[18+]
College student Hadley Bell is eager to return home for the holidays, but there's a problem. Her ex-no. 44 Nick Baker, Professional Snocross Racer and member of the Bell Race Team, still resides under her parent's roof.
Tensions run high, and...
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I wasn't doing dinner with the Bell's this Christmas Eve. They needed space. Paul wasn't happy with me, and I knew he blamed me for Hadley leaving, among other things, when I showed up at the bar, four stitches along my brow and face bruised.
Guilt sloshed through me when I took in the destruction but more so when he walked out—not taking a second look at me. I deserved it. I destroyed the bar and left them to worry; it showed in the tight embrace that Linda locked me in.
I offered to pay for the damages, but Linda—rather aggressively—declined my offer. She refused to charge us, even though she should. And because she wasn't, the insurance company wasn't paying for the damages.
I cleaned up every speck of glass and replaced the tables, chairs, and mirror, but I couldn't pay for the reputation lost.
My head fell back on the couch as guilt twisted through me like a rusted wire, and my hand found Wolf's ears. She never left my side, her head tipping in my lap. Neither had Austin, who plunked down next to me earlier today, surfing Prime, Netflix, Hulu– "Bro," he asked, wielding the remote and not taking his eyes from the screen, "remember that time you broke your leg just before summer break?"
Despite the heaviness, I chuckled. "In eighth grade."
"Remember when Nate tried to wrap your leg in plastic wrap so you could come to the river."
I smiled in memory. Hadley convinced me to sit on the bank that day, promising she'd keep me company. She did and taught me how to play crib as the others jumped from the cliffs. I loved her then, just as much as I did now. But I'd been too afraid to tell her because of her feelings for Max and who I was.
I adjusted, recalling a few days ago when Max showed up at the bar to help. "Why did you do it?" I asked, referring to the night he kissed Sofia. He knew what I would do if he broke Hadley's heart, yet he risked it all. Our friendship, his face.
Max smiled knowingly, his hands full of plaster from mudding the wall. "I knew how you felt about Hadley," he said. "I saw the way you looked at her and how you lit up whenever she came around." He paused. "Sofia and I knew you'd never tell her how you felt. Not without a little push."
Austin eased against the couch, drawing me back to the present. "Your cast smelled so bad."
I grinned. "My mom was pissed."
A heavy silence blanketed us. New Years was right around the corner–my mother's death anniversary and I didn't know how to feel about it.
Austin looked at me the same way Hadley did. With worry and weariness.
Lucky for me, the front door of my dad's trailer opened. "Nick?"
I sighed at the call of my first name. "Yeah."
"Come give me a hand."
Austin and I rose as my dad appeared at the entrance of the hall. Glasses on and silver dusted hair combed along the top.
