Must be Santa (COMPLETED)

13

Wynter

"So how was your Christmas? Did you do all that I asked since we last spoke?" Lorie asked, pushing a piping mug of coffee onto the small table beside her.

"That and more" I muttered beneath a wasted breath. I plop into Lorie's cushioned couch before turning off my phone. I only had an hour with her and needed to be free of all distractions.

"Well, you look fresh and rejuvenated. It seems like my homework did you some good?"

"I guess it did?" I say aloud, thinking of all that had happened these past few weeks. If it wasn't for Lorie, I wouldn't have met Nick.

"So tell me, Wynter. What are you here for?"

"Well...you are sworn to secrecy about eveything I say in here?"

"Yes Wynter, you know that" Lorie nodded, pulling out a fresh pad of paper.

"And if I sound crazy...you won't judge me or send me to the loony house?" I clarify.

"Come on Wynter! I've heard crazier things come out your mouth. You once told me you stopped talking to a guy because he used his coffee stirrer as a straw" she chuckled, looking up to meet my eyes.

"Okay... " I nodded nervously, taking a deep breath before starting my tale. "That night you told me to leave milk and cookies on Christmas? Well, I did"

"Okay," she hummed.

"Then, I left some more on December 26th, and I kinda...sorta...summoned Santa" I blurted, looking to face her eyes. My heart rushed with anxiety as I admitted my truth.

"Santa? As in Santa Claus?"

"Santa" I repeated again,  "But instead of this old jolly fat man, he was some tall, GQmodel heartthrob"

"Oh?" Lorie smiles politely.

"Yes! I asked him for a wish to take me back in time so he made me sit in his lap and---. Lorie stop!" I frowned as I see her writing down in her notepad.

"Wynter I'm just writing notes" she defended her actions.

"Well, don't! It's making me think you're taking notes on a crazy person"

"Okay, fine" she pouted, pushing her notepad and pen to the nearby table. "Look, see? I'm all ears" she reassures me. I looked at her hesitantly but continued.

"So... he made me sit on his lap to prove he was Santa"

"He did? Hmmm" she smiles mischievously.

"It was non-sexual Lorie!" I defended my actions, dismissing her knowing smile.

"I didn't say anything!" she retorted, lifting her hands up innocently but I could see the skepticism in her eyes.

"I asked him to take me there...and he told me to close my eyes. I was transported to the day my parents died. I saw the scene of the accident; I smelled the gas. I felt the fire." I whispered silently, still trying to push the picture out of my mind.

"Why did you ask to take him there? For closure?"

"Maybe?" I nodded looking to the floor. "I thought if he showed me an alternate outcome to my life, I would be pleased but every outcome he showed me was horrible. I would have never been happy."

"I see." Lorie says.

"I was sad but content with it. After parting ways, I was excited to move on with my life but this man keeps appearing everywhere. Before he left, he basically said I owed him for making my wish come true, since I was on the naughty list"