14. Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
Kallie
After Lance ravished me last night, we took a shower that led to even more. It was the best night I’ve had in a while. Lance makes me feel normal, like there’s nothing from my past hanging over my head, no expectations. It’s just us, in a perfect bubble I don’t want to pop. But we weren’t that lucky.
My parents called last night, letting us know they would be over this morning, bringing my car so I could leave for New York when I was ready—which I wouldn’t be doing. I never told them, though.
I fidget with the edge of my sweater as my dad’s voice fills Lance’s living room. His disappointment is noticeable after I told him I wasn’t going back to my life in New York.
When I first left to come here, I told them I needed some space from my life there to figure things out, that I broke things off with Alex, but they didn’t know he got me fired. I might’ve cost myself my career. Everything I forgot about last night, all the worries, they’re all back tenfold.
I can’t help but feel a knot tightening in my stomach.
“I warned you about this, Kallie,” he says, his tone laced with frustration. “I told you not to get involved with your boss. You could’ve jeopardized your entire career. All for what? To sleep with him?” My head snaps back at his comment.
I meet his gaze with a mixture of guilt and defiance. “Dad, I know what you said, but you don’t understand—”
“Don’t understand?” he interrupts, his voice rising. “I understand perfectly well. I understand you’re throwing everything you’ve worked so hard for away because of some foolish infatuation.”
I bite my lip, struggling to find the right words to defend myself. “It’s not just some foolish infatuation, Dad. I cared about him. For the three years we were together, I cared.”
“Caring about him doesn’t change that he was your boss,” he counters sharply. “And now look at the mess you’ve gotten yourself in.” He pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration.
His words sting, hitting me harder than I care to admit. I have always valued my dad’s opinion, but right now, all I want is for him to understand where I’m coming from.
“I know it’s complicated, but I’m a grown woman,” I begin, my voice wobbling slightly. “I can make my own decisions. It’s not like I planned for any of this to happen. Sometimes, things just happen.”
“Sometimes, you have to be smarter than that,” he replies, his tone softening slightly.
“I am smarter than that, Dad. You can’t sit here and tell me you’re perfect, that you’ve never made any mistakes in your life, because I know you have.” The anger coursing through me makes me sad all on its own. Although I know he means well, I won’t let him sit here and make me feel bad about what happened with Alex. I’ve beaten myself up enough about it. The last thing I need is for my dad to add to it, to tell me how much I fucked up too. “There are other firms I can work at. His isn’t the only one.”
Lance leans against the far wall as my mom stands a few feet from my dad, worry on both their faces. I know Lance wants to intervene, but when he pushes off the wall and takes a step forward, I shake my head, and he stops.
My dad is still pinching the bridge of his nose before rising to his feet and trying to walk towards me, but I hold my hand up, stopping him.
“No. I can’t do this with you right now, Dad. I wanted nothing more than to spend Christmas Eve with you all, but I-I just need some space,” I tell him, knowing everyone else heard me. I walk toward the front door and grab my car keys hanging off a hook and my bag from the floor. "I’m going to the cabin.” I can’t even look at my dad as a single tear leaks down my cheek, so instead, I meet Lance's concerned eyes from across the room.
All I want is for him to pull me into his arms and tell me everything will be okay, but I know he can’t.
Turning without another look back, I pull the door open. The cold air hits me in the face, but I don’t feel it. The emotions twirling around inside my chest block everything out.
I hear my dad calling out my name, but I don’t stop as I open my car door and get inside, ready to go back to the cabin. I need to figure out exactly what I’m going to do.
It doesn’t matter if the man I really love is in there with his best friend. It doesn’t matter because I can’t be with him anyway.
Lance
The sadness in her eyes is something I never want to see again. I know how close she has always been with her parents, especially her dad. She has worked so hard to make him proud, and I know him saying those things hurt her. The urge to defend her almost took over the logical side of my brain, but I didn’t want to make things worse. But now that she’s gone, I feel like it’s only right I help smooth things over the best I can.
Reba stands behind her husband and looks conflicted about whether she should go after Kallie or stay here with Robert, but she quickly decides to stay. Her hand whacks the back of Robert’s head. His head jerks forward before he turns, giving his wife a confused look. “What in the world was that for, Reba?”
“For being an imbecile, Robert. How insensitive are you? She came back so she could work through things, and all because she’s not going back to New York, you think it’s okay to be an ass to her? It’s her life, Robert, and it’s not okay for you to make her feel bad for her choices. We are her parents, and that was uncalled for.” Deciding I should give them some space, I turn and walk into the kitchen.
I pull my phone out and send Kallie a text to make sure she’s okay.
Me: Are you okay, sunshine?
It goes unanswered, so I look around the already spotless kitchen. Kallie woke up this morning and made breakfast. And by made breakfast, I mean she burnt the pancakes and eggs— two different times. She’s good at a lot of things, but cooking isn’t one. We settled for a bowl of cereal and coffee before her parents showed up.
Robert makes his way into the kitchen, a hand running through his greying hair as he pulls out a bar stool and sits. I lean back against the counter and cross my arms. I can’t help but be agitated at how he treated Kallie, but I understand he just wants what’s best for her.
“Give it to me straight, Lance. Was I wrong?” He looks defeated.
“You know you’re my best friend, Robert, but you were a tad out of line with Kallie. She was in a rough state of mind when she got here. The night she came into the bar, all she did was drink until I took her home. Just the past few days, I’ve seen a real difference in her. She was smiling. She was happy. But you knocked her down with disapproval,” I tell him, pushing off the counter and gripping his shoulder. He looks deep in thought as Reba walks through the door. She grabs my hand and pulls me back into the living room.
“Give him a minute and he’ll get his head out of his ass,” she laughs. “Thank you for helping Kallie. I know you didn’t have to, but sometimes she thinks she has to do everything alone.”
I know exactly what she means. Kallie feels like she hasn’t had any control after Alex, so she's going to do whatever she can to get through all of this without anyone else. But I won’t let her do this alone. Reba must understand where my mind went, because she’s smiling at me when I look back at her.
“Go.” She winks at me before heading back to where her husband is.
“What about—” I go to ask, but Reba just shakes her head.
“Don’t worry about Robert,” she says, crossing the threshold to the kitchen.
I don’t waste time. Grabbing my keys, I open the door. I need to make sure she’s okay. I need to feel her lips on mine. I need to tell her everything will be just fine.