Page 122 of Shattered

She twisted around to face him, still encircled within his arms. When the next song started playing, he pulled her as close as possible, further moving them into the middle of the crowd. The beat of the music was fast and frantic and if they had been going along with the rest of the people around them, they would have been drenched with sweat by now. Instead, Callum had them locked together, slowly shifting from side to side. No words were needed between them as they soaked in the feeling of their bodies moving as one.

She leaned against his chest and listened to the beat of his heart. It seemed to match hers perfectly, and she wondered why she’d ever questioned this thing between them. When she looked back up to him, she found his eyes planted directly down at her.

She realized then that it didn’t matter what her plans were. It didn’t matter because she had no plans if they didn’t involve him. In a matter of two months, she had gone from built up walls and unyielding resolve to happiness and peace.

Sam wasn’t sure how many songs they went through, swaying in their own little world. It was only when she felt the subtle buzz of her phone and checked it to see that Micah had texted to let her know they had made it back to the house safely and Kristin was fast asleep that she looked up to Callum.

“Callum?”

“Yeah?” He was looking at her with the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. He had drunk a little water and slightly sobered up while she and Kristin had been busy dancing.

“I’m sorry.” Her voice broke and Callum jerked back, obviously unsure as to where this was going.

He cupped her face then. “Sorry about what?”

“The other day at Topline when–”

“Wait. I can’t hear you. Follow me.” He grabbed her hand and had them outside in a matter of seconds. “What are you saying?” His lingering buzz seemed to melt away the moment he saw how distraught she was.

“The other night when I ran out of Topline. I told you that you fucked up my life, but you didn’t. I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry.”

“Sam. It’s okay. You were dealing with something and were upset.”

“That’s not an excuse. I’ve been meaning to apologize, but I just didn’t know what to say and”—she started to laugh then—“and then you started distracting me with…other things and, well…I forgot.”

“I like distracting you.”

She tentatively smiled then. “You promise you’re not mad?”

“I’m not mad. Can I ask you something, though?”

“You just did.”

He rolled his eyes. Apparently this whole asking a question to ask a question was their new thing.

“I didn’t want to ask, but since you brought it up.”

Sam took a deep breath. She knew where this was going. “I lost part of it.”

He pulled them over to a bench a few feet away. “Your scholarship? You lost it?”

“I lost it for the fall semester. I’ll have to take out a loan to cover my expenses, but they told me that if I do well, then I can possibly have it reinstated for the spring semester.”

“This is all my fault.” He buried his head in his hands.

“No, it’s really not.”

“I told you I would mess things up. I literally fuck everything up for everyone.” He stood then and started to pace.

“Callum, no!”

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. It was because of something I did back in January, weeks before I even met you.”

He stopped then and turned her way. “What did you do?”

“I messed up my class schedule. I thought I was taking enough classes to hold the scholarship and, technically, I am. I just didn’t realize it, and so I haven’t been going to one of my classes all semester.”

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