Blake glances around, searching for witnesses, for allies, but all he finds are faces pretending to study their drinks.
“She’s my girlfriend,” Blake says.“Not your whore.”
“Sure about that?”Humbug says quietly.
It’s not a declaration.It’s a confession.
Then Humbug punches Blake.And it lands like thunder.Blake is on the ground.
The whispers start instantly, ripples spreading fast.It’s true.The biker and the bartender.She cheated.He’s married.She’s crazy.I can feel the walls closing in, the noise climbing my spine.My heart’s pounding so hard I might shake apart.
Somehow Blake gets to his feet and comes at Humbug.
“Stop,” I say, voice cracking.“Both of you, just stop.”
Blake turns on me.“You threw away everything for this trash?”
“Maybe everything wasn’t worth keeping,” I snap, louder than I mean to.
He blinks, stunned.Then his face hardens, and I see it, the disgust, the pride.“You’re pathetic,” he says, and shoves past us, out into the cold.
The door swings shut behind him, leaving silence heavy as snow.
Humbug’s still standing there, breathing hard.Everyone’s still staring.
Sugar’s voice breaks the quiet.“Carol…” It’s like she’s trying to stop me from what I do next.
“You were in on it?”I ask Humbug, although finally, I know.
“It’s not what you think.No one was gonna get hurt.”
“So, you didn’t even save me?All this between us is based on a lie?”
I look around the room, at the garlands, the candy-cane lights, the life I pretended was enough.My chest aches, but there’s something else under it.Freedom, maybe.Or the start of it.
I untie my apron, wad it, set it on the counter.“I’m done,” I say.
“Carol…” Sugar starts, but I shake my head.
“Tell Jimmy he can keep my tips.”My voice steadies.“I quit.”
The crowd parts when I walk out.Humbug follows, but I stop him in the snow, hand on his chest.
“Don’t,” I whisper.“Leave me alone.”
He hesitates, jaw tight.“You sure?”
“Yeah.”I look up at him, at the snow settling in his hair.
He nods once, eyes dark and soft all at once.
“What about the Executioners robbing us?”I ask.
“Peppermint, this whole town is a goddamn lie.Yeah, Jimmy paid us to hold up Sno-Globes, make a mess.He collects the insurance.Then he collects donations.And yeah, I was there to make sure no one really got hurt.Can you ever forgive me?”
“I don’t know,” I say honestly.“But I’m free.”
He half-smiles, the kind that looks like it hurts.“Freedom ain’t always sweet.But it’s yours now.”
