The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden

away. I don’t look up at him, because I don’t want to see the disgusted look in his eyes.
     
    “If I asked them if I could have a hamburger, do you think they’d make me one?” he asks, nonchalantly changing the subject.
     
    I flip the page of the menu, with my eyebrows furrowed. “Does it say they have hamburgers?”
     
    “No, I was kidding.” He observes me from across the table. “Can I ask you something?”
     
    I nod warily. “Sure.”
     
    “How come you left for college early?” he asks. “Most people want to stay home for the summer and party.”
     
    I shrug. “I didn’t really have anything left for me there except for my parents and it just seemed like it was time to go.”
     
    “You didn’t have a lot of friends, did you?” Recollection masks his face as he starts to put the pieces of my sad life together.
     
    Thankfully, Seth and Luke join us at the table before he can try to dig up more details. They smell like smoke and look euphorically happy.
     
    “Nah, they don’t really have many on campus.” Seth says to Luke as he sits down and unrolls the napkin from around the silverware. “And if they do, security usually breaks them up.”
     
    Luke swivels a small plastic display with pictures of the beer beverages on it. “Yeah, that shit happened all the time at our school. Like this one time we had this huge bonfire, and the cops showed up and busted everyone.”
     
    “What kind of trouble did you get in?” Seth asks, checking the watch on his wrist.
     
    “Not too much.” Luke pops a toothpick into his mouth. “The cops in our town usually go easy on football players.”
     
    “Figures,” Seth mutters, giving me a sidelong glance, and I offer him a sympathetic smile.
     
    Kayden’s foot keeps bumping mine from below the table and I want to ask him to stop, but I can’t even make eye contact with him. I grow flustered because part of me likes it. I’m losing control over my feelings and I desperately need to get a hold of them again.
     
    The waitress returns and jots down our orders. I try to do my best and order a whole meal with the intention to eat it all. When the food arrives however, my stomach clenches, and I can tell right away that I’m going to do it, just like I always do.
     

Chapter 3
     
     
     
    #52 Take a Chance For God’s Sake
     
     
     
    Kayden
     
    It’s been a week since school started. Classes are a pain in the ass. I was warned that college would be harder, but I never prepared myself for how much solo work was required. Between that and practice, I’ve had zero time to focus on anything else in my life.
     
    I’ve crossed paths with Callie twice since we ate at the restaurant and each time she avoids me. She’s in my Biology class, but sits in the back, as far away from anyone else as she can, focusing on her pen and paper. The girl has to have a whole notebook full of notes with how fixated she is with them.
     
    I try not to stare at her, but most of the time I can’t help it. It’s fascinating to watch how oblivious she is to everyone. It would be nice to get lost in my thoughts, instead of always worrying about shit.
     
    I’m getting ready to go to class, telling myself that I need to leave Callie alone, when I get a phone call from my dad.
     
    “You left your shit in the garage,” is the first thing he says to me.
     
    “Sorry,” I apologize, forcing myself to breathe as I grab my books. “But I thought mom said I could.”
     
    “Your mom has no say in these things,” he says sharply. “If you wanted to keep your shit here, you should have asked me. God, how many times do you have to screw up before you stop?"
     
    I want to argue, but he’s right. I screw up more than I don’t. I let him chew my ass off for over fifteen minutes, and he makes me feel like a fucking kid again.
     
    After I hang up, I stare at the mirror above the dresser, analyzing every scar on my face until it just looks like one big scar. Suddenly, all this anger pours out of me and I kick the shit out of the dresser until one of the drawers falls out. Luke’s stuff scatters all over the floor; lighters, photos, a few tools, and a razorblade. He hates it when his shit gets disorganized and is going to go nuts if he comes back to this mess.
     
    I quickly put everything back inside, trying to make it look orderly, and pretend not to notice the white elephant staring me in the face as I scoop it up off the floor. But it’s all I can think