Chapter 29 Stella!
December Twenty-First
“Everett!” Claire’s panicked voice jerks me awake.
“What? What is it? Did it work?” I say, blinking my eyes open and trying to orient myself to what’s going on.
“We’re still here.” Her voice falters, and I turn to see her sitting up in bed with tears streaming down her face.
“It’s okay,” I say, sitting up and taking in all the pink that still surrounds us.
Fuck. It didn’t work.
“You don’t know that,” she says, collapsing against my chest. Her whole body shakes as she cries, and I soothe my hand over her spine, trying to calm her.
“Maybe we missed something,” I suggest. “We can figure it out.”
She pulls away from me, and I rub the pads of my thumbs across her cheeks, wiping away her tears.
“But we were so sure. Everything pointed to the crystals. Why would they have worked to bring us here but not bring us back?” Her voice is rushed, and she doesn’t seem to come up for air until the last word.
“I don’t know, but maybe there is more to it or maybe…” I try to come up with a reason as to why we woke up in Sugarplum Park this morning and not New York, but I honestly have no idea.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” she says, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.
“Then I think we need to get some answers.”
“Stella?”
“Stella.” I nod. “Come on, let’s get dressed, and then we’ll head into town.”
Rolling out of bed, she grabs all of the stones and throws them back into the paper bag, setting it by the trash.
“What a waste of time,” she says.
“I’m gonna get you home. Don’t worry.” Leaning forward, I brush my lips across her forehead. “All hope isn’t lost.”
We both walk to get dressed. The idea that maybe we are just meant to stay here creeps in, but I push it away. It doesn’t matter that being here with her makes me happy. It doesn’t matter that my shoulder is healthy. She wants to get back, and that’s what we have to do.
I pull on jeans and a light blue sweater, then walk out to the bedroom to wait on Claire. She emerges a few moments later wearing a white sweater, cranberry-colored trousers, and boots.
We walk to town in silence, hand-in-hand. My blood pressure rises the closer we get to Stella’s. She better be there, and she better talk to us.
The diner comes into view a few yards away, and we both watch as the woman herself walks out the front door.
She’s wearing a black long-sleeved, flowy maxi dress.
The front is cut into a deep V, and around her neck sits a star-shaped crystal.
She pulls on a long black coat and hat, then turns to walk away from the main square of town.
“Come on,” I say, pulling Claire. We both break out into a jog.
“Stella!” I yell, but she ignores me.
We round the building and see her walking ahead.
“Stella!” Claire calls, this time catching her attention. She flips around, a wide grin spreading across her face.
“If it isn’t my king and queen,” she says, walking back toward us. “Can I help you two with something?”
Looking around, I check for other people and am relieved to find that the three of us are alone. “You could start by telling us how to get back home,” I challenge.
Stella starts to laugh. “Are you feeling alright, Everett?” She blinks back and forth between Claire and me. “You know where your house is.”
“Look, it’s just us three,” I say, my body heating.
Claire tugs at my hand and peers up at me.
Taking a deep breath, I attempt to calm the rage bubbling inside me.
She’s really not going to stand here and gaslight us into thinking we’re the crazy ones.
“Let’s cut the bullshit. We all know what’s going on, so it would be really great if you could stop avoiding the conversation and tell us how to get home. ”
“Whatever are you talking about?” she asks.
“Stella,” Claire tries. “We just want to know what to do.”
“I already told you what to do,” she says. “Remember? When it comes to the competition you just have to lean into—”
“The spirit of the town and give into the magic,” I finish. “We’re not talking about your competition. We’re talking about our lives. We tried playing your game, but we’re still here.”
“Where else would you be?” She shrugs, offering us an unnerving smile. “Claire, I’m shocked that you of all people haven’t figured it out.”
“What…what does that mean?” Claire stammers. “Are you saying you did put us here, and I should know the way to get us home.”
“You’re already home.” Stella looks from me to Claire. “When I look at you, I see two people who have everything they’ve ever wanted and all the answers to all of their questions. I’m really not sure why you’re both so upset.”
Holy shit, this woman is maddening.
“I’m sorry,” Claire begins. “I’m confused. Are you agreeing with us that you put us here?”
Stella’s whole upper body moves as she laughs. “Where else would you want to be on this beautiful day?” She looks up at the clear sky.
“Home.” I snap. “We would like to go home.”
“That’s understandable. I know that as the king and queen of the Christmas Extravaganza, there is a lot of unwanted attention on you two.
It makes perfect sense that you’d want to hide away in your house together until the day of, but I really think the best way to do it is to lean into the town spirit.
” She claps her hands together on the final two words.
Claire’s gaze finds mine, and I massage my temples.
“Alright,” she says. “It’s a busy day, so I’m going to let you two get going. I’ll see you at the Extravaganza. It should be a really good time.”
She turns on her heels and moves away from Claire and me without another word. We watch in silence until she disappears around the back of the building.
“Well that wasn’t helpful,” I say, turning to find Claire. Her eyes are glossy with tears. She turns and starts moving back toward the street, pulling her coat around her tightly.
Fuck.
“Claire?” I yell as I gain on her.
“Please, I just need some time to process everything,” she calls back.
“Stop moving!” I shout.
“Everett, please just give me a second!”
Catching up to her, my hand connects with her wrist. “Please stop and talk to me,” I say, spinning her toward me. Her face is red and puffy. She sniffles, and her eyes find mine.
“I just need a minute,” she snaps.
“No.”
“No?” she questions, becoming more frustrated with me.
“No. We need to figure this out together, and I know that was frustrating and not helpful, but running away from me isn’t helping anything either.”
“And I just need a minute to gather my thoughts,” she says, spinning and walking away from me again.
“Claire,” I huff out, but she ignores me and keeps walking.
I follow her into town, restraining myself from trying to stop her again. The town is busy with people going about their day. Each person pauses as we walk by, watching and taking note of our body language and the fight I guess we’re having.
Making it to the ice rink, she sits down on one of the benches and folds her arms across her chest. I take a seat on the other side, and the cold air burns my lungs as I inhale and exhale slowly.
“Can you please tell me what’s going through that head of yours?”
“You heard her. She said I should be able to figure it out, and then she kept saying the word home, like we’re never leaving. This isn’t home.”
“Claire, she essentially talked in circles. Nothing she said made any sense.”
“But if she’s right…what if I’m the one who has to get us home, and I don’t know how. Or what if there is no getting us home and this is it. We’re just stuck here.”
Her face falls into her hands, and she shakes her head.
“I was so sure we were right about the crystals, and we weren’t, so what now?” she asks.
I move closer to where she sits. “I don’t have an answer, but I think if we just take a minute, take some deep breaths, we can figure this out.”
Her hands run through her hair, and she looks around the town.
“Why don’t you go dance for a little while, and I’ll go talk to Cami. See if we did something wrong with the crystals. I’ll get us some coffee, and then we can go back to the house and see if we missed something in one of those books.”
“I can come with you.”
“I know that, but I think you need to take a break. Clear your head. Forget all that nonsense that she just spewed. We’re going to figure this out, and we’re going to do it together. It’s not going to fall all on you, and we definitely aren’t staying here.”
“I’m sorry,” she says, her body crumbling against me. “I’m so sorry.”
“Shhh.” My hands rub up and down her spine. “It’s okay. Waking up here this morning was a lot, and you freaked out. She was no help. It’s okay.”
“I’m sorry,” she says, sitting up. The cold wind wraps around us, causing her to shiver, and she wipes her face with the back of her hand.
“You don’t have to keep apologizing,” I say.
“Yes, I do. I just acted like a complete lunatic.” She shakes her head. “How are you being so understanding?”
“Because I can tell you’re scared and overwhelmed.”
She swallows hard.
“Plus, I like when you’re a little crazy.” I smirk, then start to chuckle, causing her to laugh too.
Leaning down, my hand finds the side of her face, and I kiss her. Her lips part, and she lets me in as another breeze blows by us, sending a shiver through us both.
“Come on,” I say, pulling back. “Let’s get you inside to warm up.”
Standing, I reach out and take her hand. We begin our walk toward her dance studio.We pass by a small group of people who stop talking the second we’re in ear shot.
“I think we put on quite the show for everyone,” she whispers. Her cheeks turning a bright pink. “I feel like they’re all staring and talking about us.”
I chuckle. “Just ignore them. They have no idea what they heard.” I squeeze her hand and lean down, placing a kiss on top of her head.
The word home swims around my brain, and I attempt to shake the thought that we might actually be stuck here, and although I’m beginning to think I’d be happy living out my days here with her, I know she wouldn’t feel the same.