Bad Seed

I squeezed through the crowd until I reached the couch. Caleb was sitting down with his leg propped up on the coffee table. His crutches were leaning against the wall beside him, and I was glad to see he looked sober. The painkillers Dr. McGee had him on were powerful.

“Hey,” I said, sinking onto the couch beside him. “Some party.”

“Yeah.” Caleb laughed. “They surprised me when I got home.”

“Good,” I said. “You deserve it.”

“I do?” Caleb asked, raising his eyebrows.

“After what you did,” I said. “Of course you do.”

“You heard about that?” Caleb asked, his cheeks blushing slightly.

“The whole hospital heard,” I said. “Your mom made sure of that.”

“God,” Caleb said, groaning and rubbing his face. “She needs to learn to shut the hell up sometimes.”

“Don’t be a dick,” I said. “She loves you.”

Caleb grinned and settled back against the couch cushions. Someone I didn’t know pressed a beer into my hand, and I nodded my gratitude, suddenly remembering the guy’s comment when I first arrived. Something about my picture?

“Hey,” I said. “What was that guy talking about before? When he said the girl from your wallet was here.”

“Oh,” Caleb said, reaching into his pocket without hesitation. He pulled out my senior picture and handed it to me. “I’ve had it forever.”

“Yeah,” I said, nodding. “I remember when I gave it to you. I can’t believe you kept this.”

Caleb shrugged and took it back. He tucked it inside his wallet. I stared at him while he put it back in his pocket. My mind was racing, but I didn’t know what to say. After ten years, Caleb still kept a picture of me in his wallet. What did that mean? Did it mean anything at all, or had he just forgotten to take it out?

“Hey there,” the guy from the front door said, sliding onto the couch beside me. “Need a drink?”

“I have one,” I said, raising my beer. “Thanks.”

“God, you really are hotter than your picture,” he said, licking his lips. “Wanna get out of here?”

“Fuck off, Tyler,” Caleb growled and leaned forward, glaring around me at Tyler.

“What?” Tyler asked.

“You’re drunk as shit,” Caleb said. “Get the fuck out of here before I kick your ass.”

“The lady can make up her own mind,” Tyler said, wrapping his arm around me and grinning. I could smell the booze on his breath, and it made my stomach roll.

“The lady says to get your hands off her before she’s forced to do something you’ll regret,” I said, glaring at him.

“Don’t be like that, darlin’,” Tyler said.

“Leave.” Caleb’s voice was deep and dangerous. “Now.”

“All right, all right,” Tyler said, sighing and dro

pping his hand from my shoulders and stumbling away from us.

When I turned back to face Caleb, his face was red with rage. I frowned but didn’t speak. I had no idea where Caleb’s anger came from. We hadn’t been together in ten years and yet, watching his buddy hit on me, made him downright murderous. That, plus my picture in his wallet, had my head spinning.

Did he still have feelings for me? He hit on me in the hospital, but that didn’t mean anything. Caleb was a flirt. He always had been. He could blink and have any woman he wanted. It wasn’t anything new for him to proposition someone, that much I knew. Still, why would he keep my picture for ten years if he didn’t care about me? And, why would he get so angry with Tyler for hitting on me? And, how exactly did I feel about all of that?

The party slowly began to thin, and soon, Caleb and I were the only ones left. I finished my beer and sat closer to him on the couch, the evening air fueling my attraction to him. It was hard to resist when I had alcohol coursing through my veins and Caleb’s jealous streak was still fresh in my mind.