the shower. I turn the TV off to get some sleep when my phone starts vibrating. I grab it and see that it is Leighton. I hope she made it okay.

“Are you in town yet,” I answer.

“Just got checked in my hotel and it is awesome. They say there are ghosts here. How cool is that. I really hope I see one,” she says, sounding the most excited I have ever heard her. I have lived here my whole life and have never once considered trying to find out if there are ghosts in a hotel. I hope this girls isn’t crazy like most of the others I meet.

“I’m so glad you are enjoying your creepy hotel. I told Callie I had a surprise for her, but didn’t tell her what it was,” I say.

“Good, it wouldn’t be a very good surprise if you told her I was here. Was she okay when you got home?”

“She seemed good. I’m pretty sure that is all because she has Ash too. I hope you can share her,” I say knowing I should really be saying I hope he can share her. He is not going to be happy sharing her with another person and he is going to go crazy when he finds out she’s moving out for a month.

“I’m sure you can keep me distracted if I have to share her,” she says back to her flirty annoying tone she had the first day I saw her. Great, it’s like reliving Sam all over again. I really need to stop comparing every girl I meet to her. I really don’t think they could all be as crazy as she was.

“I’ll see what I can do. I’m glad you made it here safely. What time do you want to come by in the morning?”

“What time will y’all be up? I don’t want to wake anybody up, but I am really ready to see Callie,” she says.

“I’m usually up by eight. Callie on the other hand, could sleep all day I think,” I say.

“Oh my goodness, I know exactly what you mean. I don’t think I have ever met someone who sleeps so much. I would go crazy if I slept my life away like she does,” Leighton says laughing. I could definitely get used to hearing that laugh.

“Goodnight Leighton, I’ll see you in the morning,” I say hoping I get some sleep tonight and trying to figure out why I am excited about seeing this girl again.

I cannot believe I am here and Callie has no idea. I really should have called her last night and told her I was coming. I know she hates surprises.

I pull up to the address Brody gave me and see Callie’s car and two trucks in the driveway. I get out of my rental car and walk up to the porch. I start to knock when a big huge dog comes around the corner and starts growling at me. Seriously, Callie never mentioned anything about a killer dog.

“Scooby, go away,” Brody says, opening the door.

“Someone actually named their dog Scooby? Like after Scooby Doo?” I ask, walking inside as fast as I can to get away from the killer dog.

“Yes, I named him Scooby. You must be Leighton. Brody was just telling me that you were in town. I’m Ash, by the way,” a very good looking man says, looking like he is ready to kill me.

“I am Leighton. It’s nice to meet you. I have actually heard a lot about you already,” I say trying to be nice. I didn’t really think he would have a problem with me being here, but apparently he really doesn’t like to share.

“Callie is still asleep. Do you want some coffee?” Brody asks, walking over to the coffee pot.

“Sure, thank you,” I say, walking over to stand next to him. “Is he really that pissed that I am here?” I ask Brody.

“No. Well maybe a little. He’s pissed he has to go to work today and she will be gone when he gets back. He’s kind of used to her being here when he gets home. He’ll be okay though, don’t worry,” he says smiling.

“I need to go. Have fun with Callie today,” Ash says, before walking out the door.

“Do you have to work today?” I ask Brody.

“Nope, I have all day off. What are you two going to do today?” he asks.

“I don’t know. It doesn’t look like there is much to do around here. I guess I should go wake Callie up and see what she wants to do,” I say, watching him stare at me.

“First door on the left, I’ll see you girls later,” he says, before walking out the door. Didn’t he just say he didn’t have to work? Where is he going? I put my coffee mug in the sink and head to find Callie. She is sacked out still sound asleep. I wish I could sleep as good as this girl can. I kick off my shoes and slide in bed beside her.

“Ash, Brody will seriously shoot you if he finds you in bed with me,” Callie says, yawning.

“I have been missing out on a lot of things if you are letting boys sleep in the bed with you,” I say, watching her jump up. “Surprise,” I scream, grabbing her and giving her a huge hug.

“You’re my surprise. I have missed you so much,” she screams. “I can’t believe you are here. When did you decide to come?”

“I have wanted to come all summer, but wanted to give you some time with your new family. Brody called last night and said you could probably use a friend around here, so I got on the next flight and here I am,” I say, changing the story up a bit. I don’t want her to know I was so worried about her that I decide to come here before he told me the night went to hell.

“Thank you so much. I was thinking of jumping on a plane and coming home today. Maybe you can change my mind,” she says.

“That bad huh,” I say, smiling. “That hottie in the kitchen should be enough to keep you here in my opinion. Especially if you thought he was getting in your bed,” I say, teasing her.

“You met Ash?” she asks excitedly.

“I did meet Ash and I don’t think he was too happy to see me especially when he found out I was stealing you and taking you to the hotel with me to stay. I hope that’s okay with you,” I say, wondering if she would rather stay here with Ash.

“I guess it will be okay as long as it’s the haunted one. That should be fun. I’m really glad to see you. Thank you so much for coming.”

“You are so welcome. I needed another vacation. So, tell me about Molly,” I say, lying back down beside her. I listened to her tell me the horrible things Molly had said to her. Maybe talking her into coming here wasn’t the best idea.

“Knock knock, can I come in?” Brody asks, peeking in the door. “I thought I could take you two girls to lunch. Are you hungry?”

“I am starving. What about you Callie?” I ask.

“Sure, just give me a few minutes to shower,” she says, crawling out of the bed and heading to the bathroom. Brody comes into the room and sits down on the bed beside me.

“Is she leaving?” he asks.

“Yes, that was my plan. I have a room rented for at least a week, maybe a month. She is going to stay with me,” I say confused. I thought we had discussed this already.

“I mean is she going back to Florida?” he asks.

“Oh. no. I think I talked her out of it. What is Molly’s deal? If you can’t calm that girl down, Callie will not stay here,” I say hoping he understands.

“I know. I probably would have been on the first plane out of here if I was her. Thank you for coming. You two are really close, I guess,” he says.

“She is like a sister to me. Pretty much all the family I have left,” I say.

“What happened to you family?” he asks. I hate when people ask this. The only person that knows exactly what happened is Callie. I was so glad to finally find someone who understood what it was like to lose everything.

“My parents were killed in a car accident when I was fourteen,” I say really not wanting to relive it today.

“I’m sorry. I guess you and Callie do have a lot in common. Do you have any brothers or sisters?” he asks. This is the other thing I never talk about.

“I have a sister. We aren’t close anymore. She took care of me after my parents died. She was like a mother to me. She was amazing and I really thought she was my hero,” I say not wanting to talk about this and start crying. I really don’t want to come across as a big cry baby about this.

“What happened to her? You said was,” he says, looking over at me.

“It’s complicated. I don’t really like to talk about it. She’s not dead if that’s what you’re thinking. We just aren’t very close anymore,” I say hoping that will be enough to change the subject. “I saw her a month or so ago for the first time in six years. Like I said, we aren’t close anymore.”

“I am definitely starting to understand complicated and I can assure you I know all about complicated sisters. We actually went almost two years a few years back without seeing Molly. She would call every once in a while, but would refuse to see any of us, even my parents,” he says, shaking his head.

“Okay, I’m ready,” Callie says, coming back into the bedroom. “What’s going on in here?” she says, eyeing both of us on the bed.

“Oh you know, just talking about crazy sisters,” I say knowing she would never say anything about what she knows in front of anyone.

“I hope I’m not included in that,” she says smiling at Brody.

“I don’t know. You are not forgiven for sneaking around with my best friend behind my back yet,” Brody says teasing her.

“Sorry about that. I just didn’t want you all to get mad at him and blame him if I went running,” Callie says.

“You could have at least told me,” Brody says. “I’m really good at keeping secrets.”

“Ash told me you knew, so I don’t know why the two of you didn’t tell me you already knew, it probably would have made everything easier,” she says back to him. “I think Jaxon knows too.”

“I think everyone probably knows,” Brody says, standing up.

“Who is Jaxon?” I ask, trying to get back in this conversation. I already know who he is. I remember that picture very well.

“My brother,” Brody says, walking out of the room.

“He’s off limits too,” Callie says, following Brody out of the room. I don’t know why they are all off limits. I’m going to have to find something to do in this boring town, I don’t know why she gets a hot one and I don’t.

“Fine, you can at least get me food. I’m starving here,” I say, smiling back at her.