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apologize. “But why is Caleb pressing charges? They both beat each other up.”
    “No, Kayden hit Caleb for no reason,” she says. “Caleb was just defending himself.”
    “He didn’t hit him for no reason. He hit him because of me.” It slips out like poison vapor and I choke on each syllable.
    There’s an extensive pause. “Callie, what do you mean he hit Caleb because of you? Why would he do that?”
    My shoulders curl in as the shame and the dirtiness floods my body and I remember her limited ability to understand things. “It’s nothing. I’m just upset and saying stuff. It doesn’t mean anything.”
    She pauses again and I wonder if for a split second, she’s contemplating my words on a deeper level. “Callie, is there something you want to tell me?”
    When I breathe again, it’s deafening and I swear the whole world can hear it and they know my secret. “No, Mom.”
    “Okay then.” She sounds disappointed, like I was just about to give her the secret locked in a box inside me. But only Kayden has the key to it. “Well, I just wanted to let you know in case it comes up. I know his best friend goes to school there with you and I don’t want you to have to hear it by gossip.”
    I shake my head. “All right.”
    “I’ll talk to you later, Callie.”
    “Okay, bye.”
    We hang up and I clutch the phone in my hand, strangling the life out of it. My palms start to sweat and I can’t stop thinking about Kayden.
He did it for me. He did it for me. I need to save him.
“I think we should go to Afton.”
    When Luke looks at me, there are lines on his forehead and his hands are gripping the steering wheel. “Really?”
    “Yeah.” I raise my hips and slide the phone into the pocket of my jeans. “My mom said Caleb’s going to press charges against Kayden.”
    He keeps some of his attention on the road as he turns the truck into the parking lot in front of my dorm. “Are you shitting me?”
    I zip up my coat and put my gloves on. “No, and I need to fix it… somehow. It’s my fault it happened to begin with.”
    He parks the truck near the front, puts his hand on the shifter, and pushes it into park. The radio plays and the engine keeps cutting out. I wonder if he knows why Kayden beat up Caleb that night, if he ever told him.
    “All right, it’s a deal.” Luke stares at the McIntyre residence hall in front of us. It’s the tallest of the residence halls at the University of Wyoming and it looks lonely, towering above the others. “You want to leave tonight or in the morning?”
    I grab the door handle and pull on it. “In the morning. I’d like Seth to come too if that’s okay.”
    He nods and reaches for his pack of cigarettes on the dashboard. “That’s fine as long as you guys don’t mind squishing into this thing. It’s a piece of shit, but Seth’s car’s never going to make it to Afton with all the snow.”
    I shove open the door. “He’ll be fine with it I’m sure.” I swing my feet over the edge of the seat, getting ready to jump down.
    “Callie,” Luke calls out. “Is there any way we can fix this? Stop Caleb from pressing charges? You know, if he does, Kayden’s going to get suspended from the team. He’ll probably never play again. And he’ll probably get suspended from school. Plus, he might have to go to jail or pay a huge fucking fine that he can’t afford without his father’s help.” He pauses, deliberating with his forehead bunched. “I just really want to make sure that everything’s okay with him… Sometimes when people hit bottom, they give up…” His voice grows softer, like the weight of a fall leaf. “Kind of like my sister.”
    The gravity of the situation pushes on my chest as I hop out, grabbing the door for support. I remember that Luke had a sister. He never said how she died, but after what he just said, I wonder if it was suicide.
    Pressing my palm to the nagging ache in the center of my heart, I turn around toward the cab. “I’m