I yank my hands from hers. "Obviously, I manage just fine. I have a job. I take care of this house and the yard."
"That's not what you should be doing. You're 21. You're supposed to be going to college, hanging out with friends, going on dates, partying. But instead you're hiding out in this house, in this town where you don't even know anyone." She stands up straighter. "I've tried to keep quiet, thinking you just needed more time, but you've had enough time. This can't go on." She scans the room again. "I had no idea it was this bad."
"It's NOT bad," I spit out. "And it's not your life. It's mine. And I can choose to live it however I want." I storm over to the door. "Get out of my house!"
"I'm not leaving." She quickly shakes her head as she walks to the kitchen. She reaches under the sink and pulls something out.
"What are you doing?"
She returns to the living room holding the wastebasket. "This needs to end." She goes to the side table and picks up Greg's book and drops it in the wastebasket.
"No!" I run over to her. "Stop!"
She darts around me to the basket on the floor, and grabs the yarn and knitting needles and half-finished scarf and throws them in the trash.
"Trina, stop!" I grasp her arm but she pushes me back.
"I'm sorry I have to do this, but it's for your own good." With the wastebasket in hand, she runs down the hall to Ben's room and slams the door.
I run after her, but when I get to Ben's room, the door is locked. I bang on it. "Let me in!"
She doesn't answer and the door remains locked. I hear the clink of Ben's toy cars and know she's throwing them away.
I'm sobbing now, tears soaking my face. "Don't throw them away. Please! I'm begging you!"
My body sinks to the floor. She's destroying Ben's room. Taking his things.
I dig into my pocket and yank out my cell phone and call Nash. Please answer, please answer.
"Callie?" He sounds surprised because I never call him.
"Could you come over here?" My voice is hoarse and shaky.
"What's wrong?"
"Just get over. Please! And hurry!"
He doesn't answer. I get up from the floor and go across the hall to my room and see him sprinting across my lawn. I run to the front door, opening it for him.
"What is it? What happened? Are you hurt?" His eyes sweep over my body.
"It's Trina." I point to the hall. "She showed up here and she's taking all their things!" My voice is frantic and I'm shaking. "She's touching them, and moving them, and throwing them out!"
He holds my arms. "Where is she?"
"She locked herself in Ben's room." I drop to my knees, sobbing. "She's taking Ben's toys. Please make her stop. Please!"
He kneels in front of me. "I'll make her stop. It'll be okay."
I nod, but it's not going to be okay. It's too late. She's destroyed everything. Taken all I had left of them. And left me with nothing.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Nash
I was in the kitchen looking at wood samples for the living room floor when Callie called. She never calls so I knew this wasn't good. From the terror in her voice, I thought someone was over there attacking her. I dropped the samples, threw open the back door, and sprinted to her house. She was waiting for me at the door, crying and shaking and completely hysterical. Now she's on the floor, sobbing, and I'm down the hall, banging on the door to her brother's room.
"Open the door!" I yell at the girl who's in there. What's her name? Tracy? Tammy?
"Who's out there?" she yells back.
"Callie's friend. Now open the damn door or I'll break it down."
There's noise, like she's setting something down, and then the door opens halfway.
"Where's Callie?" the girl asks. She has long straight blond hair and she's wearing a dress and a lot of makeup. She doesn't seem like someone Callie would be friends with, but maybe the old Callie would. I know very little about the old Callie.
"She's in the living room, crying her eyes out because you're destroying her house."
"I'm not destroying it. I'm getting rid of the stuff she should've got rid of a long time ago." She checks the hall to make sure Callie isn't coming, then says to me, "You know what happened to her family, right?"
"Yeah, but you can't just barge in here and throw everything out."
"The way she's living...it isn't normal. She needs to see someone. A counselor...a psychiatrist...or maybe she needs to be admitted somewhere."
Now I'm getting angry.
I lower my voice. "Callie isn't crazy. She's grieving. And she's struggling because she's been trying to deal with this alone and it's not working. She needs people supporting her, helping her. And you tossing all this shit in the trash? Not fucking helpful."
"I had to do something! It's been over a year and she's not getting any better."
I try to see around her into the room. "What did you do? How much did you throw out?"
"Not much. A book and a scarf and some of Ben's toys."
I shove the door open and see the covers on the bed ripped off. "What the hell did you do to his bed?"