The Grump Who Stole Christmas

Chapter 12

Nathan

We walked out of the mall and into the car.

I started driving, and Zola asked me," What's wrong with your face?".

"What?".

"Your face. You look angry. Why?".

"I'm not angry."

"Yes, you are. You're also gripping the steering wheel for dear life. If it was alive, the poor thing couldn't breathe. "

I didn't know I was doing that. I relaxed my hands and stopped gripping the steering wheel with so much force.

"So what's up?".

"Nothing."

"Come on, Adams. You're mad. Did you and Matt have a falling out? You've been upset since he left. "

"I am not."

"So then what is it?"

"Nothing."

"Wait a minute. Are you the one jealous now?"

I chuckled and said," Jealous of what?".

"Me and Matt. He called me beautiful. I honestly thought that conversation would have gone the same as last night with you and Sophia, but he remembered me. "

"Yes, Bello. I was there. I'm not deaf. "

"I had a huge crush on him until you blew my chance with him by scaring him away."

"He was dick remember".

"How can you even say that about your teammate? You act all friendly in front of his face, but behind closed doors, you're shit-talking about him. "

It's not shit-talking. I just don't want anyone taking what's -

"Can you let it go?".

"Whatever. I'm going to the party tomorrow. "

I was at a red light, so I turned to face Zola and said, " No, you're not."

She laughed a bit and said," Since when did you become my dad?"

The light turned green, so I began driving and said, "I'm not. I just-

Zola cut me off and said, "Then I'm going. You were invited too. "

I just let out a frustrated sigh and continued driving.

Zola then tried to grab my hand off of the steering wheel.

"Zo. I'm driving. Why do you need my hand? "

She started tapping my knuckles repeatedly and said," Can you stop gripping the steering wheel like you're in a fast and furious movie and drive like a regular person? I'm not trying to die.

Fuck, I didn't know I was doing it again.
I got self-conscious about gripping the steering wheel too hard so I kept checking every 5 minutes that I wasn't.

When we left, it was late afternoon so when we got home it was nighttime because we spent 4 hours in the mall.

I said good night to Zola and went to our own houses.

After I got ready for the night, I could barely sleep. I didn't even think about wrapping the gifts I got today.

I was so angry. After all these years, he still likes Zola when I told him to back off.

I just kept replaying everything in my head. When my eyes finally gave in, I woke back up around late afternoon.

I didn't know I slept through the whole day.