“NO WAY!” Callie broke free from Wyatt’s hand and ran over to the edge of the water. “NO WAY!” She reached down and dabbled her fingers in the cool water before standing up and flicking them in Wyatt’s direction.
Wyatt nodded with a smile. “Yes way.” He said. “Cool, right?”
Callie nodded as she craned her neck to the top of the waterfall. “It’s incredible! How did I not know this was here?” She asked in amazement.
“Not many people do, it’s sort of a hidden gem.” Wyatt said as he surveyed the area for the other biker. He saw no one. “Come on, it gets even better!”
Callie couldn’t imagine it getting much better, but she followed as Wyatt took her up an overgrown path. It ended at the mouth of a small cave.
“I’m not going in there.” Adventurous as she may have been, Callie was not up for anything that involved a pitch black cave. “No way am I going in there.” She pulled back.
“Come on, you have to, it’s the best part!” Wyatt said.
Callie shook her head. “Seriously? God knows what’s in there.”
Wyatt pulled her hand again and this time she relented. She had always had a hard time resisting him. “I’ll protect you, I promise.” He laughed quietly as Callie clutched his hand so tightly it felt like she could draw blood.
The cave was pitch black for all of thirty seconds as Callie followed Wyatt cautiously through the cool damp air. The path went upward and as soon as they hit midway point, a bright opening appeared at the top. Callie could see the roaring water rushing past in a veil. They were behind the waterfall.
“Holy shit!” She said, her mouth hanging open as she stared up ahead.
“I know, right?” Wyatt pulled her up the last of the rocky incline on to a flat section of rock. “Be careful, it’s slippery when you get close to the water.” He warned.
Callie craned her neck trying to look over the ledge without getting too close. “I can’t believe I didn’t know this place was here.” She pulled her backpack off and reached inside pulling out her change of clothes. She handed her t-shirt to Wyatt. “Here, sit on that.” She lay her jeans down and made herself a seat. Wyatt sat beside her. It was like having their own secret meeting place, the thought made Callie laugh. As a kid she’d always pretended to have a brother in the forts she built, and now she had a step-brother and fort that would make anyone jealous.
“Okay, so are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Wyatt said breaking her concentration. His eyes fixed on the rushing water in front of them. The cool water flew back at them in a rainbow streaked mist. Callie lifted her face to it with a smile.
“Can’t we just enjoy being here for a little while longer first?” Callie asked.
Wyatt shrugged.
After a few minutes of staring at the water, the weight of having to tell Wyatt became too much and Callie blurted it out. “I think your dad and my mom are getting a divorce.”
Wyatt looked at her. “What?”
“Mom told me last week. That’s why I’m not back in Washington yet. She asked me to stay and then sort of dumped everything on me like I was her therapist or something.” Callie felt the heaviness of the obligation sitting hard on her chest. Now that she’d said it out loud it only felt heavier. Things went quiet as Wyatt tried to take it all in. “Your dad hasn’t said anything to you?” She asked.
Wyatt shook his head. “Nope. It’s not like he talks to me about anything anyway, we’re not like that.” He frowned. “But…we’re still living at the house and they’re still sleeping together…that’s just weird…right?” He looked at Callie for confirmation.
She shrugged. “From what mom said he isn’t coming home to sleep anymore, he’s staying at a friend’s or something.”
Wyatt shook his head in disbelief. “How did I not know that?” He asked.
Callie shrugged again. “Same reason I didn’t. They didn’t want us to know. Kind of like how we can hide our…relationship from them.”
Suddenly Wyatt went wide-eyed. “If they get divorced we wouldn’t have to hide anymore.” He said a little too hopefully.
“You think?” Callie asked. She shook her head. “I doubt it. They’d forbid us from having anything to do with each other’s side of the family if they got a divorce. Plus, I know my mom would freak out on me because we were ‘related.’ I’m pretty sure your dad would too, come to think of it.”
Wyatt chuckled and shook his head slowly. “My God, we’re like a daytime talk show on steroids.”