Seasons Change

21.

Chapter 21.

After the bombshell that Avery had dropped on me, it was impossible to relax and have a good time at the dance. Luke and I had stayed for a while after the confrontation with Avery, because I didn't want to let her ruin my night, but we ended up leaving early because I was no longer in a dancing mood. I was more than a little depressed at the prospect of Avery spending Christmas break with us. It didn't even make any sense. She hated my guts. Why did she want to ruin her own Christmas, just to make me miserable?

I didn't quite know what to make of Dylan's offer to give Avery a ride home with him either. It had been a sweet gesture, convincing Avery that there was no room in the car with me and Luke. It would let me have a quiet, peaceful drive home from college.

At the same time, though, it meant that Dylan and Avery would be alone in the car together. And while I wanted to trust that he was fully over her, part of me still wondered. I wasn't stupid. I knew Avery was beautiful, and she had Dylan had just broken up. He'd been awfully quick to offer her a ride home. Did that mean Dylan still had feelings for her? It was all too confusing.

Luke had been strangely quiet since Avery had dropped her bombshell, and that worried me too. I still wasn't sure exactly where I stood with him. Was he interested in getting back together with me? Did I even want that? I knew we needed to have the 'define our relationship' talk sooner rather than later, but first, I needed to figure out exactly what I wanted to happen. Did I want to get back together with Luke? Or was I just enjoying spending time with an old friend?

I groaned, shaking my head as I finished packing a bag of clothes for Christmas break. When had life become so confusing? Between all of my boy drama and the situation with Avery, I felt like I had stepped into some over the top daytime soap opera. It was completely ridiculous. I seemed to attract more than my fair share of drama.

Someone knocked on the door, and I looked up, surprised. "Come in," I called, and Luke swung the door open.

"Are you okay in here?" he asked. "Do you need any help packing?"

I shrugged. "That's okay," I replied. "I think I'm just about done." I crammed a few more pairs of jeans into my bag, then zipped it shut. Most of my clothes were already packed, along with my toiletries, phone charger, and other essentials.

Luke watched as I struggled to zip the overly full bag shut, his lips twitching in amusement. "You know, you are allowed to bring more than one bag," he observed wryly. "There's no rule that says you have to fit everything into one suitcase."

"It's fine," I grunted, sitting on the suitcase to squish my clothes flat so I could get the bag zipped. "It will zip."

When the zipped finally eased shut, I smiled triumphantly. "See?"

Luke smirked. "What an accomplishment," he deadpanned. "Now, if you're done fooling around with your suitcase, are you almost ready to leave? I'm not trying to rush you, but I'm ready to go whenever you are."

I nodded, sighing at the thought of getting back to my house and being forced to spend time with Avery. I was really not looking forward to it. It was probably selfish to procrastinate leaving so that I could enjoy a little more time Avery free, but I had never claimed to be a selfless person.

"I guess I'm just about ready," I said reluctantly, unable to think of a plausible reason to delay leaving any longer.

Luke smiled knowingly at me. "Dylan and Avery left about an hour ago. I'm sure you're not in any hurry to catch up with them, so if you'd like, we can stop for lunch before we head to your place. I'd like to spend some extra time with you before we get home and I have to share you with everyone else."