The Redemption of Callie and Kayden Read Free

Even though it’s cold and the
    water sticks my clothes to my body, it reminds me of a beautiful
    time full of magical kisses and I need to hold onto that.

    Because for now, it’s all I’ve got.

    * * *

    Time drags on. Classes are ending, wrapping up for winter
    break. I’ve been staring at my English book for so long it feels like my eyes are bleeding and the words look identical. I rub my eyes
    with my fingertips, pretending like the room doesn’t smell like pot
    and that Violet, my roommate, isn’t passed out in the bed across
    from mine. She’s been like that for the last ten hours. I’d be
    worried she was dead, but she keeps muttering incoherently in her
    sleep.

    On top of studying for the English exam, I’m supposed to be
    writing an essay. I joined a creative writing club at the beginning of the year, and at the end of it, I’m supposed to turn in three
    projects: a poem, a short story, and a nonfiction piece. As much as
    I love to write, I’m struggling with the idea of putting truth down
    on paper for other people to read. I’m afraid of what might come
    out if I really open up. Or maybe it’s because it seems silly to write a paper about the truth of life when Kayden’s in an institution
    living the truth. All I’ve typed so far is: Where the Leaves Go by
    Callie Lawrence. I’m uncertain of where I’ll go with this.

    The rain from earlier has frozen into fluffy snowflakes that
    sail from the sky and a silvery sheet of ice glistens across the
    campus yard. I tap my fingers on the top of my book, thinking
    about home and how there’s probably three or four feet of snow
    and how my mom’s car is probably stuck in the driveway. I can
    picture the snowplow roaming the town’s streets, and my dad
    doing warm-ups inside the gym because it’s too cold to be
    outside. And Kayden is still in the hospital under supervision
    because they think he tried to kill himself. It’s been a few weeks
    since it happened. He was out of it for quite a while from the
    blood transfusion and lacerations to his body. Then he woke up
    and no one could see him because he’s considered “high risk” and
    “under surveillance” (Kayden’s mother’s words, not mine).

    My phone is sitting on my bed next to a pile of study sheets
    and an array of highlighters. I pick it up, dial Kayden’s number, and wait for his voicemail message to come on.

    “Hey, this is Kayden, I’m way too busy to take your call right
    now, so please leave a message and maybe you’ll be lucky enough
    that I’ll call you back.” There’s sarcasm in his voice like he thinks he’s being funny and I smile, missing him so badly it pierces my
    heart.

    I listen to it over and over again until I can hear the
    underlying pain in his sarcasm, the one that carries his secrets.
    Eventually, I hang up and flop back on my bed, wishing I could
    travel back in time and not let Kayden find out that it was Caleb
    who raped me.

    “God, what time is it?” Violet sits up in her bed and blinks her
    bloodshot eyes at the leather-band watch on her wrist. She shakes
    her head and gathers her black-and-red-streaked hair out of her
    face. She gazes out the window at the snow and then looks at me.
    “How long have I been out?”

    I shrug, staring up at the ceiling. “I think, like, ten hours?”

    She throws the blanket off herself and climbs out of bed.
    “Fuck, I missed my chemistry class.”

    “You take chemistry?” I don’t mean for it to sound so rude,
    but the shock of her taking chemistry comes through in my voice.
    Violet and I have shared a room for three months, and from what I
    can tell, she likes to party and she likes guys.

    She gives me a dirty look as she slips her arm through the
    sleeve of her leather jacket. “What? You don’t think I can party and
    be smart?”

    I shake my head. “No, that’s not what I meant. I just—”

    “I know what you meant—what you think of me, and
    everyone else thinks of me.” She snatches her