Page 64 of Neo

“That was nothing,” I try gaslighting her. “Do you have another one of those makeup remover wipes?”

Kennedy goes back to her bedroom and grabs her pack of wipes. But not only does she return with them, she also has a piece of paper in her other hand.

“Really? Then what’s this, bitch?”

I shut my eyes, disappointed with myself. It’s the note that Neo left with the Christmas tree. I remember mixing it up with a pile of mail on the counter and said to myself about five different times that I would grab it and put it in a safe place, but I just never got around to it.

“I realize what this looks like.”

Kennedy’s face contorts like mine does when I’m having period cramps.

“What this looks like is I flew home for a week and when I returned, the entire world turned upside down.You’re going to get there, Grinch, and this tree is the first step. Merry Christmas?” She reads the note with dramatic effect.

“Yeah, um, so I was going to tell you.”

“Neo Major gave you a…Christmas tree?”

“Gaveusa Christmas tree,” I correct her.

“And when did he give this tous?”

“Yeah, so, I stopped by the ice house for a second when you were gone–”

“The ice house!” she exclaims. “By yourself?”

“It was just lunch, Kennedy.”

“I thought we both agreed that you didn’t need any new friends, especially one’s living in that house.”

“You’re the one who brought me there first!”

“I didn’t think you’d go back on your own to visit the last person on earth you should be talking to. Now he’s gifting you Christmas trees and shit?” She tosses a used wipe in the air. “What the hell, Violet?”

“He felt sorry for me and we had lunch. That’s it.”

“How did the tree get here? Did you bring it home from the ice house? Was it theirs?”

“Lunch was late. By the time he walked me home the sun was down and I didn’t think I should let him walk home by himself.”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“No, I’m not kidding,” I say, getting a bit irritated by this grand inquisition. I know Kennedy has strong feelings about the Suns, but I don’t owe her an explanation about my choices.

“Neo is a grown ass man. He punches people in the mouth for fun. He can definitely walk back to the house on his own.”

“Well, he seemed a little skittish about getting in an Uber so–.”

“And you fell for that?”

“I didn’t fall for anything because nothing happened. He spent the night on our couch and when I woke up, he’d left the tree outside myclosedbedroom door.”

“Wait, he slept over?” Her eyes widen.

“Would you relax?”

“Think about this, Violet. Neo is the captain of the hockey team. The leader. The head fucker in charge. Any one of those guys at the house could have driven you home or picked him up.”

“I thought about that, but–”

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