Perks of Winning [TAG: Odette & Cale]

Cale ignored her question and stood up straight, undoing the top half of his jumpsuit so his upper body was showing, 'how could you think..' he started as he sat next to her on the bed, '..that after 14 years I couldn't care about you at all?' he placed his hand against the side of her face, stroking her cheek softly with his thumb, 'do you really think I'm that heartless?'

"You make it very hard not to think that," she replied as she pushed his hand away from her. She studied him for a while but then turned her head away. "I'm not saying you never cared... I'm just saying you don't seem to care now."

'And why do you think I stopped?' he asked quietly, leaning over to look at her, 'do you really think it was a coincidence that the day I told you it was over was the same day I showed up beaten half to death?'

"How should I know?" she said in a tone that was a mix of hurt, annoyed and angry. She moved her head so she still wouldn't have to look at him. "Maybe someone knocked some sense into your head."

'It was all for you, you idiot!' he shouted, but not in anger, he was almost relieved to be able to tell her what their bastard father had made him do just to keep her safe.

"What?" she said angry, but mostly she was just confused because she had no idea what he was talking about.

'He found out about us,' he started simply, 'one of his bodyguards saw us and ratted me out to him,' Cale looked down at his hands wondering what exactly he should say to her about that night, but there didn't seem to be any point in leaving anything out now that they'd probably never see Pierce again.
'He gave me an ultimatum..' he said slowly, not looking at Odette, 'either I ended it with you or..' Cale ran his fingers through his hair, ashamed that he'd let himself be pushed around like that, 'or we'd both end up on the streets.'

Odette listened to Cale, not quite sure what to believe. Somehow it all sounded a bit too weird. If what he said was true, then couldn't he at least have told her back then. Why tell her now when she had no way of finding out whether or not what he was saying was true. He could have explained. But instead he had just left her confused, unaware and hurt. She just stared right in front of her for a long time, not knowing how to respond.

'You seemed so happy with the parties, the danger..' he continued when she didn't say anything, 'our lives changed when we met him, your life changed for the better and I couldn't let him take that away from you just because of me..'

"Stupid," she said and looked at him. But the anger in her voice was gone. He should just have explained sooner. But they never really talked about anything important, did they?

'I know,' he said and turned back to her with a sad smile, 'if I knew back then that we'd end up in here, maybe I would have told him to go fuck himself,' he laughed quietly and lay back on the bed next to Odette with a sigh.