Callum's POV
It had been a pretty good night. Jax seemed to be in a slightly better mood than normal, Liam was actually home a little early, and Ryder was going on about how he wanted to watch one of his new movies.
Everything was going so well until Jax opened his mouth.
"I want a punching bag," he said after Carter had gotten done eating, I hadn't even noticed they switched.
"I think that would be cool but where are we going to put it," Ryder said, barely peaking up from the movie.
"Probably the spare bedroom since we aren't using it. Just in the corner so there's room if anyone else wants something in there."
"I don't want to spoil anything for you, but aren't those things kind of expensive," Liam asked with a small frown. "You're the money man, can we afford it right now?"
"Yea the good ones can be 200ish but I know where we can get one for free."
"We aren't stealing one," I say, fighting the urge to roll my eyes. "And if you found one on the side of the road it's probably not worth bringing home."
"This is the part that you aren't going to like," he said with a small frown. I can't help but glare down at him; I had a feeling I wasn't going to like where this is going. "It's at my dad's old house."
My glare hardened before I try to calm myself down. Ryder and Liam didn't seem to care about staying calm though.
"You aren't going back there," Liam all but demanded but Jax wasn't letting go that easily.
"I'm going there regardless. There are a few other things I want to get too. Patrick and Andrew are coming with me and I was going to let you come with me."
"The amount of people coming with you doesn't change how okay it is," Ryder said with a small pout. "You shouldn't go at all. Let Callum and Patrick bring everything back." Jax's glare hardens.
"I talked to Andrew about it and he says it's fine. I'm going whether you three want me to or not."
"Let's all just calm down for a second," I butt in before Liam has the chance to say anything else. "What all do you want from there? Would it be too much for me and Patrick to get alone?"
"Not too much but I'm going to have to look for most of it. We'll only be in there for like 30 minutes at the most. It will be in and out like nothing even happened."
"You aren't actually considering this," Ryder all but yelled. "If I wanted to go to my mom's house, all of you would have shut me down. It's going to set him back and you know it."
"If you want to go to your mom's house then you can go, but I'm going with you, just like I'm offering for you to come with me," Jax said, clearly trying to hold back a glare.
"Why do you even want to go back there? Are you trying to have a panic attack or something?"
"I'm just trying to show myself that the fucking house is just a house and that I can go in there when ever the hell I want to. And I want my stuff back." Jax was starting to loose his patience and it was starting to show.
"We all know that it's not just a house," Liam seethed out, his voice getting louder too. "You're going to go in there, have a panic attack, set yourself back, and then you're going to be pissed at yourself for thinking you were ready. Swallow your pride and just admit you aren't ready."
My heart stopped for a split second.
Jax's eyes turned cold. His face only showed rage. His body language said he was ready to pounce at any given second.
For a second I thought Carter had fronted and was ready to tell Liam off for being an ass but the longer he just stared, the more I realized it was just a very pissed off Jax.
I was about to say something to calm him down but before I had the chance to, everything was different.
His head ducked down like he was trying to make himself smaller and his eyes refused to look up at any of us. His hands immediately went to play with themselves as he pushed himself farther into the couch.
"Please stop fighting," he whispered out.
Whispered. Jax never whispered. Ever. Carter only did it on the very rare occasion.
"I'm sorry we were yelling Bram," I attempt to say with a gentle voice but he still finches back at my voice.
"We didn't mean to scare you," Ryder said with a small smile. I can't help but feel a bit jealous that Bram doesn't flinch when Ryder's talking. "Jax is just being a little too stubborn right now."
"He wants to go to his old house," Bram said, as if we didn't already know that. "You should let him."
"Do you know what happened in that house," Liam says, his words a bit harsh but luckily his tone was gentle.
"Carter told me a little," he said with a nod.
"Then you should know that it's not a good idea."
"If Jax wants to go, you should let him. He knows what he's doing. And he's going to go anyway, you might as well go with him." Ryder huffed at that as he looked back up to me.
"If Andrew said it's okay and now Bram said it's okay, I guess we should let him. Like they both said, he's going with or without us. We might as well be there to help if something goes wrong." Liam frowns still but says nothing as he leans back in to the couch.
"Andrew said he was good to help tomorrow if you were all free."
"Tomorrow sounds perfect," I say with my best attempt at an easy smile but it didn't seem to help put Bram at ease.
I was going to have to work on that.
Jax's POV
Callum's hand found mine as I gave Patrick directions to my old house.
We were only a few minutes away at this point. The closer we got the more my nerves started to act up.
Carter sat on the couch with a hard glare, ready to front at any second in case something went wrong. Luckily Bram was off the couch all together so he wouldn't be able to front even if he sees something he liked.
Carter had the bright idea of making him pillow fort before we left and it seemed to be keeping him occupied for now. I just hoped it would stay that way.
"I just want to say this before we even walk in there," I say when Patrick stops outside my house. "If I see anyone giving me pitiful looks while we're in there, I will get pissed and I'm probably going to say some shit I don't mean. So for the sake of all of us, try to keep the pity to yourself."
Callum only rolls his eyes as he pulled me in and gave me a quick kiss.
"I think we can handle ourselves but thanks for the warning. You ready to go find this punching bag?"
"The bag is going to be the easy part," I say as I step out of the car. "The rest of it is going to be a bit harder."
The house looked about like I remembered it. Maybe a little more run down but that was to be expected since I hadn't been here in a year to fix any of it.
The siding was starting to come off in some places and the roof had a few shingles missing but that was about it, but the outside of the house was never what really looked bad.
"I'm really hoping you have a key," Patrick said as he tried to open the door, only to realize it was locked. "I know I'm everyone's favorite cop but I can't let you get away with breaking and entering."
"Aw come on now Patrick. Where's your sense of adventure?" I ask as I move over to a rock by the side of the house. The key was still hidden under it, exactly where I left it. I had kept it there after my dad locked me out of the house for the first time.
I take one last breath of good air before I open the door.
The smell alone was almost enough to make me want to gag but the house was sadly exactly how we left it. I had meant to clean up after we got home but things kind of got in the way of that.
Beer cans litter the floor, dirty plates and bowls were scattered around every flat surface, most of it still had food in it.
"Oh my god, what is that smell," Ryder asked as he backed away from the door, holding his nose.
"That would be stale beer, probably piss, and mold. If I were you, I would breathe through my mouth. If you two want to go ahead and get the bag, I'll start looking for my other stuff, it's down in the basement." Callum only nodded as he and Patrick moved to where I pointed to before heading down.
My heart raced as I walked closer to my bedroom.
I was honestly expecting for it to be in shambles and torn apart. I figured my dad would have gone through all of my stuff before he left to see if I had stashed any money but my room was exactly how I left it.
"I didn't take you for a neat freak," Liam joked as he followed me into the room.
"What were you expecting then?"
"Boxers all over the floor," Ryder started, "papers every where, messy bed. I honestly expected picture of half naked girls." I can't help but cringe at that thought.
My room was pretty much the exact opposite. It was really the only place in the house that was clean and the walls were bare, my dad never liked things hanging on the wall.
"So what are you looking for?" Andrew asked as he leaned up against the doorframe.
"The sketchbook under my bed, a few of my clothes, there's a bit of cash in the vent if my dad didn't take it, and pretty much anything else that I want," I say as I start moving to my closet to pick out some clothes at random.
"Mind if we go ahead and get the book and cash," Liam asked as he eased over to my bed.
"Yea sure. I don't have much but if you see anything you want you an have it."
Callum and Patrick came in only a few minutes later, both of them breathing a bit hard. They must have had a bit of trouble getting the punching bag in Patrick's car.
"No rush or anything but you need us to help with anything else," Callum asked as he came up behind me while I still pulled clothes out of the closet, his arms wrapping around me.
"Not really. Liam and Ryder are going through everything else so I just need these clothes and I'll be good. Like I told them, if you see anything you want, you can have it." Callum hummed as one hand let go of my waist and dove into the closet.
"I'm stealing this hoodie then since you always steal mine."
"I only steal yours for Carter. And I would wash that before you wear it," I say as Callum starts putting the hoodie on even though it was like 90 degrees in this house. "It probably smells like cigarette smoke." Callum only shrugs but takes it off anyway.
"It only smells like you to me." I hum, knowing good and well that he was lying.
I'll be right back, I want to grab a trash bag so I can shove all of this in there," I said as I stepped around Callum.
The stench had almost left my nose while I was in my room but now that I was back out here, it was terrible.
I can't believe I used to not be bothered by this.
I try to shrug off the smell as I walk into the kitchen but I freeze at the sight.
A small puddle of dried blood lay on the kitchen floor. It was old and starting to crack but I don't know where it would have come from.
Carter was tensing up the longer I stared at it.
'Did something happen?' I asked, in case it was something he had hid from me.
Nothing too big. He tried to brush off.
'If it was nothing too big then you can tell me about it,' I say making Carter sigh.
You mouthed off and he punched you in the nose before I had the chance to front. He left for beer right after though. I fronted and hid out in your room until he came to get you so he could make us fight.
"You okay," Ryder asked as he came up behind me. I don't miss the small gasp he gave when he saw the blood.
"Yea, it wasn't too bad," I say as I force myself to look away and leaned down to get a trash bag before walking back to my room. "Did you find anything you wanted?"
"I may have also stolen a hoodie," he said with a small blush.
"And did you find anything Liam?"
"I wanted to ask before I took it," he said, making me frown a bit as he reached into his back pocket. I didn't really have anything overly personal here.
My eyes go a bit wide when he hands me a self portrait I had made last year for an art assignment.
"I mean you can have it if you want but I don't know why you would," I say as I hand it back to him.
"I'm going to frame it. We can hang it in the living room."
"We can hang it where ever you want it," I said with a smile as I kissed him on the head.
"How much cash did I end up having," I asked as I went to shove my clothes in the bag with Callum helping me hold the bag open.
"About 300ish. Where did you even get it?"
"Stole it from my dad when he wasn't looking. All the change from beer, a few dollars out of every deposit I made for him, bets I made with Kyle and Kellan."
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Patrick huffed just as Callum and I stood up.
I give one last look around the room.
"You can't think of anything else you might need," Andrew asked as he looked around too. I only shrug.
"It's not like I haven't lived the past year without any of it anyway. And I can always come back if I change my mind," I said as I started walking to the door.
"Let's not make this a habit," Andrew said, following behind me with a frown. "You did good today but I don't want you coming here all too often and never by yourself."
"I don't have any real reason to come back here anyway."
Last updated June 25, 2021
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