Let Your Heart Win

Rubbing her tired eyes Cali made her way towards the kitchen, confused as to who Brian was talking to.

“That would be great, yes, thank you.” he said to whoever he was on the phone to, a smile appearing on his lips as he turned at the sound of her entering the kitchen. He blew her a kiss as he listened to whatever it was the person was telling him. She blew a kiss back rolling her eyes as he pretended to catch it and slapped it to his cheek. She then poured herself a glass of orange juice and sat down at the table.

“Yeah that’s fine. Bye.” He said with a smile hanging up the phone. “Morning beautiful.”

“Morning. Who was that?” she asked as he leaned down and kissed her lips.

“Hmm? Oh just um, my mom.” He said with a smile. “I was about to make some breakfast, is there anything you fancy?”

“Um, no just cereal will be fine.” She replied quietly.

“Sure, Lucky Charms?” he asked reaching to take the box out of the cupboard.

“Um, no. Is there any Cinnamon Toast Crunch? I haven’t had those in ages.” she asked with a pouty lip.

“Uh, yeah there is.” He replied grabbing the box and pouring them each a bowl.

“What time are you meeting Rachel?” he asked as they both sat eating their cereal.

“At about half eleven I believe. She wants to go shopping as well.” She replied. “Will you and Johnny be able to meet us for lunch?”

“Sorry babe, I’m going to be stuck at the studio for most of the day.” He said with a slight shake of his head.

“That’s okay. I’ll cook us something later then.” She replied.

“Sounds perfect.” Brian said with a smile leaning across to kiss her cheek.

“Although it may have to be pizza as I have very little food left and most of my pans are packed ready for tomorrow.” she replied.

“Babe, I’ll be happy with whatever.” He replied still smiling. “No I’ve got to shoot. Have a good day with Rach and I’ll talk to you later.” He replied as he stood up, leaning down to kiss her.

“Love you.” he whispered before pecking her lips again.

“Love you too.” she replied smiling as she watched him grab his things before leaving.

“Oh fuck.” She muttered, quickly standing from the table and running to the bathroom to throw up.

“Now I remember why I stopped eating them.” She muttered once she’d finished.

~~~~~

“Come on Cal, they’re purple! Brian would love you in them.” Rachel pleaded.

“Seriously Rach, what is the point of me buying anything clothes wise? In a couple of months I’m not going to fit into them anymore.” Cali said as Rachel tried to persuade her to by a pair of cut off denim shorts. “And anyway, like I’m going to have the figure to pull these off after the baby’s born anyway.”

“Of course you will. You’re going to be a MILF.” She replied with a smile. Cali smiled back and shook her head.

“Thanks Rach, but if that is the case then we’ll just have to come shopping when I get my figure back.” She replied.

“Okay, so can we go buy you some maternity pants and stuff?” she asked with a large grin.

“Maybe in a month or two when I actually need maternity stuff.” She replied. “Don’t worry Hun; there will be plenty of shopping to be done before the baby’s born.”

“Awesome! But if you’re not going to get these I am.” She replied grabbing a pair of the shorts in her size and marching off towards the sales counter.

~~~

“Can we go grab something to eat now? I’m starving.” Rachel moaned as they exited a store half an hour later.

“Sure, where do you fancy going?” Cali replied as they walked slowly down Main Street.

“How about Gallagher’s?” she asked. Cali nodded and they slowly made their way to bar.

They grabbed some drinks before taking a seat at a table next to the window and glanced over the menu.

“Are you ready to order?” the waiter asked with a smile.

“Um sure.” Cali said returning his smile. “I’ll have the stuffed chicken please.”

“And I’ll have the Philly cheese steak sandwich please.” Rachel said also with a smile.

“So what time is the removal van coming on Saturday?” Rachel asked once the waiter had left.

“Ten, that is if the decorators finally finish what they’re doing.” Cali replied.

“Aren’t they done yet?” Cali shook her head.

“Apparently not.”

“What’s taking them so long? It’s been like three weeks.” Rachel exclaimed.

“I know, and the most frustrating thing is that Brian won’t let me go over there until they’ve finished. He says he wants it to be a surprise.” She replied.

“But you helped him chose what colours and stuff you wanted there anyway, how is it meant to be a surprise?” Rachel asked.

“Search me. he’s just told me that he doesn’t want me seeing it until it’s all finished and ready for us to move in.” she replied with a huff.

“What if we were to take a little detour on our way home?” Rachel said with a playful smile on her lips.

“Miss Hunt, are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?” Cali replied with a mirrored smile.

“Well, I could take the wrong turn a couple of times and just happen to end up on Brian’s street and maybe we could just happen to need something from the house while we’re there.” she replied.

“I think that sounds like a plan.” Cali replied with a smirk.

~~~

“Was everything alright with your meal?” the waiter asked as he took their empty plates.

“It was lovely thanks. Can we have the bill?” Cali said with a polite smile.

“Sure.” He replied walking off before returning moment’s later with the bill. They paid up and made their way out of the Bar towards Rachel’s car.

“Hey, isn’t that Brian over there?” Rachel asked pointing across the street. Cali looked up, following the direction of Rachel’s pointing finger and nodded.

“Yeah it is.” She replied about to wolf whistle at him. “Why’s he getting into that car?”

“And who’s the leggy red-head getting into the drivers side?” Rachel asked as they both stopped in their tracks.

“I haven’t got a clue. And anyway, he told me that he was going to be at the studio all day.” Cali said as she watched the silver Honda Civic pull away.

“Yeah, that’s what Johnny told me too. I’ll call him now, see if he knows what Brian’s up to.” Rachel replied taking out her cell phone.

“Hey babe are you still at the studio?” she said as Johnny answered his cell and Cali listened hard to try and hear Johnny’s reply.

“Do you have any idea where Brian is?” she asked.

“Yeah, he said he had to pop out for a little while. Didn’t say where. Why what’s the matter?” he replied. As Rachel opened her mouth to explain what they’d just seen, Cali reached over and grabbed her arm.

“No, don’t tell him.” she whispered with wide eyes.

“Oh, nothing, we just thought we saw his car drive past that’s all. Thought his car had been stolen or something.” she said quickly.

“Oh, okay.” he replied.

“Okay babe, I’ll see you later bye.” Rachel said as Cali stood silently next to her dialling Brian’s number. Her heart began to race as she waited for him to answer, her breath catching in her throat as his voice mail message kicked in.

“Rach, do you think he might be cheating on me?” Cali whispered as she put her cell back into her purse.

“No, Cali he loves you. He wouldn’t.” she replied.

“So who was that woman he was with? Why isn’t he at the studio like he said he’d be?” she replied feeling tears well up in her eyes.

“I don’t know Hun, I wish I could tell you.” Rachel replied placing an arm around her shoulder to comfort her.

“My dad was right. He said he wouldn’t be able to stay faithful to me.” she said as tears began to run down her cheeks.

“Hun, you don’t know that. It could be totally innocent.” Rachel said quietly trying to sound reassuring. “Come on, come back to mine.”

“And then there’s that phone call this morning.” Cali said as Rachel ushered her towards her car.

“Phone call?”

“Yeah. He said that it was his mom, but I don’t know, I wasn’t totally convinced, and now I know why.” She explained.

“Sweetie you need to calm down. Firstly none of this is good for the baby and you don’t know for sure what’s going on.” Rachel said as they got into the car.

“It’s not looking good though is it?” she retorted with a sideways glance.

“I know.” she replied quietly.

In the time it had taken Rachel to reach her driveway, Cali had bitten down the nails of her right hand. She got out of the car and reached into her purse to take out her phone. She glanced quickly at the screen and sighed before dialling Brian’s number again. Again her heart rate quickened before her breath caught in her throat as she heard his velvet voice tell her to leave a message and he’ll call her back when he could.

She followed Rachel into the house and sat down on the sofa where she set about chewing at the nails on her left hand.

That’s where she sat for an hour, in almost complete silence, staring blankly at the TV that Rachel had put on to try and distract her.

“Um Hun, that’s your cell ringing.” Rachel said breaking Cali’s train of thought. She blinked as she regained focus and picked up her phone.

“It’s Brian.” she stated.

“Well answer it then.” Rachel encouraged.

“Hello?” she said quietly.

“Hey baby, you okay?” he asked cheerfully.

“Yeah.” She replied simply and quietly.

“I’m sorry baby, but we’ve been so busy laying down tracks that I’ve only just noticed that you tried to call me.” he said, Cali taking a sharp intake of breath at the sound of his lie.

“That’s okay.” she said confused as to why she was agreeing with his lie.

“Was there anything wrong?” he asked his voice full of concern.

“Hmm, oh no, it was nothing really.” She said feeling the tears return to her eyes.

“Okay, I don’t think I’ll be too much longer now. Are you still shopping?” he replied.

“Um, no. No I’m at Rachel’s.” she said.

“Okay, I’ll come over to pick you up in a bit okay.” he said.

“Yeah.” She whispered.

“Love you baby.” He said sounding sincere.

“Love you too.” she said quietly as she hung up the phone, tears spilling down her cheeks.

“He’s lying to me Rach. Blatantly lying.” She said.

“Oh Hun, that still doesn’t mean that he’s cheating on you. I really don’t think he would. He loves you.” Rachel assured her, pulling her gently into a hug.

“He said he loved Michelle but he still cheated on her with me.” she retorted through tears.

“I know sweetie but I really do think that this is different. I’ve seen the two of you together. He’s besotted with you.” she said gently.

“So why is he lying to me? And who was that woman he was with earlier?” she asked wiping tears from her eyes.

“I don’t know sweetie. I really don’t know what to tell you.” she whispered.

“What am I going to say when he get’s here?” she asked quietly.

“I think you should just ask him what’s going on.” Rachel replied.

“Yeah, but Rach, if he is cheating on me can I stay here tonight?” she asked.

“Of course you can sweetie. But it won’t come to that I promise.” She assured her again.

They fell back into an uncomfortable silence as they waited for Johnny and Brian to return from the studio, with Rachel aimlessly flicking through the channels just to have something to do.

On hearing a the door opening Cali found her heart racing once again. she straightened herself as she watched Brian walk into the living room behind Johnny.

“Hey baby, are you okay?” he asked casually as he walked over to her and leaned down to kiss her.

“Yeah I’m fine.” She replied unconvincingly. “Good day in the studio?”

“Yeah, busy but very productive. We’ve barely had time to stop today haven’t we?” he replied turning to Johnny.

“Uh, yeah, we’ve been really busy.” He replied hesitantly.

“Don’t you dare bring Johnny into your lies!” Cali suddenly yelled as she saw the unsure look on Johnny’s face.

“What? Lies? Babe I don’t know what-“ he began.

“Don’t give me that Bri! I know damn well that you’re lying! And to get Johnny to try and cover for you is just making things worse! Just get out! I don’t want to talk to you right now, and I certainly don’t want to see you.” she yelled as she got up off the sofa and stormed out of the room towards the stairs, leaving Brian confused and Rachel and Johnny feeling awkward in their own living room.