Calista

I trudged over the curb, my boots sinking into the fresh, fallen snow. This was probably the one thing I hated about having a birthday in the middle of winter. The weather was always crappy and I didn't have the opportunity to have any of the fun, outdoor birthday parties like kids in my class growing up. No pool, no picnics, no park or splash pad. I was left with skating or sledding, which was only fun until your mittens soaked through or your toes began to freeze.

It was the end of January and everything had found its flow again. Lincoln was done with The Pit and was working with Whitmore to find a new place to live for the time being. I had also gone to speak to someone about changing my major, and the good thing was it wouldn't take me as long as I thought to graduate with a degree in Education. For once, things were falling into place–like everything was good.

Except... something also felt off.

I stepped onto the sidewalk, glancing at the row of townhomes. My eyes landed on the one with the rusting cast iron railing. The usual soft glow from Lincoln's living room window wasn't there. The narrow house was pitch black except for the flickering wall sconce by the front door. Every other light was switched off as if no one was home. I unlocked my phone, reviewing the message that Lincoln had sent me less than an hour ago. Perhaps I had read it wrong and I was meant to meet him somewhere else.

I reread the message twice, just to be sure. Nope, this was it. I was tempted to call him and ask, but I figured I was already there. Might as well knock first.

I made my way up the front porch. The cracked cement steps were speckled with salt. It crunched beneath my feet. When I reached the top of the stoop I raised pink knuckles to knock on the door. There was no response. A pregnant pause passed and I knocked a little harder.

After the second round of knocking, the lock on the front door clicked. I expected it to swing open to find Lincoln on the other side. Instead, it inched ajar and halted far enough that I could see a sliver of the darkened foyer.

"Hello?" I called, stepping closer with a hand on the door. I pushed the door open further. The only source of light came from the street lamps outside. "Lincoln?"

Boots still planted on the porch, I pressed the door open further. The hinges creaked in protest. "Sadie?"

No one replied. The only noise came from the settling of the house. An uncomfortable tingling raced up my spine. If Lincoln wasn't here, where was he? I was going to turn around and head back to the comfort of Ella's car when the lights to the foyer switched on.

"Happy birthday!"

Squinting into the hall my eyes focused on the familiar faces popping out of the adjacent rooms. The smiles of Lincoln and Sadie were the first two that I saw. They were by the stairs, Sadie standing in front of her big brother with her arms and legs spread out like a starfish. Andrew and Amelia stood within the kitchen threshold. Andrew's back was to the wall, his curly hair a mere inches from the top of the door frame. His grin was infectious.

I blinked when my gaze travelled across the hall and towards the living room. "Ella, Harper? What are you doing here?"

I had just stepped into the foyer when my two best friends rushed me. Ella was first to yank me into a bone-crushing hug. "We're here for your birthday party, silly."

"My birthday party?" I said into her hair.

Harper was next to greet me. She gave me a much gentler, one-armed squeeze. "Lincoln stopped by the dorms a couple of weeks ago and told us how he planned on throwing you a little surprise birthday this year."

My heart fluttered at the gesture. He went through all of that trouble for me?

"I helped!" Sadie shouted as she bounded towards me, wrapping a willowy arm around my leg. The other had a choke hold on her favourite teddy bear.

"She was my best helper," Lincoln said as he approached the small group we had formed.

Ella and Harper took that as their cue to sneak away. But not before Ella slipped me one of her sly smiles.

"You did all of this?" I asked, taking note of the colourful streamers hanging from the living room ceiling.

"Well, I did what I could," he replied, scratching at the back of his neck. "I've never thrown a birthday party before. My mom helped me come up with a list of things we'd need, actually."

I tilted my head at him. "She did?"

Considering I was sure the woman hexed me the last time I was there, she was the last person I was expecting to help Lincoln do anything for me.

Lincoln's lips quirked up a gentle smile. "I think she's really warming up to you."

I regarded Lincoln's mom in the kitchen as she emptied a party sized bag of chips into a plastic serving bowl. She handed it to Sadie, pointing to the coffee table in the other room.

"I'll have to thank her later." I closed the space between Lincoln and I, the fingers of my right hand finding his. "This was really thoughtful of you."

"You're always doing so much for everyone else. I thought it would be nice to do something for you for a change."

A smile bloomed onto my face. Never in a million years would I have thought that Lincoln Pierce and I would end up being anything less than friends. At one point he was a guy who couldn't be bothered with me. But here he was, planning surprise parties for me and bringing our worlds together.

"I'll have to show you how thankful I am later," I said, bringing our faces closer.

He shook his head. A smouldering smile spread across his face. It brought a rush of heat up my neck. "Tonight's all about you."

"All about me, huh?" I teased. "I'm liking the sound of that."

Lincoln planted a too-short kiss upon my lips. "Now come see the cake Sadie picked out for you. It's all she could talk about all day."

Lincoln led me deeper into the living room as I laughed.

"Well, well, well... what are we celebrating?"

Next to me, Lincoln's body stiffened. I was so high up on Cloud Nine that I didn't register that the raspy voice belonged to someone who shouldn't be there.

I craned my next around Lincoln's broad shoulders to find Claudio standing in the foyer. He was in the same black puffer jacket that I saw him in the night outside the dorms.

Claudio's eyes were glossy. "Where was my invite?"

"You need to leave." Lincoln's tone was low and full of warning. His hard body moved further in front of me, acting as a shield.

Claudio wobbled into the room, his boots leaving a trail of slush in his wake. "I need to leave?" He gestured around. "This is my house."

Lincoln's nostrils flared. I could tell he was trying to keep this conversation civil for the sake of my two best friends who had no idea what the hell was going on. "You don't live here anymore. You're not welcome here."

"Not welcome?" Twisted laughter filled the room. He regarded the balloons by the living room wall. "That's fucking hilarious."

From the other side of the room, my heart crumpled at the sight of Sadie curled up on the bottom step of the stairs. She was trying her hardest to disappear into the wall that separated the stairwell and the kitchen. I wanted to rush across the room and hold her. But something told me moving wouldn't be the smartest choice.

Ella seemed to sense the danger as well. Our eyes connected and I gestured to Sadie's tension-filled body and the front door with one jerky movement of my finger. Ella hesitated and I repeated the gesture. Her eyes told me she didn't want to leave me here, but I prayed she could see the desperation in mine.

Claudio's back was towards her when she inched over to Sadie. A wave of anxiety washed over me as I tried to keep my focus on the burly man. In my peripheral I watched as Ella bent down to Sadie's level, whispering in her ear. Whatever she said caused Sadie to twist out of her ball and reach towards her. Ella didn't hesitate. She wrapped the preschooler up in her arms and slunk behind the wall of the foyer and out the front door. Once they were out of sight I was able to breathe a little easier.

Claudio poked one of the helium filled balloons. "I don't remember you ever doing anything for my birthday,"

"Probably because you were high off your ass," Lincoln commented. "Why are you here?"

"You backed out of our deal, son. I thought we had a pretty good arrangement going," he said as he began strolling around the perimeter of the living room. His head tilted as he regarded the heart-shaped cake on the coffee table. "I promised to stay away from you and the people you care about most as long as you continued to fight for me. Think about how I felt when you stopped showing up to matches."

Claudio pursed his lips, running his tongue against his top teeth. "You made me look like a fucking idiot in front of some really important people, boy. So that promise we made? Consider it broken. You threw it all away for some fucking whore."

He drilled his glossy eyes into me. The dopey expression he was wearing had transformed into a look of pure hatred that physically hurt me. My stomach turned in on itself, bile rising to my throat. I had to fight to keep it down.

Lincoln's jaw ticked at his father's words. His hands were locked into fist so tight that his knuckles turned white. "You need to leave."

With that short sentence, Lincoln advanced a threatening step towards him.

"I will," his father promised. "Once I get through with what I came here for."

Claudio flipped up the edge of his shirt. His thick fingers wrapped around the handle of the gun that was tucked into his waistband. The obsidian metal glinted under the living room lights. Andrew must have realized what was happening before Lincoln did. He grabbed hold of his best friend's shoulders and heaved him back. Lincoln's broad frame hit his chest and the two stumbled back a step before freezing.

Claudio adjusted his hold on the base. Then he pointed the barrel at me. A jolt of electricity ran through my body. Every inch of my mind was screaming at me to run, but I was frozen in fear. My gaze flickered towards Lincoln in a silent cry for help.

Lincoln regarded me with wide eyes before turning his attention to his father. "She's not the reason why I stepped away from The Pit."

"Don't lie to me, boy. I'm not a fucking idiot," he scoffed.

"Claudio," Amelia pleaded from the threshold. Thick ribbons of tears ran down her cheeks. "Please. Please don't."

Her hands were up in surrender and fear caused her lips to tremble. She knew he was perfectly capable of going through with this plan of his. This wasn't some drug induced stupor. This was who Claudio was at his rotting core, something that Amelia had endured for years before Lincoln's arrangement kept him away. It was that fear that allowed it to go on for so long.

"Shut up," Claudio muttered. He didn't so much as glance in her direction. His dark eyes were trained on me.

"I'll come back," Lincoln tried. His voice was firm, but I heard a faint quiver.

"I don't believe you," he replied finger still folded over the trigger. "But even if I did, it's too late for that now. This ends tonight."

* * * * * 

author's note:

I warned you this would be a big cliff hanger... (:

Sorry this update came up a little later than usual. I spent the evening painting the trim for my new basement apartment and my arms feel like they're going to fall off. I'm just so excited to have my own space. If you're interested in seeing the process or my new writing space (most excited for this) go and follow me on Instagram: @luisadituriauthor

Next update will be up Wednesday. Have an amazing weekend!