Chapter 15 - Chapter Fifteen

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐫

"AJ, take her home. I'll talk to the police." I heard Robin say to his cousin. I was still sitting on the ground. Still processing what happened. I stopped crying a few minutes ago when the police took Henry away.

I laid my head on top of my knees, taking deep breaths. This day is catastrophic. I tap on my shoulder made my head lift from my knees, only to see Rhys crouching in front of me.

"I need to take you out of here. Can you walk?" Rhys asked in a worried tone. I nodded slowly before standing up. Rhys talked to his cousin for a bit before he grabbed my bag. We walked to his car and got in before driving away from the scene.

All the things that happened today was bringing back memories. Horrible memories. Why does this happen to me? Why does this even happen at all?

My eyes flashed with realization. "You can't take me home. You don't know where I live." I said, softly.

"I'm taking you to my house, if that's okay?" he asked, glancing at me for a moment before turning his attention back to the road.

"It's fine." I answered.

I didn't gave any notice to Rhys' house when we arrived. We just went straight to his room, not bothering to greet the helpers that greeted him.

"Can I take a shower please?" I asked. "I feel dirty."

He nodded. "Towels are inside the cabinet inside the bathroom. I'll place clothes on the bed."

I just nodded before entering the shower. I wasn't lying when I said that I felt dirty. I felt so dirty to the point that I wanted to burn my clothes.

I took off my shoes and my clothes before hopping inside the hot shower. I grabbed his shampoo before pumping the right amount on my hand before massaging it through my hair. It smelled like mint and richness. It literally smelled rich. I grabbed the soap before scrubbing each part of my body.

I was inside the bathroom for a while to the point that Rhys knocked on the door, asking if I was okay.

"I'm fine." I answered, drying myself up. "Can you leave the room? I'm coming out."

"Sure." Once I heard the door close, I stepped out of the bathroom. A grey hoodie and black tights were laid down on the bed. Shit I don't have underwear. I wore my undergarments before wearing the clothes Rhys kindly provided.

I took a quick scan around Rhys' room. It was neat than I thought it would be. No posters or art posted on his wall. Picture frames on the top of his desk and the bookshelves.

I smiled lightly when I saw a picture of Rhys and Robin. They were covered in mud whilst smiling. It was sorta cute.

"Hey." Rhys said, entering the room. "Do you want me to call Harry? Or Chris?" he asked.

"Can I stay here for a while?" I asked, sheepishly. "My brothers are at work and at school. Chris is probably busy too and Har— there's no one home. I don't want to be alone right now." I admitted. I bit my lip, almost saying that Harry lives with us now.

He nodded. "Do you want something to eat?" Rhys asked, curiously. "We can order something? Or cook."

I shook my head. "I'm not hungry." I replied. "Can we just burn my uniform?"

Rhys looked at me like I was mental. "Are you sure?" he asked and I nodded, eager to burn it. "Okay. There's a fireplace downstairs. We can burn it there or we could make a bonfire outside." Rhys suggested.

"Fireplace sounds nice." I answered. Both of us quietly walked down the stairs. Rhys was holding my uniform since he offered to and I didn't want to hold it so I let him.

Rhys placed the uniform on the ground before he placed firewood on the fireplace. After that, he lit up the fireplace.

"Would you like to do the honors, Calistine?" Rhys asked, handing me my uniform.

"Okay." I grabbed the uniform from his hands before throwing them inside the fireplace. We sat down next to each other as we watched the uniform burn. "Hey, thank you for today. You and Robin saved me." I said, sincerely.

"Are you alright?" Rhys asked, facing me. He had a concern look on his face. "Do you want me to beat him up again? Because I'll be happy to do so." He said.

I shook my head. "I think if you do that again, he might end up dead. His face was pretty bad after you punched him multiple times."

"He deserved it." Rhys said. "How do you even know that guy?"

I cringed. "Sorry. It's not really my story to tell." I said, turning my attention back to the fireplace. "I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier. You were being rude. I hate rude."

He scratched the back of his neck. "You shouldn't apologize, you know?" he said. "I was in the wrong. You were right, I walked away without giving you a chance to explain. Sorry."

"Friends?" I asked, turning my eyes back to him.

"Friends." he nodded. "Does that mean I get to call you Ali?" he asked, curiously.

I scoffed. "Ew no." I said in disgust, making him furrow his brows. "Calistine is fine." I said.

"Okay, then, Calistine." Rhys emphasized.

"I'm curious. Is Rhys a nickname?" I asked all of a sudden. "Rhys Montecillio? It doesn't sound like a given name."

He rolled his eyes at me. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because I'm curious."

He sighed before speaking. "My full name is Aristotle Jayden Montecillio. Rhys is just a nickname."

I chuckled lightly. "That's why Robin calls you AJ."

"There it is." he smiled at me, making me confused.

"What? What's there?" I asked, arching a brow at him. This guy is weird. Weirder.

"Your laugh. I haven't heard it from you all day. It's nice to hear it again." Rhys' grey eyes met mine. "You always smile and laugh everyday, what happened today, Calistine?"

I pursed my lips together before opening my mouth. I didn't get to answer since the door flew wide open. Both Rhys and I quickly stood up from the floor.

"Callie." Maven didn't waste anytime to pull me into his embrace. "Harry called me. He told me what happened. Are you alright?" he asked, pulling away from the hug. "Should we beat up Henry? God, I knew we should've filed a report on him before."

"Maven, calm down." I cooed. "I'm fine."

Maven then faced Rhys. "Thank you for helping her, dude. We really appreciate it. I appreciate it." he smiled. "We need to go, Ali. Carter is coming home and I don't want to get punched again."

I nodded before facing the raven haired boy again. "Thank you again, Montecillio."