Page 56 of Wreck Me

If Caleb’s dad truly had killed his mother, she deserved justice. And Caleb deserved closure.

“We contact the Ridgewood Police Department. Immediately. Chief Collier has known me since I was a baby and will take our statements seriously. They’ll look into it, Caleb, and if it’s true, your mom will be served justice.” He remained silent, processing my words. Hesitantly, I asked the question that’d been on my mind since last night. “Caleb, did you ever have any suspicions your mom hadn’t actually left and your father did something to her?”

He thought for a moment before lifting me and placing me onto the couch, standing and running over to his pile of things from his house. Picking up an old shoe box, he carried it back over to the couch and sat it on the coffee table in front of him. He glanced at me before lifting the lid and rifling through the contents.

I wanted to respect his boundaries, but I also was so curious about what was inside I craned my neck slightly to see. The box was nearly empty—only a few photos and small keepsakes inside.

Finally, Caleb pulled out a necklace from the very bottom and held it between his fingers. It was a delicate silver chain with two small hearts dangling from it. It was beautiful and simple.

“I can’t remember a time growing up where my mother didn’t have this necklace on. She said the hearts were me and her.” I watched as he reached up and swiped at his cheek, trying to hide a tear that fell. “The morning she left, I remember coming into the living room and my dad telling me she was gone and she was never coming back. I refused to believe him, screaming at him that she would never leave without me. I didn’t believe him until he grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and pulled me to his face and told me to stop being a little bitch. I ran to the couch and buried my head beneath a pillow and cried until I couldn't produce tears anymore. When I finally got off the couch was when I saw it—my mother’s necklace. It was on the floor under the end table.” Caleb turned to me, the wheels turning as he tried to piece everything together.

I had my theories, but it didn’t feel right to voice them. Caleb needed to talk to the police and let them investigate. Returning the necklace to the box, Caleb placed the lid onto it and scooted back, drawing my hand into his lap.

“We’ll go down to the station later this morning and speak with Chief Collier. Tell him everything that happened, and you can tell him what you just told me about the morning you found out your mom left. Theywillget to the bottom of this, Caleb.”

He nodded his head, swallowing thickly as he stared across the room. It had been less than twelve hours and there was so much to process, so much to think about and piece together. I couldn’t imagine everything he must have been feeling, because everything I felt was so intense and confusing. I wanted to go back in time and erase everything. Start fresh.

I desperately wished I could do that for him.

Caleb and I sat in comfortable silence, enough time passing to watch the sunrise through the window in my living room. The room was cold, but I could feel the heat of the sun on my legs as I stretched them across the carpet.

“I’m never going back there, Isla. I can’t,” Caleb stressed. “I packed as much as I could in my bag, and the rest I don’t give a damn about. I had a lot of news to share with you last night. I called around and scheduled a few appointments to go see some studio apartments.” He turned his body, bending one leg as it draped off the side of the couch. “I know it’s only been a few months, but we both deserve a fresh start. I figured a fresh start in a place together wouldn’t be such a bad thing.”

Even with everything Caleb now had to think about and process, he still managed to look at me shyly, giving me a small smirk as he waited for me to say something about his offer. Little did he know, I had news of my own that would sweeten the deal.

Biting my lower lip, I smiled at him. True happiness flickered inside me even though everything else seemed so dreary. “So… About that. I have a lot to catch you up on, but the short story is that my father has officially disowned me, and in doing so he decided he’d no longer be responsible for my rent and told me I had until the end of the month to move out.” Caleb opened his mouth to speak, but I shook my head and smiled again, holding up my pointer finger to have him wait for what else I had to say.

“Yesterday morning I ran into the property manager and she told me my father had informed her of my early departure, but instead of breaking the lease, he paid upfront for the remaining months. Legally they can’t release the apartment and get a new tenant until the end of the lease since he’s paid. So while my father refused to break the lease in fear of someone finding out and it looking bad, he unknowingly paid in full for the next three months of rent on an apartment I am going to keep living in. He thought he’d give me an eviction notice of his own, but his plan backfired on him.”

“So you get to stay?” he asked, clearly still trying to catch up with the ramble that just fell out of my mouth.

“No,weget to stay. And we have three months of no rent to stress about. This will give me time to graduate, find a job. You can apply to the police academy. We have three months to figure out our next steps, Caleb. Together.”

For the first time in several days, Caleb cracked a real, genuine smile, and my heart soared at the sight.

“I have more good news,” he blurted, pulling me back onto his lap. Just like earlier, my legs straddled him and my arms wrapped around my neck.

“Tell me,” I urged, kissing him lightly on the corner of the mouth.

“Dave, the mechanic, has been collecting parts for my car, and when he called to tell me they’ve almost got everything they need, he offered me a job. I gave notice to Pack N Mail yesterday.”

“Caleb! That’s amazing!”

“When I gave my notice, my boss told me to have you submit your application to her. She’s going to put you first on her interview list. I know it’s not ideal, but—”

My heart felt heavy, in such disbelief this man had found his way to me and was doing everything he could to help me pave my own way and encourage me to follow my dreams. I leaned forward, kissing him gently. “It’s perfect, Caleb, thank you.”

“And I already applied to the police academy, so all that’s left on the checklist is for you to apply to veterinary school.”

Veterinary school. My dream that still felt so out of reach.

The rope holding me back from chasing my dreams had been severed, and I was free to make my own decisions. The realization hadn’t dawned on me until just now. My father had disowned me. Truly, fully, cut me off.

“Yeah,” I said quietly, lost in thought about how I would be able to afford to pay for veterinary school and have a roof over my head at the same time.

But as I looked over at the man who couldn’t quite seem to take his eyes off me, who filled me with such joy, love, and empowerment, I couldn’t help but to feel excited for the beginning stages of our future. We had a lot of storms to weather together before we’d finally see sunny skies, but I knew without a shadow of a doubt we’d get through everything by simply being there for each other through it all.

What started as a sordid hookup in the back of the library had somehow turned into a love story I never could have imagined. It was messy, heart-wrenching, and at times it was overly dramatic, but it wasourstory.

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