The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden

you’d be is a slightly overweight girl with a really bad nose job.”
     
    Daisy gasps and covers her nose with her hand. “I didn’t get a nose job.”
     
    “Whatever you say.” He smirks at her, links arms with Callie, and waves to me. “See you later, Kayden.”
     
    Callie doesn’t look at me as they dart around us and hurry off toward the front entrance of the campus.
     
    Daisy places her hands on her hips and purses her lips. “Why were you talking to that girl?” she asks. “You remember who she is, right?”
     
    “Yeah, she’s Callie Lawrence.” I shrug and head up the sidewalk. “She was in my grade at school and was really quiet.”
     
    “She was also a freak.” She laces her fingers through mine and it sends a feeling of numbness through my body. “She’s anorexic and used to wear all those baggy clothes. She had that God awful haircut and never talked to anyone.”
     
    “She’s not anorexic or a Satan Worshiper.” I shake my head. “And she wasn’t always like that, nor is she like that anymore. She’s pretty normal.” And sad. And every time I look at her it rips at my heart. “Besides, she’s helped me out with some stuff.”
     
    “What kind of stuff?” she questions, giving me a hard stare, like she’s about to claw my eyes out. “Are you sleeping with her? Because if you are, that’s disgusting and pathetic.”
     
    For a second I consider telling her that I am, then stand there and watch her walk away, ridding her from my life. But then what the hell would I do? Date someone else? Date Callie? As much as my mind loves that idea of that—and my dick—she’s too good for me and even from the few moments I’ve spent with her, I’ve felt everything way too much.
     
    “No, I didn’t sleep with her. She’s just someone I talk to sometimes,” I say, and it’s the partial truth, because that’s who Callie needs to be to me.
     
     
     
     
     
    Callie
     
    There’s no one else at the library, except for the librarian who’s pushing a cart around, putting books back on the shelves. I wonder if she lives alone, has cats—I wonder if she’s happy.
     
    “So how much time has to go by before we can talk about what happened?” Seth asks, fanning through the pages of a textbook.
     
    I feel terrible, like a child, only I’m not anymore. I’m a grown woman, in college, yet I reacted like I’m in high school. I hate that crossing paths with someone from my past can throw me back to the darkness and sadness that may always be a part of me.
     
    I shrug, highlighting a note on a page with a bright yellow marker. “What’s there to talk about?”
     
    He snatches the marker from my hand and it leaves a yellow streak along the paper. “The fact that you just let that damn bitch walk all over you and the fact that Kayden barely said anything.”
     
    “Why would he? He never did before. I’m not his problem.” I peek up at the window where a trail of sunlight streams in. “What happened out there was the story of my life. Soon she’ll be gone and I won’t have to think about her.”
     
    He drops the marker onto the table and gazes out at the trees. “What happened with that girl is not okay. You need to grow some confidence and stand up for yourself. Next time she does something like that, pull those tacky extensions out of her hair.”
     
    “She wears extensions?” I ask and he nods. I smile, but then shake my head. “If it were the people who tortured you in high school, would you have been able to be so confident?”
     
    “We’re not talking about me,” he presses with hard eyes. He shuts his book and crosses his arms on top of it. “We’re talking about you.”
     
    “I don’t want us to talk about me anymore. It’s giving me a headache.” I collect the marker from the table and put the cap on. “How about we call it a day for studying. There are some other projects I need to work on.”
     
    He sighs and gathers his books into a stack, before pushing away from the table. “Fine, but when I get back to my room, I’m adding don’t take fucking shit from anyone to the list.”
     
     
     
     
     
    Kayden
     
    It’s been a week since I talked to Callie. The last time was during Daisy’s random visit that ended in a meaningless fuck and a half-hearted good-bye. I can’t tell who’s avoiding who when it comes to Callie and I, but the more time we spend apart, the more I think about her.
     
    My mom also made a sporadic stop at my