Page 11 of Back Home For Christmas

He laughed. “I don’t need to copy you.”

His laughter died on his lips as I opened the storage room door and he gaped at something just over my head. I turned, and my mouth hung open. I blinked several times to make sure I was seeing what I thought I saw.

“What the…?” I said. This Christmas was full of surprises.

Darren looked up with wide eyes and bright red cheeks. His arms were wrapped around a beautiful blonde, wearing a spaghetti strap tank top and bright blue shiny leggings. I let out an audible gasp before I could stop myself.

“Aubrey?” I said before doing a slow turn to see how Jay was reacting to all of this. He cleared his throat as his face turned into an expressionless mask before he turned and walked away. I let the door close on my brother and Aubrey and hurried to catch up to Jay. Outside, “All I Want for Christmas,” filled the street.

Jay was my sworn enemy, but he was the better option than the awkwardness we just left behind. Besides, I sort of, kind of, might feel just a little bad if that had been a surprise, especially if he had any lingering feelings for Aubrey.

Aubrey and Jay had been the “it” couple of our school for years. From my perspective, way down at the bottom of the social ladder, they seemed perfect for each other—vapid, stuck up, miserable. One day, they broke up, and no one knew why. To my knowledge, neither one of them ever spoke about it. Then they were off to college, and it was old news.

I hadn’t thought about Aubrey in years, but I couldn’t believe that she and my brother were hooking up behind Jay’s back, or mine for that matter. Much like Jay, Aubrey had been a raging asshole for all of high school. Unlike the other popular girls who mostly ignored me, Aubrey went out of her way to let me know just how much of a total pathetic loser I was.

Once, I left history class with a bathroom pass, only to get to the bathroom and find Aubrey and two of her lackeys in there. She glared at me with a glint in her eyes as I ignored her and walked to one of the stalls. Before I could step inside, she moved in front of it, blocking my way.

“Sorry, this one’s taken,” she said. I tried to keep my face neutral as I moved to the next stall, but her little minions caught on and blocked my way again.

“This one too,” the nameless girl said.

“This one too,” the other one said. There were only three stalls, so I could either wait for them to give up and go back to class, or leave without using the bathroom.

“You are clearly not using the bathroom. Can I just pee?” I asked. I was a freshman while she was a junior. I couldn’t figure out why she gave two shits about me, let alone hated me so much.

“Sorry, we are using these,” she said. I spent far too much time debating what to do and arguing that when I finally turned and left, it was too late to walk to another bathroom. Even still, when I got back into class, my teacher yelled at me for taking so long. I still remember the embarrassment and frustration burning in my throat as I swallowed back tears.

Maybe Darren didn’t know how awful she had been to me. Maybe he didn’t care. Maybe that was why he had been such a tight ass since I got home. But even if all of those things were true, that still didn’t explain why he would do that to Jay. I didn’t care about Jay’s feelings, but Darren sure as hell should have.

When I got back to the booth, Jay wasn’t there. We had two days left to finish our displays, so it wasn’t a big deal that he took some time off to collect his thoughts. For some reason, despite my better judgement, I found myself very curious what his thoughts were. I chalked it up to my inner gossip, but I found it distracting enough that it was hard to focus on the booth, especially since I didn’t have the supplies that I had gone inside for.

“Cat, where’s Jay?” Darren said, breathless as he approached the booth. I saw Aubrey behind him in a thick puffer coat, but she had enough sense not to come near me. Her eyes were looking everywhere but at me, which was a shame because I would have liked her to see the glare I directed at her.

“I don’t know,” I said as I pulled him further into the booth for more privacy. “What the hell is going on?”

“Nothing,” he said. It felt like that was all we said to each other any more.

“When were you planning on telling anyone about this new relationship? How long has it been going on?”

He shrugged. “I gotta find Jay.” He turned away from me and walked toward Audrey, who also tried to stop him, hands on his chest. I crossed my arms and continued my glare, ready for a fight. After a few more minutes, Darren and Aubrey walked away. I hoped they didn’t run into Jay together. Seemed like it would be salt in the wound, although I wasn’t sure why I cared. Maybe I just wanted a partner in my anger. Alone again in the booth, I had nothing to do.

I had to tell Jenna about this insanity. I could have texted her, but I assumed that she was at her family’s restaurant, so I decided to just walk over instead. Jenna’s family’s place, The Lobster Tail, was the perfect mix of beach dive bar and the freshest seafood in town. Inside was all dark mahogany and wood paneled walls that made it look like I stepped into a time machine back to the eighties every time I walked in. Hanging lights and a few strings of Christmas lights, that Jenna probably insisted on, pierced the gloom. It was in between lunch and dinner rush, so only a handful of families filled the tables and a line of locals sat at the bar. One of which I recognized right away from his broad shoulders, although I wished I didn’t.

Chapter Eleven

I stood in the doorway, debating if I could sneak past him to find Jenna. Of course, I could. Jay wasn’t my friend to console. I didn’t need to remind myself that he was just as bad as Aubrey had been back in the day. While he didn’t have the opportunity to prevent me from using bathroom stalls, I felt like every time I turned around in high school, Jay was there. Even after he graduated, I felt his effects. Kids at school still told the stories of my many embarrassments or used the nicknames he had started.

And it’s not like he apologized for being a total dick my entire life. He had done the opposite. Since being home, he had doubled down on the arrogance, obnoxiousness and teasing, treating me as if I knew nothing about my own family’s store. Laughing at me constantly. Talking down to me. No, I definitely didn’t owe him a shoulder to cry on. Not that he was capable of crying, or any normal human emotions for that matter. So, I shouldn’t feel bad for just walking right past him. He probably didn’t care about Aubrey and Darren at all.

With that self talk in my brain, I lifted my chin and started walking. I wasn’t going to even look at him. I would pretend I didn’t see him. Then I could duck behind the swinging door at the back and find Jenna to tell her the latest developments. I hadn’t talked to her since I found out I would be setting up the stall with Jay and now Darren and Audrey? The news was burning through my veins.

But the closer I got to Jay, the more I noticed the slope of his shoulders, rounding down toward the bar. His head dipped heavy, his stare straight ahead.

No! I don’t owe him, I yelled inside my head. But even as the words played on repeat, my feet slowed to a stop. What was wrong with me?

“Hey,” I said, standing beside him. I would check in fast, then find Jenna. My butt wouldn’t hit that stool.

“Hey,” he said, looking over at me. There was an almost imperceptible shift in Jay’s demeanor that I wouldn’t have even noticed if I hadn’t been stuck with him for the past day and a half. Still, I couldn’t tell if he was sad or angry or something else all together.

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