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“Dillon, that’s all I can think about,” I said, finally admitting what I wouldn’t dare to say. “What if the person who ran my car off the road did the same to Cali? What if he’s lying in a ditch somewhere? I don’t know if I can handle that. What if I’m the reason two people I liked got hurt?”
“Hil, you can’t think like that. You don’t know why your friend’s mother ended up driving off the side of the road. Whatever you say, you’ll just be guessing. And I’m sure Cali is just off doing football things.”
“Football things? Like what?”
“I don’t know. Putting on jerseys with numbers on the back? Slapping other guys’ butts?”
“You think he could be out slapping other guy’s butts? Oh my God, it’s worse than I thought.”
There was a silence on the phone before Dillon eventually laughed.
“Okay, Hil, I’m going to assume that you realize you might be jumping the gun and worrying about nothing. Yes, it’s a little weird that you haven’t heard from him since your date. But it hasn’t even been twenty-four hours. It’s too soon to file a missing persons’ report.”
“You think I’m being ridiculous, don’t you?”
Dillon again became quiet.
“I don’t think you’re being ridiculous. You’re basing what could happen on your family’s crazy life. But Cali isn’t a part of your world. And you’re in a small town in the middle of nowhere. I don’t even know where you are. So, the fact that you are freaking out, although reasonable, isn’t necessary considering the context.”
“Wow! When did you get so smart?”
“I’m a college guy now. You should try it. And remind me again why you aren’t here with me?”
“Do you seriously think my father would let me go to school without ten bodyguards surrounding me at all times? Could you imagine me going to a frat party? Everybody would love me.”
“You do know that at some point you’re going to have to stand up to your father, right?”
“It’s easier said than done.”
“This is something I’ve never understood, Hil. Is it that you’re afraid of your father?”
“No. I know my father loves me. I know that he will do anything to protect me. It’s just that no one says no to my father. Not even me. And I know he makes the decisions he does because he’s looking out for me.
“You forget that you and I come from different worlds. The rules in my world are different. My father always says, ‘Raising a lion like he’s your pet cat will get it killed in the jungle’.”
“So, what does that mean? That he can make every decision for you until you’re trampled by elephants?”
“I’m on this trip because I’m trying to prove to him that I can make it on my own, remember? And maybe if he sees what I’m capable of, he’ll free me.”
“Or maybe he’s just waiting for you to be a lion and just take your freedom,” Dillon suggested.
I thought about that. Was that what my father wanted? Wasn’t that what Remy did? My brother never let our father tell him what he could do. Not even when we were kids. Was my mistake that I always listened to what my father said? Would my father have respected me more if I hadn’t?
“Hil?” I heard Cali say before hearing a knock on my bedroom door.
“Dillon, I’ll call you later. Cali’s back.”
“Okay. But don’t give him a pass on not calling you. You deserve better than that.”
“I’ll call you later,” I told him before ending the call and hurrying to the door.
Readying myself to see him, I didn’t know how to feel. But the moment I stood in front of him, staring into those gorgeous, soulful eyes, I knew how I felt.
“I’m so happy to see you,” I said, unable to stop myself.
Cali leaned back, surprised at my response.
“Yeah, me too,” he said seeming disarmed.
