Broken Piece

Used Piece

"Dad, I don't know who you think you are, but I will not be sold like a piece of cattle!"

Callie screamed, though Davison was still sitting in the living room and she and her father had gone into the parlor near the rear of the home to discuss Davison's words, she was sure the man could hear her shouted words of frustration.

Her father had done some messed up s**t the last couple of years, but nothing like this. He was practically selling her off to save his business.

Her dad wasn't backing down and didn't seem to see the issue at all. "Callie, don't use that tone with me! You are no longer a child, however you are very much still depended on me! I'm trying to look out for us here!"

"You're looking out for yourself!" She accused. "Don't sell me that bullshit!"

"Callie!" His voice was grave with warning. "Stop this. This isn't only my business I'm trying to save or have you forgotten you're going to inherit it one day?"

"Not if you run it into the ground first, dad." Frustrated tears sprung to her eyes. Why was her dad like this? He didn't use to be like this, she didn't think. Maybe being a child blinded you to certain things.

"I'm trying to save our company!"

"After screwing it up!"

"I don't see you coming up with anything else, Callie, just playing the blame game!" He accused. "Your mother would not appreciate seeing you fight me on this!"

Callie's blood ran cold. How dare he? "Stop, just stop," she whispered harshly, "don't bring her into this."

William's face hardened and he looked away for a second. "What's so bad about marrying Davison?" He questioned. "You have no other prospects, he's handsome, much better than what I thought would be achievable for you."

Callie felt the insults and she was use to them. She knew she wasn't a great catch, nothing like the women men usually went for in their circle. "I don't know dad," she snarled, "how about I don't even know him or love him?"

Her father scoffed. "Are you not too old to believe in things like love?"

Callie swallowed thickly, hating how her father made her feel. "You married for love, right? With mom, it wasn't as if she had anything you could gain when you two got married."

Her father shook his head in disgust. "It was one of my worst mistakes too." Callie fell silent at his words, too stunned to talk. Despite the horrible s**t he had done, she had always believed he loved her mom in some way. He considered the best thing to ever happen to Callie a mistake? "Look, its just marriage, Callie. He's interested in you, why look a gift horse in the mouth?"

"And why is he interested in me?" Callie questioned suspiciously. It didn't make since. He didn't know her, beyond maybe what their mom had told him

Her father shrugged, ticking her off even more. "I think he feels guilty about not speaking to his mother for so long, This is his way of lifting that."

She shook her head at him. "I thought he was a racist? Why would you want me to marry a racist?"

William seemed confused at first. "Oh, he was nine years old when he said that Callie. If you weren't such a sneaky ears on the wall you would have known that."

Callie didn't care to hear any of it. "I'm not marrying him."

"Fine," William shrugged, "pack your s**t and get out of my house. Everything in the house belongs to me. So just be glad I'm letting you take the clothes on your back!"

He turned away from her and peered out a nearby window. Callie had never felt such an overwhelming urge to be violent, but all she wanted to do was smack a table weight against her father's bald, shiny head.

"Fine!" She snapped.

"It's not as if you have any friends." He reminded, "where are you going to go?"

Callie felt temporarily displaced before she found her baring's. "I'll figure something out."

He turned back around to face her, unfazed by her hurt expression. "I'll ruin you. Every job you go for I'll make sure they hear from me."

Callie couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What?" Her voice wavered. "You wouldn't!"

"A disobedient child is good to no one. I'll make sure to tell everyone about how lazy you are and all about the little sticky finger faze you went thru in high school."

"Stop!" She hated that she was crying now. "Do you really hate me this much?"

"I'm doing this because I love you, Callie! Can you not see you gain more than you lose?" He said.

Callie shook her head in disbelief. She felt small in that moment, weak and hopeless. She hadn't had the best hope since her mother had died. "Fine," she said in a small voice. What other options did she have?

Her father grinned big and broad. "I won't be so bad, Callie, I promise."

(BP)

The smaller sitting room she met with Davison in the next day was silent. Davison stared at her while she awkwardly sat in a chair, staring down at her feet. She was uncomfortable, his gaze wasn't a pleasant one. It wasn't love-struck, curious, or hell, even interested. Just intense. Intense void like blue eyes.

She glanced up at the closed door to the sitting room, wishing Rosa would come back in with drinks though she had just dropped off ice tea for them.

"Mom..." she began slowly at first, "she talked on and about how you were. She would have been really proud to hear about the name you're making for yourself..." She just started talking. Out of both wanting to try being friendly if she had to go thru with this and nervousness. "She really loved you, you know. Wished you had more time for her."

"Just be quiet!" He suddenly snapped, making her jump. The look in his eyes were of pure hatred.

"Excuse me?" She forced her voice to be strong. Did he really just rudely order her to be quiet.

"Stop talking about my mother like you gave a damn about her." He said lowly.

Callie was floored. "Not to parrot myself, but excuse me?" She was shrill now. "How dare you question how much I cared for my mother!"

"But she wasn't really your mother now, was she?" He said coolly, meeting her enraged eyes with simmering ones of his own. She hated the fact that she looked way first.

"She was my mom in everyway which mattered!" He scoffed. "What are you doing here?" She finally snapped, getting to the crutch of the issue. "You obviously  hate me for some bizarre reason and there's no way you want to marry me."

"Oh, but I do." He sat up straight in his seat, tugging at the sleeve of the suit jacket he was wearing that day. "I want to marry you, Callie Barks. And we will be getting married in about a week, at the court house, I think that will suffice. You don't deserve anything more than that."

Callie stood and pointed at the door face twisted with rage. "Get out, get out of my house!"

He stood up as if he hadn't just insulted her and she hadn't shouted at him. He buttoned the bottom button on his jacket. "Have a nice week, Callie, I'll see you Monday."

When he left, Callie collapsed in the chair she had just stood from and covered her face. She couldn't stop the sobs from racking her frame.

(BP)

Callie had no one, no friends, and no one who gave a damn about her. Not anymore. Her father proved he didn't' have her best interests at heart and her mom was gone. She realized as she waited in the lobby of the court house for Davison to show up, that some of this was her fault too. She shouldn't have been so dependent on her father. She was twenty-four years old, she should have been finished with college years ago and gotten a job to support herself. She wouldn't be in this situation then. But how was she suppose to know this would happen?

Davison was late, an hour and a half to be exact. She had been left to sit on the lobby in the orange sundress she had forced herself to wear. She was getting married after all, she had to look half way decent, hell with the circumstances.

No one was really paying her any attention, but she felt as if all eyes were on her, and that they were thinking she had been stood up. When it finally reached the two hour mark, Callie pulled out her cell phone, but realized she didn't have Davison's number. She was going to call her dad and ask for the number but ended up placing her phone back down in her lap. If he didn't show, she would just go home.

It wouldn't be her fault he didn't show.

She decided to give him forty more minutes. He showed up after twenty with two other guys.

"Why in the hell are you late?" She sprung to her feet and stalked towards him. She pointed her finger in his face. "Did you forget this was your damn idea?"

She jumped when he grabbed her finger in a tight hold and stared down at her hatefully. He moved forward and towered over her easily at her short height. She tried to pull her finger back, heart pounding, but he held on. 

She was starting to get afraid, the look in his eyes wasn't right. He had no reason to hate her so much.

"Davison, man, let her go," one of the men said, placing a hand on his shoulder. He laughed nervously. "Not exactly how I thought engaged couples act." He glanced at the other man who was dark haired like him but with blue eyes instead of brown.

Davison finally let her go. He laughed forcefully and it was as clear as day. Callie pulled her hand back against her, hugging it as she stared up at the man through her eyelashes. This was a terrible idea.

"I just hate having fingers in my face." Davison shrugged the hand off his shoulder. "I didn't hurt her. Did I , Callie?"

Callie looked away, fingers balling into fists. Her finger was throbbing. "No, didn't hurt at all." She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of saying yes. She glanced at the two clearly uncomfortable men. "Who are they?"

Instead of answering, Davison turned on his heels and headed towards the clerk office, leaving her with two men. Embarrassed, Callie didn't dare look at them.

"I'm Anderson, a friend from college" the one who had intervened said with a kind smile and warm brown eyes. "It's a pleasure, Davison's future bride." His smile was contagious and the first kind things she's seen in a while, so she returned it easily.

"I'm Peter, also a friend from college, also co owner of Kindness Co." Peter's smile was also kind. "I guess we're your witnesses." He shrugged.

"Come on!" Davison shouted with a scowl on his face. "Let's get this over with!"

"Is he always such an asshole?" She questioned without really meaning too, but it got both men to laugh. Davison scowled harder at them.

"Actually," Anderson glanced back at his friend, "it seems to be a more recent thing with him." He frowned briefly. "Come on before he loses his s**t again."

Her stomach churned. She guessed she was doing this then.