The Redemption of Callie & Kayden

and I take his place, positioning myself in front of Callie.
    Her fingers start to slide down her pink cheeks to wipe the tears away, but I catch her hand and move it away. Bringing my free hand to her cheek, I trace my thumb down each tear and erase them.
    “What’s wrong?” I ask, pulling her closer. “Did something happen?”
    She shakes her head, her eyes blinking fiercely as more tears threaten to spill out. “I’m okay, just a little tired.”
    “Callie, please tell me what’s wrong so I can try to make it better.”
    She shakes her head and her throat is jerking as she works back a choke. “It’s really… nothing.” She starts to sob, her shoulders quivering with each tear.
    My arms loop around her and I pull her against my chest. She buries her face into my shirt, clutching onto the bottom, and her tears are soaking through the fabric. I don’t dare move, even though everyone around us is dancing. I run my hand along her back and down her hair.
    “Shh…” I say, as I work not to cry myself. I don’t know why, but I can feel her pain, even though I have no idea what’s causing it. I try to hold the tears back. I focus on the open wound on my wrist and concentrate on the lingering burn. But it’s not working and soon I know I’m going to crumble—we both are.
    I pick her up and she doesn’t even look at me or seem stunned. Her legs hitch around my back and her arms slide up my chest and she secures her arms around my neck. People watch us in wonder as I shove my way through the crowd, making sure to hold the back of her dress down and keep her covered up. When I step outside, she moves to get down, but I tighten my arms and force her to stay against me. Now that I’ve got her, I can’t let her go.
    Holding onto her, I flag down a cab. The driver looks at me funny as I duck my head in, still carrying her, and sit down in the back seat. “552 Main Beach Drive,” I tell him as I reach forward, rising up a little, and glide the door closed.
    He’s an older man, and I catch him eyeing us a few times through the rearview mirror. I bring one of my hands up and cup the back of her head, while the other I keep at her waist. She’s still crying and her tears are making my shirt damp.
    The cab moves forward and the meter up front begins to tick. I hold as still as I can and rub her back with my cheek pressed against the side of her head. About halfway home, when the streetlights from the main road change into porch lights, she raises her head and rests her chin on my shoulder, staring out the back window. I don’t ask her what’s wrong and she doesn’t tell me. She just watches the twinkling lights blur by as we drive forward, into the night, knowing that eventually we’ll reach the end and one of us will finally have to break the silence.

Chapter 13
    #89
Admit the truth and accept what it means
Callie
    The song playing from the cab stereo is cheerful and the singer is professing his love to a girl he ran away from. I envy him because he can admit it to the world. I, on the other hand, just realized that I might be in love with Kayden and that there is no way I’ll ever be able to tell him. Not just from fear of rejection, but from fear of the unknown. I’ve never been in love before. Never understood it. But I realize now that the worry and heartache I’ve been carrying inside me might just be love.
    I clutch onto him, feeling his chest rise and fall underneath me as I watch the Christmas lights blur by in streaks of gold, silver, red, and green. It’s such a pretty time of year, but I’ve never been a fan of it. It reminds me of a time when I used to get excited and run out to the tree to rip presents open. However, the Christmas I was twelve, presents only reminded me of my birthday and the terror that came with that memory would always surface.
    I remember the first Christmas after it happened. I’d lie awake in my bed all night with my eyes open and my gaze fastened on the ceiling, wishing I’d hear reindeer on the roof, like I imagined I did when I was little. But there was no imagination or magic left inside me and all I heard was the dead silence of nighttime and the secrets lying in my heart.
    When I heard my mother walk into my room that morning, I pretended to be asleep.
    “Callie,” she’d whispered. “Callie darling, wake up.” She gave my shoulder a little shake. “Sweetie, I think Santa brought you some presents.”
    My eyelids lifted and I met her gaze. She was