Page 81 of Christmas Crisis
Once I broke up with Stone, I’d be left with a job that still felt like being posted on an alien planet, an Instagram brand I was uninvested in, a group of friends who were now closer to casual acquaintances, sisters who lived twelve hundred miles away, and a relationship with my best friend that was a little choppy since I couldn’t figure out if I should bring up the time (two times!) he’d jabbed me with his dick.
But first things first, I needed to come to a new understanding with Stone. An understanding of thewe should just be friendsvariety.
I sank back on my couch and picked up the candy bowl from the coffee table. Considering I was in an apartment on the second floor, the concept of trick-or-treaters was aspirational at best, so I had to assume I’d subconsciously purchased the Costco-sized bag of Snickers, Three Musketeers, M&M’s, and Milky Ways as my personal consolation prize for not being able to go out.
I wasn’t a huge Halloween person, but my coworkers had invited me to a party in Pasadena that many of them were attending. I’d been down to go initially, even assembling a passableEdward Scissorhandscostume for myself. But then Stone told me he’d be flying into town for the night.
Since his Vancouver shoot was scheduled to last months and I didn’t know when we’d see each other again, I figured I should take the opportunity to end things with him before the holidays.
It was a bummer because it was the first time I’d been invited to something social with my coworkers that wasn’t an official office function, and I worried they’d think I was blowing them off. I knew the “Sorry. Not feeling well. Can’t make it” text I’d sent sounded flimsy. They didn’t know me well enough to realize I’d never cancel plans without a good reason, and they also had no idea most people considered me fun to be around. So far, they’d only seen me nervous, triaging my way through assignments and navigating the new job learning curve.
I’d thought about finding a way to casually divulge my Instagram profile, but I really didn’t want to be that girl anymore, even if having tens of thousands of followers might increase my credibility with fellow marketing professionals. Although I’d spent seven years building my online persona as a brand, and had mentioned it during the hiring process, I didn’t want to make it a focal point. Or be tied to it.
I wanted them to like me, but I also appreciated that they thought I was boring.
I popped the last bite of a Snickers into my mouth and sighed. Stone should have arrived twenty minutes ago. Pretty sure that was candy number four.
Okay, fine, it was number seven.
STONE:Sorry, babes. Shoshanna found out Naomi is also in town. She wants us to be seen together at some party. Don’t worry. I’ll just show my face for a bit and then I’ll be right over.
I hmphed. Darn it. I could have gone to the other party.For a bit.
Two hours later, I sat alone on the couch, two beers and a dozen more candies in, alternating between self-recrimination and anger at Stone.
He wasn’t behaving in any way I hadn’t condoned over the past year. It just hadn’t bothered me before. And maybe that should have been my first clue. For months, I’d misinterpreted not being bothered as not needing to change it.
Rather than let my anger boil, I did the thing I knew would keep me sane and firm up my resolve. The thing that reminded me more than anything else of how shallow my connection to Stone truly was.
I called Leo.
Holding my breath, wondering if he’d pick up or if he had his own Halloween plans, I exhaled when the connection went through. His face filled my tablet, and I clocked the warmth of his expression. Only Leo ever looked at me like that.
“Panda!” he exclaimed. “Hey! … Happy Halloween! Are you back from the party already?” He scratched his temple. “Or do I need to fly down and take care of some mean girl cubicle dweller for you?”
Right. The last time we spoke, I’d mentioned how nervous I was to finally be invited to a social thing with my coworkers. He knew I’d been walking on eggshells trying to make inroads with them.
Stone didn’t know about my plans tonight, but Leo did.
“Actually. I, uh, had to cancel.”
His eyebrows rose. “Is something wrong?”
“Yeah. I mean, no. I’m fine. It’s just that… Stone came into town.”
“Oh.” The light behind his eyes dimmed. “He’s there now?”
I bit my lip and tried to keep my irritation with Stone from my tone as I responded, “No. He’s gotta make an appearance with Naomi. Then he’ll be here.”
Leo clearly had to choke down other words before muttering, “I see.”
“What are you doing tonight?” I asked, switching topics. “I don’t think you ever mentioned. No big spooky shindig?”
He held up a bag of the same candy mix I’d purchased and grinned. “Nope. My epic plan is to pick out and eat all the Three Musketeers from this bag. Also, I’m watching the originalNightmare on Elm Street. Did you know Johnny Depp is in it?”
I rolled my eyes, grateful to be back on even footing. “Yes, you philistine. Everyone knows that.”
We were chatting about our favorite horror movies when I heard an alert on his laptop through my speakers. He clicked into something and frowned.
