Page 6 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
“I’m living on campus,” he said.
“Oh.”
Cal let his hand fall to his lap. “I should have told you as soon as I got the letter, Lina. Instead, I waited to the last possible minute because I didn’t want our time to be ruined by thinking about it ending.”
“Ending?” I breathed. My heart fluttered, and my palms started to sweat. “What do you mean, ending?”
“My flight to Boston leaves tomorrow at seven o’clock.”
“At night?”
“Morning,” he said.
I swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in my throat. It was hot, and it hurt, and a pressure formed behind my eyes. Don’t cry, Lina. Don’t you dare cry. Not here. “Do you not want me to come with you to Boston?”
Cal didn’t say anything for what felt like an eternity. When he did finally speak, his voice was steadier than mine would be if I were him. “I think you should apply to Pratt’s winter semester. You shouldn’t pass up on your dream just to follow me.”
“But you’re my dream, Callum. Don’t you understand? I want to be with you. Nothing else matters if I’m not with you.”
“Lina,” he said softly, reaching out to put a hand on my knee.
I jerked away. I wasn’t sure if it was instinct or not. It felt like someone else was in control of my body. I stood up, and the bed creaked. “How could you make a decision like this without talking to me about it? We had plans, Cal. We were going to travel. To work. And then go to school. Together.”
He spread his hands helplessly. “But this is Harvard.”
“I get that,” I snapped. “But this is me, too. If you’d given me a bit of time, we could have worked this out. But all of a sudden, you’re leaving tomorrow. We didn’t have any time to plan. What is this going to look like? Am I going to drive up to see you one weekend, and you drive up to see me the other? That’s not enough time!”
Cal frowned and looked at his hands. “With my course load, I don’t think I can give up my entire weekend to see you.”
“Wow,” I breathed.
“Lina, that’s not what I meant. I just mean that I’m going to be buried beneath stacks of books. The first few years of pre-law are the hardest, and I don’t think I can give you what you need while I’m studying—”
I held up my hands to silence him. It worked. He was looking at me like I was a puppy he’d just kicked. “I get it, Cal. Believe me. I fucking get it.”
I marched over to the cooler where my bottle of wine was sitting, scooped it up, and marched out of the bedroom. Cal was hot on my heels, asking me to stay. To talk it out a little longer.
I shook my head. “I have nothing else to say to you, you asshole.” The tears were starting to cling to my lashes. I only had seconds left before I lost control and was reduced to sobs. I didn’t want to do that in front of him.
Kelli saw me coming. She was standing with David near the front door. Her eyes widened a little. “Lina, what’s going on?”
I grabbed her elbow. “We’re leaving.”
“Okay,” she said, pushing her beer into David’s hands. “Are you okay? What happened?”
We stepped out onto the porch. Cal was right behind us, and David was following him out.
I spun back to face them. My hair whipped around and got caught in my lipstick. I jabbed a finger at Cal, who still stood at the top of the stairs on the deck. “Screw you for making this my memory of graduation, Callum. You ruined everything!”
The sobbing started as soon as I turned my back to him and took my first step off the curb.
3
CALLUM
15 Years Later - Present Day
It was raining. Soon, the pattering of raindrops on my bedroom window would be replaced with the soothing silence of snowfall. It was Christmas time in Pittsburgh.
