Текст книги "The Redemption of Callie and Kayden"

Автор книги: Jessica Sorensen

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Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 18 страниц)

analyze it and what it all might mean in relation to life.”

He turns a page as he gapes at me. “You’re a very strange

girl. You know that?”

I nod as I tuck my feet underneath the blanket. “I’ve been

told that a few times.”

He sighs and then eyes my outfit. I still have my pajamas on,

no makeup, and I smell like sweat. “Are you planning on staying

dressed like that all day? I was hoping we’d go out.”

I lean back against the wall, fanning my hand in front of my

face to try and cool off. “To where?”

“Anywhere but here.”

“This place is already wearing on you, huh.”

He shakes his head and starts reading the page in front of

him. “No, but this room is and the fact that you keep dazing off

into Callie la-la land. You’re bumming me out… You’ve been

bumming be out since that day you ran into Kayden at the café.”

He peeks up at me through his long black eyelashes. A strand of

his hair falls into his eyes, but he doesn’t bother brushing it back.

He looks like he’s waiting for me to tell him something.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, draping my arm across my stomach.

He scowls at me as he roughly flips another page and he

accidentally rips the corner. “You’re keeping something from me

that happened at the café… when you ran outside.”

“No, I’m not,” I lie because I’m afraid to talk about it, afraid of

what Seth will tell me it means.

He points a finger at me with his eyes narrowed. “Don’t you

lie to me, Callie. Just tell me you don’t want to tell me. Don’t lie.”

My face sinks as I frown. “I’m sorry. I just really don’t want to

talk about it. It’ll be too hard… to find out what it means… to find

out how I feel.”

He pauses as he assesses me and then his gaze glides to the

window where my notebook lays. “Have you written about it?”

I shake my head and wipe some of the sweat off my face

with the back of my hand. “And I don’t want to.”

“Have you ever written about how you felt that night… about

Kayden?”

“I haven’t,” I tell him. “And like I said, I really don’t want to.”

He straightens his arms and pushes up from the bed. He

kneels and scoots closer to me until he’s by my side. “Maybe you

should. Maybe you should write Kayden a letter, telling him how

you feel, not just about what happened, but how you feel about

him.”

“Seth, I don’t think I can.” I roll onto my back and stare up at

the patches on the ceiling. “I’m afraid of what I’ll end up writing…

I’m afraid of what I really feel and how he’ll react it.” I’m afraid that what I’m forcing to stay locked away inside my heart will break free

and I’ll have to deal with it.

He takes my hand in his and one side of his mouth quirks

upward. “Callie, honey, I think if both of us have learned anything

in our lives it’s that being afraid is not the way to live.”

“I know,” I say softly, realizing just how much I’ve been

holding in. Ever since it happened, my chest and feelings and heart

have been vined into this warped knot. “But what if I find out

something that I don’t want to?”

“It’s better than hiding it and repressing it, isn’t it?”

I smash my lips together and listen to the space heater hum

as I consider his words carefully. Then I compel myself to sit up.

“You’re a very wise man, Seth.”

“Well, duh.” He rolls his eyes and smiles. “That’s clear to

everyone who meets me.”

My smile grows because despite whatever ends up coming

out on that paper when I jot down my thoughts, I’ll have Seth and I

know that unlike in the past, I won’t be alone.

I retrieve the notebook from the windowsill and curl up in a

ball on the bed holding the tip of the pen to the paper, ready to

admit what really lies inside the darkest spots of my heart, the

things I’m afraid of but want more badly then anything in my life.

* * *

An hour later, I walk out of the garage, feeling lighter, almost

like I’m flying. Seth was right. Writing down everything I’m feeling

was a good idea. I feel much better. It’s strange because I write

about Kayden all the time, but it was different actually writing to

him because I know that one day, if I ever get the courage, he

might read it.

I’m headed out to the driveway where Luke is waiting for me

in his truck, ready to take Seth and me away for a little bit. Seth

beat me out already and as I head down the steps he’s laughing

about something and it makes me smile. It’s a breezy day, the

clouds heavy. It isn’t snowing yet, but it probably will be by the

end of the day.

I’m halfway down the driveway, eager to get away from the

house for a while, when the door to the house swings open and

Jackson walks out.

His brown hair is damp and he has on a heavy green coat,

jeans, and a pair of boots with the laces undone and dragging in

the snow. “Hey, I need to talk to you.” He trots down the steps,

trailing his hand down the railing.

I slow down and wait for him near the stairway, drawing the

hood of my coat over my head and tucking my hands into my

pockets. “About what?”

He halts on the bottom step and I crane my neck to look up

at him. “About your loyalty to this family,” he says.

The icy breeze pinches my cheeks. “I am already loyal to this

family.”

He shakes his head and targets his finger at Luke’s rusty

1980s Chevy truck parked at the end of the driveway. “Not if you’re

hanging out with him.”

“With Luke?”

“With Kayden’s best friend.”

I start to walk away, but his fingers snag my arm and he

stabs his nails aggressively into the fabric of my coat as he

wrenches me back toward him. “You know he was there that

night?” he growls. “Luke was, when Kayden beat up Caleb and he

didn’t even try to stop him.”

I jerk my arm, but he constricts his grip. “Jackson, let go of

me.” I bend my elbow and twist my arm again and jerk on it, but

he won’t let me go. “Please, you’re hurting me.”

His eyes are as icy as the snow beneath my feet and his

fingers unwrap from my arm. I stumble to the side and press my

hand to the side of the house to get my footing. “I’ve been best

friends with Caleb since I was six, Callie, and you used to be friends with him too.”

I back down the driveway away from him, shaking from the

confrontation. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

“You never want to talk about anything, Callie.” He bends his

knee and steps up to the next stair without turning around. “You

just shut down and go to your own weird little place.”

“Because I have to!” I whirl around and sprint down the

driveway. That weird little place he’s referring to is more of a home than this place will ever be. This place holds memories that stab at

me every time I step foot inside it.

I hop into the truck and the warm air flowing out the vents

comforts me. I climb over Seth’s lap, because he refuses to “sit

bitch” and I settle in the middle. Once I’m situated and my seat

belt’s buckled, Luke shoves the truck into reverse and backs down

the driveway. My brother is standing at the top of the stairs,

watching us with his hands in his pockets.

“What’s his deal?” Seth asks, nodding his head at Jackson.

“He’s upset about stuff.” I position my hands in front of the

heater vent to warm them up. I can feel Luke and Seth’s eyes on

me, but I don’t want to look at them. With my head hung low, I

breathe through my nose to force back the hot tears wanting to

spill out.

The truck bumps up and down as Luke floors it over the

small snowbank at the end of the driveway, and then he rams it

into drive and we’re speeding down the snowy road. The radio

plays peacefully in the background and the engine makes these

clinking noises. Halfway across town, Seth and Luke take out their

cigarettes and crack the windows so they can smoke. It’s chilly and

smoky and my head is falling into a very dark place.

I wish I could do it. I wish I could walk into the house, when

my mother and father and Jackson are all sitting down at the table.

I’d have a loud voice, not a shaky one, and I’d finally tell them.

They would hug me, comfort me, and tell me that it was all going

to be okay.

But I know that’s not how it would go. It’s been six years

since it happened and each year I spend in the shadows of silence

is another weight added to my shoulder. It makes it harder to tell

the truth and time makes it harder for people to understand.

Seth and Luke flick their cigarettes out the window as we

turn into Luke’s driveway. Flakes of gray ash blow back into the

cab and land on my clothes. I’ve seen his house before, when my

mother was driving me to school, but I’ve never actually been

there, nor do I know much about his mother and father, other than

that they got divorced when he was young. It’s a smaller home,

with green siding in desperate need of a paint job. There is a few

feet of snow in the yard and a tree in the center near a salted

pathway that leads up to the front porch.

Luke shoves the truck into park and turns the key, silencing

the engine. He stares at his house as he removes the key from the

ignition and stuffs it into the pocket of his black hoodie. “My

mom’s not here,” he explains. “And I suggest we leave here before

she comes back.”

“What exactly are we doing here?” Seth wonders as he

pushes his thumb on the buckle to unlock his seat belt. Then

pushes the button on mine, releasing my waist from the strap.

“We’re making a plan,” he states with a pensive look on his

face as he rubs his hand across his cropped brown hair.

Seth and I trade a look. “A plan?” we say simultaneously.

“To get out of this place.” He flips the handle and pushes the

door open. “I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of being here. It’s

depressing.”

“We’re would we go?” I wonder as Seth opens the truck door

and hops out into the light layer of frost covering the slender

driveway.

Luke jumps out and looks back into the cab at me with his

hand resting on top of the door. “Anywhere but here.”

I glance at his house, wondering what’s so bad about it. I

scoot across the seat toward the open door where Seth is waiting

for me with his hand extended for me to take. “Any exact ideas of

where we’d go?” Slipping my fingers into his, I jump out and slip

on the ice, but Seth catches me by the arm and saves me from a

very painful fall.

“Somewhere cheap,” Seth says as he helps me get my

balance. “I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty much broke after

buying all those Christmas presents.”

“I still can’t believe you bought all your Christmas presents

from the Quickie Mart,” I tell him as he slams the door. I fiddle with the fifty-cent machine bracelet he gave me that has a gold teddy

bear charm on it to remind me of “better times” he told me when

he gave it to me. He was referring to the carnival where Kayden

and I first kissed and where he also won me a teddy bear, which

we dressed up and left with a Take me home sign on it.

“Oh, you know you loved yours.” He smiles at me and then

loops his arm through mine and we skip after Luke up the pathway

to the front door of his house.

Luke shoves the door open and steps to the side to hold it

for Seth and me. We turn sideways so we can fit through the

doorway without letting go of each other and Luke follows us in

and shuts the door.

I get the feeling that something’s wrong the moment I step

inside. There are heavy striped curtains blocking the windows so

it’s very dark and musty. The orange-and-brown-plaid couches are

covered in plastic and there’s a plastic rug sprawled over most of

the shaggy brown carpet. There are shelves built into the walls and

each one is lined with rows of animal figurines that are

coordinated by breed. Plants decorate the windowsills and are

lined up from smallest to largest, but they’re all brown and dying.

It’s cold too and I can see my breath puffing out in front of my

face and it mixes with the dust.

“What’s with all the plastic?” Seth asks as Luke makes his way

to a hallway at the back corner of the room.

Luke shrugs as he flicks the thermostat with his fingers. “My

mom’s insane.”

We don’t utter another word. We leave the living room and

head down the hall. I notice how bare the walls are, no photos, no

pictures, no decorations, and it gets colder the farther back into

the house we go. I’m getting kind of nervous, especially because

the air is really dusty and it’s making it hard to breathe. When we

reach the end of the hall, however, Luke opens a door and I step

into the room and the air clears.

“So this is my room,” Luke tells me awkwardly and then

cracks a joke. “You two are the only two people besides Kayden

who have dared step foot into the shithole.”

I turn in a circle as I take in the made bed, the band posters

tacked to the walls, and the desk with a computer on it that looks

like it’s from the nineties. Everything is very clean and very orderly, but not in an uneasy way like out in the living room. “It’s not a

shithole,” I assure him. “It’s your room.”

He seems happy with my response and his rigid shoulders

relax a little. “Well, I’m glad you think so because I sure as hell

don’t.” He pats the front pocket of his jacket and takes his pack of

cigarettes out. “Oh, and by the way, it’s fucking hilarious when you

swear.” He doesn’t light up a cigarette; he just holds the pack in his hand like it’s his security blanket.

Seth sits on the bed and bounces up and down a little and

the mattress squeaks. “So what’s your brilliant plan?” he asks,

crossing his leg over his knee.

Still holding his cigarettes, Luke rolls up his sleeves and

scoots out a chair that’s in front of the computer. He presses the

power button on the tower and then sits down in the chair, waiting

for the computer to boot up. He holds up his finger and reaches

for an iPod beside the computer. He hums under his breath as he

scrolls through songs and I give Seth a questioning look.

Seth raises his eyebrows and twists his head toward Luke.

“So, are you going to tell us, or are we going to have to guess?”

“You’re going to have to guess.” Luke sets the iPod down

and a song clicks on, “Running Away,” by Hoobastank.

“Are we guessing by this song?” Seth’s face lights up with

enthusiasm as he straightens up his posture.

Luke nods as he opens a search engine and types a few keys

on the keyboard. “Yep.”

Seth taps his finger on his chin, enjoying the game. “Are we

running away?”

Luke pops a cigarette into his mouth and then claps his

hand. “Bravo. Nicely done.”

I shoot Seth a confused look and he just shrugs. “What? I

love games.”

I sigh. “Am I the only one who seems to mind that we’re

talking about running away?”

They both shrug and I roam around the room looking at all

Luke’s posters and little knickknacks scattered about. Seth takes

out his phone and starts texting while Luke types on the keyboard

and clicks the mouse. There are photos all over his room, some of

him with a woman who looks a lot like him, and I think it’s his

mother. There’s also another woman he’s in a few pictures with

who’s a lot older than Luke, and she has the same brown eyes as

him. Maybe it’s his aunt or his sister, but I thought she was much

younger. There are a few of pictures of him with random girls and

a handful where he’s with Kayden. They’re standing next to a black

motorcycle and smiling and they look happy. The bike has a huge

dent in it and Kayden’s arm is scraped and bleeding.

“He wrecked it,” Luke clarifies. When I turn around, I find that

he’s watching me from the computer desk as he leans back in the

chair. “He was trying to jump it over a hill and he wrecked it.”

“I think I remember.” I glance at the photo again. “That was

the year he couldn’t play for a few weeks because he’d hurt his

arm, right?”

“Yeah, that was the one. And we lost three games in a row

because of it.”

“My dad was so mad.” I turn around to face him. “He used to

chew him out during dinner.”

“Oh, I bet.” Luke’s mouth turns upward and I realize he

doesn’t smile very much. “He used to chew us out all the time at

practice.”

Thinking of Kayden hurts my heart. “Maybe we should go

see him,” I suggest.

“I was planning on it.” Luke clicks the mouse on the PRINT

PAGE button on the screen and the printer beside the tower

illuminates. “Right after I plan our running away.”

“Aren’t we a little too old to be running away?” Seth asks,

looking up from his phone. “Isn’t it more like a road trip, which is

something I suggested a few days ago?”

“It sounds more adventurous when you say running away,” I

admit. “Like we’re doing something scandalous.”

Seth’s shoulders jerk forward as he sputters a high-pitched

laugh. “Oh my God, I’ve been such a bad influence on you.”

My mouth droops into a frown. “What did I say?”

He stands up to shove his phone into his pocket.

“Scandalous. That’s something I would say.” He bounces back

down on the bed.

I shrug and shuffle my toe across the carpet in a half-circle in

front of me, feeling silly. “So? It’s a compliment being like you.”

All the humor evaporates from his face and his honey-brown

eyes. Within seconds he has me in his arms and he hugs me like

I’m the most important thing in the world to him. “Don’t ever

change, Callie Lawrence,” he whispers in my hair. “Promise me you

won’t.”

I enfold my arms around him and set my chin on his

shoulder. “I won’t. I promise.”

The printer starts making shrill noises as buttons glow and

flash and Luke clears his throat. “I hate to break up your little

moment, but I’m ready to share my plan.”

We break apart, but still hold hands as we turn to him. He

swivels in the chair, back and forth and back and forth as the

printer spits out pieces of paper stained with ink. When it stops, he collects the papers and holds one up. It’s a picture of a light-blue

beach house that sits near the ocean. The sky is unblemished and

the sunlight reflects off the water and makes it look like crystal.

“You want us to go to the beach?” Seth squints at the photo

as he bends forward, leaning in.

Luke nods as he gathers the papers and lines them up by

tapping them against the desk. “Yep, my father has a beach house

in California that he hardly ever uses and I have a key and

everything.”

“You want us to drive to California?” Seth gapes at him like

he’s insane.

Luke shuts off the computer, grabs the papers, and strolls

toward his organized closet with the papers secured underneath

his arm. “It’s only, like, ten hours.”

Seth glances at me with skepticism. “Really? Only ten hours?”

“I’ve never been to the beach,” I admit. When Seth and Luke

gape at me, I shrug. “What? My family doesn’t like to travel. My

grandparents even live in Florida, but in the central area and every

time we’ve been there my mom refuses to drive anywhere besides

the closest grocery store. And my dad always just wants to watch

the sports network.”

Luke blinks as he shakes his head, and then he begins

yanking shirts off hangers, some falling onto the brownish carpet,

but he doesn’t bother picking them up. “Well, that gives us even

more reason to go.”

Seth bobs his head up and down in agreement. “Agreed

completely. And might I say that it’s a brilliant plan. Much more

brilliant than my lame old road trip I was planning to a cabin up at

the sky resort.”

Luke throws a few shirts and pants into a large navy blue

duffel bag that he gets from the top shelf and then he adds a pair

of striped shorts and a pair of sandals and sets the bag onto his

bed. “I’m just desperate to get away from here, man. That’s all.”

I wonder what he’s running away from. “How long are we

going to be gone?”

Luke’s shoulder moves up and down as he zips up the bag.

“Until break’s over, I guess.”

I look at Seth to see if he agrees and he merely nods his

head. “We have nothing better to do than hang out with your

mom.” He makes a disgusted face. “And I for one don’t want to do

that.”

“Yeah, but telling my mother that I’m not going to be here

for New Year’s… she’s going to flip,” I tell them.

“Then don’t tell her,” Seth says simply. “Text while we’re on

the road.”

I contemplate the idea for a briefer amount of time than I

expected. “I can do that.”

Seth beams and points a finger at his chest. “I’m a very bad

influence and I’m glad.”

Luke slings his bag over his shoulder, folds the papers neatly

in fourths, and then stuffs them into his back pocket of his pants.

“Ready to hit the road?” He walks toward the door, scooping up

his car keys off the desk. “We’ll stop and pick up your things and

then we’ll go get Kayden.”

“But how are we going to get Kayden?” I ask as Seth and I

follow him across the room. “He wouldn’t even talk to me when I

went to see him. And what if he doesn’t want to go?”

His fingers wrap around the doorknob and he jerks the

bedroom door open. “I don’t give a shit what he wants. He needs

to go and get away from that fucking torture chamber known as

his house. It’s fucked up that he’s there.” He steps out into the hall and glances over his shoulder at me. “Besides, we’re going to

teach you how to be a little bit more persuading.”

“We?” I ask, confused. I try to breathe through my mouth as I

enter the hallway and the air becomes asphyxiating again. “As in…”

He tips his chin at Seth, who flashes us a brilliant smile. “As in

Seth and me.”

My shoulders slouch as we head down the gloomy hallway,

the air pressurizing the farther down we go. “I just worry we’re

going to do more harm to him by taking him away.”

Luke stops abruptly. Hitching his thumb underneath the

strap of the duffel bag, he reels to face me and his bag bangs

against the wood-paneled wall. “Callie, I’ve known Kayden for

forever, and trust me, that house is going to do more harm to him

than going away with us will.”

“All right,” I agree, but my stomach twines into thorny, firm

knots. Not because I want him to stay at his home, but because I’m

worried. Worried I’ll do something wrong—mess it up for him

again. I worry he’ll end up lying on the floor in a puddle of his own blood.

Unexpectedly, the front door slams shut and a bustle of

banging sounds fill up the house. “Luke,” someone singsongs in a

high octave.

Luke’s body stiffens and his breath hitches. “Shit.”

“What’s wrong?” I whisper, but Luke doesn’t respond. He just

stands there with his hands limp at his sides and grinding his teeth.

The bag starts to fall from his shoulder and I reach for him

and then withdraw as he turns on his heels and motions at us to

move backward. Seth drags me by the shirt as I hurry backward

and Luke takes energetic strides as he ushers us into the room and

toward his bedroom window.

“We’ll have to go out this way,” he insists as he unlatches the

lock and boosts the window up. Artic air rushes in and breezes

through my hair and kisses my cheeks.

“What?” Seth peers down at the high mound of snow below

the window. “Are you crazy? We’ll get stuck in the snow.”

Luke shakes his head as he backtracks to the desk. “No, we

won’t. I promise.”

“Luke!” the woman shouts. “I know you’re here so come out,

come out wherever you are.”

“Please,” Luke begs with dread in his large brown eyes as he

scoops up the iPod from the desk.

I’ve seen that kind of fear in my own eyes and in Kayden’s.

Without any more hesitation, I swing my leg over the windowsill.

Seth’s fingers fold around my skin as he snatches me by the

elbow. “Callie, are you crazy?”

I wiggle my elbow out of his hand, and before he can grab

me again, I step up onto the windowsill. Bending over, I spring

onto my toes and launch myself out the window. When I hit the

ground, my legs sink knee-deep into the snow and the wetness

instantly seeps through my jeans and into my shoes. Seconds later,

Luke lands beside me. He doesn’t allow enough time to sink too

deep as he bends his knees, falls forward, and summersaults down

the hill. He lets go of his bag and climbs back up the hill, offering his hands to me. I take them, even though my initial reaction is to

recoil. With a soft tug, my legs are freed and I slide down the hill

on my stomach, my shirt riding up a little and the ice stinging my

skin.

When I roll onto my back and look up at the window, Seth’s

feet are dangling out. He peeks over his shoulder into the room

and then shakes his head. “What about the window?”

Luke picks up his bag and brushes the snow off it before

fastening the handle over his shoulder. “What about it?” He hikes

toward the side of the house and stomps his boots in a bare area

of the yard. “Leave it open for all I care. I just want to get the fuck out of here.”

Seth sighs and then, giving a push with his hands, he

dismounts from the windowsill and falls into the snow. Like me he

sinks, but he shimmies his hips and gets his knees bent. He easily

slips his foot out and drops down on his hands. He claws at the

snow with his fingers and gets his other leg free, then rolls down

the rest of the way.

“Fuck.” He flips onto his stomach and pushes up to his hands

and knees, panting from the fall. “That wasn’t fun.”

“What do you think that was about?” I ask, giving a peek

over my shoulder at Luke flicking his lighter and firing up a

cigarette. He’s standing near the corner and raking his hand

through his hair as he mutters to himself.

Seth shakes his head. “I have no idea, but I have a feeling

that this beach escape plan is to run away from whoever that was.”

I offer Seth my hand and he interlocks his fingers with mine.

“I think it’s his mom.” I pull him to his feet and then he holds onto my arm as we trample through the snow toward Luke, stomping

the snow off our shoes when we reach a flat area near the corner.

We don’t ask him questions because Seth and I both

understand the need for secrets. If he wants to talk to us, he will.

We understand thatWe step out onto the driveway, onto a thin

sheet of ice and Luke leads the way down the fence line toward

the road. When we curve around the last of the house where

Luke’s truck is parked, my hand falls from Seth’s hand. Kayden is

there and so is the motorcycle from the picture, dent and all.

“Kayden.” I gasp at the sight of him. His lips are tinted blue

and he doesn’t have a coat on, just a hoodie. His brown hair is

sticking up all over the place and his cheeks are bright red. He

looks like a frozen ice statue and my instinct is to run to him, so I do, moving my feet quickly, completely forgetting that I’m

standing on ice.

Two steps forward, I slip and my feet shoot out from

underneath me. I go flying in the air like an injured bird. Seth’s

hands snap out to catch me, but he misses and I fall flat on my

back and my head slams against the ice. It severely hurts and I

don’t get up right away. But I’m not sure if it’s because of the pain or the fact that once I get up, I’m going to have to find out if he’s going to run away from me again.

* * *

Kayden

I drive through town for what seems like forever, until I can

no longer feel my fingers and my lips are as numb as the inside of

me. Then I head for Luke’s because it’s better than going back

home. For a split second I consider going to Callie’s house on the

other side of town, but I can only imagine how that would go since

her parents are so fond of the douche bag I beat the shit out of.

Besides, I need to stay away from her. It’s important that I do.

For her.

I park my motorcycle next to the curb, relieved to see that

Luke’s truck is out front. But my face falls when I see his mom’s

Cadillac parked next to it. I don’t want to talk to anyone and Luke’s mom is weird and likes to talk about nonsense. She’ll want to talk

too, especially if she’s heard the rumors about me.

I pry my frozen fingers from the handlebars and climb off.

Then I stand there, staring at the house, deciding if I really want to go in. It’s not like Luke would press me for what happened, but it’d

be hanging in the air.

I’m about to climb back on the bike and drive away when

Luke comes strolling around from the back of the house with a

bag on his shoulder. I start to walk toward him when Callie and

Seth step out behind him. They’re holding hands and Callie looks

like she’s struggling to walk across the ice. Her attention is focused on her feet, but her blue eyes slide up from the ground and land

on me. They widen and her hand falls from Seth’s. Her brown hair

waves in the wind as she starts to run toward me. I begin to back

away, but she hits a patch of ice and her feet go flying out from

underneath her. In a few lengthy strides, I’ve made it across the

snow-packed front yard and to her. Her hair is spread around her

head and he eyes are enormous and glossy. The pale, smooth skin

that I know covers her entire body almost matches the shade of

the snow. She blinks up at me as she clutches her head and lets

out an agonizing groan that tears at my heart.

“That hurt.” Her chest ascends and falls as she sighs with her

lip pouting out.

It’s the most fucking adorable thing I’ve ever seen and it

briefly flings me back to that place in her bed where she’s looking

up at me and trusting me as I thrust inside her. But as I reach my

arm out to her, I catch a glimpse of the scar on my arm and I’m

back on the floor at my house and my father is stabbing me. I’m

cold and helpless and I don’t know where I’m going to end up.

Callie puts her hand in mine and warmth envelops my body. I

pull her to her feet, and unable to help myself, slip an arm around

her waist and balance her in my arms. It feels so good to hold her

and I start to choke up. What the fuck is wrong with me?

She tips her head up and peers at me with her big eyes. “Hi.”

She bites on her lip, like she’s embarrassed by her word choice.

This time I decide to do better than the last time she said this

to me. “Hi.” I run my hand through her hair, brushing some snow

out of it.

Her lips tug up into a smile. “Are you okay?” She skims

across my frozen skin and her lips go slack. “You look frozen.”

I can’t help but smile. “You just fell and slammed your head

on the ice and you’re wondering if I’m okay?”

She nods like it’s not a strange question. “Did you drive your

bike here?” She glances over at the motorcycle and then back at

me. “Without a coat on?”

My fingers dig deeper into her hips, mainly because I’m

looking for an excuse to cling onto her. “Maybe.”

She frowns. “You have to be cold.”

“Not really,” I lie.

“Ummm… guys?” Luke interrupts and Callie and I blink out of

our own little world.

I look at him, pulling Callie closer to my chest. “What?”