The Resolution of Callie & Kayden(48)

‘I know you’re friends with them.’ I let my laughter die down. ‘Sorry, it was just a little unexpected. I’m sure you’ll have fun, although I’m jealous I can’t be there.’

‘I’m sorry you can’t either, but I’m totally going to have fun,’ she says mischievously. ‘I’m going to wear that dress I wore on Halloween and be a party animal.’

‘No way. No wearing that dress without me around.’

‘You sound jealous.’

‘I am.’

‘You should come home early, too, then, and I’ll put on the dress for you.’ She pauses. ‘Or maybe I’ll just wear the boots and nothing else.’

I bite down on my lip hard, a growl rising in my throat. ‘Are you trying to entice me with your sexiness?’

‘Maybe.’ The naughtiness in her voice is making me go rock hard. ‘Is it working?’

I have to adjust myself as I picture her in what she’s describing. ‘Fuck yeah. I’m hard as hell.’

I hear her catch her breath from the other end and can picture her blushing. ‘So do you think you can swing it?’

‘Doing you in those boots?’ I ask. ‘Hell yeah.’

She snorts a laugh. ‘No. I mean come home early.’

God, what I would give to be home with her, especially after what happened with Caleb. Regardless if she says she’s okay, I still need to see for myself – be there for her. But how?

‘I wish I could, but I’m not sure I could afford to switch flights.’ I sigh. It’s not like I want to get away from my brother, I just miss her. Things are starting to get to me here, and I know if I was with her, it wouldn’t be as hard to deal with.

‘Yeah, I know. You probably shouldn’t either.’ She sighs. ‘I was just being selfish.’

‘You weren’t being selfish. You’re allowed to want me.’

Her soft laughter vibrates through my ear and makes me want to be near her even more. ‘Well, I want you all the time, but I guess if I have to, I can wait until Monday.’ She pauses and I hear someone saying something. ‘Sorry, but I have to go. Mom wants me to come help her bake pies.’ She sounds less than thrilled about it.

‘Have fun,’ I tease because I know she hates baking.

‘Ha, ha.’ She doesn’t find me funny at all. ‘I love you.’

My heart swells inside my chest. Those words will never get old and I want to hear them in person where I can kiss her right after they’re uttered. ‘I love you, too.’

The silence gets to me the moment I hang up, as my problems, along with what happened with Callie, come rushing back to me. I feel so alone, so confused, so in need of seeing her, just to make sure she’s okay. I’m tempted to do things to get my mind off the emotional overload. There are only two things I feel like doing right now – seeing Callie and picking up my razor. And one seems so much easier to do at the moment than the other.





Chapter 20


#161 Go Home When You Need To. There’s No Shame in Leaving Early.



Kayden


I wasn’t planning on leaving early, even though I really f*cking want to. I’d told myself to stick this out, that Callie would be okay, but for some reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that things were about to change.

That something bad was about to happen.

Call it years of getting these feelings right before my father would get set off. I guess he somehow built an alarm inside me.

For the most part, the day is going good. We’re sitting around, playing Scrabble, laughing about the perverted word my brother just laid down and got forty-something points for – cock.

‘God, I feel like I’m married to a teenage boy,’ Liz says, throwing a chip at Dylan who laughs when it pegs him in the forehead.

‘You like my dirty mind,’ he replies. ‘Don’t lie.’

She’s about to snap a comeback when the phone rings.

And we all just sort of freeze.

I’m not even sure why we do. It’s not like we know who’s calling, or maybe we do. Maybe there is some sort of silent forewarning we all picked up on, like the silent alarm inside me.

I can tell Dylan doesn’t want to answer it, but he does. And within thirty seconds, his skin pales. Whatever it is, it is bad.

He seems lost for words, tugging his fingers through his hair as he nods and slumps back in his chair. ‘Uh. Okay.’