The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden(31)

Seth and Kayden hop into the back seat from opposite sides of the car and their doors slam simultaneously. Seth turns the stereo on as we buckle our seatbelts. “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails turns on and he presses on the pedal, ripping the tires against the wet pavement. The car lurches forward and I grab onto the door handle. Seth is a crazy driver. He has a drawer full of tickets and when he was a teenager, his parents took away his car twice, because he kept wrecking it. He always seems to be in a hurry, like he kind of is with life.

Luke leans forward, bracing his hand on the back of my seat, and I angle my head to the side. “Can I smoke in here, man?” he asks Seth.

Seth raises his cigarette, which is burnt almost to the end. “Of course.”

A smile curves at Luke’s lips as he slumps back in the seat. Seconds later there’s a flick of a lighter, the window rolls down, and a cool breeze blows in.

After Luke gives Seth directions, no one speaks for a while and I worry that the night is going to end in a tragic silence. Then Kayden scoots forward and props his arms on the console.

“Luke and I have this brilliant idea,” he says and the glow from the buildings reflects in his eyes. “You remember that rock we climbed up to? The one that all the seniors go and tag?”

I revolve sideways in the seat and bring my leg up onto the leather. “Yes, I remember.”

He leans his weight on his arms, slanting even closer to me, and my heart leaps in my chest. “Well, we want to go up there and tag it.”

“But you’re not seniors.” I adjust my seatbelt on my shoulder. “Well, duh, I guess you already knew that.”

He laughs at me in an amused tone. “We do know that, which makes it fun.”

Luke peeks over the top of the seat with his arm to the side so the trail of smoke is blowing out the window. “We used to crash senior parties all the time back in high school. It was a blast because they weren’t too fond of it.”

“You liked upsetting them?” I ask and he tilts his head sideways so he won’t blow smoke in my face.

“Yeah, it was pretty fun.” Luke sticks his cigarette out the window, brushes the pad of his thumb on the bottom, and the ashes blow outside. “To mess with someone’s mind instead of being the one messed with.”

It’s like he’s told me an unsolvable riddle and I glance to Kayden for an explanation.

“It is pretty entertaining,” he promises me with a wink. “We were thinking we could drive up to the rock and put something on it tonight.”

“But it’s late.” I glance at the bright red numbers on the clock and then at Seth.

“We’ll be okay.” Seth veers onto a slender side road that squeezes between two-story brick buildings.

There are people walking up and down the sidewalk. Most of the girls are wearing skimpy dresses and high heels, and the guys have on nice jeans and shirts. I look down at my converses, my black skinny jeans, and the fitted white t-shirt beneath my unzipped jacket. I feel underdressed and silly for being here.

Seth turns into a small parking spot and squishes the car into it. It's a tight fit and I have to crack the car door open and maneuver out. Luke rolls down his window, sticks his head out, and putting his hands onto the roof, heaves his body out the open window.

“You’re a lot skinnier than I am.” He props up on his toes and jumps to the ground. “My dumb ass would have gotten stuck in the door.

Smiling, I walk around to the front of the car where Seth is waiting for me with his elbow extended out. There’s a lanky guy with sores on his face and long black hair leaning against a lamppost near the street.

He eyes me as he sips from a beer bottle and when he moves it away from his lips, the look he gives me sends a chill through my body. “Hey there sexy,” he slurs, stepping away from the curb before stumbling right back. “You look f*cking fine tonight.”

I start to run back to the car, but Seth’s fingers enclose around my elbow. “Are you talking to her or me, because I just can’t tell,” he smarts off to the guy.

The guy’s dark eyes turn cold with the need to conquer someone. I’ve seen that look before and it makes me gag; filling my body with a toxic feeling of revulsion, distrust, and shame.

The drunken man shifts his body forward and wobbles toward us. “I’m gonna f*cking kick your ass for that.”

I jerk on Seth’s arm, ready to run, jump into the car, lock all the doors, and cower on the floor. “Please let’s just go back to the car, Seth.”