2. CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER TWO
Calista
“ K nock. Knock,” Kaiden chimed as he let himself into my apartment. I really needed to get that spare key back.
“That’s not really a knock, turd.”
He plopped down on the end of the couch and looked over at me as I finished placing my meager grocery order. His light brown hair was getting longer and brushing the tops of his ears. “You wouldn’t answer the door if I did.”
“Precisely.”
Clutching his chest, he said, “You wound me.”
I smacked him with a throw pillow then shoveled another scoop of popcorn into my mouth. Desperate times called for desperate measures and cheap food. Around the crunch of my dinner, I said, “I may be naked next time.”
His face scrunched and twitched. In an attempt to erase that image from his mind, he changed the subject. “You’re gonna fill yourself up before we eat.”
I chewed slower trying to figure out what he meant. “Did we have plans?”
“Seriously?” His voice rose an octave.
Why did everyone keep saying that to me lately? I glanced at his exasperated face out of the corner of my eye. “What?”
“You promised Mom and Dad you would be there for Sunday dinner.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and mumbled, “Fuck.”
This past week went by in a blur. Between wallowing in self-pity, updating my resume, job hunting, wallowing in self-pity some more, and smashing Bryan after I said wouldn’t, I had completely lost track of what day it was.
“Calista—”
I groaned. “I know.”
“You promised.”
“I know!” I returned his stern expression. “I just forgot what day it is.”
“On purpose?”
It was a possibility. I was an overachieving self-saboteur. Too bad I couldn’t put that on my resume, too.
Although I promised Dad I would be there, going to Sunday dinners was the equivalent of standing in front of a one-man firing squad with my stepmother aiming the rifle. Not something I looked forward to on a regular occurrence. Who wanted their life to flash before their eyes every single week? Not I.
“No.” I set the popcorn on the table and went to get dressed. I dug through my dirty laundry that was scheduled to be picked up tomorrow and tried to find the cleanest, least wrinkled, matching garments.
“Hurry up,” Kaiden yelled from the living room. “We’re gonna be late.”
I huffed and changed out of the only clean clothes in my wardrobe because Patty would have a conniption if I went in pajamas.
“It’s called fashionably late,” I said and frowned into the full-length mirror in the corner of my room. Patty is going to love the wrinkles in this, I thought as I stretched the rippled fabric as much as I could to pull some out.
“It’s called being lectured as an adult, and I get enough of those for breathing.”
As I turned to walk away, I noticed a crusty spot on the side of my jeans. “Shit,” I mumbled. I licked my finger and went to town to get it off. “You’re barely an adult, and I wouldn’t call the babytalk you get a stern tongue-lashing.”
Kaiden stared me down when I returned to the living room. “You have no idea what it’s like to be me.”
“You’re right.” I slipped into my shoes and grabbed a thin sweater to cover my wrinkled top. “I have no idea what it’s like to be served everything on a silver platter and handfed with a silver spoon.”
Shock greeted me when I faced him. Pain and betrayal swam in the depths of his gaze. It took me a second to realize I said that aloud. I may say things like that to Gina, but I had never voiced it to Kaiden.
“I—” I didn’t know what to say. I wiped my sweaty palms along the front of my shirt and clutched the hem.
His eyes hardened and jaw clenched when I didn’t continue.
“Whoa, what did I walk into?”
Our heads jerked toward Gina. Neither one of us heard her come in.
Kaiden’s face softened. “Nothing. I’m glad you’re here.”
She slowly shifted toward me and drew out, “Why?”
“Because you’re going to Sunday dinner with us.”
Gina held her hands up in the air. “No, thanks. I’ll pass.”
Kaiden’s hands slapped his sides. “C’mon. When have you ever turned down a free meal?”
“When it starts out tense like this.”
“Please come. Patty loves you.” I gave my best puppy dog impression and batted my lashes. “And you can play buffer.”
“Gee, thanks,” Gina said, laying the sarcasm on thick.
Kaiden regarded me coldly. “Please don’t call her Patty at dinner.”
“Fine.”
“She hates it.”
“Patricia, then.”
“ Mother .”
Squinting, I ground out, “Mother.”
Gina’s attention flitted between the two of us during our exchange.
“Great. Let’s go.” Kaiden beelined for the door and left it wide open for us to follow.
“What the hell?” Gina whispered.
I grabbed her shoulders, turned her around, and pushed her toward the door. “Later.”
“Should I change?” she asked as I locked it.
I checked out her pristine, matching jogger set. She looked better than me with lounge clothes on. “You’re fine.”
Kaiden had the car pulled up to the door by the time we exited. His fingers tapped the steering wheel in an impatient staccato.
Gina frowned when I went for the back passenger seat. She got in front, and the second we were inside, Kaiden took off. The doors slammed shut with the momentum, almost catching my leg in the process, and our heads jerked back. It was like we were late to meet the queen of England. Patty acted as if she were a queen.
“Jeebus,” I breathed and stared at the side of his pissed off face. “I almost lost a leg there.”
“Serves you right,” he snapped.
“Whoa!” Gina said, “That's a bit dramatic.”
“No, the leg comment was dramatic.” Kaiden honked the horn at someone trying to merge in front of us and threw up his hands.
“Let’s get there in one piece,” she added.
He let off the gas a tad and eased into our journey. I watched the scenery pass, too afraid to see if Kaiden was glaring at me in the review mirror. I could feel it. The tension was thick enough to choke on.
Gina broke the silence first. “Maybe you could talk to your dad while you’re there.”
My anxiety shot through the roof. There was no slow lead in so I could stop her. Just bam! Slapped in the face.
“Talk to Dad about what?”
“Nothing.”
Gina side-eyed me over her shoulder. “Calista got fired.”
My eyes widened. “Gina!”
“You got fired?” Kaiden laughed. “That’s what’s wrong with you?”
“Amongst other things,” I mumbled.
The atmosphere that threatened to crush us changed in an instant. I could breathe easier without the weight on me. Dad’s quote about secrets danced in my head.
“She’s scared to ask for help.”
“I’m not scared. I just refuse to. Big difference, Gina.”
“Okay,” she scoffed.
I bit back my retort as we pulled into the drive of the two-story brick home with a freshly landscaped yard. My childhood bedroom window faced the street, curtains drawn blocking out the rest of the world. Exactly like me. Fitting.
“Here.” Gina handed me a hair tie and flipped down the vanity mirror in the visor.
“Eek.” With quick hands, I finger combed my hair into a messy bun that didn’t look half bad. The bags under my eyes had only gotten heavier with the added stress over the past week.
Patty opened the door when our feet hit the steps, dressed to the nines per usual, with not a hair out of place. I was surprised her high-neck, button-up dress shirt or the belt snugly cinched about her waist didn’t choke the life from her. How did she breathe?
Her tight lips drew into a full smile when she saw Gina. Lightly rubbing Gina’s arms, she said, “I’m so glad you came to visit. Herbert,” she raised her voice and said over her shoulder, “Gina is here!”
“Thank you for inviting me.”
“You are welcome every Sunday.”
My lids slid shut to cover my biggest eye roll to date.
“Kaiden, dear,” Patty schmoozed. I almost gagged.
They stepped to the side revealing me. Patty forced a smile and said, “Calista, glad you could grace us with your presence.”
I forced a tight-lipped smile, as well. I’m sure you are. “Where’s Dad?”
“I’m in here, sweetheart.”
Warmth filled me when he called out from the dining room. I left everyone behind to go see my father. He sat at the head of the table, dressed in his golf clothes, tapping so hard on his phone screen I thought he would shatter it. He looked up when I giggled.
“This dagnab contraption doesn’t work.” He set it down, scooted his chair back to stand up, and wrapped his arms around me. I melted against him, taking all the comfort I could before everyone walked in and stole his attention. “How’s my beautiful daughter?”
Tears pricked my eyes. My world is falling apart, and I’m suffocating beneath the rubble. “I’m fine, Dad.”
He shifted, and I could feel his eyes on the top of my head. The breath he took in promised many words on the exhale, but they never came. Patty’s heels clicked into the room with the soft footfalls of Gina and Kaiden following. Dad released me and stepped back, taking my peace with him.
“Gina! How are you?” Dad wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze.
“I’m good, Mr. Thomas. How are you?”
“Never been better. Have a seat.”
As I pulled the chair out next to dad, Patty said, “Calista, could you help me in the kitchen, please?”
“Sure.”
I followed her through the swinging door. Not a thing had changed since my childhood. This house was in dire need of an update from its ‘90s design. The only good memories I had in this room were the sink hose fights with Kaiden and the one time Patty taught me how to make pumpkin pie from scratch. She was patient and kind and affectionate. How I wish we could’ve connected like that my entire life. It would’ve been nice to have a mother that genuinely cared.
“Hurry,” she snipped, slipping her apron over her head. “The food is already getting cold.” I rushed up to grab the side dishes, and she said, “Wait!”
I froze with my hands up in the air. Hurry… wait… what was I supposed to do?
Patty stepped close and plucked a few loose hairs from my sweater. “Can’t have those falling into the food.” She stuck her tongue out in an ick. Disposing of them in the trash, she quickly washed my filth away and dried her hands. “Come on, wash up!”
I did, and then I grabbed the bowls and took them to the dining room. I placed them in their “proper” places as Patty positioned the ham platter in the middle of the table, then went back for the pitcher of tea.
Everyone sat still as she made Dad’s plate first; then it was a free-for-all, so long as we didn’t scavenge like heathens.
“Stop that, dear.”
Patty swatted my hand away from my mouth as she passed by. She never had any issues showing her disapproval for nail biting. Not to me or anyone. Only those closest to her knew her true underlying disgust for the bad habit.
“Could you pass me the potatoes, Dad?”
As he held up the heirloom China, Patty put her hand on his and pushed it down to the table. “Not until you wash your hands, Calista.”
“I just did.”
She lowered her voice but was clearly not attempting to whisper in the slightest. “Manners. We have company.”
Patty smiled at Gina, who went right along with the show without even a glance my way. Gina bashfully tucked her short, black bob behind her ear and returned the same fake smile shining on her.
Bless your patient little heart, Gina.
Gina’s attended so many of our weekly family dinners that she became part of the family long ago. If Patty were to list her favorites in order, it would be her precious can-do-no-wrong baby Kaiden, the perfect-in-every-way golden child Gina (who isn’t even her child), and then me, the complete and utter disappointment.
I huffed and scooted the chair back. Patty’s jaw clenched when it squeaked on the freshly waxed hardwood. The sheepish smile that came over my face was automatic, when what I really wanted to do was laugh because it sounded like a fart. Here we were, years into my adulthood. I hadn’t lived at home in almost a decade, yet the second I stepped foot in this… shrine to societal expectations, my body instantly remembered. I went on autopilot, traversing the eggshells of my very own Mission Impossible movie.
“How’s work?” Her voice drifted into the kitchen from the elegant dining room. She asked Gina, not me. I rolled my eyes as I shook the water droplets off my hands. “Everything going well?”
It figures she’d wait until I left the room. She knew damn well I could still hear her. This was her favorite thing to do. Instead of settling with my answer for how I was doing at work, she’d ask Gina since we worked together. Well, we did. Apparently, my answers weren’t good enough. Or she didn’t believe me, which made more sense because I don’t think she ever did. She’d never made me feel adequate or trustworthy, to the point that when I was younger, I wondered if I even understood the concept of the truth.
“Work is great,” I snapped as I quickly dried my hands against my jeans.
“I wasn’t asking you, I was asking Gina,” her voice called out. “Don’t be rude.”
Kaiden interrupted as I pushed open the swinging door. “She got fired.”
“Kaiden,” Gina gasped, sounding like me in the car. I don’t know why she was so surprised. This was the exact reason I didn’t want him to know.
“Fired? Why?” Dad asked.
My anxiety spiked when all eyes turned to me, and I was bombarded on the spot by sympathy, concern, disapproval, and… I couldn’t figure out what was in Kaiden’s stare. Revenge? He was still pissed about the silver spoon comment.
“Calista?” Dad asked as I slid into my seat and hunched over my empty plate. It could remain empty. I lost my appetite. “Is this true?”
My head bowed. I couldn’t look him in the eye as I admitted the truth. “Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
My gaze flicked to Patty’s dead stare. “I didn’t want you to worry.”
“Have you found another job?” Patty asked.
I shook my head and rubbed my chest. I’d been too busy wallowing in self-pity the last few days. “I’m filling out more applications this week.”
“How much do you need?” Dad leaned to the side and pulled his wallet from his back pocket. The worn leather fell open with barely a wrist flick.
“What?” My head jerked in his direction. “Dad, no. This is exactly why I didn’t tell you.”
He ignored me and pulled several hundred dollars from his wallet. Patty focused on the bills in his hand before turning to me, emotionless, but I recognized the challenge hiding beneath. Take the money, be indebted to her. Don’t take the money, keep things amicable.
The room grew smaller and hotter, suffocating me. The pressure to reach out, not only for the money but also for support and comfort, overwhelmed me. Doing it with an audience who judged me made it worse.
“Is this not enough? I can bring more this week to cover you until you get your first paycheck.”
“Calista?” Kaiden’s hushed voice broke through my impending doom. “Take the money.”
Gina’s hand landed on my knee beneath the table, and I jerked to my feet. “I need a minute.”
Run. Leave. Escape. Every fiber of my being vibrated with it.
Next thing I knew, I was staring at the wall of my childhood bedroom. I blinked and looked around. Everything seemed the same as it did when I left. Stuffed animals filled the net on one wall while posters covered the other. Photos of old friends and boyfriends remained tucked into the frame of the vanity mirror. The maroon velvet comforter was spread over the bed with the transparent, cream canopy flowing from the ceiling and tied to the posts. I was lost in the past as my gaze swept over it all.
Kaiden’s voice drifted up the stairs as he regaled his most recent job change to Dad and his mom. That boy couldn’t hold down a job for long, and his new jobs were never in the same field as his previous ones. This past year alone, he’d skipped through a minimum of fifteen, and that was being generous. He was a legitimate jack of all trades. Not that it would matter much to them. They would continue to support him, and she would continue to judge me and make my life a living hell. Anger flooded my veins. I wasn’t angry with him, though. He couldn’t help it. I was angry at the situation—one I was certain would continue until they or I died.
Swallowing the rising bitterness, I forced myself to focus on the gratitude for Kaiden playing his role and saving me from the spotlight of shame. I was a grown-ass adult fleeing to the protection of their bedroom—nix that, childhood bedroom—like the womanchild I was. I sat on the floor and leaned back against the foot of the bed. What the hell was I doing with my life? How the fuck did I even get here?
I rested my forehead on my knees and squeezed my eyes shut. I knew how I arrived at this point. Making deals with the devil as a teen doesn’t hold the same weight when you’re an adult. I thought I was smart and invincible. The older I got, the more detrimental my circumstance became. That baggage was heavy as fuck and breaking me.
“Calista.”
With a sigh, I said, “Be down in a minute.”
This was a much-needed reprieve from the pressures of life and my family. What was I going to do? I couldn’t move home. There was no way I was living with Kaiden again, and Gina and I may be best friends, but we made crappy roommates. I wouldn’t allow my life to destroy our bond because I couldn’t get my shit together.
“ Calista .”
The nearness of the unfamiliar voice startled me, and I jerked my head up. No one was next to me or in the doorway. As quiet as could be, I rose to my feet and looked around the room. Weird, I thought and rubbed the rising goosebumps on my arms. I stepped over the squeaky floorboard under the rise in the carpet and checked the hall. Their hushed voices remained downstairs.
Was one of my hookups screwing with me? How did they know where I was? Were they stalking me? I nearly laughed at myself. None of my hookups came back. It was like every single one of them disappeared off the face of the earth. All except a few.
My brow furrowed as I slid the door ajar and returned to my seat on the floor. The denim over my knees grew warm and damp from my hands as I listened for any strange noise that would send me running.
“I’m losing it.”
I rested my head against the bed and stared at the vanity in front of me. A glint caught my eye from floor beneath it.
“What the—”
Crawling the few feet over, I reached under and patted around until I landed on it. That familiar pulse made me jerk back, scratching my hand on sharp bits of wood. A thin line of blood welled up through the broken skin next to my thumb.
With caution, and a shaky hand, I pulled the pendant out from under the dresser. How did it get there? The last time I saw it was a few years ago. I grew tired of always feeling his presence in my apartment. Even though I didn’t wear it, I could feel him searching for me like he wondered where I was and what I was doing. I had tucked it away in the vent in this room to rid myself of the creeper with the hopes it would help me start to live somewhat of a normal life without thinking of him and the stupid promise I made. Because I certainly wasn’t making any wishes. Not after the mishap with Staci Fletcher senior year.
Staci had bullied me since middle school with her snide, underhanded remarks. After bumping into me and knocking my books out of my hand with a, “Careful, Calista, your clumsiness is gonna trip someone,” I thought, “You’re gonna trip, bitch.” And she did. Right down the stairs, breaking her nose and her wrist.
I already suspected the stone was listening to my thoughts and making them happen without wishing for it. That incident was the clarification I needed, and it petrified me. Staci could’ve been gravely injured or died. She may have been a shitbag teen, but she didn’t deserve that, and I didn’t want it on my conscience. As soon as I got home from school that day, I put the pendant in my jewelry box, and that’s where it stayed even after I moved out on my own. That was, until I brought it back here to get it away from me. I eyed the vent, but I couldn’t tell if it had been moved.
The shimmery black stone dug into my palm as I squeezed it. I cursed and eased my grip when an enthusiastic jolt of energy seeped into me.
I could do it, I thought. Ease one of my worries and ask for money to tide me over while I job hunted. Stop screwing around on the HookUp app so there was no risk of pregnancy, then he couldn’t come for me. I’d get my life back in order. I could be successful, albeit celibate and lonely.
“What are you doing in here?” Patty’s stern voice made my back stiffen.
“Uh, nothing.”
She pursed her lips when I stood and faced her. Her cold, unforgiving stare scrutinized me. “What do you have there?”
I dropped my chin and squeezed my eyes as tight as I squeezed the necklace. I didn’t want her to ask me any questions or demand I give it to her. It pulsed in my hand as if I made a wish and declared it a done deal. My terror mixed with relief when I held the pendant up by the chain. It dangled from my fingers, lightly swaying back and forth.
“I was looking for this.”
Patty’s nostrils flared, and she reached for it. “That ugly old thing?” Before she could touch it, it shocked her. She jerked back and hugged her hand to her chest. “I swear I threw it out ages ago.”
I tried to hide my surprise as I slipped the necklace into my pocket, but it didn’t escape her notice. Honestly, I was shocked she hadn’t thrown everything out of my old room. Dad probably kept her from doing it.
“We better get back to dinner.”
As I passed her, she said, “Are you forgetting something?”
Eggshells. Eggshells everywhere. To keep from fighting with her, I dropped my gaze. “May I take the necklace with me?”
She joined me in the hall and closed the door to my room. “Yes, you may.”
I followed her down the stairs and slipped my hand into my pocket to make one final wish before I hid this godforsaken nightmare once and for all.
I wish for ten thousand dollars.