The line goes quiet. I hear her breathing for a moment

before she hangs up. Her words echo in my head. It’s like she

knows. Knows that no one’s ever said that to me before, except for

Daisy and that wasn’t the same. It was fake and easy to say back to

her because it was just words to both of us. Callie means it. I can

tell through the sound of her tears.

I don’t know what to do. My heart is thumping in my chest

as I glance around at the people getting in their cars and eating

their breakfast inside the diner. I know what I want to do. I want to turn it off, make my heart relax, run away from the feelings nipping

at my heels.

I get up, sliding my phone into my back pocket, and then I

start to run down the road right as the wind kicks up. Snow flurries

are falling on the sidewalk and road, but I run against them,

pushing forward, unsure where I’m going. And that’s okay.

Sometimes the best things are the ones that aren’t planned, the

decisions made while living in the moment.

Chapter 17

#1 Overcome your worst fear

Callie

“Have you heard anything from him?” Seth asks me. He’s

lounging on the bed, with the remote pointed at the television as

he surfs through the channels. Kayden’s been gone all night and

I’m extremely worried about him. I text him a couple of times, but

he doesn’t respond. Everyone keeps reassuring me that

everything’s okay, but Luke left really early, saying he needed

coffee, when really I think he went to look for Kayden. At least I

hope he did.

I shake my head and set the brush down on the counter.

“No, not yet.”

I wonder if he’s heard my voicemail, if he’s heard me pour

out my heart and soul. If he has, he’s probably upset, or pissed, or

maybe even scared. But I needed to say it. No more hiding. I love

Kayden and he needed to know that.

I leave my hair down and walk back into the room. I drop

down on the bed, flat on my stomach, and stretch out. “I need

caffeine,” I say through a yawn. “I didn’t sleep very well.”

He tosses the remote onto the foot of the bed. “Maybe it’s

because you spent half the night talking to a voicemail.”

I prop up on my elbows. “You heard that?”

He nods. “I heard the crying too.” Leaning forward, he

sweeps my hair out of my face. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I shake my head and pivot to my side. “Not really. I kind of

talked about it last night.”

He crooks his eyebrow. “On a voicemail.”

I nod. “He’ll hear it and that’s all that matters.”

“And then what?”

“And then he hears it.”

Seth waits for an explanation. “And…”

I trace the floral pattern on the faded bedspread. “And then

nothing… I didn’t tell him because I expected anything. I just

wanted him to know how I felt about him… He deserves that.”

He presses his lips together, contemplating. “Did you tell him

you love him?”

I look up from the bedspread. “Y-yes.”

“Callie, I…” There are drops of pity in his eyes. He doesn’t

think this is going to end well.

I sit up and tuck my feet under me. “Seth, I promise

everything will be all right. The very fact that I could tell him I

loved him means something to me… It means I’m growing. Do I

wish he’ll say it back? Yes. But either way, I’m glad I did it.”

He gives me a lopsided grin and then brushes the tip of my

nose with the tip of his finger. “That’s good.” He sits up and swings his feet over the edge of the bed. “But Callie, if he doesn’t say it

back, as your best friend and protector of evil guys who want to

hurt you, I’m going to have to kick his ass.”

I snort a laugh and cover my mouth. “Yeah, okay.”

He stands to his feet and presses his fist into his hand,

popping his knuckles. “I’m not joking. I’ll hurt him for hurting you.”

Laughter sputters from my lips at the sight of tall, thin Seth

trying to kick Kayden’s ass. “Well, thank you, protector. I appreciate your getting your ass kicked.”

His nose crinkles as he scoops up a pillow and throws it at

me. I duck and it zips above my head, landing on the floor. I start

laughing at him, clutching onto my stomach as I roll onto my back.

“What the hell’s so funny about that?” Seth sounds offended

and he rolls up the sleeves of his gray shirt. He flexes his muscles

and I just about die of laughter. “Well, I’m glad I can entertain

you.”

“I’m sorry,” I say, wiping the tears away from my eyes. “It’s

just so funny to picture.”

He glares at me, but it vanishes as someone knocks on the

door. “Oh good, there’s my breakfast.” He heads over to it,

collecting his wallet from the nightstand. “And if it’s so funny to

picture then stop picturing it.” He grins at me as he grabs the door

handle. “You know we’re going to have to come up with a solution

to the no-car dilemma…” He trails off as he opens the door and his

jaw hangs to his knees.

Kayden is standing on the other side of it, with a thin jacket

on, and the bottoms of his jeans are wet with muddy water and so

are his boots. He has snowflakes in his damp hair and water beads

off the end of each strand. His lips are purple, his eyes are red like he’s been crying, and his hands are tucked up in the sleeves.

“Nope, not breakfast for me,” he says, glancing at me. “I

think this is what you ordered.”

He’s making jokes, but none of this is funny. Kayden’s here

after he took off and then I told him I loved him and sobbed on

the phone as I told him my story. I don’t know what it means or if

I’m stable enough to find out. I want to believe I am though, that

I’m not the weak girl I used to be. That I can handle anything.

Kayden runs his hand over his head, ruffling his hair and

sending snowflakes to the floor. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Seth says, glancing at me from over his shoulder.

Kayden maintains his gaze on me, his emerald eyes sparkling

in the sunlight flowing from outside. There is snow falling from the

sun-kissed sky, something that occasionally happens when a small

section of the sky is cloudy but the sun still can spill through.

Kayden lowers his hand to his side and I just stare at him as I

remain on my back, letting the cool breeze sink into my body. I

can’t tell if he’s listened to my message yet, but I hope he has.