“Why would you feel unsafe?” I ask, leaning against the street post.
Her jaw clenches. “For a lot of reasons.”
I wonder if those reasons played into her panic when she thought I was asking her out.
I stare down at the bright blue, doodle-covered cast on my arm. “Sometimes, I feel unsafe walking around in my own skin, too, but then I think about how unfair it is for me to pretend to be someone else and honestly, how fucking boring it is not being me.” I flash her a grin.
A soft giggle escapes her lips. She’s so shocked by the sound that I question how long it’s been since she’s laughed.
“You know what?” she asks as we start across the street. “I think you were right about the opposites attract thing. I think…” She considers her words. “I think you could be a good friend for me.”
“Oh, honey, I’m going to be the most amazing friend you’ve ever had,” I say as I hop onto the curb.
“I have to warn you, I haven’t had many friends.” She steps onto the curb with me. “So Most Amazing Friend is a pretty easy title to win.”
“Honestly, I haven’t had that many, either,” I tell her as we cross the parking lot. “And I pretty much lost all of them when I…” I glance down at my arm as my thoughts drift back to my past.
“What happened?” she asks, pulling open the door to the café.
“It’s a long, painful story,” I reply as I step inside. The scent of fresh coffee and baked goods fills my nostrils and I breathe it in.
“Mine, too,” she says as we move for the counter. “I mean, the story of why I wear these clothes is.”
I glance up at the menu to figure out what to order, but quickly look back at her when an idea pops into my head.
“How about this,” I say. “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”
Her head angles to the side as she considers my offer. “It might take some time for me to tell you everything, but if you’re willing to be patient, then you have yourself a deal.”
Patience has never been my strong suit, but I like the idea of having someone to share my story with. I just hope I can trust her.
I stick out my hand and she hesitantly takes it. “All right, Callie. You have yourself a deal. And a brand new best friend.”
Chapter 2
Three Months later…
Seth
“God, it’s like spazzville around here today,” I remark to Callie while scrunching my nose at the freshmen scrambling around the campus yard. I wait for her to join in on the fun of mocking our student body, but, as usual, Callie has dazed off. “Are you spacing off on me again?”
She blinks her attention to me and playfully nudges me in the shoulder. “Now don’t be arrogant. Just because we both decided to do the summer semester and we know where everything is, doesn’t make us better than them.”
“Uh, yeah, it kind of does.” I roll my eyes at her absurd logic. “We’re like upper class freshmen.”
She sips her coffee to hide her smile, something only I seem able to bring out. “You know there’s no such thing as an upper class freshman.”
I sigh, running my fingers through my lightly tousled hair. “Yeah, I know, especially for people like you and me. We’re like two black sheep.”
Which might be the truest statement I’ve ever said. Over the last three months, I’ve learned a lot about Callie and just how traumatic her past was. Raped by her older brother’s friend at twelve, Callie has spent the years since then hiding what happened and building a shell around herself, cloaking herself in ugly, baggy clothes and isolating herself from her friends until she had none left. I’ve made it my mission the last few months to push her out of her shell.
Yeah, she’s still a work in progress. I have yet to get her to wear a dress, shorts, or anything remotely tight enough to show off her petite figure. I’m working on it, though.
“There are many more black sheep out there than just you and me,” she disagrees with me, as she typically does. “And I’ve toned it down. I’m even wearing a red t-shirt today, like the list said to do.”
My lips quirk. “Which would look even better if you’d let those pretty locks of yours down, instead of hiding them in that ponytail all the time.”
“One step at a time,” she says. “It was hard enough just letting my hair grow out. It makes me feel weird. Besides, that has yet to be added to the list.”
Aw, the infamous list, one of my most brilliant drunken plans. After a night of one too many shots of vodka, we confessed our darkest secrets and then I decided that we should make a list of things we’re most afraid to do. Over the last couple of months, we’ve been gradually working to cross items off.
“Well, it needs to be. In fact, I’m doing it when I get back to my room. Plus, you’re still wearing that God-awful hoodie,” I say, tugging on the bottom of her ratty grey jacket. “I thought we talked about that hideous thing. That you’re beautiful and you don’t need to cover up. Besides, it’s like eighty degrees outside.”
She wraps the jacket around herself. “Subject change, please.”
I swing my arm around her and sigh, but give her exactly what she asks. “Fine, but one day we’re going to talk about a complete makeover, which I will supervise.”
She sighs heavily. “We’ll see.”
Her Debby Downer attitude is ruining my mood. As her best friend, it’s my job to cheer her up.
I slam to a halt and whirl around in front of her. “I just have to say one more thing.” I place a finger to the corner of her eye. “I like the maroon eyeliner much better than the excessive black.”
“I have your approval on that.” She presses her hand dramatically to her heart, a gesture she picked up from me. “I’m so relieved. It’s been weighing on my mind since this morning.”
I roll my eyes as I smile. “You’re doing good in every department, I just wish you’d wear a dress or shorts or something for once and show off those legs of yours.”
Her expression instantly sinks. “Seth, you know why… I mean, you know… I can’t…”
“I know. I’m just trying to be encouraging.”
“I know you are and that’s why I love you.”