tragically beautiful | grayson dolan

thirty three

callie

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Maggie softly says while giving me a questionable glare.

I'm sitting on the couch in her living room, cuddled up against a blanket. I respectfully asked her not to put on the fireplace across from me. Even though it's a beautiful touch to the room, and it's thirty degrees outside, fire is still a sensitive subject for me. Seeing flames will probably freak me out. I started to have nightmares about the incident.

"I'm sure, I already have my ticket." I nod, glancing down at my phone.

"I think it's a good idea." Mark chimes in. My eyes move to him making a cup of coffee in the kitchen. "Newfield isn't the best environment to be in, especially after everything that's happened."

"No, I agree. I just want to make sure you're going to be okay." Maggie nods and takes a seat next to me. She's been worried since I told her I bought a one way ticket out of here. "You've had this planned for years. It's why you chose a college so far away, you never intended to stay here permanently."

"Where is the bus taking you?" Mark continues to ask questions.

"I have no idea, that's the beauty of it all. Everything is a mystery." Just like me. I lean my head back on the couch and exhale a breath.

"This doesn't sound like a safe plan." My sister states.

"Maybe it's the worst plan I could think of, but I need to go." I look down at my duffle bag that's sitting on the floor. It's been taunting me all day. No matter how many doubts I have, I can't back out now.

Maggie clears her throat and places her hand on her stomach. She's briefly showing her baby bump, but she still has a long time to go before my niece or nephew arrives. "What am I going to tell him?"

I don't even need to play dumb and ask who him is. "Remind him it's for the best. That I needed to leave."

"He's going to be heart broken." She says in a sad tone.

"I am, too" I try to stop some tears from falling onto my cheeks. I already silently cried the entire night thinking about leaving him behind. "This wasn't an easy decision, but I have to do this. I can't bring Grayson any more harm."

"I understand why you have to go." Maggie takes my hand in hers and pulls me close. "But I'm still going to miss you. We were just starting to fix our relationship."

"I think this will only make us stronger." I shrug, looking her in the eye.

I've held a lot of hatred and grudges over my sister these past few years. Everything she did was perfect, yet I was the fuck up. That's what my deadbeat mother always said. She constantly compared us, which ruined my self esteem. But now, I realize that Maggie was also just a kid with messed up parents.

"You're growing up so fast." She nods, rubbing her lips together. "What about going back to college? Becoming a therapist? Are you still going to do that?"

"That dream was a little out of reach." I shrug, facing reality.

"It's still attainable, though." Mark chimes in from the kitchen.

"Not right now. I need to reset my brain and reevaluate my life first."

"Do you think he'll come looking for you?" Maggie whispers and my heart drops at the thought.

"I told him not to contact me." My head automatically shakes. "He hasn't tried, my phone has been silent. I haven't even heard from Ethan. They definitely found the letter by now."