Page 65 of A Very Addicted Christmas

Unfortunately for Vada, her dad arrived first to pick her up.

Uncle Garrison looks between us with raging disappointment. “Party crashers?” he says in almost disbelief. “Party crashers?”

“We didn’t invite the party crashers,” Vada defends.

“No duh,” Uncle Garrison says. “But would they have showed up if there wasn’t a party to crash?”

Vada narrows her eyes. “Maaaaybe?”

Uncle Garrison groans and puts his hands to his head. He has a short buzz cut and an Abbey Games T-shirt on. He’s also the one who asked all our friends (not the party crashers) to leave, but a few girls from school slyly snapped photos of him on their way out.

Vada made a gagging noise that I joined in on.

“Where’d you even get the alcohol?” Uncle Garrison looks between the three of us, landing on Nona the longest. Most think she’s the “ringleader” of our group, but she’s more like the glue. The one holding the four of us tightly together.

“The other kids brought it,” I lie easily.

Vada and Nona nod in agreement while Audrey slurps harder on her straw. Uncle Garrison takes this news with a single nod and asks, “How’d the security system get disabled?”

“It was disabled?” Audrey plays innocent.

“I had no clue,” Winona says.

“Me either,” Vada and I say in unison.

Reality: Vada remembered her dad talking about the Cobalt’s security system, and she worked her technological magic to shut the thing down. We all asked her to do it. We’re just as guilty,and there is no way I’d throw her under the bus. Not if we can squirm out of this unscathed.

“Come on, they didn’t magically turn off,” Uncle Garrison says, looking directly at each of us.

“Maybe it was a glitch,” Winona says.

“A glitch?” Uncle Garrison’s brows rise. “A glitch occurred right at the moment when you girls threw a party? What a well-timed glitch.”

We all nod. “Yep,” I say.

“Truly,” Audrey mutters, then slurps.

“Totally,” Vada nods a few more times.

Uncle Garrison blinks. “Do you four really think I’m that dumb?” He holds up his hand as Vada opens her mouth. “That was rhetorical, Vada.”

“I was just going to say you’re the smartest person I know,” Vada says, and there’s a sincerity to her voice that’s unmistakable.

Uncle Garrison and Vada share a look I struggle to decipher and then his attention veers to the sound of the door opening. “Thank God,” he says.

When I see my mom, I cave backward into the leather couch, waiting for my dad to follow her in like an ominous shadow. But he doesn’t. It’s just her, and relief is quick to fill me.

“Where’s Xander?” My mom looks around quickly like he’ll emerge from the walls. Her worry causes more tumbling emotions. Memories I don’t want to face.He’s fine.

“He’s in the bathroom,” I say.

She stiffens.

“He hasn’t been in there long,” I add, trying not to be too worried. He looked okay.

Ben is maybe in the kitchen trying to clean the flour. Or he could also be upstairs in his room as far away from Xander ashe can be. I wouldn’t know. I don’t have X-ray vision. But maybe their distance is what’s best.

And if anyone asks—I’m on Xander’s side. There is absolutely no question. That will be in my next video diary, for sure. In fact, I try to remember everything that went down tonight for diary number seventy-five.

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