Page 4 of Back Home For Christmas

Our house was a hundred years old, and although our family had updated it several times, the upstairs hallway remained narrow between the four bedrooms and one shared bathroom. Jay looked down at me through his tussled brown hair as his gaze moved slowly over every inch of my body, bringing goosebumps across my exposed skin. My mouth went dry. I pulled my towel as tight as it would go over my breasts before steeling my expression and looking up to his face.

“You’re blocking my bedroom,” I said, my breath catching in my throat as I swallowed past the growing lump.

He laughed that stupid laughter reserved just for my misfortune as he turned to the side, waving his hand toward my door as if he was giving me permission to enter my own room. I rolled my eyes to make sure he knew what I thought of that before walking past.

I closed the door behind me, loud enough to reverberate through the hall.

You sure I can’t come live with you?

That bad?

Worse!!

Yikes!

“Cat?” It was my brother’s voice on the other side of the door, followed by a gentle knock.

“I’m getting dressed.” I wasn’t going to have a single moment of peace. I threw on some yoga pants and an oversized hoody before pulling open the door. “What’s up?”

“Can we talk?” I was tempted to slam the door, but I wanted answers. So, I pulled the door further open and waved him in. My childhood bedroom hadn’t changed much since I left four years ago, and for at least a decade before that, aside from the teen decorations I had added over time. When I grew out of a toddler bed, my parents decorated my “big girl” room with pink walls, white furniture with flowers painted on it with a purple carpet, and they hadn’t updated it since. I had a twin bed with a pink bedspread, a small white desk, a dresser, and a nightstand stacked with books I had intended to read before college but never did. Darren pulled out the plastic desk chair and sat.

“It’s good to see you. I wish you hadn’t stayed away so long.” I raised my eyebrows. I believed him. As much as I felt jealous for my whole life, it didn’t blind me to the reality that Darren was a mostly genuine person. The eyebrow lift was because he must have known why I hadn’t been home sooner.

“Why is Jay here?”

“Jay is my best friend.”

“So?”

“So, he had nowhere to go for the holidays. He has been coming here since he graduated from college. Something you would know if you were around,” Darren said.

“Seriously?” I asked.

“Yes. As soon as we graduated, his parents sold the house and moved away. They’ve been jet setting ever since without much interest in seeing Jay,” he said. If I was supposed to feel bad for my high school bully after this sob story, it wouldn’t work. “I know you guys didn’t always get along, but he doesn’t have anywhere else to go.”

“‘Not get along,’ is an understatement,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Tell me what’s going on with you,” he said.

“Nothing,” I said. “Nothing new anyway.”

“You still doing the psychology thing?”

“Yep.”

“How’s it going?” He must have known what a sore subject it was for me. Everyone knew that my four-year degree should have ended months ago. I knew he was just doing the brotherly thing of checking in, but it was the last thing I wanted to talk about.

“Alright,” I said. “How’s running Mom and Dad’s shop?”

He cleared his throat. “Great.”

I nodded. Of course it was. After getting his BA plus master’s in business marketing, Darren had moved back home to bring The Winter Wonderland into the 21st century with an online shop to broaden their reach and improve profits. Just another reason he was the favorite.

“Is mom really going to make me work this week?” I asked.

He looked at me with a knowing expression, as if the answer was obvious. I groaned. “You know I have to finish an essay this week.”

He shrugged. “Tell it to mom.”

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