Her lips tug up into a smile. “Are you okay?” She skims

across my frozen skin and her lips go slack. “You look frozen.”

I can’t help but smile. “You just fell and slammed your head

on the ice and you’re wondering if I’m okay?”

She nods like it’s not a strange question. “Did you drive your

bike here?” She glances over at the motorcycle and then back at

me. “Without a coat on?”

My fingers dig deeper into her hips, mainly because I’m

looking for an excuse to cling onto her. “Maybe.”

She frowns. “You have to be cold.”

“Not really,” I lie.

“Ummm… guys?” Luke interrupts and Callie and I blink out of

our own little world.

I look at him, pulling Callie closer to my chest. “What?”

Luke signals at his house where his mother is staring at us

through the front window that’s surrounded by icicles. “Do you

mind if we head somewhere and talk. I’d like to get the hell away

from here.”

“Yeah, of course, man.” I start to let go of Callie, but she

slides her hand from my shoulder and down my arm.

“I’m going with you,” she says as she laces her fingers

through mine.

I shake my head and try to remove my fingers from hers. “No

way. You’ll freeze to death.”

She straightens her shoulders and fixes me with a look of

determination. “Yes, I am.”

I look at Seth, who’s fiddling with the strings on the hood of

his jacket. “You mind helping me out with this one?”

“Sure.” Seth unzips his jacket and slips his arms out of the

sleeves. “Put this on.” He chucks the jacket to Callie and she

catches it with a smile on her face.

“She’ll freeze to death,” I say as Callie puts her arms through

the sleeves. The jacket nearly swallows her tiny body.

Seth raises his eyebrows as he yanks down the sleeves of his

black shirt, and then he backs toward Luke’s truck. “She’ll be fine.

She’s a lot tougher than you give her credit for.”

Callie zips the jacket up all the way to her chin and then

gathers her hair at the nape of her neck and pulls the hood over

her head. She looks up at me and her eyes are filled with so much

willpower I’m not sure what to do with it. She’s usually so fragile

and vulnerable.

“Are you sure?” I ask, hoping she’ll change her mind.

“Because it’s colder than hell.”

She steps past me toward the bike with her chin elevated

even when her small legs sink deep into the snow concealing the

front yard. “Absolutely.” A smile touches her deep-red lips and

humor creeps into her voice. “Besides, hell is warm.”

I restrain a laugh and walk behind her, the snow up to my

ankles. “Okay, if that’s what you want.”

“Kayden.” Luke calls out my name and I reluctantly turn

around.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” he says, and for a second

everything’s normal between us. He’s just my friend, not the guy

who saw me lying on the floor in a pool of my own blood and cuts

on my arms that I put there myself. He tosses me one of his spare

coats, a thick tan one with a thermal insulated layer that he keeps

in the truck in case it breaks down. He likes to always be prepared.

I catch it and put it on, even though I was enjoying freezing

the pain out of me. I pull the hood over my head and when I turn

around Callie is sitting on the bike. She looks good on it, like she

belongs there, and it makes me uneasy because I don’t want her to

belong with me. I want her to belong with someone who will make

her happy, even if it means I have to hurt for the rest of my life.

I proceed to the bike cautiously, deciding if I should put her

in front of me or behind.

She slides back without looking at me and runs her fingers

along the dent in the side of it. “You wreck this once?” Her eyes are massive when she glances up at me.

I swallow the rock-size lump in my throat and resist the

overwhelming impulse to lean forward and kiss her. “Yeah, it was a

while ago though. I promise I’ll drive safely, especially with you on the back… I would never let anything hurt you.” I feel stupid for

saying it because I’ve hurt her many times.

She gives me a dead-serious look as she says, “I know you

won’t.” She swivels her hips and inches back a little farther with her hands on the seat. “I trust you, Kayden. Even if you don’t want me

to.”

She doesn’t know enough about me to trust me so much,

but I can see in her eyes there’s no use arguing with her. I hop on

and rev the engine. She scoots forward until her chest is pressed

up against my back and the fronts of her legs are touching the

backs of mine. Her arms circle my waist and she buries her face

into my back. It’s the most contact I’ve had with someone since it

happened and I swear my heart practically ruptures and bleeds out

into my chest. I wish I could die right there with her holding onto

me, because it would be a very peaceful death. I wouldn’t be alone

and empty inside. She would be there with me and she’d be the

last thing I’d ever feel and breathe.

I start to panic at how calming the thought is, but I shove it

way down where I can’t feel it. I stop overthinking everything and

give the motorcycle some gas, before releasing the brake. We take

off, just Callie and me and the wind.

Chapter 8

#16 Make someone understand that you understand them

no matter what it takes

Callie

I thought I’d be more scared than I am. The roads are icy and

there’s nothing but two wheels and a small amount of metal

between the ground and my body. But I’m holding onto Kayden

and my head’s resting against his back and I’m happier than I have

been in the last month. I let the cold air flow over me as he winds

back and forth, following the curves of the road. We pass people in

cars and on the sidewalks in front of the stores bordering the main

road in town. They look at us like we’re insane. But that’s okay. We

can be insane together.

I shut my eyes and block everything out, breathing in the

smell of the crisp winter air as I tighten my arms around Kayden’s

waist. I feel his chest contract, like he gasped, but the lull of the engine is all I hear.

When the motorcycle starts to decelerate, I open my eyes.

We’re pulling up in front of the café where Seth and I get our

pancakes almost every morning. I don’t move right away. I don’t

really want to.

Kayden parks the bike at the front, near the entrance doors.