Serena

T w e n t y-s i x

"Jingle bell jingle bell jingle bell rock, jingle bells chime in jingle bell rock," my aunt sings as she pulls out a pan of freshly baked brownies.

The smirk forms on my lips as I remove the bulbs from our Christmas tree. "Christmas was like, four days ago Aunt Tess," I say, turning my head towards the kitchen so she can hear me.

I see her begin to dust some green and white sprinkles over the brownies and shake her head. "Yes but Christmas songs never go out of season Serena. I thought I raised you better than that," she teases.

Chuckling, I turn back to the tree and remove the rest of the decorations from the tree, inhaling the pine scent it gives off.

In the past nine weeks, both a lot and, well, nothing, has happened. School was mundane as usual but I did finish out the semester with all B's—even in math thanks to hours of studying with Jake. Thanksgiving came and went, and since Jake spent it with his family in Florida I just worked the entire time which dragged because apparently no one wants ice cream when its fifty degrees outside.

Christmas was amazing to say the least, it snowed the day before and I spent the morning opening presents with my aunt who was generous enough to buy me a car with her bonus from the hospital. Afterwards, the two of us headed next door to Jake's house and spent the day with his family, making me realize how dangerous Miranda and Tess can be when they get together. I caught them on numerous occasions gossiping and giggling in the kitchen and back yard while they sipped from wine glasses.

Jake proved himself to be an amazing boyfriend once again by getting me two video games I had been desperately wanting, a gift card to my favorite clothing store, some candles, and a homemade "coupon book" that had things like "30 minute massage" "I'll do your dishes" and "Consider your homework done." It made my gifts for him look pretty crappy considering the large gift bag was only filled with body wash, cologne that I thought smelled really good, some new workout clothes, and a copy of my favorite movie The Revenant. Still, he promised that he loved it and gave me a pretty big kiss that left my cheeks burning red considering it was in front of our family.

On the other hand, while all of this was happening, the local police department was busy trying to make a case for me. It was hard at first because they said that, if brought to court, it would most likely be thrown out considering there was no hard evidence. The scrap of cloth had not only Tyler's DNA, but mine, the scare actor that found it in the field, the security guard, and Jake's. The photos taken of my ankle—now completely healed—apparently wouldn't hold up in court either because "the injury could have been from anything" or even "stage make up." It also didn't link me directly to the photograph because it didn't have my face in it so the defense attorney might say that I could have simply taken the picture off of the internet. They brought Tyler in for questioning and of course he denied it all except for being there that night because his sheriff friend tipped him off on the evidence we had against hi—at least that's what I'm guessing happened.

Bullshit, right?

Thankfully, Zack agreed to make a statement and went in with both my aunt and myself. I made Jake stay home because I really didn't know how he'd react to being in the same room with him. We sat down with him, his lawyer, his mom, my detective, Tess, and myself and after agreeing that—to the best of our abilities—no charges would be filed against him, Zack told them what happened that September night including his own partaking.

I'll admit, I felt bad for his mother considering she broke down crying a few times at the realization of what type of son she had. The drive home for them had be both awkward and heartbreaking. A part of me was thankful that the pain he had inflicted upon me has now stretched out its tendrils to those he cared about as well as himself. Another part, the more compassionate side, wished to comfort her and assure her that I'm—for the most part—doing okay.