A/N:

Another surprise update! 

I forgot that I won't have any free time to post during my usual update days until Thursday, so I'm posting now while I have time.

Also, this is going to be a double chapter update since this one doesn't include Grace or as much drama and I want to give you guys your fill of those things ;)

Next updates will be Thursday and Friday evening. The update schedule will be strange for a few weeks but I'll try to fit three chapters in every week.

Thanks for the continuous support!

-Tera

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"But why did I have to come to this stupid wedding?"

"Callie! Watch your mouth!"

Cal's mother peered at her through the rear view mirror before turning her attention back to the road in front of them. Cal was leaning against the window in the backseat while her mother drove and Samantha rode shotgun.

"My co-worker's wedding is not stupid," her mother continued. "Maybe it'll show you what you can achieve in the future if you actually behaved and acted like an adult."

Well, I wouldn't want one of my achievements to be getting married off to some dude, Cal thought scornfully, but she held her tongue.

Earlier that week, the younger daughter couldn't believe her ears when her mother told her that she was expected to come along to another lawyer's wedding. Cal knew that said lawyer, a young member of her mother's law firm, was getting married, and that her mother would be attending. But she never imagined that anyone would want her to come.

Cal's mother was mostly embarrassed of her, so she typically just dragged Samantha along to her work or social outings. After all, the eldest daughter was the perfect child in the matriarch's eyes, and was on track to do the same line of work as her.

Cal was sure that her mother didn't even mention her in conversations with her co-workers and friends. And that was just fine.

But here they were, Friday afternoon, making a seven hour drive down south to where the wedding was being held. Apparently it was being held so far away to accommodate the groom's family who lived down there. What a pain in the ass.

Having to be pulled out of school just to attend an event with people she didn't know or care about...well, she supposed that at least she wouldn't have to sit through her boring classes.

Or see Grace.

Well, that last part felt oddly bittersweet to Cal, but she tried to ignore the tiny part of her that felt the slightest bit disappointed.

"Just please promise to behave yourself, Cal," her mother started again.

Cal folded her arms over her chest, staring out the window at the passing landscape.

"Sure, whatever."

--

The drive was finally over as the sun set in the unfamiliar town. After enduring a long wait for a restaurant for dinner, they checked into their hotel, hauling luggage with their dresses and shoes for the big occasion the next day.

Cal hadn't even seen her dress. She didn't own any, so she imagined that her mother and Sam just picked a nice but conservative one for her to wear. They knew how much of a hassle it would be to try to drag the teenager out to go shopping for something she didn't want to attend.

But Cal was too exhausted from the trip to even worry about that now. When they checked into their hotel room, she collapsed on one of the two beds, sprawling out to take up the entire surface.

"I hope you're not planning to sleep like that," Samantha remarked.

"Oh?" Cal asked, not looking at her as her face was buried in the blankets. "And why's that?"

"Because we'll be sharing that bed, obviously."

Cal sprang up, looking at both her and her mother, the latter of whom was busy opening her suitcase to pull out her toiletries.

"Huh? What's up with that?" Cal hated sharing a bed with anyone, much less a sister who she had a rather rocky relationship with.

"Oh, what's the issue, Callie?" their mother chimed in. "You two used to share a bed whenever we went up to the mountains to go skiing."

"Yeah, and Samantha used to always snore and kick me in her sleep."

Samantha flashed her an indignant look.

"You must be thinking of yourself," she fired back in her usual calm, level tone.

"It's just one night, Cal," her mother said. "Now, let's get ready for bed, girls. We have a busy day tomorrow."

Cal was tired, so she didn't argue with her mother. After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she changed into a tank top and sweats before crawling into bed. She'd have to try to get to sleep before Samantha could finish her lengthy skincare routine and occupy the other half of the bed.

Cal tried, but even though she was exhausted just a moment ago, she had trouble drifting off. She was laying awake long after Samantha crawled into bed and fell asleep herself. Next thing she knew, she picked up her phone and saw that it was almost midnight.

Scrolling absent-mindedly through her phone, she found herself cycling through her texts. Kenzie and Mark had texted her earlier about her little field trip, but she imagined they were either out at a party or asleep at this time of night.

She scrolled down enough to see her old texts from Grace, which she hadn't gotten around to deleting. The sight of some of the messages, most of which contained flirtatious banter, tugged at Cal's heartstrings. She was feeling especially lonely in the quiet night, even among her family being there. The memories of her good times with Grace weren't helping her get to sleep.

However, before she could look through any more texts, her phone lit up with notice of an incoming call.

Cal was surprised to see the name of her father at the top of the screen. She hurriedly jumped out of bed, trying her best to be quiet, before grabbing a jacket and heading out onto the hotel balcony.

Cal answered the call as she leaned against the railing, shivering a little in the cold winter air.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Cal!"

Her father's cheery voice on the other line filled Cal was a sense of calm. Her father was always joyful and upbeat whenever he talked to her on the phone. He was the only family she had who seemed to look forward to chatting with her.

"You won't believe where I am," Cal said in a low voice. "I'm on the balcony of a hotel room and mom and Sam are sleeping inside."

"Wow! You better keep it down, you hear? Your mom'll send me death threats if she knows I'm calling you."

Her father used a joking tone, but the implications were serious. Cal's mother hated even hearing mention of the man's name.

"They dragged me to this wedding for one of Mom's co-workers," Cal complained, feeling a bit relieved to get her frustrations off of her chest. "I have no idea why, though. Mom's probably just gonna go on and on about Samantha to anyone who listens. So why do I have to be there?"

"Maybe she just wants to spend time with you two?" her dad offered.

Cal couldn't even believe what she was hearing. Her mother? Wanting to spend time with Cal? There was no way! It seemed more likely that she wanted to pretend like Cal didn't even exist.

"There's no way," Cal said. "She hates that I didn't decide to be a lawyer like her or Sam. She's probably just bringing me along to convince me to go after men. Like, 'look at how beautiful this wedding is. Don't you want that for your future, Cal?'."

Her father chuckled on the other line. "Maybe. But I think she gets frustrated when people choose their own path. I always thought that she might be feeling trapped in her own way of life."

Cal was sort of stunned into silence by that observation. She'd never thought that her mother might want to let loose and be her own person. In fact, Cal thought that she was already being herself and doing what she wanted to do. Being a boring, duty-bound, workaholic, no-fun-allowed woman was just who her mother was. Or so it always seemed.

"But...maybe I'm just looking too much into it," her father added after the brief moment of silence. "Still, it doesn't matter. You should do what you want to do and be with whoever you want to be with."

"Yeah," Cal said, thinking about who she actually wanted to be with. It was easier said than done, getting what you want in life. Unfortunately, some of these things were out of control. She'd learn to accept that Grace, who she really liked, could never be with her.

As if reading her mind, her dad asked, "How did it go with that girl you talked to me about?"

Cal sighed, her breath visible in the cold air. "Well...it was great for a little while, but then...I guess she thought there were more important things to worry about than me."

"I'm sorry to hear it, kiddo," he said. "But things always end up working out."

Cal hummed in agreement, but she didn't really feel it. Some traitorous part of her was actually missing Grace. Sure, she was angry at her ex-girlfriend, and felt nothing but awkward or irritated around her now. But she'd be lying if she said her original feelings of affection and attraction were completely gone now.

When would Cal get over it? It was pathetic, thinking of her like this over a month after the breakup.

"Is that why you're not asleep right now?" her father asked. "Worrying about stuff?"

"Yeah...plus I'm not looking forward to this whole wedding ordeal," she replied.

"Well, listen, I'll be back there in a month or two, and when I am, I'll take you out to eat, wherever you want, as much as you want."

That brought a small smile to the blonde's face. "And where are you this time?"

"Guess you'll find out when I bring you a souvenir."

Cal rolled her eyes. "Well..I'm gonna hold you to your promise."

"Make sure you do," her dad said with a laugh. "Now try to get to sleep. You'll be fine tomorrow. Text me after it and tell me all about it."

"Alright."

They said their goodbyes and hung up. Cal hesitated before returning to the room, looking up to watch the dark sky and crescent moon. After a few seconds, she felt her eyelids finally starting to get heavy, and she retreated to her bed.