She almost never talks about her family. She said they're living in Chicago, but they've never once come down here to see her. I'm with her all the time and they've never even called her phone.
Something happened to her parents, and her little brother. That's her secret. That's what she's been hiding from me. It has to be.
"So you know Callie's parents?" I ask Lou when he appears back behind the counter.
"I did," he says, using the past tense again. "Her mom liked my coffee. She'd stop by a few mornings a week, sometimes with Callie if she could get the girl out of bed." He chuckles. "She used to sleep until noon. Typical teenager."
Callie rarely sleeps past seven. Is that because she can't sleep?
"So you said she's been struggling. For how long?" I don't want to tell Lou that Callie kept this from me. I don't know why she did, and until I find out, I don't want Lou knowing this. It might embarrass Callie, or hurt her.
"She's struggled since the day it happened," he says. "It was in May, right after she got home from college. It's now what...almost July?" He stops to think. "Yeah, so it's been a little over a year. She spent all of last summer locked up in that house, only coming out when she needed groceries. One day I saw her at the store and asked her if she'd work here a few hours a day. She said no, so I called her house every day until she finally said yes. And she's been working here ever since."
So she didn't go to college last year. She lied about that. She lied about her family. What other lies did she tell me and why did she do it? Why would she keep this from me?
He waves at someone behind me. "Nash, I have to help some customers."
"Yeah, go ahead."
"It was good seeing you." He lowers his voice. "And thanks again for all you've done for Callie. She needed someone like you to come into her life. She needed someone to save her from herself."
He walks away and I take my donuts and coffee and go out to my truck. On the drive home, my emotions are all over the place. I'm devastated that Callie lost her family, but also angry that she didn't trust me enough to tell me. I've shared so much with her, told her things I haven't told anyone else, like my thoughts about my mom after I found those photos. And Callie's shared nothing in return. She's had more than enough opportunities to tell me what happened to her family and yet she chose not to.
When I get home, I find Callie already at my house, going through boxes.
"Hey." She comes up to me. "I decided to get an early start. Were you out getting supplies?"
"Yeah. And these." I hand her the box of donuts.
"You went to Lou's?"
"I stopped there after the hardware store." I sink down on the couch, dust flying everywhere.
She sits next to me. "Did something happen? You're acting strange."
I let out a long sigh, my eyes on the table in front of the couch. "When were you going to tell me?"
"Tell you what?" I already hear the nervousness in her voice.
"I talked to Lou."
"About what?" Her breaths come out fast and uneven.
When I turn and look at her, I see the pain in her eyes. I've seen it come and go for weeks now, but didn't understand why it was there.
I'm angry she didn't tell me the truth and I want to be mad at her. But I can't. This isn't about me. This is about her. She kept this a secret because of some reason I have yet to find out, but I don't think it's because she doesn't trust me. I think it's something else.
"I know about your family," I say, then quietly ask, "Why didn't you tell me?"
She bolts up from the couch, flings the front door open, and runs away. I get up and go outside and see her at her house, fumbling with her keys, trying to get the door open.
"Callie, wait," I say, hurrying over to her.
She finally unlocks the door and goes inside, slamming the door behind her. Before she can lock it, I push it open.
"Get out!" she screams, tears pouring down her cheeks.
"We need to talk," I say calmly.
"You already know everything, so just leave!" She steps back, her arms braced across her waist, her body shaking.
"I don't know anything. I only know that they're gone. Lou said some things and I had to guess what they meant. He assumed I already knew. I didn't tell him you never told me." I watch her, tears rolling down her face, her body trembling. I reach out to comfort her. "Callie."
She jumps back. "Don't!" She takes a breath. "I don't care if you're mad at me. I didn't want to tell you. And don't say I owe you an explanation because I don't, okay? I don't." She sniffles. "You have no idea what it's like. You don't understand until it happens to you. So just go. Please, Nash. Just go." She wipes her face with the back of her hand.
"I DO understand. I lost my mom just a few years ago. Even though she wasn't my birth mom, she's the only mom I ever knew, and I loved her, and was devastated when she died."
Callie nods, sniffling, her eyes on the floor.
"And I lost my best friend back in high school. I told you about her, remember?"