The Redemption of Callie & Kayden

and shuts the door.
    I get the feeling that something’s wrong the moment I step inside. There are heavy striped curtains blocking the windows so it’s very dark and musty. The orange-and-brown-plaid couches are covered in plastic and there’s a plastic rug sprawled over most of the shaggy brown carpet. There are shelves built into the walls and each one is lined with rows of animal figurines that are coordinated by breed. Plants decorate the windowsills and are lined up from smallest to largest, but they’re all brown and dying. It’s cold too and I can see my breath puffing out in front of my face and it mixes with the dust.
    “What’s with all the plastic?” Seth asks as Luke makes his way to a hallway at the back corner of the room.
    Luke shrugs as he flicks the thermostat with his fingers. “My mom’s insane.”
    We don’t utter another word. We leave the living room and head down the hall. I notice how bare the walls are, no photos, no pictures, no decorations, and it gets colder the farther back into the house we go. I’m getting kind of nervous, especially because the air is really dusty and it’s making it hard to breathe. When we reach the end of the hall, however, Luke opens a door and I step into the room and the air clears.
    “So this is my room,” Luke tells me awkwardly and then cracks a joke. “You two are the only two people besides Kayden who have dared step foot into the shithole.”
    I turn in a circle as I take in the made bed, the band posters tacked to the walls, and the desk with a computer on it that looks like it’s from the nineties. Everything is very clean and very orderly, but not in an uneasy way like out in the living room. “It’s not a shithole,” I assure him. “It’s your room.”
    He seems happy with my response and his rigid shoulders relax a little. “Well, I’m glad you think so because I sure as hell don’t.” He pats the front pocket of his jacket and takes his pack of cigarettes out. “Oh, and by the way, it’s fucking hilarious when you swear.” He doesn’t light up a cigarette; he just holds the pack in his hand like it’s his security blanket.
    Seth sits on the bed and bounces up and down a little and the mattress squeaks. “So what’s your brilliant plan?” he asks, crossing his leg over his knee.
    Still holding his cigarettes, Luke rolls up his sleeves and scoots out a chair that’s in front of the computer. He presses the power button on the tower and then sits down in the chair, waiting for the computer to boot up. He holds up his finger and reaches for an iPod beside the computer. He hums under his breath as he scrolls through songs and I give Seth a questioning look.
    Seth raises his eyebrows and twists his head toward Luke. “So, are you going to tell us, or are we going to have to guess?”
    “You’re going to have to guess.” Luke sets the iPod down and a song clicks on, “Running Away,” by Hoobastank.
    “Are we guessing by this song?” Seth’s face lights up with enthusiasm as he straightens up his posture.
    Luke nods as he opens a search engine and types a few keys on the keyboard. “Yep.”
    Seth taps his finger on his chin, enjoying the game. “Are we running away?”
    Luke pops a cigarette into his mouth and then claps his hand. “Bravo. Nicely done.”
    I shoot Seth a confused look and he just shrugs. “What? I love games.”
    I sigh. “Am I the only one who seems to mind that we’re talking about running away?”
    They both shrug and I roam around the room looking at all Luke’s posters and little knickknacks scattered about. Seth takes out his phone and starts texting while Luke types on the keyboard and clicks the mouse. There are photos all over his room, some of him with a woman who looks a lot like him, and I think it’s his mother. There’s also another woman he’s in a few pictures with who’s a lot older than Luke, and she has the same brown eyes as him. Maybe it’s his aunt or his sister, but I thought she was much younger. There are a few of pictures of him with random girls and a handful where he’s with Kayden. They’re standing next to a black motorcycle and smiling and they look happy. The bike has a huge dent in it and Kayden’s arm is scraped and bleeding.
    “He wrecked it,” Luke clarifies. When I turn around, I find that he’s watching me from the computer desk as he leans back in the chair. “He was trying to jump it over a hill and he wrecked it.”
    “I think I