Free The Athena Effect by Derrolyn Anderson Page B

mind was racing, wondering how far away she could get with her money. She thought about the scary man at the bus station, remembering that the world was a dangerous place, full of predators. She set out down the street, not sure where she should go.
    She didn’t even have her knife for company.
    Cal was scared and cold, thinking that she probably should have taken her chances with Calvin and his brother. She headed back towards his house hesitantly, trying to work her courage up. Maybe he’d know what to do. Maybe if she gave him all of her money he would give her a ride back home on his motorcycle, and she could hide in her parent’s little cabin without anyone knowing.
    She was suddenly afraid that she could never find her way back to the remote place, panicking when she tried to remember the long grief filled ride to the Sherriff’s house. Her memories were slipping away, and life back home was already starting to seem like something that happened a long time ago. She struggled to remember her parent’s faces, scared she would lose the last trace that remained of them.
    She closed in on Cal’s house to find that the party had gotten even louder. Slowing her pace, she crept past the motorcycles to peek in nervously from the shadows. A group of about ten people stood around a fire pit, laughing, drinking and smoking. All of the women had on skimpy outfits, their low-cut tops revealing a lot of cleavage despite the nighttime chill that was settling in.
    She scanned the crowd anxiously, spotting Cal’s shaggy head with a little gasp of relief.   He was sitting in a plastic chair by the fire, draining a bottle of something. He looked up and smiled his crooked smile, and her heart leapt into her throat.
    A girl in a short skirt approached him, returning his smile and waving two more bottles in her hands. She handed him one and he tossed the empty over his shoulder with determination before reaching out for it. She flipped her straight blonde hair over her shoulder, and plunked down on his lap casually, playing with his hair while he drank from the second bottle, his other hand on her thigh.
    Cali’s face burned with a sudden flash of heat. She backed up, turned around and fled as fast as she could. She was stupid, she thought, going to him for help. She walked off into the dark night, looking over her shoulder anxiously, realizing that she was completely, utterly, on her own.
    ~
    Calvin got to school the next morning with a pounding headache, wondering why he even bothered. He was a senior, and had been pretty much phoning it in for the last few weeks before graduation. His grades had slipped, along with any real plans for life after high school. All around him his classmates were fired-up about college applications and prom dates, but ever since the accident, none of that stuff seemed important at all.
    Seeing his grandparents had brought back a flood of memories, and he was feeling more melancholy than usual. There was only one reason he even showed up today. The truth was, the only reason he even got out of bed was to see her.
    He looked for Caledonia in the halls around her classes, but she was missing. He searched the hidden spots behind the buildings to no avail, waiting out front after school with a heavy heart. He couldn’t reach her by phone, and he thought about going to the condo and knocking on the door. He didn’t know what he’d say after that.
    He just wanted to see her, that’s all.
    Angry with himself, he couldn’t understand why she had to be so difficult. He knew at least four or five girls he could call that would come running, happy to hook up with him at a moment’s notice. The last thing he needed was some girl that was always hiding away; he could get plenty of action without all of the head games. She was too much work.
    But try as he might, he couldn’t stop thinking about her, and the images that flashed through his mind– wildly different images – were difficult to reconcile. The