The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden

with you. That day we went up to the cliff, it might have seemed like I was terrified—which I was—but just going there with you and letting you help me get up onto that cliff was a huge step for me. I trusted you and that means something.”
     
    “I want to tell you,” he says softly. “I do, but I don’t know if I can.”
     
    “You told me about your dad.”
     
    “Yeah, but this is different. This is—”
     
    “Where the fuck have you been?” Kayden’s dad comes storming around the corner, dressed in a navy blue sweat suit, his face bright red, and his hands forming fists. “You were supposed to go…” He trails off when he sees me standing by Kayden. “Who are you?”
     
    I grab Kayden’s hand automatically. “Callie Lawrence.”
     
    Recollection surfaces in his irate expression. “Oh, you’re Coach Lawrence’s daughter?”
     
    Déjà vu . “Yeah, we’ve met a few times.”
     
    He stares at me for a while, like he’s trying to force me to cower back. Finally he fixes his gaze on Kayden. “We were supposed to be working out this morning. Remember?”
     
    Kayden’s hand tightens around mine. “Yeah, sorry. I overslept and I have to take her home, so I can’t go yet.”
     
    He opens and closes his hands and a vein in his neck bulges. “How long are you going to be?”
     
    Kayden shrugs. “I don’t know, maybe thirty minutes or so.”
     
    Mr. Owens glances at me, appearing annoyed. “Why can’t she drive herself home? We have a schedule.”
     
    “No, you have a schedule,” Kayden says and then tenses as his dad’s face contorts with aggravation. “You just think I’m supposed to follow along with it.”
     
    “I’m sorry, are you talking to me?” The intimidation he sends off is terrifying as hell and I want to dive behind Kayden and hide. “Because I think you’re forgetting the rules here and what the consequences are for forgetting the rules.”
     
    “I have to go.” Kayden’s breath is ragged as he strengthens his grip on my hand and walks around his dad, towing me with him.
     
    “Kayden Owens,” he calls out. “You better not be walking away from me.”
     
    Kayden and I dash toward the truck parked in the driveway beneath the trees.
     
    “God fucking dammit!” his dad yells after us.
     
    Kayden helps me in the truck, then jumps into the driver’s side and starts up the engine. From the middle of the yard, his dad watches us with a dark look masking his face. My mind goes back to that awful night and what that man can do.
     
    The tires spin as we hit the road and Kayden shifts the truck into a higher gear, the trees on the sides of the road blurring by. An elongated pause passes before Kayden speaks.
     
    “Can you text Luke?” He hands me his cell phone. “And tell him to just hang out downstairs until I get back?”
     
    I nod, taking his phone, and scroll through his contacts until I find Luke’s name. “Do you think he’ll go down and yell at Luke?” I ask as I send the message.
     
    He shakes his head, his fingers tightening around the wheel. “He only does it to his kids.”
     
    I set the phone on the dash and scoot across the seat toward him. “Kayden, I don’t think you should go back there. What if he does something to you?”
     
    “I’ll be fine. It’s nothing I can’t handle.” His voice is sharp and I recoil, starting to slide back across the seat. “No, stop.” He quickly places his hand on my thigh. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. It’s just that, it’s what I do. I’ve been dealing with it forever. It’s my life.”
     
    “Well, make it so it’s not your life anymore,” I say, my voice taking on a pleading tone.
     
    He turns toward me with doubt in his eyes, like that isn’t an option. “And what am I going to do? Never go back? As fucking messed up as he is, he’s still my father. That house is where I grew up—it’s my home.”
     
    “It doesn’t have to be any more. Just leave,” I say, trying to understand what I need to say to convince him. “Come stay with me. You don’t deserve to be treated like that. There’s so much good in you and you deserve better.” My voice tremors. “Please, please, just come stay with me.”
     
    He swallows hard, his eyes widening. “You would let me do that?”
     
    I nod my head, my heart aching for him as I reach out and touch his arm. “Of course. I don’t want you to go back to him. He’s… why is he like