The Redemption of Callie & Kayden

you.”
    She brings her bottom lip in between her teeth, biting it nervously. “When you’re done with me?”
    Nodding, I lean in for her mouth, but then veer left and breathe hotly on her neck. “Yeah, I really want to work on number forty-six on your list.”
    “Forty… six…” She’s breathing profusely as my mouth makes a wet trail down the side of her neck. With each sweep of my tongue, I gently nibble on her skin, bringing it into my teeth and then licking it.
    “Eat chocolates… have a lot of sex,” I say, reminding her what it says as I arrive at her collarbone and glide my hand up beneath her bra.
    She lets out a breathy moan. “That one’s for Valentine’s Day…”
    I run my thumb across her nipple and it instantly perks. Giving it a gentle pinch, I start massaging her breast. “So what? We’ll celebrate it early…” I trail off as her head falls back and she becomes consumed by my touch. I slip my arm around her waist and guide us down to the bed, laying her beneath me. “And then we’ll celebrate it again on Valentine’s Day.”
    “Okay,” she says with a look of ecstasy on her face, and then her eyes shut. “Whatever you want.”
    And she means it. She would do anything for me—she already has. She gave up her secret, she gave me herself, she gave me her love. And even though I can’t tell her yet, I feel the same way about her. She owns me completely, uncontrollably, irreversibly.
Callie
    I’m so happy for him, and yet scared for him at the same time. He’s found his brother and I just pray to God it goes well for him—that his brother is a better person than the rest of the family.
    Things have been going pretty well for the both of us. We’ve both been seeing a therapist and I haven’t thrown up since before the incident at the hospital over three months ago. I’m happy. And the feeling is wonderful and amazing and scary.
    It’s not always easy. Sometimes I have nightmares, especially when the therapist makes me dig really deep into my hidden thoughts. There was also one instant when I flipped out when Kayden decided to try something new on me while we were having sex and it momentarily threw my thoughts back to that horrible day. He was great about it though and he held me while I cried it off.
    I’ve also been talking to my mom more, which hasn’t been too bad. My dad and Jackson even call me. Caleb’s still missing and I have a feeling he may be missing forever. I’m still not sure how I feel about that. There’s a lot of confliction. Part of me wants him to suffer in prison, but part of me is glad he’s not in my life anymore.
    After Kayden tells me about his brother, we talk a little bit about what he’s going to do, and then he starts to undress me. After he runs his tongue over almost every spot of my body while I cling onto him, he slips inside me and rocks his hips against mine.
    “I love you,” I keep whispering through my moans as I knot my fingers in his soft hair.
    He nibbles at my neck and massages my breast with his hand as he thrusts inside of me. “I know.”
    It’s all he ever says. Or sometimes he doesn’t say anything. It’s a one-sided conversation for now, but I keep saying it because he needs to hear it—needs to know that he is loved. I hear it from my parents, my grandparents, Seth, and sometimes even Jackson. I’m lucky and I want him to feel lucky too.
    Our hips writhe harmoniously together until we’re falling over the edge. We both moan and I let out a whimper, which always gets him excited. After we’re done, he lays inside of me, with his arms resting to the side of my head. Our sweaty bodies are pressed together and our hearts race with lingering adrenaline.
    Eventually he lowers his head to my chest and rests his cheek against my breast while I trace the back of his neck with my finger. “What were you writing about?” he asks, staring at my journal shoved to the side of the bed.
    “Nothing,” I say. “Well, nothing fantastic. I was actually writing a paper for the creative writing club. It’s supposed to be nonfiction and I’m not very good at it.”
    He pushes up off me and pulls himself out of me. Flopping to his side, he extends his fingers for the notebook. I quickly sit up and snatch it from his hand, hugging it against my bare chest. “No way. It’s private.”
    He sits up, his skin glistening with sweat. His bare chest is covered with jagged scars, small and big, dark and light. Sometimes I stare at