Metanoia: Calhoun's Courage

By Laikyn Meng

♥First loves weren't meant to strip you bare and leave you for dead.♥

 

It couldn't be true.

But it didn't matter now.

I was laying on my side coughing up blood.

Samson betrayed me.

Just another Sonny Boy trying to knock the Krause's down to their graves.

 

 

Static shakes my e

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Orange 9 Publishing Company LLC
• Release date: Aug 10, 2020
• ISBN: 9781088167267

Book preview

Preface

I try to blink; fuck, how much I begged to have air delivered to my lungs. But the passageways were stomped on, and I could feel the sensation of stomach acid rising to escape.

Coughs become more constant, and the bitter copper taste splattered on my ripped shirt. Blood highlighted itself on the cement as I tried to lift myself from the ground. Searching blindly for my phone, broken glass cutting into my palm, but I don't register the slices.

Those small incisions are nothing. From here on out, I'm going to take down the one person who made this all possible. It wasn't him who pointed the finger, whispering my name. Samson just merely stood by while my own twin, Kalonie, put a target on my back. The Sonny boys were good at following orders, and I was good at hiding secrets.

Samson didn’t even flinch joining in on the brutal rampage.

A dark presence took over me; it knew all my secrets and would spill them out, knowing it was equal to getting my throat sliced.

Not only was I worried about what my father would think because that was damning in itself. But I was worried about what my high school teachers would think. Feared strangers’ opinions as if they could read it on my face and steer clear like I had a disease.

In some ways, my orientation was a suffering sickness. The burden was slowly killing me.

Never in my life had I ever called my father, Knox or Lennox. But I knew now there was a distance between us. As Olallie struggled to hold my build over hers, muttering words I ignored because I was internally bleeding from wounds I couldn't fix. There were no solutions Leonie could discover for my situation. Finding the male specimen more attractive than the female. Especially when you are of the male descendant.

It felt harmless at first, flirting with the idea, and I wanted to know maybe it could be more than an interest. Then I kissed Samson, one lousy drunk night in my room, and he kissed back.

But soon, I realized he was a guy who was going to have a girlfriend, eventually a wife. Burying down any real desire. He would hide and stay confined. I worry that I might implode if I have to be contained the rest of my life.

Chapter 1

Ilived for every other weekend as a child. Or days I could convince my drug addict mother it was our father's time to take us.

Those were the best moments of my childhood. Knox took us places, he laughed and watched movies. Even showing affection to Kalonie back then.

It was a great day when our mother, Kayley, got taken away. Knox stormed into the police station, and he looked pissed. And I thought for a minute we were in trouble. Out of instinct, I ran to him, and when he saw me, he crumbled, wrapping us in his arms and took us home.

Knox was the best father a kid could ever have. He treated us to ice cream, gave Leonie and Kalonie trips to the salon. While dad and I bonded over sports. Lennox Krause was my hero, and he was the man I was going to make sure to live up to his legacy.

The biggest fear was letting him down, and I couldn’t do that to him, even if I denied myself.

Currently, I sat on the sidelines of my sister and dad’s daily argument. We’ve been informed that our little sister is coming to join the Krause household.

She cannot attend the same school as us. Kalonie’s artificial nails dig into the table. I avoid the conflict as I shovel more food into my mouth for breakfast.

Our father scrunched his eyebrows, annoyed at the morning conversation.

Calhoun, you have a problem with Olallie attending the same high school as you? Dad was asking me because he didn’t care about Kalonie’s feelings. I looked over at my sister, spoon dangling in the air.

Why do you look at her for every answer? Damn, son, please don’t tell me your sister gots you by the balls. Not caring for an actual response, he goes back to reading the paper as I go back to eating.

She is not our sister. Well, that’s one way to get his attention.

Explain the logistics to me. Why you think Olallie would be classified otherwise? Knowing he was knocking her down a level.

She’s half.

What about Leonie, isn’t it the same? She is your half-sister too. Yet, you claim her full-blooded.

It is not the same. Technically it was the same. But also, Kalonie couldn’t do much about the firstborn. Now the last for some reason, she fixated on taking her out.

Our father stood up, the bear awoken.

Kalonie, for the life of me, I cannot figure you out. But, let me tell you about your life for the moment. This is my realm, A famous Knox Krause speech came filtering out, and I zoned out thinking of football practice. You, you’re lucky to reside in this realm. Because you could be following in your mother’s footsteps over the fence in our back yard. Kalonie visibly swallows.

This isn’t fair, you can’t just implement her into our student body as if no one will notice she is associated with our last name. Do you know what the gossip will be like for the first few weeks? I will be hounded with questions, exhausting my voice. To be honest, Knox Krause had a reputation, and it didn’t matter how many dents were in it, they didn’t bring him down.

Oh no, not your voice. We both feed on the other’s laugh.

Love you kids, have a good first day of school. I’ll be home for dinner. Final word.

I have plans. Stallone, she means. She has to meet her boyfriend later.

I know you do, we just discussed this, dinner tonight. Goodness, Cal, is your sister’s hearing going too? Tapping my shoulder as he passes.

If you try to bully her or make your friends throw shade her way, I promise Kalonie, you will make an enemy with me. What an incredible first day pep talk between family.

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We sit around our game room while everyone drinks and smokes. Kalonie is trapezing herself over Stallone’s lap, trying to get Lawson’s attention. He shrugs, and I hold in my laugh at her slutty attempt.

My eyes shift to Samson, as he hands me a bottle of beer, we both take turns drinking. He tilts his head, and I cough, trying to control my body from reacting. His hand slaps my knee as he laughs at my discomfort.

I’m so focused on his taunt that I don’t listen to the questions or conversations. Trying to cover any sign of arousal for my best friend.

Calhoun, what is your new sister's name? Vayden screeches over to us from his seat next to his brother and Lawson.

Olallie, I think... Samson hands me a blunt as he blows out a puff from the side of his mouth.

What an asshole.

Man, you don't know? Again, Vayden’s dramatics hit a note so high I squint my eyes.

She was never important until now. It’s true.

Kalonie interrogates the room about who will be a victim of little miss angel. We haven’t seen her in years, not since I was 15 years old. Even before that, I remember the car ride to pick her up.

Lights flashing as police and ambulance members came into awareness. Olallie stood on the sidewalk behind a man I’d never seen before. Patch was waving his hands around, and the dude was flinging his fingers in his face. All while he protected Olallie from the scene of the crime.

To be honest, it wasn’t the first time I saw a dead body. But it was the first time it was someone I knew. Our father, Knox, stared out across the road. He didn’t say anything, but I remember the way he breathed in and out. Like he was preparing for battle.

Leonie in the front seat, watching everything the EMT’s do. What the cops say, not once trying to comfort our dad. She always acted a bit out of this world. I was the first to call her an alien.

Knox slapped me on the back of the head so hard, I bite my tongue. Taught me to never talk ill about my sisters, well at least that one was off-limits.

We were sitting idle in his ’66 red mustang. The rumble of his engine was the soundtrack to the scene around us. He stuck his