tragically beautiful | grayson dolan

ten

callie

It's bright. It's too fucking bright. Squinting my eyes, I see sunlight peeking through the window of my car. I squeezed myself into the backseat last night and slept in a random parking lot. It was far away from Caden's house, so he wouldn't be able to find me.

Rotating my head, I try to get the aches out of my neck. That was definitely an uncomfortable sleep, but I didn't want to surrender and go back to my house. As long as Jason is around, I can't be there. My sister doesn't know what boundaries are.

My head is pounding as I reach into the front seat, feeling for my lighter and the half-smoked joint I took with me last night. I light it up, letting the smoke fill my lungs. I hold it out as long as I can before a cough escapes my lips.

I lie back, one arm behind my head, the other pinching the blunt to my lips. The familiar buzz makes its way through my body, and I'm about to pass out again when my phone loudly rings through the car. I fumble around, finding it under the seat.

"Hello?" I answer without even checking the screen. My voice sounds rough, like I smoked eighty packs of cigarettes last night, so I clear my throat.

"Rise and shine, Callie." Mark says. I'm automatically confused why my sister's boyfriend is calling me.

"What time is it?" I furrow my eyebrows and look around.

"Noon. Your sister needs you at the Star Diner. One of her servers quit and Kelsey's out of town."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Because she needs your help." Mark says in a calm tone. "You owe her this at least."

I roll my eyes, knowing this is his way of forcing us to patch things up. I haven't spoken to Maggie since storming out of the house.

We're both stubborn as fuck, but our wars don't usually last long. However, Jason makes me uneasy.

I could always talk to her about it, but I feel like it's talking to a brick wall. She's been shutting me out for years and I never understood why.

I get the situation isn't ideal, and many people do know what happened, but that's out of Maggie's control. She shouldn't push me away because of something Jason did. Or didn't do, for that matter.

I think of my options. I could tell him no and keep the drama going. Or I could do her a solid and use this as a way to clear the air.

She's the only family I have left. Despite not wanting to live with her under the weird circumstances, I would like to remain at peace with her.

"When?" I groan.

"Now. Get there as quickly as you can." He says before hanging up.

I stub out my joint and grab the deodorant from my duffle bag. I showered before I left for the party last night, but now I have nowhere else to go.

Quickly getting ready, I throw on a pair of black jeans and a red t-shirt before getting into the driver's seat. I throw on some makeup and brush through my messy hair.

As I drive over to the diner, I try to get the feeling of Caden's hand on my thigh out of my brain. It replays over and over as I grip onto the steering wheel.

Normally I wouldn't get freaked out, but the way he was touching me brought back a memory I'd rather forget.

I inhale a sharp breath when I arrive at my destination. I've been stalling, but I have to face Maggie sooner or later. She's going to question me about where I've been and what I've been doing. I'm not in the mood for that, but I have no other choice.