My heart pounds and I'm drenched in sweat, even though it's freezing cold outside, as I round the corner into the driveway, stopping short when I see the car parked in front of my house. My brother gets out of the passenger side of the car and closes the door.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him, my breath visible in the frigid early morning air.

"Trust me, I'm wondering the same damned thing. I haven't been sitting in your driveway for the past hour by choice," Nate replies. "Angelo dragged me here."

Angelo exits the driver's side of the car and slams the door hard. "Oh, shut up and stop being dramatic. Don't listen to your dumbass brother, Gabe. We haven't been sitting here for an hour. We got here an hour ago and you weren't home, so we went and had breakfast. We only got back here five minutes ago."

"I gave you a key to the house," I remind Angelo as I head for the door. I'm sweaty and it's fucking freezing now that I've stopped running.

"Yeah, well, you know how Nate loses things," Angelo says.

"So much for trusting you two with a key so you can get rid of my porn stash in the event of my untimely demise," I mutter.

"You need to make a new one, and I'll take care of it," Angelo notes. "How the hell do you run in this weather?"

I shrug. "Just keeping in shape."

That's a lie. Running ten miles in this weather isn't about keeping in shape. It's self-flagellation. It's punishment, plain and simple.

"This shit is too cold for me," Angelo says, as I open the door. "I'm fine in hundred degree weather, but thirty degrees? Forget about it."

The three of us pause awkwardly in front of the door as I realize that I can't invite them inside, because if I do, they're going to see everything.

"Come on, you two. This is ridiculous," Angelo scolds us. The ex-football player shoves me aside like I weigh nothing and walks inside. "Gabe, don't be a dickhead. Be polite and invite us in. I'm not freezing my balls off because the two of you are being stubborn morons."

That's not why I wasn't inviting them inside.

"Why don't we go grab coffee at –?"

Angelo interrupts. "We just came from a diner. Now both of you come inside and fix this, because this is probably the stupidest argument you've ever had – and that's saying a lot, because you've had some dumb fucking arguments. But really, this just goes beyond any bullshit argument you've ever had. You didn't even talk to each other on Christmas! You're not going into the New Year carrying some stupid grudge. I won't allow it."

"Whatever," Nate huffs, pushing past me. "I'm only coming in because I don't want to freeze my balls off outside, either."

"Fine, just… go into the kitchen," I tell them, as if that's going to keep them from seeing everything.

Angelo walks into the study anyway. "Oh, you decorated for Christmas!" he calls. "Holy shit. You went all out. I mean, wow. I didn't know you were such a Christmas fan. You have a really elaborate European Christmas market thing going on, and –"

Nate walks past me into the study as I groan. "Gabe doesn't like Christmas at all. He's a complete Grinch. You know that. We all know that. What the hell?"

I curse under my breath and follow them into the study. "Can I give you a tour of my house, or do you want to just help yourself?"

Nate whirls around and stares at me. "Are you fucking dying?"

I bark out a laugh. "What the hell? Why would I be dying?"

"I don't get it," Nate says. "What is all of this?"

Angelo's hand flies to his mouth. "Ohhh. A brain tumor would explain the changes in behavior. Do you have a brain tumor?"

"I don't have a brain tumor!" I exclaim. "And I'm not dying. I'm not even sick – other than of you two. I'm definitely sick of you guys."

"What the hell is all of this shit, then?" Nate demands to know. "Who did all of this? It's like a movie set in here."

"Oh my God, did a film crew rent your house for a movie or something?" Angelo asks. Nate gives him a look. "What? That's a perfectly plausible explanation for all of this."

"When's the last time you heard of a movie being filmed in this town?" Nate asks.

"Your idea was that Gabe was dying."

I let out an exhale. "I swear, if either one of you gives me even a little bit of shit for this, I will murder both of you with my bare hands."

Angelo snorts and looks at Nate. "It's adorable when your brother threatens me with bodily harm."

"He threatened both of us."

"Well, he could probably take you," Angelo notes. "But me? Really??"

"Stop talking," I snap. "If either one of you give me grief, I won't speak to you again."

"Promise?" Nate asks.

"Just tell us what's going on already," Angelo demands.

Fuck, this is embarrassing.

"I hired some of the kids from the Theatre department to make all of this."

"You hired Theatre kids to make elaborate Christmas decorations for your house?" Angelo asks. "Oh. My. God. You had a Christmas party and didn't invite us!"

"I didn't have a party."

"That's exactly what someone trying to cover up a Christmas party would say!"

"Does this look like the face of someone who enjoys hosting parties at his house?" I ask, gesturing toward myself.

Angelo frowns. "You have a point. Why would you build an elaborate set in your house, then? Is this some kind of kinky sex thing?" His voice drops to a whisper. "Did you rent out your house to film a porno here?"

Nate snorts. "Who knows what eighteen-year-olds are into these days?"

Angelo steps in front of Nate. "Don't punch your brother. Ignore him and tell me what's going on."

I sigh. "Fine. I had it built for her, okay? Is that a good enough explanation for you two nosy assholes??"

"You did this for the girl?" Angelo asks.

"That's right," I say, exasperated. "I built this whole stupid, elaborate setup because she hadn't been anywhere in the fucking world outside of South Hollow. I had the Theatre kids set it up while I was at school on the last day of class as a surprise for her. Obviously, I couldn't exactly take her anywhere, so I decided to bring the world to her instead. Then everything went and blew up, and now I've spent the holiday sitting here in the middle of these ridiculous reminders of all of the bullshit that fell apart."

Angelo gasps. "So you turned your office into Germany," he says, stepping from between Nate and I to walk around.

I shrug. "The whole house, really. I mean, Germany and other places."

Angelo steps past us and heads toward the kitchen, his voice ringing down the hallway. "Aww," he calls. "France!"

Nate crosses his arms. "You did all of this for Alan's daughter," he says flatly.

"Look, I know you don't fucking understand it, okay?" I say. "I'm sorry I lied to you about everything. If it makes any difference, she's not anything at all like her father. I mean, it's irrelevant now, since it all went to shit, but she's as far from her father as it gets."

Angelo calls out countries as he pokes his head into the other rooms downstairs. "Italy and Spain, and ohhhh, Morocco! I love Morocco!" He reappears in the hallway. "This is the sweetest thing I've ever seen in my life."

I groan. "It's not fucking sweet, and don't give me grief about it. I was just doing something nice for her for Christmas, that's all. It's not a big deal, so don't make it into one."

"Not a big deal?" Angelo asks. "No one's ever built me the entire world by hand!"

"Well, to be fair, it was really the Theatre department who did it," I note.

"Thanks a lot, asshole," Nate says, glaring at me. "Now Angelo is going to expect me to custom-build a world trip for his birthday."

"I'll let you use mine," I tell him.

"I don't want a second-hand world trip, so don't even try it, Nate." Angelo turns to look at me. "You are so in love with that girl, aren't you?"

Nate stares at me. "Are you?"

I groan. "I don't want to talk about this."

"Of course he's in love with her," Angelo says. "If you can't see that, then you're blind."

"Let him answer, Angelo," Nate replies. "Are you in love with Alan's daughter?"

"Fuck… you guys," I groan. "Yes, okay?? Is that what you wanted to hear? I built the girl a world trip in my damned house because she's my student and I couldn't take her anywhere outside of here and I fucking love her. Are you happy now??"

Angelo claps his hands together. "Yes!!"

Nate gives me a look like he didn't hear anything I just said. "You fucking love her??"

"You heard me say it already," I yell. "Do you want to hear it in eight different languages?"

Nate smirks. "Kind of, yeah, actually." He looks at Angelo. "Do you want to hear it in eight different languages?"

"I'd be really impressed."

"It's too early for this." I turn and walk toward the kitchen. "I need a cup of coffee."

Nate follows behind me. "Well, why didn't you just tell me that before??"

"Really??" I ask. "I'm pretty sure you crawled up my ass sideways about it before I got a chance to say much of anything at all."

"Well, I wouldn't have been such a jackass if you'd have just said you loved her from the beginning!"

Angelo snorts. "I'm pretty sure you'd have still been a jackass."

"I didn't know I loved her, okay??" I yell, yanking the empty coffee pot from the coffee maker and filling it with water.

"Oh my God. It's New Year's Eve today," Angelo says.

"So?" I ask. I pour water into the coffee maker and reach for a can of ground coffee on the shelf.

"So, tonight is New Year's Eve! We need to go find her! Have you talked to her?"

"If I were talking to her, do you think I'd be standing here in my kitchen talking to you?"

"Are you going to make coffee like that? I know it's your kitchen, but I really can't watch this travesty unfolding before my eyes." Angelo reaches for my can of cheap grocery-store brand coffee, but I smack his hand.

"I like my coffee the way I like it," I growl. "Step away."

"Okay, okay." He puts his hands in the air. "You're awfully cranky today."

"Well, a couple of guys showed up on my doorstep this morning and started harassing me about my décor and about being in love, so can you really blame me?"

"Did she go back to South Hollow?" Nate asks.

"No," I admit.

"So you know where she is, then!" Angelo declares.

Only because of sheer luck, not because Purity told me anything. The girl responded to my texts with one of her own, saying that she needed space - and has otherwise ignored me. "Her roommate texted me to let me know she went home with her."

Angelo grins. "Well, boys, guess where we're spending New Years Eve!"