The Scars That Broke Her

Chapter 10

Are two atoms of the same element identical?

What is the center of an atom called?

Which element has the symbol, Au?

My frown deepened as I stared at the questions in front of me. I thought that if I stared long enough, the answers would come to me. I was wrong. It seemed like the longer I stared, the more confused I got. I groaned. It was no use.

"I'm glad to see you're okay." Callan said coming up behind me. He set his backpack on the ground as he slid into the seat across from me. "I tried texting you."

"Which element has the symbol, Au?" I asked, my eyes still staring at my homework. Setting his notebook on the table, Callan peered at the paper in front of me. His eyes flickered from the paper to me, an amused look written on his features. "You tried texting me?"

"You know which element has the symbol, Au." He paused, then answered my next question. "Of course, I did. To make sure you got home okay." He said nonchalantly. I couldn't help the smile that pulled at my lips. He had been quite worried watching me and Tate leave the party, especially since I needed his help practically dragging Tate to the car. It didn't surprise me that he wanted to check up on us. It was in his nature. What did surprise me was that he texted me and not Tate, seeing as how it was my brother who threw up all over the grass before we drove away.

"Clearly I don't." I huffed in annoyance.

Callan just looked at me. He sat back in his chair, his arms crossed. "Yes, you do."

"Callan," I glared at him. "I wouldn't be asking if I knew the answer."

Callan sighed, "Gold."

"Gold." I looked at him dubiously. "How the heck is Au gold? How does that make sense?"

"Don't ask me."

"This isn't even my fault anymore." I grumbled, scribbling the answer on my paper. "I left my phone at Kenna's." I explained finally, feeling slightly embarrassed. After my phone call with Eli, Callan and I went back inside. We got sucked back into the party, so it wasn't hard to forget my phone laying in the damp grass. I hadn't even realized it was missing until this morning when I tried to text Clove. To be honest, the time away from it has been nice. I didn't have to deal with Eli's constant nagging. I'm only slightly concerned about his reaction to my silence when I finally get my phone back.

"And here I was thinking you were ignoring me."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Even if I had my phone, I probably wouldn't have texted you back." I was only half joking. I still wasn't too sure how I felt about letting my walls down around Callan. Talking to him at the party was nice and all, but I wasn't sure I was ready to break my walls down for him just yet.

Callan snickered, shaking his head. "I thought we were over this whole rule nonsense."

"I told you I would see how I feel."

"And?"

"And I haven't decided yet."

"Hmm." He responded thoughtfully. I nodded my head firmly causing a small chuckle to emit from his lips. "You aren't going to get rid of me that easily, Noa Barrett."

"Are two atoms of the same element identical?" I asked, turning my gaze back to my homework.

"Noa, I can't just give you the answers."

  "Then what's the point in having a tutor?" 

"So, you can learn the material." He leaned forward against the table.