Page 13 of Screw Christmas
As I listened to Maya talking to her mother while pretending not to, I found it peculiar that she didn’t tell her mother I was here. Not sure why she’d want to keep it a secret. Maybe she felt that bringing me up would upset her mother since she and my father had split. Or maybe they were back together, who fucking knew at this point. Last thing I knew they were back together and it seemed rather solid as far as I knew. I wouldn’t lie, the ‘he’s not special’ remark kinda stung a bit.
Wrapping up the phone call, Maya tucked her phone away into her handbag and slung it over her shoulder again. “It was my mom.”
“I gathered as much. How has she been?” We turned from the tree and began to make our way to the subway line that would take us back to her place.
“I don’t know. She says she’s fine, but I think she’s lonely. She’s never been good at being alone. You think she’s back with your father?”
“She has the rest of her family back home. She’s not alone. Just because they’re no longer together doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be there for her if she needed it. But then again, maybe they’re dating again on the down low. I can’t keep up with those two.”
What I didn’t want to tell her and what I’d been sworn to secrecy to keep to myself was that our parents were dating again and that her mother was spending the holidays with my father. I didn’t know how serious it was or if it would amount to anything this time, but they’d asked I keep tight-lipped about it—especially to Maya.
“Yeah, I know. But she’s always needed a man around for some odd reason.”
“Is having a man around such a bad thing?”
“They can be a distraction, and in my experience they’re not always the most reliable of people. If you want to get your heart broken, then they’re wonderful. But, aside from that… Well...” Clearing her throat, she lowered her eyes to the street ahead of us.
There was a hesitation in me for a moment. Was that a blow at me or was there something more? I eyed her profile; her cheeks were rosy from the cold giving her a face a pretty glow. She’d become such a strong woman. The transformation within her was incredible. It seemed hard to believe that some man could penetrate the wall she had around her and end up hurting her now.
Taking a guess that it wasn’t me, I asked, “Who was it?”
“Who was what?”
“The guy who broke your heart.”
She hit me with the side-eye. “You mean aside from you?”
“Ouch.” That remark pierced my heart, but I could take it.
It took her a couple of minutes before she spoke again. “Look I’m really sorry. That was uncalled for, you didn’t deserve that.”
“Maybe I did. I made a mistake. I own up to it, and if there’s anything else you need to get off your chest to make that night right or give you closure then I’m okay with that.”
“Thank you.” She paused, then added, “I mean it. Let’s hurry and get out of the cold, I’m chilled to the bone.”
OceanofPDF.com
Chapter 7
Maya
The subway ride back to the apartment was taken in silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts. I felt like a complete jerk. As much as I wanted to blame Dylan for the past, a part of me was starting to think that the only reason I was still hostile with him was that I was taking out my hurt and anger over my ex on him. We’d been teenagers when he’d hurt me. If I was going to be fair, it would be petty of me to continue to hold onto the past when he was trying to make amends for it.
I was so lost in my thoughts as I contemplated whether I was going ask him to sit down and have a heart to heart with me or not, to completely clear the air or if I was willing to simply drop it and sweep the past under the carpet that I didn’t even see him bend down and grab a handful of snow.
“Has your aim gotten any better over the years?”
His question took me by surprise and had me looking up and freezing as I spotted him several feet away from me—my apartment building in the background—with a large, perfectly formed snowball in his hands.
We’d chosen to trudge through knee high snow and cut through the park instead of going the long way. This route gave him plenty of snow to use as ammo. Had this been his plan all along? He had been the one to suggest the shortcut. `
“Dylan. No.” Putting up my hands, I gave him a stern look that I normally reserved for people I was in the middle of arresting. “Put the snowball down and back away from it. I’m not in the mood. I’m not even close to playing around on this.”
“Funny, that’s what you always used to say.” The wicked gleam in his eyes told me there was no reasoning with him. “But we both know you used to love it!”
Looking around us, I surveyed our surroundings. I wouldn’t be able to get past him and into the building without being tackled and having snow shoved down my back. Flashes of memories came rushing back from when we were kids and him owning me each winter. I could take shelter behind a bench and try to outthrow him, but I suspected his arm was just as good, if not better than when he used to play ball.
“Dylan, I’m seriously not in the mood for this.” Taking a step back, I opted to attempt to get around him. If I put enough distance between us, I could possibly make it to my building.
