Twisted Turnaround

Chapter 22

MILES

I didn't expect Andrea to get emotional when I gave her the present. After the car ride and realizing that she didn't get a Christmas at all (what with her first days being out of town and her being all alone), I decided to get her a gift. It was nothing big that I had gone out during the gap between two of my classes to get. I had wrapped it up and added a bow. Doing all this during our break in the locker room had gotten me a few looks but I didn't care. I wanted to do something nice for her.

I hold the present up with a grin, and Andrea's eyes are immediately water. "Oh," I say, not knowing where her reaction lied. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

Andrea looks up, trying to get the tears to stop, and then says, "God, I'm crying again."

"Yeah," I say softly, and then look down at the present. It wasn't a big box, and the wrapping was poorly done, but I was happy to give it to her. Did she not want it though? She finally looks down again, a tear falling out of her eyes, and then she asks, "Why?"

"Everyone deserves a gift on Christmas," I say with a small smile. "And you didn't get one, so I got it for you."

"Miles," she says, her voice breaking. "I—thank you."

I hand the gift to her with a smile, and she looks at it fondly. It makes me happy to know that she appreciated it. "So do you want to open it now?" Sebastian would be finding me in a minute, but I wanted to see her reaction to the present. She shakes her head though and tucks the present under her arm. "I want to keep it for a while, if that's okay."

I don't understand, but nevertheless, I say, "Yeah, sure." She nods and then wipes at her eyes. "At least I lasted the entire day without crying," she mumbles as the both of us walk toward the parking lot. I spot my car as Sebastian is leaning against it. He holds up his hand in a wave, and I open my car. Getting inside, Andrea follows after him. Once we are all inside the car and Sebastian is already messing with my car radio, I pull out of the parking lot.

After Sebastian has a song playing, he glances behind at Andrea and asks, "What do you have there, Brennan?"

"A gift," she says in a soft voice. I see her looking at me in the rear view mirror and catch her eyes. "Miles gave it to me."

"Ooh, what's in it?" Sebastian asks, but Andrea only shrugs. "I don't know," she answers. Sebastian chuckles, "Well, will you open it?"

"Not now," Andrea answers and instead looks at the present. I knew that she was savoring the present, and it hurt my heart even more. Did she seriously spend Christmas all by herself? I couldn't imagine it wasn't lonely. Campus was open, but everyone had left their dorms, and Andrea was probably the expectation because she filed a form. She spent Christmas all alone here, in her room for the entire time. It made me mad.

Seabsrian turns away from her. "Fair enough," he comments and then glances at me. "You know I saw Miles wrapping that gift for you."

"Really?," Andrea's interest is peeked, and she has a curious smile on her face.

"Yeah," Sebastian says casually. "He did it during our water break and kept messing up. I think it took three tries to get it right, and it still doesn't look right."

"I still like it."

"Thank you," I respond to her compliment, and she shares a smile with me in the mirror. I feel my heart lighten at that and look away. Was I supposed to feel this way toward someone who claimed they hated me just over a month ago? All I knew was that I cared about Andrea and would do anything for her. I promised her that much.