Together by This Christmas Tree

cally mcgregor
I hardly heard anything other than Damien, with MTV blaring in the background and Damien sitting on the couch, hanging up new posters and gushing about Gemma, who Damien had a “thing” with, until she broke it off to move to, wouldn’t you guess it, England. And he was pissed that now, she was getting married in a week before Christmas, and he had been invited.

“I mean, isn’t that like, an insult towards me?” Damien ranted, until, finally, I raised my brows, not looking up from my book, my phone on my stomach and bounced with each breath I took.

“No, Damien,” I said, sighing. “She’s still your friend, and she wants you to see her be happy. Besides, she hasn’t seen you in five years, since she left. Just take the invitation and come with me, okay? Just bring Isabelle, for God’s sake,” I said, rolling my eyes again and feeling my phone vibrate against my stomach, grabbing the remote from the couch arm and turning MTV off.

The number that blazed on my iPhone was one I didn’t recognize, but you know what, I answered anyway. John inspired me to live, because there was only one chance to live. And I had only known the guy for eighteen hours, and he was making me live more than anyone else before him.

“Hello?” I shushed Damien while I listened to what sounded like a party in the background, followed by a quiet stream of curses. The voice sounded vaguely familiar but I couldn’t place it. A door opened and closed, and silence filled the line.

“Cally McGregor?” A raspy voice asked, sounding somehow hopeful but also disappointed. The voice was so familiar, but I couldn’t place it.

“Yeah, who is this?” I asked, and Damien looked intrigued, getting all up in my face. Normally, Isabelle was home on the weekends, but she was preparing a surprise over at her place, where she technically didn’t live, but her sister did. And when they wanted to be together, they went to her house.

“John,” He said, and everything fell into place. It was John. My heart started beating faster and faster, my face flushing and Damien screamed with glee like nobody’s business. And John began to ramble. “I mean, I hope you don’t mind. I looked you up and I just wanted to talk to you again and-”

“I looked for you too.” My voice was quiet, like I was scared to admit this. “But your number was unlisted, so here we are,” I said, laughing. John laughed too, and then I could just see him shaking his head.

“I’m sitting in my best friend’s garage talking to a girl I hardly know,” John said under his breath, laughing quietly. “Funny how things happen, right?”

“Yeah, funny,” I whispered, my breath catching in my throat. Everything seemed to fall into place.

John and I talked for hours before he had to go back home, promising he’d call me after they worked in the studio today. He promised to take me to the “cutest little coffee shop”, and as cliche as it was, I didn’t know where we stood.

I curled up under the shower head, hot water washing away my worries and the dirt that had grown under me from not only the England but from coming home from people who were so happy with where they stood in life. Gemma and her fiance, Henry, and most importantly, Damien and Isabelle.

And there was me, alone and happy, but not quite “happy”. I stared at my closet, most stereotypically and digging for something to wear, and ended up choosing a pair of white shorts and a blue tank top, and a striped cardigan, my hair tied up in a bun on top of my head before I went shopping for what me and Damien needed for the week, and I was bored out of my mind in the Walmart, looking aimlessly around.

I was in a trance, thinking about my friends.

My parents had been happy all their lives, since they met at fourteen and had that Great American Love Story, and when my dad died, my mom found strength and met my stepdad, Aaron, and still lived in Phoenix. Gemma had spent her whole life searching for that boy who made her really happy, and despite some questionable choices, she finally met Henry a few years ago, and every time he was brought up she still smiled. And then there was Isabelle, who was the one who had been through hell but when she met Damien in law school.

Where did I fall in to all this?

John O’Callaghan: Cally, how do you feel about dinner at my place? it looks like it’s going to rain. i know it’s sudden, but uh, do you mind?

And that completely brightened my mood, somehow. John made me happy. Maybe because he was new, or maybe because he was just like me.

You: I’d love to. What time?

The Christmas music was giving me a headache and the over cheeriness that people had was pissing me off, but John and I’s promise of spending more time together, somehow making me feel better.

I was falling to fast and I knew it, but that was completely and totally okay, somehow. Normally it terrified me and made me want to cry, but somehow, my heart was letting this happen and I was praying I wouldn’t get hurt. I was hoping it became something more.