The Royal Love Triangle

16: Apologies

Tessa's POV

It’s been days since she’s left her room. I’ve tried texting and calling her, but she’s ignoring me. I even tried to reach out to Gabriel to see if she’s messaged him back. No one can get her out of her bedroom. Clara goes in a few times a day to try and talk to her and bring her meals. As far as I’ve seen, she hasn’t even eaten much.

I should have just heard her out. I knew how much pressure she’s been under. Everyone at the castle, in the country and in Newait, are expecting her and Gabriel to get married. She’s going through a ton of new changes. I should have been more supportive and understanding. I know how she feels about me and I just need to make sure that I can prove to her how I feel about her. I loved her before she knew she was a princess. I knew her when we were little, and she cried because her brother pulled her barbie’s heads off. I knew her when she dyed her hair blue and her mom freaked out and grounded her for a month. I knew her the day she found out she was a princess and go so drunk she puked all over herself and passed out. If I could be there for her then, I could be there for her now and prove my feelings for her.

I knocked on Callie’s bedroom door. “Cals, I know you can hear me. Open up.” I waited for a few seconds. There was no sound or indication that she was coming to the door. “Callie come on. Let me in. We need to talk. Even if I do the talking and you just listen. Please.” A few more moments passed, and I didn’t hear any movement coming from the bedroom. “I’ll scream through this door. Don’t test me Callie Marie.” Just then the door cracked open. I pushed myself in the door and shut it behind me. Callie looked like a mess. She was in the same clothes for the last few days. Her hair was in a messy bun, but you could tell that she hasn’t washed it in a couple days. It was knotted and sticking up everywhere. She walked over and sat back down on the bed.

“You’re here now. Talk.”

She was being short with me. She was staring into the corner of the room, avoiding eye contact with me. I knew that if she made eye contact with me, she would probably cry. She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. I could tell she was really hurting. I walked over to the bed and sat down next to her.

“Listen Cals, I’m sorry. I know how much pressure you’re under. Everyone is expecting something of you, and I know you don’t want to disappoint anyone. I know that being with Gabriel is new and it’s exciting. You two really do have a connection. Hearing about you being with someone else, really hurt me. I guess I should have admitted to myself that you were bound to have some sort of relationship with Gabe. I just wasn’t expecting for you guys to be connected so quickly. I can’t imagine how you’re feeling right now. I would be full of so many emotions. I probably wouldn’t be able to think straight either. I admire you so much more than you could imagine. Every day, I seem to find another reason to fall in love with you.” I sighed as I balled my hands up in my lap. I couldn’t look at her.

I felt the bed shift and looked over to where she was sitting. She was leaning towards me, resting her head on my shoulder. I put my arm around her and pulled her closer to me. I kissed the top of her head. She was absent mindedly tracing her fingers lightly over my knee in random shapes. I think she was just trying to take everything in.

“I’m sorry too Tessie. You’re right, I can’t really think straight right now. I was really jealous that you were hanging out with Marcus all evening.” She put her head down and I laughed.

“Marcus was hanging out with me because he didn’t want me to be alone all night. I feel pretty out of place and left out here. He’s a pretty good guy. We both think that your mother is determined to get me out of the picture. He was helping me with that while she was fussing over getting you ready. Besides, you do know that he’s gay, right?” I laughed. I can’t believe she thought there was something going on between Marcus and me.

“I’ve been an awful friend to you Tessie. I’m so sorry. I feel like my life is under a microscope and everyone is watching my every move. I should apologize to Marcus too.” She took a deep breath in and let it out slowly.

“We’ve both been pretty shitty. I don’t want you to feel like you have to be with me. So much has changed since that day in our apartment. You have so many people breathing down your neck about marrying Gabriel, with in the year. I understand if your feelings have changed.” I looked around the room focusing on the door knob. I don’t know if I was ready to hear her answer. But she needed to know that I was here for her no matter what.

Callie took in a deep breath and sighed. “I don’t know what I want right now. I have feelings for both of you. I feel so much pressure to be with Gabe. But with you, everything feels so natural. I guess I just need to figure out what I really want.” There were a couple of tears falling from Callie’s eyes. “I need to remember that this is MY life. No matter what I decide, I know that the people that really care about me will be there for me.”

She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. I moved from the bed to have myself kneeling in front of her. I looked up at her, wiping a stray tear from her cheek. She smiled a little. I left my hand on her cheek and smiled up at her.

Callie grabbed my cheeks and pulled me closer. I could feel her warm breath on my lips. She bit her lip before pulling me in close and placing a soft little kiss on my lips. I pulled away and looked at her. She smiled down at me and blushed.

“Callie, you should really text Gabriel back. He’s been worried sick about you. But first, let’s get you a hot bath, some clean clothes and a hot meal. I love you, but you stink.”

I smiled at her and stuck my tongue out at her. I got up, planted a kiss on her forehead and headed over to the bathroom. I plugged the tub, started running some hot water and found some bubble bath that I threw in. I walked out of the room to see Callie still sitting on the bed. I cleared my throat and got her attention. Her eyes shot up and looked at me. “What are you thinking so hard about?” She blushed and bit her bottom lip.

“Tessie, I think I can get myself ready from here. Thank you for talking some sense into me. I’ll text Gabe once I’m done. I’ll shoot Marcus a text telling him that we should talk.”

She jumped up from the bed and skipped over to me. She stood up on her tip toes and planted a soft kiss on my lips before skipping into the bathroom and shutting the door. I laughed. She quickly came back out, grabbing a towel and some clothes to change into. She looked at me and ran back into the bathroom.

I slipped out of her room to find Queen Melissa standing there. She looked both shocked and relieved to see me. “How is she? Is she okay?” She looked really worried. I smiled at her. As frustrating as she could be, she was genuinely worried about Callie. That was really all that mattered to me right now.

“She’s better. I ran her some bath water. She’s going to relax a little, change and come down to eat.” I crossed my arms over my chest but gave Melissa the most reassuring smile that I could.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” She grabbed me and pulled me into a big hug. I was shocked but patted her lightly on the back. Once she released me, I turned to walk down the hallway towards my room. “Tessa, I don’t hate you.” I froze in the hall way and slowly turned back around. She definitely had my attention. She was looking at the ground, avoiding my gaze. “I’m not upset that Callie bisexual. I’m so grateful that she isn’t afraid to be who she truly is. She’s going to make a great ruler and help bring New Biblica into the current times. She is truly inspiring and confident in herself. She’s strong. Some little girl is going to look up to her one day and want to be just like her.” She smiled. I could only muster up a nod. I turned back around and headed back towards my room.

Once I got inside, I shut my door and sighed. I walked over to my bed and collapsed on it. I grabbed my phone that was sitting on my pillow. I had one new text message.

Text from Gabriel at 11:12: Tessa, Callie just texted me. Thank you for taking care of her and checking on her.

I rolled my eyes, locked my phone and rolled back over. I wanted to be nice to him. But right now, he was my competition.