*on hold* Until Callan moved in next door, Presley was one hundred percent, completely fine with how her life was turning out.
She never regretted dropping out of college or wasting her days working in a diner for minimum wage. Boredom never plagued...
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"I think I'm going to sleep at home tonight," I said as soon as Cal pulled up in front of his house and put the car into park. I grabbed my purse and unlatched the car door when I felt his hand on my elbow.
"No. Stay with me, please?" Cal asked.
I drew in a deep breath and faced him. This tight, heavy feeling in my chest wouldn't go away. And even though we'd been driving for an hour in silence giving me plenty of time to calm down, I was still so angry.
"I want to be alone."
Cal didn't loosen his grip on my arm. "All right. I get that. We can sleep apart tonight. But do you really want to go to bed mad? What happened with your Dad? I knew you were upset the moment I saw you."
I hadn't planned on talking about it tonight, but when he asked the question, something inside me broke. I shut the car door and looked straight ahead at the dark road, my eyes following it
where it disappeared into the trees.
"Mom got to him," I said. "He sat me down and told me I should try harder. Be more ambitious."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cal run a hand through his hair. "Shit. I didn't see that coming."
"Me neither. Dad was supposed to be neutral. I understood his loyalty to Mom. I mean, they're married. But he was always loyal to me, too. He had a perfect balance, a way of keeping her and I happy even when we were at each other's throat."
Tears stung my eyes. I told myself I wasn't going to cry, but I suddenly felt so alone. A sinking feeling, pulling me down with a force I didn't recognize. Cal held my hand. The gesture chipped away a piece of the anger I felt towards him.
"I'm sorry, Pres. That's rough."
Using my sleeve, I wiped the wetness from my cheeks. "Yeah. So now both my parents think I suck at life."
"No, they don't. They're just worried about you. And you know you're talented as hell. So even if they did think that - which they don't - you know you're pretty great."
Another piece of anger fell away as I met Callan's gaze. His warm eyes stared into mine. I knew he wasn't trying to hurt me by telling Mom about the contest. But I really wished he hadn't intervened because all it did was complicate things.
"Well, thanks. But now Mom is going to be on my case about the contest I'm not entering. One more thing for her to be on my back about."
Cal went quiet. He opened his mouth like he was going to speak, but then stopped. His brows furrowed.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing. It's just... I was hoping you'd enter. I think you have a chance at winning."
"I'm just not interested right now."
Cal shifted his body in the seat, angling towards me. Then he took my other hand in his and gave me a pointed look. "I know I'm already in the dog house, but I'm gonna risk asking this last thing. Why? Why won't you enter?"
