Callista had finished drying her hair. She put on her cross necklace and changed into a band tee and faux denim sweats. She pulled her hair in a bun and walked to her bedroom, eyeing the sleeping form of her best friend. She yanked the covers off him, revealing his tattooed back.
"Cas, wake up!"
Castor groaned and grabbed a pillow to hide his face. "Yes. Pancakes will be fine."
"What?" She tugged at the pillow to no avail. "It's almost noon."
"Pizza then," he answered and sank his face deeper into the covers.
Caly sighed. Castor had never been a morning person plus the fact that they had talked until morning. "Alright. But you better come down after ten minutes or no pizza for you."
He gave her a thumbs up that made Caly chuckle as she went down. She ordered pizza and headed to the kitchen to drink water.
Thomas entered after a few minutes. The old was in a gardening outfit. He pulled off his gloves and grabbed a glass. "Good morning, Miss. Late night?"
Caly poured water on his glass. "What are you talking about?"
"Castor's car is outside."
She flushed at his observation and gulped the water. Callista met Thomas' inquisitive eyes. "Nothing happened."
"Okay. But do let me know if he's courting you."
Caly choked on her drink. "What? Seriously?"
Thomas folded his arms as his voice turned stern. "I like that kid but if he thinks that you're an easy—"
"Hey, hey!" She waved her hands in front of him. "No one's courting anyone. That's not even a thing now. Geez." Caly laughed, feeling her cheeks go hot. His concern was embarrassing but she appreciated it. Her father had never once shown interest in her life let alone her love life. It felt good.
"Miss Caly?"
Callista shook her head. Her heart felt heavy at the thought of her dad. "Thank you for worrying about me, old man. I'm glad I have you."
Thomas looked surprised but he eventually grinned at her. "I'll always worry for you, Callista. And since, we're talking about this... I actually added more security for you. If you want to check—"
"No need. I trust you," she said. Caly still wondered why nobody was coming after her. Since the news about her father leaving town broke, she had expected a lot of retaliation but nothing happened for weeks. She was tempted to seek them out but she didn't want to instigate a fight. So she decided to play defense.
"Okay, Miss. I'll go back to the garden. Those weeds won't pull themselves out." Thomas whirled to the exit when he faced her again. "Oh, one more thing."
"What is it?"
"That blond kid is outside."
"Franco?" Caly tipped her head to the side. Only one day had passed since he dropped the bomb on her and he was ready to talk? "Let him in."
Callista walked to the foyer. She opened the door and waited for Franco to get to her. The man looked frazzled, wiping at the sweat on his forehead. "Sorry for the wait. I was sleeping."
"It's almost noon," he muttered. Franco had rolled his long-sleeves to his elbows. His white shirt was missing the tie.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
"Water? Tea?"
Franco took a deep breath. "Juice. Cold one please."
"Okay. Wait here," she said. Callista went to grab the apple juice from the fridge and got a box of her homemade apple cinnamon cookies. She strolled to the living room and placed the snacks on the table.
Caly didn't sit. She watched as Franco immediately drank the juice in one go. "Franco, what's wrong? Are you ready to talk to Castor?"
"Yeah. I just... it's hard to act like everything is okay. My father thinks..." He clicked his tongue in annoyance. Franco opened his mouth to speak and stopped as a frown settled on his face.
"You didn't tell me that we have a visitor?" Castor exclaimed behind her.
Caly gasped as Castor's scent overwhelmed her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. His warmth made her heart flutter but they had never been affectionate in front of others before. Maybe he had forgiven her? She felt ecstatic and embarrassed at the same time.
"Cas, what are you doing?" she whispered and twisted just enough to pinch his side. "Get your arms off me."
Castor smirked and stepped away from her. His shirt was undone and his hair was messy. He slumped on the couch and went for the cookies. "I thought we were having pizza," he mumbled and put the box on his lap.
Callista bit her lip and looked at Franco. His hands were clasped tight as his eyes stared at a random spot in the table. She didn't know what to do. Franco and Castor had fresh wounds and she doubted that it would start healing soon.
"Why are you here, Franco?" Castor's voice filled the silence.
Franco clenched his jaw. "I could ask the same to you."
Fuck. Caly glared at Franco. She couldn't blame him because Castor had intruded in their conversation before she had a chance to coach him. Her best friend wouldn't appreciate an aggressive approach. At all.
Castor dropped the cookie he was eating, shaking the crumbs away. He faced Franco. "Do you want to have my life that much?"
"What?" Franco scoffed. "I never wished for this!"
"So, that's a yes. You want to be in my life? You want to be family?" Castor spouted in harsh succession. "Does your life fucking sucks that you think you're entitled to barge in and take what I have?"
"No!" Franco stood up and marched to the door.
Caly massaged her temple. "That went well."
"He started it." Castor let out a sigh and rose from his seat. "He said he never wished for this. So do I."
Callista let out a sigh as Castor walked away. She cursed and followed Franco outside. She saw him near the gardens, walking on a cobblestone path that led to the gardens. She reached him and smacked his arm. "Really?"
Franco rolled his eyes. "What?"
"I thought you prepared a speech."
"Hmm..."
Caly folded her arms and stepped on his path. "I think you have enough time to think so I am gonna ask you again." She met his cold eyes, lifting an eyebrow at his somber expression. "What do you want?"
The sun was so bright that Franco's hair appeared like a golden halo. Callista felt déja vu and unclasped her necklace. She reached for Franco's hand and placed the jewelry on his palm. "I'll give this back to you. This necklace gave me courage a lot of times. Like you said it would. I hope it can help you as much as it helped me."
"What?" Franco muttered before he sighed, "Never mind." His fingers ran over the jewelry as he sighed audibly. "Castor was right."
"About?"
"I want what he has." He swallowed, lips set in a tight line. "You, his friends, his family... I never had that."
"You can have all of that," she replied and pressed a hand to his arm. "Except me."
Franco chuckled, lifting his head to look down at her. "Why is that?"
"I'm his," she announced. Callista had prided herself for her independence and she always would. She never thought that belonging to someone would be just as freeing. Or maybe, it felt good because it was her best friend she wanted to give her heart to. She was certain that she'd never love anyone after him. "Look, there are fickle bonds and bonds that last a lifetime. And those lifetime bonds aren't created without respect, understanding, and care."
Franco released a deep sigh, eyes scrunching with the harsh light. "You just broke and fixed my heart in less than a second."
Caly gaped at him. "You actually like me?"
A soft chuckle emitted from his lips. "I have a crush on you since we were in high school. But Castor was all over you," he stated. "And admit it or not, but the two of you always act like you have your own world. I knew I would never have a chance."
She cleared her throat. "Yeah, well..."
"It's okay, Caly. I never even thought I could talk to you let alone become friends with you." Franco put the necklace in his pocket before he seized her hand. "Our father had that ridiculous marriage idea but I'm glad it happened. If not for that, I would never consider wanting to have a family. Thank you."
Caly smiled at his words. "I'm glad it happened too."
"So..." Franco locked his eyes on her, squeezing her hands tighter. "Can I stay at your house for a while?"
"What!" she blurted.
"I don't want to see my parents for a while and I can...well, know Castor better." Franco stood straight, expelling a long breath. "Right?"
Caly chuckled but their situation demanded desperate measures. She had planned to travel and forget about this fiasco but Franco's words gave her another harsh reminder. That Francisco Castellano wasn't a good man and he didn't deserve all the power he had. She thought she'd be fine in playing defense but she needed to rethink her strategy. "Alright. I think that's better."
"Why did Castor stay here anyway?"
"He didn't want to face his family." Caly stomped closer and tapped his shoulder. "Look at that. You have something in common already!"
Franco shared in her laugh before Callista went inside the house again. She looked for Castor and found him in her walk-in closet. She resisted the urge to screech as he sat on her vanity table and smelled her perfumes.
"Cas!" She trudged to him and seized the bottle of perfume off his hand. She dragged him to the pink loveseat in her room. "Seriously? Why are you here?"
"I saw you with him." Castor busied his fingers on one of her eyeliners. "I didn't know you were that close."
Caly tried to snatch it off him but his damn reflexes got the better of her. She groaned in protest when she fell on him. Castor circled his arm on her shoulder that she was forced to answer just so she could ignored their proximity. "Franco's interesting. He's just a little awkward."
Castor scoffed. He turned to her and waved the eyeliner. "Let me use it on you."
"Now, you're deflecting," she muttered but let him anyway. Her eyes narrowed at him as he drew on her cheek. "I swear if you're drawing a dick, I'll hit you."
He grinned. "No. This is art."
Callista went to seize a mirror and returned next to him. She gasped at the worm-looking thing on her cheek. "What the fuck is this?"
"That's a caterpillar." He leaned away from her, a smirk plastered on his lips. "Just wait for a minute, it'll become a butterfly."
She hit him as their boisterous laugh saturated the room. Caly rubbed a hand over her face, flicking her tears away. "You're so corny."
Castor grabbed her make-up wipes and started cleaning her cheek. "What did he say?"
Callista saw the concern in his green eyes even as he tried to conceal it. She sighed and buttoned his shirt as they talked. "He's fine and he told me that you were right. That he wants what you have."
"Hmm." Cas wiped her cheek some more. He released a sigh and met her eyes. "Alright. Say it. I need to know what you think.
Callista licked her lips. She was amazed at how quick Castor was willing to listen. She settled her hand on his shoulders. "You told me once that you get angry for just a minute and you move on after that. You said that holding on to destructive feelings is not good for people."
"I said that?"
"Yes. And I didn't listen to you. I'm a brat that gets pissed off at petty things and holds grudges for a long time. That's what I did for years." She touched his cheek. "But now, I know that I don't need that. That the time I have needed to be spent with people I love instead of trivial things like anger and revenge and one-upping someone."
"So, you're saying that I should move on and be thankful that I have a brother?" he repeated with a wrinkled forehead.
"It depends on you. But acceptance for things you cannot change will make things easier."
Castor clicked his tongue in irritation as his fingers played with the stray hair from her bun. "I already have a lot of brothers. I don't need another one."
"Maybe," she muttered. "But Franco doesn't have one."
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