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Yeah, I think that would be plenty of time.

Sounds good. Need me to bring anything?

We were texting so quickly, it almost felt like we were actually talking to each other. I typed,Only if you want. I’ll take the leftover hummus and veggies we had at your house. I’ll make it look pretty.

For just a second, thinking about being at Wolf’s house reminded me of Kyle again. I’d have to let him know in the morning that I had plans and wouldn’t be going to his mom’s house.

I sent another quick text to Wolf.Thank you so much. Good night, handsome.

Good night, Songbird. Sweet dreams.

After I turned the lamp beside my bed off, I had a hard time going to sleep. I was actually excited about tomorrow.

Notmy mother and our dysfunctional family.

Instead, I was thrilled that I’d be spending most of my day with Wolf. And that, of course, led me to thinking about what my family would think. But then I realized I didn’t really care. I was actually excited to be showing off my new boyfriend.

Maybe he wouldn’t want to tellthemeither. Because we were keeping it a secret from the band, I realized we’d have to keep it from my family too. My mom divulged shit on Facebook all the time…so maybe I would just introduce him as a good friend who didn’t have plans for Christmas so I invited him to come with me since he could give me a ride.

That sounded like a plan…and, finally, an hour or so later, I drifted off into restless sleep.

CHAPTER 30

After getting dressed and made up the next morning, I cut up a few more vegetables and transferred the hummus to another container so it wasn’t obvious that it had already been used for something else. Then I packed it all in a bag and waited.

Just before ten o’clock, Kyle still wasn’t up and, for just a second, I was sad that I wasn’t going to see his family. Even though Thanksgiving had felt a little awkward, I cared about them, especially his mom. They’d been good to me for a long time.

But his family washisfamily…not mine, and I couldn’t keep treating them that way. It was time to let go.

I considered sending Kyle a text to let him know I’d be gone, but if he was wanting to sleep late, I didn’t want to wake him up—so I left a short note on the counter:

Merry Christmas,Kyle. I’m going to visit my family today. I hope you have a good time today. See you later! H

Then I tiptoedout of the apartment with the food and the one gift I’d bought for my family months earlier, a board game that had been on clearance at the variety store downtown. Until I was in the hallway, I didn’t realize how relieved I felt that Kyle wasn’t up yet, but I was glad I didn’t have to explainhowI was getting to my parents’ house. Because until Wolf and I came clean with our band members, a lot of what we were doing might seem questionable and could lead to them figuring it out.

No sooner had I walked outside than I spied Wolf’s truck moving down the road a little over a block away. Perfect timing.

As soon as he stopped the truck, I ran up to the door and jumped in.

For just a moment, I questioned if I should have gotten more presents, but it wasn’t about the gifts. It was instead about getting together and eating a meal with each other, spending quality time. Christmas really was the one time in the year when my mom was mellower, softer, more enjoyable, less stressed.

And, aside from the time she’d been with Jeff, when I was a kid, Christmases were generally a fun time with my family.

“Need help with anything?” Wolf asked.

“Nope. This is it.”

“Does anybody in your family have a drinking problem?”

I started laughing at the oddness of the question. “Not that I know of.” If anyoneshouldhave had a drinking problem, it would have beenme.

“Good. I’m bringing a bottle of apple cider as a gift. If you’d saidno, I would have left it in the truck.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know.” Once I was buckled in, Wolf started driving down the block. “You look cute today.”

Cute?I grinned. It was because of the stupid Santa hat I was wearing. “Thanks. You always look cute.”

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