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.