AllFreeNovel
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“It’s always okay.” Sam rolls back under the truck. “You guys go. I can finish up here.”
“You sure?” I look at him.
“Go have fun. You’re graduating soon.” He shrugs.
I look at Callie, and she grins, swipes up her bag, and we head to the back so I can wash up. “Want to hang out down here while I go shower really quick?”
“Yeah, I have some homework I can work on.” She shrugs and opens her bag and settles in at the table.
I grin because I know she hasn’t found them yet.
“SJ, when did you put…” She reaches over to kiss me, her eyes shining. “Thanks.”
“I figured you might want some study snacks and left them in there during school,” I call as I head up the stairs. “Be right back!”
I left a bag of her favorite Swedish fish and a bottle of water in her backpack earlier.
Tonight, we’re going to a party that Evan is throwing on the back property of his family’s inn. Senior year is coming to an end and we’re all trying to spend as much time together as possible before everyone goes their separate ways for the summer.
I finish getting ready and hear my dad and Callie talking below, and I pause to listen. My dad’s voice is deep and serious.
“You aren’t responsible for anything your parents do,” he says calmly.
“I’m just so sorry, Sam. For my mom and my dad. For them being such bad people.”
“Callie,” he says, reassuring her. I hear Callie crying softly.
“You always have a safe place here at the shop. I love you, kiddo.”
“Thanks.” She sniffs. “My parents have never said that.”
“What?” he asks, and my chest freezes.
“That they love me.”
“Never?” he asks in a surprised voice.
“No.”
“Well, I love you, and I know my boy loves you, too.”
“You and SJ are my family. Thanks, Sam.”
Her own parents treat her like crap. And here my dad is more of a parent than hers, and they treat him like he’s the town trash? After the things they’ve both done to betray us. I shake my head, angry. I’m going to show Callie every day how much she means to me and how much I love her. It kills me that she has to live with them. Not for long.
now
The drive out to the Golden Gable Inn is one I made countless times in high school. Callie wasn’t the only one I left behind when I went away. I left behind all our friends, too. And I regret that. In some ways when I left, I needed a clean slate. I don’t know if I can ever forgive myself for that, but looking back, it felt like the right thing to do at the time. I needed to find myself outside of Freedom Valley. To go somewhere where nobody knew me and I could start over and make something of myself. I somehow always figured that if I became someone and came back, then people would respect that.
I turn into the Golden Gable Inn, pull my truck up, and park. Evan and Beth come onto the wide front porch, each holding a baby. It blows my mind to see him as a dad. I never imagined us older and having families. I knew I’d eventually end up back here, but I didn’t ever picture what it would be like.
I get out of the truck and smile. “Hey,” I say, reaching out to give him a hug and a slap on the back. I hold one of the baby’s feet and admit to myself that they’re cute. I never pictured myself with a family, but being back here and seeing Evan with his family makes me imagine having one with Callie. And I can see it. I want that badly.
“Hey, Beth.” I hold out my hand to shake hers, but instead, she pulls me in for a hug. The baby she’s holding starts to whimper. I bend down and say, “Hey there…”
“I hope you can stay for dinner,” Beth insists. “Sasha made pot roast, homemade mashed potatoes, and garlic green beans.”
“And Allie is bringing pie,” Evan adds.
