Page 51 of Snowflakes and Sparks

“You what?” I asked, but she slammed the door in my face without answering. I turned around and tried to run, but it felt as if something was literally holding me back.

I looked over my shoulder and saw that a piece of my coat was stuck in the door. Great. I tried to yank it loose, tears streaming over my cheeks, but the fabric wouldn’t budge.

I pounded on the door and Heather appeared again. “Can I help you with something?”

“You’ve done enough,” I said with a squeaking voice and ran down the stairs. Back at the bookstore, I locked the door and made my way up to the bedroom. I was shaking as I crawled under the covers, a dark stone settling itself in the pit of my stomach. Heather was taking everything I loved away from me. Alex. The bookstore I’d worked so hard to make a success. My belief that true love and second chances were possible for me.

After half an hour, a clear thought made its way through the mist of my sorrow. Maybe Heather wasn’t telling the truth. Maybe she just wanted to get rid of me and have Alex all to herself. I wiped away the snot and tears and dialed Alex’s number. If I could talk to him, this whole nightmare would be over soon.

But the phone kept ringing, no matter how many times I tried to get through to him. After twelve attempts, I stopped trying and sent him a text instead, asking him to please call me.

Everything went silent for at least an hour and a dark cloud settled in my heart. How stupid had I been to think I could get my fairytale here? I’d known Alex for a few weeks. He and Heather had known each other way longer.

The sound of the doorbell made me rush downstairs, hope building once again. But instead of Alex, it was Addy. Sweet Addy, who had been nothing but nice to me ever since I’d arrived in Old Pine Cove.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, putting an arm around my shoulder. “Why are you crying?”

“Heather is over at Alex’s. She told me Alex doesn’t want to see me anymore,” I said, the words coming out in choked little tidbits.

Her eyes grew wide with surprise. “What are you talking about? Heather is here?TheHeather?”

I pointed at Heather’s car to make my point. “See?” I wanted to take my house keys and scratch her car front to back. Or stab them in her stomach and turn them around.

Addy frowned. “That’s… weird. There must be a logical explanation for this.”

“Is there? Alex is not even answering my calls.”

“That doesn’t sound like Alex at all. Why don’t I go over there to figure out what’s going on?”

I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her inside. “No, no, no. Please don’t go over there.”

“Why not? Are you afraid I’ll catch them… you know? Because I highly doubt that. Heather broke Alex’s heart, big time. There’s no way he’s letting her back into his life.”

Alex and Heather going at it hadn’t crossed my mind before, but now I couldn’t get the image out of my head. They’d be having sex, no question about it. The kind two people have when they realize they belong together.

I stumped up the stairs, followed by Addy, and took my suitcase from under the bed.

Addy’s eyes grew wide. “You’re leaving?”

“There’s nothing here for me anymore. Not the store. Not Alex. Nada.”

She looked at me as if I’d stabbed her with a knife, a mix of disbelief and hurt all mingled into one.

“I’m sorry, Addy. I didn’t mean that you don’t matter,” I said, throwing clothes into my suitcase without bothering to fold them first. “I need to get away. But I promise you that we’ll stay friends no matter what, okay?”

“Where will you go? It’s Christmas Eve, Suzie,” she said with a soft voice.

“Home.” I ran around the house, throwing all of my belongings into my suitcases while Addy was listing off reasons on her fingers for me to stay.

“Please, Suze, don’t leave like a thief in the night,” she pleaded. “I’m sure all of this can still be salvaged. I’m sure it’s nothing more than a stupid misunderstanding.”

“I won’t be able to breathe withthemnext door,” I said and made my way downstairs. I took one last look at Got It Covered. I had loved the place, but now it was tainted. Like a yummy drink with a bad aftertaste. Addy squeezed my arm without saying a word. It was clear that there was no stopping me.

“Be safe, okay?” she said, helping me heave my luggage into my rental car.

I closed the trunk and pulled her in for a hug. “Thank you for wanting me to stay. Oh, and will you throw this away for me?” I handed her a gift box. There was no way I’d be able to give Alex his snow globe now.

“What is it?”

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