Page 17 of The Consequence of You (Heathley Academy #2)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CALLIE

A sher’s grip on my hand is painful. His nails are digging into my wrist and there’s no sign of them loosening.

I’ve seen his parents in the newspaper, and at school functions occasionally, but this is the first time I’ve had the pleasure of meeting them.

Their words should insult me but, in truth, they roll off my back.

I know exactly who I am. My dress is shorter than some of the other women here. It’s sexier. It’s red when everyone else is wearing black, but I don’t care about that. I might not fit in here, but people’s worth is not dictated by how they dress.

And what Duke Pennington said about my family being criminals? My family history is knowledge I've lived with my whole life. My father is working to legitimise the family business he inherited from his parents. It’s mostly reputation these days. Nothing more .

Their words aren’t particularly nice, and maybe I should call them out for being narrow-minded bigots. But I don’t intend to see either of them again, so I don’t bother. I certainly won't lose any sleep over it.

We’re not our parents, so I don’t blame Asher for what they said to me, and it’s clear he’s not happy about it, but as I stare at his back, an image of us in the bathroom a few minutes ago plays out slowly in my mind.

Him ruffling his hair.

The way he smeared my lip gloss across his mouth.

I glance down at where he tugged the ribbon on my dress.

My red dress.

The dress he goaded me into wearing.

He knows the kind of people his parents are. How they’d react to my presence.

He deliberately set this up to get this reaction from them.

Was this payback for me running out on him?

I squeeze his hand hard, and he lets go in surprise.

And then?

Then, I bolt.

ASHER

“Calliope. Wait.” Goddammit. “Calliope. Please wait.”

She’s fucking fast, considering her footwear and the fact her legs are so much shorter than mine.

I follow her through the hotel, calling after her, while trying not to look like a complete madman.

I might be royalty, but security will have me thrown out of here in seconds if they think I’m chasing a woman .

She manages to get to our limo before I get close enough to stop her. The driver moves to shut the door after her. He looks between us, seemingly unsure of what to do. He’s on my family’s payroll, but it’s clear Callie is angry, and it’s directed at me.

“Open that door this instant, or this will be the last time you drive for my family, or anyone else for that matter.” I’d feel sorry for the guy if this wasn’t so important.

He widens the door, and I climb in.

The car pulls away slowly. Turning to Callie, I try to form an apology in my mind before I speak.

She sits quietly but it’s like I can see her anger; such is the way the tension rolls off her.

She presses a button on the console next to her, and the privacy screen between us and the driver slides up.

“What the fuck, Asher?”

“I don’t agree with anything they said to you. It was abhorrent,” I rush out, hoping she can hear the sincerity in my words.

“You didn’t correct them,” she points out. Shamefully, she’s right. I run my hand over my hair, heat rising on my neck.

“I didn’t, but for what it’s worth, I don’t correct them for much. They spout that shit daily and I don’t agree with any of it.”

“Ignoring racism and prejudice allows it to continue to breed, you know that right?” She glares at me, and all I can do is take it, because she’s one hundred per cent correct. “Don’t let the price of peace be your soul, Asher.”

She might only be talking about this moment, but I weigh her words. Is that what I’ve done? Bitten my tongue and let things slide for so long, it’s robbed me of my soul ?

This woman sees me in a way I’ve never been seen before.

Instead of being glad of it, it makes me feel exposed, and it’s not a pleasant feeling.

“Soul?” I spit back at her. “You’re one to talk. Don’t see you fighting to keep hold of yours.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean. Like me, you were born into this world with every opportunity and luxury money can buy. You’re talking about me losing my soul, yet I saw you tonight.

You were having a good time. And last week?

You enjoyed what we did. I saw it. Then you ran like you were ashamed. You know what I thin-”

Callie vehemently interrupts me,

“You don’t know what was going through my mind when I left the nursing home last week. You don’t know anything about me. And for the record, I know tonight was a deliberate attempt to hurt me, so I was right last week. It was a mistake letting your hands anywhere near me!”

A mistake?

She was as turned on as I was. She nearly orgasmed from my mouth on her tits, so I don’t believe a word of her bullshit.

“You’re living a half-life. That’s what I think.

I remember what you were like before I spent that year abroad.

You were completely different. You were like sunshine.

” I’m on a roll now and I barely consider my words as the spew out.

“Now you’re more like a storm cloud. You hide your real self from everyone.

You’ve been doing it for years. Was it when your mum died? Is that when you gave up on yourself?”

She gasps .

“That’s fucking low. Even for you.”

I shrug and cock my brow.

“Am I wrong?”

She hesitates, and I plough on. “You suffered a tragedy. Your mum died. You didn’t.”

She rears back like I’ve slapped her.

Hell, I probably deserve it, but it needed saying.

The limo pulls up outside her house, and for a second, I think she is going to run again, but instead, she turns and pokes me hard in the chest.

“I’m only going to say this once, so listen carefully. You know nothing about me. You know nothing about what my life has been like, or what happened with my mum. You know nothing, Asher. And I will not explain it to you, because I don’t want you to know anything about me. I like it that way.”

She puffs out her chest as she jabs at mine.

Prodding at me with every sentence, trying to make her point.

But she underestimates me. I don’t care about her warning.

I don’t care that she doesn’t want me to know because I’ve already seen the chink in her armour.

I saw it the other day. For a few minutes with me, she forgot where she was; she just let herself go.

She can deny it all she wants, but she is holding herself back from living. She has been for years, and while her mum’s death might have been the catalyst, I suspect there is more to it.

So, ignoring her warning, I grab hold of the delicate finger she pokes at me. I hold it tightly in my fist and she freezes. Electricity jolts through me, and I drop her hand as if it were a real electric shock.

I quickly regain my composure and soften my voice, because I’m not a complete arsehole .

“That’s as may be. But I’m only going to say this once, too.

You lost your mother. You must have been fucking devastated.

But I don’t believe you’ve entirely forgotten who you were before.

I think you’ve chosen this.” I place my hand on her chest gently, over her heart.

“You’ve given up. And that? That is on you.

So, when you talk to me about my soul, I think you’re being awfully fucking hypocritical, Calliope Messina. ”

She blinks hard and swallows.