Everything’s about to fall apart, just like it did last time.

Seth rolls his eyes and slings his bag over his shoulder. “Fine,

but you’re going to eventually tell me what the panic is all about.”

He turns sideways and squeezes through the doorway.

I flip off the lights, close the door, and trot down the stairs

after him, wrestling my overly large bag down the steps behind

me. I should have left some of my stuff here, but I’m too afraid that Caleb or my brother or my mom will walk out.

I dash passed the side door, my legs nearly trotting in the

rush, but Seth snags my elbow as he slams to a halt. “Don’t you

want to tell you mother where you’re going?”

I glance at the side door, the light spilling through the

window in the center, and I shake my head. “I don’t think I should.”

His brow creases as he examines my face with concern. “Are

you sure? I know she’s been bugging the crap out of both of us,

but she seems like she’s going to panic if we just bail and not tell

her.”

My body ripples with a tremble when I see Caleb rise from

the table and head across the kitchen. “It’ll be okay.” My voice is

insignificant like the snowflakes drifting down from the starless

sky, touching the ground, and instantly melting.

“Callie, I… why are you shaking?” He glances back at the

house as the side door flings open. Pale yellow light floods the

darkness but then suffocates out like a flame as a tall figure

emerges in the doorway.

It’s Caleb carrying a trash bag in his hand. He’s probably

trying to win my mother over and she’s probably letting him,

because she always wants to see what she wants to see. Why is she

so blind?

Caleb’s demeanor doesn’t change as he steps out onto the

porch and into the snow, making sure to close the door behind

him to smother out whatever he’s going to say from my family’s

ears. “What are you doing out here? Standing out in the snow?”

His gaze cuts to Seth as he steps down a stair. “You got another

one, huh? Decided to dump that crazy football player after he

kicked my ass.”

“Fuck,” Seth breathes, suddenly understanding who it is. His

fingers plunge into my arm as he begins to tow me back, one foot

after another, the snow crunching beneath our shoes.

Caleb moves down a stair, reducing the distance between us

with a smirk on his face. His eyes are black like coals and his face is masked by the shadow created by the hood over his head.

Sometimes I wonder why he doesn’t seem to care or show any

remorse for what he did. What is wrong with him? Is he so warped

and split that he likes torturing me?

“Come on over here and introduce him,” he calls out as he

arrives at the bottom step.

“Fuck you!” Seth shouts, taking longer strides, practically

dragging me backward down the driveway as my tiny legs work to

keep up with him.

My legs feel like rubber and won’t work right and I keep

tripping over my feet. I wish I could find some kind of strength that has to be suppressed inside me and shout at him, take him down,

scream, throw things. Do anything to wipe the pleased smirk off

his face.

But in his presence I’m still the child he pinned down on the

bed. He has his hand forced over my mouth while he shatters me

into fragments. I allow Seth to haul me down the driveway toward

Luke’s truck, watching Caleb through the curtain of snowfall. His

eyes are fixed on mine and I feel tears beginning to leak out of my

own. I’m crying and weak and I want to crumble into the ground

and melt with the snowflakes.

“Callie.” The sound of Kayden’s voice snaps me back to real

life and the bigger picture.

I have more problems at the moment than how I feel, like

getting Kayden away from Caleb before a reenactment of that

night happens. I spin around and Seth’s hand falls from me.

Kayden is standing in front of the bumper of the truck with his

arms folded. His eyes are not on me but locked on Caleb. His face

looks like a shadow as he stands with the rays of the headlights

aimed at his back.

I shift my bag higher onto my shoulder and my shoes lose

traction against the snow as I run to him. His eyes don’t leave

Caleb even as I approach him and then he steps forward, dodging

to the side, out of my path. I drop my bag and before he can get

any closer to the house jump up, fling my arms around his neck,

and latch onto him.

Every muscle in his body hardens as I hook my legs around

his waist, clutching onto him like I’m a leech because that’s what I

need to be at the moment—something he can’t get rid of without

a lot of work.

“Callie,” he says in a low tone, not holding onto to me. “Let

me go.”

I rapidly shake my head. “No, please just get back into the

truck.”

His hair brushes against my cheeks as he shakes his head.

“Callie… I can’t.” He sounds strangled and I really believe that he

thinks he can’t walk away.

“But you can.” I breathe against his ear as I bury my face into

his neck. “For me.”

It’s like I’ve discovered the magic words and unexpectedly

he’s backing up toward the truck, slowly, but he’s going.

Then I hear Caleb say, “Oh, so she didn’t ditch you. I guess

she’s turning into a little slut then.”

“Please, please, please,” I chant as he starts to walk forward.

“Please don’t do this. I need you. I need you. I need you.” I close

my eyes as I hear a door creak open and then another one

opening. Suddenly everyone is shouting.

I hear Luke’s voice first. “Why don’t you shut your fucking

mouth and go back inside before you get yourself hurt again.”

“Oh, I’m so going to press charges now,” Caleb replies. “The

epic, favorite—and apparently suicidal—football player is going

down.”

And then I hear my mother’s. “Callie Lawrence, you get in

here this instant. I told you to stay away from him.”

I feel Kayden’s chest stirring with mine as he seeks oxygen

with me, treading forward and then backward, like he can’t decide

where to go or what he wants to do.

“Callie Lawrence!” my mom shouts and her voice echoes

through the streets and dogs start to bark. “It’s Christmas break.

You should be in here with your family.”

But I am with my family. I summon every last ounce of

courage I still have thriving inside me, push back from Kayden’s

shoulders, and forcefully meet his gaze. “Please take me out of

here,” I plead in an uneven voice. The anger fleetingly diminishes

in his pupils as he blinks at me. “I can’t do this without you.”