Chapter 11
Ella
When I wake up to get ready for work, flashes of yesterday’s Thanksgiving dinner replay in my mind.
Jesse’s family welcoming me back into their home with such warmth, dinner and conversation around the table, him asking me to be his girlfriend.
I’m so grateful I didn’t have to spend the holiday alone or back home in Texas.
Texas. My stomach knots. It’s not like I hate it there, it’s home, or it was.
Now there are too many people with too many opinions about things they didn’t want to understand.
I can still hear my family and friends giving me their two cents every chance they had. As if I didn’t already feel terrible.
I rinse the soap off my face and press the towel against it, holding it there a few seconds longer than I need to.
Like maybe, if I press hard enough, I can bury the memories I left back home.
It’s been months since it all went down, and after weeks here, the small things of it have finally started to blur.
Jesse’s been a big part of that, keeping me distracted and all.
I tell myself I did the right thing; I know I did the right thing. But that doesn’t make it hurt any less. If I could go back, I’d do things differently, be more upfront and honest rather than staying quiet because I was too scared.
The uneasiness settles in my chest that Jesse still doesn’t know. I know I have to tell him, but I’m just dreading it. I don’t want him to judge me or have reservations about our possibility of a future.
I’ll tell him eventually, but right now I just want to enjoy this time of reconciliation, getting to know each other again. I don’t need to share about my life back home quite yet.
* * *
When I get to work, the ER is overflowing. Apparently there was a big accident on the highway. Everyone seems to be fine, no casualties, but lots of open wounds, bandages, splints, X-rays, and blood. I grab gloves and scan the chaos throughout the room. My eyes land on someone I know: Mason.
My heart jumps, and I freeze for a moment, taking in the sight. His usual expression is replaced by a grimace of pain. His leg is elevated, a bandage wrapped around it and blood staining through.
Hurrying over to him, I ask, “Mason, what happened?”
He shifts slightly and I notice his jaw tightens. “Black Friday madness. I didn’t even feel it at first.”
“Yeah, adrenaline likes to do that.” I reach for his bandage. “May I?”
He nods, and I slowly start to undo the poorly wrapped dressing. Whoever attempted this was clearly in a hurry.
The sight is worse than I was expecting. I swallow. “Mason, this is pretty deep. You need stitches.”
“You think? I think it’s fine,” he claims, and I cock my head at him as he simultaneously is trying not to wince at me barely touching him.
I chuckle and shake my head. “Very funny.”
Slipping the gloves off and tossing them into the trash can, I start to walk away to get a suture kit.
Mason’s voice stops me. “Wait, Ella.” I turn back to him. “Can you call my mom and let her know what’s going on, but tell her not to worry or come over here?”
“Of course.” I reach for my phone and find Maureen’s number.
* * *
The next few days blur together. After working four night shifts in a row, I’m looking forward to the next two days off to recharge.
Maureen invited me to help her decorate for Christmas now that Thanksgiving had passed.
I agreed, knowing it would be much more than just hanging garland and stringing lights.
This was a chance to spend time with someone who’d always treated me like one of her own.
There’s a warmth about Maureen that is so comforting.
She insisted I stay for lunch and dinner, promising something homemade of course.
You’ll never have a bad meal at her dining room table and she’ll make sure you don’t leave on an empty stomach.
When I get to the house, it’s just Addison’s car parked outside and a truck I don’t recognize. Usually, Maureen’s car and Leonard’s truck are out front. Maybe they’re in the garage? I don’t know. I do know Mason is working and Jesse and Cody aren’t anywhere on the property either.
I glance at my phone and notice I missed a text from Maureen.
“Out with Leonard chopping down a tree. Be back soon! Make yourself at home!”
I laugh to myself, picturing the two of them out in the woods, Maureen unable to make up her mind on which tree is the best, and Leonard just following along without a single complaint.
He’s like that. Patient, steady, always putting her first. Jesse’s a lot like him in those ways.
I’ve noticed it even more now than when we were younger.
Letting myself through the front door, the house is quiet, the opposite of what I’m used to.
“Hello?” I call out for Addison. I hear quick movement upstairs, but then I hear too many footsteps for it to be one person.
My heart beats a little faster as my mind processes what I think is going on.
Footsteps thud down the stairs, and Addie appears first, followed closely by a guy I’m guessing is the boyfriend who, as far as I know, no one’s met until now.
He’s tall, skinny, clean shaven, with dirty blond hair that’s kept contained under a Carhartt beanie. I’m not sure what to say, and Addison’s cheeks are bright red.
Feeling the awkwardness swirl around all of us, I look to him and reach a hand out. “Hi. I’m Ella, Jesse’s girlfriend.”
“Brantley, nice to meet you.” He shakes back, and my eyes meet Addison’s. I’m expecting her to explain what they were doing upstairs, but she doesn’t. She directs her attention to getting started on lunch. Brantley follows her like a puppy.
Eyeing them both up, there’s no evidence anything was necessarily going on. His clothes are on the right way, his belt is still buckled. Addison’s clothes, although more casual then normal, are right side out as well.
Addison turns back to me as she pulls food from the fridge. “I think my parents are on their way back.”
“Yeah. It’s pretty cold out there.” I attempt to help with her obvious desire to fill the awkward void.
It’s very weird to see Addison all grown up. The last time I saw her, she was just a quiet, little seven-year-old.
She pulls a stack of dishes from the cabinet and turns to Brantley. “Can you set the table?”
He takes them and leaves for the dining room.
Addison looks back at me, desperation in her eyes, and her voice drops to a whisper. “Please don’t say anything to anyone about earlier.”
Sighing softly to myself, my stomach twists. “Ok, I won’t …”
“That includes Jesse,” she adds.
I agree with another nod and glance over her clothes once more when she turns her back on me.
There are no visible signs of anything out of the ordinary.
From the moment I walked in the door to the time it took them to make it downstairs, there’s no way they could have gotten dressed in such a short time.
Therefore, I don’t think anything was going on.
I don’t know about keeping this between us, though.
Jesse’s incredibly protective of Addison.
They all are. The house rule was always no boyfriends or girlfriends upstairs, and I have a hard time believing that’s changed.
It’s there for a reason. So am I really going to be the one to let her break the rules?
I hear a truck pull up outside and glance out the window to see it’s Maureen and Leonard. Another knot tightens in my stomach. I can’t help but feel anxious, wondering what kind of drama might unfold, especially with the tension in the air already.
When they step inside, Leonard is dragging the Christmas tree behind him, looking a little out of breath but happy to be entering a warmer environment. Maureen follows close behind, her face wind burned, but under it, a mix of excitement and exhaustion.
“Welcome home,” I joke.
Maureen smiles, pulling me into a hug. “How are you?” Her voice is motherly.
“Great.” I close the door behind Leonard as he drags the tree in.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” he says, slightly out of breath, but he keeps moving forward without missing a beat.
I hear Maureen’s warm voice greeting Brantley in the next room.
His tone is polite and confident. I round the corner to witness the exchange.
Addison is standing beside him. She looks nervous but also happy to see things going smoothly.
I’m sure her parents were the least of her worries, though.
It’s her three older brothers she’s gotta worry about.
* * *
As I stand on a kitchen chair, hanging ornaments on the higher branches of the tree, Maureen fluffs the lower half, arranging everything just right.
The cozy sound of country Christmas music plays in the background, along with the sound of the fireplace crackling.
Blend that with the smell of Christmas cookies baking in the kitchen and I am drowning in nostalgia.
“Is Jesse treating you well?” Maureen asks with a genuine voice.
Knowing Addison, Brantley, and Leonard are outside hanging lights on the roof and porch poles, I don’t feel the need to hold back with what I tell her.
“Very well. He hasn’t changed much in that sense.”
“Yeah, he’s worked out his flaws over the years. Of course, I think age has a lot to do with it too.”
“Yeah, I think we’ve both come a long way,” I admit and try to push down the unsettling feeling in my stomach of what exactly the long way for me is.
“It’s amazing how you two just seemed to pick right up where you left off. On better terms, of course.”
“Yeah, I agree. It’s been a whirlwind.”
“Well, I am rooting for you guys. Something about you just makes him weak. The way he looks at you, it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen.”
“Aw, really?”
She nods. “ Oh, yeah. When I saw it again after all this time, I got chills. Like you two were teenagers again.”
“Aww.” I smile. While I feel the connection between him and me too, I’m still trying to ease into this dating thing. There’s still stuff I need to tell him about, and I’m still walking around with my guard up a bit. Nervous to open up and be vulnerable. I just don’t want to dull our sparkle.
The oven timer goes off, cutting the conversation off there. Maureen heads to the kitchen just as I hear a truck pull up. Looking out the window, I see it’s Jesse and Cody.
“Smells like Christmas threw up in here,” Cody calls, coming through the doorway.
“Just the way I like it.” I hear Jesse laugh and round the corner to see me up on the chair. A smile tugs at his mouth, and I get down to greet him.
His arms wrap around me in one smooth motion, pulling me in close. “Hi,” he says with a low, playful voice and presses his lips to mine.
Feeling my cheeks get warm, I smile up at him. “Hi,” I murmur, leaning in to kiss him again.
“Aww, look at you two. Puppy love,” Cody interrupts, standing in the doorway, shoving a cookie in his mouth.
“Jealous?” Jesse teases and lets go of me.
“Please,” Cody mumbles with a mouthful and shakes his head. “Hard pass.” His tone is nonchalant, but it makes me pause for a second. From what I remember, Cody was never one to shy away from having a girlfriend. Starting at the ripe age of fifteen, he was always with a girl.
As he walks away, I turn to Jesse, ready to ask what that was all about.
But the question dies on my tongue when I see the way he’s looking at me.
Not at my face, my lower body. Specifically caught up on my Christmas-themed leggings.
The playful grin spreading across his face tells me he likes what he sees.
I can’t help but laugh as I nudge him to stop.