Violinist (CENTURIES series: Book #4)

26

It was a cold morning, the frost gleaming across the city and mirroring on the many shiny surfaces it had to offer in the yellow morning sun.

I took a deep breath and felt like it was the first time in forever since I had truly breathed and felt the fresh air go into my lungs and through my veins.

There were so many things I should be thinking of. How Tony had left me once again. How he thought he was protecting me by doing that. They were chasing him, after all, and not me, and I should be lucky I wasn't dead yet.

I should've been worried about whether or not it was safe to walk the street alone, even in a fully crowded walking district with shops, boutiques and cafes with large wide windows, perfect for glancing out on the street and eyeing its pedestrians. If anybody were going to commit murder, there would be a whole lot of eye witnesses.

But instead of worrying about all of that... about the heartache in my chest, the burning sensation in my gut, and the knot in my throat, I forced myself to keep walking forward, to keep pushing myself towards my goal.

Christmas shopping.

It was less that five days away and soon the stores would be sold out and closed for the season. There were only really two people I wanted to buy gifts for this year. Only two people who truly deserved all that I had left in my bank account, but those two people had expressively told me not to buy them anything.

Well, screw that. They were moving in together, and they were getting some housewarming presents.

Dan hated the classics, so obviously I was going for a few of those. I had already set my heart out to find some His & His bathrobes. Some Best Boyfriend Ever mugs. And of course, Christmas Is The Time To Be Gay! beanies which I had fallen upon by happy coincidence.

But the actual gift I was getting for them, the real topper that I hoped and knew they'd both love, was an expensive dough mixer which could knead doughs, whip up frosting and also had an ice cream attachment bowl to make homemade ice cream.

It was expensive and would take a large dip out of my savings, but for all that they had done for me during the past weeks had been more than I could say with words. As if it wasn't already enough, the three of us had decided on a private Christmas together. Kyle wasn't heading home to Michigan for the season, and Dan preferred not going home to his homophobic parents either, so they had both declared they'd love to spend Christmas with me, provided I wanted to.

After our dinner date that long time ago, with the delicious steak and sauce and cheesecake, I could only imagine what the two of them could whip up together at Christmas. Like I was going to say no to that. I was crazy these days, but not that crazy.

But speaking of whipping up things. The mixing machine I had found online and tracked down was all but sold out, except for one outlet store in Clinton. I had therefore taken the train downtown and was now walking towards the store down the cozy shopping street.

They really had done a beautiful job with the decorations this year. There was a large Christmas tree in the center of the square, Christmas lights and ornaments adorning it's branches and a large star atop the tip of the trunk. A fine layer of frost glinted on the dark green chips of the pines. Behind the tree was a large Macy's with golden streamers in the window. Together the whole thing looked magnificent.

And right there, in front of the store, a familiar face made me stop up and stare in disbelief. Make that two familiar faces.

Mason... and Brianna.

My ex boyfriend and my former best friend.

Everything closed up. My knees, my chest, my lungs, my mouth, my veins. My heart.