Page 23 of A Gift of Time
Chapter Seven
December twelfth. Only a week and five days left before I ran out of time. I’d spent the night before drinking until I was too drunk to care about anything.
Of course, that’s not exactly how it’d happened. Even while intoxicated, Caden was all I thought about.
And being emotionally fragile, I’d cried and drank until I’d passed out.
Waking up that next morning, I had one hell of a hangover and one hell of a broken heart. It was crazy to say it was broken, though, when I barely felt it in my chest at all. The only reminder was the fact I was still alive. Barely.
I moved through my apartment, feeling like a zombie, lacking motivation to do anything but sit around and sulk. Seeing my phone on the kitchen counter, I grabbed it and winced as the bright screen threatened to burn my retinas. Yeah, over exaggeration, but that’s what it felt like.
Finding Logan’s name, I sent a text.
Jack:Hey. Do I have anything major going on today at work? Not sure I’ll be able to make it in.
I had never called in for a sick day at work. There’d been some days—in thebefore time—where I hadn’t had to work and gone in on a Saturday or Sunday anyway to catch up and try to impress my boss with my dedication, ignoring Caden when he complained about not seeing me enough.
That’s when our fighting had really started, only growing worse over time.
Logan:Nope, your schedule is clear for the day. Are you okay? Do you need anything?
Jack:Just not feeling it today. Don’t worry, though. I’ll be in tomorrow.
After popping some pain killers for my head, I looked in my kitchen for something to eat, even though I didn’t really have much of an appetite. Which I guess was good because I didn’t have much food anyway.
I took a shower and stayed in there way longer than I intended. The hot water poured down over my tense shoulders and back, and it felt amazing. Not as amazing as something else, though: Caden’s body wrapped around mine.
Dammit!
There was no forgetting him. But I didn’t want to.
Deciding I’d only go crazy by staying in my apartment, I got dressed—throwing on lots of warm layers—and went outside.
The snow from the night before had created a blanket of white all over the ground. Some was still falling, and I stared up at the sky, remembering the expression on Caden’s face when he did the same. The overcast day allowed me to see without cringing, so I was thankful for that fact.
I passed a coffee shop and ducked inside to grab a hot beverage. Caffeine had always helped my hangovers in the past. I bought a large cup of the house blend coffee, added a little sugar and a tad bit of cream, before sitting at a table in the back and drinking it. I looked out the window as I did.
People of all different types walked by. One was a woman and a child, and another group consisted of a man, woman, and two little girls. They all looked so happy, as if they had no worry of whether the person they loved would be there the next day. It was a fear I’d had since waking up in this crazy life and realizing I’d made a huge mistake.
All I wanted—needed—was Caden. But I couldn’t have him.
Two teenaged boys stopped in front of the window, oblivious to me sitting on the other side and looking at them, and they smiled at each other.
Something about their smiles touched me. So genuine and loving. And then the taller one leaned down to kiss the other.
That made the heart I’d believed to be broken just an hour earlier skip a beat. Young love. I only hoped they cherished it instead of throwing it away.
Scottsdale was so welcoming of the gay community. For as long as Caden and I’d been together, we’d never had issues. We held each other’s hand in public, kissed when the mood arose, and lived our lives out in the open for all to see.
I was happy to see the two teenaged boys have that same kind of freedom.
Of course, then my heartache returned, and I averted my gaze from them. Love was beautiful, but it only acted as a reminder to what I’d had and lost.
My stare fell to the cup in my hands. Each cup in the coffeehouse had various Christmas and winter designs as part of the promotion for the season. It made for great advertising. But something about my cup caused me to do a double take.
A man who I assumed to be Santa Claus smiled in the image: rosy cheeks, bearded, and chubby. What freaked me out was how much he looked like Nick.
I could accept time traveling and magical clocks, but it was more difficult to accept the fact Santa Claus was real. More specifically… Nick being Santa.
