He was a Boy, She was a Girl

Aidens POV

There was a slight knock on my door and then it creaks open, “Aiden, you awake?” my mother asks.

“now I am.” I say, rubbing my eyes to the sunlight. I glance out my window and watch as Callie rushes to her car and drives off. My attention turns back to my mom who is now sitting on the end of my bed, “reason for waking me up so early?” I ask.

“Mike called last night.” She says. Great, my own brother can’t keep a damn secret.

“I was going to tell you, I swear.” I start defending myself.

“I’m sure you were. Right after you explain the fights, the overnight stay at the bowling alley, the reason we all went home in different cars the other night, and why Mike thinks some guy is out to get you.”

“Callies brother is not out to get me.” I comment on the last one.

“This isn’t about that Aiden.”

“yeah, yeah, I know.”

“so, what’s up? Why are you and Hannah still staying connected?”

“She called me. Her dad wanted her to because they’ve been thinking and well, he doesn’t want her going off to college with a kid.”

“that makes sense.”

“And I’m defiantly not ready to take care of a kid.”

“right. We knew that.”

“thanks.” I reply sarcastically, “anyways, I told her I’d take Reilly though. I don’t want her to end up in some crappy foster home.”

“but you just said you didn’t want the kid.”

“want and can have are two different things. I came up with a solution though.” I look at her and she realizes what I’m getting at.

“you want us to adopt her, don’t you?”

“would you?”

“Aiden…”

“I know I should take responsibility, but we both know that that’s not happening anytime soon. Hannah and I don’t want anything bad to happen to her.” I press my hands together, “please.” I beg.

My mom sighs and gives in, “fine. But you’re going to have to, I don’t know, do something amazingly big for us. We’ll talk about that later.”

I jump up and hug her tightly, “Thank you!!” I scream.

“hmm…” she looks around the room, “I think the nursery would be perfect over there.” She points to a small corner of the room.

“funny mom.”

She looks back at me, “oh honey, I wasn’t joking.” She says and then walks out of the room.

I pack up a small lunch and head out to the cabin. I needed to get away for a little bit and that seemed like the best place. I park the car and notice Callies is already there. So that’s where she went off to this morning.

I grab my bag and push through some bushes to the green patch I love so much. Callie was there, laying on her back sleeping. Quietly slipping off my bag, I set it to the side and lie down next to Callie, intertwining my fingers with hers and looking up at the sky. The clouds slowly floated by and the sky cleared up a bit more. Thoughts about Reilly kept going through my head. A lot of it had to do with how I was going to tell Callie.

Suddenly my hand is squeezed and I turn to face a now awake Callie.

“Morning gorgeous.” I whisper.

A slight blush hits her cheeks, “morning.” She mumbles back while resting her head on my shoulder, “how did you know where I was?”

I laugh a little, “I didn’t.”

“huh?”

“I came out here to think about some stuff and you had gypped my spot.” I explain.

“your big secret?” she asks quietly.

“yes.”

“can I know now? It can’t be that bad.”

That’s what was hard about this. It’s not really a bad secret. It’s just a messed up secret. I really wanted to tell her, but I also wanted everything to be sorted out before I did. “it is. I totally understand why you didn’t want to tell me about your brother and I’m fine with the whole ordeal. But this, this is different. You may understand why I kept it from you, but you won’t understand why I did it. And you will defiantly be pissed at me. Plus, there’s some issues going on at the moment and, let’s just say the secret may just show up like your brother did.”

“okay.” She drops the subject.

“so, what brings you to be trespassing on my property.” I ask, half-jokingly.

“thinking about my life.”

“uh-oh.”

“why uh-oh?”

“I have found over the years that when girls think about their lives they tend to think about the guys in their life. If you thing too much you’ll probably think I’m not a good addition to your life.” I explain.

Callie laughs, “thinking about my family life, happy?”

“ecstatic.”

“After you left, I told Tristan to get out and then went upstairs. I guess he snuck through the phonebook quickly cause he got a hold of my parents. They came home early and are very grateful that Tristan is not dead. It’s like they’re blind to the fact that he faked his own death.”

“well, most parents would rather have their child alive than dead. Although, if it were my child, they’d be in big trouble. And I would make them pay for the funeral, reception, and all that. Plus, isn’t it illegal to fake your own death?” I try to help her a little with her brother.

“I don’t know. Famous people do it all the time to make more money don’t they?”

“money was the last thing your brother wanted.” I add in.

“actually, not exactly.” I turn fully onto my side and rest myself up on my elbow.

“what do you mean?”

she takes in a deep breath, preparing herself for the story, “it all started back when Mollie first moved here. My brother, 17 at the time, decided to be the regular player of his type and get Molly to fall for him. To my dismay, it worked. Not only did she believe all of his lies, but she truly thought she was in love. Maybe she was, I guess I’ll never fully know. But I do know for a fact that my brother was not. The instant after he graduated he ran off and we didn’t hear from him for quite sometime. Mollie had actually gone out with him that night, or so she says, and didn’t get back until early the next morning. But she has yet to tell me where they went or what they did. When he did send word, it was only a short letter with no return address, basically telling us that he wasn’t dead. A couple years later we get a notice that he died in a car accident. And then, tada! He appears to be alive.” Callie sighs, “Imagine that.” Tears start to well in her eyes and she turns so that I wouldn’t see me cry.

I move closer, holding her in my arms. I rub her back a little, “hey, you hate the guy, why are you crying?”

“I didn’t always hate him. It may seem hard to believe now, but Tristan and I were very close as siblings. After my dad got the promotion and our family separated, Tristan and I only had each other

“that makes sense.”

“he had to go and date Mollie.” Whoa, what? “That’s what truly ruined our relationship. That’s what truly ruined my friendship with Mollie. After graduation, she slowly stopped being my friend, come high school we were pure enemies. She feels guilty about something, I can tell. I just wish I knew what she was hiding from me.”

It didn’t seem like Mollie was guilty about anything, “why do you think she feels guilty? She seems perfectly normal to me, not that that’s a good thing, but still, she hasn’t changed much that I can tell.”

“I saw it when she didn’t tell me your secret.” Callie whispers. “it was on the tip of her tongue and then she looked at me and just backed down. Her eyes seemed apologetic about something, but not about keeping your secret. Before she left the cafeteria she asked what I told you and I told her that I said I was an only child. She told me to talk to you. And when she stopped by later, before the party. She seemed, nervous. Mollie actually felt bad and apologized for everything. But still, I don’t know what went on that night. Whatever it was though, was big.”

“life’s big. But compared to the universe, it’s merely nothing.” I whisper against her skin. She shivers from the feeling and I smile.

I swear Callie says, “kiss me.” But her voice was so quiet I couldn’t quite tell.

“what?” I ask.

“kiss me,” she whispers a little louder, “right there in the crook of my neck.”

I move just enough to press my lips to the crook of her neck, “there.” I say, pulling back.

Callie doesn’t say anything and I know she wanted something more. Wanted something to forget about her worries. I once again kiss her neck and move down to her sweet spot. A small moan escapes her lips which makes me smirk. I kiss back up her neck, jaw line, and pause at the side of her lips. She looks up at me and I pull away. Instinct takes over and I start to pace back and forth a few yards away. Callie, obviously, wasn’t to happy about this.

“What the hell was that about Aiden?!” she screams

I stop walking and stare at her, “we’re starting over, remember?” I state more than question, “plus you’re vulnerable at the moment, I don’t want you agreeing to something you would later regret.”

She didn’t exactly like my answers, “I would not regret a kiss.”

“I’m sure you have and I’m sure that you will.”

“well, you obviously don’t know me at all.” She snaps. Her voice was filled with more attitude than I was used to.

“precisely the reason we were taking this slow.” I say, “and you know what? I have some serious issues to figure out at the moment, I don’t need this in the middle.” I don’t exactly know what I meant by my words, but it felt like the truth.

“oh, I’m sorry I’m such a distraction!” she shouts at me. I flinch slightly, not used to her voice being raised to that level. Well, except the first day we met. But the tone of her voice was less threatening that day than it was today.

“that’s not what I meant Callie.” I sigh, lowering my voice.

“sure sounded like it.” What was it with her snappy remarks all of the sudden?

“okay, seriously? I came here to get away from everything but it’s only gotten worse.” I guess I didn’t really mean for those words to come out, in situations like these though, things just slip out of my mouth uninvited.

“once again, sorry for the inconvenience.”

“once again, not what I meant.” I sigh, “will you stop twisting my words?”

“when you stop saying them.” Callie turns and storms off then, heading back down the path.

I couldn’t leave her like this. It was a weakness of mine. People couldn’t be mad at me when I said bye. My dad and grandpa are at fault really. They were in this big dispute about who knows what when my grandpa finally passed away. The guilt my dad felt even years after was to big for me to bear. So I swore I would never leave when someone was mad at me, and yes, this does include enemies. It’s a weird trait of mine, but people also admire it.

I chased after her. I mean, come on, did she not expect me to? “Callie!” I call out to her, getting slightly closer. She doesn’t stop nor does she turn around. “Calvina!!” I yell again and come within enough distance to grab her shoulders and turn her to face me. Her eyes wouldn’t meet mine but at least she had to listen. Listen to what though? I hadn’t exactly planned out a speech here. The words that left my mouth next not only shocked her, but shocked myself, “I love you.”

Her eyes shot up then to meet mine, surprise glowing in both. I attempt to cover my almost-embarrassing words, “in the best friend type of way at the moment.” Like you and Jamie, I want to add, but don’t because they’ve stayed just friends for so long. “but that doesn’t mean it won’t turn into more and I really hope it does.” Right. Isn’t that practically the same as just telling her I love her? “the point is that I really do care about you and I’m glad you shared with me all that happened. I’m sure that wasn’t easy for you. But I have some family problems going on right now that includes the court and paperwork and the whole deal. I promise I’ll be there for the date on Wednesday and I’ll be a friend up until then, but I still have a bunch of personal things I need to get through before I can tell you anything of what’s going on.” It was then that I realized I had said all of that in a single breath and quickly breathed back in.

Callie nods slowly, not saying a word.

“see you tomorrow?” I ask, and I get another silent nod from her. I kiss her forehead before letting her go and walking back to the field.

***

The past couple of days went by slowly. Too slowly if you ask me. All I wanted to do was spend hours of alone time with Callie. To both of our dismays, that wouldn’t even be happening on our date night. To which her parents have called upon meeting me and, well, being a true gentlemen, I obliged.

The game ended well, we won 26-14. Coach even said that since Logans grades were dropping, I’d probably be bumped up to Varsity in no time. Good news I guess.

Jamie interrupts my random train of thoughts, “what are you and Callie doing tonight?” he asks.

“you mean you haven’t heard? Callies parents chose tonight of all nights to meet me.”

He laughs, “I don’t even think I have met Callies parents.”

“thanks, that makes me feel a whole lot better.” I reply sarcastically.

“you nervous or something?” a cold voice says behind me. Jamies face falls and I knew before I turned around that it was Logan.

“no, but I am irritated, not just by them, but now by you. Was there a specific reason you were eavesdropping on our conversation?” I ask

“no. not really. Just thought I would warn you that Tristan has very high expectations of his sisters boyfriends.”

Jamie and I exchange a look, “and what would Tristan have to do with this?” Jamie asks.

“oh, she didn’t tell you. He’s back in town. Turns out he wasn’t dead after all. But I guess some of us knew that without him being seen.”

“what’s that supposed to mean?” my teeth were clenching together at this point.

Logan shrugs, “who knows. Oh, wait, I do.” He turns and walks out of the locker rooms.

I turn back to Jamie. “ I feel as if he had something to do with Tristans so called ‘death’.” I say.

“and I feel as if you can’t mention any of this to Callie.” His voice joking yet stern. I nod slowly and toss my bag over my shoulder.

“see ya tomorrow.” I say just as the metal door slams behind me.

I find Callie standing out in the middle of the two locker rooms, waiting for me I suppose. Her blonde hair was tossed up into a messy bun and her vintage doors t-shirt scrunched up just about her hips. She looked absolutely stunning which made this ‘going slow’ deal so much harder.

I walk up behind her, “ready?” I ask. Callie jumps, “did I really just scare you?” I laughed a little.

She turns to face me, “I just wasn’t expecting you to come up behind me. And yes, I’m ready.” I intertwine our fingers together and we walk silently to my car.

“so, do you want to change when we get to your house or are you wearing that?” I ask, breaking the silence as we drive home.

The girl freaked, “why? Is this not okay or something?” I stayed silent, not bothering to answering either one of her questions.

Obviously, Callie wasn’t as stupid as I had hoped for and caught on quickly, “are you going to answer my question?” she asks, not sounding too happy.

“I feel as if this is one of those times where no matter what I say you’re going to flip.” Callie laughs at my answer and I relax a little. I park the car in her driveway and get out first before opening her door.

Callies parents were sitting at the dining room table when we walked in. In all honesty, it looked like a pretty normal family. Though I knew better than to believe that. Neither of us got a word out before the door opened and closed behind us.

“sorry to whoever was parked on the left, I scratched it a little.” I hear Tristans disgusting voice ring through the hallway. What the hell was he doing here?

I squeezed Callies hand hard, hard than I probably should have. It was the only reaction I could give at the moment since I knew that Tristan was just trying to get to me.

Mr. and Mrs. Morgan look up then, but only to spot Tristan, “oh, hey honey.” Mrs. Morgan comments.

Callie then silently tugs on my hand, pulling me into the side room.

“I can’t do this Aiden.” She whispers to me.

I grab both her hands in mine and look down at her, “yes you can Callie.” I tell her, “Tristan’s just pushing your buttons like any older brother. It will be okay. I promise.” She slowly nods and I kiss her forehead before dragging her back into the main hallway.

Tristan finally acknowledges us, “hey Calvina, you guys going to state this year?” he asks.

I could tell that Callies reply was going to be anything but polite and had to stop her ahead of time, “act normal,” I whisper quietly into her ear. Oddly enough, even I didn’t know the answer to that.

“regionals are next weekend, we’ll find out then.” She answers and I make a mental note to keep that weekend free.

Her parents look at us then, as if we just walked through the door. “oh! I didn’t hear you two come in.” mrs. Morgan comments.

“well, now that you did. Aiden, these are my parents Richard and Bridget. You guys this is Aiden Baker.” They both nod an acknowledgement in my direction. An awkward silence followed this and I desperately felt the need to get out of there, even if it was just to my house.

“so, we’ll be on our way then.” I say, turning us to leave.

Callies mom stops us though, “but we have a family dinner tonight.” Out of the corner of my eye I see Tristan smirk and I shoot him a glare.

I watch as Callies jaw tights, “we have a what?!”

“Family dinner. Why did you think Tristan came here?”

Callie clenched her fist in my hand, ready to punch something. I took it upon myself to answer, not wanting her to have some crazy outburst. “we can stay then.” I say.

“right. I mean, you are family and I rarely see you two anymore. Aiden and I can go out any other night.” Her sarcastic voice wasn’t very believable, at least to me, but her parents seemed to take it in as the truth. Callie tugs on my hand, “come on Aiden, I’ll show you my room.” I follow her up the stairs. We more like ran up the stairs than walked, and went straight to her room. The moment I walk through the door, Callie closes and locks the door. I knew what was coming next. “We can stay?! What were you thinking Aiden?!”

I bite my lip. An old nervous habit of mine, “you were too busy watching your parents that you didn’t notice tristans smirk. He planned it all out like this Callie. He wanted at least one of us to freak out. Plus, I was being polite.”

“pfft. Polite. There is no way I’m sitting through a family dinner with those three.” She tells me and starts pacing the room a little. “oh god, I need to hit something or scream. Actually I need to hit something and scream.

I grab her waist and pull her back to me, “hey, hey. Calm down a little. You’ll survive tonight.” I whisper into her ear. I step back and look around the room, scanning all the board game she had. My eyes fell upon apples to apples and I smile.

“what are you doing?” Callie asks as I walk away from her.

I hold up the box, “cards?”

Callie smiles and nods back, approving my taste in games.

We were cracking jokes throughout the game. Apples to Apples does that. Things like calling Martha Stewart delicious came up and we couldn’t help but laugh. Callie pushed the box of cards aside and laid back on her bed. I follow, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer.

“so, my parents are adopting.” I say.

“really?” her voice hikes, like she’s really excited, “that’s so exciting!”

“it is. Her name’s Reilly and she’s just about six months.”

“let me guess, teen pregnancy?” she asks.

My body wants to twitch nervously, take a big gulp, or even jump out of the bed. But some how I control all of the urges, and answer normally. “most likely.”

“you going to be ready for a younger sister? I’ve heard they’re quite a handful.”

“oh really? You wouldn’t happen to know this from experience, would you?”

she gasps, fake of course, “me? A handful of a child? Never.”

I laugh at her answer. “I’m defianltly ready for a younger.” I had to tell her now. She deserved to know, “but you see-“ suddenly there was a knock at the door.

“hey you two, dinner.” Tristan says. I curse to myself as Callie sticks her tongue out at the door.

We both climb out of bed, “ready?” she asks me.

“how bad could it be?” I question back.

“bad.” We walked out of the room hand in hand and Callie abruptly stopped at the top of the stairs with a mischievous smile plastered to her face.

“what are you doing Callie?” I ask as she lets go of my hand can climbs onto the banister.

“having some fun.” She answers before letting go and sliding down to the bottom.

My laugh stops when her dad starts screaming, “CALVINA!!!”

I see a smile form on her face, “father, guests.” She says simple and he shuts his mouth. I finish coming down the stairs and sit next to Callie at the dinner table. Her parents start talking about the last business trip they went on and by the time of the main dish, the subject had been switched to me thanks to Tristan.

It was her moms question that surprised me the most. “and do you love our daughter? She asks near the end of the meal. I quickly grab Callies hand both to calm me and her. I squeeze it once before answering.

“of course. Why else would I be here?” another squeeze, nervous of their reaction to my answer. The two adults exchange a look.

“that’s good.” Mrs. Morgan says, smiling for the first time tonight. I could feel Callies muscles relax as did mine. We both sighed a sigh of relief after that, glad that we got through the awkwardness

A few minutes later, I thank her parents for the dinner and Callie walks me over to my house. We stand on my front porch, me shifting from foot to foot. “Friday,” I say, “my parents are at some company meeting. Want to come over then?” I ask.

Callie smiles at me, “of course.” She leans up and quickly pecks me on the lips before turning and walking away.

I wasn’t until I was inside leaning against the closed door that I realized two things. One, I forgot my car in her driveway, and two, I still hadn’t said a word about Reilly being mine.