Chapter 31
Thirty-One
Are you okay?
Text message from Zeke Harris to Callie Carter.
The car ride home is silent. The resentment within me wars with gnawing hunger.
Now that the adrenaline is leaving my system, I’m starving again.
I still haven’t eaten all day, and now I’m annoyed that I left a delicious plate of Caroline’s lasagna on the table when all we have at home is protein bars and celery sticks.
Mom doesn’t say anything, and the silence builds until she pulls in the driveway.
Finally, she parks the car, but neither of us gets out. I’m too exhausted. It’s been such a long day, with a few highs but so many lows, and I want to be able to share it with her. But she will never understand me.
Mom sighs. “Callie, look at me.”
I turn, and I wither under her blistering stare.
“You humiliated me,” Mom says. “You made us look bad. How could you do this, Cal? How could you do this to our family, to me? I don’t understand what is going on with you lately.”
My fingernails dig into my palms. “After everything I just said, you still only care about you.” The words are soft, but they feel deafening. The car goes silent.
Mom’s hands grip the steering wheel until they turn white.
“I’ve only ever wanted to be involved in your life.
I’ve only ever wanted for you to be happy, for you to never, ever, experience what I went through as a teenager.
So excuse me for trying to help you. All you’ve done is push me away!
I want to be there for you, to help you in your campaign, but you won’t let me.
” She whirls toward me, her face red. “How dare you lecture me about not caring about you when all I’ve done is show you how much I care! ”
The anger simmers in my stomach, a hot coal in my insides. I don’t even grace her with a response, I just get out of the car and head to the house.
“Don’t walk away from me, Callie!” Mom cries, and I hear the car door open.
I don’t look back. I open the door and head upstairs to my room. Mom’s anger burns hot, but it burns fast. So I doubt she’ll follow me up the stairs to continue the argument. Tomorrow we’ll probably go on as we are and pretend like this never happened.
Butter’s laying on my bed, and her head lifts when I enter the room and close the door behind me.
“Butter.” I sit on the bed and pull her into my lap. I bury my face in her fur. “I love you, girl. You’re perfect, did you know that? You’re enough, just the way you are.”
My eyes fill with stinging tears, and I don’t bother to hold them back. I let out a tiny sob, and Butter looks up. She whines and licks the tears from my cheeks.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out to two texts.
One’s from Zeke, asking if I’m okay.
The other’s from Suzy, in all caps.
COME OVER NOW. BABIES COMING.