7
11:27 AM
<
Officer Lake took them all in for questioning, and it turned out that Mr. Everett had been pulling these stunts for years. My situation had become small in comparison.
After finishing up at the station, I left, only to find Damon waiting for me outside. His face was pale, eyes red–rimmed.
“Callie.”
I turned to look at him.
“Is this enough? Are you satisfied?” His voice broke.
I shook my head. “No. If you were dead, maybe I’d be satisfied.”
Damon’s face twisted in hurt. How could he still be acting this way?
“Callie, I loved you. I’ve been watching you since last year.”
I scoffed. “Oh, so you were just picking out the best option then?”
Damon shook his head, tears flowing. “No, I really did love you. I knew you liked the food from the last cafeteria window, the way you looked out the window when you studied…I knew everything about you.”
In my past life, Damon had seemed to know me very well, it was true.
If he loved me, why did he kill me?
“You’re hoping I’ll forgive you and your dad and Claire, aren’t you?” I asked sarcastically.
“No, I would never…” Damon’s voice was hoarse. “Why do you always assume the worst
“Because I know you too well,” I replied, my tone icy. “Deceitful and disgusting.”
He kept shifting expressions but still managed, “Can’t we still be together?”
I looked at him like he’d lost his mind.
My parents soon arrived, distraught. They had always backed me up, even when they didn’t have the money.
I comforted them, saying softly, “Mom, Dad, I made it into college.”
Reporters swarmed outside. This was big news.
One stopped me. “Callie Reid, how does it feel knowing your college spot was stolen?”
I replied calmly, “Angry. My teacher and his son tried to take my future to ‘help‘ someone else.”
“Is that someone the teacher’s daughter?”
I nodded, but Officer Lake soon pulled me away.
Later, I learned the truth about Claire’s parents. They’d died rescuing Damon because Mr. Everett had been sneaking around with Claire’s mother and left the gas on by accident.
Hearing this, I sighed.
Finally, when I received my acceptance letter, a single tear escaped. This time, I was really going to college.
