Mindless

Seventeen

~Cole~

I'd had Callie living with me for 2 weeks and I was struggling with her schedule when I wasn't even the one doing the work. How Callie manages to be on her feet from 7am until 1am is fucking insane and the fact she's always climbing into the car wide awake is even more insane. I've started bringing her herbal teas and sleep assisting oils I get her to apply on the drive home just so she can relax before we get home and it'll be easier for her to fall asleep. I am genuinely concerned for her and the call I got tonight wasn't making it any easier. 

The media finding out about me and Callie was inevitable. I wasn't hiding us, that defeated the point. What I didn't expect when they found out though, was for the drastic change in people's perceptions of me. Suddenly fans were no longer happy about me sitting on the outskirts and the marketing team wanted me to change up my persona a little. Everyone who watched sports had seen Callie's face. She was there alongside Theo at every single one of Lilah's performances and when she'd had time, she was front row at the games, cheering us on. Fans of the cougars loved Callie and Lilah as if they were one of us and the fact that Callie was now dating me meant I wasn't the cold hearted asshole everyone had built me up to be and now it was kind of expected that I got more involved in off season work with the rest of the guys. 

That would be fine, if it didn't mean heading out of town for some charity event that Montrose Tech were hosting. This trip was only for a few days but I really wasn't a fan of leaving Callie here. Lilah was out of town, Theo would be with me. She'd no doubt refuse to move into my dad's place and I don't think I want her there anyway. She's safest in my -our- apartment. 

The door pulled open and I immediately locked my phone, turning to look at the grinning blond as she sat down into her seat. 

"You look happy." 

"I am." She beamed. "We had like 6 stag parties come in tonight and they practically tossed over 7k into the tip jars. We've just split it between everyone who worked tonight and-" Callie pulled out a huge wad of cash and chuckled. "Dinners on me." 

"No it's not. Put it in your savings." Callie stared at me. "I'm serious Cal. Keep it. Don't spend a penny on me." 

"Cole. You can't keep doing this." She pulled her hair out of her pony tail, lifting one leg onto the chair as she turned to face me. "You refuse to take money for rent or bills or driving me around like some kind of chauffer. You won't let me buy my own food and before I can even run out of toothpaste or shampoo or body wash you've bought more. I'm not here for a free ride. Let me-" 

"Answers still no. I don't need your money. You do. Keep it." I could feel her eyes on me as I pulled out of the spot I'd started calling mine dead in front of the bar. It was a lot more profitable than I'd thought it would be and the renovations I'd been able to squeeze into Callie's days off and the 4 days after I moved her in with me have boosted the place. That along with the new marketing guy I've got pushing our name out there, profits have sky rocketed enough for me to up the wage rate again which means the staff are a hell of a lot happier and Callie feels like the bar is more of a hobby than a work place. Seeing her smiling like this when she comes out of there, telling me all about the stupid shit they've got up to. That's what settles me on a night now. Knowing she's under my roof, she's happy, she's had a good day, she's safe. "I need to talk to you about something." 

"Sounds serious." I sigh, telling Callie about the charity game I've been asked to go to and part of me wants her to tell me not to go, part of me wants her to say that she wants to go see Lara and Kaz anyway so we can just combine the trip but she doesn't. Instead, she says "You have to do it Cole. This could do so much good for your career and it's a good chance for you to bond with the team. If you can wipe that grumpy scowl off your face for longer than 3 seconds. You might realise that they're not as bad as you think they are." I hate when she's right. 

"I'm not leaving you home alone for 5 days Callie." She rolls her eyes, grabs for the lilac travel cup I bought her for her teas. I'd told her it was Bea's that she bought because it was cute but never used because if I told her I went out to find her one she'd undoubtedly throw a strop at me about wasting my money on her. Stupid. She's not a waste of anything. "No, I'm call- what are you doing?" Callie held her phone to her ear, smiling at me innocently. 

"Mind your business." She sipped from the cup. "Lil. Put Theo on.-- No, I know it's 1am and I also know it's Saturday night so you two have just got back from your sneaky little break ins to the rink to fuck in the changing rooms. Put him on." 

"Fuck in the changing roo-" 

"Eyes on the road dipstick. Theo, hey. Yeah, yeah I know, interrupting something. I need a few minutes and you can go back to doing ungodly things to my best friend. Listen, Cole's coming to that game." 

"Cal-" 

"He's gonna try refuse but he's coming. Can you tell who he needs to because if I leave it to him, he won't go. I'm not stupid. --- No-- My sex life is none of your business Golding.- Yes of course it's Lilah's business and not yours- oh really? I can role off every single one of your fuck ups if you want to go there Theo. Shall we start with you walking out when Lil told you she loves you for the first time and me being the one to put her back together again? Where did that leave her hm?" I glanced over at Callie, the cocky attitude she was throwing at Theo written all over her face. She sighed, face reacting to whatever he was saying to her. "I did not pass her to Carter. You did that yourself. Only reason you have Lil now is because he fucked up and you both went to Owen's wedding. -- Yeah well she might have gotten over it. I don't forget as easy, which is why you're gonna get Cole to this game." 

"I'm not-" 

"Shut up you. If you didn't want to go, you wouldn't have told me. You're looking for excuses and you're being childish. It's 5 days. Believe it or not, I have lived alone before and I'm still alive." 

"Barely." She stuck her tongue out at me as I pulled into the garage. If she's insisting I go, I will but I sure as hell am gonna put shit in place to keep her safe. 

"I'll be fine Theo. Yes I'm going to eat and go to bed now. You know you're not my brother right?" She rolled her eyes. "Bye Theo." She hung up the phone and stared at me. "You're going." 

"You're not walking yourself too and from work whilst I'm gone. I'll get someon-" 

"You're not getting someone to drive me around Cole. It's bad enough you driving me around like a body guard. You're damaging my street cred."

"Damaging your street cred." 

"Yep. If you're out of town then I will Uber too and from work." 

"The fuck you will. Those guys are total randomers with a license. They could easily drive you to the middle of nowhere. Just let me get-" 

"No Cole. If you're gonna be that adamant about me not walking to work for the few days your out of town, you're picky about me getting a taxi, I'm not having some Benz pick me up from the bar when the whole team is only now able to pay their bills. Its like rubbing it in their face and it's not fair on them." 

"Then I won't go." 

"No. You're going." Callie crossed her arms and I sighed. 

"Okay fine. Final option and so help me god I'm going to regret this. You drive my car." Her shoulders drop. Each trip would be a maximum of 10 minutes. She's a terrible driver and I'm fully expecting to come home to scratches and dents on the metal work but if Callie gets where she needs to go without some knobhead putting his hands on her I'll deal with it. "You drive to Belle's, drive to the bar, drive home. That's it." 

"What if I want food?" 

"Fine, you can do drive throughs on the route home. But you'll keep your eyes on the road and focus on driving." 

"You're so dramatic. I'm a fine driver." 

"No, you're not, but it's the only option so I'm just gonna have to wrap the car in bubble wrap and hope for the best." 

"Is that for my safety or the cars?" 

"Cars. Obviously."