The Redemption of Callie & Kayden

Jackson sat at the table eating pie and Caleb tormented me with my secret. The night Kayden found out who broke me. The night where he let me cry and then slipped out of my life as effortlessly as if he were made of sand.
    I walk over to the cupboard and take out a bowl and a box of cereal. I set the bowl down on the counter and open the box as my mom walks in, letting the cold air and snow in. She slams the door and then slips off her boots beside the door and winds around the table, heading across the kitchen toward me.
    “I was going to make you breakfast.” She reaches for the drawer above the oven that holds the pans.
    I shake my head as I pour cereal into the bowl. “That’s okay. I’m not hungry enough to eat a big breakfast.”
    She drops her arm to her side and scans my tiny frame. “You look like you’re losing weight again.”
    I look down at my short legs and my petite waist hidden under my pajamas. “I’m just stressed out.”
    “Stressed out over what?” she asks. “About school? Or about what happened with your friend?”
    I can’t hold it in. It’s too much and it’s pissing me off. “Oh, now he’s my friend, but back when you first found out, you were so excited we were a couple. In fact, I think you told everyone in the whole damn town.”
    “Watch your language.” She reties her pink rob and gathers her hair out of her face. “Callie Owens, you will not talk to me that way.” She turns around and extends her arm toward the cupboard that holds all her prescription medication. “This is my house and while you’re here you will follow my rules.”
    I close the cereal box, stirring in my fury. “I’m eighteen years old and I can be friends with whomever I want.”
    She grabs one of the bigger bottles and slowly turns around to face me with her hand over the lid. “Even ones who beat up your brother’s best friend.”
    I dig my nails into the granite countertops as the pain of the last six years chokes my oxygen away. “That’s all you care about? Caleb?” His name tastes toxic in my mouth.
    She battles to unscrew the lid from the bottle, pressing the bottom against her hand as she squeezes the lid with her fingers. “Callie, Caleb has been part of this family since he was six years old. You know his parents barely talk to him. We’re the only family he has.”
    “I don’t give a shit about Caleb!” I shout and my lungs nearly combust. But it feels good. Really, really good. I press my hand to my chest, calmly let go of the countertop, and straighten my shoulders. “I’m going to go out to breakfast with Seth.”
    Her eyes are amplified and her lips start to part in protest, but the look on my face quiets her. She cinches her mouth shut as the lid slips off the bottle. “Fine, have fun.” The pills rattle as she pours a couple into the palm of her hand.
    I put the cereal back in the cupboard, set the bowl in the sink, and hurry out the back door. I run across the driveway and jog up the steps of the two-story garage. When I open the door, I’m surprised to find Seth sitting on the edge of the bed, awake and dressed in a red T-shirt and a pair of dark denim jeans.
    “You’re up,” I say as I shut the door.
    He tousles his hair into place with his fingers. “I woke when you ran out of here like there was a fire. What was up with that?”
    I shuck my jacket off, ball it up, and toss it onto the bed. “I saw my mother heading out here and I didn’t want you to have to deal with her.”
    He hooks his watch onto his wrist as he wanders over to his shoes that are at the foot of the bed. “Callie, no matter how many jokes we make, I can handle your mom.” He slips his foot into his boot. “Trust me, if I can handle my own mom, then I can definitely handle yours.”
    I frown as I sink down onto the edge of the bed. “But you haven’t talked to your mom since you told her about Greyson.”
    He shrugs as he laces up his shoe and fastens a knot. “She’ll get over it. It’ll just take some time, just like it did when I told her I was gay.”
    I flop back onto the bed and drape my arm over my forehead. “How do you decide what’s worth telling your parents and what’s not?”
    He’s silent for a while and then I hear his footsteps as he walks around to my side of the bed. He lifts my arm off my head and looks down at me. “If you’re asking me if I think you should tell your parents about what happened with Caleb, then the answer is yes. I think you