Yeah, if there was one good thing about taking an impromptu vacation away from your life, it was the fact you could finally catch up on all of the shows the entire world had already seen.
But, anyway, back to the dream. After the zoo, we’d somehow wound up at my apartment. All alone, no Trent to be seen. Just me and her, and my greedy hands and mouth. The only thing that would beat that dream would be reality, but I knew, if Bree and I ever got to that point, it would be different. She was a virgin, after all, and I bet she’d feel the most self-conscious she’d ever felt in her life.
I shouldn’t let myself think about that. That was getting way ahead of myself, almost outrageously so. What I should do was get up, pack my car, take a quick rinse in the shower, and leave. Tell Mom and Kyle goodbye, and then head to her house to tell her the same.
I…I didn’t want to leave her. I really didn’t, but I had to. I had a job to get back to, a life I had to clean up. Trent was on the lease for another six months, so I’d have to figure out how to deal with that. I would be okay with him moving out, but then I’d be on the hook for the rent myself, whereas right now, we split it, along with all of the other bills.
One thing at a time. First I had to say goodbye.
It took me about an hour to get up and get everything done. Kyle was still half-asleep when I said goodbye to him, and Mom was in the process of getting ready for work, too. They’d both see me again soon, but they were not the ones who I didn’t want to say goodbye to. I was twenty-five years old, so being apart from my family was something I was used to, now.
But Bree? I didn’t think I’d ever get used to being apart from her. I wanted to hold her every second of every day and make her believe all the things I told her. Somehow, she’d wrapped me around her finger without knowing it. I bet she had no idea how crazy she made me feel.
After all, I just got out of a terrible relationship. It wasn’t good to jump into a new one so fast, right? Still, even knowing that, I couldn’t change what I wanted—and that was Bree. Bree Stone, the pink-haired, green-eyed girl with a heart full of sorrow and self-depreciation.
I didn’t text Bree that I was on my way over; I’d never seen her so early in the day. She’d probably think something was wrong. It was just before eleven that I pulled up to her house, sitting back in my seat and staring at it for a few minutes before getting out. I knew she’d be here; she said she had no life.
Gathering my nerves, I headed up to the door and knocked. An older man answered it: her dad. Mr. Stone was a man with thinning brown hair and a greying goatee, along with eyes that were a bit more blue than green.
“Mr. Stone,” I said, offering him my hand since this was the first time I’d met him. “I’m Calum Renolds.”
“Ah, yes,” he said, taking my hand and shaking it vigorously. “Kyle’s brother…and the one who took Bree out a few times. Is she expecting you?”
When he finally released my hand from the handshake, I let it fall to my side as I shook my head. “She is not. I’m not here to stay long. I just wanted to see her for a bit.”
Mr. Stone stepped aside, wordlessly inviting me in. “She’s upstairs, in her room.” When I thought he’d say something else, something along the lines of leave the door open or something else threatening that a father might say to protect his daughter, he simply walked away.
I wasn’t going to complain. I was a little old to hear threats like that, and Bree was twenty years old. We were both old enough to decide what we wanted to do.
I brought myself up the stairs, not knowing what room was hers. The first room was closed, so I took the chance and knocked. A soft voice told me to come in, so I peeked my head inside first, just to make sure it was her.
And it was.
Bree sat at her desk, working on a laptop. When she saw it was me entering her room, her eyebrows furrowed and she slowly got up.
I closed the door behind me, hoping to give us some privacy for this. I didn’t know how she would take me leaving, and I didn’t know how to break it to her gently. If anything, I wanted to reassure her, to make her see that just because I was going back home didn’t mean I would automatically remove myself from her life. I wanted Bree to believe in us.
That was probably too much to hope for, since she didn’t even believe in herself. It was okay, though, because I’d be strong enough, bold enough, stubborn enough for the both of us.
“Calum,” she said, tilting her head as she studied me. She wore some kind of black pants, not quite leggings but definitely not jeans, along with her typical oversized sweater. Today her pink hair was drawn to a single shoulder, haphazardly braided and kept tied with a black band. “What are you doing here?” She did not rush to my side, didn’t rush to hug me or kiss me like another girl might’ve. She simply stood there, staring, waiting for me to explain myself.
“I came to see you,” I said, stepping closer.
