Page 22 of A Roommate for Christmas
Before he even finished the sentence, he grabbed one of the empty boxes near the storage closet and made his way over to the bookshelf near his bedroom door.He began grabbing the candles, tinsel, and all other Christmas decorations in his path and placed them back in the box.
Until he reached the couch and noticed Paige.
Paige saw his eyes widen with awareness, but Carter didn’t back down.Instead, he proceeded to the right half of the living room and filled the rest of the box.
“Okay, Carter.”Paige rose from the couch to face him, feeling the liquid courage from the extra shot of vanilla vodka she put in her hot chocolate.“Quit being an asshole.This is childish behavior.”
“Well, these decorations are childish,” he responded, holding up a pillow with the words “Holiday Who-be-What-ee?”on it, which was, appropriately, a quote fromHow the Grinch Stole Christmas.
“What does it even matter to you?It’s not like you’ve ever bothered to spend time here,” Paige said, face turning even redder.“Has it occurred to you that maybe the world doesn’t revolve around you and that this is something that makes people happy?Or are you too much of a grinch to care?”
“You don’t have to be a grinch to be put off by these tacky Christmas decorations,” he retaliated.
I can’t believe this is happening, Paige thought.This has to be a nightmare.
Carter’s behavior on top of Chance’s engagement announcement was enough to push Paige over the edge.
“Well, if you don’t like them, then move!You clearly hate it here, so just find somewhere else to live!”
“Fine,” Carter said, leaving the now full box of decorations next to the Christmas tree.“Here, do whatever you want.I’ll start looking for something new this weekend.”
And with that, he walked back to where he had left his suitcase and proceeded to close himself in his room.
The girls stood there in silence for what felt like an eternity before Nadia grabbed the vanilla vodka from the counter and poured them each a shot.
“Well, shit,” Paige groaned as she sank back into the couch.She had barely even tasted the shot as it went down her throat.
“I don’t know what the hell his problem is,” Nadia said as she followed suit.“But it seems like Mr.Grinch’s heart is three sizes too small.I wonder how big that makes his di—”
“Nadia,” Paige cut her friend off before she could finish.
“Too soon?I had a feeling, but I just couldn’t help myself.”
Paige buried her face in the pillow and let the last ten minutes sink in.
Chance is engaged.And Carter is a big enough asshole that I actually kicked him out.Paige felt sick, and not just from the alcohol.
The realization hit her hard: as soon as Carter leaves the apartment, her cash flow and freelance dream will leave with him.
Leaving Chance to officially win their breakup, once and for all.
***
Saturday came and went with no Carter sightings—something Paige was grateful for, especially given her intense hangover.She had gone a bit overboard with the vanilla vodka after the drama on Friday night.
She wasn’t sure what she was going to say to Carter when she saw him next.He was out of line for being so demanding about the Christmas decorations, which she had promptly put back in their places on Saturday morning.And he had definitely noticed her crying and continued in his Scrooge-level tirade anyway.
But there was a part of her that felt embarrassed about her reaction that night.Carter had only lived with her for two weeks, and she basically kicked him out with the snap of a finger.Did unfriendliness really warrant an eviction notice?
And that’s not to mention the fact that Carter had seen her in complete disarray.As sick as she was of being around him, Paige was still conscious of the fact that he was an attractive male who she hoped thought she was attractive in return.
She wasn’t sure her red, splotchy face and puffy eyes did her any favors in that department.
But today, Carter was the least of her concerns.
Today, Paige had to focus on how she was going to get through the workday tomorrow.It was going to be the first day back after the holiday, which meant Chance and Diana would be parading around her massive ring and telling their engagement story to anyone who would listen.
Paige wished she could just take a sick day to avoid it all, but she didn’t want to look like she couldn’t handle it.So, since it was Sunday, she planned on having a self-care day to ensure she walked into the office tomorrow looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with freshly painted nails and an outfit that screamed, “I’m completely unfazed by my ex getting engaged to the girl he cheated on me with less than one year after the scandal in question.”
