Chapter 19 - Chapter Nineteen

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

"Rhys, can you drive me home?" Callie asked, letting her long dark brown hair fall down. She massaged her head, wincing slightly at how tight the braids were earlier. "Hello? Rhys, mind driving me home? I don't want to ride with Harry. He gets so lovey with his new girlfriend." she said, her nose scrunching up as the memory she rode with Harry and his girlfriend popped in her mind.

"Sure." he said, nonchalantly. Over the past week, Rhys had driven her home when Harry couldn't. Both Carter and Cole were fine with Rhys driving their sister home, although, Connor doesn't seem to like it or him very much. "You received chocolates from the Love Booth?" he asked, noticing her putting the two bars of chocolate inside her bag.

The brunette grinned, slinging the strap of her backpack over her shoulders. "Something like that." she replied before she cursed under her breath as she remembered something. "Instead of driving me home, can you drive me to the mall instead? I need to pick up a few things. I can head home by myself afterwards."

"It's already dark outside." he frowned, giving her a pointed look. "Carter will kill me and Harry if knew that we'd let you go home by yourself during this time."

"Go home. I'm sure you're exhausted from today." she stayed before pulling out her phone. "I'll call Maven instead. I think he can drive me."

Rhys rolled his eyes. "Let's go." he said firmly as he walked right passed her. The girl just stared at him before he turned around again. "I'm driving you. So, let's go before I change my mind, Calistine."

Calistine reluctantly followed him into his car. They were both silent since the brown haired girl could feel that she needed to be silent due to her friend's mood. Instead of talking, she grabbed the piece of paper that was tuck inside the case of her phone and started to type the number in her phone.

𝗧𝗼: 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝘂𝘆

thanks for the chocolates! You shouldn't have given it to me since you know it was a gift to you from your secret admirer. Still thanks!

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺: 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝘂𝘆

I'm still sure that you're the secret admirer

𝗧𝗼: 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝘂𝘆

you think so highly of yourself to think that. I'd never send chocolates to guy I barely know

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺: 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝘂𝘆

ouch that hit the spot. I do hope that you'll be able to get to know this guy you barely know. I'll text you more later, I'm still at a study group

Calistine was smiling widely and was pulled back into reality when Rhys called over her, "Hey, we're here." he said, his voice impassive. "Why are you smiling?" he asked, raising a brow at her as they climbed out of the car.

"Nothing." she said, casually, shrugging her shoulders before continuing their way to the mall entrance. "I'm getting groceries, are you sure you want to come with me?" Callie questioned as they entered the grocery store.

"I have nothing to do anyway." he said, nonchalantly before grabbing the push cart and pushing it towards where the brunette it heading. "Do you always get the groceries?" he asked as he watched the brown haired girl place some vegetables in the push cart and looking at her grocery lists.

"Yup. My brothers are mostly busy with work and school, so I offered. No big deal." she answered, nonchalantly. "I'm grateful for you driving me here. If you want, you can have dinner at my house." she offered, her eyes meeting his.

"I prefer not to eat with your brothers. Especially the one who hates me. I know when I'm not wanted." Rhys declined, softly, remembering the times where Connor would throw glares at his direction.

Callie snorted, shaking her head as they strolled towards the chips section. "Well, Carter and Cole are meeting clients uptown, they'll be home tomorrow. Connor is still at the University, studying—" she placed four bags of chips inside the cart. "Harry is most probably going to be home late after snogging with his girlfriend. So, it'll be you and I."

"Do you even know how to cook?" he mused, smirking down at her causing the brunette to glare at him, playfully.

"Of course I know how to cook. Cooking is essential for me since I'm always hungry and I hate buying take outs. I prefer home cooked meals." she stated, rolling her eyes at him. "Although, I'm feeling a bit lazy. We could order pizza instead."

He hummed, raising a brow at her. "Do you really need that many chips? It's unhealthy, you know?" he remarked. "Maybe that's why your height isn't improving, you eat so many unhealthy foods." the raven haired boy said, mockingly.

Callie scoffed in disbelief. "I drink milk and eat healthy foods. I still don't know how to improve my height." she countered, narrowing her eyes at him. "It's not for me, anyway." Callie grinned and Rhys gave her a knowing look. "Well, one of it is mine and the rest are for my brothers, including Harry. They eat every hour of the day."

"I'm curious, why does Harrison Lincoln live with you? Are you related to him?" he asked, quietly. Rhys was truly baffled during the second time he drove her home when he saw Harry without a shirt on in her home.

"Harry and I are not related, but we're siblings even though it's not by blood. We still treat each other like family." Callie explained with a small smile on her lips. "The reason why he live with us isn't my secret to tell. Sorry, but I can't tell you." she offered him an apologetic smile before continuing on with grocery shopping.

☾︎☾︎☾︎

"Thanks." the brown haired girl murmured as Rhys took the paper bag of groceries she was holding so that she could open the door. "It's not as big as your mansion, but it's home." she said, facing him as she dropped the house keys in the bowl of keys.

"Your house is nicer than mine." he said, casually. "It's nice. It's homey." he replied before the girl advised him to put the groceries in the kitchen.

"What shift are you in for tomorrow?" Callie asked as she placed the snacks inside the pantry room, Rhys trailing behind her.

"Delivery." he answered shortly, leaning against the wall. "And you?"

"I'm not in any shift tomorrow." she flashed him a sly grin before turning her attention back to organizing the groceries. "My friends are coming tomorrow and I asked Marissa if I could take the rest of the day off." she explained in which the raven haired boy nodded.

"Do you need help?" Rhys asked, tiling his head to the side as she watched the girl try to reach the organizers on the top shelf.

"No." Callie said, stubbornly.

Rhys stood behind her, towering over the petite girl. He easily reached the organizers, his hand brushing against hers before the girl turned around, unaware of fact that she was blushing violently.

She flashed him a smile before taking the organizers from his hands. Rhys immediately moved away when he noticed how close he was to her. "Thank you, Montecillio." she mumbled before she went on to organize one last time. "I'll order the pizza, is that alright with you?" she questioned as they exited the pantry room and headed for the kitchen.

"Yeah, sure." he said, nonchalantly, sitting by the stool on the kitchen island.

Once Callie was done ordering their dinner, she faced the boy who was busy talking to someone on the phone. She gestured to him that she'll be upstairs to take a shower in which he nodded before she went up to her room.

As she was picking out her clothes, her phone let out a soft chime, a notification came through her screen. Callie peeked through it, thinking it was from one of her brothers.

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺: 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝘂𝘆

read the confession letter

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺: 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝘂𝘆

it says here that I have very nice eyes and a nice face and I have a very nice attitude. Seems true enough

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺: 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝘂𝘆

you sure that you aren't the one who sent it to me?

𝗧𝗼: 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝘂𝘆

you are so of full of yourself, architecture guy

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺: 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝘂𝘆

architecture guy? Is that what you're calling me?

𝗧𝗼: 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝘂𝘆

yes because it fits you very much. Anyway, I'll text you back hold on

Callie dropped her phone on the bed before hopping inside the shower. She took a quick one before slipping into her black legging and a gray sweater. She let her hair down since it was still wet before going downstairs to see Rhys paying for the food.

She frowned as he entered the house with two boxes of pizza. "You didn't have to pay for it. It was supposed to be my treat." she whined, crossing her arms against her chest.

"It's fine. I don't mind anyway." he said, placing the pizza boxes on top of the kitchen table, opening the lid to reveal the mouthwatering pizza. "Let's eat?"

"Thank you for paying." she offered him a small smile as she grabbed herself a slice. "I'm curious, what are you plans for college, Rhys?" she questioned before taking a bite of the food.

"I'm taking the civil engineering program at Arcturus." he answered, bluntly. Callie nodded in which she sort of figured that he would be following in the footsteps of his parents. "What about you?"

"I'm taking a sociology program before I head to law school. My family members, especially my aunts and uncles think that I should be taking political science as my pre-law, like they did, but I wanted to try something different. Sociology fits that category." She said, her eyes showing that she was passionate about what she wanted in life. Rhys admired that in her. "But Harry and I are planning to go backpacking around Europe before we go into law school." she added.

He chuckled softly which caused the brunette to get startled. Callie heard him laugh before , but they were sarcastic ones. The laugh she had just heard, it caused her heart to flutter. "You know, you and Harry are inseparable. I've heard rumors that you two were a thing. I've assumed it was true, seeing that both of you were always together, fooling around and always happy. You both looked like a happy couple—" Callie's face scrunched up in disgust at his words. "But if you look closely, you and Harry are just friends. Family, actually."

Her features softened at his words. "Well, Harry's always been there for me and I've always been there for him. People do think that we're too close, like his previous girlfriends said. They thought that I was Harry's side chick. Harry always explained it to his previous girlfriends about our platonic relationship, but they never believed in it and they would fight about it until they break up. So, I try to keep my distance whenever he has a new relationship."

"That's why you wanted me to drive you home today." Realized flashed through the raven haired boy's mind. "You're trying to keep your distance from your best friend. Your brother."

She sighed deeply before she spoke, "I know that Harry wouldn't distance himself from me, that was one of the reasons why his relationships always ended. He refused to stay away from his best friend and I don't want him to end this relationship. Harry is happier than I've ever seen him with her. It would be shame to let it go to waste, you know?" she glanced up, meeting his eyes.

"Well, what if this girl turns out to be a total ass?" he questioned.

"I doubt it." she said, shaking her head in disagreement. "She's a nice one. Better than his previous girlfriends."

☾︎☾︎☾︎

It was almost midnight and the two students from Arcturus Academy ended up watching horror movies as per Rhys' request. Surprisingly, both of them were comfortable sitting next to each other for hours. The brunette expected that the night will end up in a total awkward night, instead they seemed to have enjoyed each other's presence.

"You should go home now." Callie said, glancing at the wall clock. "It's almost midnight and they haven't come home yet." she grumbled, shaking her head.

"Yeah. I should go home. Robin left tons of voicemails and messages." he sighed, knowing that he'll get in trouble when he gets home, though he didn't mind. "Thank you for hosting dinner."

Callie rolled her eyes. "You paid for dinner, idiot." she remarked before glancing at the text message her brother had sent her. "You should go home now. Connor is on his way home and he might get the wrong idea with you being here this late. You'd get your ass kicked."

Rhys winced before the side of his lips rose, forming a smirk. "We wouldn't like that now, don't we?" he asked as they walked side by side out of the house.

"I kind of want it now. So, Connor can wipe that smirk off your ugly face." she stuck out her tongue, childishly. She opened the gate and then turned to him. "Good night, Rhys. Thanks for paying for the pizza and for accompanying me. It's very well appreciated."

He rolled his eyes at her. "Stop being so soppy, Calistine. I'll see you in the morning." he gave her a curt nod before hopping inside his car. Rhys drove away once Callie entered the house and he knew for the fact that it was safe to leave her alone.

The brunette was cleaning up when she heard the gates opened, glancing at the window to see her brothers, Carter and Connor. Calistine frowned upon noticing Connor's grumpy look, she knew that she had to be careful not to provoke the beast.

"Nice of you boys to come home." she chimed, putting the dishes on the drying rack. "Do you guys want something to eat? There's leftover pizza in the fridge, I could heat it up." she offered, wiping her hands dry using the kitchen towel.

"Who's car was that?" Connor questioned, ignoring his baby sister's request. "There was a car parked outside of our house before we came home."

"Rhys Montecillio." she said, quietly, not meeting her brothers' eyes.

"Rhys?" Connor gapped, his jaw clenching, clearly not liking the idea of the raven haired boy being with his sister alone and being inside their house. Callie sighed

Carter arched a brow at his sister, knowing all too well who was with her the entire night. "Rhys went home this late?" he asked as he removed his dark blue coat. "That's nice of him to accompany you when we aren't here."

"You knew?" Both Connor and Callie exclaimed as their eyes widened in shock.

"Yeah. I called him when Harry told me that he was going to be home late. Rhys offered to stay with you until we got home." The oldest Walker explained, nonchalantly as he grabbed a can of soda of the fridge. "He's a nice guy, Connor. I don't know why you don't trust him."

"Well, men can be deceiving." Connor implied, loosening the tie around his neck. "We don't know much about him and yet, you people trust him enough to drive her home. May I remind you what happened the last time someone drove you home? Stop being so naive, Ali. Not everyone is as nice as you assume." With that, Connor stormed out of the kitchen.

The brown haired girl snorted. "Is he implying that he's deceiving?" she said, causing her brother to laugh.

Carter shook his head in disappointment at his baby brother as he placed a hand on top of her shoulder. "Don't mind him. Connor just had a long day, I think."

"I know." she exhaled deeply. "Connor always has a bad day, but this is worse than the days before. Do you know what's happening with him or should we ask our other cousins his close with?"

"It's best to leave him alone tonight, Callie." he offered her a comforting smile. "You should get some sleep, you have school tomorrow."

They bid their good nights before Callie went up to her room. She snuggled herself in the duvet as she scrolled down through her social media. As she was doing that a notification popped up, causing her to smile a bit.

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺: 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝘂𝘆

do you wanna get some coffee before school tomorrow?