Callie Rose Hadley

Callie Rose McGregor is the daughter of Sephy Hadley and Callum McGregor, and older half-sister of Troy.

Her birthday is the 14th of May.

Callie's Conception
Callie was conceived whilst Sephy was kidnapped by the Liberation Militia. After Callum came to visit Sephy, they ended up having Callie.

Sephy's Pregnancy
During Sephy's pregnancy, Callum and her met up for one of their final times in a rose garden. Here they decided upon Callie's name. Sephy's father sent Callum to prison.

In the entire length of the pregnancy, Sephy's parents insisted on having an abortion – before Callum's execution Kamal stated that Callum would be released if Sephy agreed to get rid of the baby. Kamal previously had gone to Callum to say he would be released if he admitted guilty to charge of kidnapping, saying that Sephy would no longer want her unborn baby if Callum was freed. Both said that they would sacrifice Callum's life for Callie's survival.

Before Callie's birth, Sephy moved out into a tiny apartment, away from her parents.

Callie's Birth
Callie was born in between two of the books; Noughts and Crosses and Knife Edge in Mercy Community Hospital. A few days after Callie's birth – the day before they were scheduled to leave the hospital, Sephy sent out to many magazines about Callie's birth, mostly to show her father that she was proud of her child and capable of raising her. However, after this stunt, Callie developed breathing problems, and had to be put into the SCBU (special Care Baby Unit). People who had read the birth announcement now knew where Callie and Sephy were, and the hospital was flooded with condemnations.

Sephy's sister, Minerva, came to visit and asked if their mother could also come. Later that week when their mother came along, she offered for them to stay at her house, revealing she had stopped drinking and was at last prepared to be a good mother and grandmother. Sephy accepted, but later in the week Meggie McGregor, Callum's mother, came along and offered for Sephy to live at hers. Sephy later accepted Meggie's offer and called her mother to say she would not be able to go to hers – her mother was heartbroken; Sephy had only decided to stay with Meggie because Meggie had no one else.

Sephy tried to get Callum's surname of McGregor for Callie, but it was said that she needed his permission to get it, as they weren't married. Sephy settled on changing it after Callie grew older.

Suffocation and Its Effects
After giving birth to Callie, Sephy suffered from severe post natal depression. The only thing that mattered to her was Callum. While the song Rainbow Child played on the radio Sephy sung along, holding Callie – her own rainbow child – close to her. Callie started choking, but because of Sephy's condition, she couldn't stop embracing her child; not wanting to let go. Meggie came in and tried to save Callie with CPR, repeatedly asking Sephy 'What have you done?' Sephy called an ambulance and both were taken to a hospital – Callie to save her and Sephy so she could overcome her depression. Callie recovered but Sephy was taken away to Jasmine's house until she was fully in a stable condition. In this time Meggie looked after Callie and became closer to her than Sephy was. Meggie felt as if her children had come back to her. She didn't take Callie to visit Sephy once, wanting Callie all for herself, even knowing that Sephy greatly missed her.

Sephy eventually came home, much better, but was torn to see that Callie had grown much closer to Meggie than herself – Meggie, not thinking straight, relished in this. When Sephy said that she and Callie would be moving to Jasmine's for a short while, Meggie became furious and threatened to take away Callie; Meggie claimed Callie wouldn't be safe in the hands of a 'murderer.' She instantly regretted this, and this statement caused a wound between Callie's mother and grandmother.

Sephy decided that she would never again put herself in a place where she could harm Callie, so she avoided hugging her and was afraid to admit that she loved Callie. This later led to Callie thinking Sephy never loved her and couldn't bear to touch her.

Letter of Hate
Shortly after Callie's birth, Sephy received a message from Callum, delivered by Jack Labinjah, Callum's close friend in prison and also his guard. Callum made Jack promise to only deliver the letter after Sephy gave birth to Callie. Jack said that he'd only read it to be sure, and stated that he would rather cut his hand off than deliver it – but as an honourable man, a promise was a promise in his eyes. The letter is as follows:

''Sephy, I’m writing this to you because I want you to know the way things really are. I don’t want you to spend the rest of your life believing a lie. I don’t love you. I never did. You were just an assignment to me. A way for all of us in my cell ''of the Liberation Militia to get money – a lot of money from your dad.

''You should’ve seen yourself, lapping up every word of that nonsense I spouted about loving you and living for only you and being too scared to say it before. I don’t know how I stopped myself from laughing out loud as you bought all that rubbish. As if I could love someone like you –a Cross and, worse than that, the daughter of one of our worst enemies. Having sex with you was just my way of getting back at your dad for being a bastard and your mum for looking down her nose at me all those years. And now you’re pregnant.''

''Well, I’m ecstatic. Now the whole world will know you’re having my child, the child of a blanker. That if nothing else is worth dying for. Whether you come to my hanging or not, I’m going to announce to the world that you’re having my child. MINE. Even if you do get rid of our child, everyone will still know.''

''But no one will know how much I despise you. I loathe the very thought of you and now when I think about all the things we did when we were alone in the cabin, I feel physically sick. To think I actually kissed you, licked you, touched you, joined my body with yours. I had to think of my other lovers the entire time to stop myself from pulling away from you in disgust. God knows, I’m disgusted with myself but the object of the exercise was your total humiliation – and at least I can console myself with the knowledge that that’s what I’ve achieved. Did you really in your wildest dreams believe that I could love someone like you? You’ve got more ego than any fifty people I know. And you’ve got absolutely nothing to be egotistical about.''

''I’ve told Jack to deliver this to you only if and when you have our child. I can imagine your face now as you read this and at least that gives me comfort as I wait to die. Once you’ve had our child and you’ve read this, no doubt you’ll hate me just as much as I hate you. But just remember, I had you first. Go ahead and try to forget about me. And while you’re forgetting, you can do something else. Never tell our child about me. I don’t want him or her to know who I am or how I died or anything about me. I don’t want you to mention my name ever again. That shouldn’t be so hard after all the things I’ve told you in this letter. All the true things. You’re probably so conceited that you’re telling yourself what I’m saying in this letter isn’t true. That I’m only saying this so you’ll move on with your life, but I never for a second doubted you’d do that anyway.''

''I won’t tell you to take care of yourself. You’re a Cross who was born with a jewel-encrusted, platinum spoon in your mouth and even if you don’t take care of yourself, others will do it for you.''

Forget about me.

I’ve already forgotten about you.

Callum

After this message, Sephy was devastated. She broke down completely and started calling Callie simply 'Rose,' not bearing to remind herself too much of Callum. She also started neglecting her, and Meggie spent most of her time with Callie, acting unwillingly as a surrogate mother, as Sephy wouldn't listen when Meggie told the former to care for Callie more. Sephy eventually stopped breastfeeding and resorted to bottle-feeding instead.

Letter of Love
Much later on, Sephy received a letter from Jack's daughter, Celine Labinjah, who had promised to deliver it, as Jack was dying. It was Callum's true letter, but he threw it away in order to help Sephy forget and move on. Sephy tried to throw it away at first, trying to escape more heartbreak, but then gave in and read it; this is what it reads:

Darling Sephy,

''This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to write. I want to say so much to you, but I don’t know where to start or how to say it. I’m going to die. I know that as well as I know my own name. I’m going to die and there’s nothing I can do about it.''

''And I’ve reconciled myself to the idea of dying – if not the fact. I’m not blameless, Sephy. I’ve done things, terrible things, that I’m not proud of. I’ve hurt and maimed and killed – and I am so sorry. I’m not a saint. And I want to tell you something else. I wasn’t a virgin when you and I made love, my darling, but you were, are, and always will be, the only one I’ve ever loved. I love you more than my freedom, my family, my life. Making love with you was like touching heaven for the one and only time in my life. All the other crap in my life was worth it just for that one night with you. Being with you, next to you, inside you, was like something I hadn’t even dared to dream. A wild, tortuous fantasy I never expected to come true. I hope and pray that you never regret it, Sephy. Even if I were tortured from here to hell and back before they killed me, I wouldn’t regret a second.''

''And I don’t want you to blame yourself. My death has nothing to do with you. I made my own choices. Don’t waste your life swimming in guilt about something you had no control over. But I know you and I’m so scared that you’ll let what’s going to happen to me close you down and ruin your life. But if you do that, then your dad and all the others who’ve tried to build a wall between us will have won. Don’t let them win, Sephy.''

''If I’m honest, I do have one regret. Just one. I should’ve followed you to Chivers boarding school. Watching your car drive away from me was one of the worst moments of my life. I was ready to take a train or a coach or even walk to Chivers, just to be with you. But I began to think it was a sign that we just weren’t meant to be. Everything in my life had fallen apart up until then. I didn’t want you and me to go the same way. If we’d come together and it hadn’t worked –I couldn’t’ve lived with that. I hope you have more courage in your life than I did, Sephy. When a chance for real happiness comes by, grab it with both hands and devour it. If it lasts five minutes or five lifetimes, it’s still worth it. There’re going to be times when others will trash me to your face. Don’t try to defend me. I probably deserve every jibe spoken against me. But remember this if nothing else: I love you more than there are words or stars. I love you more than there are thoughts or feelings. I love you more than there are seconds or moments gone or to come. I love you. I don’t know whether we’ll have a boy or a girl. I don’t even know if you’ll go through with the pregnancy, but I hope so. Thanks to you, Sephy, I have hope again. If you do decide to go through with it, all you need tell our child is that I love him or her very much. I love the thought and the fact that we’ll have a child together –a child conceived in the eye of a storm. My last thought on this Earth will be of you and our child. Make sure he or she knows how much I love them.''

''Sephy, there’s just one last thing I want you to do for me. One last small favour. And I need your promise you’ll do it, even though I can’t hear you say the words in person. But I have to believe that you’ll do this one thing for me.''

''Don’t tell our child about the things I’ve done since I joined the L.M. And don’t tell him or her how I died. I don’t want our child to hate me. I need you to do just this one thing for me. I’m trusting you. All I’ve ever done in my life is bring bad luck to those who care about me. I don’t want that to happen to our child. He or she will have a hard enough time being half-Nought, half-Cross without the additional burden of having a hanged Nought for a dad.''

''And so my love, don’t cry for me. I love you. I’m living and dying for the time we can be together again – for always and for ever.''

Yours till the day I die and beyond,

Callum

Relations
Throughout her childhood, Callie had many friends, including a former best-friend, Ella Cheshie, and her brother, Lucas Cheshie, the latter of whom she later grew a close relationship with. Callie was also in a small group of friends, consisting of three other girls (however, they are of no great value to Callie's story). Her closest childhood friend was Tobey Durbridge, and she had a more serious relationship with him later on. Tobey, just trying to help Callie, advised her against meeting Jude McGregor, her uncle, if he ever tried to contact her. Callie shunned him for interfering. This friendship was not resurrected until much later.

Cheshie Family
The Cheshie family regularly appeared throughout Callie's childhood and beyond. The father in the family sided against Callie for being a 'halfer,' Ella Cheshie once was Callie's best friend

Lucas Cheshie
Lucas and Callie developed a relationship, but it was short-lived, as he had done the same as Tobey – researching her. Lucas was firstly rude to Callie when they were both young, but then became kind, eventually asking her to come to his house. Callie assumed all Lucas invited her to his house for was to have sex, but he stopped her. They then had a heated debate about whether Lucas was going to reject her for being mixed race, but he profusely denied. After breaking up, Lucas grew bitter towards her, as shown in the first chapter of Double Cross. He uses the recent death of her grandmother to make her cry, purposely intent on irritating Tobey.

Ella Cheshie
When Callie was nine, Ella visited her house and they became best friends. However, after Ella looked away from her when Lucas asked what was wrong with Callie to make his dad hate her, they grew apart. Eventually, Ella and a few others started bullying Callie, calling her 'string head' or 'carrot hair.' When they were alone, Ella would call Callie's hair 'blanker hair,' causing Callie to lash out and attack the former. That was the last time she ever used that specific insult.

Tobey Durbridge
Everyone knew that Tobey liked Callie, except Callie herself. When they were younger, Tobey used to tell Callie inappropriate tales that resulted in her getting told off, but then became very close friends with her – though Callie swore never to believe Tobey so easily ever again.

Tobey, in an argument with Callie, said that her dad was a terrorist, something that Callie never knew. She shouted that he was a liar before running away. They didn't speak again for years afterwards.

When Callie agreed to be friends with him again, they developed a much stronger bond – eventually becoming a couple. Callie was even jealous about Misty, who was trying and failing to seduce him.

Shortly after the events of Double Cross, Callie and Tobey have a fight. Callie thinks that Tobey is becoming distant, and Tobey doesn't want to tell her why. After the fight, Tobey sleeps with Misty Jackman, and she falls pregnant with their child.

In Crossfire, Tobey contacts Callie, telling her that he needs a lawyer as he is being tried for a murder he didn't commit. She accepts, and tries to help him the best they can. Partway through the book, Tobey asks her to dinner at his house, and she goes. They then sleep together and Callie Rose sees Tobey's Nought Forever tattoo. Horrified, she tries to quit the case, but Tobey tells her that if she does, he will file a complaint against her. Callie reluctantly stays on the case. When she learns that the kidnappers have her half-brother Troy, she's terrified, and she tries to persuade Tobey to plead guilty so that Troy - and Libby - can be set free.

Tobey pleads not guilty.

Persephone Hadley
Callie and her mother were never very close, as Sephy was terrified of hurting her. Later, when she met Jude, Callie was turned against her and didn't properly talk to her until she was forced to at age sixteen. After discovering the truth about her father, Callie accused her mother of lying to her and hit her for the first time and ripped up the only picture Sephy had of her and Callum, making her cry.

They eventually got stuck in Jasmine's basement together, and Callie was finally willing to allow Sephy to explain. Sephy showed her Callum's second letter, and they eventually started to heal old wounds.

Finding Out the Truth
Callie Rose was unaware of her father's previous history until she turned 13. She found out due to an argument with Tobey Durbridge, after a lesson at the end of a day at Heathcroft High. He blurted out everything and Callie Rose shouted at him 'You're a liar!'. She ran straight home, confronted Sephy and hit her mother, only before running up to her room. She then refrained from talking to her mother until she turned sixteen, the same day Jasmine Hadley was killed.

Meeting Jude
Callie met Jude after a bitter argument with her mother. She was intent on proving that she was no longer a baby and could do things on her own – in this case, it was cycling around a corner. It was there she nearly collided into Jude. He feigned a kind expression and asked where Sephy was. Upon receiving information from Callie that she was her mother, Jude proceeded to tell her a twisted version of the truth; putting Sephy in a bad light. Callie thought that Jude could understand her like no-one else, but their relationship was kept in secret.

Suicide Bombing
Callie became very close to her uncle Jude, who was sure when Callie found out the truth about her father, was in her grasp. He persuaded her to join the Liberation Militia, and when she was properly in, he got her to bomb her and her grandmother, Jasmine Hadley. Upon arrival at her grandma's house, Jasmine locks her and Persephone Hadley, Callie's mother in the wine cellar, and takes the bomb to Jude McGregor's room at the Isis Hotel. She waits with a shocked Jude for a while until Meggie McGregor turns up. After Meggie leaves, Jasmine detonates the bomb. Callie feels guilty about the death of her grandmothers Jasmine as she was the one who actually made the bomb, taught by Jude McGregor himself.

The Wasteland Shooting
In Double Cross, Callie becomes a best friend, and later lover, of Tobias Durbridge. She broke up with Lucas Cheshie at the end of Checkmate, when Jasmine Hadley was killed in the Isis Hotel Blast. Lucas continues to tease and insult Tobey discretely, around her, using the excuse of the departed grandmother to make her cry. Unbeknownst to anyone else, Tobey starts to make deliveries for Alex McAuley,the criminal gang leader who owns the West Side of Meadowview. A few weeks into the book, Callie and Tobey have sex at Tobey's house, and they both lose their virginity. Then later the next day, Callie and Tobey go to see Dan(Tobey's friend) then during the meeting the shootout starts and Callie is shot twice by McAuley once a centimeter from the heart and once in the temple.

Between the books
A few weeks after Double Cross, on her 18th birthday, Callie and Tobey get into a fight, because Callie believes that Tobey is becoming distant. They break up, and Tobey sleeps with Misty Jackman, who then becomes pregnant with Tobey's child. In a fit of rage, Callie shouts at Tobey that she wishes his child dies, and Tobey is stunned. They don't speak for a long time after that.

Crossfire
Tobey asks to meet Callie at an art museum. She accepts, and when they meet, Tobey tells her that he is being framed for murder. He insists that he didn't do it, and she believes him. Callie then begins work on the case. Later in the book, Callie and Tobey sleep together, and Callie sees his Nought Forever tattoo. She is horrified and tries to quit the case, but Tobey tells her that he will file a report if she does, and she may lose her job.

Then Callie and Tobey are sent a video of Troy and Libby, Callie's half-brother and Tobey's daughter. They have been kidnapped, and the kidnappers demand that Tobey plead guilty, and then they will let them both go.

Callie starts to wonder if Tobey really did murder Dan, and Tobey shows her proof that it was, in fact, Callie's mother, Sephy Hadley. Callie is shocked. She keeps going with Tobey's case, hoping to prove his innocence without hurting her mother, although Tobey doesn't care about Sephy, and only cares about his career and his daughter.

Tobey pleads not guilty, guessing that they would kill both Libby and Troy even if Tobey did what the kidnappers asked, and the books ends on a cliff hanger.

Physical description
Callie is described as having long, dark-brown hair and brown eyes that sometimes turned hazel when she was upset and huge boobs. Also, it is said that she can not hide her emotions from her face making it easy for Toby to read her.

Trivia

 * Callie is one of two living McGregors, the other being Meggie McGregor.
 * If she had been a boy, she would have been named Ryan, after her paternal grandfather.

Appearances
Noughts and Crosses - (mentioned, not yet born)

An Eye for an Eye (mentioned, not yet born)

Knife Edge

Checkmate

Double Cross

Crossfire

Endgame