Saved by the bell!
He slips away into my room, and I reach for the remote, absent-mindedly channel surfing as my mind starts wandering back to Lois, picturing her chowing down on waffles with her parents, laughing.It feels like she’s been away forever.Oh, fuck me. This is getting ridiculous.
Carter looks pissed when he gets back.
“What’s up?”
“Becca,” he says, massaging his temples.
“You guys fight?”
“No…”
“So what’s the problem?” I ask.
“She asked me to spend Christmas with her.”
“For real? Wow. Things are getting serious with you guys.”
“Yeah. I think I love her—crazy, right?”
“Mike would be proud of you, buddy.” I twist open a jar of peanut butter. “He was always the sensitive one.”
“Facts.”
I dig my spoon into the tub. “So when are you leaving?”
“I’m not.”
“How come?”
“There’s no way I’m leaving you all alone for Christmas, man.”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t fuck around, Cart. It’s just another day—I’ll survive. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“No way.” He shakes his head. “I’ve always done Christmas with you and Mike, and then just you—”
“And now just Becca. I’m serious, dude. I order you to accept.”
“Lane, I—”
“Life’s too short,” I say, my tongue thick with peanut butter.
“Deep, man.”
I shake my spoon at him. “Call Becca back.”
He twirls his phone around in his fingers, glancing at me, hesitant. I jump up and snatch it from him, hitting dial on her number. When she picks up, I get straight to the point.
“Becca, it’s Lane.”
“Bad Lane!” Carter lunges for his phone.
Becca sounds wary. “Everything okay?”
“Yup! Just wanted to let you know that Carter’s down for Christmas. I promised to be good while he’s away and not open the door to any strangers. I even swore to take a shower every day!”
She thanks me as I hand the phone back to Carter, and though his jaw is clenched, I can tell he’s happy.
