Chapter Twenty Two

Arizona5:00 PM Two hours before Callie gets on stage for the TED conference

I was so happy. I had on the TV muted for when the TED conference starts, I had Chasing Cars blaring, and I was in the kitchen, attempting to make myself a grilled cheese. I hear the front door open and close. Thinking it is Mark, I begin lay one slice of cheese on the toasted buttery bread, when I feel someone in the kitchen. "Hey Mark, pass me the pepper."After a few seconds, a hand appears in my vision with the pepper. "Thanks." I say, taking it.I pick up a knife to cut off the crust. But then, I freeze. My face goes white. My blood goes cold. My legs go jelly.The hand. The hand that handed me the pepper. A pale hand. Red nail polish. Mark doesn't wear nail polish.Calliope wears black and purple nail polish.The only person I know who wears red nail polish is - "Why hello, Reed."No. The knife slips out of my hand, slicing my arm below it. I didn't even feel it. I was numb. "You never visited me in jail." The voice says, whiny. I feel a nail on the back of my neck, pulling my hair together. "I missed you."