The Redemption of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen Read Free Book Online

what’s in
    here.”

    Usually I bail on these situations. Otherwise I’ll end up feeling
    things I don’t want to, and then I have to take it out on my body
    just to cope. But I can’t here. They won’t let me anywhere near
    anything sharp, especially razors. My jawline and chin are
    extremely scruffy because I haven’t shaved in a week.

    “This is getting way too heart-to-heart for me,” I say and
    grab onto the sides of the chair to push myself up.

    He holds up his hand, signaling for me to sit back down.
    “Okay, we don’t have to talk about your feelings, but I want you to
    answer one thing for me.”

    I stare blankly at him as I lower myself back into the chair.
    “That depends on what that one thing is.”

    He taps the pen against the notebooks as he deliberates.
    “Why did you go to the party that night?”

    “It’s always the same question with you.”

    “Because it’s an important question.”

    I shake my head as my pulse speeds up with either anger or
    fear—I can’t tell. “I went there to beat Caleb Miller up. You know
    that.”

    “Yes, but why?”

    “Why what?” I’m getting annoyed, frustrated, and pissed off,
    and the anger snakes through my veins underneath my skin.

    “Why did you beat him up?” It’s like he’s stuck on repeat and
    I want him to shut the hell up.

    My heart knocks inside my chest like a damn jackhammer
    and all I want is something sharp or rough—anything that can
    calm my pulse down. I’m glancing around in a panic, searching for
    something, but the room is bare. I can’t do this. I can’t do this.
    Fuck! “Because he hurt someone.” My voice comes out piercing
    and uneven and makes me sound weak and pathetic.

    He sits forward in the chair. “Someone you care about?”

    “Obviously.” I shake my head, annoyed. My heart is still
    beating too loud and I can barely think straight.

    He raises his eyebrows. “Someone you love?”

    My pulse speeds even more, erratic and without a distinct
    beat. I feel it pulsating underneath every wound and scar on my
    body. Love? Do I love Callie? Can I? “I don’t think I even know what
    love is.”

    He looks like he’s struck gold and found an insight into
    what’s locked away in my soul. “Can you answer just one more
    question for me?”

    I throw my hands in the air exasperatedly. “Do whatever the
    hell you want. You’re already on a roll.”

    He asks, “Do you think you deserve love?”

    “I already told you I don’t even know what it is,” I mutter and
    he waits for me to divulge more information. What does he want
    from me? To tell him that my dad beats the shit out of me? That
    my mom’s a drug-addicted zombie? That the only exchange of
    love I’ve ever gotten is from Daisy and that felt about as plastic
    and as fake as things can get.

    He writes down a few notes, then clicks his pen and tucks it
    away in his pocket before shutting his notebook again. “I think we
    might have made some progress today.” He checks his watch and
    then gets to his feet, retrieving his trench coat from off the back of the chair. “Keep it up, and maybe you can have visitors who are
    not family.”

    I slump back into the chair. “I’m not sure if I want visitors,” I
    mumble.

    He doesn’t seem to hear me. When he reaches the door, he
    slips his arm through the sleeve of his jacket, secures the belt
    around his waist, and sticks his hand into his pocket. “And Kayden,
    keep using this, no matter how many times it breaks. We can
    always get you a new one.” He throws a rubber band at me and I
    catch it effortlessly. For a second I’m back on the field, running and catching the ball, free from life.

    I wish I were back there, fixed and mended. But unlike the
    rubber band, I’m not sure I can be fixed so easily.
    Callie

    “I can’t believe your truck doesn’t have a CD player,” Seth
    says with his arm extended across the front of me as he fiddles
    with the volume on the stereo. He has on a