Page 95 of Cruel Destinies

Christmas Eve had been like any other day for me and my mother. We didn't celebrate with gifts, and there was no other family to spend it with. So I tried not to expect anything too different with my dad, since he wasn't the mushy type.

Before my little argument with Arya, I had looked forward to spending that day with her, excited to celebrate and exchange gifts. Now I just wanted to veg.

I knew from the moment I woke up that my heart wasn't into the idea of going on a date with Jackson. Sure, he was cute in a rugged kind of way, but he seemed rowdy and temperamental. And more temper was not what I needed.

I kept my morning clear so I could watch two movies before my date. But the short confrontation I’d had with Arya played over and over in my mind, souring my mood. Why did she have to get in my head like that?

Half way through “Die Hard”—yes, it’s a Christmas movie—there was a knock on my door.

“Yeah?” I called, too lazy to get up.

The door opened a little and Arya peered in. I immediately paused the movie and set my tablet aside. We hadn’t reallyspoken since Tuesday, mostly because of my rigorous and completely voluntary training regiment—okay, maybe I’d been avoiding her a little to evade any judgment on my dating choices—but I desperately wanted to talk to her now.

“Hey,” she said, offering a small smile. “One of Santa’s helpers dropped off a gift for you.” She came all the way in holding a small, flat box wrapped in pretty Christmas paper and a bow on top.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise, and some foolish part of me briefly wondered—hoped—it might be from Niko.

“Shea sent it in on the secret subway,” she added, bringing it toward me.

My hopes deflated, but I smiled. “Oh, cool. Thanks for bringing it to me.”

She offered it to me, but instead of taking it, I scooted to one side of my bed to make room for her.

“Oh. I got the distinct impression you were avoiding me,” she said, just standing in front of my bed and wearing a slightly wounded expression.

I pursed my lips and shrugged. “Sorry I’ve been weird. This whole Jackson-Niko thing has thrown me for a bit of a loop. I guess I thought you were mad at me.” I sheepishly glanced up at her.

She tilted her head to the side and frowned. “I have no right to be mad at you. God knows I’ve acted stupidly because of boys since I got here. Men just suck.”

“Amen to that,” I said, raising my fist in agreement.

We both laughed.

“Okay, open your present already,” she urged, sitting beside me and shoving the box into my lap.

I dug right in, shredding the paper and pulling the lid off the box. I wasn’t exactly used to opening gifts, so this whole ordeal was especially exciting to me. Inside lay a green card with the spotify logo.

“Wow, fifty bucks!” I gushed. “I can get so many songs with that!”

“Aw, Shea’s the best,” Arya said.

“What did she get you?”

“I don’t know yet,” she replied with a shrug. “I just came right over as soon as I picked them up.”

Aww. I really didn’t deserve Arya as a friend.

“Well, go get it,” I urged. “I want to see what she got you, too!”

Arya grinned. “Okay. Be right back.” Then she hopped off my bed and scurried out, returning after a few seconds with a gift the size of a shoe box in hand.

She reclaimed her spot on the bed and began tearing open the paper. Peering over her shoulder as she opened the lid, I saw a beautiful mermaid hair clip with blue rhinestones inside and—a rose?

Arya picked up the hair clip and held it up to admire it. “Wow, this is so beautiful.”

After a moment of wide-eyed appreciation, she set it down, coiled her long black hair into a bun, and clasped the clip around it.

“How do I look?” she asked, turning her head to give me the full view.

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