Page 8 of Christmas in Comets Valley
Why me?
Grabbing a pillow off of the bed, I buried my face into it to drown out the sound of the infuriated scream escaping my mouth. Who would’ve guessed that the universewantedme to stay in this godforsaken town another moment longer? Not me.
I shoved all of my luggage off of the bed and onto the floor in one swipe, then climbed into bed with a huff before reaching over to switch off the lamp on the nightstand.
To make matters worse, the sheets were scratchy and smelled like someone had drowned them in lavender for weeks on end before tucking them into the bed.
“Ughhh!” I let out a groan and clamped my eyes shut.
I should’ve known that stupid travel swap ad was too good to be true, because it wasn’t every day you fell asleep to the sound of an orange tabby cat masturbating itself with a squeaky toy outside your door.
3
AERA
I shotup in bed at the sound of fists pounding hastily against the front door. Still bleary-eyed, I peered over at the clock on the dresser across from the bed, quickly attempting to make out the fuzzy numbers before concluding it was somewhere around two in the morning.
Who thefuckcould possibly be pounding on Juliet’s door at this hour of the night? Had she forgotten to tell her standing booty call that she was leaving town or something? What kind of booty call showed up unannounced, anyway? The name was bootycallfor a reason.
Oh, wait… oh my god. What if this was a robber?
Based on my luck over the last twenty-four hours, that possibility didn’t seem far-fetched.
I frantically grabbed my phone from underneath the pillow and dialed my brother's number with shaky fingers. It was five in the morning on the East Coast which was early, but my nephew usually took a bottle around this time, so I took my chances on Abel being awake.
My heart thumped louder with each passing ring that sounded on the opposite end of the line. Fists struck the door once again, and my stomach felt like it was going to drop through the floorboards.
Pick up. Pick up. Pick up.
There wasn’t much Abel could do three thousand miles away, but at least if I got murdered I wouldn’t be left to be mauled and eaten by Mr. Whiskers until Juliet returned, unless of course, my murderer was a cannibal and wanted me all for himself.
Come on. Come on. Come on.
“Aer? Are you okay?” Abel’s voice finally came through the speaker.
“No.” I shook my head and closed my eyes. “I-I-I think I’m getting robbed.” My voice shook as I whispered into the receiver.
“You’rewhat?”
“Abel, I’m getting robbed, and the guy sounds huge, so I’m probably going to die.” I began hyperventilating with tears welled in the back of my eyes. “I wanted to call and tell you that you’re the best brother ever. You’ll have to break the news to my mom—it’s dinner time in Seoul, so she should answer—, but tell her I love her. Tell Scar and Emerson I love them too.” I sniffled, wiping away a stray tear from my cheek.
“Fuck!” he rasped out. “You’re not going to die on me like this, Aera. I refuse to accept that lame-ass death speech because you’re Aera fucking Chase, and you’re not giving up this easily.”
“Yes, I am.”
“No, the fuck you’re not. Where are you right now?”
“In bed, and the intruder is banging on the front door… loudly.” Almost as if on cue, another stream of knocks pounded against the door.
“So he’s not in the house yet?”
“No.”
“Okay, Aer, listen to me. You’re going to keep me on the phone, but you’re going to crawl out of bed and quietly walk to the closest exit. Grab a weapon on the way, even if it’s just a knife from the kitchen, and keep it with you. Got it?”
“Got it.” Slowly peeling the comforter off my legs, I crept out into the dark hallway. Careful not to make too much noise, I tiptoed down the steps, doing my best to work around every other stair to avoid creaks. Once safely downstairs, I grabbed a softball bat that was conveniently located behind the coat rack.
Wait, why did she have one of these by the front door, anyway?Oh shit, robberieswerecommon around here, weren’t they? Of course they were! What the hell was wrong with this place?
