Page 8 of Screw Christmas
“That’s when you decided to head to New York?”
“Yeah. There’s some casting calls for a new play and a couple of new television shows coming up. I haven’t acted since college, but figured what the hell, couldn’t be worse than what I had going on.”
“So you’re broke?”
“Not completely, but that’s a quick fix. I’ll get a regular job while I audition and be out of your hair before you know it. I have skills, there’s got to be something in the city I can do to get the cash to get back on my feet.”
My mood softened a tad as my sense of right and wrong took hold. “Okay, fine. This is what is going to happen. This isn’t a free ride. I’ll let you stay for a couple of weeks, and you can help yourself to what I’ve got, but you’re going to pay me back. This isn’t a charity. We’re not friends, we’re not family, I’m simply doing someone I once knew a solid. Consider it my holiday good deed.”
“Understood.” There was an awkward silence before he spoke again, “So where are we on the food? All I’ve had to eat all day is that popcorn.”
Groaning, I gave my head a shake, a smile emerging on my lips as I stood and made my way to the kitchen. As much as things changed, they stayed the same. Opening the fridge, I grabbed some ground beef and began to form some patties. “How many burgers to you want?”
“A couple will do. You doing some fries up at well?”
I shot him an annoyed stare but turned and grabbed a bag of fries from the freezer. “Consider yourself lucky it’s the holidays.”
“I am very grateful for this. You’ve always been someone people could count on. Is that why you decided to be a cop?”
Placing the formed patties into the frying pan, I turned back to him as the patties began to sizzle. “There’s a number of reasons why I joined the force. Doing good for others would be on the list of reasons.”
“You’ve completely changed.”
“How’s that?” I gripped the spatula tightly in my hand wishing I wasn’t automatically triggered by him. It wasn’t healthy and as a cop I should know better than to let emotions get the best of me. But no criminal had the ability to hurt me like he did.
“When we were teenagers, you weren’t all that athletic. You were also a bit of a people pleaser. You just weren’t assertive or…”
Cocking a brow, I urged, “Or…”
He shrugged. “An asshole. From my experience, cops need a bit of an asshole edge.”
He wasn’t entirely wrong; the profession did indeed need a particular personality type. Not sure if asshole would be the word I’d use though.
“Yes, well.” Grabbing a baking sheet, I began to sprinkle fries onto the sheet until it was nearly full, threw some seasoning on them and then tossed the sheet into the pre-heated oven. “People change. Sometimes a person needs a good kick in the teeth to gain a new outlook on life and the people around them.”
We stared at one another; I could tell he knew exactly what I was talking about.
Dylan didn’t respond. What could he say really?
“I’m getting tired, once we’re done eating, I’m going to hit the sack. If you want to check my closet in the bedroom, you’ll find some blankets and an extra pillow for the sofa. I gotta work tomorrow fairly early, but I’m off a little past supper unless someone wants the evening off then I’ll do a double so they can be with their families for Christmas.”
“Okay. Sure.” Pushing himself from the sofa he walked across the living room and to the entrance of the bedroom. At the bedroom he paused and looked over his shoulder at me. “For what it’s worth I do regret what happened between us back then. You were my best friend, and I did value you in my life. I’ve had a hole in my life that didn’t quite get filled up ever since that night. And I appreciate that you’re giving me a hand now, it’s really big of you.”
I tried to avoid eye contact but couldn’t refrain from looking up at him. There was a sincerity in his gaze that made the walls within me crack, just a little bit, but they were far from breaking.
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Chapter 5
The next day at work was uneventful which was a good thing. The last thing we wanted was to be hauling people off to jail on Christmas Day. There were a few domestic abuse cases that were always heartbreaking, but nothing over-the-top or out of the norm from every other day. The precinct tried to cheer us up by giving us all little gift bags of chocolate and gift cards to a nearby coffee shop and having a catering company put a spread out for us for our lunch break, mostly sandwiches and cold pasta salads. It was a nice gesture but all-in-all I was happy to be walking back into my apartment building once it was all over.
The weather had taken a turn for the worse and the snow was coming down hard; while light and fluffy, the snowflakes were nearly the size of quarters! Just the walk from the patrol car to the building donned me with a solid blanket of snow on my clothing.
Kevin wasn’t at the desk tonight, instead it was Keith. Keith was a newer guard, fresh out of high school with aspirations of becoming a cop one day. For the time being, he just wanted, in his words, to chill and enjoy life for the next year before making the big plunge.
“Hey Keith,” I greeted pulling the knit cap from my head and shaking the snow from it as I stomped my feet onto the mat just inside the front doors. Even though my boots were slip-proof, the ice and snow in combination with the smooth marble tiled floor could prove to be hazardous.
“Merry Christmas, Miss Holland. Busy today?”
