While I Breathe: The Veiðimenn Mob, Book One

Eight

Callum glanced around at the other students, who looked as exhausted as he felt. His thoughts drifted to the last few weeks that he’d spent with his angel. Her laugh, her smile, and the sound of her voice were firmly etched into his memory. However, after he confessed the truth today, she might end up planning to kill him.

He shook his head, warding off the dark thoughts as he walked out when the bell rang. Noticing her by his locker, he watched her face light up as she spotted him. It took his breath away every time he looked at her, but there was no other way to clear his conscious. There was no way to avoid it if she decided to hate him. Not that he could blame her. What he was about to do could make or break everything he built with her since they met.

She walked over, and he found himself struggling to remember how to breathe. Smiling at her as he came to his senses, he asked: “Were you waiting long?”

Ambrosia showed him the cooler in her hands. “I came to get you for lunch.”

Callum smirked, “Where are we escaping to for today?”

“Well, um, I thought you'd like a nice surprise for lunch?” It was more of a question than a statement.

Pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind, Callum smiled tightly. “Sure! Lead the way.”

He understood the reason she invited him to the mystery spot. His eyes widened at the hills that sloped downward to a grassy meadow. A small, partially frozen over river wound its way through the center. The winter had been a mild one with very little snowfall, so the greens and browns of the earth were still visible.

She cleaned off a nearby stone bench, and sat down. He sat beside her, biting his lip nervously while she got their food out.

“I had a clear idea of what I wanted to say to you, but I lost my train of thought when you smiled at me,” she said suddenly.

Callum swallowed the dread in his throat. He knew her feelings for him would likely change in due time. Sighing, he said, “We need to talk, Amber.”

“It changes nothing,” she said in a whisper. “I knew from the start what you were doing, and I let it happen.”

“Then, why?” He asked quietly.

She picked at her sandwich. “What do you mean?”

It took everything in him not to shake some sense into her. He growled in frustration. “Why did you give yourself to me? Why do you keep helping me heal every time he beats my ass? I don’t get it. You have every reason to hate my guts, but you still care about me, and I want to know why.”

Ambrosia swallowed. After thinking for a few moments, she said, “I slept with you because I wanted to. I keep helping you because no one deserves what you’re going through. You put up a front, but that's not who you are, Callum. I’ve seen beneath that sarcastic exterior to that scared, lonely little boy just trying to survive.”

Shamed, each word feeling like a sledgehammer beating against the brick wall around his heart, he hardened his weakening resolve. “Thanks for being nice, but no one cares about a problem child like me, Ambrosia.”

He felt the sting as her hand connected with his cheek. Staring at her in awe, he couldn’t think of a single thing to say. Her eyes held a hardness he’d never seen before, her jaw was set, and he could tell she was pissed.

"Can you shut up? Take a compliment when it's given or I’ll make you. You are not a problem child. You got dealt a horrible hand by life, and the adults around you didn’t bother understanding the truth of your situation. Just because some i***t slapped a label on you, does not mean that it’s what you are," she seethed.

His eyes misted over as he wrestled with his emotions. Finally, he pulled her into his arms. Even after finding out what he had to say she was still trying to get under his skin.

She doesn’t have to try anymore, he thought as he held her. She was already there.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Confused, she asked, “For what?”

“For everything,” he whispered. “Thank you for being my friend, warning me, and taking care of me. I’m sorry that I, uh, basically took advantage of that, but I do enjoy our time together. It’s nice to have at least one person in my corner, even though we have to keep it secret for my safety. I never meant to hurt you, and that’s why I was fully prepared for you to hate my guts. It would have hurt bad because I love you so much, but it was a fate I was ready to accept.”

She stared up at him, her green eyes shining brightly. “I still think you’re an i***t, but I love you, too, Callum.”

******

When they pulled into the empty driveway after school, the guilt that he'd been shouldering no longer bothered him. He looked over at her as she sat in the driver seat of the vehicle. For a very long five minutes, neither of them said anything, the silence stretching between them like the calm before the storm. He knew she was pissed, but he still couldn’t bring himself to blame her for any of it.

Finally, the first to break the still quiet of the Jeep’s cab, Ambrosia said: “I am still waiting for an explanation.”

“I will tell you everything when we get inside,” he promised as he grabbed his backpack. Opening the passenger door, he turned to look at her. However, the look in her eyes froze the smile on his face. “Um, is something… wrong?”

Ambrosia sighed, relaxing her grip on the steering wheel. Glaring at him, she grunted, “If you want to stay alive, I strongly suggest upholding your end of the bargain. You won’t need to worry about my father. Not if I get to you first.”

His eyes widened. Thinking she was joking, he breathed a laugh.

“Listen, I watch a lot of True Crime and the First Forty-Eight,” she smirked devilishly. “I can make your death look like an accident, and no one would be the wiser. Don’t push me.”

“Holy s**t,” he half-whispered. “I’m in love with a closet murderer.”

Before changing out of their uniforms, they opted to order pizza instead of cooking. Callum, having discarded his school clothes for his street attire, suggested watching a show while they talked. He was a little surprised when she readily agreed and told him to set it all up while she grabbed a quick shower.

“You like Supernatural?” She asked when she rejoined him.

“It’s okay,” he replied as he bit into his slice of pizza. “What about you?”

“Are you kidding me? Doctor Frankenstein could've used Dean’s body and Sam’s brain to create the ideal man.” Egging on his ego with her teasing, she glanced at him.

Callum groaned, "You're killing my good vibes."

“Am I?" She smirked at him.

Tackling her to the couch, he tickled her. He loved the sound of her laughter as it bounced off the walls. Listening to her squeals for mercy, he pulled her into his arms. Laughing huskily he kissed her neck just below her ear. Hitting the play button, he let her sit up as he handed over her food. When they had eaten their fill, he leaned back on the couch. Opening his arms in a silent invitation to cuddle, he smiled when she readily snuggled into his embrace with a satisfied sigh.

He kissed her temple, “Amber, about the explanation I owe you. See, my original plan was to hurt you, to use you just to get back at your father for hurting me. That all changed when I realized you truly cared. That said, I’m finally ready to tell you about my past if you’re willing to listen.”

She nodded, and he took a deep breath. “Mom was sixteen, and Dad was eighteen when they met and she got pregnant with me. Mom refused to give up, and my father’s family and friends backed her.”

Ambrosia looked up at him, “Your mom sounds like a wonderful person.”

"She was," he corrected. "Unfortunately, we lost her when I was two. She passed at the scene of a tragic traffic accident, and she died at the scene. I was there, and I still remember her last words were to tell me and Dad she loved us. When I was nine, my uncle-s***h-cousin, Erik, were attacked. It was a few dozen-to-one, and I was kidnapped. During transport, I heard them talking about getting paid by my step-grandmother, great-aunt, and grandfather. The money never came, so they ditched me on side of a long stretch of highway. My father likely started his search the day I disappeared.”

Ambrosia snuggled deeper into his arms. “Do you think he’s still looking?”

“I’m not stupid enough to believe that," he said, his voice filled with conviction. Calming, Callum sighed, "The workers at the group homes ignored my pleas about the other kids beating me up, and I got passed around a lot to the point that it felt like the system was playing musical homes with me.”

She felt as though her heart would break under the weight of his tormented past. She didn't realize his bad-boy attitude was simply a defence mechanism until that moment.

“You’re the first one that’s gotten this close to me in years. I tried to push you away, but you? You stuck by me, and I will never forget that. You’re my angel, Ambrosia. You always will be,” Callum said as he kissed the side of her head.