Page 35 of A DIY Christmas Miracle
What was that look supposed to tell me? Was she really trying to get me and Eli to do something together so she wouldn’t have to worry about one of us getting lost out in the snow alone, or was there a deeper meaning to this proposal?
“That’s a good idea,” I said, trying not to let on just how much I liked the idea.
While I’d certainly enjoyed celebrating Christmas with my friends, and it easily ranked in my Top Three Christmases ever, the days before our friends had arrived, the one day we’d really had for ourselves, had been even better.
Shaking my head, I reached for my cup of tea and took a sip, savoring the feeling of the hot liquid running down my throat and pooling in my stomach, warming me from the inside out.
“Maybe…” Cassy said but immediately interrupted herself.
“Maybe what?”
“Nothing.” Her answer came too quick and her eyes were flickering nervously through the room, looking at everything but me. She threw Sophie an imploring gaze, but Sophie just shrugged and stayed out of it.
She probably knew what this was about.
Of course she knew. Everyone knew.
Everyone except for me.
Shaking my head, I drank another sip.
“Fine,” I said with a lot more bite than I’d intended. Another sip of tea, a third, a fourth, and my cup was empty. “I think I caught that weird bug from Eli. I’m feeling a little off. I’m going to go to bed,” I bit out and quickly got up, my empty cup still in hand.
There it was again, that nasty feeling of not belonging. That pang in my chest and the distinct feeling that a wall was being put up between me and the rest of the group, quickly shooting out of the ground until I was fully cut off from everyone else.
The fire crackled, and the dancing and flickering flames tried to convince me to stay and bask in their warmth for a little longer. I didn’t actually want to go to bed. I wasn’t tired at all and didn’t want to lie in our dark room, condemned to mull over why I was suddenly no longer part of the group.
It used to be different. They’d never treated me like an outsider. They’d welcomed me into their midst from the very beginning even though they hadn’t known me at all and I’d been a shaky, quiet, nervous mess.
What had changed?
“Will…” Cassy looked at me with wide eyes as I finally found the strength to turn away from the fire and toward the kitchen. Her eyes were begging me to stay, but I didn’t feel like it. Why should I?
“Good night.”
I was almost relieved I hadn’t planned to go skiing with them in the first place. I could do without being confronted with the fact that I wasn’t really part of the group any longer.
Initially, I’d been worried I would have trouble coping with the sheer number of people, feeling suffocated by their presence. I needn’t have worried. I’d rarely felt so alone.
“If it’s any consolation, I have no idea what’s going on with them, either.” Jack stepped up to the sink where I’d just placed my empty cup, smiled at me, and shrugged. “Everyone’s acting all weird. It fucking sucks. Eli’s idea sounded so good. I was really looking forward to this trip, you know? It was supposed to be fun. But it isn’t. Eli’s running around looking like the world has ended, and the others keep whispering like there’s this big secret I’m not in on.” Rolling his eyes, Jack shook his head. “Do you know what this reminds me of?”
“What?”
“High school.” He laughed. “In high school, there’s always so much drama.”
I nodded. “Oh yeah. On the last day of school, Andre and Mackayle broke up — in the middle of my English class.” If I hadn’t already needed a vacation prior to that, I’d have certainly needed it afterward.
“Oh, poor you. It was your turn this year?” Jack sympathetically patted my shoulder hard enough for my glasses to slip. I quickly adjusted them and turned to him.
“What do you mean?”
“They break up all the time. All. The. Time. Last time, they broke up right at halftime of a game. Coach Hendrikson almost killed them. But… never mind. That’s not my point. I’m wondering what you’ve planned for tomorrow when you’re all alone with Eli.
I looked at Jack in shock. “Do I need to have something planned?”
Would Eli expect me to have the whole day planned?
No, right?
