The Redemption of Callie & Kayden

ever met.”
    He wraps his arms around me and embraces me in a tight hug. I drop my clothes to the floor and hug him back. I don’t cringe. I don’t panic. I just enjoy it. Because Seth is home. And I hope one day Kayden will be too.
    We hug for a while and then let each other go. I gather up my clothes and head to the bathroom. “All right, let’s go get him,” I say, knowing it’s not going to be that easy.
    Because reuniting with something you’ve lost rarely is, especially when you’re not sure who exactly you’re reuniting with.

Chapter 5
    #41 Eat a lot of pancakes
Kayden
    My mom came to pick me up the next morning, just like she promised. They stopped giving me my meds so I feel drained and piercing on the inside, like shards of glass are roaming through my bloodstream.
    “Are you ready to go home?” she asks as she enters my room. There’s something in her tone I don’t like, a warning maybe of what waits for me at home.
    There’s an instant where I think about telling Doug what really happened. At least I’d finally be getting it off my chest. But then I think of what that means—of what I’ll have to admit and face. Every punch, every kick, a childhood packed with torturous memories. I’ll have to feel it and I don’t have a knife or razor to turn it off.
    “Yeah,” I finally answer as I fold up a pair of jeans and put them in the bag.
    She looks relieved and horrified. “Good.”
    She spends a few minutes chatting with the doctor near the doorway, collecting the papers they give her with a mildly tolerant look on her face. I gather the last of my stuff from the dresser drawer beside my bed. My stitches are out, but there’s still some pain when I twist my midsection, although the doctors assure me that I’ll make a full recovery eventually and will probably be able to play football again next season.
    I can’t even look that far ahead, because I have no idea what lies before me. Felony charges? My dad? College? Callie? Maybe nothing.
    I zip my bag up and swing it over my shoulder, deciding not to think about my future for now. All I need to focus on is getting out the door and then my attention can go to making it to the car. My mom and the doctors have disappeared so I head out, unsure where I’m supposed to go.
    Fate takes matters into its own hands, though. I’m halfway across the room when fate steps into the room in the form of a short, tiny little thing with big blue eyes and brown hair. She looks smaller than the last time I saw her. Her waist is a little thinner, and she has dark circles under her eyes like she hasn’t been sleeping very well.
    “Callie,” I say, dropping my bag to the floor.
    She fidgets with her fingers, wringing them in front of her, looking upset as she takes in the bandage on my wrist. “Hi,” she says in her tiny voice as she meets my eyes. Her hair is pulled up and pieces of it frame her face.
    I can’t help it. I smile like a stupid idiot, but then I quickly frown. “You shouldn’t be here.”
    She sucks in a sharp breath. “Seth and Luke and I decided to come pick you up… I thought Luke told you on the phone that we were coming.”
    “Yeah… but it still doesn’t mean you should be here.” I know I sound harsh, but I can’t help it. I honestly didn’t really think she’d show up and now that she has… I hate letting her see me in this kind of place.
    Her eyes widen like I’ve slapped her and I feel like the biggest douche. She takes a step toward me and I ball my hands into fists to stop myself from touching her, running my fingers through her hair, kissing her lips. “Luke and Seth think we should go on a road trip.”
    “A road trip?” I say in disbelief. “Right now?”
    She shrugs, like she has no clue what to do or say. I opt to let her off the hook, because she doesn’t need to be standing in a facility staring at a guy who nearly cut himself to death and who let his father almost beat him to death.
    “Look, Callie.” I pick up my bag and swing the handle over my shoulder. “I can’t go on a road trip with you.” I feel the throbbing beneath the bandage and I focus on that, instead of the glossiness in her eyes and her quivering bottom lip. “I can’t really do anything with you right now. “ I step toward her and then inch around to the side. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
    It’s the stupidest thing that’s ever left my lips, but it needs to be done. She deserves better than the broken piece of