Calum
CALUM KNEW HE SHOULD never have gone to Rett’s. Before he even knocked on her window, he’d known he needed to go back to Georgie’s and leave the girl alone. It was too close to friendship—to companionship—and he didn’t want that. God, but he did, though. Somehow, over the previous five days, Rett had proved it wasn’t always awful to make a new friend.
Even one who wouldn’t burn down a school with you.
But he’d gone to her house, climbed through her window, and told her the secrets he’d kept locked inside since his mother sent him to Oak Creek. Hell, before that. The resentment he felt for being a stand-in father, how he enjoyed it even in its stressful moments. How he was a stronger,betterman than his father could ever dream of being. How he hated the responsibilities.
Rett had let him in and, more than that, she’d listened without interrupting him. She didn’t judge him for what he said. She’d only watched him with those deep gray eyes and smiled a soft smile as he admitted to being homesick. She had held his hand and promised to be there for him. It was a friendship he’d been craving, a connection to something good, truly good, that he could cling to.
So it really should not have been a surprise when things changed. He talked more—to her. He stayed just as quiet and aloof as before with anyone else, but with her, the words tumbled free. She already gave proof that he could say anything and she would never judge him. She would never spill his secrets. He did, however, try to talk more with his aunt and uncle. They’d taken him in. The least he could do was care.
He learned the Stones had lived in Oak Creek for five generations, and Georgie had come along when she was nineteen, marrying Charles within the year. Neither Charles nor Georgie was planning on leaving anytime soon, though Tiffany had dreams of stardom. Calum didn’t care to know what kind of dreams those were.
The town didn’t feel as oppressive, either. People greeted him as they greeted everyone else. It seemed as if being friends with Rett during the last handful of days showed everyone that he was a kid worthy of their tolerance. Miss Maudie invited him over for tea and finger sandwiches on Sunday, and he’d gone if only to spite Rett. He should have listened: He threw up as soon as he could escape the woman’s house. Rett had the decency to refrain from saying ‘I told you so’. She only patted his back as he spat bile from his tongue.
“Everyone’s fallen for Miss Maudie’s kindly nature,” she said. “Woman forgets tea should have flavor and sandwiches are meant to be cold.”
“I feel like I’m dying,” moaned Calum when his stomach clenched again. Rett’s response was drowned out by another bout of vomiting.
Once he finished, she giggled and promised he would be fine—“Just stay away from Miss Maudie’s hospitality.”
Calum groaned and told her to stop reminding him of his mistake. With one last retch, he stood upright and wiped his mouth on his arm. Rett’s nose curled in disgust, and she wrapped her fingers around his wrist and pulled him behind her. He followed her down the street to her house.
He’d never seen her house in the daytime. Only that night when he climbed through her bedroom window. But he got his first look: Chipped white paint and black shutters. The entire thing was similar to his aunt and uncle’s, and he wondered if the interior was the same. Windows gleamed in the sunlight, and an oak tree stood tall in the front yard, surrounded by brilliant splashes of color from flowers dancing in the breeze. Rett grinned back at him then led him to the blue-painted door.
For some reason—inexplicable in a way he’d never be able to put words to—Calum wanted to see more of that smile.
Just inside the door was the living room. He wondered if every house in Oak Creek opened up to the living room, then shook the thoughts away. The kitchen was straight ahead, a door beside it. To the right of the living room were two doors; Calum knew the farthest one led to Rett’s room. He wondered where her parents were.
“That’s Mama and Daddy’s room,” she said when she noticed him staring around. Her fingers were still around his wrist as she tugged toward the door next to the kitchen. “This is the bathroom. Duh, right? There’s a spare toothbrush in the medicine cabinet. Make sure you wash your hands.”
He managed to hide his smile while he closed the bathroom door behind him. She cared so much about someone she didn’ttruly know. He hadn’t told her everything, and he never would. As he scrubbed the vomit from his teeth, he stared at his reflection in the mirror. Even he had to admit he didn’t look as haunted as before. He was happier, and it showed. He might never have considered Oak Creek home, or anything close to it, but Rett was quickly making it less of a prison.
Calum stared blankly at Rett before shaking his head. She couldn’t have suggested what he thought she had. It was a foolish plan, a decision that could only bring harm to someone. Instead of questioning her sanity, he took a drag off his cigarette and flicked the ashes toward the ground.
He’d been smoking more around her.
She planted her fists on her hips and scowled. “One good reason. Gimme one good reason, and I’ll drop it.”
“Because I don’t want to?”
“Not good enough.” She sighed and dropped to sit beside him on the swing. “C’mon, you been here three weeks, and you ain’t had a lick of fun. Just come with me.”
“To a river in the middle of the night while everyone drinks. Is that what you call fun?”
“In this town, yes.”
“I don’t exactly have a death wish, Rett.”
“No one’s sayin’ you do.” Rett nudged his foot with hers, ducking her head to meet his gaze. “Look, we all know we’re being watched. No adult would be dumb enough to risk us swimming while drunk. We pretend they ain’t there, and they pretend we ain’t being stupid.”
“And everyone’s okay with this?”
Calum couldn’t believe it was really like that. His mom would have had him shipped to some other distant relative if she found out Oak Creek was just as full of temptation as Nevada. In Oak Creek, he could drink. Be reckless. He could do nearly everything he did back home without his family finding out.
He didn’t want to burn the town to the ground anymore, but he could still have the fun he missed.
“If I die, I’m haunting you,” he warned, and Rett giggled in response. He froze when she rested her head on his shoulder, but then she was off, bounding off the porch and beckoning him to follow.
