Scars To Your Beautiful : A Modern Beauty and the Beast retelling ✔

51. Sometimes, we don't

Once again, a gust of soft breeze hummed through the quiet, autumn evening, pouring floods of memories through Callie's head. Her gaze traveled away from Larkin's rigid expression and zeroed in on her fidgety hands. This was harder than she thought it'd be. "My mom was born with a defective heart. But none of us knew about it until she died. She kept that from all of us and worked so hard to take care of all of us. She worked as a top executive in an investment bank, so she wasn't always around for the big moments.

One day, she had missed my gymnastics competition and she felt guilty about it, so my mom wanted us to hang out together. I was gonna teach her how to make my dad's delicious brownies and it was gonna be perfect. My dad had taken Ava to the park so mom and I could have a little privacy while we baked."

Her gaze lifted, meeting his. Larkin's strained look had returned, making the grief in her amplify the burning pain. The nerves tortured her as Callie took brusque steps back and forth, hating how hard every piece of this felt. "But then it happened, I saw her clutching her chest tightly while we were baking. I asked her what was wrong. But then my mom offered me a beautiful smile, her sweet dark brown eyes gave me nothing but comfort when she asked me to go to the pharmacy and get her some painkillers. I didn't think twice. I was eager to help her and I went out to buy some."

"I came home minutes later and found an ambulance in front of my house. I tried to run inside to see her but she was already gone.
Her heart just gave out. No reason. No complicated story. She had a heart complication and she died instantly. But it was until the paramedics told me what happened and I finally got the full picture.

Apparently, right after I left, my mom called 911. She knew her heart was failing and she didn't want me to see it happen.

According to one of the dispatchers, she had said this. "I think i'm having a heart failure and it hurts like hell. I'm alone right now because I sent my daughter to get me painkillers, even though I didn't need it. I just don't want her to see anything bad that happens to me. Please get here fast."

Callie drew a frustrated sigh that sounded more like a choked sob, ignoring Larkin's hawk-like gaze that followed every inch of her restless pacings. "She knew she was going to die, so she didn't want me to see it. My mom was trying to protect me, but I felt miserable because I didn't even know if I could save her. I am tired of people trying to protect me when their actions cause only pain to me. I don't know if I could have saved her but I wish I had that choice."

"That's the story I've been hiding from you. I guess I'm just a girl who terribly misses her mom and is tired of doing all of this alone." Callie's voice trembled as she spoke. Her eyes stinging with angry tears at the long-lost memories she tried to bury.  

Larkin appeared right in front of Callie, his eyes sparking with grief. He knew exactly how she felt and he didn't want her to feel alone like he did. Larkin cupped her cheek, wiping away any teardrop that dared to fall. "Hey, hey. Look at me. It's gonna be okay."

She stared into his glowing, green eyes, feeling completely powerless by his words and buried herself in his arms. He stroked her back slowly, evoking enough comfort to pull her out of the state she was in.

Callie stalked away from his embrace and said quietly, almost forgetting why she was so upset. "I don't like to talk about my past because it involves talking about my mom too. She's in it, no matter how hard I try to avoid it." Her mood instantly switched up and a ball of unexpected anger rose, a reminder of everything that transpired between them and the amount of times they caused each other pain. "I'm sorry I'm a fucking hypocrite but you're right about one thing. We only hurt each other and I can't live with that."

Larkin stared at her, bewildered. "Callista, I don't care about that. I want—"

"I care about that. I'll always care about it, and that's why I need to quit working for you. I'm going to stay out of your life. It's gonna hurt like crazy because I might actually be in love with you. I don't know. Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. I don't even know why I'm telling you all these. Hell, I'm still trying to get my shit together, but I truly want you to enjoy your life without me. At least, it'll help to cut down the unnecessary drama in your life."