The Final Choice

52 Colby

I smelled Callie's fruity body spray before I felt her walk up beside me. The cashier's eyes widened, as Cal leaned into me. Shit. I hadn't thought about this. Hopefully, the girl wouldn't post about it and the internet wouldn't go crazy. "Can you ring this up for me?" Callie asked the girl, setting a bottle of water and a bag of chips on the counter.

"I thought you didn't want anything else," I said, as I pressed my bank card to the reader. "I don't. This isn't for me. I can pay for it, Colby!" she exclaimed. "No, I got it. Who's it for?" I replied, already punching in my code. "Um, it's for Billy," she murmured, nodding her head towards the door.

I grabbed our bags, thanked the cashier again, and led Callie outside. "Who's Billy?" I asked, as we headed towards the car. Cal stopped in front of the homeless guy that we had passed earlier and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey Billy," she murmured, with a sweet smile. The man looked up, with bleary eyes and gave her a gap toothed grin. 

"Well, I'll be damned. Heya Callista, how are ya? What are you doin' out so late?" he asked, with much more energy than I expected him to have. "I just got back into town," she told him. "I was in Las Vegas visiting...friends." Friends? I was more than a friend. 

Billy's eyes shot to me, and he nodded his head, with a knowing smile. "Friends, huh? That sounds nice. I'm just glad you aren't around that dickhead, Will. I hate that sum'bitch." I couldn't stop the grin that formed on my face. I was glad to know that I wasn't the only one. 

Callie grimaced a little and shook her head. "Never again, Billy. Never again. Oh, I'm being rude! This is Colby. My...boyfriend, I guess." She looked at me, blushing with a small smile curving on her full, pink lips. I bit my bottom lip, to keep from kissing her silly. "Colby, this is my friend, Billy. I've known him for several years now. He makes sure that no one messes with me, when I come around." 

My respect for the man grew, as I held my hand out to him. He eyed it, then moved to get shakily to his feet. His grip was firm, when he placed his palm in mine. "Nice to meet you, Colby. You make sure you take care of our girl, or I'll have to show you a thing or two, as well," he replied, sternly.

I nodded my head at him. "Yes sir. I'll always take care of her," I replied, meaning every word, as I held the man's gaze. He narrowed his eyes for a moment, sizing me up, then nodded and let go of my hand. "It was good to see you, Callista. Tell you momma that I miss her cornbread," he said, as he sank back down to the curb. 

I passed the bag that I was holding to Callie, when she reached towards me. She pulled out the water and chips, then held them out to Billy. "I'll tell her. I'll make sure to bring you some, next time I head this way. Maybe this will help a little though."

Billy eyes went to the treats in her hands, then back to her face. It was dark, but I could see the sheen of tears forming. "You're such a sweet girl," he whispered, as he took the water and chips. "It was nothing," she replied, sounding embarrassed. "Colby paid for it, anyway." 

I was already walking to the trunk of the car, with an idea in mind. "What are you doing?" Cal called out, but I just waved my hand at her, while I dug through my bag. When I found what I was looking for, I pulled them out and slammed the trunk.

Callie's eyes narrowed in confusion, when she saw the old pair of shoes in my hand, as I walked back over to them. "I'd like you to have these," I said, holding the shoes out to Billy. The man shook his head, his eyes widening. "No sir, I can't take your shoes," he replied, waving me off. 

"I insist," I said, holding them closer to him. "I don't have any use for them, because I just bought a new pair. I was going to donate them anyway." In reality, I had quite a few pairs of shoes. These were just the ones that I wore when I was exploring, or doing something that was gonna be dirty. I could always get more.