Page 89 of We Thought We Were Invincible
“I'm home on leave, but I head back to base in a few days.”
A sudden interest struck me and I found myself leaning forward. “Are you glad you joined up?”
Logan's face brightened. “Best damn decision I ever made. Before, I didn't know anything. I was always getting in trouble. There's something about fighting for something bigger than ourselves that lets us figure out who we really are. It changed my life. Let me prove to people that I was more than the person I'd been.”
His words cemented themselves in my brain and I knew without a doubt that they weren't ones I'd forget any time soon.
35
Callie
What did I like to do? What was I good at? Those were the questions the visiting speaker had for us in Creative Writing. Mr.Chase brought in a woman who was supposed to help us figure out what we might want to do in life.
Surfing. That's the only thing I came up with and she looked at me like I was a little nuts. Yes, I knew I wasn't going to surf for a career. I wasn't good enough to be a professional.
I liked to write - something I'd found out first semester and kept doing when I had the time. I was even kind of good at it. Once again - not exactly a legit career choice. She'd asked if I knew how many writers never made it.
Plus, there was the whole college thing to consider. I wasn't going.
After that, I came up blank.
Beside me, Morgan was chattering away about all the things she could see herself doing.
I stuck my hand in my backpack, running my fingertips over the now familiar picture. That was what I wanted.
The last month of senior year was a little pointless. There were no exams to prepare for. No homework to be done. Our senior projects were turned in last week. It was just a whole lot of waiting.
That's why I had no problem with leaving after my first class. Okay, it wasn't like I'd had issues with it before, but now it felt different.
I didn't text Jamie to ditch with me. No, today I had a mission. It'd been over a month since Colby and I found the picture. I wanted answers.
The diner was now closed on Mondays so I hoped I'd find Kat at home.
She looked up from her coffee when I pulled open the door.
“Hi, sweetie, what are you doing home?”
I marched toward the table and slapped the picture down.
It took a moment for the image to register with her. “Where did you find this?” She lifted it gingerly to get a better look.
I didn't answer her question. “That's our dad, isn't it?”
“Yes.” Thickness clouded her voice. “That's Asher.”
“Asher?” I demanded. “Then who the hell is E?” I turned the picture over to show her the writing on the back.
She sighed. “There's so much you don't know.”
“And whose fault is that?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Yours and mom's.”
“Don't you dare blame this on her.”
“She never told us anything.”
“You were a kid when she died,” Kat yelled. Squeezing her eyes shut, she sighed. “You're still a kid.” Opening her eyes, she stared at me in sadness. “If I tell you, you're going to go. I know you, Cal. And your mom didn't want you in that life.”
“Go where? What life?”
