Chapter 33
LUKE
Acouple of hours after I officially retired from the high school Christmas play, Chris got into town. Troy wouldn’t be showing up until the following day, which was a relief. It was nice seeing my good brother again, and we all chatted around the kitchen table like when I had first arrived.
I noticed my mother didn’t offer Chris pie before dinner. Either I was her favorite or I had looked really rough when I showed up.
Mom served pot roast. It was Chris’s favorite.
I was a pretty big fan as well. There was nothing like a hearty meal when it was frosty and gray outside.
It put some heat in my belly, which I desperately needed.
Clara had been so cold to me earlier, I hadn’t been able to shake the chill from my bones.
She wasn’t wrong to tell me to fuck off. She wanted me to stay away but then I showed up two thousand miles from where we’d parted, at a high school play no less, where I had no real business being. That was Clara’s thing, not mine.
Of course it looked like I was there stalking her. If I had been in her shoes, I would have told me to put an egg in my shoe and beat it too.
Giving up the role of Santa wasn’t a problem at all. I had only agreed to do it because I was six drinks deep and I would have agreed to just about anything. Sure, I had also thought it might be nice to run into Clara, but that had been a foolish idea also.
She was not happy to see me. In fact, she had run from me, then left the campus altogether to avoid talking to me. Signs didn’t get much clearer than that.
Mrs. Fletcher had seemed legitimately sad I wasn’t going to be in the play. I had given a very condensed version of things. Clara and I shouldn’t be around each other. Thank you for inviting me to participate.
I had posed for some pictures with the kids, who insisted.
I couldn’t say no. I had been in their shoes once, looking up to my heroes and dreaming of being them one day.
I wanted to warn them not to be too much like me, though.
I was the reason Clara had just run out of here like her ass was on fire.
She was the closest thing I’d ever had to love and she literally fled when I walked in. I was not a role model they should be emulating.
All those thoughts kept me quiet throughout dinner. I said a few things here and there to not be rude, but mostly I chewed on my food and my regrets.
After dinner, Christ started in on me. “Let’s go to Tipsy’s,” he said, hitting my arm. “I want a beer.”
“Then go get one. I’m not your fucking babysitter.”
“No, you’re a fucking sourpuss. You need a beer too. You’re bringing down the whole vibe, bro.” He shook his head. “It’s the holidays. Cheer the hell up or at least fake it for Mom.”
I laughed bitterly. “I’m not going to be any better company at the bar. Drinking is just going to make me sadder.”
“What the hell do you have to be sad about?” he asked. “You’re too famous? Too rich? Too successful?”
“I’ll tell you what. If you don’t make me talk about it, I’ll go have a beer with you.”
“Hell yeah, let’s go.” Chris got us an Uber, which wasn’t cheap since it had to come out to the ranch to pick us up.
I had encountered that issue the night before. The price was nuts, but I was just happy we had Ubers in town. It was nice to see my hometown joining the rest of society in the digital age. Harrison City had never been backward, but they were pretty slow to change.
Plus, the only thing to do around here was drink and no one needed to be driving after a wild night out. I was planning on getting properly blitzed tonight, myself. The day had not been an easy one for me.
I felt like I had handled things pretty well, but Clara had been upset seeing me, even though it wasn’t on purpose. Nothing I said had cut through her defenses, and that was profoundly disappointing.
At the bar, we ran into a bunch of old friends from school. Chris immediately joined them and started catching up. I told them I would be back and went to the bar to get a drink. I was not in the holiday spirit, but maybe beer would help.
I got the bartender’s attention and ordered two beers. While I waited, I turned to look down the bar. Nic was glaring at me.
Oh shit. I should have stayed home.
I could have run from him the way Clara had run from me, but I chose to stand my ground. Whatever was coming my way, I had to face it head-on. If Nic wanted to hit me, at least I had good insurance.
Obviously, Nic wasn’t thrilled to see me. It was written all over his face as he approached.
“Hey, I’m glad you’re here,” I told him, surprised I actually meant it. “I’ve been wanting to talk in person. I need to apologize.”
Nic paused like he hadn’t expected me to open with that. He narrowed his gaze at me, then shrugged, and we stepped outside. We walked a little ways from the building to Nic’s truck out on the edge of the parking lot.
We leaned against the tailgate like we used to in high school, just shooting the breeze for hours after practice. I would have given anything to go back in time and feel as free as we did back then.
Just two dumb kids looking toward the future with wide eyes and big dreams, back before life got so damn complicated.
“I know I fucked up royally and I need your help fixing it.” I figured being direct was the best course of action. Hiding things had messed everything up. I had learned my lesson.
Nic sighed and shook his head. “I don’t think you can fix it, and even if I wanted to help, I wouldn’t. You might be my best friend, but Clara is my little sister. You lied to us both.”
“I know, and that’s why I’m apologizing,” I said quickly. “I didn’t tell her the full story and I should have. I didn’t just want her help at work. I also wanted to bring her back here at Christmas to win a stupid bet with my brother.”
My friend’s back straightened and his hands curled into fists. “Yeah, why the fuck are you making bets with your brother about Clara? That’s what I want to know.”
“I swear, the bet had nothing to do with her.” I ran a hand through my hair. “Actually, the bet was kind of about Clara, but not how she’s thinking. You remember the play back in senior year?”
“Of course,” Nic said. “You were trying to flash your dick at everyone. Then Clara sat right on your lap, you fucker.”
“Okay, yeah, that,” I replied with a sigh. “Well, in the last ten years since that happened, my fucking brothers have given me shit about it. They’re relentless. It pissed me off. Then for a while it was kind of funny. Then it got downright infuriating.”
“Okay, so what does this have to do with the bet?”
“Well, if I win the bet, Troy’s not allowed to mention that night ever again. If he wins, he gets my cabin. It all sounds so dumb now, but at the time, it had seemed important.” I looked at my friend. “It sucks something so stupid caused your sister so much pain. I fucked up bad.”
“Hold on, so how do you win?” Nic asked.
“I just had to bring a girlfriend home for Christmas,” I said. “They said Mom was worried about me dying alone. And then it dovetailed nicely into bringing my girlfriend to the office with me, to show them I’m not a total fuck-up. I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted her help impressing my bosses.”
Nic snorted a laugh. “You’re right. That is a stupid fucking bet.”
“I know. But I swear I wasn’t thinking about asking Clara when we made the bet. I didn’t think of her until later.”
He sighed. “Man, I think she has the wrong idea about that bet. Have you talked to her?”
“She won’t let me.” I looked up at the sky and let out a long breath. “But I’m willing to be patient. I’ll give her as much time and space as she needs.”
“Yeah, well, if you really care about her, and it sounds like you do, that’s the best thing you can do,” he said. “As gross as the idea is to me, you two morons seem like you both like each other. I hope things can work out, but you’ll get nowhere if you push too hard.”
“I’m trying, man.”
I heard a noise a couple rows down in the parking lot. Nic heard it too. We both cocked our heads to listen. It sounded like someone was pouring out a beer on the asphalt.
Nic’s eyes widened and he smiled. “Dude, gross, I think someone’s taking a piss.”
I looked in that direction, unable to see anyone, but the voice I heard was crystal clear.
“Can you believe it?” Dixie asked. “Back working on the high school play. Again. What a loser.”
Nic wrinkled his nose. “I still can’t believe you dated her,” he whispered. “She’s such a trash bag.”
“I know,” I said softly.
Another female voice said something back, but it was lost in the wind.
“Fuck Clara Snow,” Dixie said loud and clear.
I growled and headed in the direction of the voices. Nic stopped me with his massive hand, strong as an iron clamp. He held a finger to his lips, shook his head, and pointed at his ear, telling me to just listen.
Dixie was clearly drunk and talking big in front of whatever friend was listening. It turned out my ex could bear a grudge, from the sound of things. “I got that fucking theater shut down.”
“How?” her friend asked.
“It’s easy when you’re fucking the mayor, babe,” Dixie said. “He sent an inspector. I wanted the place torn down, but I had to settle for closing it down for a few months. Fuck it, Clara’s show got canceled and they fired her ass.”
“Got her.” Her equally low-class friend laughed.
Dixie laughed cruelly. “That’s what she gets for stealing my man back in high school.”
Nic glanced at me and I shook my head quickly, mouthing the word, No. I had no idea what she was talking about.
“And just wait,” Dixie said. “I’m not done. I’m going to get her shitcanned from the high school play, too.”
“Yeah, right,” her friend said.
“You’ll see.”
I took another step forward then, needing to stand up for Clara even though she wasn’t mine to defend. Nic grabbed my arm again and shook his head.
“Do not get involved,” he said quietly. “I know you mean well, but if you go defending Clara to that psycho ex of yours, I’m sure it’s just going to make things worse. It’ll ruin Clara’s Christmas more than you already have.”
I was torn between putting Dixie in her place and listening to Nic. My ex had some fucking nerve talking about Clara that way. And Clara never stole me away from Dixie in high school. That was absurd. I broke up with Dixie because she was the worst. End of story.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay,” I said to Nic. “I’ll let you take the lead.”
“Let’s go back inside and get you a beer, huh?”
We made our way back into Tipsy’s without Dixie ever knowing we were out there to witness how shitty she was. She had been sandbagging Clara’s life over and over. It was unreal.
Clara had always had her heart broken, her plans stalled, because of other people, and I was part of that list now. I couldn’t let it stay that way.