Page 92 of We Thought We Were Invincible
I kissed her like it could be the last time, breathing in her sweet perfume, burning every moment into memory. I'd been in love with Callie as long as I could remember, but it had never been as powerful as it was in that moment, when I knew I'd have to let go.
She drew back, wrapping her arms around herself for protection. High school was ending, and we both knew what that could mean.
Her eyes held an uncertain glaze before they sharpened into a look I knew only too well. It was wholly Callie. “My mom was a movie star,” she blurted, her chest heaving with a sudden laugh.
“That's a weird way to break the tension.” I laughed with her.
“No, I'm serious.” And then she told me the most incredulous story I'd ever heard. If I didn't know the girl telling it to me, I wouldn't have believed it. She held out a picture someone had cut from a newspaper.
The woman in it had Callie's eyes - sharp, eyes that saw everything but also held a softness around the edges.
Her mom ran from stardom while pregnant with two babies. It had the makings of some ridiculous movie that threw believability right out the window.
“I don't know what to say.” I handed her back the picture and ran a hand through my hair, trying to recall what I remembered of her mom. She was a great cook and an even better surfer. Kind. A mother to me.
“How did people in this town not know who was living here?” I asked.
“That's just it. They didn't know Allison McCoy was a movie star, just that she was said to be living in Europe until she came home pregnant.”
“Someone had to have known.”
Callie shrugged. “Jamie, I'm going.”
“What?”
“Maybe just for the summer. Hell, maybe I'll get there and come right on back. But I need to meet him. My dad.”
“You should.” It'd make my news easier for her if she had a plan, but it didn't mean it was easier for me. I knew her - knew that she'd stay in California until her father gave her exactly what she wanted, the answers she needed. She wouldn't come back without them and now I wouldn't be here when she did.
“I want you to come.” She grabbed my hand. “I don't want to do it without you and you don't have any plans this summer, right? Kat has a buyer for the diner and I can use my money from the sale and my mom left me some money too. It's all planned.”
She was rambling in excitement.
I sucked in a breath, willing myself to get it over with. Rip off the band-aid, spilling my guts forth.
“I can't,” I finally cut her off.
“Wait, what?”
“I just signed the papers today.”
“Could you be any more vague?”
“The army.”
She stopped talking then, removing her hand from mine. The world seemed to tilt as I waited for her response. My stomach churned in anticipation.
Emotions flitted across her face. Shock. Anger. And lastly, hurt. Deep, deep hurt. The pain in her eyes nearly killed me.
“Callie,” I croaked, reaching for her.
She stepped back, shaking her head. “Explain, please,” she said, her voice small.
Sticking my hands deep in the pockets of my jeans, I shifted from foot to foot. “I'll try. My entire life, I've been the screw up.” When she looked up sharply, I continued, my voice less sure than before. “It's okay. It was my fault. But I don't want to be that person anymore. College isn't for me and it took me a long time to see that. I need to be a part of something. I need to get away from this town and this life.”
“Away from me,” she whispered.
“God no. Callie, I love you.”
