The Redemption of Callie & Kayden

roll of toilet paper and hand him some tissue. “It could be… sometimes saying sorry is actually easy.”
    He dabs the rest of the tears away with the tissue and then tosses it into the garbage bin that’s on the wall. “Yeah, but sometimes it’s not.”
    “But sometimes it is.”
    That gets him to smile. “Look at you. Being all wise.” He swings his arm around my shoulder. “I think it must be from all the time you spend around me.”
    I crack a smile as I unlatch the door. “It must be.”
    By the time we walk out of the bathroom, the room is even more crammed. I don’t like it. It makes me feel anxious and ashamed about the dress I’m wearing. Each time someone brushes up against me, I cringe internally.
    I grasp Seth’s hand as he guides me to our table where Luke is talking to some girl in a tight black dress. Her blonde hair is done up, her cleavage is nearly popping out of her dress, and she’s sitting in my seat. As we approach the table, her eyes scale me and then she looks away, disregarding me.
    “Hey,” Seth says before she can say anything. He reaches across the table and grabs two tall shot glasses from the eight that are circling the middle of the table. “I think Callie and I are going to take shots and dance.”
    Luke nods and then starts chatting with the girl. I step behind Seth and he turns to me and offers me a shot. I’m distracted, and without even thinking, I put the rim up and tip my head back. The alcohol burns and tears at my esophagus.
    “Blah.” I gag, shoving the empty glass back at Seth. “I didn’t mean to drink that.”
    Seth giggles at me and angles back his head, knocking the shot back. He takes my glass and his and puts them back on the table. One tips over, but he doesn’t bother picking it up. He holds my hand and tugs me toward the dance floor.
    “Do we really have to?” My head’s a little blurry and my legs feel like rubber. “I don’t feel very good.”
    Seth nods as he spins around, doing a little wiggly thing with his hips before striking a pose. “You and I need to relax.”
    I glance around at the people surrounding us who are grinding against each other to the low beat of the sultry song. “Dancing’s never been relaxing for me.”
    He shuffles toward me, snapping his fingers and rocking back and forth. “Come on. I saw you dancing in the car ride when we were heading to Afton.”
    I shake my head, but my lips turn upward. I start to dance with him, not going too overboard, but enough that I feel my mood lifting. When the song switches to a slow one, Seth inches in and puts his hands on my hips. As we rock to the rhythm of the song and with each sway, a weight builds on my chest. My mind is going back to when Kayden and I danced and for a moment everything seemed like it was going to be okay. But it’s not okay. Nothing is. Kayden won’t talk to me and all I can ever picture is how he looked lying on the floor, pale as snow with a dying pulse. I can see the slits on his wrist and on his side. I can feel my terror and worry about him dying. How I don’t want him to die. How I need him. How I need him forever. The weight on my chest bears down and I swear my ribs will splinter.
    “Callie, what’s wrong?” Seth brings his finger up to my cheek and grazes a tear that escaped my eye.
    “I don’t want him to die,” I say through a choked sob. “I don’t.”
    His eyes widen. “He’s not going to die, Callie. He made it out alive.”
    “I know that,” I say, knowing he won’t understand. Kayden is like me in so many ways. He’ll hide it inside himself until he breaks. And if he breaks, I might not make it to him in time.
    Then what? I can’t go on living my life without him, fighting through the pain every day. I felt what it was like to lose him back when I saw him on the floor. I thought he was dead and my chest nearly crushed into my heart as the pain slammed into my ribs.
    I can’t do it without him. I need to save him and myself and make us happy together.
Kayden
    When I realize she’s crying, I move for her, shoving anyone who gets in my way. Seeing tears come out of those stunning blue eyes rips my heart in half and I no longer care about anything else but making her better.
    When she sees me, her eyes enlarge and she reaches up to wipe the tears away from her cheeks. Seth turns and looks at me and then he lets go of her waist and backs away.
    “You got it from here?” he asks me and I nod. He moves through the crowd