Chapter 84 New plan

Chapter 84 New plan
The hospital was quiet at this hour.

Visiting hours ended at eight, but the nurses knew who the Vanderbilts were, or maybe they just saw the exhaustion on my face and decided to look the other way. Either way, no one stopped me as I walked down the sterile corridor, my footsteps echoing off the pale green walls.

Tyler's room was at the end of the hall.

I'd found out his name from the police report, Tyler Chen, freshman. His parents had already posted updates on a GoFundMe page: "Our son is awake. He's confused and scared, but he's alive. Thank you for your prayers."

I stood outside his door, my hand on the handle, and tried to steady my breathing.

He doesn't remember. He can't remember. They hit him too hard.

But I needed to know.

I opened the door.

\---

Tyler was smaller than I remembered.

Maybe it was the hospital gown, swallowing his thin shoulders. Maybe it was the bandages wrapped around his head, hiding half his face. Maybe it was the way he curled into himself, knees drawn to his chest, like he was trying to disappear.

His one good eye flicked toward me when I walked in.

"Who are you?" His voice was slurred, thick with painkillers.

"My name is Calliope. I'm the one who found you. In the hallway. I pulled the fire alarm."

Something flickered across his face, fear, maybe, or recognition. "You're the one with Romeo."

My blood went cold. "How do you know that?” 

"I don't. I mean…” He winced, shifting against his pillows. "The guys who hurt me. They asked about you. About who you were to him… if I’ve seen you around with him..." He trailed off, swallowing.

"To who?"

"To Romeo Vanderbilt." His voice was barely a whisper. "They wanted me to spy on him since I just got into the football team. They wanted to know if you were... you know. Together."

I sat down in the chair beside his bed, my legs suddenly weak. "What did you tell them?"

"Nothing. I didn't know anything. I barely know Romeo, I just got on the football team. I've only talked to him a few times and he helped me a bit with football." His good eye was wet. "I told them that. I told them I didn't know anything. And they just..." His voice cracked. "They just started hitting me."

"Tyler…” 

"They said if I didn't start spying on him, watching him, reporting back, they'd come back. They said they knew where my little sister went to school. They said…” He stopped, choking on a sob.

I reached out and took his hand. His fingers were cold, trembling.

"You're safe now," I said. "They can't get you in here."

"They got in everywhere else."

I didn't have an answer for that.

\---

I stayed until he fell asleep.

The nurse came in to check his vitals, raising an eyebrow at me but not saying anything. I slipped out while Tyler's breathing evened out, his small body finally relaxing into the thin hospital mattress.

The parking lot was dark, lit only by the flickering streetlamps. Kai was waiting by the car, his arms crossed, his breath fogging in the cold air.

"Well?"

I told him everything. Tyler's words tumbled out of me, the spying, the threats, the questions about Romeo and me and the annex. Kai listened without interrupting, his jaw tightening with each sentence.

When I finished, he was quiet for a long moment.

"They're getting desperate," he said finally. "The uncle must be pushing them. Demanding results."

"Results like what?"

"Like proof that Romeo isn't fit to lead. Proof that he's weak. That he can't control himself." Kai's eyes met mine. "Or proof that he's distracted. That there's someone he cares about more than the pack. And if that someone is human…” 

"Me."

"Yes."

I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly cold despite my jacket. "So what do we do?"

Kai opened the car door. "We talk to Romeo about it."

\-————————

Romeo was waiting in the annex.

He was pacing, back and forth, back and forth, his hands shoved in his pockets, his jaw tight. When I walked in, he stopped. Looked at me. Looked at Kai.

"Well?"

I told him again. Tyler's words. The threats. The questions about us.

Romeo listened the same way Kai had, silently, his expression darkening with each word.

When I finished, he turned and punched the wall.

Not hard enough to break bone, but hard enough to leave a dent. The plaster cracked. His knuckles bled.

"Romeo…” 

"They're getting too close to fighting the truth." He wasn't looking at me. He was staring at the dent in the wall, his chest heaving. "They hurt a kid because of us. Because of me. Because I couldn't stay away from you and now they suspect something.” 

"This isn't your fault."

"It is. It's all my fault." He turned to face me, and his eyes were wild, desperate. "If I hadn't defended you, if I hadn't held your hand, if I hadn't made it so obvious that you matter to me—"

"Then Tyler would still be in the hospital?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Probably." He ran his hands through his hair. "But at least it wouldn't be because of me."

Kai stepped forward. "We need a plan. They're not going to stop. They'll keep asking questions, keep hurting people, keep getting closer until they find what they're looking for."

"What do you suggest?"

Kai looked at me. Then at Romeo. Then back at me.

"Calliope needs to be seen with someone else. Right now they’re seeing you with Angel, but they still think you care about her. If she’s with someone too, maybe they’d back off."

Romeo's eyes narrowed. "What kind of someone?"

"A boyfriend. Fake, obviously. But someone they can watch. Someone they can report back on. Someone who'll throw them off your scent."

"No."

"Romeo…” 

"I said no." His voice was sharp. "I'm not letting her pretend to date someone else. Not after everything."

"Then what's your solution?" Kai's voice was calm, measured, but there was an edge underneath. "Because mine is the only one that keeps her safe. Unless you want her to stop coming to school, which is a bad idea by the way with midterms coming up.” 

Romeo opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.

No words came.

Kai turned to me. "Calliope. What do you think?"

I thought about Tyler in his hospital bed. His bandaged head. His trembling hands. His little sister, who didn't know that two wolves had threatened to find her.

"Who did you have in mind?" I asked.

Kai's jaw tightened. "Me."

The room went very quiet.

"No," Romeo said.

"She's already with me half the time. No one would question it. And if the spies see us together, if they report back that she's not with you, but me. It actually makes a lot of sense that way… that you’d be friends with Calliope because she’s my fake girlfriend.” 

"I said no Kai.” 

"Romeo, listen to me." Kai stepped closer, his voice low. "I can protect her. I've been protecting you for years. Let me do this."

Romeo's hands were shaking. I could see him fighting it, the jealousy, the fear, the desperate need to keep me close.

"It's just pretend," I said softly. "It doesn't mean anything. I mean you’re already playing pretend with Angel and I’m not complaining about that.” 

"So why are you opposing this?!"