"I don't want to leave."
"I know. But Cal's here now. And you need to eat something and put on clean clothes and stop looking at me like I'm dying, because I'm not dying, I just have a broken leg and a very good story to tell people."
She smiles, stands, and presses her hand against Dad's arm one more time.
"I'm coming back tomorrow."
"Good." Dad settles back, looking satisfied. Then, casual as anything, like he's asking someone to pass the salt: "Cal,get her number so you can text her the address of the house. She'll need it for when I'm home. For visiting."
My eyes shoot to hers. And for the first time since I've known her, she's not the composed, unshakeable girl who held eye contact like a weapon and watched me squirm for sport.
Her lips part, and her cheeks go a shade deeper. She stares at me with an expression that mirrors exactly what I'm feeling. Pure, undiluted horror.
Of all the embarrassing things this man has done over twenty-nine years, and there have been many, this is the crowning achievement.
"Dad…"
"What? She needs the address. You have a phone. This is logistics, son."
It is not logistics and he knows it is not logistics. The look on his face is innocent, open, and absolutely full of shit. He knows exactly what he's doing and he's enjoying every second.
I pull out my phone. Lily pulls out hers. We don't look at each other once. We conduct the entire exchange like two people defusing a bomb, reading numbers mechanically while Dad watches from his pillow like a man who just won the lottery.
"Great," he says, settling back with a satisfied sigh. "Now she has your number and you have hers. For logistics."
"For logistics," Lily repeats.
"Purely practical."
"Shut up, Dad."
I pretend to look at my phone as she gathers her things and says goodbye to him, promising to visit tomorrow. At myhouse. I track her footsteps without looking up. I know exactly where she is at all times.
She pauses in the doorway.
"See you tomorrow, Callahan."
Motherfucker. The flinch hits before I can stop it, same as every time she says my full name, that same zap straight through me just like the first time we met.
"See ya, Lily." Casual. A nod. Like an absolute idiot.
She leaves and I listen to her footsteps recede down the hallway until I can't hear them anymore.
"She's a good kid, that one."
I pick up my water bottle and unscrew the cap, taking a long drink before screwing it back on like the task requires my full attention.
"Yeah. I guess."
The smile stays on his face long after he's dozed off. I sit in the chair and watch him. He needs to rest until surgery. I need to call the chief and ask for leave. And I need to figure out what the hell I'm going to do about tomorrow.
7
LILY
The text comes the day after the hospital. Short, polite, a command dressed up as a suggestion.
Callahan
