Page 86 of Another Christmas from Hell

“I don’t want to talk about this,” Cayley mumbled as she gestured for him to once again turn the television back on.

“Good. Then that will make this easier,” Sean said, tossing the remote on the chair as he gestured for her to get up.

“Easier for what?” Cayley asked, not really caring as she turned over onto her other side so that she could stare at the back of the couch in peace while she wallowed in self-pity.

“Let’s go,” Sean, the annoying bastard that should be at his sister’s house, said as she felt his hand wrap around her ankle.

“No,” Cayley said, pulling her leg away.

“Don’t make me drag you out of here,” Sean said as she reached up and wiped away another tear.

“Leave me alone, Sean. I’m not in the mood to play this game with you,” Cayley said, biting her lip as she struggled not to lose it, but…

God, this hurt.

She never should have let herself fall in love with Bryce. She should have-

“God, you really are a pain in the ass,” Sean said as she suddenly found herself yanked off the couch and thrown over his shoulder.

“Put me down, Sean!”

“And let you ruin all of my hard work? Not a chance in hell, pookie,”

* * *

“Stop being difficult!”came the shouted demand that had Bryce glancing out his bedroom window and felt his stomach drop when he saw her.

Christ, he missed her, Bryce thought, swallowing hard as he watched Sean struggle to keep his hold around her as he tried to drag her back to the front door, only to curse, stumble, and swear to spank her ass when Cayley managed to break free and made a run for it.

For several minutes, Bryce stood there, watching Cayley as she did her best to get away from Sean, slipping, stumbling, and threatening to go for his balls as she raced around her car, only to pause long enough to throw a snowball in his face, and-

He never should have come back here.

With that in mind, Bryce turned around to finish packing his bag and-

“Thomas House?” his father said, throwing the bag on his bed a questioning look.

“For now,” Bryce said, grabbing the stack of shirts he’d placed on the bed and shoved them in the bag.

“And then?”

“I’m leaving,” Bryce said, looking up to find his father watching him curiously.

“You mind telling me why?” his father asked, sitting down on the edge of his bed.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Bryce said because the last thing that he wanted to do right now was talk about Cayley. He-

“I saw the proposal last night,” his father said, making Bryce swallow hard as he turned his attention to his bureau.

“Half the town saw it,” Bryce said as he stood there, staring down at the small box with the green ribbon that had taken him a half-hour to tie for a moment before he grabbed it and shoved it in his top drawer.

“And they also heard Kevin call your mother and sister a whore,” came the words that had Bryce slowly turning around to face his father.

“Seems Kevin didn’t take the rejection well and decided to compare her to your mother,” his father drawled, making Bryce swallow hard.

“Cayley’s nothing like her,” Bryce said hollowly.

“No, she’s not,” his father said, looking thoughtful for a moment. “Which makes me wonder why you’re willing to let her go.”

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