Chapter Twenty-Seven

Callie:

The first thing we were told at school was that there were therapists available to talk to us if need be. Talk. Like any of us could form the words.

The gym was closed until further notice, just one more reminder.

It was exam week since they'd been postponed. I walked into creative writing to be greeted with a warm smile from Mr. Chase. I'd spent a lot of time with him over the holidays, but now he was my teacher once again.

Looking toward the back, I was shocked to see Morgan sitting in her usual seat. If it wasn't for the sling on her arm, she'd look as if nothing happened.

I slid in beside her, and she didn't even look up. Hannah sat on her other side, but the two didn't speak.

When our exam was over, she stood and made her way to the door, an obvious slowness to her movements.

In the halls, just as in the town, we were divided. Those who were there and those who weren't. A line had been drawn. Everyone who'd stayed home, talked about it and stared, but they'd never know. Not really.

That evening when I was working, I felt eyes on me wherever I moved. I hadn't only been there, I'd been one of the missing nine that the town agonized over for an hour before we were found. It was a celebrity I didn't want.

The muttering started in the booths nearest to the door, spreading across the diner. I turned from where I was refilling sugar packets. Seth's large frame stood in the doorway. He looked around nervously. It was his first time back since that night.

He didn't take his usual spot at the counter, instead opting for a booth that was tucked away in the corner, out of sight of prying eyes. He slumped forward, burying his face in his hands.

I should have gone over there. He held no more blame than anyone. So, why couldn't I make my feet move? Before I got the chance, Kat brushed by me, mug of coffee in hand. She set it down in front of Seth, gave his shoulder a squeeze, and sat across from him.

She didn't leave his table until he was done and ready to leave.

Walking toward me, her eyes said it all. “That poor man.”

“I don't know how you do it,” I said.

“Do what?”

“Be so nice all the time.”

“Callie.” She forced me to stop what I was doing. “That's not being nice. It's called being human.”

Seth returned to his normal routine, stopping in for dinner each evening. The rest of us tried to live our lives as we had before. Exams went as good as could be expected. The new semester started without much fanfare.

Talk at school turned from school shooting to graduation and college. Matthew and Troy were left out of our words, but it wasn't so easy with our thoughts.

Morgan remained aloof, at times cruel, to the people she once cared about.

Jamie and I were together, but the things I'd said to him constantly hung between us, a barrier to break through. The weeks passed, and we all put on the act, though in truth, we weren't the same people we were before.

College brochures piled up on my desk, a not-so-subtle nudge from Kat, but I ignored it. The future was not something I could think about.