Page 60 of Disarm
Some functioning adult you are.
I sit down at my desk and pull my laptop closer, open my email, and stare at the essay attachment for too long before finally hitting send to Professor Thompson. One thing off the list.
A hundred left.
I try to focus on my math homework next, but the numbers swim in front of me, everything a jumble until they don’t make sense anymore. The more I blink, the worse it gets.
My chest feels tight again. Like the walls are shrinking.
Then—my phone buzzes.
No. I can’t deal with my dad right now.
Honestly, it would be a one-way ticket to student services with a mental breakdown.
It’s not him.
Miguel
Hey, pretty boy.
I swipe up, and our conversation is before me. Another bubble appears.
Miguel
Long day?
My breath catches and my shoulders drop.
Then come the sobs, full-on shoulders shaking and hot tears that roll down my cheeks. My fingers shake as I type out the words.
Caleb
I need you.
For the first time since last night, the world stops spinning.
Miguel
I’m on my way.
SIXTEEN
MIGUEL
The second the text sends—“I’m on my way”—I’m already grabbing my keys.
I don’t even remember locking the front door. All I know is one second I’m standing in my kitchen, boots barely off, thinking about whether I have the energy to shower and crash… and the next I’m in my truck, engine rumbling, seatbelt half across my chest.
All because of three words.
I. Need. You.
Caleb doesn’t say that lightly. Half the time, he won’t even admit he wants a hug, let alone admit that he needs someone. He fights it every time.
The streets to the college are mostly empty, but I still have to force myself not to floor it. The last thing either of us needs is me getting pulled over or wrapped around a guardrail. I keep one hand white-knuckled on the steering wheel and the other loose in my lap, fingers flexing like I could already feel him under my palm.
I love my stepfather, but he never knows when to stop pushing. The road starts to blur, Caleb’s message urging me faster.
