I inhale a deep breath and fight back another blush creeping

across my cheeks. “Why didn’t you just bring her here then?”

He snorts a laugh. “What fun would that be? I like hanging

out with you, Callie. It’s relaxing.” He pushes his feet along the ice and attempts to skate backward but trips over his feet and slams

into the wall. His hand shoots out and he clutches onto the edge

of the plastic section.

“Are you okay?” I stifle a laugh as his eyes pop wide open.

“You think that’s funny?” He gets his feet underneath himself

and then, with very little coordination, skates toward me with his

knees knocking together and his arms flinging to the side of him.

I stifle a laugh, moving my feet inward and outward, going

backward to get away from him. “I thought football players were

supposed to be coordinated.”

His lips curve into a grin and he winks at me. “On grass,

Callie. Football player don’t spend much time on ice.”

“How about a ballet studio,” I tease. “I’ve heard you guys

sometimes like to twirl around and point your toes for”—I make air

quotes and smile—“athletic purposes.”

He shakes his head, rolling his tongue into his mouth to

force back a grin. “You know, Kayden’s right about you. You can

get kind of cocky when you want to.”

My heart sinks to my stomach and Luke’s face falls. We both

stand there, immobile, and my thoughts drift to Kayden.

I stumble to the gate to sit down on a bench. “I think I need

a break. I’m not very good at this,” I say, changing the subject.

“Me neither.” Luke skates to the exit and his toe clips against

the rubber threshold as he follows me off the rink. He takes a seat

beside me on the bench and stretches his legs out in front of

himself.

For a while we just stare out at the other skaters, watching

them laugh, smile, fall, and have fun. They look like they’re having

a great time, and I envy them. I want to have fun too, but with

Kayden. I want him here with me.

“So have you heard from him?” Luke asks casually, gazing

across the ice rink.

I look at him, creasing my forehead. “Who? Kayden?”

He nods his head once without making eye contact. “Yeah.”

I blow out a breath and it puffs out in front of my face in a

cloud of grayish smoke. Even though it’s an indoor rink, it’s still as chilly as it is outside. I have my jacket and gloves on, along with

my hood over my head, and I’m still frozen to the bone. Or maybe

the cold’s from the direction the conversation’s heading.

“No,” I mutter, fastening my gaze on a young couple skating

hand in hand. They look happy and if I stare for long enough I can

change their faces into Kayden’s and mine’s. “I haven’t heard

anything except for the latest gossip from my mother.”

Luke hunches over as he reaches for the laces on one of his

skates. “And what’s the latest gossip?”

I swallow the massive lump in my throat. “That Kayden’s in a

facility under surveillance.”

He cocks his head to the side and glances up at me.

“Because they think he did it to himself?” There’s insinuation in his tone. He knows what I know: that Kayden’s dad is an evil monster

who could have stabbed his son.

I tried to talk to my mother about it, but she told me it was

none of our business. She’s angry with the Owens because Kayden

beat up Caleb. I should have told her why… I wanted to, but

sometimes wanting to isn’t enough.

When I’d finally worked the courage to go tell her, it was

right after Kayden’s mom had told me he’d cut himself. My mom

had been sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal as she

read the newspaper.

“Mom, I have to tell you something,” I said, shaking from

head to toe. I’d just walked in from outside, so I pretended it was

from that, but really it had been my nerves.

She glanced up from her cereal, holding the spoon inside the

bowl. “If it’s about Kayden, I already know.”

I sat down at the table across from her. “I know what you’ve

probably heard, but I don’t think he did it to himself.”

She stirred her cereal with the spoon and lines crinkled

around her eyes. “What are you talking about, Callie?”

“I’m talking about… I’m talking about what happened to

Kayden.” I crossed my arms on the table and balled my hands into

fists. “And why he’s in the hospital.”

The lines disappeared from around her eyes as she frowned.

“Oh, I don’t care about that. I’m talking about what he did to

Caleb.”

My heart compressed at the sound of Caleb’s name and I

wanted to scream at her for saying that. “That wasn’t his fault.”

She shook her head and grabbed her bowl as she stood up.

“Look, I know you care about him, Callie, but he’s obviously got a

temper on him.” She walked over to the sink and put the bowl in it.

“You need to stay away from him.”

I pushed back from the table and my knees shook. “No.”

She turned around and the iciness in her eyes reminded me

of why I couldn’t tell her stuff—because she only ever looked at

stuff from her own point of view. “Callie Lawrence, you will not talk to me that way.”

I shook my head, backing toward the door. “I’ll talk to you

like this when you’re wrong.”

Her eyes widened, shocked. I’d never talked to her like that

before. “What is wrong with you? Is it because you’ve been

hanging around Kayden? I bet it is.”

“A few weeks ago you were so happy we were together,” I

said, gripping the doorknob.

“That’s before I knew what he was capable of,” she said. “I

don’t want you hanging out with him. And besides, you should be

on Caleb’s side in all of this. He’s been part of this family for

longer.”

A cold, yet hot wave of anger ripped from my toes and

rushed to my mouth. “You don’t even know the whole story! And

you don’t care enough to ask!” I wasn’t sure what I was referring to

anymore but I didn’t stay long enough to find out. I jerked the

back door open and ran outside into the snow.

She didn’t follow me and I wasn’t surprised. I’d never expect

anything more from her.

“Earth to Callie.” Luke waves a hand in front of my face and I

flinch. “Did you hear what I asked? About Kayden?”

“Yeah.” I press my lips together, thread my finger through

the laces, and begin to unfasten them. “That’s what everyone’s