I bite down on my lip hard, a growl rising in my throat. ‘Are you trying to entice me with your sexiness?’
‘Maybe.’ The naughtiness in her voice is making me go rock hard. ‘Is it working?’
I have to adjust myself as I picture her in what she’s describing. ‘Fuck yeah. I’m hard as hell.’
I hear her catch her breath from the other end and can picture her blushing. ‘So do you think you can swing it?’
‘Doing you in those boots?’ I ask. ‘Hell yeah.’
She snorts a laugh. ‘No. I mean come home early.’
God, what I would give to be home with her, especially after what happened with Caleb. Regardless if she says she’s okay, I still need to see for myself – be there for her. But how?
‘I wish I could, but I’m not sure I could afford to switch flights.’ I sigh. It’s not like I want to get away from my brother, I just miss her. Things are starting to get to me here, and I know if I was with her, it wouldn’t be as hard to deal with.
‘Yeah, I know. You probably shouldn’t either.’ She sighs. ‘I was just being selfish.’
‘You weren’t being selfish. You’re allowed to want me.’
Her soft laughter vibrates through my ear and makes me want to be near her even more. ‘Well, I want you all the time, but I guess if I have to, I can wait until Monday.’ She pauses and I hear someone saying something. ‘Sorry, but I have to go. Mom wants me to come help her bake pies.’ She sounds less than thrilled about it.
‘Have fun,’ I tease because I know she hates baking.
‘Ha, ha.’ She doesn’t find me funny at all. ‘I love you.’
My heart swells inside my chest. Those words will never get old and I want to hear them in person where I can kiss her right after they’re uttered. ‘I love you, too.’
The silence gets to me the moment I hang up, as my problems, along with what happened with Callie, come rushing back to me. I feel so alone, so confused, so in need of seeing her, just to make sure she’s okay. I’m tempted to do things to get my mind off the emotional overload. There are only two things I feel like doing right now – seeing Callie and picking up my razor. And one seems so much easier to do at the moment than the other.
Chapter 20
#161 Go Home When You Need To. There’s No Shame in Leaving Early.
Kayden
I wasn’t planning on leaving early, even though I really fucking want to. I’d told myself to stick this out, that Callie would be okay, but for some reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that things were about to change.
That something bad was about to happen.
Call it years of getting these feelings right before my father would get set off. I guess he somehow built an alarm inside me.
For the most part, the day is going good. We’re sitting around, playing Scrabble, laughing about the perverted word my brother just laid down and got forty-something points for – cock.
‘God, I feel like I’m married to a teenage boy,’ Liz says, throwing a chip at Dylan who laughs when it pegs him in the forehead.
‘You like my dirty mind,’ he replies. ‘Don’t lie.’
She’s about to snap a comeback when the phone rings.
And we all just sort of freeze.
I’m not even sure why we do. It’s not like we know who’s calling, or maybe we do. Maybe there is some sort of silent forewarning we all picked up on, like the silent alarm inside me.
I can tell Dylan doesn’t want to answer it, but he does. And within thirty seconds, his skin pales. Whatever it is, it is bad.
He seems lost for words, tugging his fingers through his hair as he nods and slumps back in his chair. ‘Uh. Okay.’
I’m watching him like a hawk, waiting for him to show a sign that will let me know what the fuck is going on.
‘Kayden, why don’t you come help me move the sofa,’ Liz suddenly says, pushing back from the table. ‘I’ve been dying to rearrange the living room and could use an extra pair of strong arms.’
I don’t bother pointing out that it’d be easier if Dylan and I moved it since clearly she’s trying to get me out of the kitchen and away from Dylan and the phone call.
‘Okay …’ I hesitantly get up from the chair and follow her out of the kitchen and into the living room.
‘So how are you doing?’ she asks as I reach down to grab the side of the sofa.
‘Good, I guess.’ I give a glance over my shoulder to the kitchen before I raise my side of the sofa up, intentionally bearing most of the weight because, like Callie, Liz is short and slender. But she seems to hold her own as she lifts her side up with almost the same ease as me.
‘Just good?’ she asks as she spins us in the opposite direction.
I shrug, letting out a loud exhale as we set the sofa down. ‘It’s been fun visiting you guys.’
She wipes the sweat from her brow. ‘I don’t mean with this trip,’ she says. ‘I mean this thing with your mom and dad.’
I’m not sure how to respond and thankfully, I don’t have to because Dylan comes walking into the living room. He’s got his phone in his hand and covering the receiver. ‘Um …’ he struggles, ‘she wants to talk to you.’
He doesn’t have to say who she is. I know it’s my mother and I jerk back like he hit me. ‘N-no,’ I stammer weakly. ‘I don’t want to talk to her.’
He looks torn by how to reply, but I think it’s because arguing with my mom is the worst thing possible since, in her eyes, she’s always right. ‘Um …’
‘Dylan, you shouldn’t even ask him,’ Liz hisses. ‘Just tell her no.’
Dylan blinks like he snapped out of a trance then quickly puts the phone to his ear. ‘He’s not going to talk to you.’
I’m not sure what she says to him, but his shoulders look heavier with each second that ticks by. When he finally hangs up, he looks like a hunched over old man as he slumps onto the sofa Liz and I just moved. He lowers his head into his hands and presses his palms to his eyes.
‘What did the evil bitch want now?’ Liz asks, sitting behind Dylan. I decide right then and there that I like Liz.
‘She wanted to tell us that’ – he lifts his head and looks at me – ‘Dad’s probably not going to make it through the next week.’ He presses his lips together and I can’t tell whether he’s upset about Dad or having to talk to Mom. ‘She wants us to go to North Caroline and say our goodbyes.’