he Resolution of Callie & Kayden (The Coincidence, #6)(43)

He never did.

He must save it for the boy, she thought sadly.

Once the monster was in his palace, which looked more like a dungeon hidden beneath fancy walls, tall towers, and bright lights, she finally faced the boy.

‘Are you okay?’ she asked tentatively. It’d been forever since the girl had spoken to a boy – to anyone really – and she was nervous.

‘I’m fine,’ the boy said, the iciness in his tone startling her. Maybe she’d been wrong. Maybe the boy really couldn’t see the monster living inside the man.

‘O-okay.’ Her voice quivered as she lowered her head and turned to go back home and back though the vines that surrounded her own torturous palace.

‘Wait,’ the boy called out before she could get too far.

The sound of his voice calmed her, and when she faced him again, she was almost smiling for the very first time in six years.

The boy kept his distance, as if he feared the girl and was afraid to get to close. But that was okay; she feared his closeness as well.

‘Why did you do that?’ he asked, wrapping his arms around himself.

‘Because …’ She considered what to tell him. The truth? It seemed too terrifying to utter her secrets aloud. Maybe she could be vague, though. ‘No one ever did it for me.’

‘You know a monster, too?’ the boy asked, and this time he took a step toward her.

The girl was afraid.

But she was also curious.

So she stayed.

‘Yes,’ she said, ‘I do.’

‘Does he … hurt you?’

She wanted to run, but found herself nodding. ‘He did.’

The boy seemed sad and in pain as he moved toward her again, this time more quickly and with his hand stretched out. ‘I’m sorry that he did.’

The girl looked at his hand, unsure what to do. She was afraid to touch him, afraid the boy could be wearing his own disguise and that suddenly a monster would appear in his place.

The boy must have read her mind because he pulled away and wrapped his arms around himself again. ‘Thank you,’ he uttered softly.

‘For what?’

‘For scaring him away.’

Again, the girl almost smiled and she could have sworn the boy did, too.

‘You’re welcome,’ she replied, then the two of them stood there in the darkness, the distant lights from the castles seeming far away, but for the first time within reach.


I end up writing until my fingers ache and my eyes and brain feel like they’re bleeding. It’s the most tiring and satisfying feeling ever. By the time I’m getting out of the backseat to show Jackson my apartment, I feel high and can’t help but think, This is what I want forever. Just my computer, my tiny little apartment, and Kayden. I just wish I had him here with me right now.

‘So, who were you talking to on the phone the whole drive?’ I ask Jackson as we trudge up the stairway. It’s around noon, but the stormy sky makes it seem like it’s much later, along with the quiet of the apartment complex.

He shrugs, scratching at the back of his neck. ‘No one.’

‘It was your girlfriend, huh?’ I tease as I take my keys out of my bag.

He gapes at me. ‘How’d you know?’

‘Because of the way your voice sounded. All swoony.’ I clasp my hands together and make my best swoony impression. Jackson actually blushes and it’s so funny that I bust up laughing. ‘Oh my God. I can’t believe I’m just learning about her.’ I find the right key on the chain as we reach the door. ‘Do Mom and Dad know?’


‘No,’ he says quickly. ‘And I’d prefer it if you didn’t say anything for now. I’ve just started seeing her and I don’t want Mom to get too attached to the idea yet, considering how she is with that stuff.’

‘That doesn’t seem fair for me to do that, considering how much you teased me about Kayden in front of them the entire week.’ I stick the key in the lock and turn it, excited to be home.

‘Callie, please,’ he begs, which he never does.

It’s super funny, but I decide to be nice. ‘Fine. Mum’s the word.’ I push open the door and step back to let him in. ‘But lay off on the teasing me, okay?’

He nods as he steps inside.

‘So, this is where you live?’ my brother states as he makes a small circle around the living room. There’s not much to look at; a small suede couch we bought at a second-hand store, along with an entertainment center, and a brand-new television – that was the splurge. ‘It’s a good thing Mom let you take all that shit with us, huh?’

I breathe in that fresh home scent as I shut the door behind me. ‘Yeah, it was really nice of her.’

‘I’m just trying to figure out how we’re going to get all that furniture up here.’ Jackson glances at the window as he rubs his jawline. The window is webbed with frost and snowflakes are splattered against it. ‘Because the tarp’s not going to hold up if it keeps snowing like this and there’s no way I can carry it up here with you and your tiny, little arms.’

I pull a face, but then it go because he’s kind of right. ‘It’s been a really rough winter, hasn’t it?’ I plop down on the couch with the phone in my hand.