Page 49

“I don’t want to do anything today.”
“We leave on Saturday.” I can tell this isn’t only ruining my vacation, but Ami’s too. We have plans of shopping and lying on the beach. All that. None of which I want to do now. Funny how plans change when your life starts to fall apart.
“We still have tomorrow. I’ll spend the entire day with you. I just need right now to myself.”
I think it’s then she understands and knows what I need. Nodding, she tentatively places her hand on my shoulder and then draws me into a hug. “I love you.”
I laugh. “I love you too.”
I don’t want to be rude or avoid her, but this isn’t one of those situations where I want to talk it out. This is a “sit alone in silence and think” situation. In my experience, those are the times when you really have to come to terms with something, so you need to be alone. You can’t have someone there saying, ohhe’sawful, oryoushould do this, or that, or nothing.
You need you.
Yourthoughts.
Yourdecisions.
But I really want Leo to be a part of this with me.
Being alone leads me back to my room, where Leo thankfully is not, and into my tub with the room service menu and the hotel phone.
I order pancakes and pretty much everything else on the menu and wait in the tub.
Twenty minutes later, pancakes in hand, I return immediately to the bathtub to eat.
Have you ever had one of those moments when you think to yourself, so this is what the rest of my life is going to look like?
I can almost picture myself doing this very same thing only with a baby.
Me. Having a baby. Imagine that. I’m pretty sure anyone who has ever met me assumes I will never have kids. Ever.
They aren’t in my “life” plan or the loose version I have of a plan.
But shit changes, I guess. Taking in a deep breath, I shove another bite of pancakes in my mouth. That’s when I hear Mase’s, “Callie?”
“In here!” I yell, resting my chin on the edge of the tub, chewing slowly.
When I peer up at him with sad puppy eyes, he snorts. “Come downstairs,” he says, standing in the door and leaning into the frame, refusing to come closer.
I shake my head, and he sits down on the floor beside me. “I know he’s an asshole, but just come downstairs. Ami made me come get you since you won’t answer your phone.”
“I threw it off the balcony last night. It’s in the pool.” I roll my eyes, thinking what a stupid move that was. Now I’ll have to buy a new one when I get back to Chicago. “Let me know if you see it.”
“Get out of the bathtub,” he demands, reaching for my hand.
“No.” I spit a chunk of pancake out of my mouth as I speak.
When it lands on Evan’s chest, he looks repulsed but in no way shocked at what I’ve done. “Get. Down. There.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.” I throw an entire pancake at his face. “You’re not my dad.”
The pancake smears across his cheek and then makes a slapping sound like a wet cloth as it hits the tile floor. “You wouldn’t listen to me even if I was,” he notes. “Now, am I going to have to carry you down there? Because I will.”
“Stop being so fuckin’ pushy.” I stand up, staggering slightly, and then reach for his hand. “Do they have bacon?”
Evan scrunches his eyebrows, concentrating on getting me out of the tub and not looking at me buck-ass naked. I’m kidding. I’m not naked. There’s not even any water in the tub. I’ve been sitting in here fully clothed the entire time. “I’m sure they do. Or maybe dog.”
I gag and cover my mouth. “Don’t do that.”