Page 5 of Not Home Alone

TODD: I thought he was here.

AVA: If he’s here, I’m gonna kill him.

TODD: If he’s not here, I’m gonna kill him. He’s supposed to give a speech tonight.

Incorrect. My dad is supposed to give a speech at the Chamber of Commerce holiday dinner tonight, and Todd is supposed to introduce him. That’s why it wasn’t crucial for me to attend. That’s why I very stealthily returned to my dad’s house to grab my stuff when no one would be there to ask me where I was going. That’s why I’m hiding out here, where no one can find me. That’s why I will not be replying to them or anyone else tonight.

Because fuck everyone else.

I’ll keep showing up for the family business meetings, and the one terrible holiday event I absolutely must go to during the day while I’m in town, but the nights will belong to me.

I open my Led Zeppelin playlist, connect to the whole house audio system, and let the electric intensity of my favorite song fill every room and cell of my body.

Christmas spirit can suck it.

This is how I’ll be celebrating.

Not with forced cheer or obligatory gatherings or those sugar-coated songs they play over and over in every store to numb the pain of existence so you’ll buy more presents.

I’m celebrating with this energy.

I sing and play Jimmy Page-level air guitar as I descend the stairs in my underwear.

Because I can.

Because I am by myself.

Alone.

This entire house.

Is mine.

Mine to play John Bonham-caliber air drums in while the warm air caresses my…

Wait…

Whose suitcase and coat is that?

I didn’t leave that light on in the living room.

Who’s the blonde standing in front of the fireplace?

Why is my body responding so immediately to this view of her backside?

How does her ass look so good in those jeans even when she’s wearing a ridiculous sweater?

Do I recognize those big, brown eyes I see in the mirror, and why do I feel them burning through my soul?

It can’t be.

It better not be.

It is.

Of course it is.

It’s her.