The Christmas Party

I get out of work around 4:30, and drive down the road to pick up Sydney from her job and then, most days, we just go to our separate homes but on the 22nd, just three days before Christmas with final touches of presents to be bought, the rest to be wrapped and over half of those to be shipped, I dragged Sydney out with me for shopping. All night, and then all day, Dana’s little comments about her dress and Kellin looking at her had gotten to me. It pissed me off that she thought she could just steal my boyfriend from me and I’d be okay with it.

“What is this about?” Sydney asked, tossing all of her stuff into the backseat aside from her purse.

“I’m going to show that bitch Dana that there is no way in hell that she’s taking my fiancé from me! I worked too damn hard to keep this relationship alive; I’m not letting some perfect princess with her daddy’s money take him from me!”

“Does Kellin know you’re this possessive?” she asked as I sped down the Orlando streets.

“Probably not,” I answered.

“You really hate this girl, don’t you?”

“With a passion, Syd. This girl has been trying to steal Kellin and make me feel worthless since we met and oh my god, she deserves the shit to get kicked out of her. She was basically saying she was going to lure Kellin away and fuck him in a closet,” I ranted in response, flicking on my blinker to head towards the highway and the more urban area of Orlando. I knew exactly where I wanted to go. There was a small dress shop in the city, Belle’s Bridal Boutique where I wanted to buy my wedding dress when Kellin and I actually started to plan our wedding. We’d been engaged for over a year but, due to his crazy nonstop touring schedule, we hadn’t had time to do anything about getting married. And I was itching to get married.

The moment I met Kellin, I was already pretty much head over heels in love with him. I decided very quickly that I wanted his last name; I wanted to spend our lives together. I wanted to raise our children and grow old with him. I was such a stereotypical lovesick girl when it came to Kellin Quinn. I wanted the “American Dream,” with the suburban home and the 9-to-5 job and the picket fence and the dog chasing our 2 kids. I wanted that all, but of course, I had to fall in love with a man that it was unlikely we’d ever have a quiet, steady life with a routine. It was probably always going to be like this, me waiting for him to get home so we could have a life together. I loved him for that reason, though. I loved his job and how excited he got over music and how he was living his dream. He was the love of my life, and I’d stick with him through thick and thin. And no bitch with a large bank account was going to change that.

“So, where are we going again?” Sydney asked after a few silent minutes.

“I need to buy a dress for this stupid Christmas party, and it has to be better than Slutty Dana’s. And Belle is the only woman I know who has such a thing, for my price range.”

“You are really taking this revenge thing seriously, aren’t you?”

“It’s not revenge. It’s a preemptive strike. She needs to learn that no one fucks with me and my man, especially not during the holidays.”

“God forbid,” Sydney chuckled.

“It’s already hard enough without Kellin to decorate the house or pick out the tree. I don’t need him disappearing on Christmas Eve. Christmas would be ruined!”

“As would your engagement,” she added. I shot her look. “What? I’m just saying.”

“Yes, thank you, smart ass. I understand that. Ever since I was a kid, Christmas has been a big deal for my family. It was the one time that everyone came home and gathered in our tiny house and I got to see my big brothers again. It seems stupid, I know, but it was a tradition and it stuck with me.”

“I know, sweetheart. Now, let’s go save your holiday!”