Sequel: Begging You
Status: Completed

Won't Give Up Easy

The Truth

*Callie*

The California winter chill was nothing in comparison to Chicago. The whole vibe was different from the city. Callie stood on her tippy toes to see past all the people walking around her. In the distance she could see a tall blonde head.

Jon squeezed her hand next to her. He’d been nervous and acting strange ever since the holidays. Callie just accounted it on him being nervous to meet her sister, who meant the world to her. She squeezed back as she made her way through the crowd.

Her gorgeous pregnant sister came into view, as well as her tall goofy husband. They both gave her a smile that made her feel at home. “You’re here.” Her sister’s voice rang through her brain. She always savored and missed it when they were apart.

“I am. I missed you so much.” Liz whispered to her as she attempted to huge her with a huge belly. They all just laughed.

“I know. I missed you guys so much. Where’s Loggie?” She asked, referring to her nephew.

“With the babysitter, we’d figure that we’d take you out for lunch before you spoil the kid.” Logan told her with a grin. He turned to looked at Jon and offered his hand out. “I’m Logan and Liz, she’s Cal’s sister, as I’m sure you’re aware.”

“Jon, it’s really good to meet you guys. Callie, she doesn’t ever stop talking about you.”

Liz’s laugh filled the airport. Callie felt herself blush. “Oh, I know she does.” Her sister told him. “So, you guys want to get out of here?”

The group walked out into the parking lot. Jon and Logan totting most of the luggage as she and Liz walked forward, arm and arm. Callie missed her sister so much. She always smelled warm and fresh at the same time, her smile lit up a room, and her eyes always seemed to look past everything that she was.

They were the same height and both had long dark hair but that’s where the similarities ended. Liz had dark green eyes and her skin was olive pallor, compared to Callie’s own dark eyes and pale skin. Everything about her sister was so intense, she was iridescent in every way, brilliant, beautiful, kind, and endearing.

“So, tell me about this guy.”

“Jon?” Cal thought about it for a minute, it was hard to explain Jon to anyone, she loved him but it was more than that, he was a necessary part of her life. “He’s great, Liz. We’ve been together for a couple months now and, I don’t know, I still feel those butterflies. I still get excited to see him.”
Her sister just nodded. “And how did he react to meeting them?” Callie knew she was referring to their parents.

“He said he doesn’t care. That he loves me too much.” With those words, Liz’s eyes lit up.

“Loves?” Callie just nodded. “Do you love him, Cal?”
At this point, they had reached the car. Jon and Logan were talking hockey while loading the car. Her boyfriend was moving around, recalling plays, pretending he was on the ice. He was so cute and her heart ached at the fact that he was hers. “I really do.”

*Jon*

How did he get himself into this situation again, Jon asked himself. Somehow he’d been deserted by Callie and Logan, to pick up Logan Jr. There he was, in a room alone with her sister. Her very pregnant sister. Jon had to shake the image of Callie pregnant with his kid out of his head.

“You met them?” Jon felt his jaw go tight.

“I did. I hope to never see them again.” He murmured. Liz just nodded, her eyes still focused on him. He felt thirty times more insecure sitting with his girlfriend’s sister than he had been with NHL scouts.

“No one wants to. Why didn’t you book it?” She asked. Her brow raised. She lifted a glass of water and sipped it, waiting for his reply.

“Cal, she’s amazing.” He started. Jon couldn’t look at her sister, instead he chose to look at a picture of Callie on the wall. “She’s so strong and brave. I don’t think I’ve seen her breakdown and I didn’t that day. But one day, she will and I want to be there. I don’t know, I love her. It’s hard. I just knew it was worth it.”

“So, you’re alright with your kids only having on set of grandparents, with them wondering where one half of them is from?” Jon watched as she stroked her belly.

“If Cal is alright, then I will be too.”

At that moment, Liz’s eyes went wide. She gestured for Jon to come forward. Once he was a foot away from her, she grabbed his hand and put it to her stomach. Underneath his palm, he felt a baby kick it. Jon gasped. It was amazing.

“I’m sorry. I should have done that.” Liz blushed and let go of his hand. Jon just smiled at her. It was perfectly okay. “Do you want kids?”

He nodded. “One day.”

“With Callie? You think she’ll be a good mom?”

At that moment, Callie walked into the room. She had a little boy with sandy colored hair in her arms. He was laughing a smiling. Callie herself was making face and she literally glowed. Jon’s breath was taken away. She turned to him and gave him a wink, he felt his heart skip a beat.

In the back of his mind, he heard Liz chuckle and say, “I guess that’s a yes.”

If Jon had any ability to speak he would have told her that he would give the world to have Callie have his babies because no other woman have ever made him feel that way.

*Callie*

Jon was going to be the most amazing father. He was sitting on the carpet with Loggie, teaching him how to play hockey. The four year old kept picking up the ball and trying to throw it in the makeshift net Jon had made.

Liz and Logan were just sitting on the couch laughing. Eventually, Jon just gave up and started tickling Loggie. Loud squeals of laughter filled the room but all Callie could pay attention to was the smile that stretched across Jon’s face.

He looked up at her and threw her a wink before picking Loggie up and settling near his mother. Callie held her breath as she watched him saunter to sit next to her. Every single one of his muscles showed under his white t-shirt. His jeans did nothing to hide his muscular thighs.

“Stop checking me out.” He whispered to her as he kissed her cheek. The couch dipped under his weight and she ended up entirely plastered on his 6’2 frame. Not that she minded.

“Like you care.”

“No, but your brother in law might tear me to pieces.” Callie just rolled her eyes. Logan was drooling over the fact she was dating a hockey player. Her sister even loved Jon. They didn’t hide the fact that they liked him so much more than any other boy friend she’d ever gotten.

“We gotta take LJ here to bed.” Liz announced. They watched as Logan assisted his wife off the couch and as he kissed her nose. Callie’s heart melted. They were so in love, one day she hoped to be like them. To have everything, a home, a family, the whole nine yards but for right now, she was content with the way everything was.

“Cal?” Jon’s voice was so soft, he said her name like a question. She looked up into his big brown eyes. They searched hers for the answer to a question he hadn’t even asked. “Do you love me?”

She left a soft smile break across her face. “Of course I do. I love you, so much Jon.” Callie kissed him. Fireworks went off behind her eye lids. Her heart raced a million miles an hour. Nothing ever changed the way she felt about him.

“Enough to move in with me?” he asked against her lips.

Panic struck in every part of her. He wanted her to move in? Wanted to share space? Hadn’t she just told herself she was content with her current life? She wasn’t ready for this step, not when he didn’t know everything about her and could still leave. Callie could feel the look on her face. Jon himself had never looked more dejected than right then, he knew her answer. “Jon….” She started.

He pulled away from her. Callie immediately felt the loss of his body and moved so she sat next to him. “Jon… it’s still really soon.”

“I don’t give a shit, Callie.” He grumbled. “I do everything with you. You’ve met my family, I’ve met yours. We spend every goddamned night together anyways.” He looked at her, eyes fierce. “What possible excuse could you have?”

“How can you be so sure you know everything about me?” Her argument sounded weak. He knew everything about her other than what she kept away from him.

“Fucking bullshit. Don’t lie to me, Cal. Your favorite color is still blue, you still cry during those ASPCA commercials. I know for a fact that you want two boys. I know you dance around the kitchen when you put dishes away. I know every inch of your body. I know the noises you make when you’re beneath me. So cut the shit and tell me what could it possibly be.”

“I’m not ready, Jon.” She retorted. Callie could feel her temperature rising. Anger coursed through her, couldn’t he realize she was protecting him? Keeping him safe for the truth about her. Making it easier for when he decided he didn’t want her anymore Jon.

“Fuck that, Callie. Fuck not being ready.”

*Jon*

He hadn’t spoken to her since their flight landed in Chicago two days ago. He needed to cool off. Jon couldn’t understand why she would be ready to take that step with him. A part of him felt guilty, like he might be pushing her too far, too soon.

Jon pulled out his phone. He listened to the dial tone twice before Patrick picked up. “Jon, if you’re going to complain about me to Callie, I am going to hang up.” He laughed at his friend. Pat had been there to talk to him every day after Callie told him no. He’d help him calm down and be rational.

“I just still don’t know what to do man. What can I do to make her see man?”

“Wanna know the truth?” Jon nodded. “Okay, Jon. I can’t see your goddamned answer if you move your head. You need to tell me.”

“Oh, shit. I do want to know.” Jon internally cringed. He only make that mistake when he was stressed, he had too much on his mind.

“Go talk to her. Don’t fucking fight. Just don’t. Talk to her.”

Jon didn’t have any other choice. His goddamned girlfriend was so stubborn all the time. She never back downed. While he normally admired her, it really pissed him off sometimes. Jon thanked Patrick and hung up as he made his way out of his apartment.

Callie confused him. At first, when their relationship started, the teasing, it was cute. Now, he just wanted all of her. Why couldn’t she see that? Why could she see that in his eyes, they were perfect for each other? She seemed to keep the mentality that at every turn he would run away from her. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Fifteen minutes later, Jon was sitting in his car, unsure of how he would approach her. A knock on the door made him jump out of his seat. Anger rose through him as he saw Callie’s ex through the window. It took everything in him to open the door and not slam it into the smaller man’s body.

“Can I help you?” his tone was rough and dangerously low.

“You’re sitting here because you two are fighting aren’t you?” A smug look appeared on his face when Jon didn’t answer. His palms itched to punch Taylor’s face. “Awwwww. Well, hate you break it to you Jon. But that’s how Cal is. Such a fucking tease huh? In all honesty, you probably don’t know the half of it.”

If Jon was a weaker man, he’d probably be green right now. Everything in his system told him he wasn’t going to like to hear what Taylor had to say. “She really didn’t tell you did she? Sneaky bitch.” Taylor murmured.

“You know, everyone will tell you us ending is my fault, but it’s not. It was all her.” He started. Jon watched as the man’s face got dark and clouded. For the first time, Jon noticed the deep lines in the man’s face. He realized that Taylor was significantly older, older than him even. His stomach dropped. “Cal, she used to the best. I’m telling you. Sweet, innocent, bright, and, Jesus, so ready to do anything I asked. I don’t even know when it was, but then she got all these ideas about going away, leaving. Look what good that got her. No family, no friends.” Taylor made a humpf sound. Jon wanted to object everything he was saying. Callie was still amazing, she had family, friends, she had him.

“I fucked up once and it was the end of the world. Once and she ended up pregnant. Like how the fuck was I supposed to know what to do when she came crying to me asking her for answers.” Taylor got very quiet, almost deadly. “The next thing I know. She’s not pregnant anymore. Fucking bitch. I will never let her forget that.”

Jon felt like he was going to be sick. She had been pregnant? She had an abortion without talking to Taylor? Everything in him still hated Taylor, but he would see his breakfast if he thought about Callie doing that to him.

“She’s fucking crazy. So, you’d do your best to stay away from her.” Jon didn’t even stay long enough to finish listening to Taylor. He had to talk to her. Why had she kept this from him? This wasn’t a small itty bitty secret. This explained everything. It explained everything to him, it was something that he needed to know a long time ago.

Before he knew it, he was pounding on the door like a madman. Callie opened the door, just as beautiful as ever but this time, he had to push that in the back of his mind. “Why didn’t you fucking tell me?”

Callie’s eyes were wide and staring at him. “What are you talking about?” her voice was hesitant, soft.

“That you went behind your boyfriend’s back and had an abortion.” The words were so blunt he felt himself cringe. Even as the words flew out of his mouth, he knew he should be saying it. For some reason, he was so angry. Angry at Taylor for telling him, angry at Callie for keeping it a secret, angry at the world for delivering him the perfect girl and teasing him by making her only temporary.

Immediately, he regret his last thought. He loved Callie but right now he was seeing red. “Jon, it’s not that way you think it is. Who told you?” Her voice was so calm.

“Well, it certainly wasn’t you. When were you planning to tell me, Cal? Were you just never going to tell me how fucked up you were?”

Tears came to the surface of Callie’s face. “You don’t know the whole story, Jon. Stop it.”

“Then fucking explain it to me.” Jon watched, almost emotionless as tears slipped down her cheeks. “Explain it or I will walk out this door and never come back.”

For some reason, he didn’t want to stick around to hear her side of the story. It was too much right now. Tear pricked the back of his own eyes. All he could think about is what if that were him. He just thought about how easily she always pushed him away. How she was making it easier for her to leave. He felt so temporary in her life.

It hurt him so much. He literally felt a pain in his chest as he sat in his car. For the first time since he was a child, he let sobs rack through his body. If she had ever planned on keeping him around, she would have told him.

Suddenly, the door of his car opened. Jon only got a glimpse of Taylor’s face before his head slammed into the steering wheel and then all he saw was darkness.
♠ ♠ ♠
Finished with this story! Going to start on my PKane one tomorrow.

I'm going to give you guys 14 when I wake up and then the Epilogue right after.