The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden

grabs a red shirt from his dresser and pulls it over his head, ruffling his hair into place. “Do you want me to walk you back?”
     
    “If you want to,” I say, feeling guilty for making him do something else for me. He’s already done enough for the night.
     
    A small smile touches at his lips. “I’ll walk you back.”
     
    We head outside together and I feel strange, especially when he places his hand over mine. The lights of my building glimmer in the distance and all I can focus on is getting there.
     
    “Are you going home for Thanksgiving?” he asks as we cross the wet grass and duck beneath the trees, where rain showers down on us.
     
    I shrug. “I wasn’t planning on it, but maybe. My parents were going to fly to Florida for the holidays, but I got a text from my mom earlier today saying they were staying home and that I should come home.”
     
    “You should ride with Luke and me,” he suggests as we cross the street, through the puddles, and hop over the curb. “We’re heading back in a few days or so.”
     
    There are many reasons why I don’t want to go home; one being that the guy that ruined my life could be staying at my house. “I’ll think about it and let you know.”
     
    “You know it could be fun,” he says with a quirky smirk. “You could hang out with Luke and I and we could show you the nonexistent fun times of our life.”
     
    I offer him a half smile, because his words remind me of my life back home and how much I hate it. “Maybe.”
     
    He licks his lips, looking like he might kiss me, and even though I want him to, I still worry that he’s doing this for the wrong reasons. I reach for the handle of the door to my dorm building. “Thanks for walking me home.” I slip my fingers out of his and hurry down the hall, leaving him stunned. I try not to look at the bathroom as I pass by it, but it’s all I can think about, and I end up backtracking.
     
    Once I’m finished I can breathe again.
     
     
     
     
     
    Kayden
     
    I can’t stop thinking about what happened to Callie. I think she thought telling me would scare me off, but it’s had the opposite effect. I want nothing more than to be with her and protect her, like no one ever did for me. I want to make sure nothing else bad happens to her.
     
    It’s getting close to the holidays and I’m preparing to go back home.  Honestly, I don’t want to go back there, but where else am I going to go? I don’t have anyone, but my mom and dad as shitty as they may be. And my mom practically begged me, saying that Tyler would be home and I haven’t seen him in years. I wonder what he’s like now, after years of drinking.
     
    Callie and I have spent the last few days together, watching movies and talking, but it’s been strictly a friend thing. Not because I want it to be, but because I have no idea how to try and take it farther.
     
    I’m walking back to my dorm from my last class before I head home when I spot her wandering around through the trees, reading a book. Her hair is down to her shoulders and she has a long-sleeved grey shirt on and black jeans.
     
    “Reading anything good?” I ask, stopping in front of her.
     
    Her head whips up and she snaps the book shut, which actually is her journal. “Hey, what are you doing?”
     
    I eye the notebook and then cock my eyebrow. “You know one day you’re going to have to let me read some of the stuff you put in there.”
     
    She shakes her head quickly, hugging the notebook against her chest, the blood rushing to her cheeks. “No way.”
     
    Her reaction makes me want to read it even more.
     
    We walk across the grass together with no real direction other than to make it to the sidewalk.
     
    “Have you decided if you’re going home yet?” I ask, stuffing my hands into my pockets. “You know I really want you to.”
     
    She frowns. “So does my mom, but I don’t know… I’m just not a fan of being at home. It reminds me of too many things.”
     
    “Mine does, too,” I agree. “And that’s why we should go together. We can take off every day and hang out. Luke’s not a fan of his home either, so I know he’ll give us a ride wherever.”
     
    She peeks up through her eyelashes with a skeptical look on her face. “Okay, I’ll think about it.”
     
    “You sound skeptical.”
     
    “It’s just that… it seems kind of unbelievable that you, Luke, and I would hang out like that.”
     
    “Why wouldn’t we?”
     
    She