A Step to Love

This Christmas would not be like any other Christmas, I could feel it. Well, we could already add the fact that I was going to spend it elsewhere.

Neither Aunt Catalina, my mom’s sister, nor Aunt Delilah, my dad’s sister, were coming to visit me this year—not with my mom being translated into an asylum.

Guess I won’t be making any cookies this year. I smiled weakly.

Pat had Nana and me wrap some presents she wanted to give to her closest friends while she and Alex put on the final touches to the decorations outside. Talk about a tad late, eh?
I sighed mentally. Alex...

“Man, there’s nothing on,” Jake groaned from the living room. “There are just Christmas’ specials.”

“Oh!” I heard Brit yell. “I love Christmas’ specials. Leave it on! Leave it on!”

Nana chuckled quietly and turned all of her attention on the small yet confusing bow. Her fingers were like needles turning and grabbing and doing all sorts of things that were to fast for me to catch. I had no idea how to make a bow. Well, apart from the ones that I make to tie my shoes.

She looked at mine and giggled. “Let me help.”

I turned to look at the disaster I had left. There were pieces of green and red ribbon everywhere and I think I got every type of knot in that “bow” of mine except the one I was supposed to do. “Ahh.”

She laughed again. “It’s ok, maybe you should just wrap.”

I nodded in agreement. “Apparently, bow-making is not my calling.”

Ok, so gift wrap... Where are you?

Ooh! There were three types of gift wrap. One with little snowmen on, all smiling next to some pretty snow...women...and lovely... What am I doing? It’s just gift wrap. I grabbed the green one and started working on my duty.

“’Sup?” Jake came in the kitchen all of the sudden, causing me to jump and rip the paper I was wrapping a tea set box with.

“Crap,” I muttered.

He snickered and helped me take the pieces that were already taped in the box. “Sorry.” He looked at me. “Just came to say you have a phone call.”

Hm. “I didn’t hear the phone ring.”

Jake took the box from my hands and started wrapping it with the snowmen couple gift wrap. “I know. I called.”

“Called who?”

He smirked. “Your boyfriend, of course; he’s waiting in line.”

I bolted towards the phone and before I could say anything—“Hey, babe.”

“Hi...Brody?” I smiled, though I didn’t really like being called “babe” by a boyfriend—it’s just not me. And he knew that which was the reason his welcoming surprised me.

I babble too much.

“Merry Christmas.”

“Eve,” I corrected him. I heard him chuckle.

“Yeah, sorry. Eve. Right,” he replied. “So, how are you? Had any fun?”

“No, not really; been trying to wrap presents, but”—I exhaled deeply—“but, I honestly suck. Hell, I can’t even make a stupid tiny bow. You know the ones your mom goes crazy for because she think they are so cute? I don’t get it, really it’s just—”

Brody cleared his throat at the other end and my cheeks turned pink. Good thing he couldn’t see.

“Sorry,” I said.

“Hey, babe?”

I rolled my eyes. “You know I don’t—”

“Yeah, yeah, I have to go,” he said in an annoyed tone. “Sorry.”

“Okay, I lov—” But he had hung up already.

But, it was also good that he had. I mean, the “I love you” part almost slipped. I wasn’t ready for him to know and I had not heard him this weird before.

The past month and a half had been great and he had never been a jerk to me. Not even once which really surprised me. I got a whole other side of him. A sweet, sensitive, caring side and it was great because I always considered him another Alex.

I gulped. Not like Alex. Alex was up there in another level at jerkiness. After everything Jake had told me...and he didn’t lie though I sometimes wish he had and that I wasn’t sleeping in the couch again.

Alex and I haven’t spoken at all. Not since I got a hold of his true face.

“Finished with that?” he asked and then I realized I was still holding on to the telephone.

I put it down and walked away from the living room, taking the stairs and locking myself in the bathroom.

All right, he had spoken to me. I had ignored him completely and even though he kept and still keeps on asking what is wrong, I refuse to look at him the same way again. For crying out loud, I thought maybe we could be friends! And then, the whole flirting now and I hate you later it’s just part of some evil plan he had for me.

Well, now that I am aware of it, he can go mess up with some other oblivious chick.

Yep, this Christmas would not be like any other Christmas. It will suck, I can feel it.