She shook her head. “Kaia, you are equally as important as my actual family. I’d rather be here with you, honestly. Besides, everyone is getting older. They’re having kids and living in other states. It’s not as easy as it used to be. I already told my parents I was staying home this year. So sorry, you’re stuck with me, and you have to wear a matching onesie and Christmas hat with me. Discussion closed.”
She crossed her arms as if to say the discussion was actually closed. I wasn’t about to argue with her so I only smiled and rolled my eyes. The way she got all commanding did something to me, and I had to shut it down.
“What about your family? Did you have any traditions growing up?”
I sighed and put down the basket of Easter eggs I was holding. “After we lost Mom, if I didn’t put up the tree and decorate it, it never went up. It was like my dad just gave up on the holidays. He’d tell me it was just another day, and what’s the point? Before that, we used to get up early on Christmas morning and go to my grandma’s in our pajamas. Now? I have to make new traditions.”
She put down the Santa Claus figurine she was wrapping in cobwebs and wrapped me in a warm hug. She caressed me, and a few tears slid down my face at the comfort. When we parted, she wiped my face and gave me one of her smiles that made everything so much better.
“I’m sorry, Kai. This was a bad idea. We can stop. I just thought it might be?—”
I shook my head, grabbing her hands to stop her apology. “No. It’s okay, really. It’s a lot more fun than I thought it would be. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I just wanted to do something different while still staying in the holiday spirit, you know?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I know. Can you pass me the felt hearts and skulls?”
By the time we were done, the sun had gone down and we were sweating. I had to admit, I had more fun than I thought I would’ve. The house looked totally bizarre, with bats surrounding a table of the three wisemen, cobwebs and Christmas lights along the corners of the walls, and Easter bunnies and reindeer along the fireplace mantel where our stockings hung.
I hadn’t laughed that hard in a long time, and I was grateful to Daisy for putting me back into the holiday spirit. If anyone came over, they’d think we’d lost our minds, but honestly, I didn’t care. I loved every single second of it.
“Will you get the food while I go to the restroom?”
“Of course. Take your time.”
She left, and I went to get everything set up. Tonight we were having pizza. I wasn’t a big fan, but Daisy was, so pizza it was.
I was setting up the plates when she came back out. She wasted no time getting drinks and napkins set up at the table. Yes, we still ate at the table together like a family. It was supposed to be just that one day, but after that if I was sitting at the table, she’d join me, and I started doing the same.
“Hey, do you have a second to talk?” I asked as we sat down to eat.
She smiled and nodded. “For you? Always, sweetie. What’s up?
I took a breath and tried not to fidget with my napkin. It wasn’t like I was telling her I was moving out or something serious, but it still wasn’t easy. I didn’t know why I had a hard time opening up sometimes. Even after knowing each other for so long.
“So, next weekend I’m going out of town. I’m leaving Friday morning, and I’ll be back Sunday night. A lot has been going on, and I think it’ll be good for me.”
“You’re leaving me for a whole weekend?! What did I do to you?”
I rolled my eyes. “You didn’t do anything, and I’m not leaving you. I’m just leaving.” I shook my head. What the hell was that? “I’ll be back, I promise.”
“You better! But why do you need to leave? You know you can talk to me about anything, Kai. I’ll always be here for you.”
My chest cracked at her admission. While I knew it to be true onsome level, I still needed to hear it from time to time. I smiled and hugged her.
“I know, and you know I’ll always be here for you, too. No matter what. I just need some time alone to clear my head and take a breather from everything.”
It wasn’t a lie. She just didn’t know what “everything” actually entailed. I hated any time away from her, but it was vital I spend some time alone with my thoughts. To figure out my next moves and get back to some sort of normalcy.
“I totally get it. I’m going to miss you, doodle,” she said with a frown. “I don’t think we’ve ever been apart that long.”
“It’s only for a few days, and you have Duke. I’m sure you’ll manage, and you can text or call me if you get lonely.”
I didn’t mean for it to sound filthy, but as soon as the words were out, I wanted to take them back. Something dark crossed her features, but it was gone faster than it arrived.
“Of course.” She walked over to me and gave me an unusually long hug. It wasn’t like I was leaving for battle. I was literally just going a few cities over. I had to. Distance would be good for us. For me. I needed to be alone with my thoughts and feelings and figure out how to move on from them.
After the hug ended, she pulled back, but not away. She looked into my eyes. Then her gaze trailed down to my lips and I sucked in a breath. There was no way she was about to kiss me, right? My brain was definitely playing tricks on me.
