Page 61 of We Thought We Were Invincible
The look she gave me started out defiant, but turned heated as she scanned me from head to toe, taking in my cotton pajama pants and white shirt that had always been a little too tight.
Colby shifted uncomfortably, and I moved across the room to pull out a glass. Filling it at the tap, I handed it to Callie. “Drink.”
She obeyed, keeping her eyes trained on me as if she refused to look at her brother.
“How was the party?” Colby asked.
“I didn't go to a party.” Her voice rose an octave. “I was just at Morgan's like I said I would be.”
“Then why'd you come home? And drunk?”
She looked around. “Don't ask me what happened, okay? Because I've had an awful lot of Tequila and I'll tell you. Trust me, you don't want to know.”
There was a battle going on in her mind, I could tell.
“Did you kiss someone at the party?” As he said it, I watched her face. A guilty look sprang into place that cut me deep. That wasn't supposed to hurt so much. It was proof that things had gone too far with us.
“It wasn't…”
Colby cut her off and I could've punched him. “Why'd you even go?”
She stomped her foot and turned on him. “Maybe because I was invited.” A queasy grimace passed over her face and she sat down. “Contrary to what some people think, I'm not a social pariah.”
“That's not…” He ran a hand through his hair. “You know that's not what I think.”
“Do I?”
“Cal,” I stopped them both. “Just tell us what happened.”
“Fine.” She fixed her brother with a stare, still angry at him. “I found Morgan in a room with some guy,” she finally said. “They were going at it pretty heavily.”
“Crap,” I whispered.
Colby didn't respond. His expression hardened. I knew my friend. Impulsive. Unforgiving. That look meant he'd made an instant choice, and he didn't like it.
Without another word, he turned around and went back into the living room.
Callie and I stared at each other wordlessly for another moment before she pushed herself up.
“You guys made me tell.” She sighed as she walked to her room and shut the door.
23
Callie
The hurricane never hit us, the worst of it staying far enough out in the Gulf.
I spent Monday in bed with a hangover, thankful Kat kept the diner closed. Jamie returned home to his father's house in an effort to keep his car, nothing resolved between us.
After helping Kat open the diner bright and early Tuesday morning, I caught a ride to school with Colby. He didn't tell me what happened with Morgan, but it wasn't hard to guess. I spent my free first period in the library catching glares from Amelia across the room. I guessed our camaraderie from her party was over. Her eyes narrowed every time they connected with mine.
Creative writing was worse. When I got there, Morgan's friend Hannah had her butt firmly planted in my seat. Morgan's friends were closing in around her and squeezing me out. Stupid girl tears built up in the corners of my eyes, but I blinked them away. I'd never cried over a friend before, let alone someone I probably never should have been friends with in the first place. I let myself believe I was accepted, believe I was in.
Slumping into an empty seat on the other side of the room, I felt myself being torn back to reality, or at least the reality that existed before this year. Callie McCoy was meant to be the girl sitting alone. All because I chose my brother.
The look on Morgan's face told me I did the right thing. She was never my friend at all.
Mr.Chase began class by reading a couple more of our fiction stories from earlier in the semester. I barely heard a word he said and when the bell rang, I bolted from the class. Halfway to the front door of the school, I stopped. There were so many places I'd rather be than under the piercing glare of my ex-friend, but I wasn't in the wrong. Turning on my heel, I lifted my chin to hold my head high and ran down the hall toward my next class.
