The Resolution of Callie & Kayden(62)

‘You should write stories, then. If that’s what you want to do,’ I say, picking up a fry and popping it into my mouth.

‘Easier said than done.’ She dunks a fry into my cup of ranch. ‘Do you know how hard of a career that is to get into?’

‘You can do it,’ I say with a smile. ‘And I’ll take care of you while you do.’ I promised I’d take care of you, I mouth.

‘You guys are adorable,’ Liz interrupts our little moment. When I look across the table, I realize she and my brother are watching us with fascination. ‘Seriously, like the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.’

Dylan rolls his eyes. ‘Don’t worry. She thinks everything’s adorable. Puppies, kittens, bedding, cars, movies, old people.’ He flashes her a grin and she smiles, playfully swatting her hand against his chest.

‘Oh, whatever,’ she says. ‘You get all misty-eyed during movies, too.’

He keeps grinning at her and she throws a fry at his face, but he opens his mouth and catches it. We’re all having fun and I almost forget why we’re here, until Liz gets up from the booth.

‘It’s time to go,’ she tells everyone with a sigh as she glances at the clock on the wall.

This somber silence sets over us as we’re forced back to reality and the real reason the four of us are here hanging out in North Carolina.

To say goodbye.

‘I guess it is,’ Dylan mutters as he gets up and heads for the door, fumbling to get the car keys from his pocket.

We all follow in silence and get into the car. The drive to the church doesn’t seem long enough. I wish I could make it last forever. We ride with my brother, sitting in the backseat where I hold Callie’s hand the entire way, which helps me to breathe easier. The air is humid, the ocean is the scenery for most of the way. It’s calming, but I still feel my heart thumping deafeningly inside my chest the closer we get to the place.

This is it.

Can I handle it?

Finally, we arrive at the small, almost rundown-looking church that’s centered in the middle of the small town with the cemetery on the same street. The parking lot hardly has any cars in it, which makes me wonder if we’re at the right place. But I don’t say anything as Dylan seems positive this is where it is, since ‘this is where the GPS took us.’ When we’re walking up the sidewalk, though, he grabs my arm and pulls me back, motioning at Callie and Liz to go ahead.

Liz and Callie give us both a strange look as they pause in front of the large doors.

‘It’s okay,’ Dylan says at the same time I say, ‘I’m fine.’

With reluctance, they both go inside, leaving Dylan and me standing at the bottom of the stairs in the shadows of the trees.

‘So, if things start to get too heavy in here, just say so and we’ll go,’ he says, fiddling around with the watch on his wrist. He seems as uneasy as I feel.

‘Okay.’ I glance up at the door and then back to him, realizing that once I step inside, things are going to change. A chapter in my life is going to be closed and however I feel about it, in the end I’m saying goodbye forever, like when Dylan left the house at eighteen. ‘I have a question, though … about how Dad died …’ I have no clue why I’m asking, other than it seems like I should know before I walk in there, before I say goodbye and close the chapter. ‘Do you know what happened exactly that put him in the hospital?’

Dylan appears uncomfortable, apprehensively loosening his tie. ‘I do, but are you sure you want to hear it?’

It takes me a beat to answer, but in the end it feels like I should know. ‘Yeah, I think I need to, for closure.’

He sighs then rakes his hand through his hair, staring out at the parking lot. ‘I don’t know all the details, but it was a fight.’

Shock ripples through me and slams against my chest. ‘What?’

Dylan sighs, looking back at me. ‘He finally got into a fight with someone who fought back.’ He shakes his head and then stares out at the large oak trees around the yard in front of the church. ‘It’s kind of tragic when you think about it. So much useless and unnecessary rage for all those years finally led him to the end. It was such a waste, to live life like that.’

‘I know it was,’ I say quietly. ‘Being happy is so much better, isn’t it?’

Nodding, Dylan looks at me and the edginess in his eyes has vanished and all that remains is pity. Not for me, but for our dad. ‘It really, really is. Too bad he could never figure that out.’