Mr. Brockwell

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

*Adrian*

That kiss was the most sensational kiss I've experienced, and I've kissed a lot of women. Nothing has ever jumped my heart like Calista's lips against mine did, and the emptiness I felt when she pulled away was beyond anything else. I didn't want it to end. It was unlike anything else in this world, the feeling of her in my arms and kissing my lips. I felt like a king.

I know she's embarrassed, as she keeps to herself on our way home. I'm worried Ivan has already hurt her again, but I won't know until I get a doctor to examine her. I'm sure that's the last thing she wants, but she needs it. I saw Ivan grab her by the throat and drag her around the side of the building, where he thought he was going to get away with beating her mercilessly again. Good thing Ida called me and told me that Calista mentioned the mall. I knew better than to believe Ivan wasn't going to be there waiting. I'm glad I followed my hunch.

I pulled into the driveway and turned the engine off, peering over in Calista's direction. Her head is bent down, and I hear her sniffling, she's f*****g crying. s**t. I usually don't know how to console a crying woman. I never know what to say. I hurried around to her side of the car and opened the door. She looked up at me with wet eyes and an empty expression, to which I scooped her into my arms and carried her into the house.

Ida was walking down the stairs when I burst through the front doors, Calista in my arms like a wounded puppy. Ida shut the front door behind us and hurried into the living room with me, where I set Calista on the couch. Her tears were pouring from her eyes, heavy sobs escaping her mouth, and I felt a sharp pain inside my chest. Those sounds from her were causing my heart to ache with an intensity that I didn't know existed. As cheesy as it sounds, I almost couldn't tolerate it.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I dialed Dr. Calloway's number and waited for him to answer. After just a couple rings, he picked up the phone and greeted me personally.

"Hello, Mr. Brockwell. How are things?" Dr. Calloway casually asked.

"I need you to come to my house as soon as you can... it's urgent." I grunted.

"Has something happened?" He asked, concerned.

"Yeah, the same asshole." I growled and clenched my teeth together.

"I'm on my way." Calloway sighed and hung up the phone.

Ida was sitting beside Calista, holding her trembling little body, rocking back and forth. The scene unfolding before me was almost too much to bear. I couldn't stand to see Calista in this much agony, I felt that pain with her. Soon I realized, I felt something for Calista, something much more than just attraction. I care for her, immensely, and seeing her like this is destroying me.

I stood beside Ida and motioned for us to switch spots, as I cradled Calista against my chest. She's still crying, curled up like a lost little girl. I held her close, resting my chin on her head and caressing her arms with my hands. Ida returned with a damp washcloth and a bucket full of steaming water. Ida cleaned Calista's face of dirt and blood, as the warm cloth began to help Calista calm down.

Dr. Calloway arrived soon after, as Walter let him inside the house. Ida and I were still caring for Calista, because she was still having a panic attack. Dr. Calloway sat beside us and I gave him a look of dismay. Not only could she be physically hurt, but she's certainly mentally damaged, and it makes me want to rage! I want to seek revenge on her behalf, I want Ivan to pay for what he's done! I want to give her everything that Ivan stole away. I want to give her the world and so much more…

"Calista, baby, Dr. Calloway has to examine you, okay? We just want to make sure you're not injured again." I softly whisper in her ear, she nods but doesn't respond.

"What all happened?" Calloway asks me with furrowed eyebrows.

"I don't know if I saw everything that happened, but he had her by the neck again and threw her to the ground. He was about to punch her, but I intervened." I grunted, recalling the nightmare that'd become a memory.

"Alright, I'll have you move and rest her against the back of the couch to examine her." Calloway instructs and I go to shift away from her, until she starts screaming and clinging to my pants.

"No! Please don't leave me!" Calista pleaded through heavy sobs, causing my heart to sink to my stomach.

I glanced at Calloway, he shrugged with a grim expression, pulling open his bag of medical tools. I watched as Calloway examined her neck first and the back of her head, which appeared freshly bruised. Calista had completely checked out, mentally that is, the only thing coming from her lips were little whimpers.

Calloway gently rotated her neck around, feeling her delicate muscles, and resting her head back on my chest when he finished. Calista was a rag doll at this point, something that was consuming me with worry. I waited for Calloway to finish examining her, hopeful that no more damage was done. Honestly, the mental damage is enough, this girl is breaking down and losing all control. She's as fragile as it gets, and I have to protect her even more now. Sometimes, mental damage is worse than physical.

"The good news is she's unharmed, still healing fine. She might have more pain tomorrow than today, but she's okay." Calloway noted, storing his tools back into his bag.

"The bad news is she's mentally broken.." I whispered, feeling my heart break with my own words.

"Hmm.. For now, but it seems she's comfortable around you. That will help her recover, she needs to be around people she can trust and that care for her. I'm glad you got there when you did, Adrian." Calloway glanced at Calista with a sympathetic look.

"Me too." I mumbled, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her even closer to my chest.

"She'll still need lots of rest. It's good it's the weekend. She'll be fine with returning to work by Tuesday, or whenever she's ready. I'm going to give you these pills for her to take once a day for five days, "Calloway says, and hands me a small orange bottle, "They're for anxiety, it will help her calm down when she feels like she's going to have a panic attack."

"They're not really strong, are they?" I asked, looking at the bottle.

"Not at all, very mild. They'd have to be, given her small stature." Calloway smirked, gathering his bags.

"Thanks, Calloway, I appreciate your quick response." I smiled and he chuckled, nodding.

"I'm always here for you, Adrian. Hopefully, the next time we speak it will be under better circumstances. Take care." Calloway said, before leaving the room.

I held Calista until she stopped crying, and her body wasn't trembling anymore. We sat there on the couch for a couple of hours, while her body recovered from the trauma. I carried her upstairs to her bedroom, kicking the door open with my foot. I started to rest her limp body on her bed, but the minute she came into contact with the mattress, her hands flew up around the back of my neck. She looked up at me in despair and, once again, my heart was shattering inside my chest.

"I don't want to be alone..." She muttered, fear consuming her precious green eyes.

"Okay." I whispered and crawled onto the bed beside her, watching her body calm down the minute I did.

Calista curled up against my side and I draped my right arm around her shoulders, pulling her in even closer. She rested her arm across my chest and my free hand stroked small circles against the flesh of her arm. We sat there intertwined with each other in complete silence, allowing the peace to wash over her. Every so often she would sniffle, or breathe out a heavy sigh, and each time she drew even closer.

After a while, Calista's body started to slowly fall limp, and I knew she had fallen asleep. I peered down at her beautiful features, her lips formed a perfect pout. Not too thick, not too thin, they're perfect. She has a small beauty mark right next to her left eye, as well as one on the side of her right cheek. I lightly ran my fingers down the side of her cheek and kissed her forehead, before whispering into her ear.

"I'll never let anything bad happen to you again." I promised and kissed the top of her head, before sliding out of the bed and back into the hall.

There were a few things I needed to take care of while she napped, one of which was finding out how to locate Ivan. I'd like to share a few words with the fucker. Looks like I'll be referring to my old roots sooner than I thought... Ivan won't know what hit him. I smirked at the thought, retreating to my office to do some research on the kid. I always like to know who I'm dealing with when it comes to these types of interactions. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, that sort of thing.

Walking over to the large bookshelf in my office, I pulled out a small green book and opened it to retrieve a black burner phone. Dialing the only number that's programmed in the phone, I waited three rings and hung up. I called once again and waited for another two rings, once again hanging up the phone. Calling once more, he answers on the first ring and I find an old familiar smirk drawn upon my face. I've missed that voice, I won't lie.

"Jackson," I said with a low grunt and a heavy sigh, "I need some help..."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this right! My big brother is asking me for help? What kind of s**t did you get yourself into, bro?" Jack chuckled sarcastically, but soon stopped when he didn't hear me laughing.

"I want you to look someone up for me. Could you do that?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

"Sure! Just gimme a name and what to look out for." Jack agreed instantly and I felt relief cast over my chest.

"Ivan Thorne. I want everything you can find." I growled.

"Ah, sounds like an enemy." Jack responded, he knows me too well.

"Call me when you find anything good, alright?" I said, before hanging up the phone.

"I will, I will-- hey, brother... It's nice to hear from you again." Jack warmly replied and the call ended.

I placed the phone back in the book and shoved it in the top drawer of my desk, hoping Jack would call sooner rather than later. I know Ivan isn't through with Calista yet. I've met men like him before. My fear is this will turn into a 'if I can have you, no one can' type of situation. If things do play out that way, Ivan will come out on the losing end, because I won't let anything happen to Calista and I know all too well how to cover things up.