Page 44 of Come Back To Me

Callie turned the radio down, and twisted in the passenger seat of my car so that she was facing me. I didn’t look at her, but the heat of her stare warmed the side of my face.

“She’s an ex?”

It was more a statement than a question, and I knew Callie wanted to confirm what she most likely already knew.

“Something like that,” I replied vaguely.

“What happened?”

This time I gave her a quick glance, and then turned my gaze back to the road ahead of me.

“Doesn’t matter,” I lied. Of course it mattered, but it wasn’t really my story to tell. Well, it was, but it wasn’t mine alone, and I didn’t feel right divulging anything to anyone else. It was nothing against Callie per se, she was good people and had quickly become a friend. Although, Aiden was hoping she would be the one to help me get over Kenzi.

In my peripheral I saw Callie crossing her arms over her chest. “She’s why you’re so closed off.”

The observation struck a little too close to home.

“I’m not closed off,” I mumbled. Another lie.

Callie shook her head, but I caught the slight tilt in her lips. “You’re like Fort Knox, Vaughan.”

We stopped at a traffic light, and I remained quiet, going over the run-in with Kenzi and Alex in my head. I hadn’t seen her since that night at the hospital, and when I did see her I felt an odd disconnect, almost as if seeing her was an out of body experience. It always felt as though I was watching our awkward, stilted exchange from the outside, rather than being a participant.

The light turned green, and I surged forward, heading towards the house Staci and I were now renting.

“Why’d you lie?” I asked, glancing between Callie and the road.

“About?”

“About Staci texting you. You didn’t even take your phone out.”

Callie huffed. “I was doing you a favor, saving you from yourself.”

“I don’t need saving.”

“I beg to differ, but let’s not get into that right now. You’ll open up to me when you’re ready. For now, I’m happy to be your friend.”

She said it so matter-of-factly that I had to laugh. I liked Callie - a lot — but I wasn’t sure if I was willing to try more than friendship. Guess she picked up on that too because she never pushed it. We’d been seeing a lot of each other lately, since she was the new team trainer. Jackson still wasn’t back, and Coach Davis and I made an executive decision to find a replacement. I didn’t know what Jackson was doing, or where he was, but Coach did, and he was happy to hire someone else for a still-to-be-determined amount of time. We were starting our on-season training soon, and we couldn’t afford to be a trainer short for the upcoming season.

Most of the guys liked Callie because she was beautiful, stunning really, with her long auburn hair, deep brown eyes, and tight body. But she was wicked smart, and that was what I liked. She had a sarcastic sense of humor, and we clicked. She was easy to be around. I needed easy. No complications. As friends, of course. Not that she was expecting anything more from me.

I came to a stop outside the house, and cut the engine. I sat back and exhaled a tired breath. The last two weeks had been a never-ending string of decisions, starting with a move. Since I’d become Daniel’s legal guardian, Staci and I needed a bigger place so that he could have his own room. It was an easy decision really, and Staci was the one to suggest it. The tough part came when I chose not to press charges against my Mother, and in exchange her and my Father gave up their parental rights to Daniel. It wasn’t an easy choice, because I wanted my parents to rot in hell for what they did, but it was Coach Davis who said it would be harder on Daniel to witness a battle between me and our parents in court. That and it could take longer, which meant I ran the risk of having Daniel put into foster care. To me, I’d chosen the lesser of two evils. I just hoped it was the right decision.

“You okay?” asked Callie, her brows furrowed in concern.

“I’m not sure,” I replied honestly. “I think I’ll feel better once we’ve settled, and Daniel can find his rhythm again. I need to find a way to keep him busy for the rest of the summer.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

I saw the determination in her eyes, and right then I was grateful to have her there. In fact, I was grateful for all my friends, I wasn’t sure I would have been able to deal with everything on my own.

Callie moved, ready to climb out the car, but I grabbed her wrist and stopped her. “Wait.”

She looked back at me.

“Thanks. For everything.”

Her mouth lifted into a smile, and I think it was the first time since we’d started hanging out that she looked shy. “You don’t have to thank me, Vaughan.” Her smile turned into something…sexier. “You can just pay me back later.” With a wink, she turned again and got out the car, leaving me there a little surprised. She was flirting with me.