Page 45 of I Love You, It’s Ruining My Life

“When you said the meetings were uneventful…” I quietly leaned over to Kam.

“There was always tension, but it seems like it finally burst,” he said, before the gym teacher produced a whistle and blew it into the megaphone. The earsplitting noise got everyone to shut up, though I was worried they’d start up again the moment anyone started speaking.

“Everyone. Calm. Down.” Mary-Marigold yelled, “Now, I know we have some strong opinions over the advertising but…”

“But nothing, Mary,” Frank snapped, “You want to ruin the town? Ruining the Festival’s the way to do it. You can tell that to your husband too, since he campaigned on keeping Briar Hill special.”

Mary-Marigold was clearly backed into a corner, and Maya was practically glaring at her, expecting she’d get her way.

“Well,” she finally said, “I think we should dust off last year’s posters and replace the dates. Maya, I want to thank you for your contributions but…”

The Wicked Witch of Briar Hill Elementary stormed out with her friends, yelling about how they all quit and “good luck hosting the festival without them.” Peri had been lurking in the back and slammed the doors behind them, like she’d been waiting for them to do this exact thing the entire time.

And poor Mary-Marigold looked like she was about to pass out.

We had about a third of the volunteers we typically did, whether it was from the current mass exodus or the fire. And looking around the room, I could tell figuring out how to do it would be hard.

“I’ve got an idea,” I announced to everyone, “Obviously, we’re going to have a different-looking festival this year, so… why don’t we cut the things nobody likes doing, and focus on making what we can do go well. Advertise the money we’re raising is for the people who were affected by the fire, and I’m sure the community will come in droves.”

“Thank you, Nalini,” Mary-Marigold smiled, “I think we can work with that.” I wasn’t sure if Hurricane Maya would cause more problems, but it was clear the town had better things to think about: each other. The meeting ran two hours long, and Kam and I were moved out of karaoke and instead were in charge of the Hot Cocoa bar, which thankfully was right next to Peri and Misty.

It was smaller than normal, but it still felt like Briar Hill. And everyone seemed to believe, for the first time in years, Kam actually cared about the town, its traditions, and its people. And I was glad they finally saw him in the same way I did. However, it didn’t stop me from noticing he had some sort of idea he’d consulted with Mary-Marigold about after the meeting. I wasn’t sure what he was planning, but I’d hoped it was at least something that'd firmly put him back in the town’s good graces.

Chapter thirty-four

Kameron

Between prepping for Christmas and dealing with the disaster of a meeting for the Festival, I was convinced nothing could bring my stress level higher. Nalini’s stupid Christmas movies had inspired me to try something big — and Mary-Marigold loved the idea, despite my stupidly agreeing to be the one in charge of organizing it. While I knew I could handle it, I was leaving the room multiple times a day to avoid Nalini finding out. And it was clear she was starting to get suspicious. I’d been expecting a phone call, and hadn’t been surprised when my phone started ringing — only for my heart to race as I realized with panic it was from a hospital.

“Hello?” I asked, afraid they were calling about Cassidy. I knew it was ridiculous because she was still at school, and they would’ve called me if there was an emergency.

“Kam, hey!” Jack’s voice greeted me, and a loud sigh of relief erupted from my lungs. “You okay?”

“You’re calling from a hospital, Jack,” I pointed out after taking a few deep breaths, “Not exactly something I’ve got good memories of. I thought something might've happened to Cassidy.”

“Right. Sorry,” my twin said, his grimace obvious even though I couldn’t see him, “I didn’t think of that. How’s Cassidy doing?”

“She’s excited for Christmas,” I explained, “and still pretty mad at you. Not sure she’s going to let it go any time soon.”

“I figured,” Jack sighed, guilt dripping from his words, “Christmas was actually why I was calling. My therapist thought it might help if I had plans for the holiday instead of being here alone.”

“I can’t say yes without asking Cassidy,” I said, refusing to make this decision without her input. “And if you decide to come over, you can’t spend the night; I’m officially out of beds. Noah’s coming down, and Nalini’s in the guest room, and…”

“Why is Nalini in your guest room?” Jack interrupted. I knew when he inevitably found out, he wasn’t going to be thrilled, but he sounded angrier than I’d expected.

“Her apartment burned down, and she has to stay somewhere,” I explained. “You know how small Briar Hill is; it’s nearly impossible for her to find anywhere else to stay.”

“Oh,” my brother said, surprise and sympathy layering his words, “That’s actually a good reason.”

“Not that it really matters what you think a good reason is,” I pointed out, “I know she’s not your favorite person, Jack, but…”

“You’re falling for her, right?” Jack interrupted, “I saw it with how you defended her during the Thanksgiving incident. And I saw how guilty she felt when I brought it up when I ran into her.” Nalini hadn’t mentioned that part of their conversation, but it made sense she wouldn’t if Jack was acting like this. Though I had to admit, it made a lot of her worries make sense. “I don’t want you to get hurt,” he continued, “And I bet she’s making you feel like the most special person in the world, and one day Nalini’s going to turn around and break your heart. Like, she’s so anxious she has control issues, and she’ll freak out the moment things don’t go to plan. You’ve already dealt with enough stress, and what happened with Julia shattered your heart. You don’t need to go through it again.”

“None of us are seventeen anymore, Jack,” I quietly said, “I’m aware Nalini’s anxiety has a habit of spiraling, and we’ve actually talked about it quite a bit. And she’s getting help for it. What I want to know is how you figured out something’s going on?”

“Noah told me,” Jack grumbled, and I wished I was surprised the call was actually a setup and not him casually asking to be a part of Christmas, “But Nalini practically admitted it the day we ran into each other.

“Are you planning on Christmas being some sort of sabotage mission?” I asked, “Because if it is, you’d be better off spending it with your therapist.”