Page 92 of Shattered

“Not long at all.”

Sam nodded her head before turning around to fully face him.

“You make a decision yet?”

“I think it’s best if I stay up here and you stay down there.”

“You’re slowly killing me.” He leaned back to rest his head against the wall.

“At least you’ll die with a full belly,” Sam noted and he laughed.

Then, by some miracle, she gained an absurd amount of courage and hooked her finger on the collar of his shirt, pulling his face down to meet hers. She noted a quick moment of shock that crossed his features before she tilted her head upward, closed her eyes, and planted a simple kiss on his lips. Callum lingered for a moment with his eyes closed after she pulled away.

“Don’t make me beg. Please come downstairs with me.”

Sam shook her head while slowly pushing him back and out of the room.

“I’ll see you for lunch.”

“Sam?” Callum pleaded one more time as his feet backed over the threshold.

“Goodnight, Callum,” Sam stated with a smile as she shut the door.

Chapter 40 - Sam

“What time do you think we should head their way?” Kristin asked as she turned over to sun her back.

“I don’t know. Have you been texting Micah to see what they want?”

Kristin laughed. “Yeah. They don’t care as long as it’s seafood and fried.”

Sam laughed as well, then stretched out further on the chair, trying to relax. The hot sun felt good as it warmed up her skin, turning it a slight shade of pink in the process. It didn’t, however, do a damn thing to take her thoughts away from Callum.

She had debated heading down to his room the previous night for longer than she wanted to admit. But in the end, she’d convinced herself it was better to stay where she was. Once she’d finally made her way to bed, sleep had come easier than she had anticipated. She had worried she would still toss and turn all night, consumed with thoughts of him.

A small, and admittedly selfish part of her, had hoped he had done the same.

If she was being completely honest, she hadn’t been on her best behavior last night. She had had a secondary reason for staying upstairs. She’d wanted to explore his room. To try and get a sense of what trauma happened in his youth to make him grow up into the guarded man she knew today. She definitely remembered him mentioning there was something they’d all endured, but he’d never opened up about what that was. The walls, covered with brightly-colored artwork from his youth, were a bright teal color, his bed a typical teenage boy dark bedspread, and flowing gauzy curtains matched. On the art table, she found supplies fit for sketching, painting, modeling, and even…drafting? He had said his father was an architect, so she wondered if he had tried his hand at it as well.

There had also been a few photos pinned to a bulletin board. Callum holding a fish about the length of his arm. A very young Callum smiling at the camera from over a woman’s shoulder. Sam assumed perhaps it was his mother, but she was facing away from the camera, so she couldn’t get a glimpse of her features other than her dark, wavy hair. Callum, Connor, and Amelia dressed in matching outfits for family photos. He and his brother looked almost exactly the same. She wouldn’t have been able to tell them apart except for Connor being slightly taller. Amelia had her same long, dark, wild hair. A photograph of an older Callum with his arm draped around a beautiful young woman Sam had never heard of, but she presumed was probably an ex-girlfriend. Sam was embarrassed to admit, even if only to herself, that she was a bit jealous of that photo and what it indicated.

“—are a few good ones on King, but we should start with The Market,” Kristin said in complete oblivion of where Sam’s mind had gone. She smiled at Kristin, hoping that satisfied whatever statement she had previously made. “It’s almost noon already. Let’s go get ready and head their way.”

She gathered her towel and headed for the door.

*******

“Here you go.” Kristin smiled as she laid a white sundress on the bed.

Sam furrowed her brow.

“I was just going to wear some shorts and a t-shirt.”

“No, you are wearing that dress and these sandals. I brought them down just for you.”

Sam eyed the outfit. It was very pretty, but nothing at all like

what she would usually wear. When Sam wasn’t in her work uniform, she typically stuck with jeans or shorts paired with a tank or t-shirt. She had exactly one sundress. Which just so happened to be the one Callum had taken off of her.

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