Chapter 2

Maya hooked her hands under my arms and hauled me over the sill.

Rain dripped from my hair, soaking into her carpet.

She rushed to her bathroom and returned with a damp towel and a plastic first-aid box.

"Drink," she commanded, shoving a glass of water into my hands.

My fingers shook terribly. Water spilled down my chin and throat.

"My parents," I gasped. "They locked me in. They kept kicking me."

"Jesus. Why? What the hell did you do?

"Did you sneak some guy into your room? Did you disappear to a club all night and get wasted?"

I shook my head.

"No. Nothing like that." I gripped the glass tighter. "I ate a snack before dinner."

"Wait, what? "

Maya stared at me like my brain had short-circuited.

"Over a snack? Have they completely lost their minds?" She blinked.

I nodded.

She reached across her nightstand and snatched her cell phone.

"Maya, wait." I grabbed her wrist.

"Maybe... maybe they were just looking out for me."

"How can you still defend them? Look at what they did to you."

"I'm calling 911. This is assault. This is illegal detainment." She punched in the numbers.

"They just didn't want me eating gummies."

Hearing that, she paused.

"Wait. What exactly were you eating?" Maya’s eyes searched my face.

"Just candy," I said, desperate to stop her from bringing flashing lights to my house. "Those neon sour gummies."

"911 How can I help you."

Maya hung up and lowered the phone.

"Get out." She yanked the door open.

"What?"

"Get out of my house." She shoved me out into the hallway.

"Maya, why? They're going to kill me." I clung to the doorframe.

"You're disgusting. I wish we had never been friends."

"What are you talking about? It's just sour gummies!"

Maya physically flinched at the word.

She raised her phone again, tapping the screen.

"If you don't leave right now, I'm calling your mother."

The betrayal hit hard.

We were practically glued together growing up. Whenever I had a huge blowout with my parents, I'd crash at her place, and she'd just stay with me the whole day.

Utterly defeated, I turned around and left her house.

The rain soaked completely through my hoodie in seconds. I ran.

Why?

Why was everyone treating me like this?

My parents had just gone completely psycho, beating the crap out of me over a stupid piece of candy.

And now, my best friend was ready to throw me right back to them over it.

The streetlights flickered out right as I crossed the county line.

An abandoned gas station sat off the gravel shoulder.

A rusted metal payphone stood by a boarded-up ice machine.

I leaned against the glass of the booth, gasping for air.

Who was left? Who was sane?

Caleb.

My husband. He was a state trooper on night shift in the next county over.

He lived strictly by the book.

He arrested his own brother for a DUI last Thanksgiving without batting an eye.

If the world had lost its mind, Caleb was the only anchor left.

I dug into my wet pocket, fumbled for coins, and shoved them into the slot.

I punched in his number and pressed the receiver to my ear.

"Caleb speaking."

Hearing his vioce, I couldn't hold it back.

"Chloe? Baby, is that you? Why are you crying?"

"I..." I hestatied.

What if I mentioned the candy and he started yelling at me like the others?

I inhaled a shaky breath.

"Caleb... I just ate a bag of neon sour gummies." I gripped the receiver with both hands.

Silence stretched over the line.

"I ate it before dinner. I know it's not good for health..."

"What?" Caleb's voice cracked with pure confusion. "You're crying just because you had some gummies before dinner? That's it?"

He didn't care about the candy.

"You don't blame me?"

"Why would I?"

"My parents," I choked out, sliding down the glass wall.

"They beat me and locked me in my room because of that. I ran to Maya's, and she kicked me out too."

"Over a bag of candy? Are they on drugs?" Caleb cursed loudly. "Where are you right now?"

"The old gas station on Route 4. Just past the county line."

"Don't move. I'm coming to get you."

The rain slowed to a drizzle.

I curled up in the corner for warmth.

I didn't know how much time passed until a state trooper cruiser skidded to a halt near the pumps.

The driver's door flew open. Caleb stepped out. He was in full uniform.

He must have literally grabbed his duty belt and rushed over.

He ran to the phone booth and immediately pulled me tightly into his chest.

I buried my face in his shirt as his hands gently cupped my face.

His eyes rapidly scanned my swollen eye, the dried blood flaking on my chin, the mud plastered to my clothes.

"Your parents actually did this to you," he snarled. "Over a goddamn snack."

I nodded, fresh tears mixing with the rain on my face.

Caleb marched over and pulled open the passenger door of his cruiser.

"Get in." He slammed his palm against the cruiser's roof.

"We're going to your parents' house right NOW!"