The Redemption of Callie & Kayden

stream out as I stick my hand in and check the temperature.
    “Taking a bath.” I secretly love the fact that there’s only a tub and no shower. The possibilities of what we could do in this big bathtub are endless.
    She fidgets nervously, her body stiffening as she warily eyes the water filling up the tub. “We’re going to take a bath
together
?” Her nose scrunches up and I’m about to tell her that we don’t have to if she doesn’t want to when she says, “Then we’d be, like, sitting in each other’s filth.”
    I sputter a laugh and then step up onto the stair. “How dirty do you think I am?”
    Every once in a while she’ll get this conniving look in her eyes and it’s appearing in full form. “I don’t know.” She scales up my body. “Guys are known for their filthiness, aren’t they?”
    I pinch the back of her leg again and she jumps, letting out a squealing laugh. The movement sends me forward and I stumble into the bathtub, slipping on the bottom. I try to land as gently as I can so she won’t get hurt and I end up slamming my elbow into the corner of the tub and water splashes everywhere. She’s laughing as I struggle to sit up in the water, with her straddling me.
    “Oh, you think that’s funny?” I sit up, still holding onto her waist, my fingertips delving into her wet skin. Beads of water are streaming down her body, her hair, her soft skin and it’s even better than I ever could have imagined. We sit there for a while, listening to the water fill up the tub, looking at each other, waiting for the other one to speak.
    “Callie, I have to ask…” I massage her hip bones with my thumbs. “About the throwing-up thing.”
    She stops breathing, but doesn’t move away. “I’m working on it.”
    I let out a deep exhale through my nose. “You’re too skinny… to be doing that.”
    “I told you it’s not about that.”
    “I know it’s not about that, but regardless, it’s making you too skinny and I hate the fucking idea that you’re hurting yourself.” I’m being a hypocrite, but it’s important that she knows how I feel because she always tells me how she feels.
    “Maybe I should talk to someone,” she says, conflicted. “Although I’ve been doing better.”
    “Talking to someone would be good.” I shut my eyes and summon up some courage. “I’ve been… I’ve been talking to this therapist at the clinic. As much as I hate the fucking clinic and the reason why I was there, he seems like an okay guy.” I shift my weight as the water gets higher. “I’m supposed to keep seeing him.”
    “That’s good,” she says, searching my eyes for something. “Maybe you should tell him about what your dad did.”
    My fingers pierce deeper into her skin. “I’m not sure if he’s the right person.”
    “Then who is?”
    She has a point. Who would I tell? My mom? My brother? After that, the only people I know wouldn’t know what the fuck to do with the info. “Maybe I could.”
    “You’re going to,” she insists and runs her hand through my wet hair, smoothing it out of my face. “And I’ll come with you.”
    I’m wary and hesitant, and honestly, as much as I care about her, I really don’t want her there, listening to all the fucked-up things I’ve done. “Callie… I don’t think that’s such a good idea. I don’t want you hearing the gory details.”
    “I saw the gory details,” she says and tears form in the corners of her eyes. “I can handle hearing them… unless you don’t want me to be there.” Determination burns in her eyes.
    “Callie, I really don’t think you should be there,” I protest, my insides clenching as I think about her hearing the inner workings of my screwed-up head.
    She shakes her head and takes my hand. “Kayden, I can help you if you’ll just let me… Please just let me help you.”
    It’s hard to say no when she’s looking at me this way, so even though I want to go alone, I hear myself saying, “Okay, you can come with me… but only if you promise me one thing.”
    She nods enthusiastically. “Anything.”
    “That I can be there to help you when you tell your family about Caleb.”
    She considers this, looking conflicted, but then she slowly leans in and lightly places her lips against mine. “Okay,” she whispers against my mouth. “We can do this,” she mutters and I’m not sure if she’s talking to me or herself. “Because I think we’re stronger when we’re together.”
    I think about