Chapter Thirty-Seven
For the hundredth time that evening, I smoothed back my hair into the French twist that Lauren had created. For the thousandth time that evening, I glanced sideways at Sawyer.
For the thousandth time that evening, he wasn't looking back.
I focused my attention again on the stage in front of us. Eighteen year olds marched across the stage in a long stream of billowing black robes.
I paid more attention as they reached the J's. Jenny walked proudly across, accepted her diploma, shook hands with the principle. Her eyes flicked to us, she smiled, and then she seemed to be angry about her eyes betraying her and she looked down at Nikki, several rows ahead of us. I stared down, terrified at what her glance meant.
"Jenny!" I called, a half hour later, when the graduates and their families were milling across the green lawn of Tree Hill High. She turned to me, away from Rhys, and smiled.
We met and flung our arms about each other, talking in an incomprehensible flow of words.
"We miss you!" I said, as soon as our chatter had died down slightly.
"I miss you," she said. All of you, she didn't say.
"Come home," I begged.
"I can't. You know I can't," she said. She glanced over my shoulder, and her eyes widened.
"Hello," she said. I spun around and came face to face with Sawyer Scott, his family and mine behind him. He hugged Jenny.
"Jenny, good job," said Daddy stiffly, sticking out his hand. Mom pushed past him and hugged Jenny. A surprised Jenny allowed her to. After Mom, Sawyer and Jenny hugged. Jenny met my eyes over his shoulder with an odd, piercing look.
"Congratulations," said Haley, smiling at Jenny. She took Nathan's hand. On her other side looked Tess, seemingly bored. As Lauren joined her, she whispered something in her ear and they both giggled.
A feeling of pity for Tess overwhelmed me. I didn't even know if her and Jason were officially still even together, but whether or nor they were she didn't know how he'd betrayed her, how her best friend in the world had betrayed her.
Tess caught me looking at her and smiled awkwardly. She was tall, like her father, but very slim. She had her mother's large and lovely eyes and complexion, but the darker hair of her father. She was the two of them blended into one.
I glanced back at Sawyer, who was finally looking at me. He cleared his throat, as if about to say something. We were on the edge of the large group, almost away from them. He could speak without them hearing. I waited with bated breath for what he was about to say.
"Callie!" came a voice from behind me. We slipped out of our own world and into the real, harsher one. I cringed as I recognized John's voice. Sawyer did too, and sent me a look of slight disgust before joining the crowd and congratulating Jenny again.
"Hey, you have family graduating?" I asked listlessly, staring at Sawyer again.
"My brother," he said, indicating to a tall blonde boy.
"You just ruined everything," I said, half joking. We wandered off together.
"Sorry about that," he said, glancing back at Sawyer.
"That's okay. It's not like we're lacking in opportunities," I said.
"Yeah, it's just you that's lacking in going for them," he said. I considered playfully slapping him, but I was worried what it would look like to Sawyer.
"Shut up."
"You shut up," he said.
"Okay, bordering flirt territory. You know we have to start worrying about university and our life plan?" I said.
"Tell me about it. Guess you don't know where you want to go?"
"Far away from here," I said grimly. For the first time in my life, Tree Hill was smothering me.
"You mean you don't want to grow old here?" he asked, surprised.
"I know-Mom grew up here, her mother did, as did her's… but I don't want to look back at my life at seventy and see my mother's life," I explained.
"Peyton Jagielski has had a good life," he said.
"Yeah, but I'm never going to get married before nineteen, or have kids at eighteen, or give up a career for a boy," I said.
"People have an unfortunate tendency to end up like their parents," he said.
"I guess. I mean, Mom's parents were married young," I said.
"And Sawyer's parents," he said. I scowled at him.
"I don't like you anymore," I announced. I smoothed out my cotton sundress.
"Go talk to him," suggested John. I nodded and pecked his cheek before running back to my family.
"I miss her," I told Sawyer, five minutes later. He followed my gaze to Jenny.
"I know," he said comfortingly.
"She'll come home soon, right?" I asked.
"She's got to."
"You must miss her too," I said, a darker tone edging into my voice.
"Callie…"
