“Calista?” Dad asked as I slid into my seat and hunched over my empty plate. It could remain empty. I lost my appetite. “Is this true?”
My head bowed. I couldn’t look him in the eye as I admitted the truth. “Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
My gaze flicked to Patty’s dead stare. “I didn’t want you to worry.”
“Have you found another job?” Patty asked.
I shook my head and rubbed my chest. I’d been too busy wallowing in self-pity the last few days. “I’m filling out more applications this week.”
“How much do you need?” Dad leaned to the side and pulled his wallet from his back pocket. The worn leather fell open with barely a wrist flick.
“What?” My head jerked in his direction. “Dad, no. This is exactly why I didn’t tell you.”
He ignored me and pulled several hundred dollars from his wallet. Patty focused on the bills in his hand before turning to me, emotionless, but I recognized the challenge hiding beneath. Take the money, be indebted to her. Don’t take the money, keep things amicable.
The room grew smaller and hotter, suffocating me. The pressure to reach out, not only for the money but also for support and comfort, overwhelmed me. Doing it with an audience who judged me made it worse.
“Is this not enough? I can bring more this week to cover you until you get your first paycheck.”
“Calista?” Kaiden’s hushed voice broke through my impending doom. “Take the money.”
Gina’s hand landed on my knee beneath the table, and I jerked to my feet. “I need a minute.”
Run. Leave. Escape. Every fiber of my being vibrated with it.
Next thing I knew, I was staring at the wall of my childhood bedroom. I blinked and looked around. Everything seemed the same as it did when I left. Stuffed animals filled the net on onewall while posters covered the other. Photos of old friends and boyfriends remained tucked into the frame of the vanity mirror. The maroon velvet comforter was spread over the bed with the transparent, cream canopy flowing from the ceiling and tied to the posts. I was lost in the past as my gaze swept over it all.
Kaiden’s voice drifted up the stairs as he regaled his most recent job change to Dad and his mom. That boy couldn’t hold down a job for long, and his new jobs were never in the same field as his previous ones. This past year alone, he’d skipped through a minimum of fifteen, and that was being generous. He was a legitimate jack of all trades. Not that it would matter much to them. They would continue to support him, and she would continue to judge me and make my life a living hell. Anger flooded my veins. I wasn’t angry with him, though. He couldn’t help it. I was angry at the situation—one I was certain would continue until they or I died.
Swallowing the rising bitterness, I forced myself to focus on the gratitude for Kaiden playing his role and saving me from the spotlight of shame. I was a grown-ass adult fleeing to the protection of their bedroom—nix that, childhood bedroom—like the womanchild I was. I sat on the floor and leaned back against the foot of the bed. What the hell was I doing with my life? How the fuck did I even get here?
I rested my forehead on my knees and squeezed my eyes shut. I knew how I arrived at this point. Making deals with the devil as a teen doesn’t hold the same weight when you’re an adult. I thought I was smart and invincible. The older I got, the more detrimental my circumstance became. That baggage was heavy as fuck and breaking me.
“Calista.”
With a sigh, I said, “Be down in a minute.”
This was a much-needed reprieve from the pressures of life and my family. What was I going to do? I couldn’t move home.There was no way I was living with Kaiden again, and Gina and I may be best friends, but we made crappy roommates. I wouldn’t allow my life to destroy our bond because I couldn’t get my shit together.
“Calista.”
The nearness of the unfamiliar voice startled me, and I jerked my head up. No one was next to me or in the doorway. As quiet as could be, I rose to my feet and looked around the room. Weird, I thought and rubbed the rising goosebumps on my arms. I stepped over the squeaky floorboard under the rise in the carpet and checked the hall. Their hushed voices remained downstairs.
Was one of my hookups screwing with me? How did they know where I was? Were they stalking me? I nearly laughed at myself. None of my hookups came back. It was like every single one of them disappeared off the face of the earth. All except a few.
My brow furrowed as I slid the door ajar and returned to my seat on the floor. The denim over my knees grew warm and damp from my hands as I listened for any strange noise that would send me running.
“I’m losing it.”
I rested my head against the bed and stared at the vanity in front of me. A glint caught my eye from floor beneath it.
“What the—”
Crawling the few feet over, I reached under and patted around until I landed on it. That familiar pulse made me jerk back, scratching my hand on sharp bits of wood. A thin line of blood welled up through the broken skin next to my thumb.
With caution, and a shaky hand, I pulled the pendant out from under the dresser. How did it get there? The last time I saw it was a few years ago. I grew tired of always feeling his presence in my apartment. Even though I didn’t wear it, I could feel him searching for me like he wondered where I was and what I wasdoing. I had tucked it away in the vent in this room to rid myself of the creeper with the hopes it would help me start to live somewhat of a normal life without thinking of him and the stupid promise I made. Because I certainly wasn’t making any wishes. Not after the mishap with Staci Fletcher senior year.
