The Callahan Dynasty

Sick and Tired

I slumped down on the couch in exhaustion as I tried to catch my breath. I breathed heavily and kept panting, I probably looked like a very unattractive, dying.... something. But I didn't care. I was so tired and my heart felt like it was about to jump out of my chest.

I couldn't help but think about how unfit I had gotten. I used to go to the gym all the time in Florence. It was sort of compulsory since my occupation involved a lot of food. But I didn't realise that I hadn't worked out in a long time hence the retarded breathing.

I looked up at Jason who currently had a bottle of water in his hands, he didn't even look like he had been running. The only sign that he had been running was the sweat on his forehead.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What the hell are you because it definitely isn't human."

He rolled his eyes. "You know, models train much harder than this."

I sat up and eyed his water greedily. "Yeah, well, I'm no model. We both know that."

"No kidding." He muttered as he gulped down his water. I was practically drooling as I watched his adams apple move with the intake of the cool liquid.

He caught me staring and furrowed his brows. "Oh, did you want some?" He asked.

I nodded eagerly.

He shrugged. "You know where the kitchen is."

I scowled at him and fought the urge to yell very unpleasant words. I know I promised Isabella that I'd watch over him but he wasn't exactly making things easy. I mean who gets so defensive when someone asks about their well being.

I got up and walked to the kitchen. I opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. When I returned to the living area, Jason sat on the couch just staring at the black TV screen.

I leaned against the door. "You know, it works better if you actually turn it on."

He turned to look at me and glared. At this point it didn't even phase me anymore, in fact I'd be more surprised if he looked at me any other way.

"I know how TVs work." he snapped.

I raised my hands in defence and yawned. I looked out the window and saw that the sun hadn't even come up yet.

I suddenly felt the urge to strangle Jason for getting me up so early. I am not a morning person.

Or at least I wasn't. I used to get up really early just so that I could cook for Alex which is something I normally wouldn't do. But waking up everyday and seeing how happy he got at the sight of a full breakfast was enough.

It's funny how much I changed for him. I don't even remember who I was before him. He became my life and that's why it hurt all the more. I loved him. I loved him so much and I was grateful for all the times we spent together but now, all that time was clouded by this horrible betrayal. I couldn't think about him without seeing that car crash in my mind.

"You're doing it again." Jason spoke bringing me back to reality.

His eyes were on me and they studied me intently.

"What?" I asked absentmindedly.

"Disappearing into your head. I told you already, nothing good ever comes out of that."

I sighed and walked over to sit on the chair that faced the sofa he leaned back on. "Yeah, well, I don't know how to not do it."

He shrugged as he tucked his hands behind his head. "No one does. You just have to find a way to distract yourself."

"And how does one do that?" I asked curiously.

"The usual, alcohol, cigarettes, sex...."

I blushed furiously when he mentioned the last one.

He chose that moment to look at me. He smirked at me in amusement. "Something wrong, princess?"

"Er... no... I just - don't you think those methods are somewhat unhealthy?"

"There's nothing healthier than sex. All Callahan men know that."

I tried not to make eye contact with him and show him how uncomfortable I was. "You know what I mean." I muttered.

"Well you could do the wimpy thing and talk to someone about it, sort out your feelings and all that crap. Just not me. Don't even try to start that shit with me."

I rolled my eyes. "Wouldn't dream of it, hot shot."

I wanted to bring up Isabella but somehow I knew that that was an extremely bad idea. Besides, all she asked me to do was make sure he was okay. Nothing else.

"How'd the meeting with your mother go?" I asked figuring that was the safest discussion point. Boy was I wrong.

He turned to look at me and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"How do you think it went?" He snapped.

I sighed, not really up for arguments. It was honestly too early for me to be with his paranoia.

I got up. "Fine Jason. Don't talk about it, talk about it... quite frankly, I don't care. Are you hungry? There's some leftover teriyaki soba salad. It's much better cold, you know."

He looked dumbstruck but didn't say a thing.

I wasn't really expecting him too, maybe he would shove me into a wall again. Maybe he wouldn't, I honestly wasn't worried about it. I was starting to realise that there was never going to be a specific pattern to Jason, he would just do what he wanted when he wanted. Trying to figure him out was a waste of time and would most likely drive me crazy so I just let it go.

I figured he wouldn't say anything. He just stared at me intently.

"Whatever. I'll be upstairs taking a shower if you need me.'' I turned around to leave but hardly made it three steps when I felt myself being pulled back. He spun me around and looked me in the eye. He looked furious. He put his hands on my shoulders and I envisioned him digging his nails into my flesh again but I wasn't afraid anymore.

"What the hell are you playing at?" He growled. I felt an overwhelming sense of de ja vu. "Are you screwing with me? Trying to get me to break or something?"

I pushed his hands away from me. "I already told you, I'm not trying to mess with you." I spoke in an exhausted tone. I didn't bother arguing.

"I'm confused and scared and nervous all the time. I have no time or mental energy for that matter to mess with you, Jason. So I'm going to ask you really nicely to just leave me alone. I won't mess with you or your personal space and in return I can only hope that you do the same... just..." I let out a sigh. "I'm just so sick and tired, okay?"

He didn't say anything and I didn't really know what to expect from him at this point. So I just turned around and walked away.