Scarlett Lawson, or at least that was what she was called before. Before she was betrayed by some of the people she was meant to trust the most, placed in the worst predicament she could have imagined and sent away to a whole different world.
But no...
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Calix Radcliff
"What's up, man?" I answer the call over Bluetooth in my car. Quinn and I rarely interacted besides group events and moments normally involving Scarlett, so it was odd that he was calling me, even if I now considered him a friend.
"Hey, have I caught you at a bad time?" I could hear the distress in his voice and it immediately made me sit up straighter, a million scenarios running through my mind.
"No not at all. Is something wrong?"
"No, yes, well kind of." He rambles quickly. "There's a situation I'm trying to deal with right now concerning Rhett's mom that just came up urgently and Scarlett's trying to help me with it. I don't have anyone to pick up Rhett from school, I know this is a big ask but..."
I cut him off. "I can fetch him."
"Are you sure, I can try finding someone."
"I'm sure, I can hang out with him for the evening and you can pick him up from my place later." My workload had slowed down considerably in the last few days in an attempt to prepare for my up and coming trial but I was starting to feel bored out of my mind. It was a big jump from a hectic day-to-day life for years on end to doing basically nothing, all it was doing was making me nervous for the trial, I was grateful for any distraction I could get. "Fair warning, I haven't had much experience with kids."
"Rhett loves you, and if Scarlett trusts you then so do I." I hear his name being called in the background. "I have to go, thanks a lot again, man. I'll send you the details of his pick up."
♦
It was odd being back in the place where I went to school from when I was a little kid until just before I started working at my dad's company. The person I was when I attended school here is not the same person I am today because the boy who came here had his dad and the man that runs the company doesn't. It was eerie how similar it still looked, how I could vividly remember certain moments of my childhood yet at the same time it felt so many millions of miles away.
I walk up to where the other parents are waiting for their children but I don't go all the way forward, choosing to hang back a bit. I lean against a wall and stuff my hands into my pockets. The familiar ringing of the bell sounds out signalling the end of the school day and slowly kids start appearing in the same navy blue school uniforms that I used to wear every day. It takes a few minutes before I see the signature bright blond hair of Everett Atkins, he doesn't notice me at first, his eyes scan the parking lot for presumably his dad or Scarlett but as I walk closer to him he catches sight of me.
I'm not sure exactly what kind of reaction I was expecting but I wasn't expecting Rhett's entire fact to light up at the sight of me. Sure we seemed to get along when I saw him with Scarlett and Quinn but I always assumed he was so happy because he was with them.
"Cal!" Rhett shrieks when he sees me, lugging along a backpack that was far too big for his body with him. His curls were all messed up and frizzy and his cheeks were a bright red.
