The Resolution of Callie & Kayden (The Coincidence, #6)

‘That sounds super boring.’ I lie down in the bed and turn on my side to face him.

‘Actually, it was super entertaining.’ He grabs something from his bag, flips on a lamp nearby, and then turns to me. There’s a small, silver box in his hand and a sparkle in his eyes. ‘Merry Christmas.’ He gives me the box as he lies back down beside me.

I wait a moment or two, trying not to think too hard about what’s in it. Finally, I just open it.

Then I stop breathing.

‘Oh my God, you didn’t have to do this …’ I whisper in awe.

‘I know I didn’t,’ Kayden says, watching me with a smile on his face, ‘but I wanted to.’

Inside the box is probably one of the coolest necklaces I’ve seen. It’s in no way traditional, which makes me love it even more. The silver pendant is shaped like a book, and when I pick it up, I noticed it’s engraved on the front with By Callie Lawrence. It also opens up like a locket but the inside is blank, like fresh pages ready to be stained with a story.

‘Do you like it?’ he finally asks and I realize that beneath his grin, he’s waiting for my approval.

‘It’s perfect,’ I say then lean over to kiss him.

‘Good,’ he says between kisses. ‘I’m glad you like it. It’s for when you write your story. To show I believe in you.’

I almost start crying right there. ‘I love it.’ I put the necklace on, promising to never take it off. Then I lie down and snuggle against him beneath the covers, feeling more content than I ever have.

I’m about to fall asleep when he asks, ‘Can I read it now?’

My eyelids lift open. ‘Read what?’

‘Your story,’ he says with a lopsided grin as he stares down at me expectantly. ‘I saw you type “The End.”’

I suddenly get nervous and my palms get so sweaty I have to wipe them off on the front of my shirt. ‘You want to read it right now?’

He nods enthusiastically. ‘I do.’

‘Um … okay.’ I turn over and reach for my laptop, feeling even more anxious. I hope he likes it, hope he understands it, because really, he’s half the story.

And one of the most important parts.

He tells me I can go to sleep while he reads it, but there’s no way I can shut my eyes. So I end up lying there, staring at all the patches in the ceiling until he finishes. I know the exact moment he does because I can hear his breathing quicken. Then he sets the laptop aside and rolls over to me. He just stares at me and I can’t read him at all.

‘So what’d you think?’ I ask, aiming for indifferent but ending up sounding like a bundle of nerves.

He’s silent for forever, each second passing almost painfully slow. ‘I think it’s beautiful and meaningful and real,’ he finally says, his tone radiating every emotion he’s feeling. ‘Although, I’m pretty sure ours gets a happily ever after.’

‘You think so?’ I ask with a soft smile. ‘Because that’s a big promise.’

His smile reflects mine. ‘No, I know so.’

And then he kisses me.

But this isn’t the end of our story just yet.

In fact, it kind of feels like the beginning.





Chapter 27


#103 Outrun Leave Your Inner Demons Behind and Find Your Love for the Game.



Kayden


It’s the last game of the season and I’m feeling pretty good. Things have been amazing with Callie and I’ve been focusing on the future instead of the past. It’s been that way for the last month, ever since I said my goodbye. I’m not happy all the time, though, but then again no one ever is. I still feel the slightest bit of guilt and sadness whenever I think of my father and how it all ended, but that happens very rarely.

What almost always happens is that I’m happy, not just with Callie and mine’s relationship, but with myself. It took me forever to get to this place, to let go, but I’ve managed to find my own form of inner peace with all that happened to me. And I can honestly say that my life is great at the moment.

Right now, I’m fucking amped up, though, as I get ready to make the last play of the game. If we don’t make it, we lose, but I’m not betting on us losing, In fact, I can feel it in the air, in the hollers of the crowd, in the lights that are so fucking bright it’s blinding. From the fucking way that I’m loving every minute of this.

My team is lined up and I’m hunched over, waiting for the snap. My heart is thudding, my skin damp with sweat, my feet ready. And my mind …

Is silent.

I hear everything. From the sound of the footsteps, to my coach shouting something on the sidelines. I can also hear my own voice.

You can do it.

I know I can.

My heart slams against my chest as the ball is snapped in my directions. My fingers perfectly wrap around it and then I’m running back, looking for the perfect throw. But then I realize there’s no perfect through, but a close one. So I spring my arm back and let the ball slip from my fingers and soar away.

I let it all soar away as I breathe freely for the first time, waiting for it to happen.

The ball climbs higher and so does my pulse. I swear the crowd is holding their breaths, but maybe that’s because I’m holding mine as I watch the ball reach its peak and then drop.

It drops.

And drops.

And drops.

Then it lands perfectly in the receiver’s hands.

Perfect.

Touchdown!

The crowd starts cheering and so do my teammates as we win the game. And this time I join them, cheering and happy as I look up at the crowd where I know Callie is watching me with pride. But only part of my celebration is because I kicked ass and played my heart out. The other part is because I’ve finally left my inner demons behind and found my love for the game.





Epilogue


A little over a year later …

#595 Make You Happy After Official (because it’s about damn time)



Callie


Life is great. Not perfect, but life never is. But perfection would be boring anyway. For the most part, things are good, though. Kayden and I are still living together, and plan to stay that way for a while. Our walls are covered in photos of us as a couple, with family, with friends. It shows how whole our lives are and how far we’ve both come.

There’s been a lot of talk about him getting drafted next year, though, and we did have the talk even though it’s early. It only took us like two minutes of him laying out all the reasons why he needs me to come with him if he leaves Laramie, and it took me like half a second to sputter that I’d follow him anywhere, that I can write anywhere since that’s what I’ve been doing and plan to keep doing. That a life without him would be a sad life I never want to have.

We have a little routine now where we alternate holidays between my parents’ house and his brother’s in Virginia. I got to meet a sober Tyler about six months ago and that was nice. And Kayden hasn’t cut himself in just over a year. The sadness in his eyes is gone, except for on occasion, like when he gets a random call from his mother. He never answers her, though, or calls her back, and her voicemails are anything but persuading.

But other than the occasional sadness and silly fights, Kayden and I are going strong. He tells me every day that he loves me and I tell him every day how important he is to me. Our happy after is working quite well for us and seems to only get better in time. It makes me excited for what the future holds – our future. Makes me excited that we have a future.

‘Writing again, I see,’ Seth interrupts my thoughts as he strolls into my living room without even knocking. He doesn’t bother to shut the door either, even though it’s freezing outside and a light gust of snow blows in.

‘What if I hadn’t been dressed?’ I joke, closing my journal. It’s filled with so many pages of my pen that ink is seriously starting to stain the edges.