Secret Santa

☃︎Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ Fɪᴠᴇ☃︎

As Pippa sits at her desk, she sees the absence of a Secret Santa gift and nearly sighs in relief. She only stops herself when she sees Jasper in his seat, fully facing her and awaiting her to do the same.

With a smile, Pippa turns to Jasper.

"Good morning, Jasper. We're you given an orange cranberry muffin instead of your usual raspberry?"

Jasper shakes his head slowly, assessing Pippa as he does so.

"Nope. But I spotted you last night. With Brian. I thought you weren't going to agree to that date," Jasper states, crossing his arms over his chest. Pippa's smile falters, and she moves her hands to pick at the hem of her skirt.

"I just needed closure. We talked about some things and reminisced about the good times," Pippa says defensively. Jasper sighs, scooting his chair closer to Pippa's desk.

"Let me guess, you gave him another chance," Jasper scoffs, leaning back in his chair. Pippa sighs, her eyes falling to her hands.

"Jasper, Brian's changed. He doesn't drink anymore, and he didn't even look at another girl the whole night! I told him if he screwed things up again, that was it. And I mean it," Pippa defends, glaring at Jasper for being so nosy and unsupportive of her decision.

She thought Jasper of all people would be on her side. She thought he would understand. Clearly, she's wrong.

Guilt lodges itself into Pippa's throat. She tries to swallow it away, but it's clearly stuck for a while. Still, she glares defiantly at Jasper. He could at least seem happy for her!

Jasper relents knowing that a fight with Pippa would screw up everything he's been working towards. With a final sigh, he raises his hands in surrender and rolls back to his desk.

"Look, Pip, I'm not trying to pick a fight. I just—I don't want to see you get hurt again. You know what that guy's like, and now he's back and trying to give you the illusion of change so he can screw with you again. Guys like him do shit like that; I would hate for him to hurt you the way he did again because you are such a beautiful and wonderful woman. You deserve better," Jasper pauses his speech and glances at Pippa. While she's trying to remain firm, he can see her wall crumbling as tears well up in her eyes. "And that's my speech. Just really think about what you're doing, Pip. That's all I have to say."

And with that, Jasper begins his work.

Pippa feels her bottom lip quiver and rushes to the ladies' room to steel herself.

She turns on the faucet and splashes cold water on her face. As the cool water makes contact with her skin, Pippa sighs in relief.

Pippa turns off the faucet and pulls a few paper towels out of the machine, dabbing them on her face. Finally, she looks into the mirror, gripping the edge of the cool sink firmly. Pippa watches her reflection for a moment.

There, in the mirror, is a small brunette with fair skin and brown eyes. She has small, red lips and thin eyebrows. Her dainty hands grip the sink so tightly, her knuckles are a very pale white.

Pippa lets out a breath and the reflection does the same.

Behind those brown eyes lie a broken little girl. A little girl who lives in fear of what her father could do to her. A little girl who wonders whether she'll ever escape the hell she lives in. In the mirror is a girl who has only fallen into a trap laid out specifically for her by a skilled hunter.

A warm hand is placed on her shoulder. Pippa's heart skips in her chest in fear. Suddenly, her palms are clammy. Her breaths are shaky.

Pippa gasps, startled by the sudden touch.

"Hey, it's just me." It's Mary.

When she realises it's only Mary, Pippa calms down, taking slow breaths to lower her heart rate.

"Sorry," Pippa manages when she pulls herself together. Mary frowns, rubbing Pippa's back soothingly.

"Honey, don't apologise. I should apologise for startling you," Mary says, removing her hand from Pippa. Pippa offers Mary a thin-lipped smile, releasing the sink from her firm grasp.

"I guess I got lost in my thoughts," Pippa says, "I didn't hear you come in." Mary crosses her arms over her chest, leaning against the bathroom stall.

"I could tell. What were you thinking about that had you so—so lost?" Mary asked, not quite sure how to word her question. Pippa glances cautiously around the ladies' room, making sure the two are alone.

When Pippa knows they're alone, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. What she's about to unload is something that's been on her mind since last night; something Jasper has put into perspective and made her understand.

"I went on a date with Brian last night," she begins. When Mary shows no sign of a reaction, Pippa continues, "He called me and asked me out yesterday at work. I wasn't going to go, but I had a few things I wanted to ask him and figured going on the date would be the only way I could get answers. I showed up, and he was scarily nice and apologetic, answered all my questions, and he even paid for dinner."

Pippa turns her gaze away from Mary.

"But he had this look in his eyes, this weird aura. I felt super uncomfortable. And as I looked around the room for what felt like the millionth time, I saw Jasper sitting at the bar by himself, his shirt untucked and his sleeves rolled up, and Jasper was already watching me. I couldn't really read his eyes, but I felt the hurt rolling off him in waves."

Mary interjects, putting up a finger, "And what I saw out there was his confrontation." Pippa confirms Mary's theory with a nod.

Mary sighs. Pippa looks back at Mary.

"Jasper only told me the truth. He told me he didn't like that I went on that date, that he didn't want to see me get hurt, and that Brian would hurt me again," Pippa admits, playing with her fingers. She watches as a small smile tugs at Mary's lips.

"So what are you going to do?"

Pippa sighs.

"Stop seeing Brian, obviously," she says. Mary frowns, shaking her head.

"No, about Jasper. He obviously likes you. He wouldn't say that stuff if he didn't like you."

Pippa furrows her brows, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

"I'm not going to do anything. Jasper's just being a good friend."

It's Mary's turn to sigh.

"Okay, fine. Deny it, whatever. Just—don't be surprised when I'm right."

And with that, Mary leaves the bathroom, leaving Pippa in denial.