The Story of Us (18 page)

I don’t even try to piece it all
together. Instead, I just smile and pretend to understand all of
it, while my eyes wander over to Craig. He’s shaking hands with the
guys and smiling politely. They’re not totally snubbing him, so I
guess that’s a good sign. I make my way back over to him and grab
his hand in mine. I see the confusion on my old friends’ faces, but
they quickly brush it off and pretend as if they don’t notice at
all. We all sit around talking and only now that everyone’s calmed
down am I able to understand the bits and pieces of information
that was thrown at me minutes ago. They ask about Hailey and Drew
and I tell them everything that I can. Of course, I don’t mention
Hailey’s fears that she’s confided in me about Drew’s unusual
behavior recently and that she thinks he might be seeing someone
else. Instead, I tell them that they’re perfect and happy and still
together. I ask all about their schools, every single one of them
attending Ivy Leagues. I listen as they talk about their
professors, their relationships, their dorm-mates. It feels good to
catch up with the gang. Eventually it’s Brian who asks the question
no one else had the courage to ask.

“So, Val… you and Craig…” He motions a
finger back and forth between us, “I mean, are you two together?”
He directs his question to me only, even though Craig is right next
to me.

“Yeah,” I simply reply, hoping it’ll
end there. It doesn’t.

Brian’s eyes grow wide and he
continues on, “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” I say a little more
sternly. Everyone around us is quiet.

“Wow. Okay. It’s just weird is
all.”

Craig doesn’t say a word and neither
does anyone else. I’m getting angry that I even have to defend my
relationship to Brian or any of them, although I knew with
certainty that this would happen. I sigh in frustration. “How is it
weird, Brian? You mean weird like the time you asked Sarah out and
she rejected you in front of the whole football team?” Sarah
fidgets and looks away. I feel bad for putting her on the spot too,
but my anger at Brian wins out. “Or weird like the fact that you’re
nineteen and have never had a girlfriend of your own?”

I hear someone say “Ouch”
in the mix of the group around us. But it doesn’t seem to faze
Brian at all. “I mean weird as in, you’re one of the hottest girls
I know and you’re dating one of the losers from that shady public
school. Not just one of the losers like Drew, but the
biggest loser
. Craig
Morgan, seriously Val?” His face twists in disgust.

I see Craig’s jaw tighten, but still
he doesn’t say a word.

“You’re such a snob, Brian,” I bite
back, as I go to stand up. “And you have no idea what you’re
talking about. The only loser I see here is you.”

Olivia speaks up, to my surprise,
“yeah, what the hell Brian?” she shoots him a dirty look. Then she
turns her gaze to me, softening her expression, “Please don’t go,
Val. We’ve all missed you and it’s gonna be a while until we’re all
able to get together again.”

“I’ve missed you guys too,
but I
am
with
Craig. I love him,” I state, as I witness the shocked expressions
from my friends. I need you guys to accept that. And if you can’t,
then I don’t see why I should stay.”

Olivia shakes her head in
understanding, along with a few others. “We do. We will,” she
assures me.

Brian doesn’t say anything, but he
does look away when I look at him. I have a feeling he’ll let it go
for now.

I sit back down next to Craig who
never made a move to leave. He looks calm and collected on the
outside, but I can tell it’s a charade. As far as my friends can
see, he’s fine. But I see the darkness in his eyes. I see the way
his jaw is still slightly hardened and the way he’s clenching his
fists together tightly, but not enough that his knuckles are white.
He’s not pissed, but he’s still angry, although I can tell he’s
trying to let it go for my sake.

The rest of the night carries on like
normal. As normal as the country club could be with Craig at my
side. There’s still some tension between Brian and Craig, but
nothing escalates. I can tell the other guys don’t like Craig much
either, but although they seem cold, none of them say anything to
him. I’m sure Craig could hold his own here. I’ve known these guys
my whole life and they’re not exactly street smart. They’d hold
their own in verbal arguments easily. Intellectually, I’d have to
admit, they’d probably win. These guys are pre-law and pre-med,
after all. They’re definitely smart. But if anything escalated to
an actual fight, I have no doubt in my mind that Craig would not be
intimidated by them. It’d be an easy fight and an easy win. I’m
just glad that things are settled for now, because the last thing I
want is my boyfriend physically injuring my friends.

It’s not until after we say our
goodbyes and make our way out to leave that I realize I have no
idea what Craig is thinking. We walk the halls of the country club
in silence, making our way to the exit. I get a sick feeling in the
pit of my stomach when it dawns on me that Craig hasn’t reached for
me at all. And although we’re now alone, he hasn’t spoken a word. I
stop dead in my tracks and he just keeps walking. It takes him a
few moments to realize I’m no longer beside him and he turns around
to look for me. I cross my arms over my chest, hugging myself, and
wait for him to walk back to me. He does. When he gets close
enough, I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him close to me.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper in his ear. He doesn’t say
anything.

After a moment, he pulls back away
from me. “Your friends are assholes,” he says
matter-of-factly.

I don’t say anything in
response.

“Except for the tall brunette,” he
admits, referring to Olivia. “Obviously she was okay.”

I nod in agreement.

And that’s the end of the conversation
about my friends.

After the country club, we go our
separate ways. I could ask Craig to stay the night again, but he
still doesn’t know that my parents aren’t coming home at all during
break. And I’m not sure he’d stay even if I asked him to. There’s a
tension between us that wasn’t there before the country club. He
doesn’t seem mad exactly, just more distant. Tomorrow is Christmas
Eve, but I don’t exactly feel cheery.

I wake up with the same solemn mood I
went to bed in. I wonder if Craig thinks differently of me after
hanging out with my friends. I wonder if he’s back to thinking that
I’m nothing more than a spoiled princess. I wonder if he’s changed
his mind about us altogether. After lying in bed thinking for what
seems like hours, I finally get up and get ready. I check my texts
– none. Instead of sitting around all day, I decide to go shopping.
I know it sounds crazy, to go shopping on Christmas Eve. But it’s
actually one of my favorite things to do. The mall is decorated
extravagantly and it’s not as crowded as you’d think. It’s filled
with mostly men, doing some quick last minute shopping for the
women in their lives. I decide to treat myself to a mani/pedi,
which is beyond relaxing. Then I pick up a couple outfits for
myself. Since I probably won’t get a Christmas gift from my parents
tomorrow, I figure I deserve it. It’s a lonely day and I wish
Hailey were here with me. But, I make the best of it. I shop
through store after store trying to figure out what I could get
Craig for Christmas, even if he is upset with me. But nothing seems
good enough. Finally I wander into a jewelry store. I know Craig’s
not exactly the fine jewelry type, but I look anyway. I ask to see
a watch that looks fancy but not too much so. Still, it doesn’t
seem like enough. When the guy tells me I can personalize it by
inscribing the back, I decide to purchase it.

When I get home, I put my shopping
bags straight into my closet without even bothering to go through
them. My feet hurt from walking the mall for hours. I decide to run
a bubble bath, something I haven’t done since I was a kid. I
undress and put my hair up in a high bun. It feels wonderful to sit
back in the hot water and relax. I reach for my phone to check it
for the millionth time today. Still nothing. Not one text. Not from
my parents on vacation. Not from Hailey in Michigan. Not from my
boyfriend three blocks away. I toss it into the basket of towels on
the other side of the room and I sink down further into the water.
I put my headphones on and lose myself to the music pouring into my
ears.

When the water starts to
feel cold, I take my headphones out, preparing to get out of the
tub. That’s when I hear it – the unmistakable sound of someone
downstairs. I slept here all by myself last night and wasn’t scared
at all, but right now I’m downright terrified. Someone is in my
house. I slowly climb out of the water and wrap myself in a towel.
I try to open the bathroom door discreetly but it creaks with such
a loud sound, I’m sure it doesn’t go unnoticed. I pause and listen.
Nothing. Maybe I imagined it? Then a moment later, I hear footsteps
coming up the stairs.
Shit. Shit.
Shit
. I grab the heavy stone sculpture of
an angel from the table in the hall, thankful that my mom put out a
few Christmas decorations before they left on their
vacation.
What am I going to do, hit the
intruder over the head like they do in movies?
I honestly don’t think I could. I hear the footsteps reach
the top of the stairs and pause. Here’s my chance. I want to dart
out into the hall, statue over my head, ready to strike, but I
don’t. I only
want
to do that. I don’t actually have the courage to. So instead,
I hide behind the door and peek through the open door jam, trying
to make out the figure of a person standing in the hall.

“Craig?”

“Hey,” he says peeking around the open
door, looking for me.

“You scared the life out of me!” I
accuse, coming out of the bathroom with the heavy statue in my
hand.

He notices the statue first, I can
tell, but then his eyes dart towards the towel wrapped around me
and the skin left bare around it. He raises his eyebrows, as if to
make a snarky comment, but then he stops himself and I see his
expression soften. “Come here,” he says softly.

I walk over to him and he takes the
statue out of my hands, places it down, and wraps his arms around
me. “I’m sorry I scared you. And I’m sorry for being so distant
last night.”

“What are you doing here? How did you
get in?”

“I knocked on the door, but no one
answered. It was unlocked so I came in. I yelled out but no one
answered.”

“You broke into my house?”

“It’s really not breaking in if the
doors unlocked.”

I relax into him as he holds me, no
longer caring how or why he’s here, but just that he’s
here.

“Your heart is beating so fast. I
scared you that bad?”

“Uh huh. I snuggle in closer to him as
he holds me.

“Are your parents still gone? What’s
going on, princess?”

I let go and take a step back, making
sure to hold the towel securely. “They’re on vacation,” I finally
admit.

His brows scrunch together. “On
vacation? When do they come back? Did you stay here alone last
night?”

“January twenty-second. And
yes.”

“They’re gone for a month?” he asks
incredulously. “They won’t be home for Christmas?” Now he sounds
angry.

I know I should be flattered that he’s
mad on my behalf, but instead I’m just embarrassed and ashamed.
“It’s not a big deal.” I shrug, trying to dismiss the
subject.

He pauses, searching my
eyes, but I turn my face away because for some unfathomable reason,
I think I might cry. I don’t want to cry and I certainly don’t feel
that sad. I mean, yeah, I was upset about my parents being gone for
Christmas, but I’ve accepted it. But the way Craig is looking at me
with so much pity right now… its making me upset. But if he sees me
cry, it’ll just deepen his pity for me, so I try my hardest to keep
it together. This is exactly why I didn’t want anyone to know. I
hate the pity looks.
Poor Val, her parents
don’t care enough to want to spend her winter break with her after
she’s been out of the house for four months. Poor Val is going to
be all alone on Christmas. Poor Val.
Ugh.
I can’t stand it. I walk past him and into my room. “I need to
change,” is all I say before I shut the door.

Behind the closed door, I let the
pools of tears behind my eyes finally spill over. I silently let
myself cry for a minute and then I try to collect myself to get
dressed. When I’m decent, I still don’t open the door right away. I
take the bun out of my hair, letting it flow freely. Then, I swipe
under my eyes and blink away the rest of the unshed tears. I’m
grateful that Craig gave me the few moments I needed, instead of
insisting that I open the door. He doesn’t call out to me, not even
once. He just waits patiently. So much so that I actually wonder if
he left. But when I open the door, he’s sitting there in the hall,
arms resting over his knees.

“Sorry,” I tell him.

He doesn’t acknowledge it. He stands
up and says, “I came over to see if you’d want to have dinner at my
place, with my family.”