Strained

Chapter Thirty-Two

It was Christmas Eve, but no one in Salem celebrated that. No, for some reason I quickly found out December twenty-fourth was just another day. This year, it was just another Wednesday -- except, thanks to Ivelyn, it was also Mir's Baby shower! She wanted to throw a "Gender Reveal" party, but because of all the training we had been doing, Mir had to keep canceling her ultra-sound appointment. She was now halfway through her seventeenth week pregnant and she had no idea what gender her baby was going to. So, she had decided to just wait until she gave birth to find out.

Winter break had only just begun a few days ago but already a thin layer of snow covered the ground. The weather report told us to prepare for the snow to stick, continuing for the next few weeks. I didn't mind snow in general, but just thinking about driving in it made my head spin. I was a New Yorker through and through and driving in harsh conditions was not a strength of mine. Convincing myself on driving in the snow was going to be the difficult part. Maybe even more difficult than driving. 

I stared at myself in the mirror, wondering if I should change outfits again. What caused this sudden paranoia in the outfit department? Ivelyn's strict rule about the dress code. It was the only reason I was dreading the party. I had been looking forward to giving Mir her baby shower present for weeks. It plagued my mind. I had spent so much time researching and Googling and ultimately tapping into my psychic powers to find the perfect gift. I had outdone myself, which is why I had to go.

Groaning, I grabbed my things and headed downstairs. My outfit was as good as it was going to get. 

"Dara, you ready?" I yelled as I proceeded down the stairs. Ivelyn had invited everyone: the whole town, but most people were skipping the party. Despite it being 2020 some people didn't support Mir having a baby at sixteen. It made me roll my eyes, thinking they could "support" something like that. She was having the baby and that was that, what did you need to support or weigh in on?

My mom had even been invited but had plans with Zack. The two of them were going to his parents to celebrate Christmas. Then, tomorrow it would just be the three of us. Mom had everything planned out, Dara and I had no expectations when it came to holidays. There were too many traumatic holiday memories that we both gave up. Holidays had always brought out the worst in our parents. Dad would drink too much and flirt with the waitress, which would piss mom off, starting an argument. That argument would kickstart a bunch of small ones that never seemed to end.

"Yeah, just a second," I heard her say once I was downstairs. Plopping into the recliner, I brought out my phone. Jamie had text me, from Washington at his Grandparents. He had invited me, but I couldn't go. I wasn't holding that against my mother. Sure, it would have been nice to go -- even for a night or two. I tried to remind myself that Jamie and I had only been dating for six months and to my mom, that it was like five minutes.

Not to mention, my mom had been with my dad for almost twenty years and look at what happened to them. She had been with Zack for a year and they had their ups and downs. I was starting to think it didn't matter how long you were with something, but the bond itself. That's what matters and that's what helped people stayed together or ultimately break them apart. 

His text said:

"My family says hey! Btw, how's it going at Mir's b-shower?" I smiled at his shorthand. It was very specific to him. Like, who used b-shower for 'baby shower'? Or how he was always so grammatically correct. I think that's why his abbreviations were off. 

"Tell 'em hey back 4 me! We haven't left yet. I miss you..." It had only been two days since I last saw him, but I knew I wouldn't see him for two weeks. That was if I survived trying to break the Curse. At least he wasn't going to be in town, that way I knew he was safe.