Page 77 of His Red Carnation

“At least take Leo or Julian with you,” Dad called out, defeat heavy in his voice as we stopped by Callan’s SUV.

“No,” she replied with disgust, finally turning to face him. The sound of his footsteps echoed on the concrete, and her glare cut through the distance between them. “I have Callan if I need anything. You’ll be getting divorce papers soon.”

Callan looked down at the ground, stone-faced, as he opened the backseat door for my mom. The tension between my parents was unbearable, and I couldn’t stand being caught in the middle of it. Without a word, I walked around the SUV and slid into the passenger seat, slamming the door shut behind me, desperate to shut out the chaos.

Mom climbed in right after me, followed by Callan, and we drove off in heavy silence. Through the rearview mirror, I caught a glimpse of my dad standing there, watching us sullenly as we left him behind.

“Mamá, ¿estás bien?” I asked as I turned to look back at her.

Callan quickly glanced over at me, then shifted his focus back to the road ahead. Mom sighed heavily as she stared out the window, slipping on her sunglasses. “Sloane,déjame calmarme primero,” she muttered, her voice strained.

“Okay,” I replied with a nod. She wanted to be left alone, and I could understand that. I turned back to the road, my mind swirling with questions I wasn’t ready to ask.

“Where are we going?” Callan asked quietly, his eyes darting to me for a moment, as if I had any idea.

“Head east on I-50. We’ve got a lake house in St. Michaels. We’ll figure things out from there,” Mom instructed hurriedly, her voice steady as I stared out my window.

The car fell into silence for a while before Callan rested his hand gently on my thigh, his eyes still focused on the road. I glanced over at him with a small smile, then turned to look at Mom, who kept her gaze fixed on the scenery outside her window, seemingly lost in thought.

“Why don’t you ever speak Spanish to me?” Callan asked quietly, his tone light and teasing.

I snickered as I glanced back at him. “¿Hablas español?”

He shrugged, flashing me a wide grin. “Nope.” He shook his head, letting out a soft laugh.

I rolled my eyes with a smile, turning my gaze forward. “Por eso.”

The road stretched out before us, the quiet hum of the tires the only sound filling the car. Callan’s hand stayed steady on the wheel, his other resting on my thigh. I tried to focus on anything but the storm brewing inside me, gazing at the passing trees on the open road.

Without warning, a loud crash shattered the calm. The SUV jerked violently to the side, metal screeching against metal. My body slammed against the door, and my breath hitched in mychest as the world outside blurred into a chaotic swirl of color and sound.

“Callan!” I screamed, but the car kept spinning, completely out of control. Callan’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel, struggling to regain control as the SUV fishtailed, tires screeching against the pavement.

The impact hit again—harder this time. Glass shattered, raining down around me like tiny daggers, and the world seemed to move in slow motion. My heart pounded in my ears, drowning out everything else. I could hear Mom yelling, but her voice was distant, like it was coming from another world. I didn’t know which way was up or down anymore. The SUV skidded off the road, and everything stopped in an instant with a sickening jolt.

Then there was silence.

My head throbbed, my vision blurry. I blinked, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Everything felt distant, disjointed, like I was floating outside my own body.

Suddenly, hands grabbed me, strong and unyielding. I tried to push away, tried to fight, but my limbs felt heavy and useless. A wave of panic rushed over me, but before I could react, I was being pulled out of the wrecked SUV.

“Callan!” I choked out, my voice barely more than a whisper, but there was no response.

The last thing I saw was a flash of movement, a dark figure looming over me, and then everything went black.

34

Callan

My ears rang from the crash, the chaos still spinning in my head as I tried to piece together what had just happened. The scent of burning rubber filled my lungs, but I forced myself to focus.Sloane.

My head spun, but my body moved on instinct. I glanced at the passenger seat—empty. Sloane was gone.

“Ana!” I whipped around, barely catching a glimpse of her struggling to push open the backseat door. She stumbled out, her hand pressed to her forehead, looking around, dazed and disoriented.

“What happened?” she mumbled, her voice shaky as she stared at the wreckage, still trying to piece it together.

I couldn’t focus on her right now—Sloane was missing. Panic consumed me as I staggered out of the SUV, my muscles screaming in pain, but the fear swallowed everything else.

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