Page 89 of Elusion

“You should see your face right now.”

I can imagine. My eyes are drying out from how wide they’re stretched, and my mouth refuses to stay shut. Terrified I’ll somehow trip over a rug, juggle the book in an attempt to catch it, and land an easy ten grand in the fire on the other side of the room, I hand it back.

“You really have a passion for this,” Ray says. “What’s so compelling to you?”

“Have you ever found something that just shed light on everything else? It’s like all these possibilities and experiences have always existed. You just can’t see them until you uncover that one small piece that makes them visible. And, once you do, everything takes on a clearer meaning.” I look over when Callie laughs on the couch. “That’s kind of how it feels.”

He places the book back on the shelf. “What do you say we have dinner next month and discuss alternatives to law school?”

Eyes and mouth gape again. “I would say, does my father know you’ve been posing as him for the last several minutes, you handsome devil?”

“I might not be so handsome after I tell your mother.”

I hate to press my luck with him having bent more in the last thirty seconds than in the past twenty-one-years, but I have to ask, “What about going to school out of state just to complicate my relationship?”

He gives a thoughtful glance to the girl on the couch. “Let’s figure out what you want to do and then choose the best place for that to happen.”

I surprise both of us when I throw my arms around him, but after a second, he embraces me back.

“Mom looks like she has a wicked uppercut. Be prepared.”

He laughs, slapping me on the back. “Good lookin’ out, son.”

We stay for a glass of brandy, both Ray and Dustin taking a genuine liking to Callie. Who can blame them? She hugs them goodbye as I go upstairs. I knock on my parents’ bedroom and let myself in when no one answers.

Mother’s in a dramatic pose, sprawled across the bed with her arm draped over her face.

“Callie and I are leaving,” I say.

She doesn’t respond. I want to tell her how much I love Callie and that she makes me a better person, and if she gives her a chance, she’ll understand.

Instead, I sigh and squeeze her shoulder. “Bye, Mom.”

Callie and I cross the stone driveway to my Jeep. We only make it halfway before I lift her up and spin her around. She giggles when I set her down. I kiss her and start a list of all the places I want to take her. Because one trip at the end of summer will not be enough.

The weekend ahead of finals, Beta Void plays our last performance for the school year at a small venue twenty minutes away from State. Over the summer, we’ll sprinkle in a few shows, but everyone will work, leaving little time to practice.

My internship with Stan will start mid-June, the week following the LSAT. Until then, a substantial portion of my time will focus on studying for it. Dinner with my parents in the middle of May to discuss my future won’t deter me from taking the test to beat Dustin’s score. And I will beat Dustin’s score.

We finish up our last song and pack up our gear. Gavin walks off the stage with the last of the equipment, leaving Johnny, Benji, and me to decide on a plan for the rest of the night. Either we drive back or hang out until last call and go home in the morning.

Johnny, being Johnny, wants to base his vote on the available females. He and Jess sometimes see each other, but as long as they have an understanding, I don’t concern myself.

I help him scope out the talent when a brunette at the bar catches my eye. I squint through the club lights. Even though they’re dim and colored and move around a lot, making it difficult to spot all the most defining features of her face, everything about her resembles Callie.

I nudge Benji. “Is that our girlfriend standing by the bar?”

Both he and Johnny look over the mass of people to where she sips her mixed drink through a straw. A tall, built blond with a backward baseball cap secures his arms around her from behind. He nuzzles her neck, and she leans back against his chest. My stomach should sink, or my heart should stop, or my world should shatter, but I just watch it happen because none of this makes sense. Callie knows where we were playing, so what the fuck is she doing?

“Son of a fucking bitch,” Johnny says. “It’s that motherfucker from the party.”

“Wait, that’s Tyler?”

My eyes dart between Johnny, the dude, and … Lauren?

She drags a hand through her hair and tosses it over her shoulder. Something I’ve never seen Callie do. More than once, she’s mentioned she looks as much like her mother as Cate looks like her, but I’ve never seen her or a picture to confirm. From a distance, the similarities are astounding.

Benji’s hand grips my shirt, redirecting my focus to Johnny. He’s off the stage, his intentions clear as he practically throws people out of his way on a path leading straight toward Tyler.

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