stated.
I raised my brow in surprise. “That’s awfully judgmental of you.”
“Well, he’s never around to spend time with you, yet your life seems controlled
in almost every way. I mean, it’s friggin Thanksgiving, and he’s not even here to
celebrate with you.”
“It’s just a stupid holiday, Holly. He has more important things to do,” I
murmured.
“Stupid holiday?! More important things to do?!” Holly shrieked in shock.
“Jaden, this stupid holiday is about giving thanks for the things you have and to
appreciate what surrounds you. How can he not see that it’s an important day to
spend with the people he cares about the most?”
I sighed in irritation, pinching the bridge of my nose to get myself together.
Here I was, trying to defend Darren to protect Holly, and it was the stupidest
fucking argument I’ve ever had.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Holly. You’re welcome to voice your concerns to
him, but I imagine they will fall on deaf ears. He’s a very busy man.”
A flash of red fell over Holly’s face as she blew the air out of her cheeks in
frustration. It almost made me laugh.
“So he’s too busy to care about you, is that it? You’ll accept his name on your
own skin, and then sit around waiting for him like some kind of doormat?”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Careful, Holly. You wouldn’t want this doormat to
punch you in the face on purpose.”
Holly huffed and shook her head, waving off my threat. “I just don’t get it. He’s
always so stern and intense whenever I’ve seen him, and every time you come back
from finally spending time with him, you seem different.”
I furrowed my brows. That was too specific of an observation from her; to know
she was paying that much attention to me made me uncomfortable.
“Different how?”
“Sad different. Defeated almost.”
Fuck.
“I mean, from the way it seems, it’s like you don’t even like him.”
Double fuck!
“And the choker around your neck that you never seem to stop fingering never
leaves your throat. Why is that, Jaden?”
I hadn’t even realized my fingers were grazing along the smooth metal around
my throat. I’d caught myself doing it once or twice, but apparently, it was a lot
more than I thought. I didn’t even know why I played with it.
I shrugged again. “It was a gift from Darren. I like wearing it.”
Liar.
“Right. How did you even meet him anyway?”
I felt my stomach drop. Shit, I never thought I was ever going to have to come up
with a bullshit story about my life with Darren. I needed to put Holly in her place
and move past this.
“Ya know what? My relationship with Darren is none of your business so stop
pushing. He’s a busy man and doesn’t always have time for me. I understand that,
so you need to be, too. You’re here to help me get back on my feet, not judge my
life. Now, can we move on, please?”
Holly sighed in defeat. “I just wished he treated you better is all. He’s a little
scary sometimes, you know.”
“Don’t worry about him. He’s mine to deal with, not you. You just focus on me.”
“Okay, Jaden. Whatever you say.”
And let’s keep it that way. For her sake.
–∞–
W hen Holly and I got back to the house, we were both instructed to clean up for
dinner. Confusion swept over our faces as Holly never had dinner with me; it
was only ever reserved for Darren. But we didn’t argue.
When I was clean and dressed, Hank and Blondie escorted me down the hall
toward the dining room, where, upon my arrival, I was wide-eyed and shocked.
Holly was sitting at the table, across from my usual seat, smiling like crazy. But it
wasn’t just her presence that had me shocked. It was what was displayed all over
the table.
Thanksgiving dinner.
There were bowls of mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, salad,
vegetables, and even green bean casserole, plates of several different styles of
dinner rolls, and sitting in the center of the table was a delicious looking already
carved monster of a turkey.
“Hi, Jaden!” Holly waved from across the room. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
“Wow.” I gasped as I walked over to the table. “Did you know about this?”
“Nope, not a clue,” she said. “Come on, sit down!”
I took my seat across from Holly. Even though Darren said he would be gone for
a few days, I left Darren’s seat at the head of the table open, just in case he
randomly showed up,.
Holly and I quickly loaded up our plates with just about everything and even
went back for seconds. We sipped on chilled white wine and enjoyed
