Winter Gatherings | Series Crossover

14. Bryson

Chapter 14: Bryson

       "Please, there has to be another room," I said to the desk clerk. I couldn't go back home right now. I didn't even have enough money to make it back to Miami. I was going to have to stay here for a while until I could make enough money to buy a bus ticket back home.

       "I'm sorry, but it's fully-booked," the clerk said. "The next opening is on the twenty-sixth."

       "But that's in three days," I said. "I need a room now. Any room will work, even the boiler room."

       "I'm sorry," he said again. "There is, however, a hotel about a fifteen minute drive from here. You can check that place out."

       I sighed. I couldn't walk that long to a hotel, especially when my phone was dead and I didn't have warm enough clothes. I didn't even expect to make it this far. I just got on the bus and let it take me where it was.

       In retrospect, I should have planned out where I was going.

       "Are you sure, like positive, there's no room?" I asked.

       "Yes, I'm sure," he said. "I really am sorry, but there's nothing I can do."

       I sighed again and picked up my bag. I walked towards the door to leave, but it opened before I could do it. In walked three people, and a dog, I never expected to see.

       "Uncle Bryson!" Wilder said before wrapping his arms around my leg. "Hi!"

       "Hey," I said.

       "Bryson, what the hell are you doing here?" Isadora asked.

       "Uh....Well, obviously seeing my sister and her husband and their son," I said. "Yeah...."

       Isadora raised an eyebrow. "So you decide to come here just to see us? Does Mom know you're here?"

       "Obviously, otherwise she would have called you to tell you I wasn't there," I said.

       Or because I told her I was staying at Dad's. That would buy me time to come wherever it was that I went, which apparently was the same ski lodge my sister was staying at.

       "Okay, but you could have told me you were coming here," Isadora said. "And I'm guessing you just assume you're going to stay in our suite?"

       "Yes?"

       Isadora sighed quite irritably before gently pushing me towards the stairs. I followed them to their suite and when we walked in, I immediately sat on the couch and rested my feet on the coffee table. 

       I looked over at Isadora, who didn't look happy. "You seem mad."

       "Of course I am," Isadora said. "You just show up here unannounced."

       "Well, sorry for not wanting to spend Christmas with Mom and my new stupid step-dad," I said.

       "Then why didn't you just stay with Dad?" Isadora asked.

       "And his girlfriend? No thanks," I said, crossing my arms and leaning back on the chair.

       "You still could have called," Isadora said. 

       I just shrugged. I didn't even plan on coming here in the first place. I guess it was a Christmas miracle I ended up where my sister was.

       Isadora's cell phone rang, so she took it out of her pocket. "Hello?....Mom?....Mom, calm down, I can't understand what you're saying....I'm sorry, what?" Isadora looked over at me and I winced. Busted. "So he told you he was staying with Dad but Dad just told you he's not there?....No, don't worry, Mom, I know exactly where he is. Would you like to speak to him right now?"

       "No no no, Izzy, please," I said in a quiet voice, but Isadora didn't take no for an answer. Instead, she put Mom on speaker phone.

       "Bryson Owens, what the hell are you doing in another state?" Mom asked. "More importantly, why did you lie about it?"

       "Uh....Because I haven't seen snow before?"

       "Not good enough," Mom snapped.

       "Wilder, let's go get some food," Dax said in a quiet voice before taking Wilder's hand and leading him out of the suite.

       "Bryson, I'm waiting for an answer," Mom said.

       "You want an answer? It's because step-father is a jackass," I said.

       "Bryson!"

       "What? That's the truth. He doesn't like me and you know it."

       "Well, maybe you should try being nice to him," Mom said. "Respect your elders, remember?"

       I snorted. "I'm sorry, but my respect is earned, not given, and he definitely didn't earn respect. Sorry, but I'd rather spend Christmas with my sister, even if Dax is here and I'm not fond of him."

       "Well, I can't make you come back," Mom said. "But when you do come back with your sister, you are grounded." With that, she hung up the phone.

       Isadora hung up as well before sitting down beside me. "You know, if you wanted to come, you seriously should have just told me you wanted to," she said. "I wouldn't have said no and even if Dax didn't want you to, I know many ways to persuade him. You should have told me, though, so you could have gone to my apartment and grabbed Dax's medication. He forgot it and he hasn't been doing as well as he has been."

       "Yeah, to be honest, I didn't know you were at this exact ski lodge," I said. "I just got on a bus and let it take me here."

       "Wow, that's one huge coincidence," Isadora said. "You're lucky. If you got anywhere else...."

       "I know, I know," I said. "Do you....do you think I'm the one being a brat and is making our step-dad hate me?"

       "Definitely not," Isadora said. "I'm not too fond of him as well, but Mom loves him so we can't do anything about it. But Dad's girlfriend is nice and you know that. You could have spent Christmas with them."

       "I know," I said. "I like Dad's girlfriend, I really do, but....I don't know, it would have felt weird spending Christmas with them. Besides, I really did want to see snow. You don't mind me staying here, do you?"

       "No, of course not," Isadora said. "But, just to warn you, my mood swings can get a bit unbearable. And Dax might have a meltdown."

       "Beats spending Christmas back in Miami," I said.

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Aww, I don't really write many brother-sister moments between Isadora and Bryson. cx In fact, I sometimes forget Isadora has a younger brother. Bryson is nine years younger, by the way, so that makes him 17 in this. cx

AND THE VANCOUVER SNOW (aka rain) STOPPED RIGHT NOW. I hope it stays stopped and we continue to get actually snow. :/ I've had enough of rain.