The Redemption of Callie & Kayden

the ceiling. “I’m afraid of what I’ll end up writing… I’m afraid of what I really feel and how he’ll react it.” I’m afraid that what I’m forcing to stay locked away inside my heart will break free and I’ll have to deal with it.
    He takes my hand in his and one side of his mouth quirks upward. “Callie, honey, I think if both of us have learned anything in our lives it’s that being afraid is not the way to live.”
    “I know,” I say softly, realizing just how much I’ve been holding in. Ever since it happened, my chest and feelings and heart have been vined into this warped knot. “But what if I find out something that I don’t want to?”
    “It’s better than hiding it and repressing it, isn’t it?”
    I smash my lips together and listen to the space heater hum as I consider his words carefully. Then I compel myself to sit up. “You’re a very wise man, Seth.”
    “Well, duh.” He rolls his eyes and smiles. “That’s clear to everyone who meets me.”
    My smile grows because despite whatever ends up coming out on that paper when I jot down my thoughts, I’ll have Seth and I know that unlike in the past, I won’t be alone.
    I retrieve the notebook from the windowsill and curl up in a ball on the bed holding the tip of the pen to the paper, ready to admit what really lies inside the darkest spots of my heart, the things I’m afraid of but want more badly then anything in my life.
    * * *
    An hour later, I walk out of the garage, feeling lighter, almost like I’m flying. Seth was right. Writing down everything I’m feeling was a good idea. I feel much better. It’s strange because I write about Kayden all the time, but it was different actually writing
to
him because I know that one day, if I ever get the courage, he might read it.
    I’m headed out to the driveway where Luke is waiting for me in his truck, ready to take Seth and me away for a little bit. Seth beat me out already and as I head down the steps he’s laughing about something and it makes me smile. It’s a breezy day, the clouds heavy. It isn’t snowing yet, but it probably will be by the end of the day.
    I’m halfway down the driveway, eager to get away from the house for a while, when the door to the house swings open and Jackson walks out.
    His brown hair is damp and he has on a heavy green coat, jeans, and a pair of boots with the laces undone and dragging in the snow. “Hey, I need to talk to you.” He trots down the steps, trailing his hand down the railing.
    I slow down and wait for him near the stairway, drawing the hood of my coat over my head and tucking my hands into my pockets. “About what?”
    He halts on the bottom step and I crane my neck to look up at him. “About your loyalty to this family,” he says.
    The icy breeze pinches my cheeks. “I am already loyal to this family.”
    He shakes his head and targets his finger at Luke’s rusty 1980s Chevy truck parked at the end of the driveway. “Not if you’re hanging out with him.”
    “With Luke?”
    “With Kayden’s best friend.”
    I start to walk away, but his fingers snag my arm and he stabs his nails aggressively into the fabric of my coat as he wrenches me back toward him. “You know he was there that night?” he growls. “Luke was, when Kayden beat up Caleb and he didn’t even try to stop him.”
    I jerk my arm, but he constricts his grip. “Jackson, let go of me.” I bend my elbow and twist my arm again and jerk on it, but he won’t let me go. “Please, you’re hurting me.”
    His eyes are as icy as the snow beneath my feet and his fingers unwrap from my arm. I stumble to the side and press my hand to the side of the house to get my footing. “I’ve been best friends with Caleb since I was six, Callie, and you used to be friends with him too.”
    I back down the driveway away from him, shaking from the confrontation. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
    “You never want to talk about anything, Callie.” He bends his knee and steps up to the next stair without turning around. “You just shut down and go to your own weird little place.”
    “Because I have to!” I whirl around and sprint down the driveway. That weird little place he’s referring to is more of a home than this place will ever be. This place holds memories that stab at me every time I step foot inside it.
    I hop into the truck and the warm air flowing out the vents comforts me. I climb over Seth’s lap, because he refuses to “sit