The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden

room?”
     
    Her eyelids are shut and her warm breath flows through my shirt. “You’ll have to go get him…”
     
    My shoulders slump as I shift her body inward toward my chest and start down the hall to my right. When I step outside, I walk across the grass to the Downy building and take the elevator to my room.
     
    “Callie, I have to set you down while I get the door open,” I whisper in her ear.
     
    She nods and I carefully lower her feet to the ground. She leans back against the wall, her eyelids closing. I tap my fingers against the lock, pushing the code, and then shove the door open. Flipping the lights on, I step back and pick her up, carrying her inside. Kneeling down on the bed, I lower her onto the mattress, gently setting her down. She rolls to her side as I stand back up and figure out what I’m going to do. I could sleep in Luke’s bed, but he’ll chew my ass out when he shows up.
     
    “Where are you going to sleep?” She eyes me as I kick off my boots into a corner.
     
    “That’s what I was trying to figure out.” I stare at her with hesitance. “Is it okay if I lay down by you?”
     
    Her eyes enlarge a little and hesitantly, she wiggles her body, scooting over toward the wall.  I lay down on my side, keeping space between us as her eyelids close.
     
    “I’ve never shared a bed with anyone besides Seth,” she mutters. “I can’t sleep when I’m lying by someone else.”
     
    I start to roll out of the bed. “That’s okay. I’ll go find somewhere else to sleep.”
     
    Her fingers wrap around my arm. “You don’t have to go anywhere. I feel safe with you.”
     
    I pause. “Are you sure?”
     
    “Yeah, you make it seem like everything he did doesn’t exist.”
     
    “Callie, what are you talking about?”
     
    “It doesn’t matter.” She yawns and inches a little closer to me, tucking her hands under her cheek and curling her knees up. “I’m tired.”
     
    My hand shakes a little as I reach out and smooth her hair back from her forehead. “It’s okay. You can go to sleep.”
     
    She nods her head and seconds later, the sound of her soft breathing surrounds me. Without even thinking, I lean over and gently kiss her forehead, wondering what the hell I’m going to do when morning rolls around.
     
     
     

Chapter 12
     
     
     
    #12 See How Far You Can Go With Something You’re Afraid Of
     
     
     
    Callie
     
    When I open my eyes, my skull feels like it’s cracked and my brain is throbbing. I’m aware right away that I’m not in my room. There are guy’s clothes all over the floor, a Play Station on a shelf near a flat screen television, and the blankets pulled over me smell like the cologne Kayden wears.
     
    My eyes widen as I sit up in the bed, racking my brain for details of what happened last night. I remember Seth asking me what I wanted to do and I told him I wanted to have fun. So he took me out and we ended up getting drunk. After that, everything becomes hazy, but for some reason I can picture staring up at the stars while someone carries me.
     
    The door to my right squeaks as Kayden enters the room holding two coffee cups. He’s wearing a hooded black thermal shirt that shows off his lean arms and his jeans hang at his hips.
     
    He does a double take when he sees that I’m awake. “For a while, I thought you were going to sleep all day.”
     
    Sunlight flickers through the window as I glance at the clock hanging on the wall above the bed. “Holy crap, it’s almost dinnertime?” The thought of food squeezes at my stomach.
     
    He hands me a coffee and I gladly take it. “Seth told me that you love lattes.”
     
    I nod, taking a swallow. It tastes divine. “God, my head hurts so badly.”
     
    He balances the other cup on the nightstand. “That usually happens when you drink too much.”
     
    I lower the cup away from my face. “Kayden… I can’t… I don’t know what happened.”
     
    He sits down on the bed beside me and the mattress concaves under his weight. “Well, I only got the privilege of witnessing the last half of the night, but from what I heard, Seth said you drank a ton of vodka. By the time I met up with you at Ben’s party, you were trashed.”
     
    I wince. “Did I do anything… weird?”
     
    “Not really. You had to sleep here because I lost track of Seth and there was a red scarf on your door.”
     
    “Where did you sleep?”
     
    He tenses, looking guilty. “Next to you.”
     
    I lick the